To Catch A Thief
Title: To Catch A Thief
Author: Beriaearwen
Crossover: Buffy the Vampire Slayer / Avengers (movieverse)
Characters: mini!Buffy, mini!Willow, mini!Xander, Clint, Bucky, Tony
Rating: Suitable for all ages
Word Count: 1248
Disclaimer: The characters of Buffy the Vampire Slayer belong to Mutant Enemy, etc. The characters of the Avengers belong to Marvel Comics, etc. All are used here without permission. No copyright infringement is intended.
Related Stories: A New Start, Logistics, Scenes From Down On The Farm, Meeting Miss Darcy, Meeting Uncle Bucky, Hammer Time, Snippets, Mother Son Time, The Frist Mission, The Power Of Love, Meeting Buffy's Boyfriends, Peas and Tanks, Cooking With Willow, The Right Place, Santa's Helper, Playtime
Notes: Something a little lighter for the little ones tonight. I felt bad for making them cry.
Summary: “And you know,” she instructed, “ cookies are very serious and important things.”
Clint entered the house, a question on his face. It wasn't often Laura called him to the phone anymore, but the very amused expression on her face told him it wasn't anything dire. “Who's on the phone?” he asked.
“Buffy, though Willow and Xander are listening in. They have a problem and feel that you're the only one who can help them.”
Clint felt his eyebrows rise wondering what three preschoolers had gotten involved in that required his help. “Hello?” he asked after accepting the receiver from Laura.
“Uncle Clint?” Buffy asked, her voice an odd mixture of hope, relief and determination.
“Yes, Buffy. How can I help you?”
“We need your help. You're the only one we know isn't guilty and the only one who can help us.”
“Help with what, Buffy? What's going on?” Clint could feel his own amusement rising even as he felt a small amount of concern.
“We have a cookie thief. And you know,” she instructed, “cookies are very serious and important thing.”
Clint coughed to hide his laugh. “That does sound serious,” he admitted. “What evidence do you have?”
“We always have cookies at three o'clock. There's a plate left on the counter for us. Tuesday we went in to get our cookies, but there were four missing! That left only two for the three of us!”
“That's awful,” Clint offered, trying to keep his amusement from his voice.
“Then it happened again on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. The it happened again today.”
“Have you asked Friday who's doing it?”
“She won't tell us,” Buffy replied, pout evident in her voice.
Clint's brows furrowed, “Why won't Friday tell you?”
“Well,” Buffy said, drawing the word out.
Clint was quite familiar with that tone of voice from his own children as well as from the tiny trio. “You did something that got that permission revoked?” he deduced.
“Maybe?” she dragged out, obviously reluctant to admit it.
Making a mental note to call Natasha and get that story, he decided to focus on the problem at hand. “OK, so we'll do this the old fashioned way. Is there anyone you know it absolutely can not be?”
“How would we know that?” Buffy asked.
“Do you do the same thing every day before you get cookies?”
“Yes!” Buffy replied, excited. “Uncle Bucky plays games with us and then we get cookies!”
Clint bit his lip to hide his laugh as the image of the Winter Soldier playing Candyland popped into his head. Clearing his throat, he said, “So, Bucky probably isn't the one who is taking the cookies.”
“OK,” Buffy agreed. “But who is it, then?”
He knew that there had been a call-out on Thursday and another Sunday which is probably why the cookies weren't missing those days. He thought up and discarded several different plans , most of which were too complex for the trio. Finally, a trap he and his brother had used when they were kids came to mind and with Bucky there to supervise, they could probably pull it off. He would have to insist they video it and send it to him later. “Since we know it's not Bucky, we can have him involved too. I have a plan, but you'll need his help.”
“Oh! It'll be like another game!” Buffy said excited, asking Willow to get Bucky.
Clints eyebrows rose again as he wondered exactly what sort of games Bucky was playing with the kids. He didn't have to wait long before Bucky arrived and the phone was put on speaker. He could hear the glee in Bucky's voice at the thought of the trap. He really wanted that video.
~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~
Tony hummed to himself as he walked toward the kitchen while working on his datapad. This wasn't his normal choice of places to be, but Bruce had been staying and he had missed bouncing ideas around with his science-bro. And the presence of three little scamps had absolutely nothing to do with it. Absolutely nothing. Especially not the oddly warm and fuzzy feeling in the vicinity of heart when they beamed each time he arrived, ran to hug him and called him “Uncle Tony”. Especially not that.
