CHAPTER 2 - Magic
Considering the family hadn't been at the farm in a few years, it was surprisingly well maintained. It looked as if someone had been taking care of it. That meant someone must be living in it. Some squatter or something. That really ticked Clint off. After everything that had happened lately, he really wasn't in the mood for squatters. Why the hell would someone do that? Wait, no, more like how the hell had someone done it? The security systems installed in the house should have kept people out, or alerted Clint. But, Tony could have turned it all off. Maybe the JSC was inside waiting for them.
When driving toward the front of the house, surprisingly, didn't draw any of the people out made Clint wonder. Could he have been wrong? But Clint knew better. They could just be waiting for him to get out or let down his guard. He wasn't going to risk anything. Especially in case it wasn't a squatter but was an enemy that decided to wait for Clint to return. Laura appeared behind him as he pulled the RV to a stop. It took her a moment before she realized what had the archer on edge. Loki frowned, looking about. This wasn't what he had expected.
"Clint?" she called.
"Stay here, be ready to get out of here," Clint ordered, slipping out of the drivers seat without shutting the RV off. Laura quickly took his place. Loki glanced at the archer, wondering if he should follow. Clint shook his head and Loki quickly realized that Clint was trusting the trickster to watch over his family. It was oddly soothing. So far only Wanda had willingly placed that much trust in him.
"Old man?" Pietro asked. Again Clint shook his head no as he grabbed his bow and quiver of arrows that had been stashed behind Loki's seat, readily available to grab should the need arise. Carefully, Clint slipped out of the RV and headed toward the house. The kids came up front, feeling the tension. Arrow even headed up, making sure to slid into the space between Laura and Loki with a whine. Cooper and Lila immediately knew something was wrong. Knowing this could go badly, Cooper placed his hands on Nate's shoulders, readying to pull the kid away before he saw too much.
Everyone tensed as Clint headed up onto the porch. He quickly scanned through both downstairs front windows on that side of the house before checking the door. To Clint's surprise, it was locked. His key to the house was back in the RV with everyone else so, the archer had to go to his backup plan. The house didn't have an extra key hidden somewhere on the grounds. Instead, a secret panel next to the door that revealed a hand scanner that the entire family was set to. Clint mentally noted to add Loki to the scanner even as he did so and unlocked the door. A moment later, Clint entered the home, his bow ready and an arrow already nocked.
"How long do we wait?" Loki questioned, glancing at Laura for help. Laura tensed but said nothing. That hadn't really ever been discussed. Clint always assumed there would be a shoot out or enemies charging out of the house. Considering nothing happened so far, Laura wasn't sure what to do. After a few more minutes, Clint reappeared at the door way. His bow was left somewhere in the house. With a large smile, he waved to the group. Laura heaved a sigh of relief and turned off the RV.
"We're home," the woman needlessly announced. Cooper, Lila and Nate quickly rushed off the RV and ran straight to the house, Arrow happily barking behind them. Laura laughed, getting up and heading out herself. Pietro glanced once at Loki before going as well. Loki hesitated but he finally left as Laura made it to Clint.
"Tasha was here," Clint told Laura as Loki left the RV. It made sense that the spy had made herself at home on the farm. No one would think to look for her there. As everyone made their way into the house, Loki found himself stopping at the edge of the porch. Clint turned back around to see the Lie-smith awkwardly standing there. He snorted. "Come on, I'll show you around and set some things up for you."
Loki couldn't stop his sigh of relief. While it was true that Clint and Laura had allowed him to travel with them. This was their home. A safe place. And Loki wasn't sure he'd be allowed to intrude. He had thought Clint would have made him live out of the RV on the property. The tour of the house ended up being rather quick. Living room to the left of the door, dining room to the right. Kitchen and half bathroom in the back. Upstairs was four smaller bedrooms and the master bedroom. Not really much to the place but after the tour Loki couldn't help but notice the kids (and Pietro) had already separated into their rooms. Leaving no room for him. Where would he stay? As he and Clint came back down, Laura met them at the bottom of the stairs.
