Disclaimer- this is Marvel's world, I just make changes. Enjoy!
She first met Clint at the Carson Carnival of Traveling Wonders.
Some of the sisters at the orphanage had taken some of the girls to the carnival after they got 'A's on their report cards. Skye had snuck along, Sister Catherine ignoring the single 'C' in gym. Skye had gotten her five dollars allowance early for the occasion.
She walked with the other girls, staring at the games and booths in amazement. Some of the other girls had saved and convinced more money out of the sisters and went up to every booth in an attempt to win them. None of them actually did, ignoring Skye's advice of throwing the ball to the left to knock down the bottles.
Two of the older girls, Amanda and Victoria had fallen back at lunch and were teasing Skye endlessly over every detail. ("Have you seen your clothes? I mean, Lord, get someone to buy you a shirt worth more than fifty cents!" "OMG, I know, right!") Skye was resisting the temptation to hit them.
The Sisters always got upset about that kind of stuff.
Skye stayed far enough away from the group that they wouldn't realize that the taunts were lame and physical violence was worth the anger of the sisters.
While the other girls rushed to buy trinkets from a stand with a large gypsy woman in front of it, Skye stared at a poster of a teenager aiming a bow and arrow at the camera. He had the same bored expression that showed up in school pictures. A tight, purple, sleeveless shirt showed off muscles but the entire poster was glowed with the thick sheen of gloss that she didn't know what was photoshopped and what was real.
"I bet a real pretty lady like you wants to see the Greatest Marksman in action, huh?" Skye looked over to see a pudgy man in a pinstripe suit smirking at her. A comb-over was plastered on with sweat and his mustache hung limply. "It's only two dollars and you can see him shoot." He offered. Skye shook her head no.
"Don't have two dollars." She explained. The man instantly turned around and walked to a woman staring at the poster of a "MERMAID LADY!" Skye turned back to the poster and hummed. Maybe when she was rich and famous she would see things like that.
She walked away, turning around the corner to see the boy on the poster leaning on the pole of the tent. A almost used up cigarette was between his fingers, smoke rolling from his mouth as he breathed out. A bow lay beside him, in a distance close enough to be grabbed in a second.
Skye gripped the hems of her sleeves nervously, but walked forward anyway. "Got one to spare?"
The teen over at her and raised an eyebrow. "For you? What are you, five?"
"Nine." Skye corrected.
He laughed. "Because that makes it so much better. Go away, kid. Go find your parents. Save smoking until you're older."
"And you're so much older?" Skye demanded.
"Sixteen, but it doesn't matter. The cigarettes are mine." He took another long drag. "Besides, you wouldn't know how to smoke I bet."
Skye smirked this time, grabbing the cigarette from him and breathing deeply. She had only smoked once other time, with a girl named Abby who had left a year later to move in with her boyfriend after she had gotten pregnant. Thankfully though, she didn't cough and was able to smoke like a pro- at least she assumed. The boy looked appropriately impressed.
"Damn, kid." He said. She grinned, and then started coughing as she breathed in clean air. He laughed at her but it didn't seem to be laughing at her. Skye sat beside him, grabbing another, fresh, cigarette from where it stuck out from his pocket.
"I'm Skye, by the way."
"Clint. Your parent's hippies? Most kids don't have nature names." He asked. Skye shook her head negatively.
"I don't know. Never knew them." She said. He gave a ring of smoke in sympathy. She leaned back on the tent and laughed at the scandalized expression of an old lady walking by. She only imagine the sight they made- smoking with Clint in his carnival outfit and her in a too big sweater and too short shorts.
"Hey, Sharpshooter!" Another kid that looked like an older Clint looked out from the tent. "Your ass is up. People payin' to see ya." He looked at Skye uninterestedly. "Scram."
"She's cool. She can come in to watch the show." Clint spoke up. The other boy looked like he was going to protest and he continued. "I'll handle Duquesne, Barney." He boy- Barney- held up his hands in defeat.
"Whatever. Just come do your shit." He disappeared and Clint nodded at the opening.
"You want to come in? Just for a bit then you'll have to leave." He asked. Skye shrugged. She didn't really want to go get back to the rest of the group.
