Second chapter. Yay. Since that much hasn't happened I don't have much to say, only that I found it oddly challenging to write Bobbi this time. I'm so used to her being so abrasive and on the same level as Clint. The beginning of their marriage is so passionate in both good and bad ways. They fight and make out almost constantly, or they're cuddling nonstop. Oh yeah, and they fight crime. After the Skrull event she's much more quiet and subdued, though she can still get into it with Clint like no one's business. Then after the divorce she's just totally calm and has a great friendship with him. I was lucky enough to find some comics with her before she met Hawkeye to get a grip on her character and tried to write her accordingly, spunky and confident, though being much younger than him is obviously going to influence their interactions. I just hope it isn't out of character for her by fan's expectations.

Chapter 2: Bump into You

Bobbi Morse was developing a bit of a headache. More than anything she wished she had some pain killers to take and a nice dark corner to take a nap in. She'd been up since before dawn, unable to sleep. How could she? This should have been a happy occasion, finally graduating from the academy. She'd worked for this for years, done everything she could in order to get this honor, but she couldn't feel lower than she did right now.

She'd spent most of the day before on the phone with her mother, both arguing and at the same time begging her to come to the graduation ceremony. She didn't know why the hell she'd expected the woman to show up considering she'd yelled plenty of time she refused to be there, along with asking over and over why Bobbi felt the need to do this to her.

"You're going to get yourself killed. You really expect me to be okay with that?" she'd been asked before the line had gone dead.

Still, Bobbi had scanned the room over during the event, hoping desperately her stubborn mother or brother would have bothered to show up after all. She'd begged for it and even sent them money for a flight here. It had been dumb to hope though. The seats assigned for her family had been empty the whole time, even as she was handed her certificate and told just how proud she should be to be serving her country. She'd stood up straight and tall, thanked the man, but felt hollow inside despite it all.

She'd wanted this a long time, and damn it she was proud.

There had just been this vain hope her mom would be proud too.

The ceremony had pretty much become a party at this point, people in groups talking casually in a joyful manner while drinking and snacking, a note of congratulations in the air for everyone involved. Not everyone had family that would be coming, but there was enough that she felt a little lonely in a crowd. If she still had her dad, she was sure he would have come at least. He'd have an arm around her and tell everyone how proud she was of her and thoroughly embarrass her in front of everyone by treating her like a child and she'd loathe every moment of it while her face burned in embarrassment.

Right now she'd kill for that.

Needing a distraction, her eyes scanned over the crowd. Amongst the general talk and merriment, people enjoying the punch and finger foods, there were other people there. They stood a little bit out of the crowd, mostly observing. As far as she could tell they were the assessors they were going to be assigned to in order to bring them fully into S.H.I.E.L.D. They'd all been told about it of course, but Bobbi didn't have any idea just how the decision was made who went with who. She wondered if they'd all already been matched up or if the agents here were just watching to see who they liked best.

There were rumors going around on who had shown up. Some of these men and women were living legends in their own time, fantastic stories about them where half the details were classified and thus wild rumors spread in their place. Names were being swapped, eager whispers could be heard, and those not preoccupied with family or friends to attend to do their best to seem serious and reserved whenever any of the seasoned veterans looked their way. Bobbi wanted to be part of the first group and thus did not have the energy to be part of the second.

There was one name that was being dropped several times too, a one Clint Barton. Gossip had spread to its highest concerning him. He had quite a few feathers in his cap after all, being the longest with S.H.I.E.L.D. of the group, the most successful missions on his record, unorthodox methods on his way of handling jobs like the famous recruitment of the Black Widow, and of course the event everyone and their grandmother was talking about, the New York incident. Details on that were sketchy at best.

There had sort of been news coverage on it, barely any film or pictures taken in all the panic, but what had been documented had been terrifying. An invasion larger than life, the confirmation of things most people didn't want to believe in like aliens, magic and gods was suddenly rocking the world, and those involved had been seen and accounted for in very explicate reports. Iron Man and Captain America had been the most mentioned, right after them the Hulk and Thor, but those at S.H.I.E.D. had been much more interested in the names of Clint Barton, Natasha Romanoff and Phil Coulson. Information had spread like wildfire and no one knew for sure exactly what was accurate. Things were being contained and hidden, that much was obvious, and it was much easier to do so on figures that had not been primarily talked about on the news.

