Disclaimer: I do not own the Avengers or any of the characters affiliated with them. If I did, there would totally be a Hawkeye/Black Widow movie in the works.
Author's Note: While I embrace constructive criticism remember this old saying if you choose to leave a review "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all"
So after I published ficlet No. 1 of this 1000 word ficlet series, I got pretty much unanimous demand for a continuation. So here it is. Enjoy the wrap of of Clint getting poisoned lol.
This one and No. 1 aren't really part of the VPU official timeline, but the characters ARE as they appear in the VPU. If that makes sense.
Btw: this is unbeta'd so any mistakes are mine!
Original Prompt: Clint is poisoned and the more active he is the faster it spreads, therefore he cannot be involved in tracking down the antidote.
Submitted by: arlothia
Pepper paused outside the glass door that separated her from Tony, hesitating for a moment before entering. He was sitting in his chair, a holographic breakdown of the poison hovering to his left and a holographic breakdown at his attempt at an antidote on his right. Tirelessly he adjusted this or that on the antidote and merged the two. The computer beeped its rejection of the combination and the two compounds reformed separately once again.
She drew in a breath and quietly entered the lab. He looked to her immediately, eyes fearful.
"No change," she assured. "He's still hanging in there. Natasha's with him now."
The rest of the team had returned 20 minutes ago – just as Pepper finally arrived from her emergency flight back from London – to find Clint sleeping in his room. He'd been so scarily still that Bruce had rushed forward to take a pulse. JARVIS had then informed them that Clint had collapsed two hours ago and after moving him to the bed, Tony had returned to his desperate work on an antidote. He'd left JARVIS with strict instructions to monitor every facet of Clint's condition and keep Tony apprised.
Pepper came to stand at Tony's side as he continued to work. He was silent for a moment before speaking quietly, in a tone so devoid of hope that she felt her own eyes burn.
"They didn't find an antidote, then," he deduced.
Pepper could only shake her head, not trusting her voice to speak.
She watched Tony's jaw clench, his hands fist and loosen in frustration before he went back to his construction of the antidote.
"Tony…" she started gently, "The others are waiting for you. Bruce doesn't think he has long."
"I'm not stopping. I have to figure this out," he replied sharply. "I'm the only chance he has now." The waver in Tony's voice had her gripping his shoulders in comfort.
"Okay," she allowed, knowing he wouldn't be swayed. If Clint took another downward turn, she'd come back. She leaned forward and kissed his hair gently. "He's lucky to have you fighting for him," she whispered before turning to head for the door. She stopped when Tony's voice followed her.
"What if I can't do this?" he asked quietly, brokenly. "What if I can't figure it out in time?" He spun in his chair and faced her, dark eyes shining. "What if I'm not enough to save him?"
Quick steps brought her to him and she enveloped him in a tight hug, pressing his head into her abdomen.
"What you're doing is enough, Tony," she assured. "Clint would never blame you."
"I would blame me," he whispered softly. Pepper closed her eyes and hugged him tighter. Then she pulled away and leaned down to meet his eyes.
"You are Tony Stark. You are always the smartest man in the room. You are smarter than the son of a bitch that did this. Figure it out. I know you will. Clint knows you will. He trusts you to save him." She hardened her tone, trying to light a new fire in him. "So save him."
Just as she'd hoped, his posture straightened and something ignited in his eyes. He nodded once and she nodded back and then leaned in to kiss him.
"You'll let me know if there's any change?" he asked as she pulled away. She nodded and he nodded back, then spun away, attacking his project with a new intensity.
Pepper took a deep breath and headed back for the door.
Her job here was done.
Natasha laid next to Clint on their bed, playing with the fingers of his nearest hand, threading them with hers, then unthreading them. He was motionless next to her, the only movement found in the labored rise and fall of his chest. His eyes looked bruised and sunken. His brow furrowed as if he were in pain, but otherwise he was still.
Clint was never still.
She bit her lip and blinked against the wetness building in her eyes.
The team had left them alone. Gone to wait somewhere else for what was starting to feel more and more inevitable.
The sheer weight of her failure threatened to crush her as she heard Clint's already labored breaths hitch. When they'd finally caught up with the bastard that had done this, he'd already been dead. He'd killed himself rather than risk giving them what they needed from him. A thorough search of his apartment had yielded nothing but more of the same poison.
There had been nothing to do but come back and hope Tony could pull a rabbit out of his hat one more time.
Natasha shifted, curling onto her side and wrapping herself around Clint's body. She nestled her head into his shoulder, and closed her eyes.
"You can't do this to me," she whispered fiercely. "You hear me?" She lifted her head and stared at his pale face, willing him to wake up, to move, to survive. "You can't leave me. I won't let you." She tightened her hold on him to prove the point.
When he didn't respond, didn't even react to her voice, she felt her throat tighten and her eyes well again.
"I can't do this without you," she told him, ignoring the break in her voice. She reached up to gently brush her hand over the side of his face, sliding it down to frame his jaw. "You have to keep fighting, мой сокол. You have to fight harder than you ever have before. Please, do it for me." (my hawk)
She ignored the tears that escaped her eyes and pressed her forehead into his jaw.
"Please come back to me," she whispered.
The door bursting open behind her had her twisting to sitting and reaching for a weapon.
Tony didn't even spare her a glance. Instead, he rushed around to the other side of the bed and tightened a rubber strip around Clint's bicep.
Natasha watched him with wide eyes as he produced a syringe from his pocket.
"You figured it out?" she asked desperately.
Tony finally looked up at her, his own dark eyes wide and red rimmed.
"I don't know. But I think…it might…" the indecision in his eyes, on his face, made her own heart hurt.
He didn't want to make it worse. He didn't want to fail.
She looked down at Clint, wondering what to do, what to tell Tony. But as she stared at her archer's face, she knew.
She met Tony's gaze again.
"He trusts you with his life, Tony," she said firmly and then added, "and so do I. Do it."
Tony nodded sharply and carefully inserted the syringe into the vein visible in the crook of Clint's elbow. He pushed in the plunger and then froze, hovering. Natasha drew in a breath and held it.
Nothing changed. She glanced at Tony.
"How lo-"
Clint's sudden cough and sharply drawn breath cut her off and then he was coughing again, eyes flashing open and looking around wildly.
"Clint!" she caught his face in her hands, reading the beginnings of panic in his gaze. "You're okay," she stated firmly, relief bleeding into her tone. "You're okay," she said again then looked at Tony with grateful eyes. "Tony saved you."
Clint's gaze swung over to his best friend and his hand rose off the bed, open and inviting towards Tony.
With a water smile, Tony caught it in his own and squeezed it fiercely.
"Welcome back, buddy."
There you go!
Hope that ending leaves you guys happier lol Feel absolutely free to drop me a line and let me know how grateful you are for a happy ending haha
deuces!
