"What happened again?"

"He was fixing Bucky's arm and it malfunctioned or whatever. And he smacked him into a wall."

"Well that wasn't very polite."

"It wasn't his fault!"

"Okay, okay. Calm down. Never said it was."

Tony dimly heard the voices, muffled by the sound of his own, beating, heart. He was lying on his back in, presumably, a bed, facing the ceiling. His left hand was laid over his stomach, the other at his side. Pain throbbed in his head and he slowly raised his right hand, touching the back of it. The voices fell into silence as he moved. A hand touched his arm.

"Tony?"

He flickered open his eyes, immediately shutting them at the new light.

"Jesus Christ." He muttered, inspiring a short breath of laughter from someone to his left.

Opening his eyes again, he blinked a few times, clearing his sight. He swallowed painfully, raising his head and looking around. He was in a hospital room, not a clue which, and Steve was sat on the right side of his bed. Clint was stood on his left, arms folded, and a smile on his face as he looked down at Tony.

"What up Tone?"

"Please don't tell me I passed out." Tony murmured.

"Okay." Clint replied, face falling a little.

A moment of silence stretched out and Tony groaned dropping his head back down, annoyed with himself. I freaking passed out… Pressing his hands against the bed, he pushed himself up into a sitting position. Out the corner of his eye, he saw Steve tense, like he was about to try and help. I don't need help, Tony thought, angrily. Quit worrying about me.

"What're you doing here anyway?" Tony looked to Clint, leaning back against the wall. "Aren't you, like, unstable?"

The archer smiled and tapped a finger to his temple. "I got it sorted. Don't worry man. You'll be glad to know I'm not completely crazy anymore-" Tony smirked. "-And I can control this telekinetic misty thing. Cross fingers. Though, I gotta say…" Clint grinned mischievously. "Red isn't my colour."

Tony let out a breathy chuckle. "Yeah, blacks more your thing, right?"

Clint grunted in agreement. "Reckon black'd make me look like a bad guy."

His face darkened briefly and the archer shook his head, obviously scattering a negative thought. Tony didn't ask. He had learnt that there were some things you didn't share with people, and you wouldn't want them to pry.

"How's Bucky?" Tony asked, changing the subject and turning his head to face Steve.

"He's fine. His arm's working well." Steve waved a hand to the door. "He's in the room opposite."

Clint let out an amused breath and Tony whipped his head round to look at him.

"Yeah, super soldier here has been drifting in and out of yours and Bucky's rooms like a ping pong ball." Clint commented, nodding to Steve. "In fact…" He broke off, tapping a finger to his mouth and looking up at the ceiling in teasing thought. "Nope. I don't think he's spent time anywhere else."

Tony glanced at Steve. His eyes were narrowed as he mock-glared at Clint.

"Oh come on Steve. Don't deny it." Clint went on. "Although, I'm not entirely sure which room you spent the most time in."

Tony frowned to himself. Surely Steve would have stayed with Bucky all the time. They were best friends after all. Compared to Bucky, Tony was like an ant. An ant among two lions.

"That's a very poetic line Tony." Clint smirked. "You should write that down."

Shit.

"Language."

"Can you not?" Tony couldn't help but smile. Clint was reading his mind. It was odd to know that the archer could hear his thoughts.

Clint smiled back at him. "You shouldn't think so loud then."

"I'm not sure if you should-"

Steve was silenced by the look that Clint gave him. All three of them were stood outside Bucky's room. Why Clint wanted to see him, Steve had no idea. He didn't think it was a good idea though. Though he couldn't picture it, he was a little concerned that Clint would try and get revenge for Bucky killing him. That was a weird thought. Clint had died. Bucky had literally murdered him.

Tearing his eyes away from the archer's stony gaze, Steve opened the door and walked into the room.

Bucky was sat on the edge of bed, staring at the floor with unfocused eyes, hugging himself around the waist. His shirt was slung over the back of a chair next to his bed. A bandage was wrapped around his chest, covering the bullet wound close to his heart. He didn't look well. He looked tired and sad, frowning like he was thinking. He looked up as Steve, Tony and Clint came into the room. His eyes wandered over each of them, finally fixing on Clint. He swallowed, memory dancing in his eyes like minnows.

"You…" He muttered, his voice quiet.

"Me." Clint replied bluntly, his eyes unusually kind as he looked at Bucky.

"You're… Dead." Bucky said slowly. "I-I killed you…"

Clint could see he was beginning to panic. His breathing was getting faster by the second, his eyes flicking around Clint as if he couldn't believe he was there. He wasn't panicking because Clint had come back from the dead. He wasn't panicking because he thought Clint might try and hurt him. He was panicking because of what he had done. He was absolutely horrified that he had murdered the archer.

"Hydra… Experimented on you…" Bucky was gasping for air now and Steve rushed over to him, repeatedly telling him it wasn't his fault. Bucky seemed not to notice him, his eyes still set on Clint. "They… They needed someone… To test it on… I-I kill…"

Clint sprinted over to him. He hardly knew this guy. Heck, this guy had ended his life for a while. But that didn't matter. He was scared. He was panicking. His mind had been messed with. That was enough to make Clint feel the need to help him. He sat beside him on the bed, taking Bucky's face in his hands.