To have Hawkeye here, and the rumor being that he was going to recruit someone, had caused a very loud buzz. A few people had claimed to see him in the back of crowds, slipping around but Bobbi herself hadn't caught a single glimpse. On another night her curiosity might have eaten her alive but as it was, she was much more concerned with those that hadn't shown up than some mystery sharp shooter who had.

One way or the other, she didn't feel like being on display right now, no matter who picked her up for her training. She'd rather go out and get some fresh air. It would probably be premature to leave the party too soon but there was nothing to say she had to stand around and watch the merriment. It would just make her grumpy.

So she'd grabbed a cup of punch and made her way outside. There was a balcony that overlooked the campus, a nice little perch to get some time alone. She closed the glass door behind her to enjoy the solitude, only to see there was someone else already there.

"Oh, sorry," she said when she saw him, though he didn't turn to face her. "I didn't know there was someone else out here already."

She didn't recognize him but then again she couldn't see his face. His build and gait didn't strike a match with her though, which meant he wasn't one of the instructors she'd gotten to know over her education. He definitely wasn't a student either. Even casually leaned over the balcony, there was a tenseness about him like someone ready to spring into action any second. She could only guess he was one of the agents here to take on a new graduate for further training. He had to be here for the graduation after all, dressed in a brown suit that really was the only thing about him that wasn't impressive. In fact, it looked downright shabby compared to all the black suits around. It didn't fit him at all.

"Don't worry about it. Just needed some air," he told her as he looked out over the campus.

"Yeah. That's in short supply around here, what with all the egos out tonight," she laughed. "Ten tons of guys from CIA and the military, all so proud to be a member of S.H.I.E.L.D. now. "

"You're not?" he asked her.

"Oh, of course I am, but I'm just a little Georgia Tech college girl who got recruited to work in a lab. When I signed up to do field work, no one expected I'd make it, and with top marks to boot," she informed him as she rested against the railing and smiled at him. "I'm Bobbi Morse. I take it you're one of the guys here to pick out which of us little grunts you like best and take us into the real world of spy work?"

"You could say that. Nice to meet you, Miss Morse."

When he turned around to face her, she stopped short. From the back she'd had no idea who he was but when she saw his face it immediately clicked in her mind. A little media coverage had not meant none at all and she suddenly found herself standing face to face with none other than Clint Barton himself. She was more than a little shocked and her voice caught in her throat, making it a bit difficult to return the sentiment he'd just given her.

He reached out and shook her hand, which was a bit of a surprise, though it was a nice one. He seemed kind of serious actually but not in a stern way. She'd just sort of assumed that happened to agents after a while. Not many people here had a sense of humor but he didn't look like the type that would snarl at her just for speaking to him. She had no idea what she should have been expecting but this certainly wasn't it.

"I take it you've heard of me?" he asked her sardonically and she wordlessly nodded.

"I don't think there's an agent or recruit who hasn't these days," she admitted, lucky enough to find her voice again. Last thing she wanted was to make herself sound like an ass to him or anything. "Especially considering... you know..."

She waved her hands vaguely.

"Things."

To her surprise he snorted in laughter and shook his head. She didn't see what was so amusing.

"Interesting way to phrase it," he mused. "New York attacked, the whole earth to follow. Loki spreading havoc around everywhere he possibly could... and things. Yeah, I think things pretty much sums it up."

"Are you making fun of me or are you just generally an ass?" she asked him with a hand on her hip. Her headache was starting to return, however briefly forgotten by the encounter and now it was back with a vengeance, or maybe he was just annoying her.

"No. I just generally find it refreshing to hear it phrased in such a way. It's a very casual sort of way to look at it. Honestly, I'm really surprised. Pleasantly so though. You just proved my hunch right. This next year is going to be very interesting."

