Chapter X

Time Again (Again)

The stillness of the night rested heavily against her shoulders, pushing against her thin frame as gravity forced itself on her. Everything was so quiet, so still. So indifferent.

Indy was briefly reminded of the first time she saw him, time slowing as the world around her froze. It was as silent and still then as it was now, but this time the clock kept ticking. The feeling of dazed euphoria was absent, the flicker in her chest that had been like a spark was no where to be found. The wonder and the amazement and hope that had filled her when she met him had been replaced by sadness. She felt completely alone. She didn't know why.

Though the normally howling wind was still, a chill still ran down her spine as she began shivering relentlessly. Nothing felt right anymore. Everything had been fine once upon a time.

She liked to think that, at least. Subconsciously, she knew nothing had ever been fine. It was normal for Clint and her to think they were normal. As if their debt, crumbling apartment, lack of income and never-ending questions could dissipate into financial stability and a feeling of physical safety.

Even with all that uncertainty and lack of normality, it had always been okay in the end, just her and Clint. They were more of partners than they were family. They relied on each other, when it was called for and when it wasn't. That was alright with her, she had given up on the family life style a while ago. Not much use worrying about it if you don't have a family to begin with. Clint was enough, and he always would be.

But then this kid crashed into her life. Everything had shifted, her outlook changing as everything she knew blurred together until nothing seemed clear to her anymore. All these questions and unanswered holes in her life suddenly surfaced, and she wished she could just go back to the way things were.

She hunched in on herself in the stillness, it weighing against her mercilessly as she silently let herself cry.

She never cried. She was almost positive no one had ever seen her cry. On that very rare occasion she did, however, she made sure no one saw. It was bad enough that she was so conscious of how weak she was, she didn't need anyone else knowing it.

She didn't know why everything had suddenly changed, but she knew it had to do with Cairo Chesterfield. He was right when he said they were connected somehow. She could feel it from the moment she saw him, and even sometime before that. The way time bent around him the way it had, the way his eyes made her heart freeze up almost painfully, the way he knew her name and said it like that was the way it was meant to be spoken. It was one hole in herself that had finally been filled. They fit together in such a strange and unexpected way, but it felt as right as the sun and the moon. They were meant to be together for some reason that they didn't know yet. She knew there was a reason. There had to be one. Things like this didn't just…happen.

Indigo Budapest Barton was never one to believe in fate or the balance of the universe or karma or any of that shit. But that night, the stillness pulling her deeper into the lull of gravity as she stared longingly at the stars, she knew that no matter who she was or what she was meant to be, she believed in Cairo Chesterfield.

And that was enough.

oooooooooo

The next morning she went for a walk. She couldn't keep still, not with her thoughts dashing around her head a mile a minute.

She hadn't really been watching where she was going when she found herself around a particularly deserted part of the street. A dead end, to be exact. She had just turned herself around when she ran into something, or in this case, someone.

"Shit, watch where you're going, Indiana."

Indy sighed. "Nice to see you too, Rozy," she said as she smiled down at the young muslim woman. Her smile faltered a bit as she looked her over a little more thoroughly. Her deep eyes were shadowed in dark circles, gleaming unnaturally. She looked awful.

"Actually, I was just looking for you. Remember the other day when I was telling you about that project I was working on?"

"Yeah, you mentioned it," Indy replied hesitantly.

"Well, I finished it. I think you should see it," she breathed out, dragging Indy behind her with an amount of strength that didn't fit her tired state.

"Rozy, uh, are you sure you're alright? You look like you haven't slept in days," Indy tried half-heartedly as she hung on her limply. Rozy didn't respond. She led her around the corner and down a few deserted alleys until they found themselves in front an abandoned warehouse. What she saw on the far wall made her labored breath catch in her throat.

The wall was at least ten feet tall, the length at least twice that. She had painted the base black, painting what looked to be a cluster of constellations and galxys across the expanse of the wall. The sun and the moon were depicted in both corners, a shadow of a wolf in each one, snarling at each other. A snake coiled itself around the entirety of the mural, its venom dripping onto the sidewalk. Fire licked at the corners, cinders circling the sun and the moon. But the most striking part of the painting was the center.

