Authors Note: I’m going a little off Clint’s backstory in comics (acrobatic background from his carny days). Clint also still has his family a secret from everyone except for Natasha.
The training room at Avengers Tower was usually occupied by at least one person at any time. That was to be expected when you worked with highly trained superheros, assassins, and gods. However, you weren’t exactly the physically adept type. You were only a part of the team because of your somewhat supernatural abilities- Fury had found you and brought you into the fold not long after the Battle of New York. You wouldn’t call yourself out of shape or unhealthy, but you couldn’t dead lift a car or call a man with your pinky finger. That wasn’t news to anyone, but you still felt embarrassed trying to work out in front of the others. It was because of that that you had worked out the perfect time when the training room was empty.
You were trying (and failing, in your opinion) to learn something between a gymnastics floor routine mixed with kung fu. To be honest, by the looks of your reflection in the floor to ceiling mirrors that made up one whole wall of the room, you weren’t very successful in looking fierce and capable. That feeling was exacerbated by the sound of someone trying and failing to hide their laughs. You quickly tried to stop your body movement halfway during a spin to look at the culprit, and promptly fell on your face.
“Owwww,” you whimpered. Luckily the floor was padded. You heard soft padding footsteps coming towards you before a hand was shoved in front of your face. You gripped and were pulled up face to face with Clint.
“Nice an ice pack, Ballerina?” he asked, laugh still evident in his voice. You huffed at him and turned your back, embarrassed that he had caught you.
“Awwww, I’m sorry,” he said to your back. “Didn’t mean to laugh, but you looked so into it!”
You cocked your eyebrow at him and walked slowly over to the treadmill. At least you could walk on that for a little bit and then return to your room to lick your wounds.
Clint likewise made his way his way to a machine close to you. You both worked quietly, just the hum of the air conditioner in your ears.
“You know,” Clint suddenly spoke, almost making you jump in shock. “Nat may be the trained ballerina, but I know a thing or two about acrobatics.”
You merely turned your head to look at him.
“It’s true!” he urged. “I’ve even beaten her a few times with my twists and turns.”
As he spoke he made some contortions with his boy that almost made him slip on the treadmill. He quickly caught himself and you chuckled to yourself. Guess you weren’t the only clumsy one.
“I believe you. Perfect gymnast specimen right here.”
“Don’t be mean,” he pouted. “No pressure. But I could try and show you something simple for now. I’m not much of a teacher, but I’m willing to try.”
You bit your lower lip in contemplation. You did want to try and become more capable on missions, physically. But what if embarrassed yourself further?
“Come on. It’s just me. I got all my laughs out, I promise,” he swore, lifting his hands in a mock boy scout salute.
“Fine,” you sighed, turning off your treadmill and making your way to the middle of the gym primarily used for floor work.
Clint cheered before following you.
He shook out all of his joints, looking pointedly at you to do the same. You gave him a strange look, but did as suggested.
Suddenly, he did a perfect floor routine that wouldn’t have been out of place at the Olympics.
You were speechless, before giving him a round of applause. He did a mock bow and blew kisses to an imaginary crowd.
“Okay, I submit. You are pretty good at gymnastics.”
“Damn straight. Okay, fun stuff first…. Cartwheels!”
“Oh no no no,” you muttered, backing away and crossing your arms back and forth. “I like my neck not broken, thank you very much.”
Clint approached you like you would a wild animal. “I thought you said you trusted me? I swear I will not let you hurt yourself.”
You made a high pitched whining noise, internally freaking out.
“The last time I did a cartwheel I was in elementary school and a lot more flexible and probably 50 pounds lighter.”
“Weight doesn’t have too much to do with it, neither does flexibility. Mostly balance.”
He ran you through a few basic warm ups- mostly yoga poses that stretched your back and made you nearly fall over a dozen times.Clint started out holding your body in place making sure you didn't actually fall. You don’t know how long you were both there, but eventually, you found that Clint was no longer holding your balance for you and you were less shaky.
It was then that Clint decided that you were ready to start trying a headstand against a wall. He helped you place your head on the cushioned floor and pulled your legs up until you were upside down. Neither of you mentioned the squeal that came out of your lips at that.
After you were able to do that for a full minute by yourself without falling on your face, Clint led you back over to the middle of the floor. It was now time to actually try to do a cartwheel without falling on your face.
You had to admit, Clint was very helpful in this “lesson”. Even now, he slowly set you up so you were doing a handstand, and then guided your body sideways until your feet were on the round again. You went through this routine many more times- going faster each time.
“Now… the moment of truth,” Clint announced. You looked at him in fear. “You’re going to do one yourself.”
You let out a small, “Eeeep,” as you watched Clint take a huge step back.
You took a deep breath and shook out all of your limbs. You stood straight-backed with your arms in the air, and with a final breath, quickly spun your arms down to the side- your body quickly following.
SUCCESS!!!
As you stood upright once more you felt your eyes bugging out of your head as you looked at Clint. He grinned at you and started applauding. You should have felt humiliated, but strangely, you felt that despite his usual antics that he was actually proud of you.
“You know,” you started as you walked closer to him. “I think you’d make a pretty good dad someday.”
Clint raised an eyebrow in question.
“Even though I really sucked, and that must have been really hard for you you never burst out into laughter. It was… nice…” you admitted.
Clint had a strange look on his face that you couldn’t decipher for a moment before he quickly rushed to you and ruffled your hair into a mess.
“You’re lucky I’m not your dad. You’d be grounded for trying to mix kung fu and gymnastics. Badly, I mean.”
You tried to fix your hair before giving up and simply crossing your arms in protest.
Clint’s surprisingly good at many every day to day things like sewing, he’s extremely fast at doing it. “My button fell off my favourite shirt”, “Hold on I got this”.