"This... next year?" she asked him in confusion. "What do you mean?"

It was amazing just how easily he could give a cute little smirk, going from irritating to oddly charming in just a few seconds. Bobbi probably shouldn't have been swayed by it, but she had to admit that it was a nice sort of look to him. Maybe she was a little too tired from the long day or perhaps he was just a handsome guy who knew how to put it to his advantage but she certainly took notice. It would have been really hard not to.

"I'm your trainer and assessor for the next year," he informed her, still holding that same disarming smile. "I'd meant to approach you after the party, though it seems you found me first."

"Wait. Wait, hold up a second," Bobbi said immediately as she help up her hands in disbelief. "I must have misheard you. Did you just say you're going to be the one overseeing my first year as a field agent?"

"Indeed."

She felt honestly a little dumbfounded before she took a moment to collect herself. Part of her thought this had to be some kind of prank but to be honest she didn't really see the punchline anywhere. More than that, just why the hell would some high profile marksman take the time out of his schedule just to mess with her?

There was serious doubt in her mind that anyone could have put him up to this unless for a really good reason and she just didn't see it.

"You're training me," she said to clarify once again and he nodded. Seemed the answer wasn't changing and no one was jumping out to yell, 'Psyche!' in her face so it had to be true. "Well, huh. How about that? You want to tell me why you're training me, Hawkeye? I would have figured you would want someone with a background in sniper rifles or something like that."

"You want the frank truth?" he asked her as she hopped up to sit on the railing, her black and white checkered dress hanging about her knees.

"Well, it's hardly the standard with spies," she replied with a soft smile, "but sure. I'd love to hear the truth. Shoot it at me."

The lame pun was intentional, and she was pleased when he rewarded her with a soft little chuckle. It seemed she'd been right about his sense of humor and not being very stuffy like other people around here.

"You intrigued me," he explained to her. "I was here a couple days ago to pick someone out in order to train. Your file had a lot about you and at the exact same time nothing at all. It made me wonder just who you were and why you were here. I wanted to find out."

"You could have just invited me to drinks and asked," she informed him before kicking her feet out a bit as she thought it over. "Well, let's see. Where should I start? I mean, the life story doesn't really have that much to it."

"Well, you can start by telling me how you dropped out of college and decided to work on the field instead of in a lab," he suggested with a wave of his hand.

"That wasn't in the file?"

"Bare bone basics, and I'd rather have a personal account from the inside."

"Fair enough," she said. "I guess it really started with Dr. Wilma Calvin. Back in Georgia Tech, she was my favorite professor. I looked up to her as a role model and I wanted to be a scientist because of her. She's a brilliant woman, and when she was recruited to try to recreate the serum that was responsible for creating Captain America, I jumped on board to follow and help her. Project Gladiator was a dream come true for her, for the both of us. It was work that could make a difference, that could really help people. We both went into it eagerly... and maybe even a little naively.

"We weren't the only people on the project. There were a few others, including a man named Paul Allen. Because S.H.I.E.L.D. was mostly funding the project, I got to know a lot of agents. I didn't try to sneak around, but I started to hear things. Strange rumors, odd meetings taking place late at night that no one was supposed to know about. I'll admit, I never was the kind of woman who could keep my nose out of things even when they didn't concern me so I began snooping. I couldn't really help it. This was supposed to be one of the most important projects my mentor had ever worked on. I couldn't risk the thought that something bad was happening right underneath her nose. So I decided on my own to look into it.

"It led me to Allen. From the beginning something had just seemed odd about him. He almost always hung around after everyone else was finished working for the day and he seemed really eager to get in close to Dr. Calvin to discuss work yet would ignore the rest of us. If things weren't so fishy from the beginning I might have just thought he was a hard worker, but it seemed whenever he was around things went wrong. Minor stuff. Setbacks, budget cuts, important vials would go missing even if only for a few minutes. I started to follow him around, trying to see if he was innocent and it was a coincidence or if something larger was at stake.

