Author's Note: So an unexpected visitor pops up in this chapter and if she seems a little OOC I apologise but it's what I could see her doing in this particular situation where Clint was concerned.

Chapter Eight: Reunions

The past few days had definitely been the longest, weirdest and most confusing of Shay's entire life. She'd never once considered how much someone's life could change simply by meeting their soulmate. Her well balanced normal life had gone right out the window and was replaced with something a lot more hectic, between fleeing for their lives, a thirty two hour drive to Jackson Wyoming and tending to Clint's injuries as necessary she was feeling more than a little exhausted.

The only upside Shay could see to being stuck on a farm in the middle of nowhere was that it meant they didn't have to keep on the move and it gave Clint the time he needed to rest and recuperate. Not that he was actually doing a whole lot of either; when she'd been getting ready to leave the farmhouse just over an hour earlier he'd been nowhere in sight.

Shay knew that Clint also wasn't getting much sleep, she'd either hear him moving about the house from the spare room she'd claimed or she'd pass him looking ragged and worn in the hall when she couldn't sleep. It also hadn't escaped her notice how the painkillers she had been giving him for the past couple of days didn't seem to be working anywhere near as long as they should be.

Clint hadn't talked much. He'd bought several disposal mobile phones on the way out here and spent the first day dialling numbers and getting no response. Since then he'd become progressively quieter and grimmer. He spent hours every day outside, and all he would say to Shay about where he'd been was "Don't go outside without checking with me. You might set something off."

Frustrated and going slowly stir-crazy, she'd finally got sick of eating canned food and suggested that she take the truck into the town – a good fifteen miles away – to get some fresh food and supplies. Clint had looked for a moment as though he might argue, or insist on coming with her, but it was also obvious he didn't want to be seen by anyone who might know him.

He'd evaded the question when Shay had asked him how long he'd owned the farm. "A while. Haven't been here much lately."

She hadn't pressed the point. Yes, he was incredibly attractive, and yes, he was her soulmate – but he was obviously a deeply private man with some terrifying, lethal enemies. She kept her distance, and he seemed happy to let her while he attempted to contact allies. Or people who he hoped were allies, anyway.

Shay smiled politely, said hello and "Just passing through" when the cashier at the supermarket attempted to engage her in conversation. Clint had handed her a thick wad of cash as she left the house, and made her take one of his 'burner' phones as he called them.

"Please be back in ninety minutes," he said, "or make sure you call me if you're running late."

Shay nodded. She was almost tempted to keep driving. Just head back to New York and leave Clint to sort out his demons. There was a Missing Persons report out on her now, but there were literally thousands of people missing and she seriously doubted anyone would recognise her from the one small image of her that had appeared in the newspaper.

In the end, though, she loaded the groceries – and extra blankets, the weather was bitterly cold and the farmhouse not the most modern building – and drove back to the farm.

There was another car parked in front of the house. Shay stopped the truck halfway down the drive, terror creeping up her spine. Who was it? Enemies or friends? It wasn't as though they would get random visitors out here in the middle of nowhere. Even the entrance to the farm was difficult to find, a near-invisible track through thick woodland. Undecided, she sat in the truck, the engine running.

Clint came out of the house then and waved her onward. He had the first true smile on his face she'd seen since they'd met. Must be friends of his, then. Easing the truck up to the house Shay parked it and unwound the wires to cut the engine, climbing out of the cab and yanking open the back door she reached in to collect the three brown paper shopping bags.

Balancing them awkwardly in her arms Shay stepped back and turned using her hip to close the door, before she could even make a move towards the porch stairs she found herself looking at Clint as he relieved her of two of the three bags. She had to admit he looked different with a smile, he didn't look as closed off, as though a weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

"So I see you got some visitors while I was gone?" Shay asked casually as her gaze drifted to the non-descript black sedan before returning to Clint's back as she followed him up the porch steps.

"I did, an old friend and work colleague." Shay cocked her head slightly as she quietly watched Clint; even his tone of voice seemed lighter and relaxed as did his body language. She did have to admit it was good to see him happier, following him into the kitchen she stopped suddenly in the doorway, her gaze drifting to the stranger.

Leaning against the counter was a woman four inches taller than her with shoulder length dark brown hair, wearing an elegant black pant suit. Following Clint to the counter she got the feeling the other woman was silently studying her.

Shay was just starting to put the groceries away as Clint exited the kitchen and moments later the porch door banged gently. A throat clearing drew her chocolate gaze from the fruit to meet the other woman's piercing blue eyes, prompting her to query; "Is there something I can get for you, Miss?"

"No, I don't want anything from the likes of you." The cold and callous tone of the other woman's voice caused Shay's brow to furrow as she tried to figure out exactly what the other woman meant.

"Excuse me? Just what exactly are you implying?" Shay dropped the fruit roughly into the bowl on the counter before moving her hands to grip the counter's edge as she did her best to focus on her breathing and not lose her temper.

"That you are just another in a long line of dalliances and bed warmers for Barton. Just another woman throwing herself at one of the Avengers." Shay stiffened her shoulders, tensing as her knuckles turned white from her death grip upon the counter, this woman whose name she didn't even and who didn't even know her had essentially just called her a slut to her face.

Letting go of the counter Shay turned to stalk from the kitchen but found her exit blocked by Clint. As she squeezed her way past him she spat back over her shoulder "Such lovely friends you have."

As she stormed up the stairs Shay clearly heard Clint's voice, his tone that of barely contained menace as he growled "Maria, that was uncalled for. You would do well to remember I don't work for you anymore and what I am capable of."

Slamming the door to her small room shut as the sound of a heated argument drifted up the stairs, Shay made her way to the small wardrobe. Yanking it open she started to pull the few clothes she'd bought with her own money free of the hangers and forcefully shove them into a knapsack.

She heard the car roar off down the road as a knock sounded on the door moments before it creaked open and Shay heard the thud of Clint's boots cross the threshold. She heard his throat clear before his voice rumbled "Shay, I'm sorry for what she…" as his sentence cut short she turned, slinging the knapsack over her shoulder "Wait, you're leaving? Where are you going?"

Straightening her shoulders Shay swore to herself she wasn't going to cry, even though she could feel moisture welling in her eyes, tilting her head to study him she sighed before quietly stating "Why would I stay? Your friend all but accused me of being a fame hungry slut."

When he went to speak Shay raised one hand and shook her head murmuring; "I'm not finished yet." She waited till he nodded before continuing.

"I left my friends and the closest thing I had to a family in New York for you. You're my soulmate and were adamant you weren't leaving without me. Yet since we've got here, you've ignored me. The most you've spoken to me is to tell me not to go outside. Frankly, if this is how our relationship is going to be I'm done and I'm going home." Shay had never really been an emotional person, which was why this sensation of feeling as though her heart was shattering felt like a freight train hitting her square in the chest.

While deep down Shay had always known she never wanted to find or have anything to do with her soulmate after witnessing the debacle that was her parents, now that she'd actually met him a tiny little part of her had desperately hoped that things would actually work and she could have even the tiniest sliver of the happiness she'd always witnessed in Tyler's relationship with his wife.

For several long moments, they stared at each other. And then Clint sighed, scrubbed a hand through his short hair and gave her a very slight, crooked smile. "Please don't go, Shay."

She only raised her eyebrows, letting him know that those few words were in no way enough explanation for his behaviour, nor enough to convince her to change her mind. He bit his lip for a moment, his eyes searching her face, and then finally he seemed to come to a decision. He nodded.

"Please would you come and sit with me so we can talk? There – are some things I need to tell you. If you still want to go when I'm done, I won't try to stop you."