Midnight adventures together, you can wake up at anytime and you drag Clint with you. He always refuses to get up but just as you’re about to leave through the door, he’s somehow dressed in full Avenger uniform intact with the bow and everything, you know “Just for precautions”.
Pets, lots and lots of pets.
“Clint do we really need another puppy?”. “(Y/N), you know we do”.
So much TLC. Clint’s very big on PDA, he loves letting everyone know you belong to him almost as much as he loves you.
Clint is a great cook, he’ll take any opportunity he can to make you a lovely homemade meal. He prefers cooking good ol’ fashioned steak rather than “fancy cuisine”.
Clint’s very protective of the kitchen, once Tony prepped dinner in there, “NO MORE OF THIS FANCY SHIT IN MY KITCHEN”.
That’s what started Clint’s habits of sitting in the vents, someone had been misplacing all of his stuff in there and he was determined to catch Tony in the act.
Unfortunately for you, you almost had a heartattack when Clint burst out the vents just as you were replacing his salt with his sugar.
Summary: Clint makes it his mission to win you over. He succeeds, but you don’t believe in marriage. Can the two of you stay together without the promise of wedding bells in the future? What about when the two of you are forced to go undercover as a married couple?
Word Count: 1234
Warnings: Cursing, Civil War spoilers, smidge bit angsty.
Author’s Note: I’m so sorry for the massive break between this part and that last one. But I’m going to finish this story.
Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 5 / Part 6 / Part 7 / Part 8 /
A shrill beeping grabbed your attention. When you saw the words on the screen you let out a string of profanities. “Mother fucking dumbass children. Clint!” You called to the farmhouse that had been your home for the past year, flipping a switch to make the lights downstairs flicker. “Your dumbass children are gonna get someone killed!” You called, as you could hear the heavy clomp of boots coming up the stairs. He burst into the office, trying to figure out what was wrong.
“Look at this.” You gestured to the computer, a couple of windows were open. One had the alert going. It was about the Sokovia Accords, showing the destruction in Lagos that started the ball rolling on this particular piece of legislature. “Let me say it again. Mother fucking children can't survive without us. The public is going to crucify Wanda.” You said without fully realizing the weight of your words.
“What?” That was Clint’s only question. So he seemed to be able to understand that the Avengers were your children, and they would never be able to fucking survive without you. You struggled to find a good answer to the question.
“There was a mission gone bad in Lagos, Rumlow tried to blow up Steve. Wanda tried to contain him, Pietro tried to flash out as many as he could. Still mass casualties.” You explained to Clint. He’d come to think of Wanda quite fondly, while he still had mixed feelings for her brother. You liked the twins equally. Another beeping noise sounded and you looked to the screen.
“Oh, come on, this is seriously the worst time for that to happen. Peggy’s died too. Steve's going to need us, whether he wants us there or not.” You said it had been a busy year for you. You had been taking a handful of night classes and online classes. Which had led to you becoming a jack of all trades. You were working as a personal trainer and were teaching self-defense classes too. But you had found that coding was a language had added under your belt.
“When did you get a Stark system?” Clint asked, and you shook your head at him. “Do you remember that project from my binary class? Well, this is it. I built an AI, and I used it to hack FRIDAY, the new SHIELD and about half of the dark web too. I know everything.” It had been a hell of a time breaking into FRIDAY'S mainframe. She thought you were a virus and had kicked you out more than once. Clint shook his head at you. “Remind me to never piss you off.” He says with a laugh.
----------------
Peggy’s funeral was being held in London, her birthplace. You and Clint had grabbed some back sits, blending in with the many other faces as people arrived for the ceremony. Steve and some others were walking Peggy’s casket down the aisle, and you could see in the subtle way he carried himself that this was hitting him hard. You could, barely, see through the people that Steve was sitting next to Sam and you were glad that he had someone right next to him to support him.
Peggy’s niece was giving her speech, and you could almost see the wheels in Steve’s head turning as he listened to the double meaning behind her words. It sounded like a call to arms, a reason for his hesitance for the Sokovia Accords and you weren’t sure you liked where this was going. Your (E/C) eyes swept the room, landing on Nat and you elbowed Clint pointing in her direction. After the ceremony, you hid out and listened while Nat and Steve talked about what was happening. It was a rare time when Nat and Steve disagreed on something, but Nat was ever the politician about Steve’s inability to sign the accords.
Things almost seemed to go back to normal, but you knew that couldn’t be true. You’d told your version of FRIDAY to be on high alert. Even giving the AI access to your phone as you tried to busy yourself with your work and schooling. You’d been in the middle of a self-defense class when you’d gotten the notification of the bombing of the Vienna meeting of the Sokovia Accords, resulting in the death of a Wakandan King. It also told you that Natasha had sustained minor injuries but that she was alright. It wasn’t for another hour that you got the notice that the suspect was supposed to be none other than James Buchanan Barnes.
When you’d received that alert you’d been on some downtime in your office, and you immediately pulled up the security video that was circulating on all the news channels. It only took you a matter of minutes to figure out that it was purposely put together like that. To make it seem like the Winter Soldier was responsible for this event, but he had nothing to do with it. You knew this would start some issues within the team, and it was cracked as it was.
----------------
“Clint?” You called walking into the house, it was quiet and dark. You immediately kicked into Agent mode, grabbing the first thing you could find that could be used as a weapon. That just so happened to be an old-fashioned umbrella with a metal tip. Armed with the umbrella you silently surveyed the house. Each room was coming up empty, and you quietly made your way upstairs. Finding each of the rooms there empty, until you got to your bedroom. Where you finally found your archer without his hearing aids in. You threw yourself into his arms, tossing the umbrella to the side.
