Hey everyone. This story was written for the Favorite Character Boot Camp on Avenger's Training Camp. I used prompt 24. (location) Sokovia. Warnings for mentions of character death, cursing, and PTSD. I hope you all enjoy Sokovian Nightmares.
In his dreams Clint Barton is back on Sokovia in that the marketplace. The young boy clutching tightly to his neck and bullets raining around them. He feels the race of air around them and knows what's about to happen. It happens every night the same way it had that day. Everything goes quiet around them. Just him, the boy, and the speedster that had just saved them. He sees the blood soak through Pietro's shirt the way it had that day.
"You didn't see that coming?" comes the speedster's voice sounding younger than he was.
He wishes he can save them both and sometimes in his dreams he tries to save the speedsters life. But the dream always ends the same way with Pietro dead and Barton wounded.
Tonight was particularly harrowing because he tries to save both boys lives. But as the end comes he can't bring himself to listen to those words again. He can't bring himself to watch the speedster fall to his side. He feels himself sit up quickly in bed the sweat trickling down him almost in waves.
"Sweetheart," comes Laura voice, "are you alright?"
He doesn't think she'd understand what he's going through so he gives the usual lie he gives when he wakes up like this. He tells her he's alright and bids her to go back to sleep.
For her part Laura looks like she isn't buying his shit. She has this way about seeing through his lies that he can't just put his finger on but he hates all the same.
"You should talk to someone about this," she tells him giving him look screams caring and love. "This isn't healthy, Clint. You need to get help for whatever is keeping you from sleeping."
"I know, hon," he tells her but he doesn't know how to get the help she wants him to.
"You can talk me," she offers and he knows she means well. She really does he just doesn't think that she would be able to handle knowing what happened on Sokovia.
Maybe he'll tell her one of these days when it's not so fresh in his mind and he isn't living it over and over again every night. Maybe one of these days he'll be able to forgive himself for not saving them both.
"You need sleep, hon," he tells her kissing her as he turns on his side and pretends to go back to sleep.
"Goodnight, Clint," she whispers sadly kissing his shoulder and rolling over to go back to sleep herself.
He feels bad about cutting her off and letting her in. But he also knows she wouldn't be able to handle what he sees behind his eyes every night. So he watches the window until the first rays of the sun creep through the curtains and night becomes day.
I hope you all enjoyed Sokovian Nightmares.
