Rating: All
Summary: Clint would give anything to forget that his soul mate was out there waiting for him.
Genre: Romance, slight angst
A/N: Based off the premise of the movie Timer, where people can get a countdown timer implant embedded in their wrists that counts down to the day they will meet their soul mate.
A/N2:Seriously guys, I can't stop writing. I've had this idea in my head for a while but finally had the urge to write it out. Trying out slightly new writing styles with this, let me know what you think.
Pairings: Clint Barton/ Darcy Lewis, Tony Stark/ Pepper Potts, Phil Coulson/ OMC, past Clint/ Bobbi Morse
Song: Song lyrics taken from A Little Bit by Lykke Li, feat Drake. Other song mentioned is Hummingbird Heartbeat by Katy Perry.
Disclaimer: Ideas of the wrist Timers shamelessly taken from the movie Timer. All other recognisable characters belong to Avengers and Thor. Song belongs to Lykke Li and Drake.

Hands down, I'm too proud for love.
But with eyes shut, it's you I'm thinking of.
But how we move from A to B,
It can't be up to me because you don't know…

The Timer counting down on Clint's wrist was a bitter reminder of past happiness he'd never be able to recapture. Mocking voice of the universe, right there, embedded in his skin. He didn't even want it in the first place but Bobbi had been so insistent. It wasn't enough anymore for him to tell her she was the only woman he wanted in his life. They had to prove it to everyone they didn't know that they were soul mates according to some stupid fad. 7 years, 5 months, 18 days, 13 hours and 45 seconds later, Clint still knew that he wanted Bobbi by his side as his wife. But that's not what happened. They had both got the implants and when they looked into each others eyes, Clint's stayed blank and Bobbi's showed she had about 5 years until Mr. Perfect walked into her life.

Clint heard a rumour that if you put up a fight at the store, they'd begrudgingly remove the Timer. But he had a masochistic streak and wanted a reminder of how he should have pushed Bobbi. As the minutes counted down, he wanted an idea for each one of how he could have proven that they were made for each other and didn't need some self-prophesying bullshit stopwatch to tell them otherwise. But. Clint's Timer was blank and Bobbi's kept ticking until she left him saying she didn't want to hold either of them back when there was something better obviously waiting for them.

So Clint kept the Timer if only because he wanted to know who was the bitch that took away the most important person in his life. He wanted to be able to look her in the eye and ask if she was happy. Because she'd never fill Bobbi's shoes.

4 years later, Clint had been given a new handler at SHIELD and shot himself a new partner. He was still resentful, still missed Bobbi but life had steadily improved. He had fantasies that there was some sort of cosmic loophole where he and Bobbi were still soul mates but just needed time to grow into the people they were meant to be. Sometimes he dreamt Natasha was his soul mate and the reason his Timer was still blank was because she refused to buy into that romantic bullshit. But in the middle of sneaking into a small A.I.M. facility, Clint's Timer made a cheery tone to let him know that there was someone perfect out there waiting. Although the mission was eventually successful in a roundabout way, Clint was lucky to come out alive. After that incident, SHIELD decided to implement some special rules in regards to Timers and their propensity to go off at the worst of times.

Clint would have to remember to ask whomever 'she' was if she was also happy she'd almost got him shot to death.

I think I'm a little bit, little bit
A little bit in love with you
But only if you're a little bit, little bit
Little bit in love with me

Darcy was giddy. Her Timer had hit the final 24-hour mark that midnight. Once the Timers hit the final 24 hours of when you were meant to look into the eyes of your beloved, it flashed all zeros only to ding once eyes met across a smoky bar. Or something like that. Darcy knew it wasn't always so glamourous. She'd seen Timers go off a few times. Her favourite story was still of her sophomore roommate. Stacy had sexiled Darcy many a time for whatever guy came round on Thirsty Thursdays, only to have her Timer go off when she looked into the eyes of her new female lab partner. It had taken some time but Stacy eventually realised that Jenna was perfect for her.

When Darcy had turned 19, she gave in and got herself a Timer. Oddly enough, at the insistence of her parents. Mr. and Mrs. Lewis had been debating whether or not to get Timers, since they'd become such household names. Darcy was stressed when they'd told her because she had heard plenty of stories about couples divorcing after years of marriage all over some stupid piece of technology. But when her parents looked into each other's eyes as their Timers booted up, the clock timed out and made Darcy believe a little more in true love.

Under the shawl of cynicism Darcy liked to wear, she was a romantic through and through. It was how her hippie parents raised her. Written into her DNA. Yes she scoffed but the idea that she would meet the (she assumed) man of her dreams that was meant to help her grow and make her happy- well who could resist feeling excited about that?

Especially since that night, she had a blind date. For ages, Jane had been trying to set Darcy up with a physicist she'd met in Tromsø and they'd kept on having to cancel until now. Even though Jane's trip had been a sort of dead end courtesy of SHIELD, Henrik Nielsen had been helpful and full of ideas. Jane insisted he be hired along side her and they felt it was best to entertain the girlfriend of Thor after delaying her reunion to her intergalactic boyfriend.