She walked inside and Clint followed, closing the gap behind her. There was a stool on one side inside and a brightly painted target circle on the other. Skye sat down in the corner and Clint perched on the stool, arrow and bow at the ready. A happy family of three walked in, the large father dragging a lanky boy in and pointing to Clint.
"Here's a real man. You should be more manly." He rumbled. The wife laughed shrilly, and pushed her son forward. "Watch."
Clint looked bored and quickly shot off three arrows, each hitting the center of the bulls-eye. The other boy looked amazed, the parents nudging him again and again. Skye leaned her head against the pole of the tent and closed her eyes for a second.
When she opened them Clint was inches away from her face and snapping. "Hey, kid. You got to leave. Carnival closed thirty minutes ago."
Skye stared in disbelief. "And you've let me sleep until now, why?" He just shrugged.
"You seemed tired." Clint backed up and Skye saw he had changed into jeans and a t-shirt. "Besides, no one called around looking for you." He realised this wasn't the right thing to say a second later and hurriedly added, "they might still be here."
Skye nodded, pushing herself up and taking a few steps to steady herself. "Right. Well, thanks. See you at next year's carnival then." She stepped out of the tent, not surprised to see a slight drizzle greeting her. The weather in this city seemed as dependable as an ADD kid on a sugar high.
She walked the path that the last of the people were. Tents were already being pulled down, and several women who Skye had seen auctioning off jewelry and stuffed animals earlier were sitting on lawn chairs in front of trailers and pointing the direction of the exit, meanwhile having a conversation in what sounded like Greek.
Eventually the exit came into sight, the almost empty parking lot behind it. Skye glanced around for the bright yellow bus, with 'SISTER OF THE CHILDREN ORPHANAGE' written on the side. that they had arrived in, but all she could see were minivans and sportscars. She still walked up and down the aisles. Cars honked at her, more than one driver giving her a concerned look before being distracted by a passenger.
"They left?" Skye turned to see a tall, skinny woman with light purple and pink clothes draped around her looking at Skye in sympathy. Skye moved to deny it but the lady waved a hand like denial didn't really matter. "We always have someone left behind. You an orphan?" She didn't wait for an answer. "Yep. I could tell. Tell you what, kid. You seem sweet. You're stuck here and there is nothing around her for at least an hour by car. You want to join the circus?"
Skye gave her a shrewd look. "You don't know me."
The lady stuck out a hand. "Milly. Unless you talk to my clients. Then I'm Madame Elivana, physic and belly-dancer extraordinaire."
Skye shook it. "Skye." She paused before looking around the parking lot once more. "I won't join, but I could take a ride to the next stop."
Milly grinned. "Okay." She seemed to be smiling to a secret Skye was missing. "You can be my assistant for a bit. Come on, my tent needs to be fully packed into the damn RV."
Somehow a year went by before Skye remembered she was only going to the next town.
She didn't mind. She had moved up from muscle to assistant.
"Skye!" Skye glanced down the tree and saw Clint standing there, a hand held up to block the glare of the sun. "Come on, kid. Food's ready." Skye leaned her head against the bark of the tree and grinned at him.
"Come up here." She countered.
"Kid…" Clint tilted warningly. She grinned bigger, and waved a hand.
"Come on!" Clint shrugged and reached up to grab a branch, pulling himself up to beside her. He sat beside her and looked out.
"What do you want, kid?" He asked. Skye pointed to the space seen through the branches.
"Just look." She said. The tree was on top of a hill, the rest of the forest's tree tops seen from the branch. A sunset was covering the sky available. It was beautiful and Skye couldn't take her eyes off it.
Clint just rolled his eyes. "What the hell is with your Disney scene shit?" He asked, but didn't move. They sat there for a few minutes.
"The poor soul sat sighing by a sycamore tree, Sing all a green willow; Her hand on her bosom, her head on her knee, Sing willow, willow, willow The fresh streams ran by her, and murmured her moans, Her salt tears fell from her, & softened the stones; Sing all a green willow must be my garland. Let nobody blame him; his scorn I approve, I call'd my love false love; but what said he then? If I court more women, you'll couch with moe men." Skye whispered. Clint turned to look consideringly at her.