"Eventually I found out the truth, that he was working for A.I.M. as this lousy sort of double agent. He was supposed to get the secrets of the project to them while keeping us from the goal of completing it. It meant he had to figure it out faster than the rest of us, then plant false leads to throw us off. To this day I don't think he was cut out for that kind of work. He'd been slipping up bad, his transgressions starting to get more noticeable even to those that weren't paying as much attention to him as I'd been. I heard him on the phone, panicking and saying he wanted out. At first I felt flattered and I thought he was talking about me, but it turned out S.H.I.E.L.D. had known almost from the get-go what he was up to. I should have figured, since after all you guys are paid to pick up the kind of stuff I'd only stumbled upon by accident.

"I didn't figure it was you guys that were freaking him out so bad though. I thought he believed I'd rat him out, tell the authorities or something. So I did probably the dumbest thing I've ever done in my whole life. I went in the room to calm him down. I thought if I convinced him to stop what he was doing and confess, whatever damage had been done could be repaired. He went totally nuts on me though, attacked me and screamed that I was a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent and I had to be dealt with. I think he was just scared then, but then again so was I."

"You fought him then?" Clint asked to which she snorted.

"I doubt what we did could be called fighting by any sense of the word. When I think about how green I was back then, I realize again and again just how lucky I was not to get beaten up or killed. We scrapped more like it, but back then it felt like a fight to the death. I still remember him on top of me, trying to pin me down and I hit him over and over anywhere I could. All I knew was I had to cause him as much pain as possible to get him off of me. Yet when I succeeded, he ran... and I chased after him. I don't know what I was thinking. Maybe I was mad or I wanted to make sure he didn't get away. I just know I got up off the floor and went after him as fast as I could manage.

"I chased him all the way to the swamp and tackled him to the ground. This time, I was the one on the attack, not that it was any more graceful that time. I just started to wrestle with him in the mud and got him to stop running. Eventually I knocked him out and started to search his body. I needed proof of what he'd done, of what he was trying to pull off. He had flight tickets in his jacket along with a couple vials, though they'd been smashed in the fighting. The most useful thing he had were copies of the notes, all of them, on his person in a marked envelope. He'd planned to mail what he had to A.I.M. and hope that was enough for them not to come after him for not finishing his end of the bargain.

"And that's how S.H.I.E.L.D. found us. Covered in mud, sweat and bruises with one of us passed out and the other clutching proof of what he'd done. I was pulled up and out of there, interrogated for two full hours as I tried to realize just what had happened. Honestly speaking too, I felt great. I'd stopped a bad guy from committing a crime, had helped my mentor keep her work safe, and after they'd finished grilling me, it was like I'd done S.H.I.E.L.D. a big favor even though they could have handled it without me. I felt like I was on Cloud 9 and the adrenaline rush was addicting. I'd felt like one of those amazing super heroes on the Saturday morning cartoons I'd watched as a kid and I wanted more of it. A lot more. The second they seemed to understand I had helped S.H.I.E.L.D. apprehend Allen I told them I wanted in. I wanted to be a member. I wanted to keep going, help however I could by working with them permanently. I was enrolled in less than a month, determined to prove myself and help out however I could."

"You wanted to be a hero doing the right thing?" he asked her. "Really? No thrill seeking?"

"Well, thrill seeking was a big part of it too," she admitted. "I'd wanted to kick ass like I thought I had with Allen. I'd forgotten pretty quickly I'd been fighting like a rock-em-sock-em robot half the time by flailing wildly instead of using any form or technique. In my head, I'd been awesome. It didn't take long at the academy for me to see I had a lot to learn."

"Yet you came out top in your class. Impressive, especially considering there were plenty of men and women here who had much more experience than you," Clint pointed out.

"I was determined to prove myself at that point," she informed him. "I couldn't have handled the shame if I went into a career no one expected me to pull off and failed miserably at. I wanted to show everyone I wasn't some nerdy little scientist who couldn't handle herself. I put in extra hours, did my best to take care of myself and stay in shape. I spent every evening and weekend at the library studying techniques on all my classes and did whatever it took to be the best. Cramming before tests, reading while working out, anything I could do to inch along to meet those ahead of me and then pass them. Honestly speaking though, it was an honor. I learned so much about myself these last couple years, about what I was really capable of. It made me into someone better."

