A/N: PHEW! I've been traveling, which is why it took me longer than usual to update. (Hola to anyone who's been roaming around Madrid over the past few days!) PLUS, I wanted to at least try to get Thor's voice right. So, here we are, AT LAST. (smirks sheepishly)

First, though… You guys are PHENOMENAL! That there are so many other Clint Barton fans out there… You can't even imagine how happy it makes me! (starts purring, and HUGS) THANK YOU, from the bottom of my heart, for the love and support! And remember, this is nowhere near ending… (smirks)

Awkay, because it's LATE and I need to get some sleep tonight… Let's go! I REALLY hope that you'll enjoy the ride.

TAKES PLACE pretty much right after Thor's return from 'Dark World', so shortly after 'The Avengers'. Which means that certain tensions still linger…

(Kudos to those who know what the Wolf Border is without Googling, LOL!)


Behind the Wolf Border


Thor woke up to the crackling of fire. For a few seconds he tensed up, preparing himself for an emergency, until a brush of cold wind reminded him of his current whereabouts. He took a breath, oddly soothed by the bitter and icy air, then opened his eyes halfway to face the campfire. It was rather small but provided enough warmth the keep the worst of the winter evening's biting edge at bay. The warm clothes he'd wrapped around himself also worked well.

"Look who's up." Clint sounded equally amused and relieved. The man's eyes examined him for a few seconds before returning to observe the fire. "Five more minutes and I would've started throwing cones at you."

Thor sat up, struggling to break himself free of the dream he just had. The warmth helped. He shifted, a frown furrowing his eyebrows as his gaze become lost on the flames.

"What were you dreaming about, anyway?" Clint's tone held genuine concern. The eyes looking at him were without a doubt those of a hawk, he could feel as much even without meeting them. "You were murmuring something."

Thor swallowed. He wondered how to set his words for a frustratingly long moment. "I… was dreaming of my childhood", he admitted quietly. All of a sudden the fire didn't seem to be enough and he wrapped his arms more tightly around himself to keep warm. "Today… would've been Loki's birthday." Or the anniversary of the day Odin brought Loki home, anyway. Foolish, perhaps, but the longing was still so fresh that it stung like a blade.

Clint stiffened, going entirely quiet. The archer even seemed to forget to breathe. Thor couldn't blame his friend. Loki was still a very, very sore topic – would most likely always be. It took a long time before the Hawk spoke, his voice nearly getting lost into the wind. "Today… would've been Phil's birthday, too."

Thor felt like someone had dropped his hammer to his chest. All of a sudden he understood why Clint had been quieter than usual for the past few days. Why it seemed that his friend hadn't slept a wink lately. The silence between them became heavy and awkward.

"Clint…"

"Don't." Clint's eyes and voice held no hostility. Even if there was a strange, torn expression on the man's face. "What Loki did… It wasn't your fault. He never apologized, not even once. So don't you start apologizing for him."

Not for the first time Thor wondered just what his brother did to Clint. What all Loki made the Hawk do. But just like every single time before he didn't dare to ask. He was too much of a coward and a weakling to have the weight of his brother's deeds added to his own sins. "He… was a lousy brother", he remarked instead, eyes on the fireplace once more. "But… So was I."

"He was your brother nonetheless. You shouldn't be sorry about missing him, or grieving him." The man clapped his hands together purposefully loudly, breaking the quiet which resumed. "We should get going." 'Get back up and continue like nothing happened', seemed to come naturally for Clint. The archer was already standing, his gaze scanning the sky. "We've got an hour's walk to the meeting point and there's a snowstorm coming. And it'll be dark soon."

Thor nodded. It sounded like a good idea, to get something to do. Maybe it'd be enough to distract him from his thoughts and memories.

Besides, Clint was right. The nature around them was beautiful but hostile and it was best to get moving. For the past couple of days they'd been scouting the most northern spots of Finland, looking for Loki's Sceptre. So far they'd had no luck and the reports of the others weren't any more encouraging. A few hours ago Steve finally decided that it was time to call it quits and go back home. They'd been trekking through thick snow since, only stopping for a quick breather less than an hour ago. How Clint was able to keep going was beyond Thor when even he was growing exhausted.

