The Girl at the Circus
By: Hogwartswonderland
A/N: I have posted this story before, back when the very first Avengers movie had come out. At the time I had no clue what direction they would take Clint in, but I never expected what I wrote to be similar to where his character ended up! So, in honor of that I decided to alter some of the details from my original story and change the entire last half to reflect what we saw in AoU. Please let me know what you think!
They had completed their latest mission and he is sitting on the rooftop of their hotel, doing what he always does after missions, thinking of her.
She laughed as she ran away from him with his bow. Her ankle length, chocolate brown hair swayed as she turned her head to see if he was behind her. It was a ritual for her to take his bow after every show. At first, he hated it… and her.
She was the new ringmaster's daughter and her long hair, bright hazel eyes and infectious smile annoyed him to no end. She was dubbed 'Rapunzel' for her acrobatic act and her trademark lengthy hair. No one quite knew what her real name was.
Anyway, when her father first took over, Rapunzel decided that it would be fun to take his bow and hide it. Clint was very possessive of his bow and hated when she took it. He threatened her, took her paint supplies and even hid her late mother's ring from her. Yet nothing stopped her. After a while, Clint even found himself enjoying it. And he found himself changing is attitude towards her. Once upon a time, he would hate to hear her laugh. Now, he finds himself craving to hear it. Also, he used to hate her 'stupid long hair'. As of late he has found himself admiring how it shines when the light hits it. He, Clint Barton, had a crush on Rapunzel.
"You are thinking about her again, aren't you?" a soft voice spoke up from the shadows.
Clint doesn't say anything. He already knows that she knows the answer to her question.
Natasha Romanoff had become accustomed to finding her partner thinking about the only girl he has loved in high places after their missions. She remembers when he first showed her a picture of them, right after their mission on Budapest.
Natasha found her partner on a random rooftop in Budapest. She knew that after the mission they completed, he was bound to be very vulnerable to his memories. She sat next to him, not saying a word. She knew he would talk when he was ready.
"Do you want to see a picture of her?"
Natasha nodded. She had heard a little about 'Rapunzel' from Clint, but it was only basic information. She knew that Rapunzel was the ringmaster's daughter, she had pretty long hair and that she always stole Clint's bow.
Clint took out an old Polaroid picture that had many creases due to being folded and unfolded many times. The ends were slightly discolored and fray from the elements. Clint unfolded it with care and handed it to Natasha. When she saw the photograph, she saw a different side of her partner.
In the picture, Clint was dressed in a dark purple muscle shirt that had a hawk emblem on the front. Other than his smaller muscles and the lack of lines on his face, Clint looked no different. It was the girl next to him that left Natasha surprised. Rapunzel was very striking. She had defined cheekbones, dimples, sparkling hazel eyes and plump lips. Her blinding smile revealed pearly white teeth that had a small gap in between the front two. Her hair was everything Clint said it to be. It was thick and pin strait with a lustrous shine to the rich dark chocolate color. Even though the photo showed the top half of their bodies, you could tell that her hair was exceptionally long due to how it was draped over her shoulders.
"She is beautiful, Clint" Natasha commented, handing her partner back the precious picture.
Clint smiled and stared at the picture fondly. Just looking at it, he could remember when he and Rapunzel would talk about their future: leaving the circus, finding normal jobs, getting married and having kids. He always imagined having a little boy with her dark hair, dimples and his eyes and teaching him to shoot a toy bow and arrow.
"Clint?" Natasha whispered?
He turned to her.
"Can you tell me more about her?"
Clint looks down at the city below and shakes his head. Even though he and Natasha have been partners for 3 years, he can't bring himself to talk about her.
"Clint? You need to talk about her at some point. You can't continue on like this. I thought I have earned your trust by this point."
Clint looks up at Natasha and nods. He knows that she is right, and he can't hold back with details of his life from his partner. It isn't fair to Natasha. Phil told him the same thing. Natasha takes the seat next to him. Clint dives right into his tale.
"It started when I was eighteen and she was sixteen. We finally decided that it was time to leave the circus. Together."
"Clint!" Rapunzel whisper harshly at the archer, trying to get his attention.
Clint, who was waiting for his turn to do his act, turned to his secret girlfriend.
"What?" he whispered, looking back at her.
"We need to leave. Tonight"
The young archer looks around cautiously before walking over to his girlfriend. He wraps her body in his muscular arms and stokes her hair.
"What's wrong? Why do we need to leave early?"
Rapunzel looks up to Clint and says that last thing he ever suspected.
"I'm pregnant."
Clint doesn't say anything. He stares into his girlfriend's eyes than brings his large hands to her stomach. He then smiles.
"We are going to be parents?"
The sixteen-year-old nods her head. "I know that it isn't convenient, with having to go through all the troubles of leaving plus having to worry about a baby, but I can't help but feel so excited!"
He smiles at her enthusiasm then frowns.
"What's wrong, Clint?"
"Do you have everything thing you need with you?"
"Yes. Why do you ask?"
