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So here it is...the last chapter.

The archer breathed in the scent of fresh air. He had to admit he was proud of himself, not only did he follow Phil's orders of not getting out of bed, or signing himself out early as he usually did, but he actually waited two whole days before sneaking up to the roof. That had to be a record.

Breathing a sigh of relief as the gentle breeze touched his healing skin, like a hand caressing him, he stared out into the darkness.

Clint left his light hoodie open as the wounds on his back were still tender, his hand was still wrapped tightly in a white bandage as was his arm. He'd kept his arm in the sling even though his first thought was to throw it away. But after seeing the look on Phil's face he knew he couldn't. The man was the closest thing to family he had and he hated seeing him looking worried.

The young agent stood looking out for almost ten minutes before he felt a presence at his back, he smiled. Phil had obviously given him an extra five minutes before coming out, because it never took him that long to find him.

"How you feeling?"

Clint arched an eyebrow and turned to his handler, the man stood at his shoulder with a smile playing on his lips. Coulson knew the archer was waiting to get his ass kicked for being out of the infirmary.

"I'm good."

His handler arched an eyebrow back at him.

"Okay, I'm still sore, but nothing I can't handle," Clint told him truthfully because it was, he'd had worse.

Phil nodded accepting the truth in his charge's words. "Okay."

Silence fell between them and the young agent knew Coulson was itching to talk to him about what happened. He waited till Phil was about to open his mouth before turning to him and shaking his head. The older agent frowned but was taken aback when Clint started talking.

"I know you want to ask me about what happened between me and Reece, but I'm asking you as a friend not to." The young agent looked like a vulnerable little boy who was pleading with Phil not to ask him about his past.

Phil sighed. "Clint, I heard Reece say things about your time at the orphanage before I took him out. I know you don't want to talk about it, and I can't make you, but I need you to understand that if you ever want to, I'm here to listen."

The young archer smiled. "I know Phil. But there are a lot of things from my past I haven't told you about, and it's not that I don't trust you, I do. It's the fact I don't want to remember the horrors of my past. The one thing that keeps me going now, is that no matter how shitty my life was, you came into my life and helped me get my shit together and you continue doing it every day. I don't think I can ever repay you for what you have done for me."

Coulson swallowed down the emotions that threatened to spill over.

Clint placed his uninjured hand on Phil's shoulder and gave it an appreciative squeeze. "Thank you, Phil."

The handler nodded, still trying to get his emotions under control. "You're welcome, Clint."

"I'm assuming you're here to take me back inside?" Barton asked.

"I think we can give it another five minutes."

Clint smiled and turned to stare out at the city, the darkness that claimed the night was slowly fading to the light that was struggling to push through. It was ironic that it reminded the archer of himself, the darkness inside him was always there, but now he had a pushy handler that struggled to bring the light into the sea of black. Coulson was like no one he'd ever met. The man could be downright annoying and pushy but he always wanted what was best for the archer, and Clint trusted the man more than he had anyone in his entire life. It felt good, he realised. It was hard to trust someone so completely, but he found he was getting there. Heknew without a doubt that Phil would always be there for him.

He just hoped he could return the favour.

"Come on, let's get you back inside."

Clint nodded and followed the older man back inside the building, glancing over his shoulder one last time and noticed the light had started to spill through, it was a new day. The archer smiled to himself and walked through the door.

Epilogue

It was almost a week later before the doctor signed Clint off for light duties. He sighed as he stretched out on Phil's couch, it always felt comfortable no matter what injuries he suffered. He really had to find out where his handler got it from.

He closed his eyes and smiled as he listened to his music. The song 'running up that hill' by Placebo started playing and he tapped his fingers along to the beat. Phil was in a meeting with Fury about a new mission for one of the other teams, which meant Clint was stuck here on base doing physio and light workouts.

The archer hated being injured, it sucked.

It was just coming to the end of his song when he felt a presence and knew it wasn't Phil. Clint just reacted, his eyes snapped open and he had the intruder on the floor with his forearm across their throat before they could even blink. Barton realised they weren't fighting back and finally looked at the man below him, grinning apologetically.

"Lucas? What the hell are you doing here?" Clint got up slowly, his arm and back protesting the sudden movement.

Lucas just smirked and pulled himself into a sitting position. "Came to see how you were, but I can see your just as good as ever."

The archer chuckled and helped the man stand, scanning him for any injuries. "Been better," he told the man with a tight smile. His back was really starting to hurt. The bigger man must have noticed the sudden change and offered to get a doctor or Phil.

Clint just waved away his concern. "I'm fine, just moved to fast." He smiled up at Lucas. "How are you?"

The ex con smirked back. "Much better than you it would seem, kid."

Barton gave a half glare at the man before him, before his expression became saddened. "I'm sorry Lucas."

The older man seemed genuinely confused. "For what?"

"What happened with Reece? You should never have been involved with that, it was my fault."

Lucas sat on the couch next to the young agent and shook his head. "No it wasn't. I chose to ask around for information, it was my fault he got you. He used me to get you."

"I'm guessing neither one of us is going to let this go, so let's just say we're both idiots." Clint laughed at Lucas's shocked expression.

"I'm not an idiot."

Barton chuckled. "We both are Lucas. If we had any sense we would have waited for back up. We both knew how dangerous this guy was."

"Alright, so we're idiots. You're a much bigger one than me though."

The archer laughed and shrugged his shoulders. He couldn't really argue, Phil had told him as much when he got his ass chewed for going off on his own in the first place.

