Set after the events of the "Avengers"… Virginia is a story about love, told in flashbacks. Love takes many forms: friendship, romance, and the kind of love a parent has for a child. What would you do for the people you love?
Chapter 1
Two weeks after the Manhattan invasion, Clint and Natasha are still healing from both emotional and physical wounds. They are stationed at the SHIELD building in New York and are both on limited duty, given "busy work" to help takes their minds off the recent events. Steve Rogers has asked Fury for something to do as well. Fury sends him to help Barton and Romanoff, hoping they 3 can get used to working together… even though Fury knows very well that might not be easy as it should be.
One night, late, Barton and Romanoff were in the base common room. Since it was just the two of them, Clint could take his aids out. After his mandatory therapy session that day, his head was spinning and he just needed to tune the world out for a while. Clint was watching a movie with the cc on – Nat sleeping in a chair after taking a dose of painkillers. Clint was still worried about her. Her ankle had been so screwed up after her encounter with Banner and the alien battle, that surgery had been the only option to fix it. Clint still wasn't ready to let Natasha out of his sight. And Natasaha was just as unlikely to let him out of hers.
Rogers walked up behind them, but Clint was half asleep with his aids out. Luckily Natasha heard Rogers in time and popped up, nodding to Clint, who snapped off the TV with one hand, the other hand darted to the side table and back quicker than Steve had ever seen a hand move. Clint sprung up off the couch, glaring.
"Don't you know better than to walk in without announcing yourself Rogers? It's a good way to get a knife thrown at you." Steve could tell Barton was only half joking.
Natasha hoped Rogers was in his usual confused state and hadn't noticed anything strange about that scene.
But he did notice. Steve wished that Barton and Romanoff would stop assuming he was just another mindless shield weapon and look at him as an actual human being.
Romanoff smiled at him weakly, and then hobbled away on her crutches down the hall. Steve heard the the door lock behind her.
Barton excused himself too and disappeared behind another door. Again, the lock clicked.
So much for getting to know each other… thought Steve.
Three days later, Steve saw his chance and took it.
Barton and Romanoff were installing the SHIELD surveillance room in Stark Tower. Every available technician was still on the helicarrier and Barton didn't mind doing it himself anyway. Keeping busy had been good for him. Rogers was asked to help with the heaving lifting. Romanoff sat at a makeshift desk in the corner, her ankle still bandaged, engrossed in a laptop, installing the software for the room. Barton was hanging halfway out of the ceiling pulling wire, when…
Stark walked in wearing what looked like half an Iron Man suit: face mask, only the right arm, and left foot.
"Hey guys what's up?
Clint realized the room had gone silent. He looked down and saw Stark. Must be something coming out the suit, because Clint's aids were only transmitting a low hum. Shit, he thought. So there he was with Nat on the other side of the room with her head buried in her laptop, Rogers just standing at an angle underneath him and Stark with a metal mask over his face.
Clint knew that Nat preferred to ignore Stark, but he really needed her to look up from the lap top right now.
Sure enough, Stark addressed each one of them.
"Red, Capcicle, Legolas. I can't help but think there's some kind of threesome thing going on around here."
"Jealous Stark?" Natasha shot back. Not looking up.
Steve always tried to ignore stark's comments, but that was just inappropriate around a lady.
"Not nice Stark." He said.
Rogers expected a volley of curses from Barton. But there was nothing. No comment at all.
Clint loathed talking with the aids out but he didn't have another option at that point.
"Hey Nat, how's the encryption sequencing going? He had practiced this before, but still hoped his words had come out not too loud and not to soft.
Finally, she looked at him, noticed him twisting his head in a weird way.
"Take that stupid mask off when you're in here Stark." Natasha said sarcastically.
"Trying out something new. What do you miss my pretty face or something?"
"No."
"Liar."
Stark, keeping the mask down, started fiddling with a piece of equipment
Clint knew that Nat had his back, but he jumped down, quickly trying to come up with an excuse to get away from Stark.
Natasha scanned the room trying to figure out what was causing the problem when she too, realized it must be whatever "something new" stark was testing.
