Relapse ★ Bucky Barnes

An Ultimatum

To say Marlena and Wanda were exhausted was quite the understatement. The two had only taken care of Clint's three kids twice before, but even now they knew how much of a handful they could be, especially Cooper and Lila. The two were so rambunctious, which was far from the word Marlena and Wanda would have used to describe them when they first arrived. Nathan, who should have posed more of a threat to the girls' sanity, was calm compared to Cooper and Lila, and he had spent majority of the day throwing items at Wanda, yanking both hers and Marlena's hair, spitting up on their clothes, and screaming.

Marlena let out an exasperated sigh and plopped down onto the couch, closing her eyes as she leaned her head back against the armrest. She could still hear Cooper and Lila running around upstairs, as well as Wanda yelling at them to calm down while tending to a screaming Nathan. Bucky, being the smart human that he was, had locked himself in Marlena's room to keep the kids away from him, and in doing so he had locked Marlena out as well. He wanted no part in the disaster taking place unless it was a disaster being enacted by his own kids, which he was sure wouldn't appear for a few years or so.

Cooper's and Lila's footsteps only seemed to get closer and closer, as well as louder and louder, which worsened the stress headache Marlena was already suffering from. For the past three hours they had been running around, harassing Marlena and Wanda in ways that didn't seem possible for a six year old and a nine year old. They had started a flour fight with Wanda earlier after asking her very nicely if she would help them make cookies the way their mom did; they had decided to use the finger paint Laura had bought Lila to throw at the girls, which always ended in Wanda and Marlena protecting themselves with their energy shields, which then endorsed the act of them throwing very random items at the two just to see them using their abilities. Levi had been right from the start: Cooper and Lila were devilish children, only they played the part of angels whenever their parents were around. It seemed as if the two were being extra devilish this go around, however.

"Marlena!" Lila exclaimed, eliciting a groan from the girl. "Cooper broke the bathtub faucet in the bathroom upstairs. There's water everywhere."

Marlena opened her eyes and looked at the two children standing over her, her brows raised. "If this is some stupid prank, I'm going to hang you both from your bedroom windows where you'll stay until your parents come home."

Cooper let out a sigh and grabbed Marlena by the wrist in an attempt to pull her from the couch. "She isn't lying, but I swear I didn't mean to."

"Marlena!" Wanda called from upstairs. "There's a situation—a very wet one!"

Marlena let out a groan and stood up from the couch, wasting not time at all in running up the stairs. She ran down the hallway, nearly slipping and falling on the small puddle of water slowly sneaking its way out of the bathroom at the end of the hall. Wanda stood outside the closed door, holding Nathan tightly in her arms. She looked at Marlena with wide green eyes and let out a breath, while Marlena neared the door, already aggravated that her socks were wet.

"These demons make me never wanna have kids," Marlena grumbled as she threw the bathroom door open.

Almost immediately, she was met with a horrible sight, one that was sure to anger Clint and definitely Laura. The bathtub was overflowing with water, soaking everything in its path. The handle for the cold water was broken off, which was most likely why Cooper and Lila couldn't turn the water off in the first place. Marlena doubted she would even be able to, but she would have to try.

"How did you manage to break the handle, Cooper?" Marlena questioned him as she ventured further into the bathroom, nearly slipping in the process.

Cooper shrugged but remained outside the doorway. "It was loose anyway. Dad always says he's gonna come home and fix everything, but he never does. He's too busy smoochin' mom to do anything."