"Stay here and wait until I come get you. I have a plan."
Rapunzel opens her mouth to speak but then closes it. She has confidence in him and knows that his plan will work. The couple part and go back to their previous positions and prepare for their escape. They will have plenty time to be a family, after all.
"So, she was pregnant?" Natasha asks. "What happened?"
Clint smiles faintly at the memory and pulls out another picture. This one seems more recent, yet still seems to be littered with creases from be folded up. He hands it to the ex-Russian spy. She looks at it closely. A younger version of Clint is sitting on the edge of a hospital bed with his arms wrapped around a petite woman who looks familiar. She recognizes the girl as Rapunzel. Except this time, her hair is in a braid; she is dressed in a hospital gown and is red and sweaty. Yet, she seems all the more beautiful. That's when she looks down to what she is holding. There is a small bundle of baby blue blankets in her arms. A baby's sleeping face with tufts of dark hair is seen peeking out.
Natasha looks at her partner in surprise. That itself is a shock considering that she is a top spy and she has known Clint for a while. Then again, it was obvious from the start that he is protective of his lost love. It would make sense that he wouldn't open up about the son he shared with her.
"You have a son?"
Clint still staring at the city below, says, "Cooper. Cooper William Barton."
"Is Rapunzel…" Natasha starts to ask before stopping herself. She knows that Barton telling her that he has a son is hard enough for him. She doesn't want to push information out of him.
"Rapunzel is his mother. Her real name was Laura Casella. Well, it was Casella until we got married."
Natasha takes a moment to take it all in. This is the first time that Clint has openly talked about Rapunzel-Laura, Natasha minds supplies- since their mission in Budapest. She realizes that Barton knows everything about her, but she never knew everything about him, and she respected that because she respected him. Clint opening up about his family is an enormous step for the two of them.
"Why are you telling me all of this now?"
Hawkeye looks at Black Widow for a moment before looking back at the landscape.
"I trust you."
"What happened to Laura and Cooper?"
Clint sighs and turns back to the red-haired woman.
"A year after Will was born, the circus crew found us, and while I was able to take them out, it put me on SHIELDS radar. And it wasn't in a good way. They said I either join them and make a decent living, or they would hunt me down no matter where I ran. I didn't want Laura or my son to have to run anymore. They deserved a proper home. So, I agreed to work for SHIELD, but my price was that they would keep Laura and my son safe. They currently live off the grid at a farm I bought. Nobody besides, Fury, Coulson, and now you know about them."
"Clint…"
"I get to visit them every once in a while." Clint interrupts. "Next time, you should come with me. They would like you."
Natasha looks at him in disbelief. He wanted her to meet his wife and son? Natasha sighs and pinches the bridge of her nose. She has always said that love is for children, but she can't help but feel love for Barton. He is the older brother she never had. As much as she hates to admit it, he is her family.
"I would love to."
Clint smirks at her.
"Good. We leave to visit them tomorrow."
Out in the middle of nowhere, USA, a nondescript black compact car drove down the two-lane highway that was surrounded by miles of farmland. Inside the vehicle was a young woman with short, red curly hair. She stared out the window with a blank expression as her companion, a middle-aged man with sandy hair and sunglasses sang along to the country music station as he drove. If it weren't the fact that the two have been partners at work for over 5 years, he would never have suspected that she was anything but calm. But as it was not the case, he knew that on the inside she was terrified.
"Stop worrying about it Natasha," Clint said, turning down the volume of the radio.
Natasha turned and glared at her companion. "I'm not worrying. I am just taking not of my surroundings." Clint laughed but rolled his eye at the red-head's defensive response. She thinks she can still trick him, but she doesn't realize that he knows her better than that by now.
"Sure you are," he snorted in disbelief. He then turned serious. "But seriously, they are going to love you. Laura alone is grateful for how many times you have pulled my ass out of danger. She always says that you deserve a bonus for having to put up with me all the time."
Natasha smirked at that. It seems like Mrs. Barton doesn't have blinders when it comes to her husbands reckless behavior. Hopefully, that was a good sign that she would get along with the woman. "Sounds like a smart woman."
"She is." Clint grinned goofily. If it weren't for the fact that he seems so in love and he was the closest thing she had to family, Natasha would remind him that love his for children. "It's a wonder that she married you then."
"Hey!" Clint turned to look at her in indignation. The former Russian assassin just glared at him until he returned his eyes to the road. The rest of their short ride is silent. Eventually they turned off the highway onto a dirt lengthy dirt road. The drive for another 10 minutes until the car pulls up to a quant but large white farmhouse that is settled into the middle of a large empty field of green. As she exited the car, Natasha took in the numerous amount of toys littered on the covered wrap around front porch, the dusty red minivan that parked by the side entrance, the large open garage that houses a small passenger plane, and the cluttered open barn. All in all, it is both exactly what Natasha expected and not at all at the same time.
"What do you think?"
