Chapter 10
Chapter 10
Clint woke up to a massive headache. He winced and groaned as he brought his palm up to his head and started to rub out the ache that was radiating from it. He slowly became aware of the soft cushions beneath his body as well as the constant beeping of some monitor that only managed to aggravate his migraine. Slowly he pushed himself up and he realized he was in the medical bay they had at the Avengers compound. “Great,” he muttered under his breath as he swung his legs off of the bed.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Rhodey’s voice called to him and he realized that the man in question was standing in the doorway. “You were out for almost a whole day, Barton. We were worried you weren’t going to wake up.”
“Yeah, well, who’s fault is that?” he asked, rolling out his shoulders, “I mean, you were the one to shoot me with a tranq gun.”
“It was only supposed to knock you out for a few hours. Dr. Cho said the reason you were still out was because your body was finally getting a chance to recover. Seriously, Barton, do you just not sleep?”
“Can’t afford to sleep,” he replied with annoyance evident in his tone. “I told you I wasn’t coming back here. I’m not an Avenger anymore.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know, but before you make your decision I think you need to talk to someone.”
“If it’s Nat or Cap…”
Rhodey shook his head. “Natasha is taking care of some business in the city and Steve went to tell Wilson’s family about what happened.”
Clint’s eyes narrowed as Rhodey stepped into the room, clearing the doorway for another person to step in. When he saw who it was he let out a breath he hadn’t realized he had been holding. “Tony,” he breathed out.
The man looked like shit, and Clint would know. He was thin and frail and looked like he would fall over if he didn’t have the cane in his right hand. “Hey, Clint.”
“ Hey, man.”
“You look like shit.”
Clint managed a small laugh as those four words seem to ease whatever tension Clint was feeling as he stared at his friend. “Yeah, well, you try getting captured and tortured by the Yakuza and see how you’re doing afterwards,” Clint jested back, “but even I can see I’m still much better off than you are.”
“Yeah, well, that’s what happens when you get a moon thrown at you and then you’re stranded in outer space for a month. Ten out of ten, don’t recommend.” Tony took a few more steps inside before looking over at Rhodes. “This is going to be pretty awkward already without you being here so do you mind if we…”
“You sure about this, Tony?”
“Yeah, totally sure. If we need you, FRIDAY will sound the alarm.” Rhodey seemed pretty apprehensive about leaving the two of them alone but in the end he just nodded and left the room. With Rhodey gone Clint realized how much more nervous he had become. “Look, Tony, I… “
“Save it, Barton,” Tony said quickly, cutting him off as he sat down in the closest chair he could find, “We were both rather ugly the last time we saw each other.”
Tony was fidgety. Clint could easily see that. What some people might take as just his body still recovering Clint knew was tony feeling nervous about something. “They told me what happened…about Laura and the Hawklings…”
Clint swallowed the lump in his throat, his eyes looking down at the blanket covering his legs. “And I’m sure you’re probably hearing it, so I won’t say it. What I will say though is…I get it. I get the whole anger and wanting to throw your rage at the most logical conclusion because if you don’t let it out you can’t find any peace. I think out of everyone here, I get it the most.”
It didn’t take long for Clint to figure out what Tony was talking about. “You’re talking about Gulmira.”
Tony nodded. It was small, but it was there and Clint caught it. “I’m not going to sit here and tell you that what you’re doing is wrong and that you shouldn’t do it or that your family wouldn’t want you to or whatever else I’m sure Rhodes or Captain Righteousness has told you several times over. I know how stubborn you can be and honestly, it’s not fair because I thought I was supposed to be the problem child in this ragtag group of misfits.”
Clint did chuckle a bit and it was probably the most he had smiled or laughed since the farm. “Everyone grieves differently. And that’s the difference between them and guys like us. They were soldiers. They’re used to loss. And say what you will about your spy life but you and me, we can’t just move on. After watching the people we care about most just disappear in front of our eyes and not being able to do anything about it…”
When Tony’s voice hitched in his throat, Clint knew that Tony wasn’t admitting something. “Who?” he asked gently.
