Thud.
Thud.
Thud.
The rhythmic tapping of his boots echoed throughout the cavernous room. Silently, as quiet as he could manage, Clint moved across the room, his eyes flickering left to right, aware yet unseeing all the while his hands firmly grasped his bow. He recognised this place, had been here multiple times. It's the Helicarrier.
And it was all too familiar yet foreign at the same time. 'What is this place?' he thought briefly, eyes roaming blurry details as his feet guided him through the murky landscape.
Thud.
Thud.
Thud.
It wasn't usually this quiet.
It was never this quiet.
Not even in his dreams.
It wasn't supposed to be.
What is this?
Why am I here?
His questions stewed and swirled within his cotton-filled mind as his feet seemed to be under the guidance of another, slowly carrying him to a darkened room. He frowned momentarily.
He never saw this room before, not even after all his visits to the plane. 'Is this an addition?' he thought briefly, before dismissing it. No, all Helicarriers were of the same design, not a single one are supposed to be so different as to add a new room. But then, why is this here?
For a while, he stood in front of the door, his feet finally freed from their trance. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, his grasp tightening and imprinting the grooves of his bow into the palm of his hand. Nothing, he noted, there was no sound besides his own breathing and murky thoughts.
Is this a dream?
This must be one hell of a dream, then, he mused.
His eyes opened and he stared at the door, noting that he couldn't pinpoint the exact material it was made of, only seeing pitch black darkness and the silver handle etched with designs.
This wasn't the usual door, he frowned. But then again, this wasn't your usual encounter, either.
He grasped the handle with his free hand, taking a deep breath before twisting and pushing open the door.
It was still silent, the door moving without even a creak or a click of a handle. Clint peered in, observing the darkness in the room.
He pursed his lips, doubts starting to crawl within his mind, clawing at his confidence.
Why had he opened the door? Why had he decided to walk through the empty place instead of running the other way?
His eyes flickered back to the tempting darkness.
Most importantly, what is behind this door?
Is this a dream?
Probably, he answered himself, not believing a Helicarrier could ever be completely silent.
Come.
He took a deep breath before stepping in, eyes flickering every so often between his feet and the vast bowels of the room. He couldn't see anything, yet once more did his feet guide him, strung along by an invisible string. Somehow, despite the faint thought that this wasn't right, he just knew he was supposed to be here.
'I am here,' his soul seemed to say, answering his unknown siren.
Thud.
Thud.
Thud.
He didn't know how long he had walked, steps unfaltering as he entered deeper and deeper, until, finally, he saw a faint burst of light. All of a sudden, his steady pace changed and he burst into a sprint, running full force until he stood in the middle of a wide clearing, soft golden rays shining from above, shrouding some of his features in shadows.
'I am here,' he seemed to answer, as his heart calmed down and his breath evened, yet the undercurrents of adrenaline never stopped coursing through his veins. He knew this feeling, the anticipation before a good fight.
The calm before a storm.
Thud.
Thud.
Thud.
And there were footsteps, yet his feet were planted firmly on the ground. 'I am here,' his being seemed to scream desperately, aching for whatever it is to come.
'What do you want from me?'
Thud.
The steps stopped. Clint couldn't see where the owner of the steps were, yet his eyes seemed to stay locked on a certain location, just at the edge of the light, leaving the owner shrouded in the shadows.
Kneel.
"Who are you?" Clint asked, voice breathy yet steady, nervous yet firm, contradictory yet complimentary.
For a beat there was silence.
"The question is," began a smooth voice, sounding both young and old, and something within Clint seemed to tremble and ache, "who are you?"
'What?' Clint asked himself. 'Who am I?'
Before he could ponder upon that question, the light seemed to flicker and writhe, undulating and both contracting and expanding beyond its current shape, and Clint saw a glimpse of his conversation partner.
A lean body covered in shadows. A sharp, shapely nose. Full, firm lips. And...
Clint's very breath seemed to be taken away from him.
His eyes.
His eyes were a storm, swirling with strength, never staying on one specific colour, but varying shades of green and blue.
Kneel.
Kneel.
Kneel.
KNeel.
KNEEL.
"I think," the man said, stopping the onslaught of silent pleas, his lips quirking up slightly yet with little humour or amusement within his eyes, "it's time for you to go back."
"Back?" Clint found himself questioning, legs trembling slightly from the unexpected command. His eyes locked back upon the roaring storms. "Back where?"
"Back up, of course."
'What?' his mind suddenly screamed, suddenly alerted by something. He was forgetting something, something important, something urgent. His eyes locked back on the mysterious man, yet before he could open his mouth to ask, the smooth voice answered back.
"Wake up, warrior."