Natasha shrugged in response. She didn't know what to say. It was all such new territory for the former Red Room trainee. Suddenly, a woman that looked to be in her early thirties with shoulder length brown hair and shining hazel eyes walked out the front door and rushed towards Clint. Once again he had that stupid grin on his face as he opened his arms to embrace the woman. For a split second, Natasha was confused as to who this was, but then it clicked in place. This was Rapunzel. It took a second for the red headed woman to recognize her without her signature long hair.
The couple has moved from embracing to giving one another a passionate kiss. Natasha politely looked away but when it seemed like they weren't going to end it any time soon, she cleared her throat to get their attention. She understood that they don't get to see each other often and therefore want to make up for lost time, but now it was getting awkward.
The couple sprung apart. Clint, still on a high from reuniting with his wife, mock glared at his partner while Rapunzel-Laura, Natasha reminded herself again- smiled sheepishly. Seeing as she embarrassed the other woman, Natasha decided to take the first step and introduce herself.
"Hello." She held out her hand for the other woman to shake. "I'm- "
"Natasha Romanoff!" Laura moved to greet the other woman, ignoring her hand in favor of pulling her into a hug. Natasha stiffens at the contact and doesn't relax until the brunette released her and moved back to her husband's side with a sheepish smile. "Sorry, I am just so excited to meet you. I have been telling Clint to bring you here for a while now, but he doesn't listen. I just want to say thank you for having my husband's back and making sure he comes home safely."
"You're welcome." Natasha gave her a small smile for reassurance. "But to be fair, your husband saved me first."
"Mom, is dad here yet?" a young boys voice called from the front door, breaking up the adults conversation.
Natasha looked up and took in the appearance of the nine-year-old boy standing in the doorway. She noted that the dark hair from his young gradually transitioned into more of a sandy blonde color, like Clint's, while his eyes were hazel like his mother's. Other than the kids eyes, he was the carbon copy of his fathers.
"Why don't you come outside and find out?" Clint called out with a grin. Cooper's face lit up with joy at the sound of his father's voice, but to Natasha's surprise, he didn't immediately run outside to greet Clint. Instead, the boy turned back around but left the door wide open. The female spy wondered what he was doing and was even going to ask the couple, but Cooper returned. But he was not alone. Tagging along behind him was a small girl that barely looked past toddlerhood. She toddled after Cooper, struggling to keep up with her shorter legs.
Clint released his wife from his embrace and jogged to meet the children halfway. As soon as the met he scooped them both up with ease and proceeded to give them a big hug and multiple kisses on their faces. Cooper just hugged his dad and accepted the love with a quiet grin. The girl, on the other hand, laughed loudly and kept patting his face. Eventually Clint put down the boy, but he stuck close to his fathers side as the foursome grouped together; Clint holding the smaller child with one arm and he wrapped the other around his wife's shoulders, and Laura absentmindedly playing with her sons hair as she leaned into her husbands embrace. They looked like they belonged on a Hallmark special or a Christmas card.
"Mom, Dad, who is this?" Cooper asked, looking mainly at his father for the answer.
"You know how I told you that I have a partner at work, buddy?" Cooper nodded. "Well, this is her. Cooper meet Natasha. Natasha, this is Cooper," he gave a little wave. "He's 9. And this little princess in my arms is my daughter, Lila."
Upon hearing her name, the girl- Lila- perked up and turned her attention towards Natasha. "I'm five!" she pronounced proudly with a slight lisp, holding out her left hand with all five fingers up. "Are you a princess?"
"No, Lila," Cooper spoke before the adults could say anything. "She's a spy just like dad!"
Lila looked at Natasha in awe. "You's a spy princess! Cool!"
Both Clint and Laura gave the female spy a worried look, fearing that she would take offense to it. But to their surprise, Natasha just smiled and moved closer to the family of four, opening her arms out as a silent invination for the young girl. Lila practically leapt towards Natasha's waiting embrace, astounding both of her parents at not just their daughter easy acceptance of the woman, but Natasha's relaxed nature. Natasha flashed Clint a grin, as if she were gloating over how easily it was to take his daughters attention away from him. If he hadn't come to know her so well, Clint would have thought that she meant it in a menacing way, but he realized that it was her way of showing him that she was open to accepting his family- and maybe, sometime in the distant future, her place in it.
"I am a spy princess," Natasha said to Lila while also motioning Cooper to come over. The boy complied, taken with the idea just as much as Lila. "But you both have to keep it a secret, okay? We can't let the bad guys know that."
Both children agreed and then proceeded to pepper her with questions, Cooper focusing more on the spy aspect and Lila on the princess one. Natasha readily answered all their questions and played along, going as far as to say that she would show them a few moves and recruit them as her junior spies. Clint and Laura watched in amazement as Cooper dragged her and his sister to the barn to show off his shooting with the child's bow that Clint gave him last Christmas. They continued to silently watch even once the trio was out of their sightline. Laura was the one that finally spoke up.
"I think she is going to fit into this family nicely. I'm glad you finally brought her home."
"Me too, babe. Me too."