Sorry folks! Was meant to have this up on Friday but I was kinda taken into hospital with this chest infetion! I'm on bed rest for a while though, so lots of writing!

Emm.. Ok folks! Review replies down the end today cause there are a few of you and I don't want to waste your time up here!

Enjoy!

Disclaimer; *Walks away* Nope. I'm fucking done.

"This Kate kid.."

"Mhm.."

"Too young for you."

"Oh shut it, Stark.." He chuckled, quietly, weakly, because if he gave his usual laugh it would hurt him way too much.

He hadn't a clue what Tony's plan was anymore. All he knew was that he was in a world of pain, was finding it difficult to stay awake, but Stark was trying anything and everything to keep him awake.

When Tony finally got the chair over to him, a searing pain ran through his shin, and just as a scream escaped his lips he looked down to see Tony ripping the arrow from his leg. He gave the archer such a pathetic smile, and that's the only way he knew how bad shape he was actually in, because Tony wouldn't give THAT kind of smile unless he wasn't only on deaths door, but he had a foot in the threshold too.

That was a half hour ago, and Tony had shuffled back to his spot so he wouldn't raise suspicions. All Clint knew was the billionaires hands were moving behind his back with the arrow. If he had to guess, and it was difficult to with his mind so foggy, he'd say he was using the sharp edge of the arrow to try cut through the ropes.

"You still with me?" Stark had asked that question so many times, and Clint realised it was only asked when he wouldn't talk for a few. The guy really was worried about him dying here..

"Mhm.." He hummed, his eyes closed though and his head a little bowed. It was difficult to be, but he was still with him. He had lost way too much blood, and it didn't look like it was going to stop.

"She's good to have in the field with you out, I must admit." Tony said a little loudly, but Clint really didn't bother open his eyes. Stark was trying to get him to, but he just wanted to sleep.

"Kate?" He asked quietly, humouring the billionaire now.

"Yeah. You trained her well." A smile spread across Clint's lips. Wasn't often he heard a compliment from Tony Stark.

"She's a smart girl.. Good to have someone play Hawkeye while I relax.." He was slurring his words now, he could hear it, and he could also hear whatever Tony was doing suddenly stop. He'd bet anything that he was watching the archer closely. "She's the most gifted bowman I've ever seen.."

"Coming from the world renowned marksman, I don't think there's any higher compliment."

"Yeah, well, she's like nine years old and spoiled rotten.." He chuckled, a little embarrassed by Tony's comment. Stark gave a little laugh of his own and Clint tried his best to give a little shrug. "She's pretty great.."

"Just once you didn't use these sort of training techniques with her.." This got his attentions, made him look to Tony with a frown. "Seriously Clint, if this is what they did, no wonder you hated it. Should have told us so I wouldn't have done something this stupid."

Clint sighed and shook his head, and he noticed the eyebrow of Tony raise a little in question. "Told enough people."

"Like who?" Tony asked in slight shock, and Clint tried not laugh at it. The guy actually seemed offended!

"Nat, Steve, Pepper.." He started, though they were the main three. He didn't mention Coulson or Fury or the shrink he was ordered to talk to about four years after he joined SHIELD and nearly blew a mission because he saw the circus and panicked.

"Pep knew!?" Now he really looked hurt, Clint guessed it was because not only did the archer not say anything, but Pepper didn't either.

"Sometimes she can't sleep. I can never sleep." He simply replied, if his hands weren't held above his head right now he'd shrug. Instead, he simply let his eyes close again and dropped his head to a more comfortable position. "We meet up on our wanders some nights. And we talk. She's always interested in the story of orphan Clint."

"Well, neither of us can sleep now." Tony said causally, and Clint raised an eyebrow at it. He guessed Tony noticed, so he went on with his thought. "So, talk."

"Nice try." Clint chuckled, not liking the taste of blood he got after the action. So, no making Barton laugh!

"I mean it." Tony replied, Clint liked to call it his 'I'm being serious for once so just roll with it!' voice. Usually heard it on missions, when Steve would scold him for a crazy plan. "What do they know that I don't?"