This time the silence which followed was light and companionable as they both focused on looking out for their surroundings and putting one foot in front of the other. Eventually Thor was the one who spoke first. "It was an honor to meet Phil Coulson", he stated with utmost sincerity. "He was a great man."

Clint, who'd been walking in front of him, tensed up for a couple of seconds. Then nodded. "Yeah, he was", the archer agreed softly. "One of the best."


As it turned out the storm fell on them even faster than Clint had feared. And a great deal more mercilessly. Forty-five minutes later it was impossible to see more than two steps ahead. The Hawk could only hope that they were at least headed towards the right direction.

That thought – among several others – occupied Clint to a point where, for a while, he failed to notice the howls. The wind helped wipe away the noise. Until it was too close for comfort. And then, as the unpredictable wind turned once more and brought his scent to the new threat's attention, the howls turned into growls. That was when Clint froze, ice chips coursing through his veins.

"Thor", he breathed out. In hopes that the animal wouldn't hear instead. There was no response and with new chills Clint wondered when was the last time he heard the Asgardian's footsteps.

It was entirely too easy to lose track of one another in that weather and he could only hope that his friend had more luck than he did.

Although it sounded awfully lot like Thor was trying his hardest not to be lucky. "Clint? Where are you?"

The growling intensified. It was far closer to Clint but if the Asgardian would come any closer… Something moved at the corner of his eye and it definitely wasn't his friend. It was fast, far too quick even for Thor's hammer.

Shit...!

Clint braced himself for the grand total of two seconds. Then screamed at the top of his lungs, knowing far too well which ears would catch his words. His hand had already grabbed the haft of his knife. "Stay back!"

The wind had betrayed him. From whichever direction he'd imagined the threat was coming from, it was the exact opposite. The wolf reached him without making a sound. Clint was down before he ever saw it coming.

Clint saw a flash on yellow eyes and incredibly sharp, yellowish teeth. The wolf was large and thin, a lone male looking out for its territory, especially with a potentially dangerous pack nearby. It wouldn't take his intrusion kindly. From there it was a fierce battle over survival. The Hawk wasn't planning on losing.

Clint shifted the best as he could without exposing his neck to those magnificent jaws, then kicked fiercely. The wolf yelped but soon found its anger once more, with more force than before. A flash later he felt teeth biting into his leg and gasped, too out of breath for actual words. When they dug deeper he finally found his voice and roared, instinctively swinging the hand holding the knife. He didn't know what he hit but the sound he earned as a response offered a great deal of promise.

His shout and sudden hit actually succeeded in getting results. The wolf retreated a step of two, growling while observing him with some hesitation. It didn't like the confrontation any more than he did. Red stained the snow as they glared at each other.

"CLINT!"

Clint shifted again to remind Thor to stay away. The wolf obviously took the motion as a threat and struck again. This time the teeth sunk to his shoulder, so deep and painfully that his line of vision swam for a while. He didn't even want to know how bad the damage was but he did know that something broke.

Despite the state of shock he was slipping into Clint's body reacted instinctively. He swung the blade a one more time, desperate need to survive bubbling in his veins. Stubborn to the last.

And finally, finally his attempts paid off. The wolf gave a final, defiant snarl and a heated glare. Then, slowly and reluctantly, the animal turned and began to limp into the forest. It disappeared to the storm like a strange dream, fresh snow on its fur creating a striking contrast to equally fresh, oozing blood.

Clint blinked sluggishly, wondering if he was in fact dreaming. He tried to get up, not liking his vulnerable position, but his feet slipped awkwardly before he even got the chance to sit. With no other option he lay there, staring at the almost unnatural white surrounding him. Darkness was beginning to fall, or was it just for him?

Clint remembered, vaguely, that there was something he was supposed to be worried about. Someone. But the thought slipped away from him before he could process it.

And then, through the snow and shadows, Phil appeared. The smile on the man's face was comfortingly familiar. "Come on, kid. Let's go home."

