I looked in the mirror, seeing the largest bruise I have ever had on the side of my face. It wasn't swelling anymore as it was just getting spread all over the left side of my face. The blue and green morphing together looked like vines spreading out from the middle of my cheek that was just a dark color. We were back at Helicarrier after that nasty incident with Norman Osborn, or what we thought was Green Goblin. He was stronger than we thought he was going to be, much stronger. I knew that was the serum that he injected in himself, to make him much stronger than we thought. But as we came back and Bruce looked at my face, I was trying to figure out who that young man was that helped us out in the incident. He literally saved my life, and I was grateful for whoever he was.

"This is actually a good look for you." I heard behind me and I looked through the reflection, seeing Tony look at me through the mirror and I glared at him, looking behind me at him. I saw him smile at me and leaned against the door of the lab.

"How's your neck?" I asked him in a curious tone. He got up completely and walked over to me.

"Bearable. I can live with a sore throat." He said to me with a short smile on his face. He then looked down at his feet with his hands in his pockets. I knew he was thinking about what just happened to him.

"How to do handle this guy?" I asked him aloud, folding my hands in front of my body, feeling my hair scan my hair and hit my bruised face.

"We hit him hard." I heard him reply in a short tone, looking up at him and seeing him look up at me with determination in his eyes. He was serious about this whole thing with Norman, wanting to take him down and get him where it hurts. I never saw him want to take down someone so bad before, with so much anger and hate towards another person. Who was I to argue with him? His mind was set, and there was nothing to move it around.

"With everything we have. I know he won't go down without a fight or a big finish, but I want to make sure we give that to him." He ended and I nodded my head at him. We both knew that was the end of the discussion and the next we were going to do is make sure he doesn't do anymore damage than before. I saw him look t the mirror behind me and sigh.

"I need to find a suit that will match this bruise." He said in a snort, making me smirk in my spot. I knew the old Tony was back, and his suit loving banter. Tony then walked out of the room, making me smile at his old ways coming through. I looked back at the mirror and then saw some more of my face. Some of the bruising reached the tip of my ear and the bottom corner of my eye. I sighed, thinking that I looked more like the Hulk with just my cheek alone. Bruce told me it will did down within days, to a more natural looking bruise than what it is now. My cheek was throbbing at this point, touching it slightly with only the tip of my finger would send me in pain. I saw Clint in the reflection, standing at the doorway and smiling at me. I smiled back at him, finally turning around and seeing him walk over to me slowly. When I smiled at him, my cheek started throbbing all over again as he walked up to stand in front of me. Gently he placed one of his hands on my bruised cheek, his thumb rubbing my skin softly and his other hand was on my waist.

"What do you think of my new look?" I asked him in a smirk, seeing him smile slightly as he looked at my bruise.

"I prefer the old look, with no bruise on your face." He replied in his low tone, having me bit my lip knowing that silently it was killing him seeing me like this. I hated him seeing in pain over me, pain or worry.

"He was stronger than we thought." I said to him, seeing him look from the bruise over to me in my eyes. I could see the wheels turning in his head.

"Whatever he has going through his system is going through the soldiers he has working for him." Clint said aloud to me, having me nod my head and seeing why those soldiers that attacked me were that strong. I placed my hand on his that was still on my cheek and felt his grip on my waist tighten slightly.

"Next time I'm going with you." he said to me in almost a stern tone. I shook my head at him, seeing his protective side come through. I loved him for it, but I knew how protective he was to the point of almost getting himself killed. He wanted to protect me from the world, all of it.

"I was fine Clint. He just came out of nowhere." I reassured him with a stern look on my face to show that I was going to going to hold my ground.

"If he can do this to you." He said aloud, looking to my bruise and then looking back at me, "Then he's can inflict more pain and more destruction than we ever imagined. Next time it can be worse."

"But he can be stopped, I know he can. I'm not going to step down and watch the rest of you fight when I know I can fight myself." I explained to him. He knew that I was telling the truth, and I smiled at him, finally showing some softness in my face as I kissed him lightly on the lips. I saw him pull away with a small smile on his own face.

"If you keep trying to protect me, I'll have to break up with you for excessive protectiveness." I said to him as he kissed my bruised cheek in a loving way, making me giggle in my spot.

"You know, now that I know my girlfriend can take a hit and still look beautiful, I think I'll keep a firm hold on you a bit longer." Clint said to me in a smirking tone and we both walked out of the lab. We both held hands between us and were heading over to the main carrier.

"You better, since you can't get anyone better than me." I said to him, seeing him smirk and look over at me.

"Now that one hurt." He said aloud to me, making me laugh slightly and see him raised our combined hands to kiss my hand gently. Throughout the time we've been together, I've seen him grow from being so quiet and isolated into booming warmer to others and more open to away from his nest. I then stopped in my spot, having Clint look back at me with concern in his eyes.

"What is it?" He asked me, still holding my hand in his as I remembered one more thing about that incident, having me look up at him.

"The man who saved us." I said aloud, having him look at me with confusion in his eyes. I then looked behind me at my own lab that was separate from Bruce's. I released Clint and ran over to it, opening my laptop and hacking before I could even breathe in.

"What's going on?" Clint asked me after following me and standing next to me. I hacked some more, getting into the camera of Oscorp and going to the camera in the office of Norman.

"There was a hooded man there that saved me from getting killed." I said to him as I typed like a mad man, seeing the screen of the camera planed on the wall come onto the computer wall. WE both look as I saw the scene all over again. There was Norman, in his green Goblin Suit and and slamming me to the floor. As I saw the footage I felt the hit all over again in my cheek as I then saw him being flown to the side and I froze the shot.

