Chapter 4
AN - Hey guys, so okay here we go but still getting closer to the much awaited reunion. Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, your support keeps me writing so thank you for all of your opinions. If you have any questions do real free to review them to me and I will answer as best i can. Sadly I don't own any of the material it all belongs to the fabulous JK Rowling and Marvel.
It was roughly 8-9 hours later that Clint felt the tell-tale shake of his shoulder by Natasha as she alerted him to their imminent arrival in England. Clint groaned and mumbled an incoherent "I'm up, I'm up!" He leaned the chair back to its normal position and reached for his now warm bottle of water, taking a large sip he grimaced at the stiffness in his shoulders. Flexing slightly in an attempt to relieve the pain, he managed to heave his sleep addled body from the chair and to the toilets.
"Back in a minute, going to splash some water on my face." He made his way to the toilet and turned on the tap. He looked up and stared at the mirror, that look he got before a mission of pure concentration was now in place and was looking intently back at him. Scooping his hands under the tap to collect the water, he gasped when the abnormally cold temperature made him gasp and real back from the sink in shock. He repeated the action again, this time washing the back of his neck. He turned to the towels and caught sight of Natasha waiting it the door way.
He picked the towel from the railing and rubbed his face and neck dry, instantly feeling better now he left over drowsiness had dissipated. He looked at Nat, seeing she wanted to ask him something he waved his hand to indicate to her to continue. "After you fell asleep, Steve asked if you were good, and I told him you would be. Now I want to know if I made the right call, or if I should have told him that you couldn't get Harry out of your head. Can you work like this Clint? Honestly." She was still leaning, most likely in an attempt to look relaxed but he knew from the careful placement of her arms and the tightness in her shoulder that she was anything but relaxed.
Clint stopped and looked at Natasha. He would be lying to her if he said he was fine, that there was nothing wrong anymore. There would be no moments of uncertainty. He would also be lying if he said he was an utter mess, the feelings he was having about Harry were not new, not by any means. And he had developed a sort of coping mechanism for them over the years. But was he good to complete this mission? "I honestly don't know. But I'm going to do the best I can, I'm sure of that much."
She was conflicted. On one side she wanted to believe him that his obvious honesty was about was true. Then there was a doubt in the back of her mind that the blatant honesty was just a cover to fool her and he knew that he was breaking. Problem was that she didn't know the difference. Natasha always used to work alone, but since being 'saved' by Clint she had learned the value of having a friend in the spy game. "Okay, good. We'll be landing soon so you might want to sit down again."
Clint nodded, placing the towel back down on the rail he turned to follow Natasha back to his seat. As he sat down he heard Tony on the phone to Jason, probably wising the young boy goodnight and a few hints on the construction of his first circuit board. Clint chuckled slightly to himself, remembering an afternoon spent in the field outside his house, teaching a 12 year old Harry to fire a shotgun. It took a while for him to handle the weapon, but after a few shots he had a good handle on it. It as a fond memory for Clint, and he remembered the laughter they had shared together when they came in to find a heavily pregnant Lauren, glaring at them from the kitchen. Apparently he hadn't told Lauren what they were doing and had caused her to have a meltdown in the kitchen from fright when she had heard the gunshots.
He let out an unknowing chuckle as he remembered the ass kicking that followed that particular escapade. He was brought put from his trip down memory lane by Bruce looking at him strangely "You okay Barton?" Bruce had been keeping his distance lately, avoiding the cold front that Nat had been giving him lately. Clint totally agreed with Nat that leaving without saying goodbye was a dick move from Bruce's part, though surprisingly he found himself rooting for the two of them. He hadn't seen that much of a change in Nat for a long time. Happy and content in her life, with her companions.
Clint turned to look at Bruce, "I will be, hopefully." He turned to look at his team mate properly for the first time since he came back. He was tanned, and had more muscle most likely from the physical work he had been doing. Apparently allowing the other guy into his own personality gave him certain benefits, like an increased energy level that made him more inclined to physical work. Funny thing was that even Clint could see that Nat appreciated the new change, hopefully the two of them would work things out.
The sudden bounce of the plane as the tires touched down on the tarmac forced Clint to make eye contact with Bruce he leaned to his left and inclined his head towards Bruce, he muttered, "You want to fix things with her, you give her a proper explanation and promise that you won't be a self-centered dick again and then wait for her to come to you. If she comes back that is." Bruce looked at him, surprise on his face.
"Why would you help me? Everyone else thinks I deserve it." Clint shrugged his shoulders in uncertainty. It was a good question, one that he didn't quite know the answer to. After a minute he nodded his head and smiled.
"Nat's practically been my little sister for going on 16 years now, and I have never seen her like she is with you. I've seen her at her highest and lowest and you are good for her, no matter what she may think." Clint eventually said standing when he realised the plane had come to a halt. He went to the cargo area to ensure that the people unloading didn't damage anything. He looked intently at the men who arrived dressed in black pants and black shirts he commented, "You damage anything and I will break you."
Nat and Bruce chuckled at the comment and then looked at one another, unsure as to the undeniably awkward atmosphere that had suddenly developed. Tony rolled his eyes, saying, "Just kiss and make out for the sake of the rest of us. Don't think we're going to survive much longer with all this sexual tension in the air!" He slipped on his jacket and followed Steve as they made their way to the exit.
Steve shook his head at Tony muttering to him in disbelief "Really Stark?", before the doors opened and the Avengers disembarked.
