Chapter Eighteen: Homecoming

The drive back into New York had been peaceful, relaxing and filled with quiet conversation; Clint sharing stories of his time in the circus while she shared some of the happier moments of her life, their conversation had thankfully distracted her from the daunting thought of meeting his friends, his family.

However, now that they were walking into Avengers Tower she had a kaleidoscope of butterflies fluttering in her stomach, tugging the baseball cap down lower with her free hand to conceal her face she felt Clint's grasp squeeze reassuringly on her other one as she whispered "Suddenly, I'm not so sure about this."

"You'll be fine darlin', I'm right here with you." Clint's husky voice was oddly reassuring and settled the butterflies just a little, though as they made their way through the large flashy foyer Shay saw from the corner of her eye the receptionist trying to flag them down as Clint walked them right past.

"Umm are we meant to check in with her?" Inclining her head towards the now obviously flustered receptionist who was on the phone, probably to security, Shay felt the butterflies increase. When Clint stopped by the elevators to press his thumb against the call button she turned to slide in front of him, her free hand coming to rest on his chest as she glanced around his side at the converging security team. "Clint?"

The cautious tone of Shay's voice had him turning his head to follow her gaze, since he was last at the Tower Stark had obviously increased his security teams and replaced the Tower's receptionist, tracking the security team as they fanned out to block them in Clint quirked one brow upwards just as the elevator doors behind Shay dinged open and JARVIS's disembodied voice drifted over them. "Welcome back Mr Barton, Sir and the rest of the team currently residing within the Tower have been informed of your return and are in the process of convening in the penthouse to welcome you home."

Turning his head away from the marginally stunned security team Clint glanced down to Shay who was looking up at him curiously, with a cheeky wink and grin he moved forward, backing her into the elevator till her back was pressed against the rear wall. As the elevator doors closed and they started upwards he glanced briefly to the ceiling as he spoke, "It's good to be back JARVIS, at least this time you let us in. Also can you inform the guys we have company?"

Letting go of Shay's hand he reached out and pulled the baseball cap off her head letting her hair fall free, folding the cap he reached around to stuff it into the back pocket of her jeans. Bracing his arm against the elevator wall above Shay's head his free hand hooked two fingers under her chin to tilt her head upwards; he could feel the fingers of her hand resting against his chest twitching nervously.

"Hey, it'll be ok, trust me?" He murmured reassuringly, she had the distinctive look of a deer in the headlights, her soft sigh followed by her trying to take a calming breath as she slipped her arms around his waist had his mouth curving into a half grin.

"I trust you, I think I have since the hospital, which probably makes me just the slightest bit insane." The blunt honesty of Shay's tone sank into his chest and wrapped around his heart; that she could trust him that easily when he was still a complete stranger based solely on the fact they were soulmates was humbling.

"Good thing I like insane then, huh?" He teased before dropping his head and slanting his mouth over hers in a light kiss, slipping his hand from beneath her chin he ran the backs of his fingers down her delicate throat and around to settle his hand on the nape of her neck.

The only thought currently running through Shay's head was that Clint's mouth really should be outlawed, he was way too talented with that devious mouth and wicked tongue. She ran her hands up his back beneath his jacket to his shoulders as he deepened the kiss, holding on to him tightly.

"Why is Legolas currently defiling my elevator with a stranger? I thought he was into you, Red?" The strange voice broke through the haze in her brain as Clint pulled back from the kiss with an apologetic smile, sliding her hands free of his coat as he pushed off the wall and turned she frowned as the strange voice's words clicked in her head.

Peering around Clint's arm at the group standing outside the door, given the way Clint was looking at the man in the Black Sabbath t-shirt and jeans she assumed he was the one responsible for the comment, stepping around Clint she crossed her arms over her chest and snapped "Excuse me? If he were intent on defiling your elevator I can damn well guarantee we'd have been doing more than just kissing."

As Clint's arm curled around her waist, tugging her back against his chest as he buried his face against her hair Shay could feel his silent laughter vibrating in his chest against her back, which was about the same time she suddenly realised her brain-mouth filter had just nose dived out the penthouse window.