"There he is." I said aloud, pointing to the section of the screen. Clint looked at where I was pointing and we both saw him on the wall. He had his back to the camera, but we saw him look over at me when Bruce was helping me up from the ground. His hands were already on the wall, as if they were sticking to the wall with no resistance or hard work. He was wearing his dark blue jeans, dark maroon hoodie and the hood over his face. His hands had fingerless gloves on them, having me enhance the shot and make it more crisper.

"Who is this guy?" Clint asked aloud from his spot next to me, having me peer at him some more on the screen. I wanted to see him, find out who he was and why he did that for me.

"I don't know, but I want to find out."

That night was quiet in Helicarrier. The rest of the team was asleep in their own rooms, but I was with Clint in his room and we were more content with being together than being alone in our own respected rooms. It might be the best decision since Fury was so close to getting on our backs about being together and making the team the second priority in our lives. We both knew that wasn't true, we would bleed for the team. But as tried to sneak around him when we could.

HIs room was a bit dirtier than mine, however I overlooked it since I knew it could be worse from a guy's perspective. I sat on his bed as I knew he was changing in the corner into pajama pants and a wife beater, looking up at the map he had on his wall. The map took up most of the wall, but there were black push pins on certain areas. I got up and looked at the map, seeing the little cities that were behind the black push pins.

"Are these places you have been to ?" I asked him, not turning around to see him change. I was too old fashion about that, it would be too much for me to seem him…..changing.

"Mostly yeah. The dark red ones are the ones I want to go to." He said behind me, making me scan the map of the red pins. I saw a few, some in Africa and others in Australia. It was cool to see that he wanted to go to other places on his own accord. It made me think of him as more of the adventurous type, wanting to see the world without an assignment to tell him to go. I traced my fingers on the map, making me think of wanting to go to those places that he marked. See the lands of Africa, the mountains of China and the desert of Australia. I wished I could go instead of being here, a part of me wished for this.

I felt him behind me as I stayed still, not wanting to turn around and see him. I placed my finger on the part of the map that made me smile, feeling his hands on my hips and his head near mine because of his jaw touching my hair. He was coming closer to me, making me feel like I could not escape from him as hard as I would want to try.

"You want to go to my home?" I asked him in a low tone, placing my finger right on the dark red push pin and feeling his fingers creeping along my hips to rest on my stomach. He pressed against me gently, making me feel his body behind mine and his head against mine. I placed my own free hand on one of his that was on my stomach, trying to control a shiver that was threatening to expose itself.

"I wanna see where you grew up." He replied back to me, his low tone of voice so soft and so soothing as I smiled, leaning my head against his for a moment or two.

"There's nothing but rolling hills and cows, it's nothing really to be excited about." I said to him in almost a laugh as I felt him move his hand away from my stomach. Clint softly moved my hair from my shoulder and I felt so bare in front of him, so exposed and no longer in control.

He was in control now. Damn him.

"Can you take me to these places?" I asked him aloud in almost a breathy tone, seeing as how close we were getting and how I didn't want to break any mood that was settling. I felt his lips on my shoulder, making me breathe out slowly and close my eyes for a moment or two. His lips were ice touching fiery skin, Control, I needed it back and he was taking it from me.

"In a heartbeat." he replied back to me in a whisper, feeling another kiss on my neck and his hold on my hips tightening slightly. I made a fist against the map, trying to hard not to whirl around and have my way with him. But he was making it far too hard for me to do such things to him. I wanted to be better than that, much better. I never saw myself as attractive or beautiful, only a girl with curves and a normal face. It made me doubt, in certain points of my relationship with Clint, if I was ever pretty enough for him? I found him handsome, only by his determination and his loyalty, along with his eyes and precision with his weaponry. To me, that was attractive, but what was attractive to him?

"Em?" I heard behind me, making me stern around slowly and face Clint. He looked a bit concerned, since I was being too quiet and not moving around too much. I hated him for knowing how I was feeling and what I was going through. And he had to use my nickname, the only one in the whole team to use it and I adored it.

"What do you see in me?" I asked him in a serious tone, seeing him look at me with more confusion in his eyes and his hold on my hips became more protective and loving. Then I saw something click behind his eyes, he knew what I where I was going. At least, that's what I got from it.

"I see someone who knows how to fight her battles, someone who is not afraid to get herself hurt for those she loves, who has a beautiful soul and love for others, and is beyond strong both strength and soul." Clint said to me in a softer tone, having me kept my gaze on him and not want to move from being so close to him. No one has ever described me in that way before, not even my parents when I was a young teenager. Clint was the first, and he made me feel whole with just the sound of his voice.

"I see a woman who is skilled in both brains and handling weapons, a woman who can bring out the best in those who are beyond repair." Clint continued, making me place a hand on his cheek as I knew he was talking about himself. He thought of himself as beyond repair, someone who cannot be saved. I never saw him that way, and I hated that about him. I hated how he thought like that about himself.

"Clint.."I started, wanting him to stop saying things about himself and be more positive with himself. But he shook his head gently as I moved my hand with his cheek.

"That's what I see in you, Emily. I see someone who saved me." He ended, making me smile widely and almost break down in tears. I knew he was never a sentimental man, not to mention one with raw emotions on his sleeve. I brought it out in him, and brought out my determination and my love for freedom. We both needed each other, for friendship and comfort. I couldn't see a future without him now, not without seeing him everyday or hearing his voice. We both knew each other's strengths and weaknesses, and that did stop what we had then and there.

I was beyond happy hugging Clint in his room late that night, hearing nothing but our breathing and feeling his arms around me to bring me back to reality and back to him. He saw something beautiful in me when I didn't at all, I and saw the same in him.

I was in love with him, and there was no going back to the old ways.