DISCLAIMER - I don't own anything Marvel….if I did, well...there'd be some changes. I only own Vosem and anything you don't recognize. Unfortunately, this disclaimer does not include ownership of Bucky...

A/N - So this is going to be a semi-reworking of my sotry "Eight". I didn't really flesh that one out before I started it, so I'm reimagining the plot and character, pulling pieces from the original and working in a new point of view. I've always loved Clint and his fatherly persona & really wanted to give him a chance to have some fun. This will likely evolve into a Bucky/OC story :)

Introduction

It had been 6 months since Clint Barton had let down his kids by missing their water skiing trip...

It had been 4 months since Steve had found his way onto the R.A.F.T. ship and freed his friends...

It had been 1 month since Clint had been home, relishing in the hugs and kisses of his family...

Once the rest of the Avengers had found out about his secret family, they each had their own set of questions. But the one thing none of them could ever find fault with was his willingness to leave all of his Avenging behind to protect his family. By introducing them to his superhero friends, he had added his family to their long list of people they would all die to protect.

This wasn't a new concept to Clint - suffering and being willing to die for his friends and family. He had suffered as a child trying to protect his brother when they traveled with circus. He had suffered when he fought to bring Natasha into SHIELD when he was tasked with taking her out all those years ago. He had been willing to die to protect the boy in Sokovia when Ultron threatened to destroy the world. He had been willing to suffer to protect his friends from the Accords. Clint Barton very rarely put himself ahead of anyone he cared about.

It was this willingness to sacrifice himself so that others wouldn't have to, that lead him to his choice to bring Nat into SHIELD. In that moment, when he gave her the choice to come with him or die, he saw something in her eyes that he had hoped to never see again. He saw a loneliness that lived deep inside the soul of the young redhead, who was wearing a brunette wig at the time. He saw a hopelessness that only came from being alone and relying solely on oneself to survive. He had seen a glimmer of that inside of Wanda when they met and watched it grow after Pietro sacrificed himself to protect Clint in Sokovia. The little shit had even showed him up at being self-sacrificing as well…

After the mess with the Accords died down a bit and Steve was able to rescue the RAFT detainees, Clint had uprooted his family and brought them to Wakanda to stay with the rest of Cap's team. Cooper and Lila were having a blast growing up within the safety of T'Challa's base. Nathaniel was already walking, latching on to anyone who was willing to walk him around the lush gardens and grounds of the palace. For the first time in a long time, Clint felt like his life was taking a turn for the quieter.

He was laying in bed with Laura one morning, her fingers dancing across the area of his stomach where Dr. Cho had repaired him a few years ago. "You know….I can still feel the difference…" she teases, her lips brushing against his neck.

Clint can't help but chuckle, cradling her against his chest a little tighter. He sighs, feeling content despite it "I can always see if Dr. Cho can take it back...I'll just be bleeding out on the floor" he joked, getting a sharp jab in his ribs from Laura. She sits upright next to him, her weight on one arm as she looks down at him.

"You will do no such thing…." she says sternly, looking down at her very human Avenging husband.

"Yes, ma'am" he smiles up at her, tugging her down to crash his lips into her own. He pulls Laura on top of him, her legs moving to straddle his waist as her dark hair creates a curtain around their faces as they kiss. Clint lets his hands slide up her sides under her top, making Laura shiver and moan. His fingertips brush the underside of her breasts before they are loudly interrupted by Lila crashing into the room with a harried knock.

"Mom! Dad! Steve is here!" she announces happily, grabbing for her father's hand across the bed. "He brought Wanda with him!"

Clint feels his eager daughter dragging him to the side of the bed. Ever since they discovered that the young girl had a bit of a crush on the old soldier, everyone had started joking with them. He kissed Laura one last time before Lila peeled him away, dragging her dad into the common room of their apartment. He flinched at the bright sunlight, covering his eyes with his free hand when they walked into the room. Their apartment had floor to ceiling windows that looked out over the gardens of Wakanda - east facing so they got some of the greatest sunrises.

He felt Lila let go of his hand and found himself between the living room and kitchen, looking at Wanda and Steve standing by the kitchen island. Wanda's hand lit up bright red before a cup of coffee slowly slid down the counter toward him.

"Sorry to intrude on you so early, Clint" Cap started, watching the obviously tired archer take the first sip of his coffee.

"I hope we didn't interrupt anything…" Wanda teased as she watched Laura pad out of their bedroom after him, tying her dark hair up into a messy ponytail. Wanda had a knowing smirk on her face, accidentally getting a mental image of what Lila had stormed in on.

Clint held his hand up quickly, "Hey...No - none of that mind stuff….we've talked about this…" he scolds her, cutting off her progress before she got any further. Wanda held her hands up in apology, handing Laura another cup of coffee.

