Disclaimer: I do not own anything. Everything belongs to their rightful owners and I am not making any profit from this.
This is set sometime in the future, no idea when but figure after Ultron but Avengers aren't fighting internally and S.H.I.E.L.D and Real S.H.I.E.L.D have combined or something. None of that really matters.
This was inspired by the Ming Na Wen and Jeremy Renner photos from the Avengers Premier. It started out as a Melinda May/Clint Barton friendship that grew into more.
Future fic. After all the secrets that have been kept from her Melinda is doubting herself, doubting everything so she reaches out to an old friend for help, for advice and for company.
After the recent troubles Clint Barton is quiet enjoying just relaxing and having fun at Avengers Tower. Usually he sticks to his own rooms, but wanting amusement he is down in one of the labs with Steve, the two of them are watching Tony and Bruce in amusement. He is so focused on being amused by the two genius's that Clint doesn't even hear a phone start to ring.
"You going to get that Barton?" Tony asks.
"Huh, I didn't realise." Clint says, but as he hears the ring he knows it's not his Stark phone and to everyone's shock he pulls out a very old looking phone, "Hello."
"Hi." The voice of Melinda May, responds.
"Hi." Clint says being surprised to hear from her, but at the same time also very glad to.
"I'm in New York. Can we meet?" Melinda ask.
"Sure." Clint responds, "Normal place in an hour?"
"Yeah."
"See you then." Clint says before hanging up.
"Barton for your own protection I have to tell you that a phone that old isn't allowed in my presence." Tony informs Clint.
"Whatever Stark, I'll see you later." Clint says before leaving the lab, leaving three heroes wondering what he is up to.
An hour later Clint walks into a little bar in Brooklyn. It's the kind of bar where you would only go to if you know about it. It's out of the way, has an old feel to it and is also the kind of place where most people avoid. Which makes it perfect for people who don't want to be noticed and for conversations that you don't want overheard. Completely unsurprised as soon as he walks in Clint spots Melinda sitting in a corner booth with two beers in front of her so he walks over and sits across from her.
"Long time." Clint says to Melinda as he sits down.
"Yeah." Melinda responds pushing one of the beers over to him.
"What's going on Mel?" Clint asks after taking a drink and realising that it is his favourite beer.
"A lot." Melinda says taking a drink herself, "How much do you know about what I've been up to recently?"
"Basically everything." Clint answers, "Nat and I realised that there were things that Maria wasn't saying so I pulled out the recipes for the drinks we made at the academy. Considering what we made was basically truth serum in the form of alcohol she spilled everything." Clint explains, "How is he?" Clint asks watching Melinda carefully for her reaction.
"Alive."
"Okay, what's really going on?" Clint asks, "I know you Mel, you wouldn't be here if you didn't want to talk." He tells her, "Come on, talk to me. We've known each other too long, been through too much for there to be things that we can't say." Clint tells Melinda, concerned that she is here to see him in the first place, considering everything that is going on.
"Things are so different now." Melinda admits after taking a drink.
"Things have been different for a while." Clint points out, "I know you're not just noticing, so what are you talking about specifically?"
"Phil." Melinda admits, "After S.H.I.E.L.D fell, after the secret I was keeping was revealed and he became director, I thought things were going back to normal that we were talking to each other again, just like we used to."
"But he was keeping secrets." Clint realises, being able to tell what Melinda isn't saying.
"Big ones." Melinda answers, "Including meetings with Andrew." Melinda explains and Clint has to try his hardest not to react to that.
"This is Phil we're talking about Mel, he must have had a good reason." Clint says knowing his friend but at the same time wondering what he is up to.
"I know and he did, I understand his reasons."
"But you're still here." Clint comments, "Why?"
"Because I need a friend."
"You mean you need someone you can trust." Clint comments.
"I need both, but I need a friend more." Melinda tells Clint.
"Well to old friends then." Clint says raising his drink and they both drink the rest of their drinks rather quickly, "Next rounds on me." Clint says getting up and heading to the bar.
After a couple of drinks and a couple of hours of conversation both Clint and Melinda are getting ready to leave.
"You sure you don't want to come back to the tower, Nat and Maria would love to see you." Clint comments.
"It's tempting, I would like to see them, but I don't think I could put up with Stark right now." Melinda admits.
"Okay, do you want some company?" Clint asks.
"Thanks for the offer, but I think I would like to be alone, think about some things."
"Okay. Let me know if you change your mind." Clint requests, "And I'll come see you tomorrow before you leave."
"I haven't decided if I'm leaving tomorrow." Melinda tells Clint.
"I'll come by anyway." Clint says, "Bye Mel."
"Bye Clint." Melinda says and they both walk out of the bar and go in two separate directions.
