Summary: Less than a month ago, they saved the world from a hostile alien invasion (aka Loki's temper tantrum). Now they face their biggest challenge yet in getting their archer to realize he is worth saving before they lose him for good. Or how the Avengers became more than just a dysfunctional ticking time bomb.

Pairings: slight Clint/Natasha

Warnings: Just general spoilers for the movie… but everyone should've seen it already by now so no worries!

Disclaimer: If I owned anything having to with the Avengers I would be a rich, happy woman. Instead I am a broke, happy woman. One out of two isn't that bad. I also don't own 30 Seconds to Mars or their wonderfully awesome song, Savior. Or Linkin Park (despite trying). So basically I own nothing but my bitter 20 year old cat.

Author's Note: Sorry about the delay. I meant to have this up yesterday but I went to a barbeque and then to see the Avengers again. so not really so much sorry but I do wish I had this up sooner. Hope you enjoy!

You were standing in the wake of devastation
And you were waiting on the edge of the unknown
And with the cataclysm raining down
Insides crying "Save me now"
You were there, impossibly alone

Do you feel cold and lost in desperation?
You build up hope, but failure's all you've known
Remember all the sadness and frustration
And let it go. Let it go

-Iridescent, Linkin Park

He was used to plans not running exactly how he expected with the Avengers, but this was slowly unraveling in ways that he never could've predicted. He thought that things between the team were going fairly well. He tried to limit his interactions with Tony in order to prevent any further arguments between them. The others seemed to be more or less adjusting to living in the former Stark Tower. They were getting better at working together in the field. He thought things were better. But apparently he thought wrong because they were currently acting worse than the first time they fought together.

There was some strange tension between Thor, Clint and Tony that neither of the trio would comment on. Steve wished they'd just get it over with because it was clearly affecting them. Even the Hulk was feeling the tension. Despite the fact that Clint was up away from the danger, the Hulk hovered around the building, refusing to let Clint too far out of his eyesight. Anytime Thor or Tony got too close (which was often), the green giant would kindly take time away from smashing the enemy of the day into the pavement to growl at his two teammates until they went away.

"Look on the bright side, Captain," Natasha commented, while gracefully pulling a man twice her size into a choke-hold. "We've managed to reduce the amount of damage done to property by keeping the big guy in a single area."

Steve blinked for several reasons really. One, he wasn't quite sure how she knew what he was thinking but he was definitely going to pay more attention to Tony's theory that Natasha was actually an android. As soon as he found out what an android was exactly. The second reason was that she actually believed there was anything bright about this situation. It was a miracle that they weren't dead at the rate they were going. They were fighting sloppy and uncoordinated…. Distracted.

"Heads up, Legolas, I've got eyes on the device," Tony reported, hovering a short distance from them. There was a noticeable pause and when he spoke again there was an uncharacteristic hesitance in his voice. "You think you can make the shot?"

"You know I can make the shot, Iron Ass."

"Then get to it, Cupid."

"Only Hulk gets to call me that!" a loud bellow from their friend echoed that sentiment.

"Guys, not now!" Steve ordered. "Hawkeye, take the shot." He glanced up at the roof where Clint was standing. He could faintly make out Clint's distinctive figure as he aimed with his bow. According to the mission briefing, a group of eco-terrorists were planning on detonating a bomb that contained an active strain of the deadliest virus in history: the Spanish flu. Their mission was to detain the terrorists as well as deactivate their device with one of the special SHIELD developed arrows. At first, Steve wondered why Coulson bothered to send more than one. This was Clint. He never missed… except today. Today, apparently, he missed.

"Shit!"

"Holy… did that actually just happen? Friggin Hawkeye missed!"

"Clint?" Natasha snapped, but even Steve could hear the underlying concern there. "What's wrong?"

"Its fine, Tasha," Clint assured her, though there was a tremor in his voice. "I just… miscalculated."