After Darcy's first few weeks in NYC working for Pepper Potts, Darcy was very aware of how much she still didn't know of the world and of the fact she essentially had no friends in the city. Dealing with meeting your soul mate might seem like just adding to her already long list of crap she needed to get a handle on but she thought that maybe this one thing would be straightforward and easy. It was love, plain and simple and while it wasn't always a picnic, it had to win out in the end. At least when your soul mate was concerned. Darcy liked to think that Mother Gaia would give her this one easy thing.

And what could be a better treat than finding out your soul mate was a cute, brainy Scandinavian? Darcy preferred redheads but she could make do with a blonde.

As she waited in the SHIELD headquarters lobby for security to okay her, Darcy tried to calm down. He was in the building somewhere right now. It took all of her willpower to not just make a beeline for the labs and find her future Norwegian lover on her own. The ping of approval from the computer brought Darcy out of her thoughts and back in the lobby. She needed to be patient. It was her first day off since working for Pepper and she was visiting Phil Coulson at SHIELDs medical facility. Then a manicure, running some errands and full out makeover before she met Prince Charming. Patience.

Her bag, flowers and Captain America themed get well card (she wasn't so sure about that but Pepper had insisted) were returned after the scan and once Darcy got directions she popped in her ear buds and made way for the elevator. Her iPod shuffled to Hummingbird Heartbeat and Darcy started to hum along while quickly texting Jane to let her know Darcy was probably in the same building as her soul mate.

When Darcy first met Jane, she hadn't been that big on the whole Timer soul mate business. It was all a self-fulfilling prophecy to Jane. That had been right at the end of her relationship with Dr. Dirtbag so it made since. Then Jane met Thor and their late night conversations about love increased in number and in hope. Erik rolled his eyes much like a fond father would. Sometimes, they got Phil to join in, who was a closeted romantic. Darcy bonded with Phil when they realized their Timers were set to go off a few days apart.

Two weeks ago, Darcy found out for the first time that Phil was still in a coma after the battle of New York. It was mentioned in passing between Tony and Pepper. Pepper was sorry she didn't even think to ask of Darcy knew Phil, especially since Darcy's resume had been recommended highly from SHIELD. Then that week, Phil finally woke up and Darcy had requested at least an hour off to visit him. Pepper had given her a couple days and said to prepare for meeting her soul mate while she was at it.

Apparently Pepper's Timer had caused her quite a bit of grief and she was just warning Darcy for the worst. Though if Darcy's Timer went off after looking into Tony Stark's eyes, she would also have a mental break down. Pepper's Timer was blank until one day, Tony had gone missing during an alcohol binge. Not only was Pepper stressed about a missing billionaire but her Timer woke up and hit the 24 hour mark out of nowhere. Happy eventually found Tony, who'd got a Timer on a whim and wanted to prove the fake science wrong by having it time out when he looked at one of his robots. Instead it jingled happily when he looked into Peppers eyes. Pepper didn't come into work the next day until she complained to the company about malfunctions and then got it removed. It wasn't mentioned again between Tony and Pepper but they were together and happy now. Things really did work out for the best. Darcy truly believed that with all her heart.

Security was pretty heavy on the floor where they were keeping Phil but she supposed that was understandable. Her items had to go through another security check but soon Darcy was popping her head into the room uncertainly. It was empty except for the large medical bed and various monitoring equipment beeping reassuringly. Pale and in the middle of the bed was Phil, looking like he was sleeping. Darcy waited a moment, wondering if she should just drop off the flowers and cards then leave to let him rest but Phil opened his eyes before she could make up her mind. He smiled weakly and rasped for her to come in.

Much to Darcy's relief, he enjoyed the flowers and the card brought a welcoming bit of colour to his cheeks. She helped him drink some water and then it was as if they were back in New Mexico. Phil told her about the war, Loki, bringing together superheroes and his injury. Then finally when he woke up from his coma it was to the eyes of a handsome doctor and the synchronized sound of their Timers going off. There was still quite a bit to work out with that last part of the story but Phil was content so far and was smart enough to know it was best to not rush things.

Darcy told Phil about her graduation, not finding a well paid job for months until out if the blue, she got a call from Pepper Freaking Potts asking for an assistant. Phil's eyes sparkled at that. She went on to tell him how worried she was about everything but that she would at least meet her soul mate that night. And he would be smart, handsome, blonde and foreign and absolutely perfect.

She was collecting her things and hugging him goodbye when Phil frowned at a body in the doorway.

"Clint, I'll be fine. Get more sleep," Phil ordered wearily and Darcy turned to see a blonde man who looked very worse for wear. Next to him was a beautiful redhead who smirked and said teasingly.

"He's trying to hide from his destiny."

Darcy barely had time to register that he looked familiar and she was sure she'd seen his body in the shadows around New Mexico.

Their eyes met briefly and at that moment two Timers sounded off in perfect harmony, like they were always meant to. The tune seemed to drown out all background noise as everyone's eyes widened in shock. Looking down at the Timer on his wrist in horror, Clint brought his gaze to Darcy so he could give her the most intense glare she ever remembered receiving before waking out the door without a word. The redhead made a move to follow him but thought better of it. Instead, she smiled apologetically at Darcy and held out a hand to introduce herself as Natasha.