"Hon, where is Loki gonna room in?" the woman inquired, a pad and pen in front of her. Clint paused, mentally thinking about the rooming situation. Pietro was staying in what was considered the guest room and each kid of course had their own room. And the only other bedroom was Laura's and his.
"Uh," Clint smartly replied. Pietro glanced at Cooper. The younger boy nodded.
"I can move to Cooper's room and Loki can take the guest," the speedster suggested. Loki frowned. That would not do. He would not kick one of the family out of their room. But he also didn't want to sleep on the couch or anything like that. Without fully thinking it through, Loki grabbed Clint's arm and began dragging the archer upstairs again.
"Come with me," the trickster pretty much demanded. Clint quickly lost his balance before he knew what was happening.
"Hey!" Clint yelped but quickly got his feet under him and followed. Curious, the rest of the family came upstairs as well. At the top of the stairs, Loki looked at each end of the hall. One end was near the bathroom and Nate's room with the master bedroom beyond. The other was Pietro and Cooper. Nodding, Loki headed to the latter side. Clint slowly trailed after him, allowing the others room to get up and watch as well. Loki focused briefly on Clint. "What are you doing?"
"Magic isn't all evil," the trickster reminded before focusing back on the end of the hall. He muttered a quick spell before Clint could protest. Right away, the window that had been there stretched out and turned into a doorway, a wooden door with some light golden inlay already set. Clint raised an eyebrow at the display. Huffing, Loki opened the door to show a brand new bedroom suddenly attached to the house.
"Woah!" the three kids called before rushing past all the adults to check the room out. Loki gave them a soft smile as Clint glanced at him. Laura's lips were set in a straight line, unsure how to respond to this. Loki couldn't help but sigh. He had assumed that at least one of them would like this sight. But Laura didn't seem all that pleased at the moment.
"There is no outside change to your home," the Lie-smith told the adults. Clint could only stare at him in surprise. "I can add as many rooms as you wish. They will all be like you built them into the home but show no outer signs they are here and they will only vanish with a removal spell."
"Thank you," Laura said, moving to place a hand on Loki's arm. Apparently Laura just needed to know that her home hadn't been changed. Loki stiffly nodded. He really wasn't getting used to all these kinds words and pleased atmosphere over his use of magic. Gracefully, Laura headed into the room. As she did, a rush of air passed by and suddenly Clint and Loki found themselves alone in the hall.
"I'm guessing I'm gonna have to get used to casual usage of magic," Clint flippantly sighed out. Loki smirked. That was more what he was used to. But Clint didn't sound mad about it. Just, okay or resigned. Loki swore than and there that he would do everything possible to get Clint to be okay with magic. It would be important for Clint to understand what he could do.
"I will get you to learn that magic isn't inherently evil," Loki informed the archer. Clint snorted at him. He had never really made mention that his disliked magic being done around him. Just that he didn't want it to be done on him or even having him do it himself. But, he also had a limit and Clint wasn't sure Loki would respect that.
"Still don't mean I wanna learn," he replied before turning and walking away from the new addition. Loki couldn't help but frown. Clint hadn't even been willing to enter the room. This was going to be harder than the trickster thought. But, he'd 'break' down Clint's resolve. Then again, maybe Loki should mention it to Laura. She could help... Right?
Days passed as the family tried to resettle into their home. The town was glad to hear the Bartons had returned home. With the Accords having cleared Clint of wrong doings, there was no reason for him not to stay. They all knew that Clint was a good person. Many of the elderly women began visiting to drop off food as a welcome back gift. Clint and Laura were typically the only ones who answered the door for this.
