Hello, everybody; ModernDayBard here! Now, those of you who were around last year might remember my Christmas treat for you all—the Peter Pan/Rise of the Guardians cross-over. This year, I want to do a little something different. Stealing an idea from my good friend EnduranceInHope, I decided to do a series of MCU song-fic one-shots, posting every other day from now until Christmas Eve. Some will be Avengers (like this one), some will be Guardians of the Galaxy, some will be Agents of Shield, and some will be Daredevil. Hopefully, you all enjoy!
Necessary Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Marvel characters or the songs; I'm just using them to celebrate the season.

Not for the first time, Natasha was grateful that Clint had let the other Avengers in on his 'double life'. For one thing, all it took was saying that the 'higher ups' had called Hawkeye away to explain the archer's absence, and no further questions were asked. For another, there was no longer the looming threat of nosy teammates trying to work out why Barton always seemed to have a long mission during the holidays—especially why she'd head out with him, and return in a few days' time sans Clint.

Well, someone's got to drop him off, then lay a false trail. Besides, it's an excuse to be 'Aunty Nat' for at least a night.

It was an odd tradition, to be sure, but one assassin cherished—though she'd never let on, pretending the time with the kids was the one high point of an otherwise gigantic inconvenience.

"I swear Clint—the closer we get to your children, the more you act like one!" Natasha sighed in convincingly realistic aggravation. Normally, this was the one aspect of the trip that would grate on her, but this year, she was glad to see a bit of the old spark coming back into her friend's eyes, the genuine excitement. He'd been struggling in the past few months, especially when he had to be called away from his family. It wasn't as bad as after the Loki incident, but it was still noticeable, even to the other Avengers—at least, to what remained of the old team.

Though they didn't say anything, Nat knew they were confused why Barton was taking Pietro Maximoff's death so hard—as a SHIELD agent, the archer had lost men before. Tasha wasn't completely sure, but she thought she understood. Clint hadn't been Hawkeye the Avenger when he ran back for the little boy in the market, he'd been Clint Barton, the father. And it was in that mindset that he'd watched a teenage boy die—and die to save him. It would take some time to heal and move past that, and a quiet Christmas with his family (well, as quiet as it could be on that farm with three rambunctious little munchkins running around) would go a long way towards helping, she knew.

"Of course it would start snowing now," Clint growled, squinting out the window as Natasha carefully drove along the backwoods road.

The redhead shot her friend an amused glance for a second. "It thought you'd be excited—sled racing? Snowball fights? Possibility of a white Christmas?"

"We have to get there, first!" the archer shot back. After a pause, Barton plugged his iPod into the car, shooting a defiant glare at the Black Widow, as if challenging her to dispute his song choice.

Natasha had been fighting against Christmas carols for the whole trip up until that point (she'd get her fill of them back at the Avenger's facility, she knew), but decided she may as well give in, especially given the unexpected delay. As the song began, she recognized both it and Clint's not-so-subtle hint.

Driving home for Christmas—
Oh, I can't wait to see those faces!
I'm driving home for Christmas, yeah;
Well, I'm moving down that line.
And it's been so long,
But I will be there;
I sing this song,
To pass the time away:
Driving in my car;
Driving home for Christmas!

"Clint, I'm not going to drive any faster in a blizzard."

He only turned it up louder and started to sing along.

"It's gonna take some time,
But I'll get there!
Top to toe in tail-lights—
Oh, I got red lights on the run!
But soon there'll be a freeway;
Get my feet on holy ground."

This is going to be a long drive.

So, yeah. Just a quick little scene to kick us off, but more coming in the month ahead, I promise. I really like the idea of Clint as a family man, and I've liked this song since I first heard it on a Celtic Woman Christmas CD, so I figured the two really fit together. Do you guys agree?
If you saw something you liked or something you think I can fix/improve on for next time, please don't hesitate to leave a review and let me know!

Song: Driving Home For Christmas
Recommended Version: The High Kings(If you can find it, it's a little difficult to turn up, sometimes)