Mentally berating herself for that particular outburst she took a moment to observe the group standing outside the doors. There were two women, one of whom was her height with fiery red hair, who she recognised from her research a week ago as the Black Widow.

The other woman was maybe five inches taller and she realised that was Pepper Potts; she'd seen the big write up on her a couple of years back when she'd been made CEO of Stark Industries, of the two men she suddenly clicked that the one speaking was Tony Stark, it was the quiet one with soft chocolate eyes and a shy apologetic smile who drew her focus the longest, he was so calm, almost serene and yet at the same time appeared so lost.

The vibration of Clint's silent laughter gradually faded and she felt his arm tighten about her waist briefly as he lifted his face from her hair, his voice calmer and more relaxed than she'd ever heard it as he began the introductions.

"From the left we have my partner and best friend Natasha Romanoff, beside her is Stark's soulmate Pepper Potts, then we have the ever tactless Tony Stark and the man you're staring at is Bruce Banner. These are my friends, my family really. Guys this is Shaylyn Harrison, my soulmate."

Remaining quiet Shay watched the varied reactions of the group from Natasha's arched delicate eyebrow, to Pepper's happy smile, Bruce's slow shy smile before settling on Tony's flabbergasted expression as she simply said a little uncertainly "Nice to meet you?"

"Your soulmate?" Tony treated Shay to a long, slow look up and down. The kind of look that made her palm itch to smack his face. "You lucky bastard, Barton, how come you always land on your feet? You a cat or something?"

Curling both her hands around Clint's forearm at her waist to prevent her from doing something utterly stupid Shay levelled an unimpressed stare at Tony as she growled quietly to Clint "Billionaire or not, he ogles me like that again and his balls will be getting a one on one with my knee."

Clint grunted quietly in acknowledgement to Shay as he guided them out of the elevator and through the group to head into the common room, settling down onto one of the couches he tugged Shay down into his lap his sky blue eyes studying his friends as they all settled around the room and he said simply "I don't always land on my feet Stark, I was in bad shape when Fate dropped Shay in my life. Besides it's not like you can complain with Pepper in your life."

"And here I thought Red would be your perfect soulmate, you two have so much in common what with both being master assassins and all." Clint winced as he saw Shay stiffen at Tony's remark before her gaze darted briefly to Natasha, moments before she turned a questioning gaze in his direction.

"Stark, we've been through this before, Nat is like a sister to me, nothing more." His tone was exasperated but honestly he was sick of having to repeat this to Tony over and over, just because he and Natasha always looked after each other after missions or when sick Tony seemed to automatically assume that meant they were also tending to each others sexual needs.

"So Shaylyn, how did you and Clint meet exactly?" He'd forever be grateful for Pepper choosing to change the conversation right then and effectively shutting Tony up from voicing his assumptions.

As she shared the story of how they met, Shay was silently watching the reactions of the others in the room, it was Natasha's furrowed brow and the tight set of her mouth that she found most telling. It was obvious that the other woman wasn't impressed by Clint getting hurt and she gathered by the way Natasha's astute emerald eyes were studying him that she was trying to assess his injuries, which reminded her that she needed to talk to Clint about that later.

"What exactly is it that you do?" The protectiveness in the tone of Natasha's voice was evident to Shay, tilting her head slightly as she looked the other woman directly in the eyes she got the distinct impression she was being assessed.

"I'm a Paramedic, or maybe I should say was? I'm not sure if I'll be able to go back to work after what happened last week." Clint could hear the wistful note in Shay's voice and he suddenly felt bad that events from his life had possibly ruined one of the best things in her life.

As he thought more on the matter he wasn't entirely sure there was much he could offer Shay to make up for the loss, he knew her work was a big part of the changes she'd made to turn her life around. When his gaze drifted from Shay to Pepper he could see the other woman studying him fondly.

"I'm sure if you can't go back to the Fire Department that you could be extremely useful as the Avengers medic? This lot tend to come back in worse condition than they leave a lot of the time and I'm sure poor Bruce could use an extra set of trained hands to put them back together?"

