Fated Marks

I couldn’t sleep that night. I don’t know why but I just couldn’t. Clint was knocked out. I knew he was comfortable and getting a good night’s rest when he started snoring softly. I slipped out of bed and put a body pillow to take my place. I put on Clint’s flannel and tiptoed out of bed.

I went straight to the living room and grabbed my laptop. I didn’t have anything to do for school, I was actually ahead on that front too bad that wasn’t the case with finding Delilah. I checked my email and besides a bunch of notifications for sales and spam all I had was Rebekah’s list of names. It didn’t look like I was going to be getting any sleep tonight so why the hell not.

I had a list of eight names. All former associates of the Romani that are either in hiding or now working for the competition. One of these eight would be the only people who could get Delilah in and out of Romania without being spotted. That is if she actually went to Romania. I was essentially grasping at straws at this point.

So I started with the first name on the list. I hacked into the CIA, MI6, MI5, Interpol and I figured since I was a consultant SHIELD wouldn’t mind me peeking around. I didn’t really have the clearance but it wasn’t too hard to bypass their firewall. They really needed to upgrade their system.

Once I got started I was in the zone. I looked up each of their current locations and cross-referenced them with other international databases. I got through three names before I stopped.

“Miss Adams you have an incoming call from Mister Stark.” Jarvis said.

“Put him through.” I said not looking up from my laptop.

“Morning Sunshine.” Tony said.

“Hey.” I said.

“Bad time?” He asked.

“Uh no just some light research.” I said looking up and finally noticing the sun was up. “Shouldn’t you be in bed?”

“Did you get any sleep last night?” Tony retorted.

“A bit.” I said.

“Liar.” I heard Clint say from behind me. Busted.

“Bird brain? What are you doing in London?” Tony asked.

“Finished a mission and was given leave.” Clint answered before turning to me. I quickly closed my laptop and gave him a smile. He didn’t miss that. “I woke up and you weren’t in bed.”

“Couldn’t sleep so I decided to get some homework done.” I said.

“How is school going?” Tony asked.

“Good, nothing I don’t know already so pretty smooth sailing.” I said. “You should go get a few hours of sleep, it’s like three am over there.”

“Is that code for you two are going to fight and you don’t want me to hear?” Tony said.

“No.” Clint and I answered at the same time.

“Right…” He said before his eyes widened and he started grinning. “Oh! Oh! You weren’t watching a movie yesterday! That was you two!”

“Gotta go ttyl.” I said.

“Use protection!” He said before I hung up.

“Well he’s going to bring that up every chance he gets now.” I said trying to keep things light.

“Did you have a nightmare?” Clint asked.

“No I just couldn’t sleep, it happens sometimes.” I said.

“You could have woken me up.” Clint said.

“You were exhausted yesterday, you needed your sleep how else are you going to keep up with the day I have planned for you?” I said.

“You planned the day for me?” Clint said.

“Of course!” I lied. I had nothing planned, I figured I’d take him to my favorite places and maybe a few tourist traps and that would distract him from my research. I knew Clint and I knew he wouldn’t leave it alone. He’d try to help and the less involved he is the better. I didn’t want to give Hadrian any more ideas.

“I’ll get started on breakfast.” Clint said.

“Not so fast, we’re going out for breakfast.” I said. “I’m going to show you my favorite food places and then maybe hit a few stops.”

“I get my own personal tour guide?” He said with a smile.

“Yup.” I said smiling back.

“Okay. I should go get dressed then.” He said.

“Yup.” I said getting up and going to pick out an outfit for the day. I ended up picking a simple white scoop neck top with some dark wash jeans and a navy double breasted military buttoned blazer. I grabbed my comfiest sneakers before going to grab a quick shower.

Our day started off at my favorite diner a few blocks down from the penthouse. I normally came here when I needed to get out of the penthouse but still needed a good wifi signal. I always ordered the same thing and I always got my order taken by the quirky and cheerful waiter who also happened to have one of the same classes as me.

“Morning Hayley.” He greeted with a warm smile.

“Hey Adam,” I greeted.

“Hi.” He greeted Clint sounding oddly not so cheerful as before.

“Adam this is Clint my boyfriend, Clint this is Adam, he’s a classmate.” I said.

“Hi.” Clint said with a nod and taking my hand.

“I’ll bring you two your menus.” He said about to rush off before I interrupted.

“Actually can we get two of my usual and two coffees?” I said.

“I’ll ring those right up.” He said with a forced smile before walking to the kitchen.

“I’m guessing you never brought up the fact that you have a boyfriend?” Clint asked me.

“Uh,” I thought about it. “No never really came up. I mean I mostly just come here when I need a change of scenery. We don’t really talk much, he’s really nice though.”

“So you never notice how Adam has a crush on you?” Clint asked.

“What? He does not.” I said.

“Really?” Clint said just as Adam came over with our coffees.