"What's that?"
Skye shrugged. "A song from Othello," seeing his blank look she explained, "Shakespeare. We have got to get you more cultured, I swear. We read it in English class."
"Fourth grade English class changed since my time."
Skye laughed and bumped his shoulder. "Clint, I wasn't in the Fourth grade. I was in eighth grade English class- in middle school. I skipped a couple grades." Clint gave her a disbelieving stare, more like a gape. "I was really good at math. They let me skip after I annoyed teachers enough."
"Damn kid, your a genius." Clint laughed and Skye blushed. "Don't be embarrassed. You skipped grades because of math. All things considered, you're smarter than half of this show, if not all." He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and kissed her forehead. "Be proud of that, kid. Don't let anyone make you otherwise." She smiled happily. "Now come on, food's ready and getting cold."
He jumped down, holding arms up to catch Skye who jumped after. She was placed on the ground and they started walking down the hill to the camp. Some of the ladies had set up clotheslines stringing from RV to RV, clothes of all colors draped on the wires. Skye ran through the fabrics, ignoring some of the yells not to. Clint just ducked around them, waving off the yells with yells of his own.
"You haven't taught me Greek in a while." Skye noticed. Clint shrugged.
"You haven't expressed an interest in a while." He said. "Tell me when we have some free time, genius." Skye laughed again, not caring that turning her head got whips of hair in her mouth.
Skye turned back to see most of the camp eating from assortments of bowls, most just drinking straight instead of using spoons. Carnival folk- the main pillars of manners in the community.
"Girlie," Milly called. Skye and Clint walked over and Milly shoved two bowls of food at them. "If you were starin' at the sunset of somethin' stupid like that, we are going to have a talk. Life isn't a movie, yet."
"That's what I told her." Clint said, sipping at his soup.
Skye just rolled her eyes and laughed. Spending so many days cooped up in an orphanage, staring at white walls and cleaning rather than windows and sunshine, this was a movie.
She wouldn't go back to reality now.
The wind blew her hair out of her braid, and Skye clutched the bowl closer over her head. Rain pelted the side of it, making Skye feel like she was back in the ice rink that Clint had taken her to in Montana.
The hitched up her skirt higher, feeling like Milly's comment of, "Put the damn skirt down, girlie. I didn't help you to be a whore," was worth not get the hems mud soaked. Skye wasn't even sure when she has started wearing long skirts and flowing blouses like her mentor, but suspected the decision had come sometime when Milly had her hand in one of the performer's chests, trying to stop the bleeding after the usual bar fight, and had told her to give her her shirt.
She was almost at Milly's tent when a shadow jutted from the door and grabbed her and covered her mouth, pulling her into the shadows. She almost screamed but then the person spoke.
"Keep quiet." Clint. "I'm going to remove my hand." The hand fell and Skye twisted.
"What the hell?" She hissed. Then she froze and her heart stuttered before going twice as fast. "Clint?" His face was white even in the darkness, eyes twitching to the door of the trailer almost involuntarily. He shrugged off his trench-coat, a leather one he was so proud of, and shoved it at her.
"You need to run. The carnival's closing." He let her go and pushed her slightly. "Don't look back, run." Her feet started moving as she pulled on the too big coat. If he said to run, she would. Skye looked back as a loud gunshot went off and Milly screamed. Clint was poised outside of the door, watching carefully. She was tempted to turn back for him but another shot had her running as fast as she could.
If she could run fast enough she could turn back time. Milly would be fine. It would be that morning with Skye yelling out advertisements outside of schools with Clint, ignoring the mocking tones of the students for the prizes in people's pockets. She picked up speed and jumped over the fence surrounding a corn field.
She finally stumbled and fell, falling to all fours on the mud puddles and gasping for air. Her chest was heaving and at one point she was sick on the ground. Skye had no idea if she was crying, she was too numb and everything was soaked.
She eventually stood up and raised her face to the rain. She pushed her hair, now the braid loose and tumbling around her, back from her face.
Time to leave. Time to go back to make something of herself.
On the way running she passed a peeling sign, 'SISTER OF THE CHILDREN ORPHANAGE'.
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