Clint blinked, his gaze still locked on Pepper, he truly was amazed at how the shrewd woman's mind worked, a lot of the time she'd often see things a few steps ahead of the rest of them. He was grateful for her suggestion however, especially when he turned his head to meet Shay's gaze and he saw the briefest flash of excitement along with the silent question in her eyes. "I already told you that you'd be my personal medic, but I can't make you treat the rest of these guys, that's your call to make, darlin'."

"I can't say it's not tempting, so for now consider this a maybe as I weigh up my options?" It was a seriously tempting offer and Shay knew she'd be a fool if she didn't at least consider it, she could hear Clint talking with the others though she was too distracted by her own thoughts to be listening.

When she saw Pepper stand and move off towards a kitchen on the far side of the room she extracted herself from Clint's hold and slipped off his lap to follow after the other woman who was busying herself with a seriously expensive looking coffee maker and quietly asked "Pepper, I don't mean to bother you but could you please point me in the direction of the nearest bathroom?"

After getting the directions from Pepper she quickly made her way to the bathroom, shutting and locking the door behind her before rushing to the toilet. Drinking four bottles of waters over the long drive probably hadn't been the smartest move, as she stood and pulled her jeans and underwear up she heard the door handle jiggle, flushing the toilet and moving to the basin she called out "Just a minute."

Making short work of the lock with his pocket knife Clint closed it and stuffed it back into his pocket, opening the door silently he stepped into the bathroom closing and relocking the door behind him as his gaze settled on Shay's back as she washed her hands. When he finally spoke his tone was incredulous, "You locked the door?"

He watched as Shay jumped and turned suddenly, her eyes startled, he winced when her hip connected with the counter drawing a muttered curse from her lips as she levelled an accusing stare on him and muttered "Of course I locked the door; there are virtual strangers down the hall! Speaking of which how did you get in?"

When he thought about that he conceded she had a point and rubbed sheepishly at the back of his neck as he closed the distance between them while he spoke "I picked the lock."

"You picked the lock? Why?" Stopping in front of Shay he reached out to unfasten the button and zipper of her jeans folding the material away from her hip, dropping to his knees he brushed his fingers lightly over the forming bruise he could see, as he brushed his lips lightly over the bruise causing her to suck in a sharp breath he tilted his head up to meet her dark eyes looking down at him as she mumbled "No, you can't break in here and scare the life out of me and then try to work your way into my pants."

A sharp flick to his nose followed by her palm on his forehead pushing his head back prompted him to reluctantly stand, settling his hands on Shay's waist he lifted her up and sat her on the counter, nudging her knees apart he stepped in between her legs so they were face to face his fingers dropping to soothingly stroke over the bruising skin of her hip as he murmured "That wasn't why I came in here and as appealing as that idea is darlin' I wouldn't do that with Stark down the hall. I actually came to talk to you privately about something."

"About what?" The uncertainty in Shay's eyes and tone of voice was evident to him, closing his eyes for a moment as he took a deep breath, he figured this was either going to be a good idea or she'd smack him upside the head for even contemplating it.

"I want to tell Nat about your past with Rumlow."

"You want to what?" Shay's voice sounded shocked and he was pretty sure the last word came out as more of a squeak, her legs tightening against his hips was the first hint he had something wasn't right followed by her sudden shallow and rapid breathing.

He honestly hadn't expected her to panic over the suggestion, but that was clearly the reaction she was having. Reaching out Clint grabbed both of her hands and settled them against his ribs holding them there as he leant forward to brush kisses over her face, he started with her nose then worked his way anti clockwise by moving to her cheek then up to her forehead until he eventually claimed her mouth in a gentle kiss.

When her breathing eventually evened out and her legs loosened at his hips he eased back from the kiss to rest his forehead against hers to look her directly in the eyes as his fingers stroked along the backs of her hands.

"You said before that you trusted me; know that I wouldn't suggest this without a damn good reason darlin'. Nat has worked closely with that bastard for the past year at least that I know of, I was hoping if you agreed to let me tell her that I could get her to help me give you a refresher course in self defence?"

