Some Nights are Worse Than Others
Author: kinda rolled around in my head for a while before finally going on paper.
Lots of changes from the first draft. No slash, just some brotherhood. Tried to keep
people in character. Had problems with Sam but oh well... I own nobody. R&R
"You are mine... archer."
Clint groaned, shivering despite the heat.
"I know your fears."
Natasha sat up, shaking her head to clear the fog of sleep. "Clint?" she whispered, touching his cheek gently.
Her archer was shivering & flinched away from her touch.
"Shit." she hissed.
"I know your hopes... your dreams... and I will crush them. I will destroy all you hold dear."
Natasha's eyes widened when Clint's hand locked around her wrist & his eyes snapped open. "Clint?" she whimpered.
"Get out of my head!" he shouted.
Her back hit the wall opposite the door hard enough to burn. "TONY! Steve! Sam! Thor! Banner!" she screamed, scrambling to get a locked door between her & Clint.
"Tony?" Pepper asked, pulling the blanket up to cover herself.
"Shhh." he whispered.
"Lady Romanoff!?" Thor shouted in the hall.
"Stark!?" Steve called.
"I heard! Give me a second!" he shouted, scrambling out of bed to find his jeans.
"What's going on?" Jane's voice asked.
"Was that Tasha?" Sam demanded.
"Clint's having nightmares again!" Tony shouted. Then to Pepper he said, "Pep get dressed. We might need to hand Tasha off to you & Jane so you two can calm her down while we take care of Clint."
"Yeah I'll be out in a second." she told him.
Tony pressed his ear to the door across from his & Pepper's room. "Clint? Tasha?" he called softly.
"Tony." Pepper hissed, cracking the door open to hand him his phone. Natasha's picture flashed across it.
"Tasha? You okay?" he whispered.
"My back hurts... he threw me across the room... I think it's Loki..." she sobbed.
"What color are his eyes?" Tony asked.
"Grey blue. But..." she whimpered.
Tony sighed & pinched the bridge of his nose as he tried to figure out how to calm the red head.
"Tony?" Pepper asked, now fully dressed & standing beside him.
"She's scared. And you've been taking lessons from her." he sighed.
Pepper winked & took the phone. "Natasha, sweetie, take a couple of deep breathes okay. Tony & the boys will calm Clint down. We've done this before remember. Everything will be okay soon & in the morning it'll be like it never happened." she said.
"We have?" Steve asked.
"Yeah... Clint's had a lot of nasty nightmares since I flew him home. Mostly it's been Afghanistan. But before that I let him & Tasha stay at the Tower just after the whole fiasco in New York. He had some really nasty nightmares then too. So this is kinda a thing for us: he has nightmares & between me, Pepper & Tasha... we find a way to wake him up & calm him down." Tony admitted.
"I remember the last time this happened... it was... heart breaking." Thor muttered.
"Yeah... that one was bad." Tony sighed, remembering how hard it had been to get Clint back to sleep after.
"Shall we?" Steve asked, breaking the silence before he cracked the door open.
"It's not locked?" Sam asked.
"No locked doors in this house... for nights like this." Tony told him.
A knife flew through the slightly open door & embedded itself in wall across the hall.
"We just fixed a hole there last week." Pepper complained.
"I know." Tony sighed as Steve shut the door.
"Clint?" Steve called tentatively, only to be answered by two more thumps in the door.
"That's three." Bruce sighed.
"How many knives does he have?" Sam asked.
"Just one. I think he found Natasha's. Four... five." the billionare admitted as two more knives embedded themselves in the door.
"How is she?" Jane asked Pepper.
"Still scared. She's keeping quiet so Clint doesn't hear her." Pepper whispered.
"I'll look at her back once we get her out of there." Bruce told her.
"Tasha sweetie? Bruce said he's gonna want to look at your back once we get you out of there okay?" Pepper told her then nodded to Bruce.
"Clint?" Steve tried again.
"I know your illusions Loki. And I know better than to believe them." Clint scoffed.
"Do we just bust in?" Sam whispered, glancing at Steve.
"We can easily subdue him." Thor agreed.
"Yeah just don't hurt him. He doesn't know what he's doing." Tony reminded them.
"On three?" Sam asked.
Steve, Thor & Tony nodded. "Three." Tony said as Steve threw open the door.
Clint spun, hurling his hunting knife at the four Loki's that had burst into the room.
... four Loki's?
He blinked in confusion as the Loki's faded & he found himself staring at Steve, Thor, Sam & Tony. "Oh shit..." he whispered.
"Clint?" Tony asked.
"It's... I'm me." the archer whispered, sitting on the bed.
"Sam... go get Natasha." Steve told him softly.
Tony sat down beside Clint & gently wrapped an arm around the archer. "Tasha said it was Loki?" Tony whispered.
Clint nodded slowly & buried his face in his hands. "I could have killed all of you." he breathed.
"You didn't & I don't think you actually would have. You reconized us when we can through the door." Tony told him.
"I saw four Loki's & it... confused me." Clint whispered.
"It's okay... we'll figure it all out... just like always." Tony sighed, giving the archer a squeeze.
"Natasha... It's Sam. Unlock the door?" Sam called through the bathroom door.
There was a soft whimper then he heard the tumblers move which told him the door was unlocked.
"Can I come in?" he whispered.
"Alone." came the shakey reply.
"I'm gonna go & make some coffee. I don't think anyone's going back to bed. Come on big guy." Steve said, motioning for Thor to follow him out. Tony would look after Clint & Sam would bring Natasha out when he made sure she was safe.
"Tasha?" Sam whispered, stepping into the bathroom.
"Down here." Tasha called from where she was curled between in the corner behind the door.
"Oh girl." the former solider sighed.
Tasha's hair was a mess & her mascara was streaked from tears. She was shaking & making soft whimpering sounds that made her sound more like a terrified girl & less like the fearless young woman Sam knew her to be.
"Is he...?" she began.
"He came around when we burst in. Tony's got him now. Did he hurt you?" he asked as he wrapped a towel around her.
"Just bruising around my wrist. My back hurts so I'm sure it's bruised too." she murmured.
"Let's get you out of here." Sam told her.
Natasha nodded & allowed him to gently pick her up. She was too shaky to walk on her own & glad for the assistance.
Tony looked up when Sam came out of the bathroom with Tasha in his arms. "Stay put." he told Clint softly, getting up.
"Hi." Tasha whispered as she slid an arm from around Sam's neck to reach for Tony, who gently took her hand.
"Jane & Pep are either in the hall or in the kitchen. They & Bruce are gonna take care of you while I look after Clint." he told her gently.
"Just like how we did things after New York. And after you brought him home again." Tasha whispered.
"Exactly." Tony agreed, kissing her hand gently before kissing her cheek.
"You need any help with him?" Sam asked, nodding to Clint who still had his face buried in his hands.
"No... I'm okay. Go get her taken care of." Tony whispered.