To the rest of the family's pleasure, Loki performed magic in front of Clint at every opportunity. Clint just gritted his teeth and said nothing. Especially when Loki used magic to help with chores around the house. Laura really enjoyed that. But it didn't take long before Laura and Pietro began to notice the tension forming between the archer and Lie-smith. Mostly the duo agreed to let it run it's course but eventually one of them would crack. The final straw for Clint ended up being when Loki used magic to ready the fields for the new plantings.
"CUT IT OUT!" Clint screamed at Loki, spinning on him. Loki stiffened in surprise but kept the pleased smile on his face as Laura and Pietro exchanged a look. This was going to be much worse than anyone thought. Maybe they should have intervened.
"Kids, why don't we go inside and get ready for lunch," Laura suggested, ushering the kids into the house. Cooper nodded, helping to lead his siblings into the house. But as the kids entered the house, Laura paused on the porch, looking out at the remaining members. She should stay out here and make sure that Clint didn't go too far.
"It's a simple spell. No trouble at all," Loki responded in a flippant tone. He had expected this explosion days ago. So, he was partly prepared for it. He just hadn't expected it to bother him as much as it did. The archer had trusted him and Loki was seemingly walking all over it. Clint snarled at him.
"Stop with the fucking magic," Clint snapped. Laura quickly came off the porch and headed to her husband's side. It was a well known fact that Clint didn't care for magic. Heck, Clint hadn't cared for magic even before his run-in with Loki. And it only seemed to spiral from there.
"Why? I have it. Why not use it?" Loki asked, stressing the idea of casual use. Clint gritted his teeth, glaring at the magic user. Loki simply raised an eyebrow, daring Clint to say something.
"Clint, what's going on with you? He's being helpful," Laura added, staring at her husband. Clint said nothing, his glare flicking from Loki to his wife and back. Loki stood straighter, his eyes fixed it a way that showed he wanted Clint to say why. The trickster had most of the family on his side for this. As much as he didn't want to fight Clint, Loki was determined to get Clint to think of the idea of practicing magic.
"Is this because of Clint's magic?" Pietro wondered, looking at the trio. Loki glanced at the speedster as Clint stiffened, his anger draining away. The Lie-smith hadn't expected Pietro to spill the beans. He had wanted Clint to do it himself. Laura turned to look at Loki and Pietro.
"What?" she mumbled. Clint looked away from them all for a moment before replying.
"It's nothing," Clint growled, grabbing at Laura's arm to drag her away from the other two. Loki looked back to the confused woman. Apparently he was going to add Laura's help to his quest. He had hoped that Clint would have been willing to tell his wife on his own. But she didn't deserve to be in the dark any longer. Loki wouldn't allow it.
"Since New Mexico, Clint's ability to use magic has grown. Each time he runs into more magic, he basically absorbs it and converts it to his own," Loki informed, getting a bit louder as Laura was forced away. Clint snarled at Loki, dropping Laura's arm. Already the archer knew this wasn't going to end how he wanted it to. Laura turned to look at the archer in surprise.
"You have magic?" she repeated. Clint grimaced and looked away from everyone. It was bad enough that most of the Avengers knew about it (thanks Wanda, Steve and Bucky). This just made it worse.
"Technically, all living souls have magic inside them but often the amount inside is not strong enough to actually practice with it. Clint's magic when I first ran into him was already wavering on that line. Since then, he has become rather powerful," Loki explained. Clint paled a bit. That was something Laura could have certainly gone without knowing. While Frigga had insinuated as much and Heimdall said it with the mention of Farsight, Clint was still tense about the idea.
"Shut up," Clint ordered, not wanting to hear more about it and certainly not wanting Laura to know about it. Laura moved closer to Loki, shifting so she could see Clint's face.
"So... What does-" Laura started. Clint sighed, looking to Loki but the trickster just stared at him.
"I'm not going to use magic. Ever," Clint replied, his eyes shifting to look at Laura. Laura frowned.
"Why-" she began.
"My experience with magic hasn't been anything like you've been seeing lately. You've heard what the Avengers fight against. Lot of that involved magic. Hell, that Soul Stone that was used on me was magic," Clint interrupted. Laura's eyes narrowed in confusion.