'It wasn't your fault. You know that. You can stop blaming yourself now.' He sent the message into Bucky's mind, scarlet mist shrouding his fingers, which were pressed to the distressed man's temples. Bucky obviously heard, his wide eyed stare fixed on Clint, hardly ever blinking.

"Steve, how long has he been awake?" Clint asked, not taking his gaze off Bucky.

"Why do you-"

"Quickly Steve!"

"I-I'm not sure. At least as long as Tony slept. Day and a half?"

Makes it easier then. Clint said nothing, concentrating on Bucky again, whose breathing was worryingly fast and showed no signs of calming down.

"Wasn't your fault." Murmured Clint. "You didn't kill those people. Hydra did. They just used you as a puppet. I know. I've been there." Bucky eyelids began to flicker, letting Clint know that his efforts to put him to sleep were working. "Let the guilt fade. Don't think about it now. Just let go." He carefully lowered Bucky, lying him down on the bed, his legs hanging off the side. "That's it." He whispered as Bucky's eyes fluttered shut. "Let go."

Bucky let out a quiet sigh, his head falling to the side as his body relaxed completely. Clint eased his mind away from Bucky's, slipping off the bed and taking a few steps back. Quickly scrambling onto the bed, Steve knelt beside his friend and took his pulse. He exhaled a breath of relief as the steady beat vibrated through his fingers.

"What did you do?" Steve asked, turning to look at Clint.

The archer was unsteady on his feet, swaying slightly.

"He was panicking too much. I needed to calm him." Clint explained, a little out of breath. "Needed to convince him it wasn't his fault… That… That was new… Never done that before."

He suddenly stumbled backwards, honestly looking like he was about to faint. Tony prevented him from falling, putting one hand on the archers back, the other on his chest.

"Whoa, steady Hawk." He warned. "Come and sit down before you hurt yourself."

Clint allowed Tony to help him to a chair, to the right of the door, sitting down heavily, his vision swimming. Blinking a few times, he shook his head to clear his blurred sight.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, fine… Still learning." Clint mumbled, briefly glancing up at Tony. "It's got boundaries. And I need to learn them."

The sound of the door opening almost interrupted his words and Pietro poked his head in. His gaze wandered around the room for a moment before his eyes rested on Clint and he entered the room. He crouched down in front of the archer, looking up at him closely. Obviously seeing that Clint's breathing was quicker than usual, Pietro frowned.

"What happened?"

"Bucky was majorly stressing out so Clint used his power to calm him down." Tony replied before Clint could answer. Pietro straightened up, getting back to his feet, worry bright in his eyes as Tony continued. "And he's a complete moron because now he can't stand up."

Clint fought the urge to punch him. "I can."

"Prove it."

Oh, I am gonna kill him. Clint didn't think his legs would support him, but no way in hell was he going to let anyone know. With a silent intake of breath, he pushed his hands against the seat, hauling himself to his feet. Sure enough…

"Careful."

Pietro caught him before he fell, pushing up back upright.

"Told you."

"It's not funny Tony." Pietro half growled the words as he supported Clint, stopping him from falling.

"Never said it was." Tony murmured.

Pietro didn't reply, turning his attention back to Clint. The archer, who was leaning against his shoulder, was blinking in confusion, his eyes clouded and drowsy. He needs to rest. Pietro lifted Clint's arm, slinging it around his neck and opening the door. Clint leant on him heavily, doing his best to walk normally as they made their way down the corridor. Making someone sleep had tested his power. Though, he wasn't sure if it was simply because he hadn't tried it enough times, or if it was just too much effort. Pietro took him into his room, sitting him down on the edge of the bed.

"How're you feeling?" He asked, sitting down next to him.

"Fine." Clint muttered curtly.

Out the corner of his eye, he saw Pietro's expression switch to doubt.

"Why did you help him?" Pietro asked suddenly. "Why did you help Bucky?"

Clint looked at the younger man, fixing him with an oddly unnerving stare. "Because he's like me. Because someone messed with his head and made him kill people…" Clint shrugged. "Because… He's one of us."

A/N-
Hey Guys! Hope you're enjoying this story so far! (Let me know in the reviews/comments/whatever you wanna call them)

Okay, really sorry but I won't be updating for a while because i'm going away for about a week (and a few days longer so a week and 3 days. But no ones like a pedantic person, am I right? XD).

I'll try write and update as soon as I can when I get back. This is just to let you know why i'm not posting chapters for the next week (In case you thought I had stopped writing :D Hah! As if. This is literally all I do, I have no social life. Fun fact for you there and now i'm rambling, sorry). For you people who read all or most of my stories, this message will be posted on all of them too, so might it get a bit boring. So yeah... You all have a good week and I'll see you when I get back.

~Eniko