"Everything." Barton whispered his reply, eyes opening a little to look at the ground. A nice puddle of blood was forming, but he was actually feeling a little better. Adrenaline, he realised. Even thinking of the past had a nice dose running through his veins.

"Then tell me everything."

Clint sighed and shook his head, pulling the chains a little bit to try ease some pressure on his arms. This was worse torture than the whole being shot with arrows thing! But, he figured there was no getting out of things when Tony Stark wanted answers.

"Where to start..?" Clint asked quietly, resigned to the fact there was no getting out of telling the billionaire his story.

"Why the circus?" Clint had to smile at Stark's question. That was something he had asked himself so many times!

"After my parents died, Barn and I were sent to the homes.." He started after a minute or two of thinking. Stark had called his name during his thoughts and Clint realised the guy thought he passed out again. "Dad was bad. Really bad. He'd drink all day every day, except Sunday cause church was on.. He wasn't gentle with us. Was no surprise when we heard he killed himself and mam in a car crash.."

"How young?" Stark asked softly, letting Clint get lost in his thoughts for a few minutes. It really wasn't a nice time to remember.

"Young enough.." Clint sighed, wishing he could rub the back of his neck right now. It was a nervous habit he had. When something made him uncomfortable he'd rub the back of his neck, release some tension that the situation would manage to bring there. "But old enough to know what had happened, if that's what you mean.."

"How long in the homes?"

"About three years.." He was finding his voice a little easier, it didn't hurt to talk any more. And he finally raised his head to look at Stark as he spoke. Tony was just watching Clint, and he found it odd to have Iron Man's complete and undivided attention. Usually it would take forever to get any kind of attention from the guy. "We lasted, we stuck it out. We did our chores, we took our punishments when they weren't done correctly. Just one day I was locked in a closet and refused dinner for speaking back to guy who was watching us. So, Barney attacked him. He was about forty though, so it didn't do much. Just enough to grab me and set us off running from the house."

"To here?" Stark asked with an eyebrow raised, and Clint nodded. The laugh from Stark was a sad one, one that made Clint laugh a little too.

"Yeah, I know. I didn't think it would be a bad trade until I started getting the attention of our loving captors." Barton said once he got his little laughs under control. "They were nice for a while. When the guy came looking for us, tried grab us and force us out. Swordsman stepped in and protected us, took us into the circus. They fed us, gave us a place to stay. We worked in earnest, cause man, come on! The circus, what kid wouldn't love to work there!?"

"I don't think I ever wanted to." Stark replied with a shrug. Clint couldn't help but scoff. Wrong thing to do. Tony was just trying to lighten things, but it came out wrong to Clint.

"Yeah, I wouldn't want to either if I had everything I could ever want.."

Silence followed, and Clint looked down to the ground with awkwardness right after he said the comment.

It was wrong to snap at the guy. Tony was just trying to figure him out, figure out how to get through this situation. He was keeping Clint awake, hell keeping him alive more than likely. He had no right to snap at the guy.

Luckily for Clint's conscience, Stark had thicker skin than his armour. So the comment just bounced right off and he sounded find after a few minutes of silence.

"So, what changed?"

"I fucked up." Clint sighed, closing his eyes as the memories of all those years ago came back to him. "I agreed to Swordsman's tutoring. Sword and daggers were easy to learn. Not much to mess up there, so that wasn't where I'd be punished. I mastered it in no time, beat the guy in so many spars that I think he was actually getting fed up with how good I was. So, he went to Trickshot and told him to teach me. Initially, Chisholm refused so much. He was a heavy drinker, he was making the place so much money that he thought he was above it all, so there was no way in hell he'd take on some snot nose kid just because he mastered something already.."

This time, he actually did think he passed out. Because when he opened his eyes again things were a little blurry, and he could hear a little panic in Tony's voice.

"Hawk? Back with me?" Tony asked softly, and Clint raised his head to look at the guy. The chair was a little closer, Stark probably trued scoot closer when he lost the archer.

"Sorry.." Barton whispered, his head dropping again.

"Just don't let it happen again or I will be forced to ground you." It worked. It always worked. Tony's stupid jokes always managed to make Clint laugh. "So what made him take you on then?"