"But you're fine with Wanda?" she pointed out even though it sounded like a question. Clint huffed out a laugh.
"My problem ain't with the users. Just the idea of magic itself. I... I can't do it," Clint responded, his eyes twitching to look at the ground. Loki furrowed his brow. It made sense that Clint wasn't bothered by the users. He hadn't had an issue with it while in Loki's memories and the archer worked alongside magic users on a regular basis. But the casual use that Loki had been doing with his magic must have really bothered Clint. Almost as if he could tell what Loki was trying to do. Laura frowned at the archer.
"I don't hear anyone telling you that you should," Laura mentioned. Clint sighed, his gaze shifting back up to Loki. Yes, Loki hadn't said anything about it to the archer in a while but... It was kinda obvious that that's what Loki wanted in the end of all this. The trickster figured that if Clint could see the benefits of magic, he'd be more inclined to use it. Loki said nothing, didn't even give the archer a reaction. "Though, if I had the ability to use magic, I'd take it."
"Laura," Clint whined at her, shifting back a step. Laura simply smiled at him in such a way that the archer knew she was basically patronizing him. The sight had him beginning to relent. Whether it was over Loki's use of magic or Clint attempting his own, Loki could not say. Pietro even smiled at the exchange. Nearly biting his lip, Loki realized he needed Clint to know what he could be getting into. He'd likely lose the ground he had gained here, but it was important. There was no way around this. Clint's choice couldn't be one that he took lightly.
"Magic use is very different than most people think it is. If you start with even one simple spell, you can't just shut it off. All magic users must practice their magic at least once a month or suffer from a build up and then explosive release," Loki warned, wincing a bit even as he spoke. Clint stiffened, his gaze turning back to a glare at him. And there was the two steps back that Loki feared. But he couldn't like to Clint. Not again.
"No," the archer stated before spinning on his heel and walking away. Laura sighed and looked back at Loki.
"Keep using your magic. I'll talk to him," Laura said to the trickster before chasing her husband. Loki nodded, looking out over the field he had prepared for the family. Maybe it hadn't been such a good idea to push the archer as hard as he did. And even now, Clint had wanted to do this farming on his own. Prove that he could do more than just be an assassin and spy. Loki had just taken that from him. Beside him, Pietro scoffed.
"Time to plant," the speedster announced. Loki felt a brush of air beside him and watched as the field kicked up a bunch of dirt. A second later, Pietro appeared next to the Lie-smith again. "And done."
With a small laugh, Loki quickly cast a rain spell over the field. In for a penny and all that. Pietro laughed as well and held up a hand for a high five. Loki paused, staring at the hand in confusion. After a second, Loki slowly raised his own. Once high enough, Pietro gently patted their hands together. As they both turned back to the field, neither could help but think about how they originally told Clint that this idea was going to fail. But now, knowing that just the two of them could easily take care of the entire field well... Maybe, maybe, they had a shot of this working for the best.
And another chapter. Belated Happy Thanksgiving to all those who celebrate it. And hope whoever is out there shopping gets good deals this Black Friday. Personally, I'm waiting for Cyber Monday, lol.
Darius is doing great. Real excited that his Granddad could take him after our thanksgiving meal and now he'll stay over there till Sunday evening. Or, at least I believe that's what is planned... He's been having a blast at school and daycare. Finally hitting the stage where getting him ready in the morning is hard, but... Once dressed he's all excited. Hubby and I saw Frozen 2 last weekend. Amazing movie but dear lord, I wish someone warned us about Anna's song... I think both of us cried as it pretty much explained our past year. And getting my husband to cry over something like that is pretty much near impossible. Ugh. Baby Jason is well. Slobbering all over the place. I could care less but it seems like every other second his parents are trying to clean him up. He's a baby, gaining teeth. He's gonna drool all over the place, lol.
Can't wait to see you all next week! ^-^