Rogers thought he knew what was going on and took the shot.
He casually moved behind Barton.
"Stark, take the mask off." He ordered.
"Why?"
"Because Agent Barton can't read your lips."
Natasha's eyes flew up to meet Clint's. He spun around to look at Rogers.
"That's what you're doing right now, right. Reading my lips?"
Barton just stared at him.
Tony flipped up the face mask.
"What?" he gasped.
Natasha and Clint exchanged looks. She was willing to play this anyway he wanted to, but he just had to let her know.
"Yes, Rogers, I am." - Slow and steady, just like he'd practiced. "Seems the hearing aids aren't working right now."
Stark was still flapping his jaw up and down like a nutcracker. But, Natasha knew he was about to let loose on one of his monologues any second. As quickly as she could with a bad ankle she moved in front of Clint, beside rogers, so Clint could focus on her.
"Stark!" She snaped. "WHAT are you testing in your helmet? The sentence ended softer than it started.
"Just a - - oh wait—I got it, it's the new frequency I put Jarvis on."
The AI took the cue and switched the frequency. Changing now sir
Stark looked at Barton with the most innocent, oh shit I'm sorry look Clint had ever seen. Clint swallowed hard, his right fist still clenched.
Natasha looked at him. No reaction from Clint.
"Better?" she signed, simply spelling out the word with her hand at her side.
"No", his also signed back with his left hand.
"That didn't fix the problem, Tony." She said.
Rogers was still watching, noticing the silent exchange. Steve was trying to think of something helpful to say. But he still wasn't sure if Barton was going to take a swing at him.
Stark quickly removed the helmet, and all the other mismatched parts on his body – tossing them on the table.
He moved toward Clint, hand outstretch. "Can I see them a minute, Barton?"
Clint took a step back, but finally relaxed. Quickly removing the damaged aids, he simply, casually put them on Tony's hand.
"Good, right, I'm going to be right back. Right back I promise." He said backing out the door.
"Just hold tight." And disappeared down the hall.
Steve looked to Romanoff for a cue, anything that might tell him what to say next.
She shook her head at him. Steve couldn't tell if Natasha was mad at him, or Stark, or both. Women can be so hard to read. Natasha Romanoff was impossible to read when she didn't want to be.
Steve looked directly at Barton "Well, at least he's gone, right?
Clint smirked, but didn't say anything.
The 3 stood there staring at each other for another 20 seconds or so. All of them assumed that Stark had the intent of fixing the aids – but had no idea how long it was going to take.
Clint glanced at Natasha who responded with a small smile. It seemed to relax Clint a bit more.
Rogers took Barton's change of demeanor as a good sign.
"So…" Steve started.
Clint decided to put Rogers out of his obvious misery quickly.
"Wait till Stark gets back" he signed to Nat. She happily took a deep breath.
"Cap, can we just wait for Stark to do whatever, so Barton just has to say it once?" She both signed and spoke for the benefit of each man standing in in front of her.
Steve nodded enthusiastically. "Of course."
"Need to get some air." Clint signed to Nat and walked off.
It was just Steve and Natasha in the room. Steve wondered if he was about experience the mighty wrath of the famous Black Widow. He was a Super Soldier. He could take it – he hoped. Rogers was relieved and curious when the wrath didn't materialize.
"Ankle hurts." She said casually, and limped back to her chair.
"Sorry." Steve said, feeling little bad that his actions had caused her to have to stand on it.
"It's fine." Nat shrugged.
She just sat there, looking at Rogers, but her demeanor wasn't hostile. She was just waiting. Natasha was studying him, but he didn't seem to mind. Natasha was seeing what Peg had always said about Steve Rogers: he really cared about people. She slowly moved four fingers from her chin outward.
"What's that mean?" he asked curiously.
"It means thank you." She replied.
"Oh."
Barton was pacing up and down the hall when Stark came back. He was being trailed by a pair of rolling robots. Clint didn't want to know why.
"Here." Said Stark, handing over the little flesh colored pieces of plastic.