"There's certainly something to be said for getting to be as good as you are on determination and practice alone," he agreed. He had worked on that almost every day of his life since he'd been a child. He could certainly respect someone else who realized that and lived by such an idea.

"Thanks," she replied with a big grin. "It means a lot to hear someone like you say that. I mean, it's still still kind of amazing to meet you in person. Even before New York, there were a ton of crazy rumors about you. Is it true you brought down the Black Widow single handed?"

"That's kind of a complicated story, honestly," he answered her. "Too long for right now. I brought her in is the short version of it. I wasn't the only one after her though, just the one who was lucky enough to catch up to her."

"Was she difficult to take down?" she asked him and he chuckled a bit.

"I've had easier jobs," Clint said, "but it was the most rewarding so far."

Bobbi really wanted to hear more but it seemed that was the best she was going to get out of him. Not too fair when she considered that she'd told him everything about herself, but then again it sounded sort of personal. There was a wistful little smile on his lips, and Bobbi wondered idly what it meant. There had been talk a few times about how the man had been romantic with the Black Widow if he wasn't still involved with her. From the goofy grin on his face, she had to figure that was a yes.

It made her wonder what he was doing here, picking up a former recruit instead of working with his actual partner. She didn't bother to ask though. Something told her she'd get about the same level of answer. That is to say, none at all.

"So, how do we get started?" she asked. "I was told I'd be assigned a trainer but not much else after that. What's the itinerary?"

"You'll be training with me for the next year, obviously," he stated. "I'll teach you all of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s friends and enemies, how to handle an actual mission, when to lay low and how to handle the stress of the job. The academy is nothing. You'll have some culture shock. I can guarantee that. All our jobs will be posted nationally here in the United States, though we'll be no doubt be moving from city to city temporarily as the work dictates but living in one main city. S.H.I.E.L.D. will want you to take your work seriously but not get overwhelmed."

"What city will that be?"

"Unknown," he replied with a shrug. "My address is constantly changing. We'll no doubt just be assigned any city. Why? Do you have somewhere you wish to be? You grew up in Rome, Georgia, right?"

"No," she said quickly with a shake of her head. "No. I don't have any preference, except maybe far away from that place."

"Home trouble?" he guessed.

"My mom doesn't approve of my choices lately," she admitted. "She thinks I'm going off like some cowboy and that I'll end up dead in a ditch somewhere. She was always the sensible type. The kind who believed a work career should be for stability, not passion or some silly dreams. My dad... he passed when I was a teenager, and he was just a manager at a knock off Greek restaurant. We didn't have much growing up except each other and... well, she's afraid she's going to lose me too. She'd probably have me working as a scientist in a boring lab making a fraction what I do than in a position I could get my head blown off."

"That is a possibility though," he warned her. "It might come to that someday, where you get killed or captured. Is that something you're willing to risk."

"Yes," she answered honestly. "As long as I can help at least one person before I go out, then it was an even trade to me. Anything else I pull off is just extra."

"Try to have higher standards that that, Bobbi," he said to her. "I don't plan on losing you as a trainee that easily."

She only mockingly saluted him with a grin.

"Anything you say, Hawkeye. I'm as good as yours."

End of Chapter 2

And done. I'd thought about getting into Clint's back story but I think Bobbi's is enough for the chapter. He'll get into details at some later point in the story. Don't worry, they'll bond and get closer pretty quickly.

For those of you who are curious, there is not going to be any past relationship with Natasha in this fic. I enjoy Clintasha but the fact of the matter is I ship her and Bucky a whole lot harder and it seems in the MCU they're really trying to establish Clint and 'Tash are just friends. In the end it was just easier to go the route of them being platonic buddies and that was all. Still, there will be plenty of mentions of his best friend and all the feels.

Please review. I need feedback. Any kind is good.