"Sorry Laura" Cap says, always the polite one. "We were trying to wait, but we had something come up that's time sensitive."

Clint watches his wife sigh deeply before taking her first sip of coffee. "I understand, Steve," she tells him honestly, giving Wanda a quick hug before walking back toward Clint. "Please be careful…" she whispers to him, giving him a tight hug. "Don't bring home any more strays…" she threatened him, looking over at Lila playing with a small monkey in the living room.

He flinches at her tone, remembering the unimpressed look on her face when he came back a few weeks ago with the small animal. T'Challa had assured him it would be a great companion for his kids, but he should have talked with Laura. "I know...I will" he says, kissing her quickly before looking over at Cap across the counter.

Laura walks over to Lila, grabbing the girl's hand as she grabs the little monkey's hand. "Let's go outside and watch the sunrise Kiddo."

Once his ladies left, Clint's focus turned solely on the early morning visitors to his temporary home. "So what did you find out…?"

"T'Challa's people found another Hydra base," Steve starts, nodding for Wanda to wave her hand as a digital display lights up on the counter between them. "It's outside of St. Petersburg - been dormant for years, but after Siberia it was activated again."

Wanda moves her hands and the map expands, zooming in on the warehouse. She swipes her hand, the image changing to show a handful of heat signatures. "From what Sgt. Barnes told us before he went back under, this was one of the bases where they kept him throughout his years with Hydra" she says, biting out the name like it's poison. Before Bucky had gone back into cryo, they had tried one session with Wanda digging through his brain to help dislodge the code words. Within 5 minutes of seeing his mind, Wanda had seen enough to make her hate Hydra more than she ever hated Tony Stark or Ultron. What they had done to Cap's friend was the most terrible thing she'd witnessed.

"T'Challa can't spare many of his soldiers with everything going on, but he's giving us a jet and supplies" Steve continues, trying to gauge the archer's feelings on the mission. "We think there may be files, notes or documents relating to the conditioning they did to Bucky that could help the scientists break the code. Sam is already checking the status of his new wings and Wanda - -"

"Stop right there, Cap" Clint interrupts, stepping over to look at the map more closely. His eyes are analyzing the surroundings of the warehouse, the exits and the windows. He spots a nice looking perch on a building across from it. He throws back the rest of his coffee, looking Cap dead in the eye, "When do we leave?"

"We are planning to leave at 10am - T'Challa's jet should get us to St. Petersburg by nightfall…"

"You might want to change out of your pajamas, Clint" Wanda teases, looking down at his very domesticated plaid boxers and shirt bearing his Hawkeye symbol. He follows her gaze, looking down at his attire.

"I can't just take on a Hydra base in this?" he jokes with a bright smile, turning to go back into his bedroom. "I'll meet you at the jet at 10" he says before disappearing. He can hear Wanda and Cap speaking in low tones followed by the clink of their coffee mugs in the sink. He stands in front of his closet, taking in his uniform - a few adjustments and moderations having been made by the Wakandan scientists at the base.

His calloused fingertips ran over the reinforced carbon fiber breastplate and the woven texture of the body suit to go underneath. The Wakandans wouldn't give him a Vibranium Woven suit like T'Challa's, but they definitely had the technology to give him something stronger than kevlar. All of the modifications were made to streamline his body defenses and add flexibility. Clint had to admit, these scientists did better upgrades than anything Tony had ever come up with.

After he showered, Clint put on his suit piece by piece, finishing with his empty quiver and bow on his back. He walked back toward the family room, following the laughs of his family. Before he walked out, he caught a glimpse of himself in the floor length mirror in his and Laura's room. "You are definitely getting too old for this…" he grumbles to himself.

Laura and the kids are sitting around the table eating breakfast and chatting away about their plans for the day. He finds himself standing there for a moment, looking at the beautiful picture it would be - his wife framed by the African sun as she chatted in broken english to their toddler son Nathaniel. He thought for a moment about Natasha, wondering how she was fairing in a world where the Avengers weren't together. He brushed that thought away, walking up behind Cooper, kissing his oldest son on the head.

"Alright kids, Dad has some work to do…" he says, stealing a piece of fruit from his plate before kissing Lila as well. "I'll be back by tomorrow afternoon. Be good for mom & King T'Challa." He leans down, kissing Nathaniel gently before locking his lips on Laura's for a moment. He can hear Lila snickering, watching her parents with a huge smile on her face.

"The quicker you leave, the quicker you come home," he hears her say, repeating something she had heard her mother say time and time again. He smiles brightly at his little girl before looking at Laura again, "I'll be careful, I promise...Besides, I've got to test out the new suit!" He does a dramatic little spin and dance as he walks toward the door, relishing in the chuckles he gets from his family. He waves one last time before starting the long walk down the loading bay.