The last thing he expected was for Shay to move her hands from his ribs to cup his cheeks as she pulled her head back from his to study his face, when she spoke her voice was quiet "I do trust you, if you think that's a good idea I'm not going to argue. Though if I were you, I probably would have led with that reasoning, over the whole 'I want to tell Nat about your deep, dark, dirty past'."

"Duly noted darlin', out of curiosity do you have panic attacks often?" Settling his hands back at her waist Clint lifted her off the counter and stepped back to settle her feet on the floor, his hands gliding over the exposed skin of her stomach to refasten her jeans.

His only response was her softly whispered. "Not as often as I used to."

Meanwhile, at a secret HYDRA facility

Strolling casually into one the offices of the medical wing Whitehall was currently studying the before and after medical charts of their recent recovery effort. The subject had been one of HYDRA's most loyal double agents and had been thought lost when the Triskelion crumbled.

One of Bakshi's men had stumbled across their lost asset within one of the DC interior hospitals when hunting for a SHIELD Agent, five days ago they'd sent a recovery team in to extract their severely burned and injured asset and had him transported to this facility for treatment.

He'd made the decision to test out their latest version of super-soldier serum, it had been another strand of research running parallel to the Centipede project and from what he was reading the results were seemingly stable, in this subject at least, previous attempts on other subjects had either ended tragically or gone horribly wrong.

"Doctor, Bakshi, how is our newest project fairing?" He asked curiously as he adjusted his glasses to examine the screens monitoring the asset's heart rate, respiration and blood pressure, all appeared to be in the high end of normal if not better.

"Sir, his recovery is remarkable, the majority of his lesser burns and injuries have fully healed and the more extensive ones are very close behind, the preliminary testing shows a vast improvement on his strength, agility and reflexes. We'd been about to make a start on testing his stamina when he was….distracted by his nurse and began flirting with her." Lifting his gaze from the monitors Whitehall looked to Bakshi curiously, waiting for him to clarify that particular statement.

"It seems his libido got a drastic improvement as well, thankfully he was still wearing the monitoring equipment so we have been monitoring his stamina and baseline stats through his rather, ah, virile encounter." The sound of the door at the end of the hall banging open drew his attention away from Bakshi to the door of the office, just in time to see the young woman in question staggering past the door more than a little bow legged.

"The nurse, I take it?" Baskshi's hastily babbled assent was cut short just as their asset stalked through the doorway, his file had him listed at just over five foot ten for height but looking at him now the serum had obviously added an extra six inches in height and a fair amount of muscle mass to the seemingly already perfect physique.

Though it did appear that one section of the scarring that had marred his face was not going to fully heal, it had left a rather unique texture to the skin running down the right side of his face from his temple to his chin, the distinctive five o'clock shadow not quite fully hiding it. "Rumlow, if you're feeling up to returning to the action I have an assignment for you."

Tearing his deep coffee gaze from the delicious nurse's retreating backside Rumlow leant his shoulder against the doorjamb assessing the three men in the room, he couldn't recall ever having met any of them before since he'd only ever worked solely for Pierce. Eventually he grunted "Don't know you, for all I know you lot are SHIELD so right now I trust you about as far as I can throw you, which given the changes I can see and feel will likely be further than it used to be."

He watched as the doctor discreetly slipped out the side door of the office, his gaze not moving off the other two. He assumed the one with the glasses who'd spoken to him was the senior man, crossing his arms over his chest he quirked one brow upwards as the head man removed his glasses to clean them as he spoke. "You were Alexander Pierce's top commander, I had thought that given our efforts to put you back together that you would accept a similar position working for me?"

"Now why would I want to go and do that when everyone probably already thinks me dead?" He asked curiously, wondering just what it was this man was offering him.

"I can give you another shot at Rogers. He's currently seeking another of our lost assets and I'm offering you a chance to find him and kill him before he gets to that asset first."

Rumlow smiled, slowly, coldly. "You give me permission to fucking kill him this time and I'm your man."

"Then I believe we have a deal." Whitehall returned the smile.