Reality Check: Caught in the Undertow

Clint wasn't sure what to expect when he heard knocking at the door. Not many knew about the place he was at besides a select few at SHIELD and the Avengers. And the only reason the Avengers knew about it was because of the situation about Ultron. Tony obviously knew about the place before most did, except for Fury. Considering that the man had helped him and Tony set the place up in the first place. His thumb traced over his wedding band for a moment. He looked over at his sister, Laura, who was currently on the couch with her new born. She looked peaceful as she gazed at her newborn son. His sister had decided on the name, Connor Anthony. Though the assassin/spy would forever deny that he choked up on the middle name.

Clint ran his hand through his hair, he knew it wasn't Tony. Tony never knocked and always tried to surprise him. Though, there were occasions where the billionaire would call or text him he was coming. Those occasions were rare and far between.

Clint was on guard and wary when he opened the door, while keeping a hand on the gun on his hip. The blonde stood surprised when he saw Steve Rogers in front of him.

He doubted this was a social call.

Clint didn't relax when he saw it was Captain America. Tony didn't say much as of late, but he could tell there was tension between his husband and Rogers. Clint had his eyebrows furrowed, he wished he pushed the issue. Maybe he could have had an indication why Captain America was at his door.

"Cap, what can I do for you?" the tone was friendly.

"Barton, it's good to see you." The statement was diverting.

Clint smirked, "I doubt this is a social call, Cap. Why else would you be in the middle of nowhere?"

There was a heavy sigh.

Clint's eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"We need your help," the tone was insistent.

"You realize that my sister just had a baby," Clint's voice was stern.

"I wouldn't have come if it wasn't important," Steve continued.

The archer knew that was true enough. But he had a feeling that the Captain wasn't going to elaborate on why. Though he felt if he asked, he might not want to know. Trusting his instincts, he replied.

"Let me know when…"

Steve nodded, "thanks Barton. I'll give you a call."

Clint pursed his lips as he watched Cap walk to the QuinJet by the barn. There was something not right about all of this. Against his better judgement, he didn't call Tony. He knew the man was still dealing with the aftermath of Lagos in Nigeria.

The blonde walked back to where Laura was on the couch. His sister looked exhausted.

"Who was at the door, Clint?"

"Steve."

Laura wasn't surprised by the one-word answer. "Rogers?"

The woman looked taken back. "Did something happen?"

The archer was silent for the moment, "Not sure. He needs my help for something. Guess I'll find out."

"Have you tried to call Tony?"

"No. He's busy at the moment. Especially with the aftermath of what happened in Nigeria." Even to Clint, his voice seemed a little defensive.

"I'm pretty sure he'll be welcomed to hearing from his husband. I think I can be spared a few moments without my overprotective brother hovering over me," Laura lectured.

Clint frowned, almost unsure.

"Call your husband, if you don't tell him about whatever Captain America says, whatever. But least tell him about my baby. You know he's been desperate for details," Laura's voice was firm.

"Umm… I don't… I'm not telling him the name, though. I want to see his reaction in person when you tell him," Clint had stuttered at first before finding his voice.

Laura rolled her eyes. "Fine. But you are to call him. Or I will."

"Bitchy ass sisters…" Clint muttered under his breath as he headed back outside.

"I heard that," was the returning response.

Clint didn't bother for a worded response as he flipped her off, knowing full and well that Laura was in the other room and couldn't see him.

Once outside, Clint frowned at his phone. Laura wasn't wrong, he wanted to call Tony. But he also knew that the man had a company to run, despite that Pepper Potts was the CEO. The corner of his lips twitched. Where Tony's contact info was supposed, was the name, 'Tin Man.' It had been a running joke at the time. Just like in Tony's phone, his contact was under, 'Legolas.'

Clint didn't hesitate to hit the call button. It picked up on the second ring.

"Katniss… and here I thought you forgot about me. So hurtful… what kind of husband are you?"

Clint smiled at the teasing, "and here I thought you had a company to run. Did you run away from the meetings kicking and screaming?"

"And be killed by Pepper, I'll pass."

"How's clean up at Lagos?" Clint's question was straightforward.

The archer heard a sigh at the other end. "It's a work in process. Not as much damage as New York. But you never know when Captain America is involved. I'm supposed to be meeting with the Secretary of State with the Avengers in a few minutes."

Clint winced, he knew that Tony wasn't a fan of Ross.

"How's Laura?"

"She's fine, it's a boy," Clint smiled.

"Ohhh… details…" the billionaire practically begged. It wasn't a surprise that the man was a fan of his sister.

"Nope, sorry Tony. You will have to hear the details from her. Which means not over your precious technology."

Clint could practically feel the pout despite the distance.

"Damn it…" Clint heard Tony curse. "I got to go, the Secretary of State just got here. Love you."

Clint's smile was soft, "love you, too."

When the archer looked up, he saw Laura leaning against the door frame. His sister was smiling with her son in her arms. "See, that wasn't so hard."

