Claire's pov
"Who are you?" as I spoke she visibly calmed, confusing me. "Claire? Jesus woman, you scared the shit out of me!" she cried in relief.
" I won't ask again." I growled. She raised her hands before removing her mask. It took a minute before it clicked. "Why did you dye your hair?" I asked as a smile slipped across my lips. "Bring us back to the ground and I'll tell you." I smiled sheepishly and dropped our height slowly until our feet hit the ground far from where we originally were. She stood and caught her breath properly before turning and pulling me into a tight hug. "God it's good to see you. We didn't know if you were even still alive then you just popped up on a park bench… what were you thinking staying in the open like that?" she pulled back and looked into my eyes when I heard a voice patch through her earpiece. "Natasha? Where are you?" I smiled recognising it as Clint. " I was thinking, I just got kicked out of Wakanda and had no idea where to go from here." she paused, giving me a funny look.
"You got kicked out of Wakanda? How the hell did you manage that?" she laughed, shaking her head. "It's a long story, one best kept for another day." I grumbled sourly. She stopped laughing seeing my not too happy look and nodded. "Right, you're probably pretty tired, let's get you somewhere safe than. Probably some food too, you look like you haven't eaten in decades." she smirked, bumping my shoulder with a light smile. It was obvious she was trying to cheer me up which I appreciated as I gave a small nod. She took my hand without another word and brought her hand up to the comm in her ear. "Clint, I've got her, mind giving us a ride?" I just watched her with a small smile, memories of my times with her flowing freely through my mind, making my smile widen as she exchanged coordinates with Clint.
It was weird being able to remember things without feeling that shocking pain in my head, I was almost scared to let the memories continue in fear of being hurt. She turned to see me watching her and her face softened.
"Are you okay Claire?" I just watched her, trying to memorize each little detail, each little change that I wasn't there for. I wonder how long she's been blonde for? It suits her well at least... I wonder if Clint has changed much too? It's been so long since i've seen them… so long since i've been able to even think of them. "Claire?" How long has it even been? How long was I trapped in that place? How long have I been in Wakanda? At Wade's home? How long has it been since I even saw wade? How much have I missed in the world?
All I could do was watch her, she was talking but I couldn't hear anything over my own thoughts. It hurts to think about all of these things. No longer was I plagued by that shocking pain from hydra but now I was faced with something far worse than anything hydra could have done to me... I was faced with a longing pain for the times I have missed. A strong sadness and guilt, but most of all my heart hurt from the stolen time I will never be able to get back thanks to hydra.
I felt arms wrap around me and a familiar warmth as a hushed voice broke through my thoughts. "Claire, you're going to be okay, just let it all out, we are here for you. We won't let you go ever again." the voice cracked, it's tone not hiding the sadness the person held. I pulled back from the hug to see I was on a jet now, Clint was standing before me, his arms still holding my shoulders as I looked at him. Behind him was Natasha who was watching us with a sad smile. Finally I found my voice as I pulled Clint back into a tight hug. "I'm okay." I mumbled into his shoulder making him hum and bring a hand up to run gently through my tangled hair.
"I'm sorry." I mumbled again as I reluctantly pulled myself from his touch and started wiping my face clean only now noticing the tears that soaked my skin. "Hey it's okay, no need to apologize." Nat spoke softly as she walked over. She grabbed my hands from my face before gently wiping the remaining tears away with a smile. This only made more tears slip past my eyes. "No, no it's not okay! I missed so much! The worlds gone to shit and SHIELD is gone and everyone got in a big fight and I just… I didn't even know! I'm only realizing now just how much I missed and there's so much! I don't even know how long I've been gone or what's happened and everythings changed and it hurts! It hurts so much!" I cried, finally breaking, the words I had been thinking finally sinking in fully as I spoke them out loud.
My legs gave out beneath me as both of them grabbed me in a hug. Everything's changed and there's nothing I can do to get things back… hydra… I will make them pay, if it's the last thing I do.
~Time skip~
Natasha's pov
I watched as Clint tucked Claire into the bed carefully so as to not wake her. She had fallen asleep on the flight over, a relief to us both after trying everything to calm her sobs. It broke my heart seeing her like that, so broken down. I don't think I've ever seen her look so lost, let alone seen her cry. I've seen her cry in anger but that's something completely different, there was so much sadness in her eyes, her voice so broken as she clung to Clint and I. Clint turned to look at me with sad eyes before nodding to the door. I nodded and we left the room to let her rest after such a long night.
"We should let her sleep as long as she can, she looks like she really needs it." Clint whispered as we started walking away towards the common room we often found ourselves in. "No kidding, I don't think I've ever seen her look so worn down." I frowned as I thought of the look she was giving me before Clint had shown up. " I can't imagine just what she's been through all this time… you mentioned her being kicked out of Wakanda right? Maybe we should give them a call? See if they can give us any information on how she got there?" I frowned and shook my head. "When I asked her she looked upset, not to mention she got kicked out… something tells me it'd be better to not contact them about her for a while." he nodded at my words as we sat down.
"That's true, how do you even get kicked out of a country? Let alone Wakanda… it's unusual to say the least." I hummed in thought at what possibility caused Wakanda to reject someone like her. Though it has been years since we've seen her. We lived back at the avenger tower back then, so much has happened since then. I can't help but wonder how different things might have been if she were there for everything. Which side would she have chosen in the civil war? Would she want to sign the accords now that she's back? If she does, was it really wise to bring her to SHIELD's new base? "We should contact Coulson, let him know she's back." Clint spoke, seeming to be thinking the same as me. I nodded and stood up. "I'll do it, you should stick around here in case she wakes up. We can't be certain how she'll act after all this time." Clint frowned but nodded. With that I left the room. Now to call Coulson, it'll be interesting to see how he reacts to these news. I smiled at the thought before reaching the communications room. Only one way to find out, I suppose.