I’m Coming: Part 4, Final Part (Clint x Reader, Soulmate AU)
Pairing: Clint Barton x Reader
Words: 1504
Content/Warnings: Soulmate AU, Angst, Fluff, etc.
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3
Summary: At some point, everyone starts projecting thoughts back and forth to their soulmate. The reader has been chatting with theirs since age sixteen, but Clint Barton does not want anyone using his soulmate against him so he has never told them his name, but that whole plan falls apart the day HYDRA figures out who they are.
“The conditioning is strong,” Bruce said. He, Bucky, and Clint were watching a monitor that showed the room you were in across the hall, unconscious and cuffed to an exam table. You woke a few hours ago but fought the restraints so hard they had to dose you again. Steve tested the cuffs himself first to be sure you couldn’t escape, but that didn’t mean you couldn’t cut yourself up trying.
“We all remember how long it took to get me out of it,” Bucky said “not to state the obvious, but a faster solution would be good.”
“You said your soulmate messed with your conditioning when she was still alive, right?” Clint asked. Bucky nodded. “Bruce, can you make that… nanobot whatever to turn the gene back? I might be able to deprogram them from the inside, for lack of better phrasing.”
“That could do some serious damage to you,” Bruce warned. “Barnes’ conditioning at least didn’t involve his soulmate at all. Y/n has been tortured into believing that all they want is to kill you. Are you sure that’s a mind you want to get into?”
Clint knew that nothing could be worse than the silence already in his head.
“I’m sure.”
---
It took Bruce two days of round-the-clock work before he had a version of the nanobot solution he was willing to test on you. Clint insisted on being present when he administered it, having refused to leave the monitor room across the hall since returning to the tower.
“One more time, are you sure? I don’t know what having their conditioning in your head will do to you.” Bruce gave him a hard look while he prepared the injection. You were still unconscious, but the most recent dose of tranquilizer would wear off within the hour.
“Just do it Banner.” Clint watched the needle go in, hating that he could still remember your projected screams when the HYDRA scientist had given you the original injection. He walked to the other side of the room to sit down in the corner. As hard as it was to move away from you he wanted to be as non-imposing as possible when you woke.
Bruce sighed as he left the room, passing Bucky in the doorway. “Barton.”
Clint looked up, surprised.
“I thought you might want some company. And maybe someone who can take them in a fight without shooting them, just in case.” The look he gave was apologetic, but Clint motioned for him to join him on the floor.
“I just don’t know what to do when they wake up. I’m their soulmate, not a shrink. I don’t think I’m really qualified for this.”
“Barton,” Bucky’s expression was almost stern “Y/n held up under torture for over two weeks. HYDRA broke them, sure, but I’m living proof that you can un-break a super soldier. They’re a fighter, so don’t you believe for a second that they aren’t still in there. They’ll be able to hear you soon, and I bet you a whole lot that the first thing you’ll get from them is your own name.”
Clint stared at him. That was the most he had ever heard Bucky say at once, and somehow, he felt better. Looking up, he saw you stir.
Y/n? No response, but you moved a little more, feeling the restraints.
Y/n? Pushing gently into your mind, he was met with a wall of cold. I know you can hear me now, I can feel it. The mental wall was raw intensity, but there was barely any emotion to it. You had to be feeling something, somewhere. Throwing caution to the winds, Clint took the years of experience he had in your mind and tore at the wall. You fought him, struggling mentally to hold up the block and against your physical bonds, but it gave out.
Behind it, Bucky was right. Clint Barton is my soulmate. My name is Y/n L/n, and Clint Barton is my soulmate. Clint Barton is my soulmate, my name is Y/n L/n. The mantra repeated over and over until he pushed in to the middle of it.
Y/n, it’s me, come back to me
Clint? Your eyes snapped open and met his. He saw recognition there and his heart beat faster. You remembered.
“Hey there,” Clint stood. He couldn’t hold back a smile despite the situation. Bucky was looking between the two of you, not understanding the breakthrough that Clint had made.