It took Barton a moment to realise what Stark was talking about, and he frowned a little. He kind of hoped he'd have dropped the subject!

"I was persistent." He said after a moment of thinking, never fully understanding the reason Chisholm took him on out of no where. But it was true. "I always asked, always wanted to better myself. Trickshot was the star attraction, the man that could never miss. And I wanted to be like that. So I begged and pleaded, I proved my worth, I kept at it. One day I snuck into the range and just started messing around with a bow. He caught me, and I was terrified I fucked up my chances, but , instead, he helped me that day and trained me ever since.."

"And when you'd mess up.." Tony started quietly, he sounded almost afraid of what the end of that sentence would be.

Clint just smiled a little sadly and closed his eyes again.

When I'd mess up..

"It would be alot worse than this.. Trust me.." He whispered, and left the comment hanging in the air for a moment before going on. "Y'learn not to miss.. It's why I don't miss now, not by mistake anyway.. I guess it's kind of a good thing all this happened."

This was hell, sure. But back in the day if he'd mess up, he'd be left like this for easily three days. That's how he was doing fine now, how he was still conscious. To Clint, this was nothing but the start of things.

"You got out though." Stark simply replied, and it was probably the first time Clint had seen the guy lost for words.

"Eventually." He sighed, nodding his head as best he could. He was fading again. "After a botched mission, after Trickshot tried send an arrow through my skull. I never looked back. Kept track of them alright, but I went on with my life. Got caught up in some bad stuff, helped Widow steal from your company actually.."

"Tried to." Tony corrected, and he could hear the smirk in his voice. "I checked that report a few weeks after it happened. Never knew it was you of course, not until you mentioned it a while back, but from what my guards said, the archer carried the assassin out in a pool of blood after they hurt her."

"Yeah, for a first mission together, it sucked." Barton laughed, wincing a little then at the pain that ripped through his chest.

"SHIELD sanctioned?" Tony sounded shocked, and so he should. If it was SHIELD sanctioned, then Fury would have alot of explaining to do.

But it wasn't, it was Russian sanctioned as far as he knew. He never actually asked Romanoff.

"Lord no.." Clint shook his head, it really wasn't anything close to it! "Long before either of us joined. I was just roaming one day and ran into her."

"And you just agreed to help her rob from me?"

Clint smirked at that.

When the Black Widow wants something, she gets it..

"I fell for her tricks." Clint replied through a chuckle, that's the best way he could describe it! "Difficult to say no to her when she pulls out all the stops.."

"Awh, little Clinton thought he stood a chance." Tony laughed, and it was true! He had fallen in love with her back then, pure and simple. And his young mind had this romanticised idea that they'd be together after he helped her.

"She didn't remember me though. Which sucked!" He smiled, these were actually kind of alright memories. "When I was sent to kill her, she didn't have a clue who I was. Didn't know until I told her a while ago."

"You never did tell us about that." Barton raised an eyebrow, not knowing what Tony meant. So he elaborated. "About you being sent to kill her. About what happened that day."

"That's for another day's talk." Clint smiled, fighting away the blackness. He was enjoying this conversation now. He wanted to continue it. "We have two different views on it. She'll kill me if she's not here to defend herself."

"Loved her for that long, huh?"

"Kinda.." Barton said softly, smiling shyly at the question.

"Even when with Laura?"

"Line, Tony." Clint growled, looking up to see Tony with an innocent smile on his face.

"Just asking! Did she know?"

Clint sighed and nodded, letting his eyes drop to the floor again.

Even when with Laura.

He loved Laura, he really did. Wouldn't have asked her to marry him if he didn't sure! But Nat always had a pretty big place in his heart, and that could just never change.

"Not in the beginning, I don't think.." He whispered, now hating the conversation again! How could things change so easily!? "Near the end, after the Ultron attack, she put two and two together.. She knew we were best friends, had a bond that only people who went through what we went through would have. She accepted that and accepted Natasha as family. But the nights I didn't wake up screaming Pietro's name, it would be Nat's. I'd call her each night to make sure she was ok, and each morning as soon as I woke up to be extra sure. I'd visit her weekly, I'd do research for her, or go on missions at a drop of a hat when she asked. After I missed Nate's birthday because Nat asked me to go on a mission with Steve, she kind of lost it and told me that she wanted a divorce.. I didn't realise I loved Nat at that point, she had that thing with Bruce like.. But, I guess, Laura knew.."

