Little Situation

Chapter 4

Steve waved as Sarah and Clint came from baggage claim. Clint laughed as he saw the baseball bat in the hand Steve was waving. Once the two actually reached, he took the bat and smiled at Sarah trying to show that everything was fine after all. Steve also pulled something else from behind his back.

"Our mission was in Peru. I, um, got you something," Steve said as he handed her a chullo hat with a toy alpaca in it.

"Thanks Da— Ste— thank you."

Sarah tucked the alpaca under her arm and put on the hat— it was very colorful but obvious the reason Steve bought that particular one was for the large white star on each ear flap. Steve took the suitcase from Sarah and patted her shoulder.

"Nat's right outside with the car. Why don't you head on out, Clint and I are right behind you."

He watched her walk out the airport doors before turning back to Clint. The pompom on the top of the hat bobbled back and forth as Sarah walked away.

"When we say she broke a bat, how bad?"

"It was in literal splinters, I don't think she knows how much strength to put in certain tasks."

"I'll work on that with her. Hope that's a good one for your kid."

"Yep. Same brand, you didn't have to buy a new bat."

"Ah, no problem."

Steve started to walk when Clint grabbed his arm.

"Hey, man. Sarah ran after it broke thinking something bad was going to happen to her. She was gone for almost the whole night and was so worried about us being mad."

"I'm working on that too. I don't know what the hell HYDRA did to her but we're trying to undo that."

"She called you dad." Clint nodded when Steve looked at him with surprise. "When I found her she said 'please don't tell my dad'. The kid feels safe with you whether she says so or not, just be careful with that."

Steve got in the backseat and let Clint take the passenger's. It was silent until Nat finally reached over to turn on the radio. Steve turned his head to see Sarah staring out the window, absentmindedly picking at the soft fur of the alpaca doll. Clint and Nat both looked in the rearview mirror to see her take out the hearing aids and place her hand on the speaker on the backdoor of the car. Sarah closed her eyes and sat back with a smile. When the song changed, Sarah's eyes opened with a frown. Clint messed with the stations until he found one with a similar vibe. When her eyes closed again, he turned to Nat and Steve.

"Sometimes it's not about the song itself but the music. She probably likes the way the vibrations feel."

"Have you guys eaten lunch?"

"Nah, had to leave early to make the flight on time."

So Nat pulled up at an outdoor restaurant instead of just taking Clint to his studio and Sarah and Steve to the apartment. Sarah took off the hat and left the alpaca in the car. The waitress came over and the three adults watched Sarah tilt her head as she approached, looking at something. The waitress pulled out her phone for them all to read: Hello, I'm Ally, your server for today. Please bear with me, I am completely deaf but can still do my job. I'm happy to help. Do you know what you want to drink?

Ally's smile grew large when Sarah and Clint both tapped on their ears. Clint took over taking everyone's orders and signing them to the waitress. When she came back with the sodas, she handed Sarah a kid's menu with crayons.