Hey guys, guess what? I AM actually alive. It's a shock, I know. I am so sorry this took so long, a product of a variety of things some of which were my fault and some of which weren't. Either way, I'm back, and with chapter 9. The beginning of the chapter jumps around a bit, but towards the end, we start the conflict that will provide the action and drama for the final few chapters of the story. From here on out, I am taking creative license with Clint's past.

Anyway, a big thank you to all of you who have reviewed, alerted and favorited this story, you're all amazing, and you keep me writing. I hope you all enjoy this chapter, which is a longer one.

As always, I own nothing.

The few days before the team was due to leave Malibu passed unbelievably quickly as far as Tony was concerned.

He knew that Pepper had called her parents and extended the invitation he'd offered, and they had readily accepted and made plans to arrive in New York a week after the Avengers returned, which his new fiancée claimed would give her time to settle back into work and get things calmed down before her parents arrived. As far as he knew, she hadn't told them about the engagement yet, and he wasn't about to argue.

It was also mutually decided that they were going to keep their engagement out of the public eye, because while Tony was more than used to having every aspect of his life scrutinized by the press, Pepper was not, and certainly wasn't comfortable with it. As such, the only other people that were informed of the development were Happy and Rhodey, both of whom were appropriately excited for their friends. Rhodey had also thrown out the comment that "It was about damn time."

The day before they left, Thor had approached him, asking if he would be willing to stop the jet in New Mexico on their way back to New York, so that the demi-god could spend some time with Jane Foster. Tony hadn't minded, watching in slight amusement as happiness and gratitude dawned on the blonde Asgardian's face and he clapped him in what was probably supposed to be a friendly gesture on the back, but just sent him stumbling forward a few steps.

This time, Clint thankfully prepared ahead for the flight, making sure he had better entertainment than a makeshift paper projectile. He found a deck of cards and got Steve and Bruce to agree to help him teach Thor how to play poker. And then, seeing as Tony was then without someone to talk science with, he too joined in. Natasha sat down with them under the pretense of being able to beat them all easily.

It turned out to be a fairly plausible assumption.

Four hands later, they were all of the belief that there was no way in hell Natasha had beaten all of them every time without cheating. Even Clint was throwing her a speculative glance as Tony crossed his arms over his chest pouted, and Bruce assured Thor that no, games of poker weren't usually that quick.

"So I get blamed because all of you are so terrible at poker?" Natasha asked, raising an eyebrow and Steve sighed, looking up as Pepper spoke, clearly sounding amused.

"We're going to be landing in New Mexico in a few minutes." she told them, but Tony seemed to not even hear her words.

"I am not terrible at poker." the billionaire said shortly, eyes narrowing slightly. "You cheat at poker. There is a very distinct difference."

"Yeah, Nat, you should have told me if we were cheating. I could have ran these guys under a bus." Clint said lightly, and the Russian assassin rolled her eyes as everyone else gaped at Clint.

"Let me guess, you learned to play poker at the circus." Tony asked sarcastically, still not completely done pouting. Clint just waved a finger at him accusingly.

"Just because I say I know how to cheat, you assume that's where I learned? Not cool Stark." he said, eyes narrowing, but Tony just scoffed.

"Am I wrong?" he challenged, and Clint responded without skipping a beat as he plopped into a seat beside Natasha and buckled his seatbelt as the jet started to descend.

"Irrelevant. And it was a carnival."

That caused laughs from everyone, and a wry grin from the archer in question.

The group was meeting Jane for lunch, before the Avengers minus Thor would continue back to New York. When they arrived at the restaurant, the woman were already waiting for them, and the rest of the team and Pepper hung back to let Thor greet Jane first.

The love and affection the demi-god had for her was easily apparent, if any of them had any doubts from how incessantly he talked about her. He then waved the team over, grinning widely.

Tony stepped forward to Jane before Thor could start the introductions, which surprised no one, but did cause Bruce to give a sigh.

"Jane Foster, I'm Tony Stark." he said flippantly, offering his hand to the somewhat surprised woman. "And I'm pretty sure at this point I know more about you than you do. You're boyfriend doesn't shut up about you to be honest."

"Right." Jane said, slowly shaking his hand with a small smile on her face. "If we're being honest, I'm still trying to get over the fact that I'm meeting Tony Stark."