"So he didn't say where he was going?" Natasha asks surprised as she and Maria have just returned from the gym and Tony, Bruce and Steve explained all about Clint running off after getting a phone call.
"No. he just got the call and left." Steve explains, "He said normal place in an hour." Steve explains.
"Does that help you figure out who he's meeting?" Tony asks looking at Natasha.
"There are three people I can think of, but I wouldn't know which of the three until he gets back." Natasha explains.
"You talking about me?" Clint asks walking into the room.
"Yeah. Where did you go?" Maria asks curious.
"Melinda called, so I went to go meet her." Clint explains.
"Melinda? Melinda May?" Natasha asks, slightly surprised as she knows how busy Melinda is.
"Do we know any other Melinda that I have a usual place to meet with?" Clint asks.
"Who's Melinda May?" Tony asks curious.
"No." Natasha answers, ignoring Tony.
"JARVIS?"
"Melinda Qiaolian May, also known as The Cavalry, former level seven S.H.I.E.L.D agent." JARVIS answers.
"Don't call her that." Clint, Maria and Natasha say together, "Never call her that." Clint adds.
"Okay. Who is she?" Tony asks curious.
"An old friend." Clint answers, "Mel, Phil Coulson and I have been friends since we started S.H.I.E.L.D, and we're close."
"That's the biggest understatement I've heard in a while." Natasha comments and Maria nods her head in agreement.
"Ohh, that's got me interested, what's the story?" Tony ask but before anyone can answer they hear an text tone and Clint pulls his old phone out his pocket to read the message, 'I've changed my mind, some company would be nice. Is the offer still good?'
'You're timing is amazing. I'll be there soon.'
"I've got somewhere to be. I'll see you later." Clint says heading back towards the elevator.
"What if we need to get in touch with you?" Steve asks.
"Nat and Maria know where to find me." Clint says as he steps into the elevator.
"We do?" Maria asks, then she notices the look on Clint's face, "Right we do." She realises.
"Where's he going?" Bruce asks curious.
"Clint, Melinda, Phil and Fury brought an apartment together years ago. They used it as a sanctuary when they needed it." Natasha explains, she is pretty sure that she and Maria are the only ones who know about it, but she is sure that none of the will mind Tony, Bruce and Steve knowing as well.
"Are you serious?" Tony asks surprised and Maria nods, "What's the story with Clint and this Melinda, why did you say that it's an understatement for Clint to say what he said?" he asks curious.
"Clint, Phil and Melinda were at the academy together, did training under Fury. They were inseparable." Maria says, remembering all the stories she has heard and what she saw for herself before Bahrain, "They became legends not just because of their missions, but their off mission activities, Clint and Mel were always causing trouble and Phil often tried to control them, but when that failed he got pulled in to."
"That sounds interesting." Steve comments, noticing Maria's use of 'were' and wondering what she isn't saying.
"When they were twenty one or twenty two I'm not sure which, Melinda and Clint almost got married." Natasha explains.
"Almost? What happened?" Bruce asks curious.
"Not sure, it was before my time, before both of our times." Maria says referring to her and Natasha, "But from what we've heard and been told they realised that it wasn't the right time for either of them, but they stayed friends, really close friends, but by the time we joined up Melinda and Clint weren't together anymore." She explains, remembering how surprised she was when she found out that Melinda and Clint were once engaged because they still acted like the best of friends, not two people who had an engagement fall through.
"Really? Wow." Tony says surprised.
"Why did you say were inseparable?" Steve asks curious.
"Bahrain." Natasha and Maria answer together and they get three confused looks in back.
"Seven years ago Melinda and Phil went on a mission in Bahrain. Melinda doesn't talk about what happened, no one knows the truth, but what we do know is that things went south and Melinda went in alone to save agents lives. As Phil tends to describe it when Melinda walked out of that building it was like a part of her was gone. After she transferred to Admin and shut herself off from everyone, including her Husband of almost four years at that point." Natasha explains, knowing how different Melinda was after Bahrain and how they could only guess what happened.
About forty minutes after leaving Avengers Tower Clint uses his key to enter the place where he knows he'll find Melinda.
"Wow, this place hasn't changed." Clint comments when he walks in and sees Melinda sitting on the couch with several beers and bottles of alcohol, other liquids, and cups on the table.
"We've all been too busy to change anything." Melinda comments as Clint takes off his jacket, "Pizza's on its way."
"Aww, you remembered."
"Like I could forget." Melinda says as Clint sits down next to her.
"So, what are we drinking?" Clint asks.
"Haven't decided yet." Melinda says, "We could recreate some of our old recipes."
"Sounds good to me." Clint says as together he and Melinda start to mix drinks.
"Cheers." Clint says once there first drinks have been poured.
