Clint wasn't a happy person. He wasn't an unhappy person either, though.
Yeah, he'd spent his life getting beaten around by his father while his mother turned into a shadow of a woman, but still. He knew from the time he was three and his father first punched him that his life would be hell. He'd accepted that fact.
He'd refused to let his mother get involved, though. She'd never done anything wrong, even if she'd never done anything right either. She was a shadow and didn't deserve his fathers abuse. His brother didn't deserve it either, but Barney would have hit Clint for trying to step up for his older brother. His mom, however, never even noticed when Clint or Barney took a hit for her. The brothers loved their mother for giving them life, even if it was a seriously shitty one.
However, that changed when Clint was 10. His mother was forced into the car with his severely drunk father who then proceeded to kill his mother in a car crash. Clint could never fathom why his mom, a kind but quiet woman, would be taken from the world but not the sick son of a bitch who caused so many people so much pain. It was a sick twist in the universe.
After the accident, Barney changed. After a month of being distant and quiet he joined up with a gang of kids who didn't do anything but abuse drugs and alcohol. Barney turned into a younger version of their dad, in other words. He stopped staying at the house with Clint and instead moved in with one of his dumbass friends.
Clint was left alone with his father.
The beatings got worse over the course of the next few years. His father had less people to take his anger out on, so he took it all out on his youngest child.
Clint has a back that looks like a mesh fence now.
Then, four years later, when he was 14, his father snapped. For whatever reason (Clint later remembered it was the anniversary of his mothers death) his father had been drinking even more than usual and was angrier than ever. He'd grapped a pistol from under the cusion of his lazy boy and aimed it at his son.
Clint would have died if not for his fathers terrible aim. The 14 year old had never been so thankful that he hadn't inherited his above average aiming ability from his father.
The cops came about 10 minutes later to find Clint standing over his unconsious father, a bloody hole in his right shoulder and a dented frying pan in his left hand.
Clint was placed in foster care while his father was put in jail for attempted murder and child abuse. The boy didn't bother mentioning he had a brother who was 16, he just let them take him away.
After that Clint found that that saying of their being good in humans...was a fucking lie.
He was placed in home after home where he was ignored, thrown around, verbally abused, or just plain unwanted. There was no 'good people' around him. Never was, as far as he could tell.
The one good home he'd found in his year of foster care the man had taught him how to use a bow and arrow. That was the second home he'd gone to. It was 3 weeks into his foster care program and he had actually enjoyed it. The man had praised him on being a natural with the bow and Clint had almost genuinely like Mr. Howards.
Then the guys wife came back from her time abroad with a baby in her arms, telling her husband how she had found out she was pregnant and couldn't call him. No phones where she was.
Apparently this was a huge shock for Mr. Howards; he'd been told his wife couldn't have kids. The family couldn't provide for two children though, so Clint was sent away. At least he was given Mr. Howards' best recurve bow as an apology. Clint had shrugged at their sorry goodbyes and left, knowing he wouldn't find another home like that one.
And that baby Stewart was one lucky bastard.
He was proven wrong though. After his 15th birthday he found himself in the presense of one Phil Coulson. Coulson was a nice guy, straight faced and kinda funny. Clint was a pretty good judge of character, in his opinion, and it seemed he'd found someone who was actually nice.
He couldn't wait to see what cruel twist the universe had in store for him this time.
When he arrived at Coulson's place, (which happened to be in the town next to where he'd originally lived with his father) he was surprised to find another boy living their. This one was tall, about 6'2'', and had short blonde hair and big muscles. He'd introduced himself as Steve and Clint found he didn't want to talk. He wouldn't last long at this place with some nice kid living there.
After a while though, he got used to it. He started talking to Steve and found the guy was a bit like how Barney had been when he actually acted like a brother.
Clint even liked Steves friends. Bruce was kind, even if he was nerdy. Clint had a hard time believing the kid turned into what was dubbed a 'Hulk' when angry, though.
Tony was a bit of a bastard, but Clint thought they might actually get along fairly well. Not that he'd tell Tony that. It might swell his fat head to the point of exploding.
Then there was Natasha. Clint could tell right away that this girl was like him: quiet, withdrawn, and a respecter of privacy, especially her own. She seemed to be fairly emotionlees, but after a while he noticed that certain smirks or eyebrow raises would signify different emotions.
It helped that she also seemed to live part time as a russian spy and liked knives and guns. And she was pretty good looking as well. Clint thought that he could get along well with her.
Maybe life there wouldn't be so bad.
Yeah. And maybe his father had actually cared about his sons.