Natasha's frown grew deeper but she remained silent, watching along with the others as he notched another arrow, taking aim once again. This time the arrow flew true. The device glowed bright blue signaling the deactivation. That of course being the complete opposite of what the terrorists were aiming for, which in turn put them on the offense. Steve ducked as more shots started firing in their location.

"Great. Why can't these guys just be normal hippies and chain themselves to buildings?" Tony complained as he dodged several beams in his direction. "Who the hell taught them how to make plasma cannons?"

"The same people that taught them to make biological weapons?" Natasha suggested, leaning against a car for cover. But then the shots stopped firing in their direction. A sick feeling settled in his stomach as Steve realized why. With Tony and Thor away from the building due to the heavy fire around them and Steve and Natasha hiding for cover, Clint was defenseless and the sole target for their wrath.

"Barton!"

Steve felt Natasha react more than he saw any visual changes. Her body was tense but her face remained blank as they turned towards their teammate on the other building. Steve could make out both Thor and Iron Man as they flew back towards the roof. That was all he could see from the heavy amount of fire attacking the rooftop.

"Hawkeye, report," Steve barked. Thor was using his hammer to knock beams back at his attackers. Tony was firing on the almost never ending supply of manufactured weapons of mass destruction. Natasha was still beside him, tension radiating from her body as she stared up at the roof where Clint was not responding. And the Hulk was…

"Hulk smash puny scientist!"

… Hulk was smashing. Good. Since he didn't have a comm of his own, Steve could only assume he was near Clint once again. He looked up at the roof to see their large teammate. The Hulk hunched over something on the ground before letting out a loud roar, whirling around to face the idiots that were still stupidly firing on the green giant.

"That doesn't sound good," Steve murmured.

"Oh, you think?" Tony retorted, but with little of the usual heat. They all watched as Hulk spread his arms wide. Tony gasped quietly. "Yeah, I know where this is going. Thor, good buddy, we need to make an exit stage down."

"But the Hawk…."

"Is in far safer hands than us right now."

Tony didn't bother to continue trying to prove why they needed to move. Instead he powered his thrusters to their maximum and plowed straight into the thunder god, sending them both crashing into an office building. It was just in time to miss the sonic boom emitted when Hulk brought his massive hands together. The resulting wave was enough to knock out the weapon firing hippies (whatever those were) as well as their own comm. system. But Steve could make out Tony and Thor climbing out the wreckage of the building before flying towards their original destination.

Steve and Natasha rushed over to the fallen men. They didn't look like they would be moving anytime soon. Excellent. He put in a brief call to SHIELD and then set about locating his teammates. Between the lack of functioning comm system and their lack of knowledge of Clint's wellbeing, Natasha was becoming increasingly more anxious. He could barely keep up with her as they raced up the twenty flights to the roof.

"Clint!" Natasha yelled as soon as they burst through the rooftop doors. Her too calm façade dropping as her eyes darted around, desperately searching for her missing partner. They found on him sitting in the middle of the strange yet most likely under different circumstances, highly amusing, showdown. Tony and Thor were apparently trying to check on the hunched over Clint but Hulk wouldn't let either of them near him. All arguments ended as soon as they noticed the two newly arrived Avengers. They hovered uncertainly on the fringe of the strange scene. Well Steve hovered uncertainly, Natasha looked ready to join the lingering weirdness between them as soon as she saw an opening.

"Hawkeye, what happened?"

The archer blinked, slowly struggling into a standing position. He staggered briefly once he made it to his feet but managed to stay upright by mostly leaning on a very compliant Hulk. Steve always wondered what it was about Clint and Tony that caused the Hulk to trust them. If anything Steve would've thought that they would be the ones to antagonize him the most (and they were) but the Hulk seemed almost… protective.

"I'm ok, Tash. Just got knocked around a little bit."

Tony scoffed. "Really? Is that the new term for passing out before an entire chunk of a neighboring building falls on you?"

"You what?" Natasha snarled, stalking over to Clint. The Hulk had no qualms with this as he allowed the flame haired assassin to invade Clint's personal space with barely blinking an eye. She placed her hands on his face, gently turning his head. Steve winced at the bruises he could already see forming on the archer's oddly paler than normal skin. Natasha tutted under her breath before murmuring in what Tony would later confirm to be Russian. "What have you done to yourself now, stupid?"