Before Tony could give some flippant response, Pepper stepped up to his side and gave him a slight glare and leaned in to whisper in his ear.

"If you embarrass Thor, you are sleeping on the couch for a week." she warned, and he stared at her with wide eyes, not having time to respond as she turned to Jane with a bright smile. "Dr. Foster, it's a pleasure to meet you. Pepper Potts."

"Oh, ah, you can just call me Jane." the younger woman said with a small smile, which Pepper readily returned.

She then steered Tony away so the rest of the team could take their spots.

"You know, I'm not even sure it's possible for Point Break to be embarrassed." Tony muttered mutinously under his breath, ignoring the level look Pepper sent him.

Lunch was enjoyable, even if Jane looked a little overwhelmed. It did seem however much that Thor talked about her to them, he talked about them just as much to her. Thor was still grinning when they left, which led Tony to make a comment that had all of them laughing.

"I'm not sure if he's smiling like an idiot because he's with her, or because we're leaving."

Most of the week before the arrival of Pepper's parents was uneventful. The team didn't see much of Pepper, much to Tony's disappointment, due to the amount of work waiting for her back at Stark Industries after their vacation. Natasha and Clint were called out on a joint mission, leaving Steve, Bruce and Tony as the only ones really around the tower.

"It's too quiet." Tony announced suddenly one day at lunch, picking idly at his sandwich with a thoughtful frown.

Truthfully, he almost surprised himself with his words. Less than a year ago, his only occasional company would have been Pepper, maybe Rhodey, and JARVIS. The addition of Bruce, and then the rest of his rather rambunctious team of superheroes had been a shock to his system, but it seemed he had grown very used to it. Used to it enough to almost miss it.

"Are Steve and I not enough company for you, Tony?" Banner asked wryly with a raised eyebrow as Steve looked up curiously as well.

Tony just gave a slight scoff and waved off the almost accusing question.

"You know what I mean." he insisted. "Come on, admit it. The place feels empty."

"Tony, with you here, I don't know if anyone could consider it 'empty'." Steve said matter of factly, his amused expression making it clear he was joking, but Tony looked insulted either way.

"I take offense to that, Spangles." he said shortly, giving a slight huff as Bruce patted him calmingly on the shoulder.

"Alright, alright. Yes, Tony, you're right. Without Thor, Clint and Natasha is does seem much quieter around here." the doctor said appeasingly, and Tony smirked and returned to his sandwich.

"Someone agrees with me." he sniffed, smirk widening as Steve rolled his eyes.

Two days before Pepper's parents were due to arrive and five after they had left, Clint and Natasha walked silently off the elevator into the common area outside their rooms, making Bruce and Steve look up. Before either could say a word, they noticed how stiff and tense both assassins were, and how distant they were from each other.

"Did… everything go okay?" Steve asked slowly, sitting up straighter from where he had been relaxed on the couch with his sketch book. It certainly wasn't normal to see them acting like they were now. He wasn't even sure he could describe it, but he could almost see their aggravation at one another on the blank expressions they were wearing.

"Just fine." Clint said sarcastically, tone dark and clipped, pausing on the other side of the couches to talk to Steve while Natasha brushed past him towards her room, not saying a word. "I just apparently need to reevaluate my judgment is all."

As both Steve and Bruce gave shocked blinks of surprise, Natasha spun around, door to her room already open but pausing just outside.

"Damnit, Barton, don't you dare blow this off. We were right, and you know it." she hissed, and Clint turned to face her, eyes narrowing.

"I had a clear shot, and you stepped right in front of it." he said shortly.

"Which would have drawn everyone else right to your position." she spat, not at all backing down from the look that would have had half of SHIELD's agents retreating. "Hendrickson was in your ear practically shouting for you not to take the shot, and you were going to do it anyway."

"Hendrickson has never been in the field, much less as a distance assassin." Clint retorted, both ignoring the two stunned older men. "I knew what I was doing, Romanoff. I would have been gone before the target hit the ground."

"We couldn't take that risk. There were too many of them. You got your orders." Natasha told him, but he just rolled his eyes ad scoffed.

"Right, is that how you're going to play this? Since when have either of us given a shit about orders at that point in a mission? If Hendrickson had been telling you to stand down are you telling me you would have done it?" Clint demanded and Natasha took a small step back, glaring slightly. "That's right, you wouldn't have. I had my shot, I could have taken it. Instead I had to spend another twelve hours searching out another vantage point while you stayed down there with the leader of a ring of assassins."

