A/N: this takes place right in between the final chapter of Where the Worlds Burn and the Epilogue.

so what did the Avengers do when they ran off for Clint's recovery in Cabo? How did he handle the death of his brother, Arrow, and all the events of Alfheimr? Find out now!

Recovery in Cabo

Chapter 1: Pepper

Clint wanted to pay for the trip himself. That was one of the stipulations he had about coming out with everyone. After all, what good did a few billion dollars do him if he never used any of it? The Russian mob didn't need the money, he'd already paid for his apartment complex (and Pepper took the time to actually make the purchase a legal one), and then transferred the general management to Kill's grandmother. Kill may have been a gangster, and the man who ran all the streets on Clint's bad side of Harlem, but he still had a heart of gold. It took something special for Kill to walk right up to Nick Fury and declare he could take the Level 10 SHIELD operative out if Clint asked. That always made the archer like him. For keeping Clint fed on sugar cookies for his entire stay, he figured the Kill's old lady deserved a good retirement. Kill would make sure the riff-raff would be cleared out and, with the multi-million dollar stipend for building remodeling, Clint had no doubt the good heart's stuck there would find themselves in a better position come Christmas. All of which was arranged thousands of feet up, in Tony's private plane, on their way to Cabo.

When they landed in Mexico, a spokesman for the resort was there to greet them personally with champagne, a private limo, and a wheelchair. Clint could have done without the last of those, but Pepper insisted, and so did the resort. They wanted him to feel welcome and at home. For that matter, he did too.

While the other Avengers worked their luggage out of the taxi and tried to explain why no one could lift Thor's bag, Clint and Pepper wheeled over to the front desk to sign themselves in. He was ready to get this vacation started the right way.

"You know, Tony can buy." Pepper said, smiling at him.

Clint shrugged, and then inhaled sharply when his injured shoulder tried to move.

"Oh, Clint, oh, I'm sorry!" Pepper exclaimed. She looked up at the receptionist. "Can we get some ice or—"

"It's fine. I just forget sometimes. I'm all right." Clint told her.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure."

She sighed, and set her handbag beside one of his wheels. Having Tony to deal with was one thing, but now she had a house full of Avengers again, and that caused all of her priorities to shift. Since Clint left, almost everyone else cleared out in one way or another. Bruce had his teaching job in Princeton, Natasha and Steve spent most of their time away, and Steve had his apartment not only in Manhattan, but also in D.C. to keep close to the Triskelion and Fury. The team was still together more than apart, but the dynamics were different.

"It's nice to see us all like this again." She said unexpectedly.

"Blown Up? On the lam from responsibility? Fighting over who is getting the last snickers bar out of that snack machine?"

"Together. My money's on Bruce." She smirked at him, watching a rock-paper-scissors match spring up in front of the machine. The receptionist handed over a few forms to sign. Pepper took it, and a clipboard, and then gave both to Clint.

"I'll put ten on Steve. Together like what?" Clint replied. He perused the few sheets. He didn't care what the rooms cost. He wanted to live in a lap of pure luxury, on his own money, and this was the only place he planned to do it. True, pricier hotels existed all over Mexico, but this one was special. He'd pay whatever he needed for that villa.

"Together like this. It hasn't been the same without you and Tony, or you and Natasha, or you and—"

"Without me." Clint clipped the pen into place and handed the entire thing to her. "You can say it. Secretly you want to run away with me. I won't tell Tony. He may get jealous."

"Uh huh, from the guy who convinced him to finally buy me an engagement ring?" Pepper returned the papers to the desk. "To be honest, Christmas was a bust this year."

That surprised him. "Seriously?"

"Guess what Tony got me?"

"Whatever it was, apparently it wasn't as good as the red dress I helped pick out, or the spa day in St. Lucia." Clint said.

"It was the return of the twenty foot custom rabbit."

Clint chuckled and shook his head. When Tony stressed out, he made some pretty deplorable choices.

"Bruce won, you owe me ten dollars."

"I thought the bet was in pesos."

Pepper grabbed the set of keys from the receptionist and handed them to Clint though she didn't let go when he attempted to take them.

"I missed you, you big, stupid jerk. You weren't there to hang the garland, or the mistletoe, or help Steve wrap Tony's toilet in cellophane and you should have seen Bruce burn off his eyebrows deep frying a turkey. Thor drank himself stupid on the wine Fandral sent him. It was for you too, but you weren't around to help him finish it, so he just set a glass aside for you and didn't drink it. Don't even get me started on Natasha. I think she just sat in a corner and mentally murdered us all so she didn't have to feel. I kicked Tony out too."

"Wait, out, out? When?" Pepper let go of her end and Clint was left holding the keys.

"After I found you in Atlantic City. I realized he knew why you left and all of you decided to just keep me in the dark like I'm not part of this . . ." she gestured around them. "This thing of ours. So I kicked him out. He had to live at Banner's until Christmas Eve."

Clint shook his head. Tony hadn't mentioned those details when they spoke about what the Avengers had been up to while Clint was away. Somehow, none of it surprised him.

"I'm ready to just bury some things, get some sun in my face, and pretend that every alien besides Thor does not exist." Clint said. "And I missed you too."

Pepper wrapped her arms around his neck and pushed him forward toward their new villa. She still had a few things left to arrange, like his private physicians, surgical team, and other necessities. But at that point, all she wanted was to either pummel him or be close to him. For his sake, she chose the latter.

So each chapter will be between Clint and one of his teammates, each will give a tiny reveal about him, their relationship, or even their secrets.

Next time: Thor