Thursday's Child
by Liliththestormgoddess
Summary: From orphan, to carnie, to killer, to Avenger. Some journeys are never through.
Rating: T for violence (non-graphic), strong language, underage smoking/drinking, and mentions of abuse.
A/N: If I was making a Hawkeye movie, this is how it would go. Most of this is headcanon, as I don't read the comic books. This follows Clint as a boy until the events of the movie. Will feature his employment with SHIELD and his relationship with Natasha.
As a note, there is a small section before each chapter, in italics. These are 'excerpts'; pieces that occur before or after the chapter, and either have something to do with the chapter, or nothing at all. They're mainly pieces that I wanted to turn into chapters, but just didn't have enough material.
Also, some of the chapters are short; some are longer. This one is definitely one of the shortest. It varied depending on the scene I was writing. Some chapters are used more for linking the story along. And because of that and the fact that this story is complete, I will try and post chapters as often as I can.
Disclaimer: I don't own the Avengers, or the nursery rhyme.
Monday's child is fair of face,
Tuesday's child is full of grace,
Wednesday's child is full of woe,
Thursday's child has far to go,
Friday's child is loving and giving,
Saturday's child works hard for a living,
But the child who is born on the Sabbath Day
Is bonny and blithe and good and gay.
"Hawkeye!" Rogers shouted in surprise. "Drop him!"
Barton ignored the order, instead keeping the man pinned up against the wall. "You like beating on your son, huh?" He growled in his face.
"Barton!"
"You think I don't know what those marks are from? Do you think it makes you a bigger man? Huh?" He held the squirming man tighter. "Well?" For a few more seconds he held on, then let go, and the man dropped to the ground, gasping for air. Barton shot Rogers a furious look. "He's all yours."
Iowa
"Let's go, hurry!" Yelled Barney to his younger brother as they raced through the cornfield. He cast a quick glance back to make sure Clint was following and that their father wasn't.
Clint puffed breathlessly but urged his legs to move faster. The terrible angry yells coming from the trailer they just left spurred him forwards. He could hear something smash and the brothers put on an extra burst of speed. Soon, they reached the outer limits of the forest.
Barney grabbed the lowest hanging branch without slowing down and used his momentum to swing upwards. The nimble six-year-old leaned down and grabbed Clint's hand and hauled him up. Together they climbed high into the tree, where they were safe and could see everything, including the trailer.
Barney wrapped an arm around his sobbing four-year-old brother and pulled him close. "S'okay, Clint. I'll watch out for you. We'll make it out of this." They were heavy words for such a young boy but they weren't made lightly. Distantly, they heard the higher-pitched screams and more things break. Clint buried his head in his brother's shoulder.
They waited and watched for their father to leave. They weren't disappointed. They watched as the trailer door slammed open and he stumbled out, cursing loudly and profanely. He walked right into the door of his truck and jammed the keys several times in the door before he found the hole. Then he jumped in, spun the wheels and finally skidded away.
Silently and somberly, the brothers descended from the tree and made the trek back. The door was ajar. Barney steeled himself for what he was going to find.
Dishes were smashed all over the floor. Several chairs had been overturned and one was in pieces. The lamp lay next to the wall, shattered. The door to their parents' room was shut, but Barney could hear his mother sobbing.
He righted two chairs and Clint sat in one of them. "Hungry?" Barney asked, and Clint nodded.
Barney opened up the fridge and stared at the emptiness. The pantry held only several empty booze bottles. In the bread box he found the end-piece of a loaf of bread and beside it, some butter. So he buttered the piece and gave it to his brother, and watched him eat it even as his own stomach grumbled fiercely.