"Nothing to worry about," Clint replied in the same language.

"I will always worry."

Clint gave her a grim smile before patting Hulk on the arm. It took a moment to get his attention as he was still glaring at the still awkward looking Thor and Tony. "Stand down, Jade Jaws. They're not going to hurt me. They're cool. They're your friends, remember?"

"Cupid, ok?"

"Cupid is ok."

"Good," Hulk rumbled. "Cupid needs to stop worrying Hulk."

Clint blinked. "Uh, sorry?" he looked at Natasha, who shrugged. Neither SHIELD agent knew how to react when Hulk scooped them both into his arms and took a leap off the building. Tony groaned, switching the faceplate back into place.

"Hey! You know he has a concussion, you big green lunk. You can't just haul him around like that!" he yelled, following after the fast moving Hulk. "If he pukes, you better make sure it's outside the Tower!"

An hour later, Steve and Thor were finally able to return to the Tower after successfully relinquishing control of the scene and cleanup to SHIELD. They found their teammates clustered together in the third floor common area, closest to the bedrooms. Clint's shirt was off and Bruce was examining the badly bruised torso. Natasha was already out of her uniform and perched on a coffee table watching. Tony was out of his suit, holding a drink he was barely paying any attention as he was too busy studying Bruce's ministrations with a calculating gleam in his eye.

"This would be significantly less creepy without you staring, Stark," Clint commented, wincing as Bruce brushed against a particularly nasty looking dark purple mark on his back.

"So no comment on Natasha watching, huh? I see how it is."

"Nothing she hasn't seen before."

"Yet I'm always forced to," Natasha added, an almost mournful tone to her voice that Steve never heard before. She cleared her throat when she saw Clint looking in her direction. "So what's the verdict, Bruce?"

"He'll live. Just heavy bruising and a minor concussion but nothing out of the ordinary for one of SHIELD's finest. But the real problem is that you're not eating, Clint," Bruce answered, running his hand down a surprisingly thin side. He looked up at the agent, who was staring at his feet like there was something particularly interesting there. "It's not healthy and you know it."

"You're not eating?" Steve asked, stepping into the room. Clint cursed under his breath, reaching for the t-shirt beside him. He struggled with the shirt until Tony took pity on him and helped him ease into the shirt.

"Look, it's not a big deal. I'll eat a sandwich later. Ok?"

"No, it's not ok," Steven countered. "Is that the reason why you missed this afternoon?"

Clint looked down at his hands. His hands which Steve could see were trembling slightly. Bruce sighed. "Yes, the lack of consistent sleep and little to no food could have dangerous detriments on his health and affect his ability to aim." The look Clint gave him was one of betrayal. Bruce sighed again. "Clint, you were the one that asked me to be in charge of you medically and I agreed only because I know your deal with doctors. But since I'm your doctor, I sometimes have to step outside of being your friend. Especially when you're putting yourself in danger."

"Wait, you're Barton's doctor? How the hell does he get to swing that one and I don't? I thought we were science bros!"

"Not the important part of the story, Stark," Steve reprimanded gently. He focused on the miserable looking archer. "Clint, you need to take care of yourself. By missing meals, you're not only putting yourself at risk but us as well. We were lucky that you were able to regroup so quickly. And this time it was a stationary target. What if you miss hitting someone that was sneaking up on one of us to try and take us out? You need to get your head back in the game or else. You're a liability right now."

While he kept his eyes trained on Clint, he wasn't oblivious to the others staring at him with an odd look in their eyes. Finally, Clint spoke. His voice was barely a whisper but it echoed louder than Thor's in the heavy tension filled silence that had fallen over the six teammates. "You're right. I am a liability. I'm putting you all… in danger. I shouldn't be here... not safe…." he trailed off, looking anywhere around the room but at his very alarmed team. "I'm sorry but I should go." He shrugged off Bruce's hands and walked out the room.