"Cheers." Melinda says and they toast. As he drinks Clint spots something on the shelf across the room so he gets up and walks over to it. The object that caught his attention is a photo frame which he picks up. In the photo is him, Melinda and Phil. All three of them are grinning almost like idiots and Melinda is in the middle with her arms around both him and Phil, all of them having a freedom to them that none of them have now.
"Do you remember when this was taken?" Clint asks showing the picture to Melinda.
"Yeah. Our first day at the academy." Melinda says walking over to Clint.
"Two weeks after we first meet." Clint says, remembering fondly, "For two weeks Fury had us at his boot camp before he let us go to the Academy. As hard as those two weeks were I swear they were two of the best weeks of my life." Clint says, remembering back, remembering everything that happened and that even though it was difficult it was amazing.
"So do I." Melinda comments.
"We look so…." Clint starts to say, trailing off, trying to think of the description.
"Innocent, I think the word you're looking for is innocent." Melinda says.
"Yeah. That sounds about right." Clint comments, "We were just three kids who dreamt of saving the world, none of us having any idea what the cost of that would be." Clint says remembering back, "None of us knowing what we would have to do or what we would become to do that." Clint says and they both drift into silence, both of them staring at the picture and remembering what they used to be like.
After a few minutes of silence the silence is interrupted by a knocking on the door.
"That's Pizza." Melinda says walking over to the table and picking up the cash she left, before heading to the door.
As he hears Melinda talking to the Pizza delivery person in the background Clint stares at the picture and thinks about how much they have changed since the picture has been taken, how much they have gone through.
"Are you going to take a stroll down memory lane or are you going to come eat Pizza in the present?" Melinda's voice asks
"Pizza, of course." Clint says putting down the frame and walking over to where Melinda is sitting, "I never turn down pizza, especially when it is my favourite." He says as he sits back down.
"So, you said you're not leaving tomorrow, when are you going back?" Clint asks curious after a couple of bites.
"I don't know." Melinda answers.
"You mean you don't know if you're going back." Clint says, knowing what Melinda is really saying, but knowing that only someone who knows her as well as he does would be able to tell.
"No, I don't."
"You will." Clint says after another couple of bites.
"How can you be so sure, when I'm not even sure?" Melinda asks, turning to look at Clint.
"Because I know you." Clint says simply, "You're going to go back, but not for Phil. You'll go back for your team because you would never abandon them, and you'll go back for yourself." Clint says and Melinda just raises an eyebrow at him, "You're S.H.I.E.L.D through and through Mel, you always have been." Clint says, "You do whatever it takes to protect people, it's who you are, it's why you do what you do. You've sacrificed more than basically any other S.H.I.E.L.D agent and you keep going because even with everything you've been though you still believe that people are worth saving. So you'll go back because, you can't walk away from this, you won't." Clint says, "You know I'm right Mel, even if you don't want to admit it to yourself."
"I don't know that, I'm not even sure I know anything right now." Melinda says standing up.
"Mel." Clint says standing up as well, "You know who you are, you've always known. Don't let what Phil's done get to you, don't let his actions cause you to doubt yourself." Clint says.
"How can I not Clint? After everything that's happened, how can I not?" Melinda asks.
"Because you're Melinda May. You have amazing instincts, your gut feelings are never wrong, so you trust that, just like you always have."
"Thank you." Melinda says looking at Clint gratefully.
"You're welcome." Clint responds, staring back at Melinda and deciding to try something that he is sure he might get very hurt for but also thinking that it is something that Melinda could need. So not sure how she is going to react Clint leans over and kisses her and to his shock and joy Melinda returns the kiss, "Are you sure?" Clint ask once they pull apart and Melinda starts to un button his top.
"Positive. You?" Melinda asks completely removing Clint's shirt as they both walk towards one of the nearest bedroom, exchanging kisses as they do.
"Definitely." Clint responds and after getting his conformation Melinda jumps up and wraps her legs around Clint's waist and Clint puts his hands under her thighs so that he can hold her up as they continue to kiss and head towards the nearest bedroom.
When Clint wakes up the following morning he feels joy when he remembers the night before, but when he realises that he is alone in bed, that he doesn't have his arms wrapped around Melinda like he did a few hours earlier he feels sorrow, though he honestly isn't surprised. Looking over at the side of the bed that Melinda was in earlier he sees a piece of paper laying there. Wanting to see what it says Clint sits up and reaches over and grabs it, when he looks at the paper Clint sees three little words staring back at him in Melinda's familiar handwriting 'You Were Right.' Dropping the piece of paper Clint lays back down, desperately wishing that he was wrong, wishing that Melinda was still in bed next to him.
AN2: So I am sorry that there is no smut. I cannot write smut, I wish I could but I can't.