Clint smiled and closed his eyes. Snowflakes gathered to his eyelashes before melting away. "Yeah", he murmured. "Let's go."

"CLINT!"


The snowstorm was growing worse and Thor was, much to his dismay, forced to admit that he was… concerned. He lost sight of Clint somewhere along the way and despite having called out several times he hadn't received a response. At one point he thought he heard the archer but it was most likely just the wind. The distant howls echoing through the landscape sent chills down his spine.

He wandered on, trying to look around although it was practically impossible to see. "Clint!" Finally, finally, he spotted faint foot-tracks. At least he was headed the right way. "Clint, can you h…!"

It wasn't only the red against white which made him trail off. It was the sight of Clint lay on the snow, more and more blood running from the wound on the man's leg. Too quickly for a non-critical wound. There was a tiny, eerily calm smile on the unconscious archer's face.

Thor was used to fighting his way through problems with his hammer. But when it came to matters which required gentle proceedings… He'd never quite known how to deal with those.

So he did what he could. He rushed to his friend, his heart pounding in his chest, and took off the wool scarf he'd been wearing. He had no idea how much pressure he should add, how much would do more harm than good.

"Clint?" He didn't care if he sounded desperate. For once in his life honor didn't matter even the slightest bit. His friend offered no response. "Clint, I… I don't know what to do." Even admitting it hurt – facing the reality that he just didn't know, that he was completely and utterly helpless, hurt.

Time was running out. The pool of red kept growing. Clint was a fighter but the man was fading away rapidly.

"Clint?"


The team's meeting spot was a forest cabin in the middle of nowhere. Not exactly ideal but it was the best they'd been able to come up with. They appeared in pairs, first Steve and Tony who were both grumpy and bickering, then Bruce and Natasha who were even quieter than usual.

The final pair, however, failed to show up.

When two hours had passed by Tony groaned. Trying to appear irritated rather than worried although his eyes gave away the truth. "Feathers has gotten himself into a trouble again, hasn't he?"

Bruce rubbed his own face roughly with one hand. He'd been awake for over two days, which wasn't helping his self-control at all. "Maybe we should go and find…" The cabin's door emitted a loud bang as it flew open and they all shuddered. "… them."

All four of them turned their heads simultaneously. What they discovered made the freezing temperature outside pale in comparison. They froze, unable to utter a sound.

Thor stood by the doorway, nothing short of despair on his face. And on the Asgardian's arms was Clint, unconscious, pale and bloodied. Appearing horribly small and fragile in the larger man's protective, shielding hold. Thor's eyes pleaded uncharacteristically long before the hammer wielder found his voice. "Help."


Bruce's hands weren't steady and his blood pressure was most likely through the roof while he worked on Clint's horrific wounds. Stitching and patching them up the best as he could. Hoping desperately that he was somehow doing more good than harm although the equipment and his skills were limited.

Terrifying odds, really, considering that his friend's life was basically in his hands.

They could be fairly certain that Clint was attacked by a wolf, although Thor never actually saw the animal. One of the bites went pretty deep into the archer's shoulder. With luck the man might avoid permanent damage. It looked bad and required a lot of stitches. Bruce really, really hoped that Clint would be able to shoot arrows like before. To imagine the Hawk without his bow…

The second wound, however, was what threatened Clint's life. Based on the amount of bleeding an artery had been nicked. If Thor hadn't worked on it as quickly as the Asgardian did…

Bruce swallowed thickly, unwilling to even think about it. Nor was he willing to look at Clint's unconscious, unnaturally pale face. Instead he fixed his eyes on the man's chest, monitoring the motions. Up, down, up, down… "You'll be okay", he swore. Even if he knew full well that there was no way he could promise that. He swallowed again, not liking the taste in his mouth. "You… You survived this far. And… We'll take off, as soon as the snowstorm settles. So… You hang on, until then. And we'll go home."

"… home …"

Bruce actually jumped. Too close to losing control. His eyes darted towards Clint's, spotting them hazy but halfway open. The archer licked his lips and frowned. "… we home yet, Phil?"

Bruce could actually feel his heart break, just a little. After a few dazed seconds he finally shook his head. "Not yet, but soon. Now go back to sleep."

