Clint was sleeping soundly, for once, when he heard it. The screaming. It wasn't like a horror movie scream, he could have slept through that. He had actually. This scream was one full of pain, suffering, and pure anguish. It took him a few seconds to recognize where the sound was coming from, just down the hall. Quickly jumping out of bed, Clint raced out of his room and into the one where the screams were emanating from. There, curled up on the bed and shaking still in their sleep, was Pietro Maximoff.
Sure, Clint didn't like the boy when they met, why would he? The boy was a sarcastic bastard and was annoying as hell. But when he died, they all felt the loss, not just Wanda. So when they found a way to revive him, using the same technology that patched up Clint's arm, they were all excited to see him return.
Looking at the boy shaking and whining in his sleep, Clint quickly moved to his side, fatherly instincts kicking in. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he pulled the boy into his arms and rocked him slightly, causing the trembling to slow to a stop. Looking around, Clint wondered why none of the others had woken at the screaming. Remembering that they were the only ones at the tower, Clint turned his gaze back on Pietro who had stopped crying and was starting to wake up.
Shifting so he was sitting more comfortable on the bed, Clint waited for Pietro to wake fully. When he did, he looked around seemingly in fear before recognizing the room as his own. When he saw this, Clint tightened his hold on the boy, giving him an anchor. Pietro's head quickly swiveled around to look at Clint, confusion and shock written clearly on his face for the spy to read.
"Wh-what are you doing in here?" Pietro asked quietly, his voice hardly above a whisper.
"Taking care of you," Clint replied, his tone similar, "You were having a nightmare."
"I got that bit, thanks." The boy sassed.
Clint snorted. "I thought you would. You woke me up, and I decided to check on you."
Pietro looked over in surprise. "You didn't try to wake me up?" He asked. Clint shook his head.
"I know better than that. Both with my own experiences, and with taking care of my kids. Children's nightmares can be worse than adults' at times." He shrugged while Pietro nodded. "Want to tell me about it?"
Pietro took a deep breath. "It was about the attack. When I… died. I was back there and all the panic, the- the pain, it all came back to me. I couldn't tell that it was a dream, that I was here, safe." Pietro shook his head to get the memory out. "But, I'm fine now, no need to worry about me!" He said with a smile and pulled out of Clint's grasp, hopping out of bed. "I'm just going to go for a run, see if I can't get this energy off, not going to go to bed again anyways." Clint nodded, grabbing Pietro's arm before the boy could run off.
"You know, if you need to share or just talk to someone, you can come to me, right?" He told the boy. Slowly, especially for the speedster, Pietro nodded. Clint released Pietro's arm and he ran off, leaving Clint to try to get back to sleep himself. Looking at the clock, seeing it read 3:30 AM, Clint groaned and trudged back to his room.
He was dying. He could feel it. Somewhere in his mind, he knew. He knew that it was only a dream, that he was safe in the tower and not getting holes ripped through him by bullets. Excruciatingly painful, if he does say so himself. But that part of his mind was lost behind the panic that he was facing. Watching Clint start to pull the child to safety, Pietro smiled slightly, things were all going to plan, mostly. Movement caught his attention and he looked to see a drone taking aim… right at Clint and the child! Before he could think, his feet were already moving, moving to shield the two from the fire. Then the pain took hold. He could feel it. The last thing he remembered was seeing Clint's horrified face as he saw Pietro fade and feeling glad that his last action meant something.
He woke quickly and looked around, getting his bearings again. He was home, he was safe, he wasn't dead. He felt an arm grip his shoulder tighter, making him realize that it was there the whole time. Focusing on the grip, he felt his fear and panic lessen and he looked to see who was by his side, shocked to see it be Clint, the last person he would expect to help him.
Frankly, Pietro didn't think that Clint liked him much. During the attack, he made it quite obvious. Even now, he wasn't sure. The man acted nicer to him now but that could just from the fact that he was clinically dead.
"Wh-what are you doing in here?" Pietro asked quietly. It hurt to talk, he must have been screaming.
"Taking care of you," Clint replied, keeping his voice quiet, "You were having a nightmare."
"I got that bit, thanks." Pietro couldn't help but snark at the man. That much was obvious. Clint snorted.
"I thought you would. You woke me up, and I decided to check on you." Pietro mentally winced. Clint couldn't be happy with being woken up. Pietro paused, he wasn't forcefully taken from the middle of the nightmare. That means, Pietro looked over in surprise.
"You didn't try to wake me up?" He asked. Clint shook his head.
"I know better than that. Both with my own experiences, and with taking care of my kids. Children's nightmares can be worse than adults' at times." He shrugged while Pietro nodded though still slightly confused. "Want to tell me about it?"
He took a deep breath before starting. "It was about the attack. When I… died. I was back there and all the panic, the- the pain, it all came back to me. I couldn't tell that it was a dream, that I was here, safe." Pietro shook his head to get the memory out. "But, I'm fine now, no need to worry about me!" Pietro put on a smile and hopped out of bed. "I'm just going to go for a run, see if I can't get this energy off, not going to go to bed again anyways." Clint simply nodded. Pietro turned to leave before a hand on his arm stopped him.
"You know, if you need to share or just talk to someone, you can come to me, right?" Clint told him. Pietro paused. Clint was offering an ear? Pietro slowly nodded in response before taking off into the night, getting the dream off of his mind and let the speed take over. Pietro smiled. Maybe this nightmare had a positive after all.