The Return of Swan
Clint Barton POV
January 7th
“Good Morning Mr. Barton and Happy Birthday. It is time to wake up.” I rolled over at the sound of FRIDAY’s voice. If there was any day of the year that I wish would just not happen, it was today. I rolled out of bed, stretching the sleepiness from my muscles and walked to the shower. Once in the bathroom, I turned the shower on to let the water warm up and took out my hearing aids. Being deaf had its perks. Just by removing my hearing aids I could ignore anything that happened around me, mainly because I couldn’t hear it. It has been problematic before, but it’s not a daily struggle. The team has adjusted to me being deaf, everyone slowly learning sign language so they can talk to me when I take my ‘extra ears’ out. I stepped into the hot water and let it wash over me as I thought about the family I made here.
The team was a great family. Natasha was my best friend and my other half. She is also a mom-friend at some points, and when she starts yelling at me in Russian I usually remove my aids and ignore her. Unfortunately, she has now learned how to sign to me in Russian so she can still yell at me in her mother tongue without having to utter a sound. Tony was pretty chill, he gives me new toys and lets me hang out in the vents. Steve can be bossy, but he is an amazing leader and a great friend. Banner’s cool too, always checking me over after missions and either fixing my aids or getting me a new pair. Thor can be a handful sometimes. He hasn’t quite understood that if I can’t hear him without my extra ears and tends to yell at me whether I have my aids in or not. Loki tends to stay quiet, rolling his eyes every time his brother starts yelling to try and talk to me. He tends to use his magic to write what he wants to say to me on a notepad, which is cool with me. Vision, being the walking computer he is, talks to quite often in sign, liking the idea that he can communicate with me without making a lot of sound. Wanda and Pietro have practically become my adopted children. Pietro still makes old man jokes about me while Wanda tries to make him behave. Bucky is still getting adjusted to life here, but he’s making progress. Scott, Sam, Peter, and T’Challa make their occasional visits every once in a while.
Shutting the water off, I grabbed a towel off the rack and wrapped it around my waist before stepping out of the shower. Drying my face off with a washcloth, I replaced my hearing aids, brushed my teeth, and fixed my hair. Walking back to my room, I pulled out jeans, a grey shirt, and boots. As I pulled my boots on, I turned my head to the nightstand beside my bed. Grabbing the picture, I looked down at the family I used to know. In the picture, I stood with my brother Barney and my sister (Y/N). Barney has become an archer known as Trickshot and had been on the run for a while, but he’s still alive and keeps in contact with me occasionally. (Y/N) on the other hand, has been missing for several years. She went missing about a month before SHIELD recruited me, and ever since I knew she would’ve fit in well. Unlike Barney and I, (Y/N) wasn’t an archer. She preferred swords, knives, and everything sharps that she could wield with her hands. Also, she’s suffered from anarthria since she was young, requiring her to speak through sign language. We were much closer due to such a connection. We taught each other sign language, and when I became deaf our relationship only became stronger. She always had a way of making my birthday extra special, and every year she hasn’t been here for it just hasn’t been the same. I’ve told Laura and the kids all about her, and the kids always ask me when they’re going to get the opportunity to meet her, but they always get the same answer. I don’t know. I don’t know if she’s even alive and it just makes everything much worse. Shaking my head, I replace the picture to its place on the nightstand. I silently leave the room and head to the lounge area, where the team is undoubtedly waiting.
“HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!” A chorus of voices greets me as I walk into the room, not getting 3 feet inside when I am covered in confetti courtesy of the twins. I grinned as Natasha waltzed up to me, arms stretched wide. I welcomed her hug, knowing how rare she gives them out.
“I know how much you miss the family and you’ll get to see them tomorrow. And I know you’re missing (Y/N) too. She would want you to have a great time and you know that.” I smiled at the soft words she told me, knowing she was right. We pulled apart and everyone hopped in the ‘Give-Clint-A-Hug’ line, except Loki. It was a while before I finally sat down, only to have a plate of waffles shoved in front of me by Tony. I gladly ate them as light chatter filled the room. After I finished eating, Natasha insisted that I open the presents everyone got for me. The list is as follows:
- Tony: A new quiver for my arrows, remembering how I mentioned my current one acting up
- Bruce: New set of hearing aids, which I will be using as back-ups for now
- Steve and Bucky: Sticky notes and a notebook, that way I can stick them places around me when I don’t have my aids in and write stuff down
- Thor and Loki: A bow and arrows made by the best archers in Alfhiem
- Wanda and Pietro: A framed picture of us and the rest of my family at the farm, the words ‘Family doesn’t end in blood’ written on the edges of the frame.