“Here you go.” He said putting mine in front of me first. “I just finished brewing your favorite hazelnut cinnamon blend. And here’s a regular.” He said putting it in front of Clint spilling a bit.

“Thank you.” I said.

“Thanks.” Clint said giving me a look.

“You’re food will be right out.” Adam said. “How’s your midterm essay going? A bunch of us are meeting up here on Wednesday to proofread and edit what we have so far.”

“Actually I finished mine already and turned it in.” I said.

“Seriously? It’s worth half our grade, he only assigned it last week!” Adam said surprised.

“It was on the syllabus. I got a head start.” I said. Clint and Adam just gave me looks of shock.

“Oh.” Adam said awkwardly. “Well you could still come by, maybe you could give the rest of us some tips.”

“I’ll try.” I said.

“Be back.” He said and Clint could barely contain his laughter.

“Stop it.” I said giving him a stern look.

“Hales come on, it’s so obvious.” Clint said.

“He’s a nice guy, he’s being polite.” I said.

“Right.” Clint said.

“Two orders of steak pie and chips. Careful it’s hot.” He said looking right at me. I didn’t see what would give Clint the crazy idea that Adam had a crush on me.

“Thanks.” I said.

“Let me know if you need anything.” He said ignoring Clint completely before walking away.

“You had to have noticed that.” Clint said before putting a chip into his mouth.

“He’s attentive.” I said digging into my food.

After breakfast we walked along the Thames for a bit before taking a bus to the eye. I had bought some tickets using my phone while Clint was in the restroom before checking a map and mapping out thing I thought he might like to see. I had to make it seem like I had it all thought out. Which I did partially.

“You know the only times I’ve been in London I’ve seen it in passing but I’ve never gotten the chance to go on it.” Clint said as we started getting closer.

“Then it’s a good thing I got us tickets to go on it.” I said.

“You really did plan out the entire day.” He said.

“Course I did.” I said. ‘All over breakfast while you were distracted by the guy you think has a crush on me’ I thought. “Hope you’re wearing comfortable shoes because we are going to walk a lot”

“I’ll try to keep up.” Clint said with a smirk.

As much as I liked traveling and shopping with Rebekah it wasn’t the same as when it was one of my soulmates. It was like a nonstop date. I felt so relaxed and I could almost forget about the shadow looming over me. I hit Abbey Road and the Tower of London when Tony was here so I thought I’d knock a few more with Clint.

We managed to go to not only the Eye, but to Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, and Trafalgar Square. By the time we made it back to the penthouse it was time for dinner.

Instead of opting for take out I wanted to actually cook something, so I had ordered groceries to be delivered to the apartment.

The minutes we walked in my phone started ringing.

“It’s Rebekah, I better take this.” I said.

“I’m going to hop in the shower.” Clint said.

“Okay.” I said before answering.

“Hey Beks.” I greeted.

“How’s the soulmate?” She asked.

“He’s good. Did you get the email I sent you?” I asked.

“I did. Good thing I set up an encryption scrambler on my laptop. Interpol, CIA, MI6, SHIELD, do I even want to know how you got all these files?” Rebekah asked.

“Do you really need to ask? I only got through a few of the names but I wanted to see if you could see if we have anyone we can use as a middle man? Except Enrico Savic he’s a last resort.” I said.

“Ledger?” Rebekah asked.

“Mom dated him for a while.” I said.

“Ah, staying away from that one then.” She said in immediate agreement.

“I’ll see what I can dig up on the rest and forward the rest to you when I have it.” I said.

“Good now get back to your soulmate. I don’t remember the last time I heard you this happy.” She said.

“I had a good day.” I said. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

“Night.” Rebekah said before hanging up.

With that I walked into the kitchen and got started. I started chopping some veggies for the salad and prepping the steaks when I was just about to finish up Clint came out of the room.

“It smells great in here.” He said.

“Yeah, I’m just going to let these finish up in the oven while I take a quick shower. Can you take them out in ten minutes?” I asked.

“Sure.” He said.

With that I quickly rushed to the room and picked out some clothes before jumping in the shower. When I was done I quickly changed into a white top and some grey shorts with lace trim and pulled a cardigan on top before walking back to the kitchen.

“Just in time, I just pulled these out of the oven.” Clint said.

“They need a few minutes to set. You want a beer or anything?” I asked.

“Already grabbed one.” He said.

“Right.” I said grabbing the water pitcher and pouring myself a glass.

Once we were sitting down Clint kept giving me a look. I could sense he was uncomfortable but I couldn’t tell why.

“How’s the steak?” I asked trying to make small talk.

“Perfect, really juicy.” He said taking a bite. “I can never make mashed potatoes this fluffy.”

“Do you mash them by hand or in the blender?” I asked.

“That might be it.” Clint said. “So uh, I need to… we need to talk.”

“That’s never good.” I said thinking back on anytime anyone’s ever started a conversation with those words.