"Never told us that.." Tony said quietly, Clint wondered if he was feeling bad for the comments now. Not likely.

"Nat would never forgive herself if I did." He simply replied, his voice flat. He was dead a little inside at the topic, it was still a touchy subject.

"Hey.." There was a softness to Tony's voice now, and was it just Clint or did he sound closer..? "You can't help these things, Clint."

"I could have," He sighed, shaking his head. He was getting too upset now. "I could've left you guys, could've stayed with my family. I could've had a normal life and.."

He had to stop, his eyes wide when he felt a hand on his cheek. Tony would have told him if they came back in, would've warned him.

He looked up and nearly cried at the sight, Tony was standing infront of him with a soft smile on his face, the son of a gun actually did it!

"We'd all be dead then, Clint." He said softly, in Tony's world that was a pretty huge compliment and Clint knew that! "It all worked out. You didn't lose your family. Because we're all right here for you."

Family.. Tony considers us family..?

Before Clint could form words to reply, Tony shocked him once again when he reached up and took his aids from his ears.

New panic spread through his chest, his only way of hearing was gone and in this sort of situation all senses were needed to keep yourself sane.

The billionaire then reached up to the archers wrist and took the control watch for the aids off of it.

What the hell is he doing!?

He was about to ask, but Tony must have seen the panic on his face and signed two simple words that actually managed to calm Clint entirely. 'Trust me.'

He let out a shuddery breath as he watched Tony walk back to his seat. He had no idea what the guy was up to, but he was a genius, so he knew he had a plan.

Trust me.

After the past while of talking, after how much Tony had tried keep him awake, alive, sane in this hell hole, he found that he now had complete and total trust in Stark.

He could see Tony start to tinker with the aids, but consciousness was escaping him.

His head fell to his chest and he let his eyes close, because the fight was over for him right now.

He'd just have to trust Tony, he'd have to believe that Iron Man would manage to save them.

He had to believe in his family.

.

.

.

.

REVIEWERS;

Niom Lamboise; That was the idea alright! The only other people he could think about right at that moment, beside Clint who was hurt infront of him, were the people he'd have to tell this to. So, Nat, Laura and the kids were the only other ones in his mind because, come on, he was gonna hurt them too! Glad you enjoyed it :)

amy. d. fuller. 9; Hello there! Thank you for the review, appreciate it! Just, no comment from me on JARVIS just yet! Shh! Not sure where I mentioned an accent, in my little comment reply I guess, but I do know Iowa and places around there generally don't have accents (strong ones anyway, American's to me always have some kind of accent like us Irish would have some kind of accent to you!), but good lord Jeremy Renner has a cute little one and that just sticks for me as the voice as Hawkeye :P As for the man v dude, I'd be more inclined to write dude alright, I say it way too may times throughout the day! But, I dunno, I just see him more as Fractions Hawkeye recently and he complains with 'man' a fair bit, and the cartoon too, so that kind of stuck in my head :P Glad you're enjoying it though! Sorry for having you hooked!

ELOSHAZZY; I'm sorry! D: I never like making people cry! ...Ok, secretly, yeah, maybe I do.. But shh, we won't talk about that! I will make sure, just for you, that he's bought at least three coffee shops by the billionaire! I don't think I'd trust the guy with a pizza shop so I can't give him one! Glad you're enjoying it! :)

Snow Brightness; Well, I might have over exaggerated the whole punishment thing :P But everything else, yes, completely true! His circus days SUCKED! I love Hawkeye a little too much, man.. Like seriously.. I mean, I know I kill him a little each time in my fics, but that's just cause I love writing about it! But if you sat me in a room, with one meal a day, and a glass of water, but with an endless supply of Hawkeye comics, man I'd be the happiest person on earth! I'm glad you're enjoying it! :)