Disclaimer - I own nothing you recognise.

Challenges listed at the bottom.

Pairing - TonyClint (Pre-relationship)

Word Count - 1160

There Was Time

Clint woke to the vibrations running through the bed. It was Tony's way around having an alarm that would hurt Clint's ears, and he was ridiculously grateful for it. He reached down to smack the button on the side of the bed to turn them off when his eyes found the clock on the table.

The time was fine, but the date…

Odd.

Tony's tech didn't usually muck up, especially something as simple as a clock.

Clint shook his head and pushed the matter from his mind. He'd mention it to Tony later, he supposed.

He showered and dressed, his morning routine set to the minute as it was everyday, and then made his way out to the communal kitchen. He blinked when he saw his teammates sitting around the table, in exactly the same places as they'd been the morning before.

Wearing the same clothes.

"What the fuck?" he mumbled to himself.

Tony looked up and smiled at him in greeting. "Morning, Legolas."

"Why are you all…. Is this some kind of joke?" Clint asked, looking around at them all. He met the concerned eyes of each of his teammates.

"What… what's wrong?" Bruce asked, his brow furrowing.

Clint caught sight of the date on the paper Steve was reading and shook his head, rubbing his hand over his eyes.

Seriously, what the fuck was going on?

…

Clint was slumped on the sofa when the assemble alarm blasted through the tower. At exactly midday.

The same as it had the day previous.

…

They were fighting odd little robot things.

They same as they had the day previous.

…

Clint jumped off of the building he'd been stationed. Tony caught him, only just barely, and reprimanded him soundly through the comms for being a reckless bastard.

Different, but only because Clint had made it so.

…

Nat fell.

She didn't get back up.

…

Clint woke up to the vibrations running through the bed. He rubbed his face, blinking his eyes open.

Stupid fucking dream.

Turning to hit the button that would end the vibrations, Clint's eyes widened when he saw the date.

Oh fuck no.

…

Steve fell. He didn't get back up.

…

Nat fell again.

…

Sam fell, and Thor fell, and Bruce fell one by one.

…

Clint didn't know what to do. He'd lived the same day over and over, thirty four times by his count, and everytime, one of his teammates died.

It didn't seem to matter what he changed, what he did, what warnings he yelled, someone always died and then Clint woke up in the same day.

…

"Tony! Tony, look —"

Clint watched in horror as the flying robot collided with the back of Iron Man. It almost felt like slow motion as the armour dropped from the sky until it fell out of sight. Clint ran through the streets, ignoring his teammates calling his name, until he found Tony splayed on the floor, the armour damaged beyond anything Clint had seen before.

"Tony," he whispered, pulling the faceplate easily from its hinges.

Blood bubbled at Tony's lips, slipping down the side of his face. Tony looked up at him, his eyes wild and panicked.

"Clint," he whimpered, forcing the word past his lips. "Clint, hurts. Hurts."

"I know, Tony, I know. It's okay, medical's on the way, okay? You're going to be okay."

Clint thought watching Nat die was the worst thing he'd ever seen, but sitting here on the ground, with Tony still locked into his damaged armour…

"I… I…"

"S'okay, Tones," Clint hushed gently, stroking his face. "You're going to be okay, I promise."

"I… love you," Tony whispered, barely audible. His body was seizing, the armour rocking slightly on the floor. "I love you, Clint."

Clint could only watch as the light left Tony's eyes and the last breath left his lungs.

…

Clint woke up to the vibrations on the bed, tears running down his face.

…

The battle was going well. Really well. Clint was determined he wasn't about to see one of his teammates die again, and he called out warnings as much as he was able, keeping himself perched high on a building where he could watch his team.

…

They won.

Nobody died.

…

Clint woke up to the vibrations on his bed and turned to look at the clock. He stared at it for a long moment, almost unable to believe what he was seeing.

It…

He climbed out of bed, hitting the button to stop the vibrations as he went. He pulled a t-shirt on and left his rooms, forgoing his usual routine. Approaching the kitchen, he could feel nerves bubbling in his stomach and he had to force himself to continue.

Nat… wasn't there.

In fact… only Steve and Tony were there, talking quietly over coffee.

Tony wasn't wearing a suit.

Tony was wearing sweatpants.

"Oh, thank fuck," Clint gasped out, running his eyes over Tony critically.

"Clint?" Tony asked, raising his eyebrow. "You okay?"

Clint didn't answer, he stepped forward and laid his hand against Tony's neck, feeling the strong pulse there. "You're okay," he whispered.

Tony nodded, looking bemused and concerned as he looked from Clint to Steve and back again.

"Are you okay, Clint?" Steve asked, his brow furrowed.

Clint nodded, raising the hand from Tony's neck to cup his cheek gently. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm good. I… I'm so glad you're okay," he murmured to Tony, his thumb rubbing over the apple of Tony's cheek.

He smiled slightly when he saw the faint blush appearing there, before Tony ducked his head. "I'm fine, Legolas," Tony assured him, stepping back and picking his coffee up. "I'm going to head down to the lab. I'll see you guys later."

Clint slumped at the table, watching Tony walk away.

"Are you sure you're okay, Clint?" Steve asked, still frowning with worry. "Do you need to talk about something, or…?"

Clint shook his head and laughed. "You wouldn't believe me if I tried, Cap."

…

The movie played on the tv, but Clint couldn't concentrate. Tony was sitting beside him, falling asleep if his lolling head was anything to go by. Clint couldn't help the fond smile on his lips.

He also couldn't help but hear the echo of Tony's words in his head.

He'd spent the few days since he'd woken up on the next day looking for signs in their interactions that Tony hadn't been fucking with him in his last moments, but found nothing. Tony still treated him as he always had.

A weight on his shoulder and he couldn't stop the chuckle when he realised Tony had flailed to the side in his tiredness.

Tony stirred at the movement, but Clint shushed, him, lifting his arm so that Tony could be more comfortable pressed into his side.

There was time, Clint figured, to see if anything could come of this.

There was time now.

Written for;

365 - 22. Reckless

1000 - 101. Stuck in a time loop.