Clint nodded and closed his eyes, absolute trust radiating from the archer.

Bruce was still in the middle of pulling himself together when Natasha walked into the room. Her eyebrows furrowed while her gaze scanned through her partner. "Any change?"

Bruce shook his head. "Not really. He woke up for a few moments but wasn't exactly lucid." He didn't have the heart to reveal the exact details. The day was already horrible enough.

Natasha nodded. Her expression gave away nothing but the look in her eyes… "Go and get some sleep, you haven't rested in days." Like she would've…! "I'll keep an eye on him." Her tone was sharp but not hostile. It was clearly her way of announcing that she needed to do this alone.

Bruce went to leave, knowing better than to start an argument. At the door he, however, stopped. "Look, Nat…"

"I know." It was hard to say which sealed the almost starting conversation more effectively. The look on her face or her voice.

As Bruce did leave he heard her muttering softly to Clint in Russian.


They took turns in keeping watch because it was blatantly obvious that they'd all lost too much sleep already. Emerging from one of the cabin's tiny bedrooms Steve stretched, spotting Tony on the couch. The billionaire just lay there, torn eyes glaring heatedly at the ceiling. Clearly the lack of anything to do was taking its toll. "How's Clint?"

"About the same. Nat's still inside. She fell asleep there and none of us has dared to try waking her up." Tony didn't even try to joke. If that didn't reveal how bad things were…

Steve sighed. A nightmare, all of this… "She needs the rest." He turned his head towards the cabin's door. "Is Thor still out there?"

"Yup." Tony went on as he began to move. "I wouldn't, if I were you. He's not in a good mood."

"Since when have I taken advice from you?"

True to Tony's report, Thor was stood at the porch, narrowed and exhausted eyes keeping an eye on the forest around them. The Asgardian's arms were folded and the whole tall frame swayed dangerously. Too little rest, too much worrying. It took too long before the hammer wielder reacted to his presence. If possible the tension intensified. "Has there been change?"

"No, no. That's not why I came", Steve hurried to reassure his friend. "Clint's still alive and fighting." He could only hope that the Hawk would remain stubborn for a little while longer.

Thor nodded. Resolutely not looking his way. "The Hawk is a true warrior."

Steve nodded. "Yeah, he is." He held a small pause, letting his own emotional turmoil settle. "You should come inside, you know. You need some sleep."

Thor shook his head. "I'm alright. I'm keeping an eye on the storm. We'll go home once it settles, yes?"

Steve sighed heavily. He was the leader of this team. And this was one of those moments when he didn't like it. "Thor, what happened today wasn't your fault. You saw Clint's injuries. For him to sustain those… The attack had to have been sudden. There was nothing…"

"I was steps away when it happened." The wheels in Thor's head could practically be seen turning and somehow it seemed that this wasn't solely about Clint. "And he chose to handle it on his own."

Steve had never asked whether Thor was there when Loki died. Somehow he'd just assumed that it was so and now it was confirmed. He considered his next words carefully. "I… was only steps away, too, when someone as close to me as a brother died. I tried to help but…" He trailed off. The memory of Bucky's death was still far too fresh.

Thor seemed to mull over his words, still not glancing his way, and in the end said nothing.

Steve watched the snowstorm, pleased to discover that it was mellowing. "What we do… It comes with risks. Sometimes we're able to look out for one another. Other times…" He gulped against the bitter taste rising up his throat. "Other times we're not so lucky."

"It feels like a failure", Thor mused out loud at last, wrinkling his nose with distaste.

"It does. It stings. But… We need to learn to live with it. We need to accept that we do everything we can." Steve hoped that one day he, himself, might. "Otherwise it breaks us."

They stood in a silence for a very long time. Keeping watch. Observing how the storm died down, one sigh of the wind at a time.

"We were lucky today." Thor still had a thoughtful look on his face. But the Asgardian didn't seem quite so torn anymore. "We didn't lose him."

Steve didn't point out that they still might. Couldn't face the thought just yet. "We didn't", he agreed. "Because you were there for him."

"I didn't fail today."

