The city of Manhattan was totally destroyed. Corpses of both human and alien littered every piece of pavement. Not a single building stood untouched. Not a single man, woman or child were unharmed, mentally or physically. From now on, today's events would haunt the dreams of everyone who was involved. People wept for their lost ones, others not even able to comprehend what had happened. There were ambulances and paramedics everywhere, trying their very best to save the injured without breaking down themselves because of the devastation.
And out of all the odds, the heroes who had eventually saved the world, were all silently sitting around a table in the small Shawarma joint, which managed to still be standing after everything that happened. Loki was unconscious in one of Starks thickly cemented rooms, which was made to blast fire at outstanding temperatures, originally made to test his suit. Now it was a prison cell.
The roof had caved in some, but nothing too bad. The employees all pitched in to keep the little shop running, cooking up every last bit of food they had and serving it to all the heroes in thanks for saving the world.
No one spoke as the floors were swept in a small attempt to tidy the place up by a young teen. Everyone was processing what had just happened. Tony had nearly died by sending a nuc into another universe, Bruce had finally taken control of what was inside of him, Captain America managed to lead us all in the dreadful battle, Thor helped in saving the world from his evil adopted brother, Natasha made a huge impact on the war, using her simple human abilities against aliens out of this world.
And then there was me. Basically the cause of everything that had happened. Phil was dead because of me. The Helicarrier had nearly failed to keep flight because of me. I shot Director Fury. I killed countless agents, some which were friends. I was ordered to rape and kill my partner, and almost did so if she wasn't such a strong willed woman.
And now I was apart of the team?
I didn't feel like one.
"Clint…" Natasha whispered, leaning against the table with her hot wrap in hand. I looked up from my lap, mildly surprised.
"Yeah?" I wasn't sure if the others could hear, but I didn't care.
"Put your leg on my chair." She scooted forward, leaving room for me as I plopped my boot on the small bit of space. She relaxed then, her tensed shoulders slumping as she took another bite into her meal.
I even felt comfortable like this, my foot signifying my dominance over this woman as people crowded around the store, taking pictures of everyone at the table and many men drooling over the red-head who could kick their asses with her eyes closed. The shop owner eventually locked the door, pulling the blinds shut and nodding to us with a smile. How can people ignore what was around them and concentrate on us eating lunch already?
When everyone finished their meals, filling their hungry belly's and standing stiffly to leave, Tony decided to leave a generous tip of a couple of thousand of dollars without anyone noticing, other then me.
We all limped silently back to Stark Tower, and I noticed Natasha favoring her left ankle more then necessarily as she limped alongside the rest of us. I slowed down, wrapping my arm around her waist and letting her lean into me as I helped her to hold herself better. Steve turned and gave us a small smile. I knew he understood the position we were in; we were only human, of course.
When we finally reached the tower and entered the elevator that, to our surprise, was still running after the damage caused to the place, we all plopped down onto the nearest piece of soft furniture we could find.
Tony (who had removed his suit) and Steve lay side by side on a large couch, not caring about their closeness or justice that fled with the contact. Thor took up his own lounge, sprawled out and removing the metal from his chest, throwing it to the floor and laying down with a grunt. Bruce had curled himself up on one of the love seats, hugging a pillow to his chest and closing his eyes.
There was only one love seat left, and I nodded for Natasha to take it, but she grabbed my hand and dragged me down with her, climbing onto the soft chair and curling into my chest. I sat in a way that avoided any injuries in my body to hurt, and I was sure she was doing the same.
Everyone laid there for hours, either sleeping, resting or just thinking of everything that had happened. Natasha breathed slowly on my chest, eyes closed, but not asleep.
I lay there wide awake, not daring to close my eyes, too afraid to face the horrors that await behind my lids. I didn't belong here. I didn't deserve any of this. I should be dead.
Soon enough Pepper Potts came running out of the elevator, basically jumping onto the lounge with Tony and nearly knocking Steve off the edge. She hugged him tightly, and he groaned and gritted his teeth in pain, but that didn't stop her.
"I thought you were dead!" she sobbed, burying her face in his chest. For the first time, Stark actually looked like he cared. He rubbed her back reassuringly, whispering in her ear that it was going to be okay and that he was alright.
Eventually we all got up, and Dr. Banner decided to do a quick check up on all of us.
Steve had a sprained wrist, which was already beginning to heal up. The Son of Odin had a graze or two here and there, nothing bad except for the stab wound which Loki had caused. It seemed that weapons from earth were harmless to the God, but weapons from his own world were lethal. Stark had pulled a muscle in his neck, but he just shrugged it off, causing a wince of pain in the process. I was pretty much fine, with just some deep cuts and pieces of shattered glass all embedded in my body. Natasha had indeed jarred her left ankle after landing on the gravel of Stark Tower after being chased by Loki, and other than that she had a few cuts and bruises just like me.
But I think the worst injury was the exhaustion that took over everyone's body.
"We'll deal with everything tomorrow, we deserve a break." Tony muttered. "There is plenty of room in this building. Go find yourselves a room that hasn't been affected by the battle, make yourselves at home. If you need anything, talk to Jarvis." He waved us off, taking a glass of water and two pain killers with him as he and Pepper walked hand in hand to the elevator.