"Tony's bitching, the Secretary of State is at the Compound. I imagine to talk to the Avengers about what happened Lagos."

Laura frowned for a moment, "that doesn't sound good…"

"No doubt. He will probably will be less happy with this problem that Cap needs help with," Clint replied dryly.

Clint never got a return phone call from Tony about how the meeting with the secretary went. So he wasn't sure if that was bad or good news. Especially if what was happening was keeping Tony so busy that he couldn't call.

Laura was worried, but she had been extremely sore after giving birth. That didn't stop from both of them from worrying. And with the farmhouse being out the middle of nowhere practically, it would be pretty close to impossible to get a scrap of news.

Laura was resting on the couch when she alarmingly yelled for Clint.

The archer's instincts automatically kicked in before forcing himself to relax. He had originally thought something happened to Laura before he looked up at the tv screen. There was the reason for his sister's yelling.

Laura had a hand covering her mouth in horror. Up on the tv was a news channel talking about where a news van had held a bomb that exploded at an UN building in Vienna. With the suspect leading as the Winter Soldier. There was a release of names, especially the ones worth noting was Tony Stark, Colonel James Rhodes, Vision, and Nat.

Clint had a look of steel. There was an incoming relief that they hadn't been injured.

"What was Tony doing there?" Laura was still gapping at the tv.

"Must have something to do with the Secretary and that meeting at the Compound," Clint spoke aloud. He brushed a hand through his hair and sighed loudly. "God… Tony is going to hate the paperwork for this…"

Despite the tense atmosphere, Laura let out a snort.

Clint had intended to call Tony again a few days after the Vienna fiasco. But the call had went straight to voicemail. It made Clint wonder if something else had happened, but at the farmhouse he was so far out of the loop. It created an itch that Clint wanted to go outside and shoot something.

But then he got the call from Steve Rogers.

Clint started to curse under his breath. Apparently, Steve had needed his help at the Leipzig airport in Germany. Captain America didn't elaborate much on why he needed help from so many people. There was Sam, Steve, Wanda, and some guy that Clint didn't recognize. Though he seemed to idolize Captain America and recognized Wanda. It put the archer more on edge. All he knew was that Steve needed to get to Siberia and it could be a catastrophe if he didn't.

Clint decided to keep to the shadows and find the QuinJet that the Captain needed. He wasn't sure why he was needed, unless Steve knew there might be a confrontation. Hence, why Clint didn't realize that his husband and several of the Avengers, including Spiderman and King T'Challa, were there.

The QuinJet was easy to find. Clint's eyes narrowed in suspicion on how Steve knew there was a QuinJet at Leipzig.

Clint quietly snuck out of the shadows to see what was going on before he met a familiar face.

"Tony," the archer breathed. The look of betrayal aimed at him was heart retching. He never wanted that looked to be seen again.

Clint had his bow in a defensive stance before he lowered it. "You know I would never…" Even to himself, his words sounding panicking.

Tony had a sad look, "do I?"

Clint had to swallow hard. "All I knew was that Cap needed help. He never said about what. I could never hurt you intentionally…"

Tony let the repulsers on his boots slow down so he could touch the ground. The genius brought a hand to cup the archer's face.

Clint leaned into the touch.

"You never knew?" The question was insistent.

"No…" The response was immediate. "I was still visiting Laura. She needed help with her new baby. And no I'm still not saying his name, that you'll have to visit Laura for." Clint cracked a smile. "Cap talked to me there. I knew you had been busy. You said so yourself with the Secretary of State, Lagos, Vienna."

Tony looked shocked that Clint knew about Vienna.

"Yes, I know about Vienna. And you and me are going to have a chat with Laura about why you didn't feel the need to inform me. Though most of that is on me, I should have called." The regret in Clint's voice was loud and clear.

Tony looked unsure. "If anyone's fault, it's mine. I didn't think about if you had saw the news about the UN."

Clint smirked despite the tense atmosphere. "Just wait till you talk to Laura. You think Pepper is bad…"

Tony had to gulp at that and swallowed nervously.

Clint stepped closer to Tony until the genius was in his arms. "Just know, I will always have your side. No matter what. I had your side in Afghanistan and I have your side now."

The words were whispered as if they were screamed. And if Tony felt a little emotional, then nobody could really blame him.

Clint didn't hesitate to seal his lips with Tony's. "I got your back."

Steve's eyes were accusing when Clint walked with Tony to where Captain America and his team were standing.

Tony almost laughed out loud at how taken back Captain America had looked when noticing Clint at the billionaire's side.

"I thought you were on our side," the tone was accusing.

Clint looked enraged, "I will always pick my husband's side. Even against the mighty Captain America. I would say this is low even for you, Cap, to keep that hidden from me!"

The words were snarled. Everyone seemed to be shocked, except for a select few. Apparently, nobody had clued in that Clint and Tony were married. The only ones that seemed to not be in shock were, Tony, of course, Rhodey, and Natasha.

