"So this is me," Clint said as they stepped off the elevator. It turned out that when Tony said he had room for the Avengers to stay with him, he meant that he had built them each an entire floor.
Clint's space was lofty, an open floor plan done up in buttery woods and purple hues. Each floor had their own master & spare bedrooms, en suite bathrooms, living room and a kitchenette. Skye noted with amusement, the top of Clint's refrigerator was suspiciously close to the air vent. They stopped in the doorway to the spare room.
"And this is your room," Clint said, squeezing their intertwined fingers gently before letting go, "I need to grab my spare set of aids then I can show you the rest of the tower."
Skye couldn't imagine owning enough to fill the room. The closet alone was large enough to fit a king sized bed comfortably. She had never had the privilege of being able to hold onto things growing up. The empty hangers rattled and she fled to the bathroom. She hated this. She had had such good control of her emotions before terrigenesis. If she couldn't figure out how to stop feeling so much she would be back on the run, staying in dingy motel rooms. Skye doubted Clint would want her if he knew how little control she had. Starring herself in the eye she focused on her breath. Eventually she had pushed enough feeling away that the tremors stopped. She shoved her backpack beneath the bed and went to find Clint. "Everything okay?" he asked when she met him in the elevator.
"Of course," Skye answered. She pushed away the earthquake crawling under her skin and focused on the concerned tilt of her soulmate's head, the way he held himself against the back of the elevator to make himself look smaller and less assuming until her smile was real enough.
"Okay," Clint said, holding out his hand, "You don't ever have to talk about it, but I want to be there for you when you're ready."
"Thanks Clint," Skye answered, "but really, I'm okay. You said you'd show me around the tower?"
Clint nodded, smirking at the ceiling, "Jarvis? Is Tony home?"
"Sir has enacted blackout mode within the lab. Shall I give him a message?" A british man answered through the speakers. Clint's grin widened when she didn't look surprised in the least.
"No, that's fine, Jarvis. Training floor, please," Clint answered. "Jarvis is Tony's AI," he explained to Skye, "he's responsible for most things in the tower. When Tony's done in the labs we'll be able to get you security clearance."
" doesn't even know me," Skye reasoned, "I doubt him or his AI would trust a perfect stranger enough to give them access to his tower."
"You're not a stranger, Skye," Clint argued, "You're my soulmate."
"You say that like it means something," Skye sighed, pulling her hand from his, "You don't have to do this, Clint. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate you bringing me here, but don't feel obligated to protect me just because we have each others handwriting on our skin. I watched a lot of my foster parents stay with people who beat them or gambled all our money away just because of their soulmarks. I don't want you to feel trapped and resent me for it later. I can take care of myself if this doesn't work out." Skye finished with a shaky sigh, crossing her arms and leaning into the metal cool of the elevator. She could feel the hum of the metal. Tears collected in the corners of her eyes. She focused the quaking beneath her skin on keeping the hum at the same frequency.
"Skye," Clint murmured, stepping close, but not touching her until she was ready. The way she stood, deflated and folded in on herself: coiled as a caged animal. She reminded him so much of Nat in those first few months, it made his heart ache, "I didn't bring you here because I expect anything out of you. You're a good person, Skye, and no one deserves to live their life being hunted for something that's a part of them. I like you and I hope something comes of this, but if it doesn't that's perfectly okay."
Skye took a deep breath, a pressure she didn't know was there, lifting from her chest, "Thank you," Skye looked up to meet his eyes, "I, uh, I like you too by the way." Skye grinned, "and not just because you have a fantastic ass."
Clint chuckled, "I have a nice ass, huh?" Skye hummed the affirmative, and they were still laughing when the elevator opened on the training floor. They spent the better half of the afternoon getting Skye acquainted with the gym, sparing area, range, and weapons hold.
"What's that?" Skye asked, gesturing to the reinforced door at the edge of the sparing area.
"Oh, that's for Hulk," Clint explained, tapping a panel on the wall so it turned to one way glass. "Originally, Tony just built him a room to smash up for when Bruce lost control in the tower, but we've been using it to get him used to fighting with the team. Thor uses it for sparring sometimes too, when he wants to use his full strength."
Clint was showing Skye how to shoot the newest batch of exploding arrows when Jarvis called from above, "If you may pardon the interruption master Barton, Sir has ended blackout mode, but appears to have no intention of leaving the lab."
"When was the last time he ate?" Clint asked.
"It has been thirteen hours since Sir last consumed anything aside from coffee," Jarvis reported, the disapproval evident in his voice.
"Tony's not great at looking after himself," Clint explained as they boarded the elevator, "It's usually Steve's job to bring the science bros food and get them out of the lab, but since we're the only ones home we'll have to make due with microwave mac and cheese. Common kitchen, J."
Skye pulled a face, "I can handle the cooking." Ward had had an affinity for microwaveable meals and Skye wouldn't wish to subject that inedible mush on anyone. 20 minutes later Skye had three plates full of ginger chicken stir fry over brown rice. "My second SO was a bad ass in the kitchen. I didn't have much more than the basics before I joined the team," Skye shared fondly as they boarded the elevator with the food.
"Labs please, Jarvis. SO?" Clint asked, "Were you shield?"
Skye chuckled, "Yeah, for a whole day before its collapse. The team is still kind of working in the shadows though."
"So why did you leave?" Clint asked, not surprised in the least that shield was still pulling strings in the shadows.
Skye shrugged, "Hydra was after me and they were a lot safer without me on board." Skye knew the half truth rose more questions than it answered, but she was saved by the elevator doors swinging open upon their arrival.
"Tony," Clint called, "I brought food." He was bent over his forearm, fiddling with the interior of a gauntlet. His eyes flickered in their direction, vague with recognition, before gesturing to the desk piled with empty coffee mugs.
"In a minute, Clint," Tony mumbled, "I just need to get the circuitry back into place." Six minutes later he had not moved, other than to disassemble the gauntlet further. Clint, on the other hand, was reclined on the couch, shoveling food into his mouth at warp speed. Skye sighed, setting her food out of Clint's reach, before approaching the science absorbed mechanic. Skye channeled her FitzSmimmions-it-is-time-for-bodily-functions-and-basic-self-care-not-Science! Voice.
"Tony Stark, put down the soldering iron and eat this stir fry or, so help me, I will hack into and lock you out of your own lab," Skye threatened, not paying any attention to Clint's shocked expression, choking on his own food with laughter.
Apparently, when jumpy, caffeine fueled mechanics simultaneously get told off by and meet their soulmate, their first reaction is to spin around an accidentally shoot said soulmate in the face with a repulsor.