- Vision: A book about Deaf history, because I mentioned about wanting to learn more.
- Natasha: A scrapbook of random pictures she took of me, the team, and the family from the past year. She always gives these scrapbooks to everyone during Christmas, but she saves mine for my birthday.
I thanked everyone profusely for their gifts, setting them in a neat pile at my feet. I was flipping through Natasha’s scrapbook when Fury and Coulson made their way into the room. I turned to look at them, but frowned when I saw that they didn’t have presents with them.
“Don’t look so down Barton, we do have something for you,” Coulson chuckled. I perked up instantly at the sound of his words.
“Turns out that we have found something that you’ve been missing for a while, and we think you will enjoy it better than everything else you have gotten,” Fury added, prompting me to rise from my chair. I almost walked over to them when Fury raised his hand, causing me to stop. Fury looked to Natasha and nodded towards me. She came up behind me and covered my eyes with my hands, making this more of a surprise. All I heard was silence other than the light shuffles of people moving. It was a moment before Natasha finally removed her hands from my eyes, and once done I opened my eyes to see a new person in the room.
In front of me stood a girl with (h/l) (h/c), (e/c) eyes, and (s/c) skin. She was dressed in black combat boots, black skinny jeans, a (f/c) shirt, and a leather jacket. She sheepishly smiled at me, and I was overcome with shock. “Swan?” I asked her softly, barely finding my voice.
Hey Hawk. Long time…no contact huh? She signed back to me, instantly confirming my suspicions. My eyes watered up as I took a tentative step towards her, only for her to come running into my arms.
“This is the best birthday present I could ever ask for.” She pulled away so she could answer.
I know right. Nothing like having you’re annoying little sister back, right? A wide grin made itself home on her face. I didn’t notice that tears were falling down my face until she reached a hand up and wiped the tears off my cheeks.
Where have you been? You’ve been missing for years and suddenly you’re back. I mean, I am ecstatic that you’re still alive and that you’ve come back to me but I need to know what happened to you. I signed to her, my facial expressions emphasizing my meaning. She raised her hands to sign back when Tony chimed in.
“Hate to break up your silent moment, but who is she?”
I turned to the others and took a step forward, (Y/N)’s hand in mine. “This is (Y/N) Barton, my little sister. She’s mute, just so you guys know. Her nickname is Swan, given how elegant she can be with her weapon of choice. (Y/N), meet the Avengers.” I pointed to each one and spoke their names, and I could already see how she has committed each name and face to memory. Natasha was the first person to walk up to her, reaching out a hand. (Y/N) returned the gesture, a smile gracing her features as they shook hands.
“Your brother has missed you a lot kid,” Natasha commented. “Now that he has you back he isn’t going to let you go.” Natasha returned a smile and returned to her seat.
“I was hoping y’all would allow her a space on the team,” Fury announced, walking forward from the back of the room. Steve and Tony looked at Fury with wide eyes, Steve being the first to speak.
“Fury, we’ve already had trouble overcoming the obstacle of Clint being deaf and working that into team dynamics. Now you expect us to reevaluate those dynamics to fit a mute person?” I heard (Y/N) huff beside me.
“Just because I’m mute does not mean that I cannot operate in a team setting.” Everyone snapped their heads up, looking around the room in confusion. I looked to (Y/N), who stared straight ahead, expressionless. Her eyes were glowing a bright shade of gold in place of her normal (e/c) ones. She glanced to me, an apologetic look filling her features.
“You’re telepathic now,” I replied with my voice. (Y/N) closed her eyes and took a deep breath, a chorus of gasps filling the room as everyone felt the sudden emptiness in their heads. She opened her eyes, which were back to their normal (e/c) before shrugging her shoulders.
I am but I’m not. She signed to me. I haven’t had the opportunity to explore my new abilities. All I know is that I can project my voice into the minds of those around me. I read her face, searching for the typical signs she subtly shows when she is lying. When I saw nothing, I shook my head.
“So, what you’re saying is that you went missing for several years and somewhere in this span you got the ability of telepathy, but have no idea if it goes any farther than a one-way connection?” I asked her. She nodded in response. “Well, I guess you have a lot of storytelling to do Swan.” With that we all took seats around the room, FRIDAY taking up the job of being the interpreter as (Y/N) raised her hands and began to sign.