"No, you didn't", Steve affirmed because somehow it felt like his friend needed to hear those words.

The storm ended.


They had a couple of close calls during the flight back home. Clint's condition was far from stable. And the leg wound began to blood again despite Bruce's best efforts. But in the end they didn't lose him. Not today.

It took what felt like ages and a couple of blood transfusions. Finally the Hawk felt ready to join the waken world once more. His first words in a while, slurred as they were, succeeded in startling Tony. "… we home yet…?"

Tony nodded as soon as he'd recovered from the near heart attack. "Yup, Feathers. We're home." He smirked at his friend, relief swelling and spreading inside him. "And when you're not looking like death warmed up I want to hear why you thought that it was a good idea to wrestle with a wolf."

Clint's grin promised that everything would be alright.


After a month and a half it finally turned out that Clint's shoulder, stiff as it still was, would make a full recovery. He had mighty scars and Laura would yell at him about them but he was alive. Ready for a new battle.

However, he could sense that Thor was still… troubled. The Asgardian was more closed up than usual and somehow succeeded in keeping a hyper close eye on him while still avoiding him. It'd take time before Thor would overcome the aftermath – Clint knew, because he'd been there. He'd need to give it time. If Thor watching over him like he might keel over any second was what it took to convince the Asgardian that he was alive would do the trick, then he'd suffer through it.

There was, however, something they both needed to do. Because they were a team, now. And they couldn't let ghosts come between them.

Thor shifted with discomfort as they stood on a beach, sand caressing their feet. It was very, very dark but the city lights were more than enough to keep it from becoming suffocating. "Are you certain that this is a good idea? Surely there are more honorable places…"

"Are you kidding me?" Clint looked around. The beach was quiet and peaceful at that hour. As well as very beautiful. Exactly the no man's land they needed. "This is perfect."

Thor obviously had hesitations. "Are… you certain, that you wish to do this with me? Because… This doesn't feel… conventional."

Clint snorted. "Nothing about this team is conventional. That's…" He wasn't able to gulp down the lump in his throat. "That's the way Phil wanted it."

Phil. Who was more of a dad to him than his actual father. The way he died… Maybe one day Clint would be able to genuinely let go of the guilt and anger. He owed it to Phil that he at least tried. He owed it to Thor as well. Because sometimes he felt like Loki's shadow lingered in the other Asgardian's footsteps somehow and it needed to stop.

Dead and gone. Both of them. Those who were still alive needed to make the most out of what they left behind – whether it was Loki's chaos and destruction, or Phil's legacy of love and compassion.

Neither spoke after that. There was no need. They both lit a candle, then placed them to the water and watched them float away until even the faintest trace of them was gone. And somehow it felt like the ghosts of the past were a little further. They relaxed and observed the dark waters, keeping watch. Comrades from different realms side by side, seeing the world through new eyes which may or may not have been full of tears.

"Clint?" Thor's voice was strangely soft for someone of his size. "Phil… He would be very proud of you."

Clint wiped his cheeks swiftly and subtly. Because of course he wasn't crying. "I hope so."


End of story


A/N: You know, the bitter irony that they're both grieving someone who isn't actually dead… (winces) But GOSH, trust Clint to find trouble even in the middle of nowhere! Thank gosh first Thor, then Bruce, was there to keep him from bleeding out.

I LOVE wolves!

Soooooooo… Did I do Thor justice – was that any good, at all? PLEASE, do let me know! Hearing from you totally makes my day.

SO, NOW WHAT?

Fury, of all people, sees first hand just how accident prone Clint is…

Now what is wrong with Natasha – why is she trying to kill Clint?!

And a car accident in the middle of a mission has results none of the teammembers would've known to expect…

Until next time, my fellow Hawkeye/Renner fans! I really hope that you'll all join in then.

Take care!


Anonymous: AH! The ending was a bit open, because I felt like the girl's story wasn't quite over yet. I hope you didn't mind too much…?

Gotta love Steve, eh? It's both infuriating and endearing how firm he is in his ideals. (smiles fondly)

Colossal thank yous for the review! I REALLY hope that you'll keep enjoying the ride.