“It’s nothing bad, well not now it could be.” He said making me start to panic.

“Should I be worried because I’m kind of worried now.” I said.

“No just stuff that came up after our last mission.” Clint said.

“Is that why you were so rattled?” I asked.

“Yeah. I can’t really tell you exactly what happened but let’s just say things didn’t go according to plan and some guys didn’t make it back and a few of them are in the hospital.” Clint said getting this really distant look. Shit, no wonder he was so wrecked when he got here. “Part of the benefits we get for work like medical, dental, all those things includes a pension and life insurance.”

“Okay.” I said not liking where this was going.

“When I signed up with SHIELD I didn’t have anyone so I didn’t put anyone down as my beneficiary. Later on I put Natasha down since she’s the closest thing to family I had. That’s actually one of the things Bobbi and I fought about towards the end. Anyway after the mission Nat and I started talking and I decided to name you as my beneficiary.” Clint said.

“Wow, now I know how you felt when I brought up what would happen if I died.” I said feeling cold and shaky at just thinking about it.

“Not easy being on this side of things either.” Clint said trying to lighten the mood. “You were right, my job isn’t exactly the safest out there and I have a lot of enemies. If I die I want to know that you’re going to be taken care of. Besides that I have a few cash stores hidden in few places and a safe house in case things ever get to that point. Natasha’s the only one who knows where the safe house is.”

“I did the same thing before I came here.” I said.

“What?” Clint said not expecting me to say that.

“My old friend who also happens to be a lawyer, the one that visited on Tony’s birthday?” I reminded him. “He didn’t stop by for a visit I called him over to prepare a Will… in case things don’t end well.”

“You said you had this handled.” Clint said.

“And then I got kidnapped in Barcelona.” I said. “I can find Delilah, but I’m going to have to pull put some skeletons from the closet to do so and not all of them are exactly friendly.”

“Hales…” Clint started.

“Turns out that when I liquidated all the assets I didn’t get them all. My mom had a secret nest egg. All completely clean and legitimate. It was put in a trust until my eighteenth birthday. I got the first million and a half of it that day. It’s in my apartment back home, I also took out a life insurance policy, and set up go bags for Will, Nate and Josh in case things do end up getting that bad. You’re all covered well except Tony but he’s already rich so it won’t make much of a difference. Figured if this does turn into a worst case scenario you all should be looked after, or at least have a retirement fund for later on.”

“You made contingency plans for everyone.” Clint said.

“More like left you funds for whatever you wanted to do afterwards. If he ever did kill me it wouldn’t end there for him. He’d go after everyone I ever cared about so better safe than sorry.” I said and Clint just sat there not saying a word. “I know it’s not what you wanted to hear but I think it’s better if you knew and what I said before stands.”

“That’d never happen.” Clint said.

“Clint.” I said.

“No Hayley, you think it’d really be that easy to move on and live without you?” Clint asked. “Imagine it was the other way around and it was one of us that died, would you be able to get over that?”

I couldn’t answer that because that was the only reason I was even looking for Delilah. Before meeting them I had never cared about whether or not I’d ever meet them. Now there’s not a single thing I wouldn’t do to keep them safe, even if it meant dying.

I got out of my seat and moved over to hug Clint.

“There’s not a single thing I wouldn’t do to keep any of you safe and you probably wouldn’t be okay with some of those things but if it came down to having to choose any of you over myself that’s not a choice I’d have to think about.” I said. “I said it before and I’ll say it again, you guys are my world nothing else matters.”

“I love you.” He said.

“I know.” I answered.

Third Person’s POV-

George Washington Hospital in DC was busy as usual but it was even more crowded seeing as SHIELD had closed off one of the observations wings. There were armed guards in the hallways and only staff that had been cleared were allowed entry.

Sitting in one of the rooms was a green-eyed brunette accompanied by his two closest friends.

“Did you get him?” Hadrian demanded.

“We did.” Jesse answered.

“And?” Hadrian asked. Jesse and Gerald exchanged looks. “What?”

“They were well trained, took out Spencer and Evans before we even knew we had been spotted.” Gerald said.

“Israeli? Russian? Who was he with?” Hadrian asked growing impatient.

“No one.” Rumlow said walking into the room.

“What do you mean no one? He said he was there for me, it must’ve been someone.” Hadrian said.

“He’s a merc, Yanis Moreau. He only goes after targets with high rewards, nothing less than a million Euros. Someone put a hit on you.” Rumlow said.

“That fucking bitch!” Hadrian shouted.

“You think it was Calliope?” Gerald said. “She’s reckless but not suicidal.”

“She’s in Europe.” Hadrian said. “She works for Tony Stark. Laundering and Embezzeling funds are her forte. It fits.”

“Damn, your kid sister knows how to pick’em.” Rumlow said with a chuckle.

“It’s time I remind the brat where her place in all this is.” Hadrian said sitting up and groaning.