"Those are impressive. Special Shield technology, I'm assuming."
"Yeah." Clint grunted, sliding the aids back in…and they were working again.
"Thanks." He grunted again, not too nicely because it was Stark's fault in the first place.
Clint nodded to Stark to go back in the room. The robots stayed obediently in hall. Rogers and Romanoff observed the exchange through the window of the room. Natasha was relieved. Steve was very curious about what is going to happen next. The three men found a comfortable place to lean in the room; Natasha was still in her chair and was slightly amused at Clint's body language as he found himself the center of attention. Clint Barton was an observer, not one to ever be the center of attention. He shot her a glance, but she remained silent and seated. He knew he was on his own for this one.
"Had them almost 3 years now." He started, pointing to his head. "It was in Sao Paulo. The eggheads in r/d asked me to test a small sonic weapon for them. I had just shot it out on the end of an arrow when the damn thing went off too early. It knocked me on my ass and nearly blew my brain to mush."
Natasha tried to blink back the memory. Trying not to remember what it felt like finding Clint on the ground, in horrible pain, a severe concussion, and unable to hear anything.
Clint's physical injuries were severe, but the psychological ones were worse. His recovery was too rushed. They'd been sent back to finish the mission in Sao Paulo too soon. The hearing aids failed at a crucial point in the mission.
Natasha still remembered the sound of Phil and Clint yelling at each other. Clint was swearing, but he was so pissed that his words weren't making any sense. Natasha was laying there on the stretcher, willing herself to stay calm, afraid the tears might break through any minute.
Only later, did Phil tell her about his conversation the next day with the director of r/d.
"…you have 2 weeks to find a better solution for Agent Barton." He had said.
"…because in 2 weeks I'm sending the Black Widow to collect that solution. You do understand what it is I'm telling you, don't you?" The man had understood exactly. The Black Widow still remembers the look of fear in the man's eyes when she did show up, exactly 2 weeks later.
The sound of Steve's voice brought Natasha back to the present.
"So, you were injured in the line of duty?" he said, half asking, half stating.
"Uh, yeah." Clint nodded, thinking how the hell else would I get injured?
"I mean, you were injured in the line of duty, but you returned to action, still doing all the things you could before? That's amazing." Steve said, sounding like he actually meant it. He had.
"Don't need your pity Rogers." Clint sighed.
"Barton!" Natasha snapped. Clint had heard that tone before. It was the tone she used when she was saying "don't be an asshole."
"Sorry, I mean thanks. And thank you too Stark. Really. Not too many people could have fixed 'em that quick." Clint said, shooting Nat a there! are you happy? look. Natasha rolled her eyes in response.
"You're welcome. And make sure you tell me next time if they go out when you're here in this building, you understand." Said Tony deliberately. "or anytime for that matter."
"Sure thing." Agreed Clint, almost smiling. Almost.
With that, Stark turned around, left the room, and walked back down the hall with his robots trailing behind.
Again, awkward silence in the room.
"So what's with those things?" asked Steve.
Natasha chuckled, "They're his robots. He treats them like pets. They have names and everything." She said while shaking her head.
"Oh." Replied Steve. "So people have pet robots now?" That idea sounded just a little too weird for Steve Rogers.
"Just Stark." Clint replied, also laughing a bit.
Just then Natasha's laptop started beeping, indicating that the software was finally installed.
"We done now?" Clint asked her hopefully.
"Yes…" Natasha signed, powering down the laptop. She started packing it in a case.
"You want some dinner?" Clint asked both of them.
Both nodded in agreement.
Clint looked at Nat "YOU! Start for the elevator now, and I'll catch up with you. And if I see you off those crutches again, I'm going to carry you. You understand?" he said, squinting at her with one eye, a smile on his face.
Natasha shot him a dirty look, but reached for the crutches. Steve moved forward to take the bag. He had been there to carry stuff, after all.
"How 'bout I help her to the elevator while you lock down the room, Barton" Rogers offered.
"Sounds good, Cap." Said Clint as he turned to finish up the room.