“I thought something horrible had happened to you. Have you seen the news?” You signed to him when he looked at you like he had no idea what was going on. “There was some sort of bombing, Nat was there. She’s alright. But someone is framing Bucky for it.” You explained using your hands to convey the message to him. Clint nodded to you, and you explained that you wanted to try and hack into the government compound where they had taken Steve, Bucky, and Sam for questioning.
It’d been significantly easier to hack the government stronghold than it had been to get into FRIDAY. When you did, you were able to see that Steve’s shield and Sam’s wings had been taken from them. That Tony was there and was in one of his worser moods. It was then that you also got the alert that Wanda and Pietro were being restrained to the compound because Tony’s emotions and flawed thinking made it seem like he was protecting Wanda. Pietro was just on house arrest from what you could tell.
Once you’d seen that, you knew that Steve wouldn’t sign the Accords. You’d set up your system to watch the questioning process of Bucky. Which you were sure was mirroring what was happening with Steve and the rest of the Avengers who were actually there. The voice of the man doing the questioning sounded vaguely familiar, but it didn’t hit you until the footage blanked out.
“We have a problem. We’re going to need to go get our twins.” You say, and Clint gives you a look. His signing asking the question: “I thought you were retired?”
Summary: Today is your 19th birthday, and you also happen to be Tony Stark’s loved daughter. What’s a better way to celebrate this special day than a party?! All the Avengers and family friends will be there, even your secret crush Spider-Man. You’ve always wanted to meet the famous spiderling, but little did you know you already know him. Your party will definitely be one to remember.
Warnings: some sexual stuff but not smut
Masterlist
AN: Alright things are getting a little steamy!! thanks for all your support on this little mini fic! I really didn’t expect it to be this popular!! you guys are great and don’t be afraid to tell me what you think of it!!
You ordered an infused water, while Peter just had a plain water. You took a few sips before talking to Peter again.
“So what other little secrets are you hiding, Peter?”, you leaned closer to him as you rested your arms on the bar.
“Uh, I don’t know. I’m a pretty simple guy”, he modestly said.
“Oh cmon”, you playfully nudged your arm with his. “You’re telling me a guy who wears tights and swings from webs, is a simple guy?”
“I mean Spider-Man is the most interesting thing about me”, he said under his breath and shrugged his shoulders.
“Alright, that’s bullshit Peter. Don’t sell yourself short like that”, you gave him a genuine smile. “I mean you could dance like a pro! You’re incredibly smart, and you seem like a really sweet guy. I don’t think Spider-Man defines who you are.” You placed your hand over his hesitantly, hoping he wouldn’t pull away. Your warm skin came into contact with his, making butterflies flutter around your stomach.
He looked at you with curious eyes as you squeezed his hand. Your heartbeat accelerated as you realized both of your faces were inching closer together. You both paused, you were so close you could feel his warm breath against your lips. Your eyes fluttered closed, but unsurprisingly the moment was interrupted.
“IT’S TIME FOR KARAOKE!!!! WHERE’S THE BIRTHDAY GIRL?!”, Sam said over the speakers.
You pulled away and facepalmed yourself as a bright light shined on both you and Peter. “Oh geez”, you awkwardly laughed. “Uh this is kinda like tradition, I should”, you were motioning to leave.
“Oh yeah, yeah go”, he laughed. “You’ll kill it up there.”
“I know”, you shouted back.
You walked through the crowd and up to the mini stage where Sam awaited you. He handed you a mic, “So what song will you open karaoke with this year?”
You thought for a bit, “You know what, surprise me”, you said with confidence.
“Okaaaaay!”, Sam laughed.
Suddenly, the music started to play. It took you a minute till you realized what song it was. When the realization hit you, you couldn’t help but laugh.
“Okay”, you laughed into the mic.
“You said surprise you”, Sam smirked.
“No, no this is good!”, you prepared yourself for the great performance you were about to give. “Alright, I’m sure everyone in this room has needed to hear this song once or twice.”
The words popped up on the screen but to be honest you sang this song so many times that you didn’t even need them.
You took a deep breath and began to sing.
You know the bed feels warmer
Sleeping here alone
You know I dream in color
And do the things I want
You were actually very good at singing, which was one of the things you got from your mother. Good thing you weren’t crowd shy, or this would never be possible. Thankfully your dad helped you get over that fear very early.
You think you got the best of me
Think you had the last laugh
Bet you think that everything good is gone
Think you left me broken down
Think that I'd come running back
Baby you don't know me, 'cause you're dead wrong
You were already getting into the song, this was just one of those songs that really resonated with you.
What doesn't kill you makes you stronger
Stand a little taller
Doesn't mean I'm lonely when I'm alone
What doesn't kill you makes a fighter
Footsteps even lighter
Doesn't mean I'm over cause you're gone
You started to walk down the stage, and into your crowd of friends. Everyone was dancing along with you as you sang the chorus of the song.
What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, stronger
Just me, myself and I
What doesn't kill you makes you stronger
Stand a little taller
Doesn't mean I'm lonely when I'm alone
The high notes were hit beautifully as you danced with Wanda.
You heard that I was starting over with someone new
They told you I was moving on over you
You grabbed Pietro’s face and squished it as you sang.
You didn't think that I'd come back
I'd come back swinging
You try to break me, but you see
Pietro grabbed you and spun you around as the chorus started again. When he let go, you danced your way over to Peter and sang to him.
What doesn't kill you makes you stronger
Stand a little taller
Doesn't mean I'm lonely when I'm alone
What doesn't kill you makes a fighter
Footsteps even lighter
Doesn't mean I'm over cause you're gone
You tried to hold in your laugh as Peter struggled to figure out what to do with himself. You decided you tortured him enough so you walked back towards the stage.