"No doubt you just thought I would take your side… maybe at first that's true. If you had truly needed help. Your true mistake was thinking I would ever fight against Tony. And the fact you refuse to say what we're fighting against. If anyone here has a personal agenda, that would be you, Cap." Clint's voice was deadly calm with a hint of steel. He did not appreciate the fact that he would be fighting against his husband and people he fought aside with previously.

Clint was pissed. Steve had never mentioned that he was helping out the Winter Solider. There had to be a reason for that. Tony had hinted at some friendship the man had with Steve. That was before the Winter Soldier had been kidnapped by Hydra and brainwashed. There was a reason why Steve needed to go to Siberia, Clint just couldn't figure out what it was.

The fight felt like a failure, apparently that guy that the archer didn't recognize was Scott Lang or better known as 'Ant Man.' Clint had never had heard of him. But apparently the distraction was enough for Steve and the Winter Soldier to escape. Clint may have tried to do more, but Rhodey had fallen. And that hurt almost a bad as the betrayed look on Tony's face. Rhodey was Tony's best friend. He had known the man since Clint had started dating Tony, years before Afghanistan. The man's humor reminded Clint a lot of Tony, though he was a lot more mature. Clint's lips twitched, he remembered there had been several times that Rhodey had helped him drag Tony from the lab and actually forced the man to eat and sleep. His husband was notorious for losing track of time.

Clint had to hold Tony close to him. Slowly threading his fingers through Tony's hair. It calmed the genius slightly, but both of them knew there wouldn't be any calm for a while. Not until it was confirmed that Rhodey would be okay.

Clint was cursing under his breath while Pepper was walking beside him. "What the hell was he thinking…"

Pepper rolled her eyes, "you married him, and this is Tony Stark we're talking about."

Clint huffed, "don't remind me. Just lead me to the nearest QuinJet of Tony's."

Pepper's eyes softened, "bring him back home. I don't know what's going to happen, but it feels like something bad."

"I always do…"

"Good luck," she whispered.

"Fuck!" Clint cursed.

There was no sign of Captain America or the Winter Soldiers. But Steve's shield was lying mere feet away from Tony's immobile body.

Clint sunk to his knees. "Tony, open your eyes for me, love…" He didn't care if he was begging. Tony's suit was inactive, and the man could freeze out here.

Clint's hope rose when he saw brown eyes flicker up at him. He kissed Tony's cold lips. "You're going to be just fine and I'm going to kill Cap the next time I see him. I will put a fucking arrow in him…," Clint swore. The archer wasn't an idiot to not notice the visible dent in Tony's arc reactor on the Iron Man suit that a shield would fit perfectly into. A shield that was slammed into the Ironman's suit arc reactor. And Captain America left Tony here to die.

"My fault…" Tony muttered.

Clint cupped Tony's face gently. His skin felt ice cold to the touch. "Never your fault…" The archer's face was grim as he reached around Tony's suit to grasp the emergency release. He eased the shorter man's body out of the suit, knowing that Tony had lost consciousness. He cradled the billionaire as close as he could to his chest. He would be back for the armor; his priority was getting Tony back to the QuinJet where it was warm. At least there, Clint could relax some with the knowledge that Tony wouldn't freeze to death. He would make sure his husband would survive this. For himself, Rhodey, and Pepper.

Clint was constantly hovering over Tony since he was brought into the medical bay. Rhodey was out of medical and was there with him, though he had leg braces. There had been damage to his spinal cord that caused paralysis. Rhodey didn't seem to care as much about the injury compared to how worried he was about Tony. Rhodey had caught on just like Clint had on who did the damage to Tony's arc reactor. The colonel was not happy in the slightest and it seemed that Cap was on both their hit list. That was nothing compared to Pepper. The woman was frantic when she saw Tony, though calmed down considerably when it was confirmed he would be fine. That didn't stop the woman from worrying. Clint wasn't sure if he wanted to know the revenge that Pepper wanted on Captain America. Clint knew he would be facing challenge for first spot on revenge against Cap.

The archer had a firm grasp on the billionaire's hand. He hadn't wanted to let go for a second. Though his grip may have tightened when Dr. Cho informed him how close Tony could have died. And it wasn't because of the cold, it was because of the damage done by the shield. If Steve had put a little bit more force, Tony would have bled out internally. His whole rib cage would have collapsed, which would have pieced both of Tony's lungs. Even if the man was lucky and it just pieced one of them, it would have created enough pressure to the heart to die from internal blood loss. The loss of two would have prevented Tony from breathing.

Clint clenched one of his fists that wasn't holding Tony's hand. The whole situation was pissing him off. Tony shouldn't have been injured at all. Clint didn't even know what the fight was about this time around.

It wouldn't be until another three days before the genius finally woke up.

Clint watched as Tony blinked tired eyes up at him. He scanned him critically, but he didn't see a wince or flinch of pain.

"I'm never letting you out of my sight again, I'll tie you to the bed if I have to," Clint muttered darkly.

Tony started to grin, "kinky –"

Clint didn't give Tony time to continue his statement, as his lips were otherwise occupied.