For being so patient, i'm updating a few chapters today:)

The Spoiled Duchess: Aw, I'm glad you're loving it:)

Jesuslovesmarina: hahahaha. Sidekick. that's awesome!

Bellacatz27: i translate all of this as happy thoughts:)

Batghost: hahahahahah. Of course he does!


Chapter 4

Barton could feel the kid's eyes staring him down, like a sniper scope trained on the back of his neck. Occasionally he'd lift a glance over the top of his newspaper and lock eyes with the accusatory glare. Peter Parker, spider extraordinaire, in the same class as Hawkeye. What cruel universe decided that was fair? They were on opposite sides of a war that Parker had no business being in. Frankly, the more Clint thought about it, the angrier at Stark he became for dragging the kid all the way to Germany.

It was two weeks since an "unexplained weather pattern" took out part of the Midtown high school. Barton had managed to skate away sight unseen by school officials and Parker had followed him the whole way. Ever since, the kid dogged his steps like a lost puppy. He was using Stark tech, that suit was too advanced for a teen to come up with on his own, and he had a stink of Happy about him. He didn't know why the boy didn't rat him out yet. If he was Stark's dog, then why wasn't he barking up his own tree?

The class emptied.

Parker had the option of staying behind, like he usually did, to work on what Barton now assumed was his Spider-Man tech or he could move on and take an hour off before his next class started. The rest of the class emptied the moment the bell rang. Parker's second in command, Ned, took a look at his friend, noticed the private conversation between Parker and the teacher, and made his own silent withdrawal.

Barton stood instantly and grabbed his bag.

"Oh, wait!" Peter exclaimed, hurrying over. "I'm not trying to turn you in or anything, sir, Mr. Hawkeye—"

"I said don't call me that," Barton snapped. He checked his pack, there wasn't anything he actually brought with him anyway.

"But you are—I saw what you did you there," Peter paused. He looked at the doorway, headed over, closed it, and stood in Barton's way. "What're you doing here? If anyone knew you showed up in the US again, you'd be . . ."

"Arrested?" Barton said flatly. He slung the strap of his bag over his shoulder. "Yeah. I got that. I got that when my best friend put me in handcuffs and sent me to prison."

Peter shrugged. "Then why?"

"You know where the government's trying to extradite me from right now?" Peter shook his head no, "Rowanda. Three months ago it was Mexico. Then North Korea. They've got spies dedicated to looking for me and I trained their trackers. I'm better than all of them, and I know if you're looking to hide out, you do it where they don't expect it."

A strange reflection of light came from the corner of his teacher's face, causing Peter to squint slightly at him and lean in. "Holy Crap, are you using a micro refraction hologram to distort your face? Is that why I can't recognize you? Does that mess with the facial recognition systems?"

That momentarily took Clint aback. He resisted the urge to touch the transmitter on his collar. The kid was smart, and that was dangerous. Clint started walking again, dogged every step by the part-time hero beside him.

"Is that like a lesson? Is this another test? Is Mr. Stark testing me again?"

Faster than Peter could have realized, Barton shot a hand forward and grabbed him by the shirt front. Peter felt himself pulled off his feet and forced only a few inches from Clint's face. He could smell the undertones of alcohol on the teacher's breath.

"Don't you dare think I ever came here as a favor to Stark. Got it?"

"Ye-yeah, sure-yeah," Peter agreed hurriedly.

Clint opened his fist and let the boy go. Peter took a moment to straighten his shirt out and compose himself. Despite being Spider-Man, having an Avenger-Class hero threatening him was enough to shake anyone up. Clint wasn't exactly a normal Avenger either. He didn't have any super powers, he had nothing but an uncanny skill to hit anything he wanted with whatever he wanted. Peter didn't know him personally, but given how little of hands-on learning he was getting from Tony Stark, this might not be the worst happenstance in the world.

It was a split-second decision. Clint's hand reached for the door and in that same moment, Peter shot a single web from the shooter on his wrist and glued Clint's hand to the doorknob. The archer's eyes narrowed to dagger-like slivers. He lifted his gaze to the teen and Peter inadvertently backed away. He swallowed, lifted his chin to force a little strength into his backbone, and squared his shoulders.

"I know who you are, and you're a wanted criminal. One call and I can have Mr. Stark down here," to emphasize his point, Peter lifted his phone out of his pocket. "It's my job to put the bad guys in jail, even if they don't think they are the bad guy. You're an Avenger—I don't know what I'm doing out here. I need someone to teach me . . ."

"Are you black mailing me?!" Barton roared.

"Well, um." Peter pressed his lips together. His hands slipped on his phone and without the super-cling of his powers it would have clattered awkwardly to the floor.

Clint made a swift movement with his free hand, a knife Peter didn't know he had appeared and suddenly Clint's hand was cut free. The ex-Avenger stalked toward him and before Peter knew what he was doing, a yelp emerged from Peter's mouth and he shot up, turned in mid-air, and clung to the ceiling.

"Look, kid," Clint growled at him, turning his head awkwardly to look Peter in the eyes, upside down. "I'm not your babysitter! I've been sitting in the same class with you for three months and you couldn't even figure out who I was from ten feet away. The minute I get out of this room, I can be gone. I can get a job as your math teacher and you'd have no idea I was the same guy. Do you get that?"

Peter nodded frantically.

Clint threw his knife, more out of frustration than anything else, and it landed dead-center on the nose of a Captain America poster that had been staring him down since day one. A slogan beneath the poster read "America was built by Hand" in large, white, bubble letters. Clint hadn't seen the good Captain in over a year. After the events with Tony and Steve's fallout, Steve showed up at that prison and broke Clint out. He then came clean about Bucky, Tony's parent's murder, and all the things he'd hid from them. Clint broke two knuckles on the Captain's face as payment. It wasn't long after, though, that Barton reached out, not because he wanted to, he had no other choice. Regardless of all Steve's promises to be a phone call away if Clint ever needed him, the Captain was a complete no show. Clint got nothing back but the silence of Steve's cold shoulder which shouldn't have surprised him. Tony had about as much consideration as Steve. No answers, dead silence, no returned calls. It didn't hurt any less knowing both the Avengers had abandoned him.

"Besides, kid," Barton said on his way out. "If you were going to snitch, you should have done it already."


this will be interesting... :)