What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, stronger
Just me, myself and I
What doesn't kill you makes you stronger
Stand a little taller
Doesn't mean I'm lonely when I'm alone
When the chorus was over you stopped at your dad and held him in a half hug with your arm around his waist.
Thanks to you I got a new thing started
Thanks to you I'm not the broken-hearted
Thanks to you I'm finally thinking about me
You know in the end the day you left was just my beginning
In the end…
Then you made your way back up the stage and yelled out before the chorus started again, “Alright everyone sing it with me!”
What doesn't kill you makes you stronger
Stand a little taller
Doesn't mean I'm lonely when I'm alone
What doesn't kill you makes a fighter
Footsteps even lighter
Doesn't mean I'm over cause you're gone
What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, stronger
Just me, myself and I
What doesn't kill you makes you stronger
Stand a little taller
Doesn't mean I'm lonely when I'm alone
It honestly sounded amazing with everyone joining in! Even Steve and Natasha were singing along, which you were quite surprised about. You were really hoping someone was videotaping this so you could watch it later. Everyone cheered when the song was over and you took a joking bow for your “crowd.”
Peter came up to you with some water, “Wow you are a natural.”
You let out an airy laugh, “Thanks, I’m used to doing it at every party.”
Sam had more people going up and singing, it was really funny to watch because a lot of them were drunk enough to volunteer to do it.
You managed to drag Pietro, Wanda, and Peter up there to sing Uptown Funk with you, which was actually really fun. Your dad embarrassingly sang Moves Like Jagger, but he did impressively well considering how much alcohol he already drank. Sam and Scott sang Wild Thoughts which was like a class A performance and comedy routine.
After a few more songs everyone sang happy birthday to you and indulged in the amazing cake Tony ordered for you. The party began to die down and by 12 people were beginning to head out.
Peter called it an early night and went to his room, while the rest of the Avengers and you sat around the living room. It was like old times before civil war.
“Hey remember how hard Tony was trying to pick up Thor’s hammer”, Clint brought up as he took a sip of beer.
“Who invited him?”, you dad joked defensively. “I don’t remember you being able to lift it either.”
“C’mon guys, that was so long ago”, Steve tried to change the subject with a laugh.
“It still happened”, Nat snickered before taking a drink.
“Hey how about we talk about something more important”, Sam suggested. “What’s up with you and spider boy”, Sam motioned at you.
“Me and him”, and nervously laughed.
“She-”, you tackled Pietro before he could say anything.
“I-I think he’s a cool guy”, you tried to cover up.
“Mhm, I bet Nat think’s Clint’s a cool guy too”, he motioned to Nat who was sitting on Clint’s lap.
“Alright, how about we not talk about my daughter being with another guy”, Tony said a little bothered.
“Tony, she’s going to be with someone eventually”, Clint tried to reason.
Tony quickly got up from his spot on the couch and started to walk out. “Nope, nope, not my little girl.”
The room fell silent and all eyes fell on you. You held back a frown and sighed, “Well thanks for that guys.”
“Hey, I’m sorry”, Sam apologized.
“It’s fine, Sam”, you got up from your spot on the floor. “I think I’m gonna just head to bed. Had a long day.”
The team all said their goodnights as you walked to your room. When you got back to your room you undressed and took a quick shower to wash away all the sweat from dancing. You were still frustrated from earlier, so you went up to the roof to clear your head.
You mumbled to yourself as you kicked some gravel, “freaking boys.” You let out a little annoyed shout and just fell to the ground so you could lay on your back. “I’m freaking 19 for fucks sake”, you grumbled to yourself. Suddenly you heard a noise behind the air conditioning unit. “Who’s there?”
Peter’s head popped up, “I’m so sorry. I was kinda here first, then you came up here so I felt weird leaving but I figured you wanted to be alone so I kinda just hid and-”
You stopped Peter from rambling anymore, “Peter it’s fine, why are you still awake?”
Peter walked over and took a seat next to you, “I just needed to think about stuff.”
You sat up concerned for your new friend. “Do you mind if I ask about what?”
“Well your dad-”, you cut Peter off again.
“What did my dad do”, you said ready to be angry.
“No, your dad offered me to be an Avenger.”
Your body relaxed, “Oh yeah, he told me how you surprisingly declined him.”
“Yeaaaah, maybe that was a mistake though”, Peter said with regret.
“You know, you’re insane”, you laughed and looked off at the black silhouettes of the the trees.
Peter laughed, “Why because I said no to your dad?”
“No because you were begging to be an Avenger and THEN you said no to my dad”, you laughed.
“Is he mad”, Peter was clearly worried.
“Nah, he handled the rejection with grace.”
“Oh thank goodness”, Peter let out a relieved sigh. “I just don’t know if I’m ready yet.”
“Why not”, you asked looking at him.
“I just-”, he shook his head not being able to get his words out. “I can’t leave Aunt May”, he paused, “and Ned.”
You gave him a sympathetic frown, “It’s okay, I know it must be hard.”
“I mean Ned’s going to college in the fall, so I guess I wouldn’t really see him anyway.”
“Well think of this as going to college then”, you suggested. “I’m sure my dad would be understanding.”
“But Aunt May”, he said sadly.
“I’m sure she was expecting you to go to college eventually, so you leaving for a couple months shouldn’t be a shocker to her.”
“Yeah I guess that makes sense.”
You nudged Peter playfully, “See, don’t close this door yet. You’re only an hour away from your Aunt at most, so you could visit her whenever you needed to.”
Peter pushed you back, “Thanks (Y/N).”
“No problem”, you smiled back while tucking a piece of hair behind your ear.
“So like are you an Avenger?”, he asked.
“Nah, I’m more of a SHIELD agent. I go on missions and stuff but I’m not an official Avenger”, you explained.