He wasn't gone for even a minute before Natasha punched Steve in the face and stormed out after him. The team leader's jaw dropped even as he watched her go. He rubbed his stinging jaw. Natasha could pack a punch and he was pretty sure that she used the Widow's Bite on him.

"What did I do?"

"What didn't you do, Captain Asshat?" Tony retorted.

"I was… just... I was trying to help!" Steve argued confused as to why he was getting dirty looks from all of them (even Thor!). "Why am I the bad guy here? Hawkeye is the one that messed up on the mission. It's my job as team leader to make sure something like this never happens again."

"It will never happen again. It only happened because it's beyond obvious to anyone with eyes that Hawkeye is not ok. He thinks he has to prove something to all of us and he's slowly breaking down every day. And you, Mr. Team Leader, just pushed every single self deprecating button that he has. So congratulations for that. Well done, Captain!" Tony finished by crossing his arms over his chest. The concern that was written all over the billionaire's face was disconcerting because Steve wasn't used to seeing Tony care… he honestly didn't think Tony cared about anything that wasn't money or himself.

"Why is Clint not ok? He said he was fine."

"Oh, and every time you've ever said that you were fine, you were telling the absolute truth, right? Really? Not that much has changed in seventy years."

"But… what's wrong with him?"

Bruce raked a hand through his hair, obviously tired of the arguing. "Well, ignoring his completely screwed up childhood, he was recently mind raped into killing several of his coworkers, some of which he considered to be friends, and helping a god try to take over the world and murder some more people. That does tend to leave some lingering issues."

"But he wasn't responsible for that," Steve said, shaking his head. "He has to know that."

"It's one thing to know that you weren't responsible, and it's another to believe it," Bruce replied, in a low voice. "Right now, all he knows is that people are dead because of his arrows. A very good friend almost died because of his actions, whether they were his conscious actions doesn't really matter. He hurt people he cared about. That's all that matters to him right now. He's questioning himself. He's questioning why SHIELD hasn't fired him despite the fact that they all look at him like he's about to blank out any minute. They don't trust him anymore. And now he's starting to not to trust himself either."

"Loki has ruined everything," Thor whispered to himself. Steve wanted to offer him some sort of comfort but he was still struggling with understanding just how he could do that.

"I think that's the reason he moved into the Tower. He's away from their judgment but it's not enough. Those thoughts are still in his head. I think those of us that have noticed have tried to keep him from falling apart but really all we're doing is slapping a Hello Kitty Band-Aid on a gaping, still bleeding flesh wound."

"Nice imagery there, Bruce," Tony winced. "So now that we've filled Captain Amazing in on what was obvious to even the alien god, what are we supposed to do about it? If we don't get through to him, soon, we're going to lose him."

Steve still felt confused. And Tony was right. He was confused and Tony was right and this world did not any make sense.

"How did I miss this? More importantly, how did Tony not miss this?"

"That's easy, it's because Tony and Clint are pretty similar," Bruce replied, cutting off Tony's no doubt colorful response. "Think of an onion. There is a thin skin surrounding the onion. You peel it back and reveal a layer of the onion. But it's just a layer. There are so many more layers underneath that skin. Clint and Tony are both like onions. Peel away one layer and there are so many more to go."

"Does anyone else really want onion rings right now?"

"And as to how you missed it," Bruce continued, ignoring Tony's interjection. "It's because you hide away all day in your room. I know that this world is strange and weird, but trust me, it's not so bad when you're surrounded by a group of people that are just as lost."

"In case you're missing the clue by four here, that would be the rest of this ragtag group of heroes. Doesn't get more lost than us," Tony quipped. Even Thor nodded.

Steve let out a deep breath. They were right. They were absolutely right. He was hiding in his memories of a time that was long gone, clinging desperately to the friends he made then. But he had a new group of friends, really a family, and they needed him as much as he needed them. He thought back on his words to Clint and winced. Now that he was really paying attention, he could remember the instances in the past month that he'd noticed something wasn't quite right with the archer but let it go. He wasn't letting it go anymore.