And Clint woke up with a gasp, snapping open eyes he didn't know were shut, hazily stating at a familiar ceiling as his mind whirled and tried to structure itself, desperately trying to recall every vivid imagery and details of the dream.
'Dream? Was it a dream?' his consciousness asked back, seemingly to smug.
It had to be, right?
Right?
"Clint?" A woman's voice shook him out of his trance. He looked towards the source of the voice unseeingly, mind still stuck on that dark room, desperately grasping the vivid details of his companion to no avail.
His mind was blurry, he could not recall the exact features or sound of his voice. All except one.
"Clint?" The other voice from before once more asked him, harsher this time. And Clint focused back on her, this time taking in her wild red curls and the stern angle of her mouth, her arms crossed in front of her torso, watching him warily. He weakly sat up on the bed.
"... Tasha?" He asked back weakly, a part of his mind acknowledging his old friend and a part still stuck on the only vivid detail he could remember.
Those eyes.
Clint closed his eyes and shuddered, slightly hysterical.
Warm hands grasped his shoulders and he opened his eyes, taking in the slightly worried gleam in her eyes. "You okay?" She asked him. Clint's throat felt dry, yet he still nodded, "Yeah."
"What do you remember?" She asked, flicking her worried gaze over his pale countenance. Clint looked back at her. He didn't know how to answer that.
"Tasha," he began weakly, "do you... Do you know someone with green eyes? Like, like they have storms within?"
Natasha frowned, eyeing him worriedly. "What does this have to do with anything?" She asked back. Clint paused and pursed his lips. "Nothing. It's just... I want to meet him."
"Him?"
"Yes, him," he answered back, stating at her resolutely, trying to convince her of how urgent it was with his eyes, the man's question ringing deeply within his mind.
Who are you?
Something within his expression seemed to have spooked her. Perhaps it was his desperate gaze, or the hysterical set of his brows, or the manic glint within his eyes, but Natasha releases him and frowned, her hands flexing at her sides.
"Clint... I don't think you're ready to get up, yet."
"Natasha..." He said, a foreign ache resounding within his very bones. "Please!"
He was about to plead with her more, but she interrupted him, voice stern yet undoubtedly worried.
"Clint, what's the last thing you remember?"
And his mind went blank, whirling and turning and searching for something, grasping at straws to come up with nothing. He just remembered those eyes and his question.
Silently, after too long of a moment, he looked back towards the woman. "Natasha..." He began, looking at her almost pleadingly.
"I don't remember anything."
And her hands flexed, once, twice, before she came upon a decision and struck him.
And Clint knew no more but of the darkness that welcomed him within its embrace.
Who am I?
So, uh... to my new readers, welcome. To my old readers, I swear this was supposed to be up on Christmas, but, uh... procrastination.
Yay.
Also, if you didn't realise, this is a rewrite, and I have decided on some major change within the whole scenario (well, not that major that's gonna change the plot or anything-- not like I have any, bold of you to assume I do) but more in term of the romance or pairing.
Look, I'm not big on romance outside of fanfiction, but I might have spent some time thinking about this and, well, how do I say this?
This is M/M.
Surprise!
But the thing is... well, it's not gonna come anytime soon. Slow burn? Maybe? I have no concrete idea who I'm gonna pair our darling baby with but I am eyeing somebody.
Anyways, Percy's in no shape or mind to be dating anytime soon. So... who knows? Maybe sometime in the middle of this story he's gonna get his partner, or even at the end, or just implied, or I'll keep the whole thing ambiguous.
Baby's got issues.
They're not gonna go away soon, sadly.
But if the pairing is still not comfortable for you, feel free to back out. Or if you're still curious, go ahead, you can drop it sometime in the middle if it got too uncomfortable for you, or even skip it. I don't mind. What I do mind is the unsolicited rude comments.
Please, people, I gave you a chance to back out and you didn't take it. You being uncomfortable isn't my problem.
Anyways, this is set after the first movie, btw. Ahh... the good ol' OG casts.
Also this has no fixed update schedule... just... whenever I have the chance and energy to write, I guess. Next chapter shouldn't take too long to come out, though... I hope. I'll try to have it out sometime after the New Year. Looking back at my old writing just makes me cringe, ngl.
What's up with the new writing format on fanfiction? I remember it used to be much simpler. Now it's ruining all my spacing. I'll hopefully be fixing it soon, rn I just wanna get this out as soon as I can.
Please feel free to drop a comment, just a simple "Wow" or even a "Hi" is enough for me.
Anyways, next author notes won't be as long, hopefully. Sometime soon I'm also gonna post this on Ao3.
Take care, people. Have a good day!
-TattoedTeardrops