Tony sucked in a deep breath and Clint thought Tony would have fallen over with how deep it was. “The kid. Spiderman. You met him ever so briefly in Germany on that air strip. His actual name is Peter Parker and he was sixteen years old.”
Tony’s laugh was hollow as he shook his head. “It’s not fair,” he continued, “This whole world isn’t fair. We lost. We lose and fail the world, yet we are the ones who get to stay here and live. It shouldn’t have been them….”
“It should have been us,” Clint finished with a nod. How many times had Clint had only wished that it had been him to get dusted instead of his family? That it was his family here instead of him. Tony seemed to agree with him. “As much as that purple guy said it was random, I think he chose to spare us so we could live with our failure. Seems like a supervillain thing to do.”
There was an awkward pause that fell between them as Clint waited to see what Tony was going to say or do. Or if he was going to say or do anything. “You know I can’t stay, Tony,” Clint said, breaking the silence.
“I know. And I don’t expect you to. God knows I’m not.” When Tony noticed the quizzical look on Clint’s face, he started to explain. “As soon as I get healthy and medically cleared, Pepper and I are moving further upstate. I bought this cabin back after Ultron after seeing you and your family and your farm and I wanted something like that for myself. A place for Pepper and me to get away to and escape the craziness of the superhero life. I'm taking a page out of your book, although I don’t expect to break my retirement as often as you do. You’ve…what? Retired like six times and yet you keep coming back?”
Again, Clint found himself chuckling at his words. “It always seems like a good idea until someone makes that one phone call and you find yourself itching to get back to work.”
“Well, I hope I can avoid that. Especially now with Pepper….” Tony paused, looking at Clint’s face with a look Clint could only describe as guilt. “Well…now that Pepper is pregnant.”
A mixture of emotions swept over Clint. Happiness for his friend definitely was at the forefront of his mind but it was hard not to feel a twinge of jealousy. “Congratulations, man. How far along?”
“Seven weeks, so it’s still early. Just after losing the kid, I can’t afford to lose her or this second chance. I know it’s not fair, especially because you…”
Clint held up a hand to stop him. “Don’t. I’m happy for you, Tony. I really am.”
Tony seemed to smirk as he reached into his pocket. “Well, I fully expect you to be around for the wedding and for the birth. I could use some parenting tips and I know our kid could really use their Uncle Clint. So, I want you to have this.”
From his pocket Tony pulled out a cell phone and handed it to him. “I took the liberty of taking out any GPS location services and it connects via Stark Tech satellites so completely untraceable. There’s only three numbers in there: mine, obviously, Pepper’s in case you can’t get a hold of me, and Natasha’s. And the only reason I put her number in there is because I do not feel like getting my throat slit in the middle of the night because Natasha found out I didn’t give you a means to contact her in case you really needed it."
Clint took the phone. “I appreciate it, Tony.”
“Don’t mention it. Literally. Rhodey will kill me if he found out about this. He thinks I’m in here trying to talk you out of going on this vigilante spree thing.”
“Why aren’t you?”
“For many reasons. Your stubbornness is one of them. I don’t like talking to brick walls. But also, as a soon-to-be-father, I know I will feel a bit better knowing that there’s at least one person out there making sure that the criminals of the world are second-guessing whether or not it’s a good idea to take advantage of what’s happened. Not that I’m condoning your behavior or even saying that I approve because, legally speaking I can’t with the Accords, but…well, I think you get the idea.”
Tony carefully stood up from his seat, using his cane as leverage. “Don’t be a stranger. I’ll make sure Pepper saves you a seat at the table whenever you want to drop by. Just make sure to give us a head’s up your on your way. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a very long nap to be taking.”
He made it a few steps when Clint called out, “Hey, Tony.”
Tony paused and slowly turned to face Clint. “Thank you.”
“No need to thank me. Just don’t get yourself killed in the process. I’ve already lost enough friends.”
Tony exited the room moments later. When he was gone Clint swung his legs off the bed and went to stand up when the phone vibrated. It was a text.
Give me two days and then we’ll get you out of here. – T
Clint laughed and shook his head as he replied.
And here I thought that was your sorry excuse for a goodbye. – C
TBC…