Chapter One

Avery Jackson had been born with her words.

They were written in a barely legible scrawl across the bottom left of her ribcage. The nursed who had helped care for her in the days after her birth had been appalled by Avery's words. Once her mother had seen what her daughter's words were, she tried her hardest to keep them covered. It wasn't common for people to flaunt their words, but Avery's words were known only by her parents and those nurses in the beginning.

When she was older, Avery didn't understand what was so bad about her words. Sure, there were a few swear words, but Avery thought they were still quite sweet - however confusing that sounds.

Avery loved her words. She was sure that they meant that her soulmate would be someone fun and silly, perhaps a little bit clumsy; but also caring and hard working - even if they were constantly running late. When she was little she didn't understand what all of the words meant - specifically the swear words - but her papa wouldn't tell her what they meant.

Avery was barely 3 years old when her mother left, and as she grew she couldn't help but believe that her words were the reason why. Her mother had always been very vocal in her distaste for her daughter's words. For most of her childhood and teen years Avery blamed herself for her mother abandoning her and her father.

Her father refused to let her believe anything of the sort and for the longest time Avery and her dad were best friends, together through everything.

So when Avery's dad died when she was only 11 years old, and Avery stopped talking; all she had were her words.

Avery loved her words.

Clint Barton's words appeared when he was 4.

He thought they were boring; and he thought that his soulmate - whoever they were - must be boring too. His parents never saw the words, they didn't pay enough attention to him to really take notice - not that they would give a damn either way. Barney teased Clint because his own words were so much better than Clint's. Barney's had a swear word! Clint hated his words.

When the brothers ran away and joined the circus, the costumes and stage makeup made it easy for Clint to cover up his words - the words were situated in the crook on his neck where his neck met his shoulder and could be easily seen in regular t-shirts and just about anything without a collar. When Clint was 13, Barney - who was 18 at the time - found his soulmate. Clint was loathe to admit that he was jealous; every time someone new said his words, Clint fought to suppress the crushing disappointment he felt when his words didn't tingle or burn to indicate he had found his perfect match. He hated that feeling.

Clint didn't like Barney's soulmate; so when he betrayed Clint because of her, the little brother wasn't surprised. He didn't feel guilty about joining SHIELD and helping the organisation take down his brother and the circus. Clint was happy working for SHIELD; he hoped that his work for them would redeem him for all of the wrong he did during his time with the circus. After particularly awful missions Clint would go up to his 'nest' in the rafters of the helicarrier to laugh at the bitter irony of it all. He knew that his work within SHIELD wouldn't redeem him - if anything it would put more red in his ledger - and it was pointless to hope it would.

Clint had many flings, the longest being with one Bobbi Morse. She ended up wanting more than Clint was willing to give. Some part of him desperately wanted to have only one relationship with his perfect match. Clint knew his words were holding him back. And he hated it.

When Clint met Nat, a small part of him hoped that she was his perfect match; and she was ... on paper and in the field. They were both broken to the point where they were unsure that they could ever be whole again. They worked seamlessly together in the field; they were in perfect sync with one another. Strike Team Delta and the partnership between Hawkeye and Black Widow was formidable and became infamous. But Clint and Natasha had a bond similar to twins you could say. There was nothing more to it.

Then Loki happened; and once Clint was himself again, he woke up to find that Nat had found her perfect match ... in Captain America himself.

Clint couldn't believe it but he was so happy for Natasha. She was the one person he knew deserving of finding her perfect match and the happiness guaranteed to come with it. Watching Nat and Steve together made Clint happy but a small - okay, large - part of him was jealous. He wanted what his best friend had. In the end Clint gave up. He knew that he would probably never meet his soulmate at this point - if he even had one.

No, Clint Barton was officially done with this whole soulmate malarkey. His words held a promise that was fated to be broken. So he broke it before anyone else had the chance to.

Clint hated his words.