"Tony is right," Steve said, finally. "Now that we know what the problem is, what do we do about it?"

Bruce shrugged. "I don't know what you're going to do but I'm sure you'll come up with something. I'm going to talk to our assassins. Alone, Tony." Tony grumbled, making some comment under his breath using language that Steve was too lost in thought to even begin to be offended by. "I'm sure that between the three of you, you can come up with something to help."

He stayed rooted to the spot long after Bruce was gone. He really screwed this up. He was supposed to be the leader and yet he didn't notice that his one of his team was slowly falling apart at the seams. He didn't notice that he wasn't even connected with them. He didn't notice the rapidly tightening bonds forming between all of them but him. He didn't notice that they really didn't trust him outside a mission. He… just got smacked in the face by a unicorn. His brow furrowed as he glanced first at the pillow pet resting by his feet and then up to the gleefully amused Tony.

"I don't believe that was the intended use of the pillowed pets, Friend Stark," Thor said, picking up the fallen pet and cradling it to his chest as if keeping it away from Tony.

"Thor, buddy, I've told you a thousand times, it's just Tony. Tony!" the billionaire explained, rolling his eyes in fond exasperation. "Also, haven't you ever heard of a pillow fight?"

Thor's expression turned thoughtful. "I do not believe I have heard of this. Tell me more about these… pillow fights."

Tony threw an excited look at Steve, who was just grateful that he appeared to be forgiven by at least Tony and Thor. He sat down listening in amusement as Tony explained the noble art of the pillow battle to their resident god, promising Thor an opportunity to demonstrate his new knowledge once Clint was feeling better and they could insure that Bruce wouldn't Hulk out and kill the hell out of all of them. Tony spoke as if things were better. As if everything was operating normally and it was clear that things were anything but ok at the moment.

"How do I get Clint through this?" Steve asked, aloud.

"You don't," Tony shrugged. He rolled his eyes at Steve's confused look. "Look, for whatever reason we were brought together, the point of it all is that we're a team. More than that, we're a damn dysfunctional family. We're going to get him through this. He's got us. He doesn't need anything more than that. Trust me! Clint is going to be fine."

"How do you know?"

Tony's lips curved into a wistful smile. It was a shadow of his usual million watt smile but it felt more genuine than anything Steve had ever seen on the man before. "Clint will get through this because I'm not half the man he is and I'm still here." He shook his head, as if chasing away dark memories but the smile remained. "Besides the Hulk has practically adopted him and Natasha probably has her name stamped on his ass. He's not allowed to be anything other than ok just because they won't let him."

Steve found himself smiling in response. "How do you do that? Manage to smile at everything? Even when it's all going to hell."

"Takes practice," Tony grinned. "But all jokes aside, is anyone else up for a trip to the closest greasy joint to buy some onion rings?"

"I will partake in this journey for the ring of onions," Thor volunteered.

Steve's smile grew. Tony was infectious, he had to give him that much. And he was right. The team was going to get Clint through this. They would all help him to realize that he could trust himself. And maybe, just maybe, they could work the biggest miracle of all and help Steve realize that the past was gone and it was time to start living in the now.

"Hey, Tony," Steve called to his two friends that were discussing their plan of attack (they really needed to help Thor think outside of military strategies). Tony raised an eyebrow at the usage of his first name from Steve. "Got room for one more in this trip?"

Tony gave him an odd look before another genuine smile formed on his lips. "Always, Steve."

He didn't know he was carrying the weight around until he felt it lift at that moment. No, he didn't like that he was stolen away from Peggy, Howard and the others before he could really explore what could've been. But he didn't think he was wrong in believing there was a reason for everything. He was meant to be here, now, with this team. He would learn to adjust to the 21st century because he had his family to help him. They would help Clint to get through the guilt and issues from his past that were haunting him. They would do it because they were more than a team. They were a family.

*And now Steve is on board with the crazy train that is this family. Natasha and then Bruce are up next. Ciao for now!