You came for me. I knew you would.
“I promised, didn’t I?” He was speaking out loud now, trying to ground you in reality.
I, I almost killed you, I’m so sorry. It’s exactly what they wanted and I, I couldn’t hear you—
Clint took a tentative step toward you
“Hey, hey, stop that,” he said. “This is pretty much the farthest thing from your fault.”
What did they do to me Clint? They gave me something else and when I woke up I was… so strong. And I can see and hear so well? I used to need glasses, Clint, and now I’m pretty sure I could tell the thread count of your shirt from here.
“We think it was super-soldier serum. That’s what the, uh, the extreme restraints are for.”
Super-soldier—like Captain America super-solder serum?
“Yup. The guy over there is Bucky Barnes, if you know the name. He offered to help. Thought he might understand where you’re at.” Bucky gave a small wave and a smile from his spot on the floor. Clint felt your anxiety and was about to ask Bucky to leave when he realized what you were thinking.
Hey! You think he’s pretty, don’t you? Clint reverted to private conversation.
Don’t you? You flashed a mental grin. The fucking Winter Soldier just waved at me, I’m having a very interesting day.
And The Fucking Hawkeye is your soulmate! Way to give a guy an inferiority complex, he projected in mock jealousy.
You laughed out loud at that. It was the most wonderful sound Clint had ever heard.
“I missed something, didn’t I,” Bucky said.
“Yes you did, thankfully,” Clint replied with a stern look at you. “Babe, how do you feel about getting out of those?” He nodded at the restraints.
Yes, please. You didn’t seem ready to speak out loud. I think I’m in control. Maybe pretty boy back there should stick around just in case though. You sent him another mental laugh at his disgruntled expression.
“Alright Barnes, I’m going to let them out.” Bucky stood, wanting to be ready for the worst.
“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” he asked. Clint nodded and walked the rest of the way to you. He hadn’t realized how much the restraints were bothering you until he offered to remove them. Your whole body was tense. When he grabbed your wrist to remove the first one he realized that this was the first time you had touched other than trading blows a few days prior. He moved to the next wrist, then both ankles and your midriff, not wanting to touch you too much while you felt trapped.
Standing on your own two feet for the first time in a couple days, you stumbled and put a hand on Clint’s shoulder to regain your balance. He was debating between getting a hold on you in case you fell and keeping still so you could control the pace of things when you wrapped your arms around his neck and pulled him close.
Seeing over Clint’s shoulder, you saw Bucky duck out of the room with a nod to you.
“Please hold me, Clint,” your unused voice was a whisper, but clear in his ear. Grateful for the permission he slipped one hand around your waist and held your head to his shoulder with the other. You stood still for a moment, both soaking it in. He pressed a kiss to your temple, squeezing you tighter, and you felt a tear hit your neck.
Unable to hold back any longer, Clint Barton broke down, shaking and sobbing into your shoulder.
I’m so sorry, I tried to get there faster. I thought I’d lost you, that I got you killed, that—
It was your turn to ground him with your voice. “Hey, hey, breathe,” you whispered, running your fingers through his hair to calm him. “I’m right here, I’m safe, and nothing that happened out there was your fault.” He was no longer projecting coherent thoughts, finally letting out a month of stress and exhaustion.
His sharp sobs ebbed after a few minutes. You pulled him to the corner and sat, legs thrown over his, arms around each other, faces pressed into each other’s necks. His tears still trickled down your skin but you breathed together, calm.
It’s over. We’re safe, you promised.
I couldn’t ask for anything better than you.
There’s no one I would rather share this bond with.
I—I love you Y/n L/n
I love you too Clint Barton
And with that, you both drifted off to sleep.
Tags: @thoughtsofdarc @jaqui-has-a-conspiracy-theory@whatisanniedoin@wefracturedmotivation @im-a-slut-for-an-accent @dragonluver9393 @xanaphorax @sweetlydecaf @cutiepiemimi13 @agentsinstorybrooke @nyxveracity @bitchy-ginger-1