Everyone got up, taking their own pain killers and glass of water as well, except Thor, who raised a blonde eyebrow but didn't say anything, swinging his deadly hammer around.
"Hey, be careful with that thing. If it hits a wall, the whole towers going down." I muttered, smiling slightly as he roared with laughter.
"Good job today, everyone. It was an honor to fight alongside such talented people. Sleep well, see you tomorrow." Steve smiled, saluting before chugging down his tablet and water and heading to the elevator, Thor quickly following behind after drinking a glass of water and throwing it to the ground, shattering the glass. He yanked the doors open before they even closed, joining Steve.
Natasha and I stood far from each other, me leaning against the marble bench while she sat on top of it. I sighed and threw the tablets down my throat and washing them down with water, and she did the same.
"Come here," she whispered after a long moment of silence, grabbing my arm and yanking me towards her. I ignored the pain, sliding between her legs and resting my forehead on her chest.
"I don't deserve any of this." I mumbled into her suit, my arms wrapping lightly around her waist as she rested her cheek on my head.
"Shh, don't be silly. You helped save this world just as much as any of us did. If it wasn't for you, Loki would have shot me off that flying machine and I would have died."
"It was my fault the war even took place anyway."
She pulled back, lifting my chin up with her finger and staring at me with angry eyes.
"Barton, you had no control over what you were doing. It was purely Loki. You were his puppet, alright? We already spoke about this." She said firmly, and I sighed.
"You have no idea what images he put into my mind. Of me hurting you, Nat." I whispered, letting my eyes slide close.
"You didn't hurt me. I know you wouldn't. You were fighting against his control the whole time, I could tell."
"How?" I opened my eyes.
"You gave up your bow way too easily when we fought. No matter what, that thing is basically a part of you, and you let me just yank it away. You were basically asking me to kick your ass, which I could do even if you had your bow." She giggled, punching me lightly on the shoulder.
"Yeah, I always fought. But I had no control."
"Just stop thinking about it. Let's go get some sleep." She tilted my head up again, kissing me gently on the lips. "We'll talk about everything tomorrow, okay?"
I nodded, savoring the feeling of her lips on mine, breathing in her scent.
"Tomorrow." I agreed, gently lifting her off the bench and setting her on her feet, supporting her weight once again.
"Ah, forgot about our injuries." She sighed, limping to the elevator and pressing the for the top floor.
"We'll deal with it tomorrow, too."
"No, you should see your back. It's worse than you think." She looked at me sternly, and we made our way to the room at the end of the hall, locking the door and taking in the vast room around us.
I sat on the edge huge bed, and she left and hobbled to the bathroom, returning with a first aid kit in hand.
"Pepper thinks of everything." She mused to herself, taking a seat behind me, unzipping my vest and removing the black shirt underneath. I heard her gasp lightly, and was thankful I couldn't see the wounds for myself.
"Just get it over and done with, I want to check your ankle." I sighed, trying not to wince as she plucked the shards of glass out of my skin and dropped them into a glass bowel, making a clink sound with every piece. I counted eighty seven by the time she was done.
"Try not to go smashing through windows next time, alright? I don't have the patience to do this all the time." She sighed, dabbing some antiseptic onto the cuts, the stinging only bothering me a little. She wiped me down, leaving the bloody tissues in the bowel as she patched me up as best as she could.
"It's kind of hard when dozens of aliens are coming at you from every corner." I smiled, sliding off the bed and kneeling on the floor, and she looked at me, confused.
"I'm not going to be able to bandage you up too well with that cat-suit on. Take it off, here," I handed her my shirt, which would be big enough to cover her body with. She nodded, slipping the skin tight suit down her body and replacing it with my shirt. I tried my hardest to avert my eyes, but it's not like I haven't seen her naked before, and she was not naked with the bra and panties she wore.
She straightened her perfect leg, and I grasped her ankle lightly, examining the swollen skin with care. I sighed, planting a soft kiss on it before wrapping it firmly in a bandage, moving next to her on the bed and examining any further wounds.
"That's it," she said before I would look at her more closely, but I knew she was lying.
I grasped her shoulders, yanking up her shirt so I could see the massive fist-sized bruise on her ribcage. I pressed my own fist against it; it matched it perfectly.
I felt like vomiting in my own mouth.
"It wasn't your fault." She sighed, and I turned my attention to another injury, an egg on her forehead, which I knew was from me as well.
"I-I cant do this." I turned away, but she grabbed my bare chest quickly.
"I need you to." She almost pleaded, turning me back around and showing me the cuts that would leave fresh scars all over her already scarred body. I sighed, nodding and getting to work at stitching up the cut on her forehead and arms, back and legs. I knew she liked the way I stitched them up. Small, tight, firm.
We didn't shower, merely brushed our teeth before sliding into the huge king-sized bed, me still shirtless and in my pants and her still wearing my dirty black shirt.
She turned into my chest, resting her head in the crook of my arm as I leant down and kissed her lightly on the head, draping my own arm over her waist. She was asleep first, and I felt myself finally giving in as exhaustion took over and I was breathing evenly next to her.
Tell me what you think, I have great plans for this :)