"Your shot could have gotten you killed." Natasha said, the first hints of anger entering her tone. "We both knew there were snipers in the area."

The argument was stopped abruptly when the elevator doors opened again, Tony stepping out with a smirk.

"Hey, JARVIS told me Legolas and Stalin were back." he said lightly, just as he caught sight of the way the two were facing off with one another, stiff backed and obviously angry, and the shocked expressions of Steve and Bruce. "Okay." he said slowly, eyes widening slightly. "What happened?"

Natasha made another angry hissing sound and spun to go into her room, slamming her door behind her with a resounding bang. Clint scoffed and turned sharply to disappear into his room as well without another word.

Shocked silence blanketed the room for a handful of moments after both assassins had gone their separate ways, before Tony turned slowly to the other two men.

"What the hell?" he demanded. "I seriously didn't even think it was possible for those two to be legitimately pissed at each other… The world's ending , isn't it? We're all going to die."

"Tony." Steve reprimanded sharply, the glance he tossed to the billionaire disapproving.

"From what I gathered from their argument," Bruce broke in calmly, looking to Tony. "Natasha stepped in Clint's shot at their target because it was, debatably, risky. He was also ignoring the orders of the agent I'm guessing was acting as their handler. Clint says the shot was perfectly fine, and there you have the roots of the problem, I think."

"Uh huh." Tony moved to lean back against the arm of one of the couches, his head tilting to the side consideringly as he looked to the two assassin's doors. "Well, I still say we're screwed."

Steve gave an exasperated sigh as Bruce gave a half shrug, half nod.

Clint reemerged first, looking like nothing at all had happened. He sat down in front of the TV with Steve to play a round of video games, Bruce and Tony having retreated back into the lab. Natasha didn't come out of her room until Bruce went to get her for dinner.

To an outsider, they would have seen nothing wrong between the two assassins. But to the other three Avengers, the distance between them was obvious and tense. Not once during the entire meal did they speak directly to one another, or meet the other's gaze. Towards Tony, Steve, and Bruce, however, they seemed to act normally; typical banter and conversation sprouting up effortlessly.

When they were done eating, however, they spilt away again with Natasha heading towards the elevator and Clint stopping beside Steve.

"I'm thinking about going for a run. Want to come?" the archer offered and the Captain instantly nodded an agreement, standing to put his plate away as well.

Minutes later, both had changed into more comfortable running clothes and were exiting Stark Tower, into the frosted air of New York City. It wasn't snowing at the moment, but the ground was more or less covered. The sun was just finishing its dip below the horizon, and that accompanied with the cold had the sidewalks much clearer than usual.

"Central Park?" Steve offered and Clint nodded absent-mindedly, motioning for the Captain to take the lead. Steve gave him a slightly concerned look before taking off at a fast jog, the younger man a half step to his right and behind him.

While Steve went for a run every morning, almost like clockwork, Clint typically only joined him after nights where the nightmares had been worse. The Captain didn't mind, understanding that the younger man needed to clear his head, and seemed to enjoy the companionable silence that he offered. Every time he was sure to ask if Clint wanted to talk about whatever was haunting him, but to date he hadn't gotten a positive answer. That didn't stop him from hoping that one day the archer would trust him enough to confide in him. This run, despite its atypical timing, wasn't going to be any different.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he offered simply, maybe fifteen minutes into their run, breath visibly puffing out in front of both of them in even rhythms. By then, Clint had taken up the spot directly at his side, eyes flicking around them systematically.

"Not really." Clint responded in the same tone, after a few short beats of consideration.

Steve gave a single nod and continued on wordlessly. The few moments' pause had been new, as opposed to the quick, usually wordless and immediate shake of his head. He counted it as an improvement and moved on.

The next day, nothing seemed to have changed in the two assassins' attitudes towards one another. Clint spent the majority of the day down in Tony's lab with the billionaire and Bruce, for the most part watching what they were up to from above. Neither seemed to mind, occasionally pulling him into their conversation. It was clear that Tony at least was curious as to what else was behind Clint and Natasha's continuing disagreement, unwilling to believe that something seeming as simple as a fouled shot could have caused such a deep rift between two people that were typically so deeply connected.

