The Return To Asgard

Chapter 1

Clint hung his head against his palm, his left leg was propped up on Natasha's chair. A bowl of soggy chocolate cereal lay fermenting in his bowl as his spoon slowly twirled patterns in the crispies. Natasha rubbed a hand along his back absentmindedly. It had been a long intolerable night for both of them. Normal and reasonable sense should have told Natasha to get up and pass out on the pullout couch. But loyalty kept her in his bed, holding him through the nightmares that struck without warning.

Tony sat across the table, starring at them. "Wow, you two kids have a rough night?"

Natasha asked. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

"I would, actually, it looks like you've deflated my best friend. Clint, if she broke you, I will avenge you and I mean that from the bottom of my heart."

Clint smiled. "Funny. I don't know what happened last night. The worst night sleep of my life. Maybe I had too much coffee."

"Dreams keeping you up?"

"Yeah. Sucked."

"What about?"

Clint jerked his shoulders up and let them drop. "Got me. Coulda been dinosaurs for all I remember. Kept just waking up, screaming, my heart racing, that feel of falling. It was just non-stop like a Barney song. Eventually I gave up and sat out here the rest of the night."

Tony's eyes took in the cereal bowl, probably poured in the early morning, then back at Clint. "I see how that worked out for you."

"Says he'll be fine for the pickup today." Natasha put in.

"You sure about that?"

Clint grinned. "Come on, Tony, a little respect for the master of all things bow related. Nat's going in, she'll grab the crap, I'm just sitting there looking pretty unless something goes sideways. Yeah, I'll be fine."

Tony held a hand palm out. "Ok, ok, just checking. And if things do go south make sure you call. I'm going to be a few buildings down but I have my other suit with me. If you need me, I'll be there."

Natasha pouted her lips. "Awe, how cute. The concern is almost directed at me. Will you two get over your bromance so we can head out now?" She climbed out of her seat and headed to the bedroom to grab her equipment. With the private moment it afforded Clint and Tony, they drew closer together. Clint put his fist out, so did Tony. They smashed their fingers together, pulled back in an explosion, came back together, touched their elbows and separated.

Bromance or not, he knew Tony would always have his back. Even if the billionaire had tried to choke him to death twice in their past. In his own, not so subtle way, Tony was trying to ascertain whether or not Clint would be fine with this job they had come to do. Technically, the assassin could tell Tony to keep himself out of the mix. Iron Man was just about the last thing they needed to deal with during this undercover operation and Stark knew that as well as SHIELD did when they told him to stay home.

In the typical Stark style, he came along anyway.

Clint knew the reason for it. After being away from the Stark Tower for nearly four months on a mission with Natasha alone, Tony had been placed in some rough spots with no one there to back him up. No bow standing on a rooftop watching his hide, no assassin on the ground picking up the pieces of bad guy he dropped, even Steve was called away to his own mission. Stark held his own, after all he'd done fine in the past as the lone Iron Man in a world full of business men and baddies who all wanted a piece of him. But that didn't make him more cautious than before. After so long as a team, suddenly having that pulled away was a difficult process. He would never admit missing the others, but the refusal to stay home when Natasha and Clint were sent on yet another undercover mission, this time within the continental United States, there was nothing SHIELD could do to keep Tony out of it.

"I'll be fine." Clint assured him. As if to emphasize his point he took a bite out of the soggy cereal in front of him. "What kind of assassin would I be if I couldn't handle a sleepless night once in a while?"

Tony shrugged. "A human one."

"We don't get the luxury of being human, you know that."

From the side door at Clint's back came the scrawny figure of Bruce Banner. Out of everyone, even Tony, he was the last person in the world to get out of bed with a spring in his step. More often he stumbled around in the morning sunlight like a drunk waking from a hangover. Today was no different. From beneath a shade of hair that had grown out passed its cut-it-off date, he cast an evil glare that probably came more from the Hulk than the mild mannered doctor. The glare was directed to one individual alone, Clint Barton.

Before anything could be said, Clint opened his mouth. "Sorry, Bruce. Hope I didn't keep you up all night."

With a zombie foot drag, Banner went for the mini fridge. It was empty. It took him a little longer to wonder why until he remembered they were crashing at a hotel in the south end of Miami. Despondently, he closed the fridge door again and looked expectantly at Clint's bowl of cereal. Without a word, Clint slid it over to him. Milk laden as it was by now, it wasn't much of an offering, but any gesture of getting back on Banner's good side was worth the attempt.

"First hour or two wasn't that bad." Banner said after a few shovels of food. "I was able to sleep through that. It was the rest of the night."

"Sorry." Clint repeated. "I'll do us a favor and stay on the couch tonight if we get back in time for sleep."

Banner nodded. "I'd appreciate it."

next chapter up tomorrow!