Author: real quick. I don't own anyone. Have fun with surprise ending

"Clint... Talk to me man." Tony whispered.

The archer beside him buried his face further into the pillow and ignored him.

"Clint... Tasha is okay. The bruises and aches will fade. You scared her..." He sighed.

"It's not what I did... It's what I could do... What Loki would have made me do." Clint admitted, lifting his head from the pillow.

"What would he make you do?" Tony asked.

"Torture Tasha slowly... Rape her... Make her wish she was dead... Make her beg for it... Until finally I would kill her and then Loki would kill me." He admitted.

Tony shuddered and carefully set a hand on Clint's shoulder.

He had gotten used to how intimidating the archer could be at times between his muscular frame and cocky, cynical and feral personality.

It had scared him at first to have such a man staying in his Tower.

He thought he would wake and find the archer about to kill him one night.

But eventually Clint had dropped his guard around everyone and showed them that he was warm, playful and loyal.

"Move." Tony whispered.

Clint blinked up at him but moved over to let Tony lay down.

"Now you listen to me." Tony said, stretching out beside him.

"Okay?" Clint muttered.

"I know you're an assassin and you're a damn good one. That actually... Scared me... For a little while. I thought I was gonna wake up and find you about to kill me one night." Tony told him.

"Gee thanks." Clint grumbled.

Tony put a hand over his mouth and said, "I know better now. You're my brother Clint... One of my few actual friends. You never cared about the money... You never asked for anything from me except a roof over your head, your privacy and three warm meals a day. And to be honest with you man... I love you for that."

Clint stared at him with raised eyebrows before closing his eyes again. "The nightmares are getting worse... You're in them. Pepper too." He whispered.

"You won't kill us." Tony said.

"I can." Clint sighed

"You won't." Tony repeated.

"Unless you're able to tell the future you can't know that." Clint told him

"My gut tells me you won't." Tony assured him.

Clint shook his head and whispered, "Thanks... For not just seeing me as a weapon. Or means to an end."

Tony smirked and wrapped an arm around Clint's shoulders to pull him close as someone knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" Tony called.

"Pepper."

"Come in." Clint told her.

Pepper let herself into the room and shook her head at the two of them.

"Come here you." Tony told her.

"How's Tasha?" Clint asked.

"Still a little shaken. The bruises should all fade in a few days. But otherwise she's okay. How are you?" Pepper said, sitting down beside them.

"Still shaky but I'll live." Clint sighed.

"He'll be okay Pep." Tony assured her.

Pepper smiled and let Clint wrap an arm around her waist while Tony ran a hand up her leg.

"Behave you... Both of you." She laughed.

"We aim to misbehave." Both men laughed.

Pepper rolled her eyes and gently smacked them both before they all heard the sound of glass shattering from the kitchen.

"What the hell?!" Tony shouted.

"It was Jane!" Sam shouted back.

"What happened?" Pepper called.

"I dropped a glass and it broke. But there's someone outside on the porch." Jane called.

"Outside on the porch?" Tony whispered as Clint rolled off the bed with a gun in hand.

"Everyone just stay put." Pepper said, following Clint cautiously into the kitchen.

Tasha was still shivering, now wrapped in what looked like one of Sam's sweat shirts.

Jane had settled on the counter while Bruce was sweeping the glass up.

Steve, Sam and Thor were all peeking out the windows.

"Who is it?" Clint asked.

"Can't really tell. We don't wanna spook him so we haven't turned on the porch light." Sam admitted.

"Tony do we have any flashlights here?" Clint asked.

"Probably... Why?" The billionaire asked.

"I'm gonna go out the front and swing back around to see who this is. But I need a light source since nobody's turning on the back porch light." Clint explained.

"Nice thinking... Just be careful." Tony whispered.

Clint nodded and carefully stepped outside, following the outer wall of the house.

The figure on the back porch was sitting down with his face buried in his knees, looking as if he was in pain.

"Hey pal... You okay?" Clint whispered.

The man glanced up at him and whispered, "кто ты."

The stranger spoke Russian like it was his first language.

"друг, если вы не Hydra." Clint responded.

"Hydra... They did something to me." The stranger whispered, switching to English.

"Who are you?" Clint asked.

"My name... I think it's Bucky." He whispered.

"Barnes? Steve's pal?" Clint demanded.

"I think so... I don't know. They did something to me." Bucky whimpered, burying his face again.

Clint set his gun aside and crouched down in front of the distraught man. "How'd you find us?" He asked.

"I did research... Found that Stark had been seen down here. Read he had company... Odd company. So I came down here... Not sure why." Barnes whispered.

"You know... Steve is inside. And another soldier who works with soldiers to help them adjust to being home after war." Clint told him gently.

"How do you adjust after being a weapon for years?" Bucky scoffed.

"I'm still trying to figure that out myself." Clint admitted.

Russian:

first line: who are you?

Second line: a friend... Unless you're hydra