However, Clint wasn't talking, eyes narrowing into a slight glare when the topic was brought up, and he really didn't feel like searching out Natasha, only to likely get the same – or a worse – reaction.

Tony was forced to steer his thoughts away from the somewhat troubling and very interesting predicament between Natasha and Clint the next afternoon, considering Pepper's parents were due to arrive at the Tower in only hours. The team, including a recently returned Thor, were getting out of their hair for dinner, leaving Tony to help Pepper finish up cooking.

Currently, however, he all he was really doing was ferrying things to the table under Pepper's direction. He could tell she was starting to get nervous; talking quickly and generally doing things that he had come to correlate with an anxious Pepper Potts.

"Pep." he said quickly, catching her shoulders as he came back into the kitchen, and meeting her gaze as she spoke.

"Tony, really, there's a lot I need to do, so-,"

He cut her off before she could go any farther, tone light.

"Pepper, relax." he said, giving her a charming smile when she relented and did so, a small smile of her own playing on her lips. "I am directly involved. Everything will be absolutely fine. You haven't seen them in forever; enjoy it."

She nodded, wrapping her arms around his neck and smiling wider as his moved loosely to her waist.

"Only because you are so confident, Mr. Stark." she told him in a mock serious tone, and he raised an eyebrow.

"Of course I am, Ms. Potts. Because you are directly involved as well, and that's a better indicator than even me being involved." he told her and she mirrored his expression, both still unmoving.

"Is that so?" she asked, tone almost teasing but he just smirked wryly.

"Typically, yes." he agreed, before pulling back slightly. "Except for that security thing with my elevator. Still not over it."

She scoffed and playfully smacked him on the arm, turning away as she spoke. "You know, I'm still waiting for that tower with my name on the lease."

"Funnily enough, looks like it's still going to say Stark." he said brightly, considering the woman that had given a quiet laugh to his words as she checked on whatever was in the oven.

If he was honest with himself, he was a little nervous meeting Pepper's parents. Mainly because there were a thousand and one reasons for them not to like him, not even counting his multiple major personality flaws. He hid that from her though, completely determined not to screw anything up for the next week. Pepper's family was important to her, and the last thing he wanted was to stress her out even more than he already did on a daily basis because of familial tension. He was jerked out of his thoughts by JARVIS' voice a few moments later.

'Sir, the Potts' have arrived. They are coming up the elevator as we speak.' the AI informed him and he gave a slight nod, taking the pan that Pepper passed him to put onto the table.

"Thanks for the heads up, J." Tony said, looking to Pepper speculatively. "Here's to hoping I don't screw this up."

"Oh, Tony." the woman said with an exasperated roll of her eyes. "You'll be fine. They'll love you."

She then proceeded to grab his arm and lightly pull him closer to the elevator, just as it whirred to a stop and dinged its arrival. As the doors slid open, Tony got his first look at its two occupants.

Pepper's father was a medium height, stocky-built man with dark hair heavily flecked with silver and green eyes. Her mother was taller with wispy blonde hair and kind blue eyes. Both were looking around curiously as they stepped out of the elevator, their eyes finding Pepper moments later.

"Oh, Virginia, it's so good to see you!" the older woman gushed, rushing forward and pulling and equally happy Pepper into a tight embrace. "You've been so busy; it's been ages."

"I know, I'm so happy you could come." Pepper told her, before moving to hug her father as well, who had carted the luggage out of the elevator, while Tony hung back silently.

"So are we." the older man said gruffly, giving her a smile as they pulled apart, before looking around again with a vaguely impressed expression. "Do you live here?"

"The top few floors are private living space. The rest is office space and other odds and ends for Stark Industries." Tony cut in easily before Pepper could respond, taking a step forward and offering the man his hand. "Tony Stark."

"Jack Potts." Pepper's father gave a nod, looking Tony up and down with slightly narrowed eyes and shaking his hand easily, before nodding to the woman beside him. "My wife, Marie."

Tony grinned and gave her a slight bow.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you." he told her, grin widening as she smiled at him.

"And you as well, Mr. Stark." she returned, but Tony just gave a small, dismissive wave of his hand.

"Tony's fine." he smirked at Pepper as she moved to stand at his side, speaking as she did.

"Dinner's ready, unless you want some time to wash up." she prompted easily, and Jack cast a glance to the kitchen.

"I'm starved." he said matter of factly, looking to his side to see his wife nodding agreement. "How 'bout dinner?"