“Oh that’s cool, so you’re like legit”, he said all dramatically.
“Um heck yeah, I would show you my I.D. if I had it on me”, you shrugged acting all nonchalant.
“Oh well, then no proof it ain’t true”, Peter teased.
“I know 4 different languages, and have pretty much mastered 3 different martial arts. You’re telling me that you-”, Peter finished your sentence.
“Don’t think it’s true. Yes”, he smiled smugly at you.
“Oh I’ll show you!”, you pounced at the end of your sentence.
You caught Peter off guard and pinned him down to the ground, without even realizing you were currently straddling him. It only took you a minute to register the situation you had just put yourself in. Blush rose to your cheeks, and that’s when Peter decided to make his move. He grabbed your wrists and pushed himself up, till you were the one pinned to the ground.
A little “oof”, came out of your mouth as the unexpected landing made air escape your lungs.
“You seem a little distracted, (Y/N), what’s on your mind?’, he taunted you.
Your chest rose and fell, as all you could only manage to say, “You.”
This time you didn’t waste a second to kiss him. You pushed yourself up enough to feel his soft lips against yours. Peter let go of your hands and put one behind your head as support. You wrapped your fingers in his sand colored curls and deepened the long awaited kiss.
You were surprised when Peter was the one to move his mouth against yours first. Your lips moved in sync with each other’s and you could feel the heat rising to your cheeks every second you felt Peter move his body closer to yours.
You gasped at the feeling he gave you as he grind his hips against yours. The make out intensified, and it was like you guys couldn’t get close enough to each other as you continued to grab onto one another’s clothing wanting nothing more than for it to be off.
You pulled away and took a deep breath of much needed air. “Wanna move this to my room?”
“Yeah”, Peter shook his head eagerly.
“Okay, I’ll go down first just in case anyone is downstairs, then I’ll open my window and you can crawl in.”
He helped you up and you dusted the dirt off your clothes. “I’ll see you in a bit”, you winked and left Peter to anxiously wait for your signal.
The sun was just peaking over the buildings when you shuffled into the kitchen, still in your pajamas and eyes half open. “Is that coffee, Clint?” you asked groggily. “I’d kill for coffee. Literally.”
“You look like you need it,” he said, and you sat down at the bar as he reached back into the cupboard for a second mug. The kitchen fell silent as he poured the coffee and you rested your chin against your palm, letting your eyes drift closed. “How long has it been since you’ve slept through the night, baby?"Clint asked as he sat beside you, setting the mug next to your elbow.
"A while,” you answered vaguely, wrapping your hands around the mug.
“How long?” he asked again.
“I’m not really sure. It feels like I haven’t slept in ages,” you finally relented, sipping your coffee and flinching when it burned your tongue.
Clint sighed and took the mug away from you, setting it on the counter beside his own. He took your hands in his and pulled you from the stool where you sat, leading you through your small apartment to the couch Tony had bought when you had first moved in together. “Baby,” he said quietly, and your worry woke you faster than your alarm had in weeks, “I feel you sneak from bed. It’s been weeks since you’ve stayed through the night.”
“It’s nothing, Clint,” you said, desperate to avoid the conversation you’d been dreading from the moment the nightmares began.
“Nothing?” he asked, raising his eyebrows and grinning as he easily caught your lie. “It took you three shots to hit the target during training yesterday.”
“That target was was smaller than most snipers can hit at 250 meters,” you argued. “Of course it took a few shoots to hit it at 750!”
“Baby, I’ve seen you make that shot hundreds of times and you never had to take a second shot.” Clint shook his head, taking your hands again and raising them to press soft kisses to your knuckles. “I don’t want to fight with you, baby,” he paused to kiss your hand again and you spoke before he could continue.
“You’re right,” you admitted quietly. “The nightmares started a few weeks ago. I didn’t want to bother you with something so…trivial.”
A sad smile crossed Clint’s face and he pulled you onto his lap, kissing you gently. “Baby, you are never a bother and nothing in your life will ever be trivial to me. I love you.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” You said, pinching the bridge of your nose.
You knew better than to leave Clint by himself while he was sick and loaded on Nyquil.
He tended to do things his normal self wouldn’t, some of the things he has done in the past were quite ridiculous. But, well, this one takes the cake.
He was up in the rafters of the Avenger’s training room, holding a jar of pickles in one hand, and his bow in the other. And from what Natasha had told you, he apparently had been firing exploding arrows around. Thank God it seemed he ran out.
”What are you doing, Clint.” You called up.
He looked at you, blinks, and then clutched the pickles to his chest. “I’m protecting ma pickles.” He slurred.
You sighed. “Please come down before you fall.”
”No!”
”I swear I will call the fire department!” You roared.
”I’ll fight ‘em off!” Clint shouted, swinging his bow around and nearly falling off his perch.
You sighed again. This was getting you no where, time to switch to plan B.
”If you come down, I will let you have some of the cake I was baking earlier.”
Clint paused for a moment, before slowly climbing down. “I would’ve fought ‘em, y’know.” He said, slumping against you.
”Yes, Clint.” You said. “I know.”
$$$
For @angelstaruniverse
Prompted by our fun little chat while I was sick. Thanks for dealing with me! Lmao.
Summary: Clint makes it his mission to win you over. He succeeds, but you don’t believe in marriage. Can the two of you stay together without the promise of wedding bells in the future? What about when the two of you are forced to go undercover as a married couple?
Word Count: 1615
Warnings: Civil War spoilers, sarcasm, it gets real dark and real angsty. Platonic Tony/Rhodey feels
Author’s Note: The end, and this is all for Kate, @emilyevanston She loves birbs.
Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 5 / Part 6 / Part 7 / Part 8 / Part 9 / Part 10 / Part 11 /
It’d taken most of the ride to the drop point for you to convince Clint that you’d be okay going in by yourself. He was reluctant to leave you alone so soon after you had finally been able to communicate again. Especially when he knew that you’d been having some a hard time in your own isolated cell.
“You're not going to lose me, I promise.” You tell him, as you sign ‘I love you.’ He quickly signs it back, before pulling you into him for a deep kiss.
“We're at the drop zone,” Steve calls back, and you separate from Clint. You grab the flying squirrel pack that you're going to use for your jump.
“To be continued.” You say slowly and deliberately so Clint can read your lips, as you sign ‘I love you’ to him again. You turn quickly and run off the end of the deck. It took some fun maneuvering around trees to land just outside detection by Vision. The rest of this was up to you.
You skirted around the outside of the bubble that you knew Vision was able to detect. You needed to get down into the tunnels, but the clock would start ticking the second you got inside. The air was still and quiet until the leaves started to rustle. You turned and found yourself face to mask, with Iron Man.
“Tony, are you in there? I could really use to talk to you. Right here, right now.” You say, and the face mask peels away so you can talk to Tony.
“First, how's Rhodes doing?” You ask, shifting your weight on your feet. Tony shakes his head.
“Cut the crap, (Y/N). Why are you here and why shouldn't I turn you back over to the Raft, right now?” Tony snaps at you, and you'd been pretty prepared for that.
“For one, because of the absolute arcane torture, they were putting me through with that paraplegic treatment they had me under. You should know better than anyone at this current moment how fucking crappy that feels. How helpless you are.
Then we have the matter of this mess. The Avengers are a family. And a Zemo was able to come between us, with a few words and carefully conducted bombings.” Tony starts to open his mouth to argue with you but you cut him off.
“I'm not finished. Yes, Steve is partially at fault for this. But so are you, sweetie. The Avengers are a gray area. And the two of you made this about absolutes. Did you read the accords? Because there was so messed up shit in there.
Like you know how on the Raft, they wanted to take my L1. It was a condition in the accords. I would have had to have signed them and come back had I wanted to keep the use of my legs. Did you catch that one?” You ask, and you can see that you're getting somewhere.
“I'd be missing a vertebra, Tony. The normal hospitals can't deal with that sci-fi shit. Do you know where'd the leave me? In a medically induced coma, until the common folks science could catch up. You wanna talk about bullshit. Do you know what that would have done to Clint? You had better because you're feeling it right now, with an awake and hopefully recovering Rhodey.
Now, what about the twins. They wanted to have Wanda registered as a weapon of mass destruction. Wanted to have her put in some sort of shock collar like she had at the Raft. Sweet little innocent Wanda.
And Pietro, I know the two of you were still working towards forgiveness. But Pietro saved my life, and they wanted to put him in special concrete shoes that were literally sewn into his feet. They didn't go that far on the Raft, but he was pretty much restrained the same as me. Just with an added electrical current to suppress his powers.
Those Accords were a shitshow, Tony. Come on, you have to see it. Let us come home. Work on rebuilding our family again.” Sure it wasn't exactly a well planned out speech. But it'd do better than nothing. Tony quirks an eyebrow at you.
“Oh, are you done now?” He asks, and you suppose that you deserved that reaction. Instead of saying anything, you just nod.
“First off, not my Accords. I can't just let you come back especially after the shit you guys just pulled on the Raft.
Second off, do you know what your Captain and his best old buddy did? What they knew and didn't tell me? He killed them. Obadiah almost killed me because of him.” It's clear that Tony is emotional. You knew that you would be too. But there's another way to look at this.
“Okay, Tones. Let me start by saying that I'm sorry for your loss. I know that finding this out restarts the stages of grief, and it can't be easy on top of everything else.
But, why don't we look at this from another angle? You remember how angry you were when you realized that Obadiah had been manipulating you. You changed your whole company after that.
Now, you've got Bucky. He's been ‘saved' by HYDRA after falling from a train. They immediately start working on manipulating him, using the fact that they had saved his life for their own sick and twisted agenda.
He was made into a weapon. He's trying to find himself again. Shouldn't you try and give him a second chance? Just like you deserved to be given a second chance.
And yes, I understand we're fugitives and shit. But this is Ross. The very same Ross that would have killed Banner years ago, had he gotten his way.
So, I do understand if you can't just invite us back. But, try and open your heart at least.” You finish, you'd been watching Tony's face, and you could see the exact moment when he realized what you were saying. The sickening realization that swept over his face for the briefest of moments, before he made his face blank.
“You're right. Savor that, I don't admit to those things often. And I do want to stick it to Ross, but I can't let you guys come back.” Tony says, and you give him a sad smile.
“I understand, give Rhodey my best.” You say, turning to take off.
“Can you tell them that I'm sorry. Maybe coming from you they'll believe it more.” Tony says, and you nod.
“Of course, take care of yourself. Call us if you need us.” You say, and take off running through the trees.
When you got to the pick-up point, you weren't alone. You were tired, your legs and back hurt. Your lungs had protested the lazy pace you'd done for the two-mile run. You just wanted to put your feet up, and wait for the boys to come pick you back up. But you couldn't because you were being watched.
You silently crept around the perimeter, not finding anyone. You kept your senses on high alert, as you pushed the door open and went into the tiny one-room cottage. You caught a glimpse of a back out of the corner of your eye and moved to attack before you stopped.
“Clint?! What are you doing here? I was going to take you down.” You sign to him, and he quickly apologizes. Tapping his ears to let you know his has hearing aids in. He grabs your wrist and pulls you into him.
“Don't ever scare me like that again, you idiot.” You tell him, as you pretty much collapse into his arms.