"So why are you here in Phil's office?" Clint leaned forward slightly so his back wasn't touching the cushions and gave a curious glance at his friend.

Lucas smiled. "Phil is helping me with a job opportunity."

"You're here for a job?"

It was another voice that answered. "Not with SHIELD but through a mutual friend of ours."

Clint frowned at Phil, trying to think of who he might be talking about. Coulson took pity on him. "He is going to work security at Stark Industries."

The young agent looked appalled. "Seriously, you're calling that ass hat a friend?"

Phil gave Lucas a shrug. "Howard Stark was one of the founders of SHIELD, Clint, so it only seems logical that Tony will join the agency. He will be assessed first though."

"Logical my ass," the archer muttered under his breath.

Lucas glanced between the two hoping for an answer. He wasn't feeling too sure about the job now. "You don't get along with this guy then Clint?"

Barton glared at Phil before turning back to Lucas. "I met him once and had to force myself not to strangle the life out of him. The guy is an arrogant ass, and treated me like some damn waiter."

Phil shook his head. "Clint you were undercover as a waiter, of course he'd treat you like one."

"He's still a dick."

Phil chuckled at his agent's childish attitude. "He may be, but he is still one of the good guys. And this is an opportunity for Lucas to have a well-paying job and hopefully keep him out of trouble." He gave the bigger man a look that said he better keep out of trouble.

Lucas nodded, happy that the older agent was on his side. The man looked like he could bring enemies to their knees with that look.

"I'll just get you the paperwork you'll need and you're good to go Lucas."

"Thanks Phil." Lucas shook the man's hand before Coulson headed to the door.

Clint stood and shook the bigger man's hand. "Keep yourself out of trouble big guy. And if Stark even glances at you the wrong way, you let me know. I'll come down and kick his ass with pleasure."

Lucas smiled and nodded. "I think you just want an excuse Clint." The younger man just grinned.

"Don't be a stranger kid, I'd still like to keep in contact, make sure you haven't gotten yourself into any more trouble."

The young archer chuckled. "That's never going to happen Lucas, I'm like a trouble magnet."

Lucas nodded in understanding and walked over to the young man, placing a hand on Clint's uninjured shoulder and pulled him forward into a hug, careful not to aggravate his injuries. The archer froze for a second, unsure what to do. The only person to attempt to hug him was his handler and even then it wasn't something he did often. The bigger man chuckled and pulled back.

"You really don't know how to take comfort do you?" It wasn't a dig, more like a fact.

Clint shrugged and looked away feeling a little embarrassed. "Phil is the only one to have hugged me since I was just a kid."

Lucas looked sad. "You know you aren't alone now kid, you've got people who care about you. It's not considered weak to ask for help or take comfort in someone you trust." The young archer didn't say anything but Lucas knew he was taking in what he was saying. "Phil is a good man."

"Yeah he is." Clint responded quickly.

"Just make sure he keeps his promise or I'll come by and kick his ass." Clint laughed, actually laughed at the thought of Lucas going up against his handler.

"You're hurting my feelings here kid." Lucas grinned.

"Sorry, that was just….Phil would wipe the floor with you, no offense."

"None taken."

Clint thought about the other thing Lucas said. "Promise? What promise?"

The bigger man squeezed the archer's shoulder. "I told him last time he helped me out that he better look out for you. He promised he would."

Barton nodded. "Phil does his best, but there are some things that even he can't do anything about."

"It's called stubbornness, Barton." Phil spoke up as he walked back into his office.

Clint laughed and clapped Phil on the shoulder. "You wouldn't have me any other way, Phil."

Coulson huffed but he was smiling. He handed the paperwork to Lucas. "There you go, this is everything you will need and if you're have any problems just contact me, my number is in there."

Lucas nodded and gave Phil a look of gratitude. "Thanks." Then glanced over at the young man before him. "Take care of yourself Clint."

"I will Lucas. And thanks, for what you said."

The bigger man smiled and walked out of the office, ready to start his new life.

The archer turned to Phil with a thoughtful expression on his face. His handler gave him a concerned look in return. He wasn't sure what was going through the Clint's head and when he made his way towards Phil, the handler forced himself not to take a step back. He didn't like not knowing what was going on inside the young agent's head.

He froze in shock when the kid embraced him, wrapping his arms around him and holding on tight. Phil slowly brought his arms around the young man and hugged him back, careful of his still healing back. Coulson wasn't sure what Lucas had said to Clint, but he had to remember to thank him.

"I can't promise to tell you everything that has happened to me, but I promise that if it ever gets too much for me, I will come to you."

Phil smiled and pulled back, staring into the young archer's blue eyes. "That all I ask Clint."

The young archer sighed and relaxed against the man he called his friend. Maybe Lucas was right, maybe he could let a few of the walls he'd built up around himself down every now and then. It was the least he could do for the man who had given him everything.

Taking a few steadying breaths, Clint pulled away from Phil and walked over to the couch. He smiled at the quizzical look on his handler's face before he found his voice and started to tell Phil of some of the horrors he experienced at the orphanage. Phil didn't say a word, just listened intently and gave comfort when it was needed. The young Hawk knew then what Lucas meant. Telling Phil what happened didn't make the bad things go away, but now he knew that his handler would just listen and wouldn't judge him.

He would be there for Clint even when he didn't think he needed anyone. He was his best friend and no one, not even death would take that from him.

The End.

Thanks to all those who have reviewed and followed this story. It really means a lot knowing people enjoy what I'm writing.

I'm still working on 'Sanctuary' and should have something posted soon ;)