"Read my mind." Tony said quickly. "Just leave your bags there, we'll get them later."

"Where will we be staying?" Marie asked curiously as they moved to the table, pulling out chairs and easily sitting down, each couple on one side.

"There's an empty apartment floor ready for you on fifty…" Tony trailed off with a slight frown, before looking to Pepper for help.

"Fifty-seven." she supplied, with a slight shake of her head as she handed her mother a spoon for the potatoes.

"Fifty-seven." Tony said brightly, looking back to the older couple and causing Jack to give a quiet snort, and Marie's eyes t widen slightly.

"We get a whole floor to ourselves?" she asked and Tony gave an absent-minded nod as he put food onto his plate before glancing back up and responding verbally.

"Yep. Bedroom, bathroom, sitting room and fully stocked kitchen." he explained.

Talk idly drifted as they ate, Pepper mostly catching up with her parents talking about family and her job, which Tony quickly lost interest in. He would be the first to say that he found Pepper's job extremely boring. That was one of the major reasons he'd given it to her in the first place. His main contribution to the conversation was his statement that he probably couldn't get through three days without the beautiful woman he now got to call his fiancée. Of course, that last part was said in his head, seeing as the older couple hadn't yet been made aware of their engagement.

"Tony,"

He was pulled out of his thoughts of the new suit designs he and Bruce were working on by Pepper's slightly irritated voice.

"Sorry." he said quickly, though he didn't at all sound it, looking up and around. "What were we saying?"

"I was asking how the company's green technology was advancing." Jack informed him and Tony gave a single nod, tilting his head a little to the side.

"Swimmingly." he said simply. "The reactor running this building was the prototype, and we've experienced almost no problems."

Pepper made a quiet humming noise under her breath and Tony turned to her quickly, raising one finger.

"I still firmly maintain that that little incident was Thor's fault." he said before she could actually comment, making her grin at him innocently. "I've been doing some final tweaking to what will hopefully be a more permanent design before I install it in the next few months. This model was only made to run for a year anyway. I won't bore you with the more technical details."

"What else is Stark Industries working on?" Jack asked and Tony gave a slight shrug.

"At this point, it's mostly the green energy stuff. Personally I dabble in all kinds of fun stuff, but it's nothing commercially available." he explained and the older man nodded acceptance.

As the meal drew closer to an end, Tony noticed Marie watching him curiously. Or, not him so much as the glowing circle of light in his chest that was visible beneath his shirt.

Once she seemed to realize she'd be noticed she blushed slight before quickly moving to apologize.

"I'm sorry, I don't mean to stare, it's just… what is that?" Marie asked, effectively gaining the attention of both Pepper and her father, and causing them to follow her gaze.

"No, it's alright." Tony said quickly, giving a tight smirk. "I'm glowing. It'd typically be a legitimate cause for concern." he cast a quick glance to Pepper, seeing her give him a slightly apologetic glance, but he just gave her a small shrug. He had nothing to hide from Pepper's parents, his future in-laws. "You know the big, glowing thing in the chest plate of the Iron Man suit? It's doesn't just power the suit. It's kind of a part of me."

He pulled down the collar of his t-shirt with some difficulty to reveal the circular arc reactor, tapping on it for emphasis and ignoring the way their eyes had widened into shock.

"A few years back, I was too close to a missile that detonated. Shrapnel lodged itself in my chest a handful of millimeters from my heart. Inoperable. This thing is basically an electromagnet that keeps the shrapnel out of my heart, and thus, me alive." he kept his tone light, looking up and fixing his shirt once he had finished his explaination. Seeing the still slack-jawed expressions of the older couple, he continued, attempting to lighten the mood. "It's pretty much a built in nightlight. Great for midnight snack runs."

He wasn't terribly surprised when no one laughed, highly doubting that either Jack or Marie was comfortable enough with something that dire, especially after just meeting him, to joke about it.

The silent tension was broken when JARVIS' voice sounded from above them, greatly startling the Potts'.

'Sir, Captain Rogers is calling.' the AI informed him coolly, and Tony ignored Pepper's hushed explaination to her parents as he responded, taking his and Pepper's empty plates to the sink.

"Go ahead and patch him through, JARVIS." he said, wondering if the team had managed to get into trouble in the few hours since they'd left the tower. "What's up, Capsicle?"