“It's so good to hear your voice again. Even if you did just call me an idiot.” He says, sweeping you off your feet. In a couple of steps, he's set you down on the bed.
“But you're my idiot. I married you, remember.” You tease, grabbing him by the collar and pulling him down to you.
“That was probably a stupid decision really.” Clint jokes, as he carefully crawls into the bed behind you.
“Can we just - Okay bear with me for a moment here. We just got off the Raft, you just got your ears back, and I just got my feet back. I missed you. I missed everything. So can we just stay here for a bit all tangled together so I know this is real, and not just a dream.” You admit softly. Sure you'd been retired for the better part of a year, but the hardwired need to be strong and made of steel all the time was still there.
“Hey, look at me. We're safe, we're here. We're on the run, but you're never going to lose me. We're married, remember?” Clint says as he rolls you to face him. He runs his hands down over your back, as your legs become intertwined. You press your face into his neck and just breath in the scent of your archer.
You were woken up by a large hand, shaking you. Your eyes finally train in on Steve, and you work to untangle yourself from your archer.
“Sorry, Cap. It didn't quite work as I had planned it to. Tony sends his apologies, though.” You say, moving to sit up. Your back is sore, and your legs are a little wobbly as you stand up.
“It's alright, (Y/N). I didn't expect to be able to go home. This'll just be the end of the line for a little bit.” Steve says as the three of you head out for the quinjet. Wakanda would just have to be your home for now.
Summary: Clint makes it his mission to win you over. He succeeds, but you don’t believe in marriage. Can the two of you stay together without the promise of wedding bells in the future? What about when the two of you are forced to go undercover as a married couple?
Word Count: 2092
Warnings: Civil War spoilers, sarcasm, it gets real dark and real angsty.
Author’s Note: One more part y’all.
Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 5 / Part 6 / Part 7 / Part 8 / Part 9 /
Your phone made a squawking noise, and you answered it without looking at the screen. “Yeah, Steve. We’re already on it. No, you don’t. You didn’t have to ask, it’s alright.” You say, cutting Steve off several times. You finish mixing the chemicals in front of you and take off in the direction of the compound. There’s a loud explosion behind you.
“What was that?” Steve asks you, clearly worried. “My cue, I have to go.” You tell him quickly, shoving your phone into a pocket in your suit. You drop down into one of the secret tunnels into the compound and make your way to Pietro’s room. It takes you seconds to lockpick the door, and you turn the handle.
“Pietro, kiddo. I’m so sorry.” You say as you walk into his room. He picks his head up off the bed, looking at you for a moment before he is in front of you hugging you tightly.
“It’s not your fault, (Y/N). You couldn’t have possibly predicted this when you left for a life of normalcy.” He says as you rub his back.
“Are you doing alright, otherwise?” You ask, and he gives you a subtle nod. “Then let’s go get your sister.” You tell him, and his answer is to pick you up and run you to the common living area. It’s not a feeling you're sure you could ever get used to.
The two of you make it into the room in time to see Clint slipping from Vision’s grasp and falling to the floor. You’re at his side in an instant, your hand on the small of his back as he looks up at Wanda, as she causes Vision to fall to his knees. She stands over top of him and then he’s falling through the floor and several of the floors below it.
“Hey, kiddo.” You say, giving Wanda a hug. Clint nods at Pietro. “Come on, we’ve got another stop to make.” He says.
You’d had to stop to pick up one Scott Lang, the actual embodiment of a puppy. He and Pietro sat and talked a thousand miles a minute, from the time you picked up the man. Clint had taken out his hearing aides after twenty minutes, and you wished that you could turn off your ears. But you were driving and that would have been a hazard.
Steve had asked you to meet him in an isolated parking garage, and you’d been sitting and waiting for a good twenty minutes before a teeny little beetle pulled up. To say that it was a bit like watching clowns spill out of a car at the circus would have been making it an understatement.
“So, that’s the beefcake boyfriend Steve was hung up on. No wonder why he wanted to find him.” You signed to Clint, and he chuckled. What you weren’t expecting was for the flesh and metal hands to start signing back to you.
“I prefer Bucky, thank you.” He signs finger spelling out Bucky. He holds out his flesh hand to you. You give him a sheepish smile and shook it.
“Sorry, should have known better. Been out of the game for a minute. Made me a little rusty.” You say, and Bucky shakes his head. Clint pulls open the door to the van, and Scott tumbles out still talking a mile a minute.
“What time zone is this?” He asks, giving you a look. You glance around for a moment. “I’d wager a bet that this is about the UTC time zone, so it’s GMT +1.” He looks from you around the people and pales as he sees Steve. He has an awkward fanboy moment, and you talk for a moment before an alarm goes off.
“Suit up,” Steve says, quickly going over a plan A and B for what’s about to happen. Basically outlining, that he’s going to draw out Tony and whoever else he roped into his side.
It started with Tony shooting the helicopter with an EMP of some kind. You’d been preparing for that inevitability, as the Iron Man suit swooped down with War Machine close behind him. Then the Black Panther jumped in over the helicopter. Stark’s team was just coming out of the woodwork, as Natasha joined in. For the moment, they were just trying to talk sense. But you could see the expression in Tony’s eyes from where you were waiting.
“Underoos,” Tony calls out, and there’s a red and blue blur that you hadn’t been expecting. From your intel, the Spiderkid was just that. A kid, a fifteen-year-old who had no business being here in the middle of this mess. Tony just kept getting more worked up, and if you ever got the chance to talk to him again. You were going to beat some sense into him. It seemed the only thing working on your side was the numbers.
Steve and Pietro went after the Black Panther, Cap throwing his shield. Pietro running past him and knocking him off balance. War Machine tried to take them over, and you lost track of them as you went to help Scott with Nat.