It looked like a giant wolf-like creature, teeth bared in a manic expression. Chains that had once been restraining the wolf were broken and lashed out against the entirety of the painting, the wolf appearing as though it were coming right at Indy.

She noticed its eyes last. They were piercing, freezing her heart over as she stood rooted to the sidewalk in shock and fear. They were the color of ice, fitting perfectly with the menacing snarl of the beast.

"Oh my god," she whispered finally, eyes stuck onto the wolf's as she tried to pull herself together without collapsing.

"It's…it's Cairo."

oooooooooo

Clint Barton had failed. Clint Barton hadn't failed since his most life-changing mission. That was when he had met Her. He was supposed to terminate Her, that was the mission. He always followed orders, that was until he ran into Her. She was his one and only weakness, everything she was and had ever had been was his flaw. His breaking point was tested, and he failed.

The moment She left him was the moment he had truly failed.

He couldn't do anything. There were no orders, no reconnaissance missions, no directions. He couldn't save Her. He had failed Her, and he would never be forgiven for it. He was reminded of it every time he looked at Indy, the way she saw him through Her eyes. It killed him every single time, but he loved her too much. She was just as much as his weakness as her mother had been.

Now he had to redeem himself for both of them.

He didn't know what happened. Everything had been off lately, to say the least. He was chasing shadows, darkness dancing at the edge of his vision. He didn't know what it was. He hadn't been so uncertain since the time after his mind had been unhinged, back when She was still with him and he wasn't in such a sorry state. Nothing was feeling right, and it unnerved him greatly. The only thing that ever came from these kinds of feelings was never good, and he had a bad idea that that fact was going to come into play sooner than he would like to.

What that was exactly was another manner to be dealt with entirely.

Now he had to deal with this mission, or else a more real issue was going to come into light, and that was the subject of money. After failing that last job, his buyer had given him another chance. He knew this wasn't common curtesy however, so he needed to nail this job or else he was going to find himself in a very bad position. He wasn't sure how he was going to pull this off, let alone deal with his strange sense of paranoia and fear that had recently plagued him. This was a tall order, and there was no place for distractions. He was going to need Indy's help.

oooooooooo

Indy didn't see Cairo Chesterfield the rest of the day.

She didn't see him the next day.

Or the day after that.

Or the week after that.

She had stopped waiting for him after the first week.

Clint had gotten another commission and he needed back up on this one. He hadn't taken her out on a commission since her early training days, but she had a feeling his reason for using her now was a lot different than learning. She saw it in the way he clenched his jaw, his grip on his bow lined with tension as he screwed his face in a focused expression. She knew this wasn't going to be an easy job, and she had a haunting feeling that this one was going to be important.

Ever since she had seen Rozy's haunting mural on the warehouse, she had been plagued with a million questions that no one could answer. Why did everything about her painting seem so familiar, like a dream she couldn't remember but she knew she had it. She was left with vague impressions as she searched her memory, everything from the giant snake to the twin wolves in the sun and the moon. Nothing made sense, but everything fit together in a way she didn't understand. It was like she had all the pieces of the puzzle but she didn't know where they went. She tried telling herself to be rational. Of course, the wolf-monster's eyes hadn't been Cairo's. It had just been a coincidence. It had to have been a coincidence of some sort, just a sick joke the universe was playing on her. She tried to shove her aggressive thoughts of Cairo into a very dark corner of her mind, not trusting herself with them until she could get her emotions under control. This wasn't good on the job, but she had an idea Clint was having the same problem. With what, she wasn't sure, but she knew it couldn't be good. She watched him as closely as she did the progression of the commission, which probably wasn't the best idea, but it was a worry she had to deal with nevertheless.

Nothing seemed right anymore, and it scared her greatly.

Ignorance was always worse than actually being aware, and that had never been more evident to her.

She just had to get this job done.

Then everything would be fine.

At least, that's what she told herself.

oooooooooo

AN: And now, the real confusion begins (I hope you're starting to see what I'm doing here). Thanks for reading, and please follow, favorite and review!