'Can we come home yet?' Steve's voice sounded strained with a mixture of aggravation and amusement. 'Clint had the bright idea to introduce Thor to an arcade, Natasha has taken to following him around to make sure he doesn't break anything. Clint has taken to the shooting range, where Bruce has tried to keep him from betting with his aim.'

"Ouch. Sounds like you've got a full plate." Tony said, voice accented by amused mirth as he grinned at Pepper, who gave a quick empathetic nod. "My recommendation is to keep Bruce away from screaming children. They'll give him a headache, and then he'll be easily aggravated. And why are you guys trying to stop Legolas from betting against people? That's easy money."

'That's not fair, Tony.' Steve said impatiently, and Pepper spoke up quickly before the argument could escalate.

"Steve, go ahead and bring everyone back. We've finished dinner." she told him kindly, and he gave a relieved sigh.

'Thanks, Pepper.' he said before hanging up.

"Come on, that could have proved interesting." Tony complained, walking back over to the table to stand behind Pepper, putting his hands on her shoulders and just smiling unashamedly at her disapproving glance.

"What was that voice?" Jack spoke up, sounding confused, and Tony turned to him, practically throwing himself back into his chair.

"Oh, that was just JARVIS. He's an artificial intelligence system I designed and programmed. Hooked up to most every electronic in the tower, and monitoring the security systems. Kinda like a butler type of thing. Say hi to the Potts', JARVIS."

'Greetings, Mr. and Mrs. Potts.' the AI chimed in obediently almost instantly. 'It would be my pleasure to assist you during your stay in the tower.'

"He's also a suck up." Tony added in mildly with a smirk.

'Might I remind you who programmed me, sir?' JARVIS responded, and the billionaire cast a quick glare to the ceiling as Pepper laughed quietly.

"Shut up, JARVIS." he muttered.

'Of course, sir.'

"That's amazing." Marie said, sounding slightly awed. "You did it yourself?"

Tony nodded as Pepper gathered her parents' plates and moved them to the sink as well.

"I came up with the first model when I was a teenager, and I've been updating him ever since. Virtually unhackable."

Jack gave an impressed grunt before voicing a question. "So who's coming?"

"The rest of my team lives here too." Tony explained with a grin. "I sent them out for a few hours so we could have a relatively peaceful dinner. But if we don't let them back now, bad things could happen. And while I think it'd be amusing as hell, the NYPD might not agree with me."

"So you live with an entire team of superheroes?" Jack directed his surprised question to Pepper who smiled with a nod.

"It can get a little hectic." she admitted, and her parents shared a glance that Tony wasn't quite sure how to interpret.

Only a little over ten minutes later, JARVIS announced that the rest of the team was on its way up in the elevator. The older couple jumped a little at the sudden voice, but Pepper just grin and invited them over to the elevator again. It opened only moments later, revealing a bickering group of five. They quieted quickly as soon as the pair was noticed, and it was Steve that stepped forward easily first, offering his hand with a sheepish smile.

"You must be Pepper's parents. Steve Rogers, it's a pleasure to meet you."

Pepper and Tony stepped back as the rest of the team went about introducing themselves, following Steve's example.

"So how'd I do?" Tony muttered to her quietly, giving a slight wince as Thor gave Jack his customary, friendly hug of greeting, complete with pound on the back.

"Good boy." Pepper smirked, lightly patting his arm as it snaked around her waist.

"Do I get a treat later?" he asked, waggling his eyebrows seductively.

She smacked his arm in response, glance disapproving, just as Clint all but appeared on her other side, expression blank as he faced her.

"Pepper, did your father happen to be a prosecutor in Philadelphia about seven years ago?" the archer asked in low tones and Pepper tilted her head to the side in confusion.

"Yes, but he's a judge now. Why?" she asked, expression now almost worried as Clint bowed his head with a string of muttered curses.

"What's the problem, Barton?" Tony demanded, but before Clint could respond, Jack and Marie walked up, eyeing Clint's back curiously.

"And who's this?" Marie asked lightly, her eyes still bright with amusement brought on by Thor's greeting.

"Shit." Clint muttered under his breath, before he raised his head, steeled his shoulders and turned around to meet Jack Pott's gaze. "Clint Barton." he said stiffly, not bothering to offer his hand.