Grabbing a mug and filling it with the coffee that was always available, he turned and saw the plate of cookies on the counter again. He really liked this idea and would need to convince Pepper to adopt it. Attention mostly on the datapad, he reached out and grabbed a cookie.
As soon as the cookie cleared the plate, a loud horn sounded, startling the genius and causing him to drop his datapad and the cookie. Before he could react, a net dropped on him causing him to fall to the floor. A moment later a large bucket of something slippery and gross poured on top of him making it impossible to gain his footing, even after he struggled to get out of the net. The whole time the horn was still sounding.
Just as he found the end of the net and removed it, the horn stopped sounding and he looked up.
Tony froze as he found himself facing three very stern looking and angry four-year-olds. “Kids?” he asked, the hairs on the back of his neck suddenly raising. Little kids should not be this scary.
“You,” Buffy began, her expression making him swallow.
“Stole,” Xander added, eyes narrowing at him, a look he had to learn from Nat and one that sent a chill down his spine.
“Our,” Willow added, hair turning white at the roots.
“Cookies!” all three called out.
Tony's mouth opened and closed several times. He tried to stand only to slip in the slime and fall to the ground again. He could feel his eyes widen and heart pound as the three of them came closer to him.
~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~
Clint was clutching his stomach with one arm while he wiped tears of laughter away with the other hand. Beside him, Laura wasn't doing much better. On the other side Bucky was grinning widely. “Those kids are something else,” he gasped out. “I never would have thought of the slime or the other.”
“They'd been studying something or other in class and applied it,” Bucky explained.
“His expression when they mentioned cutting off the hands of thieves,” Laura said, through her laughter.
“That was good,” Bucky admitted. “I think in that moment, Tony was willing to believe they would do it.”
“What did they stamp him with?” Clint asked when he had enough breath.
“It's the same ink most clubs use so people can get in and out,” Bucky explained. Then his smile turned as mischievous as any of the kids'. “With a little something extra.”
“Something extra?”
“The regular ink won't wash off for about a week, but the ink that shows up under black light will last about two weeks,” he admitted. Then he seemed to struggle with his own laughter as he added, “And after a call and showing this to Pepper, she's agreed to put black lights in with the regular throughout SI.”
The other two adults laughed at the thought. The screen they'd been watching was frozen on the disgruntled face of Tony Stark who now had a stamp on his forehead clearly announcing his status as a “Cookie Thief”.
End.
Author: Beriaearwen
Crossover: Buffy the Vampire Slayer / Avengers (movieverse)
Characters: mini!Buffy, mini!Willow, mini!Xander, Clint, Bucky, Tony
Rating: Suitable for all ages
Word Count: 1248
Disclaimer: The characters of Buffy the Vampire Slayer belong to Mutant Enemy, etc. The characters of the Avengers belong to Marvel Comics, etc. All are used here without permission. No copyright infringement is intended.
Related Stories: A New Start, Logistics, Scenes From Down On The Farm, Meeting Miss Darcy, Meeting Uncle Bucky, Hammer Time, Snippets, Mother Son Time, The Frist Mission, The Power Of Love, Meeting Buffy's Boyfriends, Peas and Tanks, Cooking With Willow, The Right Place, Santa's Helper, Playtime
Notes: Something a little lighter for the little ones tonight. I felt bad for making them cry.
Summary: “And you know,” she instructed, “ cookies are very serious and important things.”
Clint entered the house, a question on his face. It wasn't often Laura called him to the phone anymore, but the very amused expression on her face told him it wasn't anything dire. “Who's on the phone?” he asked.
“Buffy, though Willow and Xander are listening in. They have a problem and feel that you're the only one who can help them.”
Clint felt his eyebrows rise wondering what three preschoolers had gotten involved in that required his help. “Hello?” he asked after accepting the receiver from Laura.
“Uncle Clint?” Buffy asked, her voice an odd mixture of hope, relief and determination.
“Yes, Buffy. How can I help you?”
“We need your help. You're the only one we know isn't guilty and the only one who can help us.”
“Help with what, Buffy? What's going on?” Clint could feel his own amusement rising even as he felt a small amount of concern.
“We have a cookie thief. And you know,” she instructed, “cookies are very serious and important thing.”
Clint coughed to hide his laugh. “That does sound serious,” he admitted. “What evidence do you have?”
“We always have cookies at three o'clock. There's a plate left on the counter for us. Tuesday we went in to get our cookies, but there were four missing! That left only two for the three of us!”
“That's awful,” Clint offered, trying to keep his amusement from his voice.
“Then it happened again on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. The it happened again today.”
“Have you asked Friday who's doing it?”
