The pain was surreal; too intense, too mind numbing. He had come out of nowhere; my only reaction was to protect myself. I tried to draw up an ice 'armour' around me but I was too slow to stop myself from getting hurt; the blade got in first – three times, straight into my abdomen.

He moved away and I crumpled to the floor, cracking my head against the metal floor. My vision was going dark at the edges, but I saw Tasha and Clint running towards me. Natasha broke his neck as Clint ran past her to get to me. I wrapped the ice around me, stopping the bleeding.

"Manda? Amanda! Amanda!"

I tried to respond, tried to tell him I'd be okay, but I was fading too fast.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

"She'll be okay Clint"

"How do you know that?"

"Manda's strong, she'll pull through"

"It's been two days…"

"With a head injury like that, and she did lose a lot of blood… They did say it might have something to do with her freezing herself as well – the ice went into the wounds, we don't know what that could have done to her metabolism"

"Yeah, she looked like a bloody sculpture – literally"

I choked out a quiet laugh, "Very funny Barton"

"Amanda!"

Sleepily, I blinked several times until I could see through the haze that blurred my friends' faces. When my eyes focused I was immediately met with Clint's face, a little too close to mine. Clint was sitting cross-legged on my bed, an arm on either side of my shoulders, leaning over me with a joyful grin across his face. "You're awake!"

I laughed drowsily, "Yeah I'm awake, circus boy, get the Hell off me!" The young archer pulled me up into a crushing hug, I yelped "Damn it Clint! Stitches!"

He let me go, carefully, "Sorry." He sat up – still grinning – then hopped down off my bed.

"Thank God you're awake" Natasha smiled kindly, "Clint's been driving us all crazy; he's not left your side since the attack – seriously, he got changed in here, ate in here; he hasn't slept at all. And after you thawed out he did go into surgery with you, the doctors were going to kill him"

I laughed when I saw Clint blush ever so slightly, "Aww, was the Little Hawk worried about me?"

Clint leant back on the edge of my bed and shoved his hands in his pockets, "Well I couldn't let them mess it up or anything, could I?"

"Oh no" I said sarcastically, "we couldn't have that" I tried to force myself to sit up against the headrest. As soon as I tried to move, the pain in my stomach came back with a vengeance. Clint immediately put his arms around me, under my arms, and gently pulled me up so I was sitting straight. Natasha moved in and propped the pillow up behind me for comfort and a bit of extra support.

Clint sat me back, "That okay?"

"That's great, thanks" subconsciously I felt my stitches beneath my top. "Tasha?"

"Yeah?"

"Can you go get me a coffee please? I'm craving one. Please?"

Clint shook his head, "Can't believe you drink that stuff – you're, like, twelve!"

"I'm nearly sixteen!"

"Yeah, well you're still a kid"

I stuck my tongue out at him, "You're not that much older than me"

Clint just stuck out his tongue, "I'm nineteen in a month, its ages until you're sixteen"

Natasha rolled her eyes, "Milk, two sugars, yeah?"

"Yeah, thanks Nat"

"You owe me"

"Whatever" I called after her as she left the room.

I sighed and rolled my head back to rest against the headrest. Clint folded his legs back up on my bed and lent his elbows on his knees, "You sure you're alright?"

"Uh-hu"

"You're absolutely fine?"

"Uh-uh"

"Pain relief high enough?"

"Uh-hu"

Clint lent forward, "You listening to me?"

"Uh-hu"

"Hmm, am I the unquestionably best looking agent you've ever seen?"

"Mmm, well…"

"Damn – thought you were gonna fall for that"

"I'm hospitalised Barton, not thick"

He laughed, "Okay then, if I'm not the best looking agent who is?"

"Well, I'd say… Tasha"

"Urg" Clint groaned, "Best male agent?"

"… umm, Phil?"

"Coulson? Shut up"

"Well have you seen the pictures of him from his first year?"

"Manda, seriously, shut up"

"I was just answering you're question" I laughed.

Clint laughed too but then I caught a mischievous glint in his eyes. He shifted so he was beside me, lying on his side, "So Manda, you into older agents then? Looking for a more experienced man?"

"What? Like you? I don't think you count, Darling" I teased.

Clint leant over me, putting on hand down gently on my waist, opposite him, and leant in, "And why ever not?"

I liked this game, I was good at it – teasing Clint was a game I had became master of quite easily. I leant in to whisper in his ear, "I think, Sweetheart, that you need a little more experience than you think you've got, and not just in the field"

"Ooh" Clint scowled mockingly, "naughty girl"

"Don't force your kinks on me Dear"

At that Clint lost it, sitting back and bursting into ridiculous laughter, "Okay" he chuckled, "okay, you win"

"Nice to hear you admit it for a change"

"Hey, I admit when I've lost!"

"Sometimes"

Clint sat forward "Really?" he grinned darkly.

"Yes" I leant in too until we were nearly nose to nose.

"Take it back"

"No"

"Take it back"

"I'm not going to"

"Amanda you take it back right now… or else" Clint grinned, waiting to see who would break first.

"Or else what? You can't tickle me with stitches in"

"Hmm, or I'll… kiss you"

"Will you really?" I retorted sarcastically.

"I will" Clint threatened, a cheeky grin across his face.

"I don't think you will"

"Try me"

"I'm waiting" Everytime Clint had 'threatened' to kiss me he'd backed out, claiming he'd been joking the whole time. I'd almost come to count on it.

Clint inched forward slowly, brushing his nose against mine. It was my turn to falter. I began to blink rapidly, I opened my mouth to say… something, but Clint got in there first. My eyes shut and my stomach flipped as Clint's lips carefully pressed against mine. He pressed his tongue against my bottom lip, it took me a second but I realised what he wanted. I opened my mouth and Clint's tongue brushed over my lip and teeth and into my mouth.

"I'm… back?"

Clint and I jumped apart, froze, and stared at each other. Where Tasha stood, I could just see her behind Clint's head. She had my coffee in one hand and three packets of sweets in the other and one eyebrow raised.

"I'm not judging either of you" she said bluntly, walking across the room to put down my coffee and the sweets. She looked blank-faced but I could tell she wanted to laugh. "I'll leave you two alone for a minute" she said with a mocking tone, "Clint, you want a drink, breath-mint?"

Clint looked over his shoulder sheepishly, "I'll get water", Natasha went to go get it but Clint stopped her. "No, I'll get it." Clint turned back to me, pressed another quicker kiss to my lips before hopping down off my bed and walking out of the room. Clint paused at the door, turned back and winked at me before disappearing from view.

I found myself grinning at the empty doorway.

"I can't believe you two" Tasha laughed, pulling up a seat next to my bed.

I flushed deep pink.

"How long was I gone? Three, four minutes?"

"Shut up" I grinned.

"How did he even manage that?"

"I, eh… didn't back down"

Nat laughed, "Wait a second!"

I looked up at her, "What?"

"Was that…"

"Tasha"

"…your…"

"Natasha"

"First ever…?"

"Yes! Oh my God, shut up!"

Tasha laughed at my clear embarrassment "Aww, Amanda that's so cute!"

"Nat shut up!"

"Aww" Tasha grinned "to be honest, I'm surprised you've lasted this long with Clint around; he's had his hawk eyes on you for years!"

I gave Tasha the look, the one that said 'seriously shut up now'.

"Aww Amanda, you have no idea what you've let yourself in for"