As far as first impressions, Darcy thought Clint's was pretty shitty. She suddenly understood why Pepper had got hers removed. A scar was better than having the blank Timer reminding you that your soul mate was much less than anticipated. If Clint was the man Darcy would spend the rest of her life with- someone who looked at her, a complete stranger, with so much hate- then Darcy wanted her money back. She went about her day as usual and had her date. Henrik was nice but Darcy knew in her gut it wouldn't have lasted anyway.

Come here, stay with me
Stroke me by the hair.
'Cause I would give anything, anything
To have you as my man.

He'd been absolutely fine without Darcy in his life and would continue to do so. It was a ridiculous piece of nonsense to have been lightly teasing Phil about falling in love with the first pair of eyes he woke to, only to have his Timer go off in the same room? He should have removed the damn thing long ago. If Natasha gave him one more curious side eye glance he would lose it. It was enough that he was trying to atone for everything he had done. He didn't need some vapid doe-eyed little girl following him around and texting everyone about how, like, her boyfriend was- OMG, sooo dreamy. He'd looked up her file and wasn't impressed. They weren't what each other wanted or needed. Clint was trained to kill. Darcy happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and was reaping benefits.

A month or so later and Clint had ran into Darcy a handful of times. They were icy towards each other and polite only when Phil was present. Phil would try to get them to have a real conversation and it seemed like Darcy was willing to give it a go but Clint refused. Maybe he was just destined to be the one to teach Darcy how shit life could be. She had taken Bobbi away. It was only fair.

The pressure's on,
Both hearts beat like a metronome.

One day while walking through Avengers Tower on his way to the shooting range (Tony was an smug jerk a majority of the time, especially about Clint's Timer, but he had set up a huge archery range so Clint could live with it), Clint found Steve in the kitchen. The super soldier was studying some pamphlets with a frown. When Clint peaked over his shoulder and saw it was a Timer information packet, he grabbed a power bar and tried to leave undetected. Steve noticed of course.

"Clint, can I get your advice?"

"Uh, sure. If it's about Timers though, I don't think I'm the best person to ask."

"Yeah, a lot of people don't seem to like them. Everyone has one though."

"Not everyone. I've met some who swear by it. Maybe it's our profession. Not a lot of room for happily ever after."

"Tony seems to have figured it out. I guess having it all is a Stark family secret," Steve joked, a wistful look on his face. "But maybe it's good that you haven't had luck with it. Everyone at the store only has great things to say about it but then I hear the complete opposite. I don't know what to think. I'm trying to adjust but I don't want to lose who I was either."

"Phil seems to like it. His Timer went off the moment he woke up," Clint offered, taking a seat across from Steve.

"Yeah, lucky guy," sighed Steve. "You know, I'm happy for him it's...it's just I'm worried. That my body will reject it or it just won't work. I'm the soldier out of his time right?"

"You're afraid that it will remind you that you're different? That everything you loved is gone and you're still here," Clint offered, suddenly not liking where this conversation was headed or the words that he had just put in Steve's mouth.

"Yeah. I, I had a girl, well almost had her I guess. Back before I crashed into the ice. And I'm afraid that if I get a Timer, it'll just remind me of what I lost. It'll keep me questioning what I did and if it was worth it all."

"Then don't get one. I've regretted mine the moment I got it," Clint stated bluntly, crossing his arms and leaning back.

"But what if my Timer isn't broken? Then I'd never know and I'll just keep wondering and assuming that I'm not meant to be here. Maybe I'm supposed to be here then I'd just be holding myself back."

"I really don't know Cap. What are you more afraid of? The past or the future?"

"The future," Steve said after a pause. "I don't want to forget Peggy and I know I never will. But after a dame like her- well it's hard to believe anyone could follow her. And I don't want someone to have to live in the shadow of a women she's never met because I can't accept the past and let it go."

"Yeah...that would be tough," Clint frowned, feeling his gut drop. He swallowed past a heavy lump in his throat and stared in deep concentration at a point behind Steve. When Clint finally snapped back to reality, Steve had long gone, the pamphlet along with him. Letting out a quivering breath, Clint looked at the clock on the wall and saw it was nearing nightfall.

Bobbi had said there was something better waiting for him and he couldn't believe it- still couldn't. But she was married now and last he heard was expecting a kid. Clint was tired of waiting for a woman who wasn't coming and it wasn't fair to the one who was already here. Pulling out his phone, Clint scrolled down to the number Natasha had programmed into it. She'd given a silent, meaningful glare when she typed it in. He let his thumb linger over the call button for a second before pushing. Placing the phone to his ear, Clint listened to the ringing tone and waited for Darcy to answer.

But how we move from A to B,
It can't me up to me 'cause you don't know
Who I was before you.
Basically to see a change in me
I'd be losing, so I just ignore you.
But you're on my mind.
But maybe in time…