“She won't tell us,” Buffy replied, pout evident in her voice.
Clint's brows furrowed, “Why won't Friday tell you?”
“Well,” Buffy said, drawing the word out.
Clint was quite familiar with that tone of voice from his own children as well as from the tiny trio. “You did something that got that permission revoked?” he deduced.
“Maybe?” she dragged out, obviously reluctant to admit it.
Making a mental note to call Natasha and get that story, he decided to focus on the problem at hand. “OK, so we'll do this the old fashioned way. Is there anyone you know it absolutely can not be?”
“How would we know that?” Buffy asked.
“Do you do the same thing every day before you get cookies?”
“Yes!” Buffy replied, excited. “Uncle Bucky plays games with us and then we get cookies!”
Clint bit his lip to hide his laugh as the image of the Winter Soldier playing Candyland popped into his head. Clearing his throat, he said, “So, Bucky probably isn't the one who is taking the cookies.”
“OK,” Buffy agreed. “But who is it, then?”
He knew that there had been a call-out on Thursday and another Sunday which is probably why the cookies weren't missing those days. He thought up and discarded several different plans , most of which were too complex for the trio. Finally, a trap he and his brother had used when they were kids came to mind and with Bucky there to supervise, they could probably pull it off. He would have to insist they video it and send it to him later. “Since we know it's not Bucky, we can have him involved too. I have a plan, but you'll need his help.”
“Oh! It'll be like another game!” Buffy said excited, asking Willow to get Bucky.
Clints eyebrows rose again as he wondered exactly what sort of games Bucky was playing with the kids. He didn't have to wait long before Bucky arrived and the phone was put on speaker. He could hear the glee in Bucky's voice at the thought of the trap. He really wanted that video.
~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~
Tony hummed to himself as he walked toward the kitchen while working on his datapad. This wasn't his normal choice of places to be, but Bruce had been staying and he had missed bouncing ideas around with his science-bro. And the presence of three little scamps had absolutely nothing to do with it. Absolutely nothing. Especially not the oddly warm and fuzzy feeling in the vicinity of heart when they beamed each time he arrived, ran to hug him and called him “Uncle Tony”. Especially not that.
Grabbing a mug and filling it with the coffee that was always available, he turned and saw the plate of cookies on the counter again. He really liked this idea and would need to convince Pepper to adopt it. Attention mostly on the datapad, he reached out and grabbed a cookie.
As soon as the cookie cleared the plate, a loud horn sounded, startling the genius and causing him to drop his datapad and the cookie. Before he could react, a net dropped on him causing him to fall to the floor. A moment later a large bucket of something slippery and gross poured on top of him making it impossible to gain his footing, even after he struggled to get out of the net. The whole time the horn was still sounding.
Just as he found the end of the net and removed it, the horn stopped sounding and he looked up.
Tony froze as he found himself facing three very stern looking and angry four-year-olds. “Kids?” he asked, the hairs on the back of his neck suddenly raising. Little kids should not be this scary.
“You,” Buffy began, her expression making him swallow.
“Stole,” Xander added, eyes narrowing at him, a look he had to learn from Nat and one that sent a chill down his spine.
“Our,” Willow added, hair turning white at the roots.
“Cookies!” all three called out.
Tony's mouth opened and closed several times. He tried to stand only to slip in the slime and fall to the ground again. He could feel his eyes widen and heart pound as the three of them came closer to him.
~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~
Clint was clutching his stomach with one arm while he wiped tears of laughter away with the other hand. Beside him, Laura wasn't doing much better. On the other side Bucky was grinning widely. “Those kids are something else,” he gasped out. “I never would have thought of the slime or the other.”
“They'd been studying something or other in class and applied it,” Bucky explained.
“His expression when they mentioned cutting off the hands of thieves,” Laura said, through her laughter.
“That was good,” Bucky admitted. “I think in that moment, Tony was willing to believe they would do it.”
“What did they stamp him with?” Clint asked when he had enough breath.
“It's the same ink most clubs use so people can get in and out,” Bucky explained. Then his smile turned as mischievous as any of the kids'. “With a little something extra.”
“Something extra?”
“The regular ink won't wash off for about a week, but the ink that shows up under black light will last about two weeks,” he admitted. Then he seemed to struggle with his own laughter as he added, “And after a call and showing this to Pepper, she's agreed to put black lights in with the regular throughout SI.”
The other two adults laughed at the thought. The screen they'd been watching was frozen on the disgruntled face of Tony Stark who now had a stamp on his forehead clearly announcing his status as a “Cookie Thief”.
End.