“Thought you were retired.” She says as she lands a kick to your ribs. You shrug as you sweep her feet out from under her. “We got tired of playing golf. You know how it is.” You say, as Pietro runs past and takes you with him.
You’ve all gathered back up to try and get to the quinjet when Vision makes his big entrance. Searing a literal line in the asphalt in front of the eight of you. It’s a general mess. There’s fighting everywhere, several times you lose track of Clint. Sometimes you wind up with him, fighting almost back to back. It’s clear that most of you will be caught, but you need to be able to get someone. Steve, and Bucky at the very least to take down this bigger threat.
Scott winds up reversing the tech on his suit and sizing up instead of down. You try your best to help out where needed, but you’re struggling. The fight is only getting worse, ramping up. Spiderling, Iron Man and War Machine are able to knock down Scott. Who knocks down, and out the Spiderkid. It’s looking better for your side, and the quinjet is taking off. But the fight isn’t over yet.
You’re forced to watch as Vision aims for Sam’s wings, and hits War Machine instead. He plummets, and you can hear through the comms the chaos going on. You quickly pull your phone, using it to tap into Tony’s helmet, just before War Machine hits the ground.
“Don’t touch him, Tony. I know you want to but listen to me. Don’t do it.” You plead, and Tony touches down seconds after him. “Remember what I went through. Don’t move him.” You say as Pietro runs you over to them. You hear Tony asking FRIDAY for his vitals, as Sam touches down with you. Tony is on his feet in an instant, aiming his repulsors as Sam, before turning them on you. Neither shot lands because of Pietro.
“Hey, the fuck do you think you’re doing?” You ask him, stomping over in front of him. “Did you forget that I shattered my L1 in Sokovia. These things happen in our line of work. It was an accident, and Sam tried to catch him, the same as you. Don’t take your fear out on us. Call Dr. Cho.” You say the last part to Vision, who’s now landed with the rest of your group.
You knew that you were in trouble, but you hadn’t been expecting to get the Ritz treatment of villains. They’d separated you from Clint and had taken his hearing aides so you couldn’t even talk to him. They had also made it abundantly clear that you were pretty much confined to your bed. When you had woken up in a straight jacket, with your legs tied down. You weren’t able to see much of anything except for the incredibly boring gray ceiling of your cell.
“You had a life outside of this Barton, with (Y/N). Why didn’t you think of that before you chose the wrong side?” Tony spits, and you let out a harsh laugh.
“Yeah, (Y/N) who they won’t let walk now. Threatened several times to take out the artificial L1 vertebra. Said it was government property, and criminals don’t get those kinda resources. You ever think about that Tony.” Clint hisses, saving you from having to do any talking yourself. They hadn’t removed it, but they certainly wanted to. You were the bottom of the barrel now, scum that didn’t deserve the multi-million dollar piece of equipment keeping your spine intact.
“Clint. It’s alright. He’s not worth it.” You say even though you know he can't hear you, as you hear footfalls making their way over to where you think your cell is positioned. “How’s Rhodey doing?” You ask, as there’s a buzzing noise, and then some scraping. The bed dips by one of your legs and Tony leans into your field of view.
“They’re moving him to Columbia Medical tomorrow.” He says before he leans down. “I’m going to try and talk them down from this. It seems a little over the top. Dr. Cho said that his injuries are more severe than your’s were.” He whispers into your ear.
“I’m sorry, Tony. I know what it feels like.” You tell him, and he moves his hands in a deliberate fashion. Showing you that he’s messing with their surveillance footage. Then he shows you a picture of a body in a bathtub.
“That’s the real doctor, and let me say this. I was wrong. Tell me where he is.” Tony says, and you shake your head, as you hear a snort.
“Go to Hell, Stark. That’s where you’ll find him.” Pietro growls, and Tony clicks around on his watch again. This time shutting down the surveillance altogether. He unhooks your feet, and you circle them. Trying not to show any emotions.
“Go as a friend, or not at all.” You say, bending your knees and sitting up, now that he’s unstrapped your jacket from the bed as well. “Go ahead Sam, tell him.” You say as you take some time to stretch our your limbs. You know that he’ll have to strap you back down before he leaves, and you need to savor this while it lasts.
“I’m really sorry about this. But you know, when the system kicks back in.” Tony says, and you nod lying back down as he straps you back in. Sam tells Tony where to find them, and that’s the end of the visit.
Nothing happens, you’re still in restraints that are overkill for the fact that you’re just a mere mortal. They still have to feed you and make you feel like you’re just a blob of a human being. You can feel that darkness from before start to creep back in, you start to sleep more. There’s nothing that you can do when you’re physically unable to move. The waking world, the gray ceiling, too harsh for you.
“It’s time to get up now. I’m getting you guys out of here.” It’s Steve’s voice, but he sounds different. Tired almost. There’s another beat before a clattering noise. Then you see Clint’s face over yours, as he works with a desperate need to get you out of your restraints. The second you’re free, you throw yourself into his arms. Burying your face in his neck.
“Come on guys, we gotta get out of here,” Steve says, as Clint helps you to your feet.
“Where are we going to go, Cap?” You ask, as you survey the twins, Scott, and Sam. “Because, I need to say something that’s going to sound stupid. And you’re not allowed to judge me because you speak fluent idiot. I need to go speak with Tony.” You both say and sign, although your signing is slower than it used to be. Because your hands aren’t used to moving anymore.
“T’Challa has granted us sanctuary on Wakanda. We’ll drop you outside the compound on the way there. Then circle back to get you at a rendezvous point. Play this smart, (Y/N).” Steve says, his voice in full Captain America mode.
“Don’t worry, Cap. If this goes the way I want it too, we won’t need Wakanda.” You tell him, and Steve gives you one of the Captain’s curt nods.
