Clint was bored and when he was bored, he caused mischief. He snuck into the playroom where his baby cousin was playing by herself and grinned. "Wanna see something cool?"
"Mhm!" She was about two and a half at the moment. She stood and followed him, Clint boosting her on top of a cupboard and then following her up.
He opened the vent cover and pushed her in, climbing up after and shutting it. "I like to play up here. Daddy says not to when I'm small but it's okay."
Clint instructed Kayla to crawl ahead a bit and then moved past her, leading the way through the vents until she stopped suddenly. He turned to look at her and frowned, she was teary eyed and trembling.
"No cryin'. Cryin' is for babies." Clint shook his head at her. She did start to cry at that, voice echoing through the ventilation system.
~With the adults~
Phil noticed the sound first, having been in charge while Steve and Bucky were at SHIELD. He cursed quietly, noticing that other than the crying that it was too quiet.
He ran to the playroom and looked at the vent in horror. "CLINTON BARTON!"
"Daddy!" Clint called through the vents, having heard the echo of Phil's yell. He desperately tried to quiet Kayla, patting her head and hugging her tightly. "Shh, Baby. Is okay."
She just cried harder, calling for Steve and Bucky. The Little girl was terrified, unable to follow Clint when he moved away from her.
"I be back." Clint petted her head and crawled back the way they came, sticking his head out of the open vent right as Steve and Bucky ran into the room. "Uh oh."
"Where is she?!" Steve was freaking out and Bucky had that emotionless expression he got when he locked down to keep from freaking out also.
"Clint... Took her in the vents." Phil looked pale.
"Won't come out. Won't move." Clint explained to the adults.
"Why won't she?" Phil was trying to keep calm.
"Scared, Daddy. She scared." Clint informed Phil, wondering if his daddy had temporarily gone stupid.
"I bet..." Phil pinched his nose.
"We need to get her out!" Steve shouted.
"Where's Peter? None of us will be able to maneuver her out. We're too big to fit." Bucky had formulated a plan.
"I have informed Young Sir that he is needed and he is in the elevator." JARVIS told them. Peter came in shortly after and looked up at Clint, scowling instantly.
"You Big?" Bucky's plan needed Big Peter.
"Yeah. I was working on my lessons. What happened?" Peter was already slipping off his socks and scaling the wall to get to the vent.
"Clint took Kayla into the vents. And now she won't come out because she's afraid." Phil told him.
The sound of crying seemed to pick up again as the girl Little was left alone still. She was afraid of being stuck there forever.
"And you need me to go get her. Got it." Peter crawled in the vent, shoving Clint lightly and made his way through the vents. He was wincing slightly at the painful volume of the other Little's cries but soldiered on, finding her and just pulling her in a tight hug. "Shh, Kayl. You're okay. I'm gonna get you out. Let's go, okay? Your Daddy and Mama are waiting."
"Petey!" She wailed, shoving her face against the side of his neck and clutching at him. He had an idea and helped her hook her arms and legs under his sweater, zipping it and then wrapped one arm around her.
"Got her!" He called through the vents and heard a muffled response of hurry. Peter crawled back through, careful with his precious cargo and paused. "Gonna lower you down to your Mama, okay? I won't drop you."
The spider man carefully got them out of the vent and on top of the cabinet, unzipping his sweater and handing her over the side to Bucky before climbing down the side. Steve grabbed him in a tight hug, clutching the boy desperately as he thanked him profusely.
"Petey." Kayla sniffled, looking at Peter from her Mama's arms and reached for a hug. He was her hero.
"Did Uncle Phil and Clint leave?" Peter was content as he hugged the Little, working on calming his own racing heart.
"He's going to go punish Clint." Bucky rumbled, not letting go of his Little girl. "Thank you."
"Any time, honestly. I'll always help if you need it." Peter told them. "She's the best."
"Yeah, she is." Steve agreed, looking more composed and then sent Peter off because Bruce needed him.
Bucky showed no signs of letting go of his Little, murmuring prayers in Russian to a deity he didn't even believe in. He pressed kisses all over the top of her head and then went to the nursery to change her, she was a bit dirty and needed a clean diaper.
Steve followed, hovering close by. He had no desire to let her out of his sight.
Once bedtime hit, the two silently agreed on having her sleep with them. Steve knew he shouldn't let her but he had been so scared when the mark on his shoulder had flared with pain. He had dropped what he had been holding, grabbed Bucky and they had ran.