When his eyes met the green ones of the older man, he was instantly transported back seven years, sitting moodily in a Philadelphia precinct interrogation room as an eighteen year old, telling this same man that he hadn't touched Lewis Jacobson, when in all actuality, he had snapped the man's neck a week prior. It had been a messy hit; too messy. It had gotten him caught, and this man had gotten him convicted. Not that he blamed the man, of course.

And clearly, Jack remembered him too.

While Clint was reliving the old memory, he pushed his wife back and moved to step in front of her, eyes narrowing.

"You're supposed to be in prison." he said shortly, eyes flashing as he looked Clint over and the entire room fell silent.

"My record was expunged." Clint said in an identical tone, not so much as twitching a muscle and keeping his face empty of all emotion. "Sorry to break it to you, but I was only in prison for three-four months. Then I got a job offer."

"Who would hire an eighteen year old convicted murderer from federal prison?" Jack demanded, disbelief coloring his tone.

"A secret government agency with a need for my skill set." Clint said tonelessly, eyes still locked onto Jack so he didn't have to look at the other shocked faces in the room. Only Natasha's face was blank, eyes turned to him.

"A government agency that needed a murderer?" Jack scoffed and Clint felt his jaw clench, a dangerous spark forming in his eyes.

"I prefer the term assassin. And yes. Seeing as they did expunge my record, and have kept me employed since." he bit out easily, still keeping his every emotion carefully hidden. The last thing he wanted was to make things difficult for Pepper and Tony, but somehow, he didn't see Jack Potts backing down off of this, if he was still anything like he had been as a prosecutor.

"Of course you'd prefer that." the older man all but sneered contemptuously, following Clint's lead in ignoring everyone else. "But that is what you do, isn't it? Kill people for money and get away with it?"

"Judge me all you want, that is what you do. But do not pretend to know anything about me or what I do." Clint growled, the first subtle hints of anger gracing his tone, chin raising a fractional amount in a defiant gesture.

"I know plenty." Jack wasn't at all fazed by the archer's demeanor, or if he was, he didn't show it. "I know your parents died when you were six in a car crash. I know you don't have past a fourth grade education because you and your brother ran away from your adoptive parents to the circus. I can't prove, but I'm pretty sure that you enlisted almost two years early into the Army, only to desert your unit a year and a half later to avoid prison time for that after your C.O. found out about your age. And I can almost guarantee that you killed more people as a hired gun than the one I put you away for."

Clint stiffened to the point that it was almost painful, keeping his expression carefully neutral, but inwardly flinching away violently as his entire past was laid out neatly for everyone in the room. He knew the only reason the man had managed to find so much information was because he had done the digging before SHIELD had wiped his public records. Even so, the only one that had been aware of his past before this point had been Natasha, and this was definitely not how he had wanted to give his story to the team, if he ever wanted to at all.

The others watched silently, not knowing at all what to say as the archer's walls raised around himself visibly, for the first time around them in months, his eyes shuttering and darkening. They all knew with almost horrifying clarity how hard they would have to work to get their friend out of his shell again.

"It's a bit obsessive, don't you think?" Clint asked in a cool, hardened voice after a few minutes of tense silence. "To remember all of that after seven years?"
"You can't really blame me for taking an interest in an eighteen year old kid that could kill as well as you." Jack said matter of factly. "You've sure got these people fooled. You're no hero; you're a cold-blooded killer."

Clint gave no outward reaction to the man's words, but felt them hit home inside him, ringing in his ears.

Natasha gave a low, furious hiss at those words, sounding not unlike a cat, that had everyone turning to her warily. However heated the disagreement between them, it seemed it wasn't enough to make her look past that. Not one of the other Avengers seemed pleased either, but all of them combined couldn't compare to any angry Black Widow.

"Well, if you would excuse me, I think I'm done here." Clint said in clipped tones, brushing past Jack, Marie, and Steve to stalk stiffly into the kitchen.

While the older couple seemed confused by his direction, the rest of the people in the room weren't. The kitchen happened to house the nearest and most easily accessible air vent to their current location.

"Aw hell." Tony muttered, watching the archer's movements with unmasked concern on his face. "We're never getting him out of there."

"Not in the near future, no." Bruce agreed, a clearly audible undertone of anger to his voice that no one missed.

So what do you all think? Like it? Hate it? Let me know, I'm always happy to get a review. Next chapter coming up soon.
~Dogstar