Chapter Three

Clint whipped out the binoculars and took another look around. It was 3 in the morning in Washington DC and he found himself perched on a roof of an apartment building, keeping an eye on one Steven Rogers. The thought 'I'm too old for this bullshit' crossed his mind more than once as he watched the younger man skillfully using the window ledges to climb to the third floor of the building across the street. This thought usually came hand in hand with 'I should be with my wife and kids.' But despite all his misgivings, he knew deep down that there was no way he could have said no when a friend asked for a favour. Especially not when that friend is Natasha Romanoff.

He sighed as he placed down the binoculars. The cap's got this covered. Relaxing a little, he leaned his back against the wall and recalled the conversation that started him on this godforsaken roof at three am in the morning, playing babysitter to the American icon. Well, former American icon now.

It was about a month ago that Natasha woke him and Laura up from deep sleep.

"He won't stop, Clint. I can't stop him." The trembling in her normally toneless voice succeeded in immediately waking Clint up.

"Nat?" Beside him, Laura stirred and he quickly placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. Being married to an Avenger, Laura Barton was not a big fan of calls in the middle of the night. Especially since it usually lead to him suiting up and then returning back to her a few days later all broken and hurt.

He kissed her softly on the head, whispering, "It's ok, go back to sleep. It's just Nat." She nodded her head and sank back to sleep.

Clint climbed off the bed and put the phone back to his ears only to find out that Natasha had been talking the whole time, sounding even more frantic than when he'd first picked up the phone.

"… and now he's left with Sam to go after the Winter Soldier. Tony's trying to reason with Ross but there's no way they're not going to stand down on this."

- "Nat, slow down. The last thing I know is that you were on a plane to Geneva. And who's left where?"

And that was how Clint found out about the whole business with the Winter Soldier. And how it succeeded in splitting the team into two, more than the Sokovian Accord ever did.

"Clint, I have never asked you for anything before. And I know this is a lot to ask, what with Laura and the kids…" -

- "Ask it,Nat."

"Can you keep an eye on Steve, please, Clint? I need to be here and make sure there's someone else besides Tony to reign in the big guns. But I can't stand the idea of Steve and Sam on their own with no back-up up against the Winter Soldier." Her voice was shaking and not for the first time, Clint wondered at the depth of her feelings for the Captain. He has seen the way the two look at each other, as if they were having full conversations without having said a word. The occasional awed pride that laced his words whenever he shared stories about the things Natasha got up to in one mission or another. "I mean, you should have seen her, Clint. There Sam is all puffed up about the two hostiles he'd managed to take down and then he turned around and what did he see? The whole hallway littered with men Natasha had brought down all in the space of the time it took him to struggle with two armed men! And the way Nat just smirked at him… it was priceless." It was something that they all noticed and has more or less accepted but never verbalized. There is always an 'and' when mentioning the Captain America and the Black Widow, even if the exact status of their relationship has never been defined.

So he more than anyone understood that for the Black Widow, for Natasha even, this was unprecedented. This deep need to look out for another person, that has nothing to be with balancing the red, was new. And the fact that she was not only acknowledging this connection but sharing it with him, more than anything signaled to him the depth of her desperation.

Knowing this, there was no way he could say no. And that was the main reason why he was out here in the middle of the night, keeping an eye out as Steve Rogers once more put his head on the line to rescue another person he thinks he has put in danger. He doesn't know the identity of this one, having entered the room at the end of the discussion between him and Sam about this particular mission. But from the anxious look in his eyes, and deep worry lines near his mouth, Clint reckoned this mysterious person must mean something to him. And as his eyes once again caught side of his blond head, this time matched with another long, blonde tresses of a woman he knew by sight, he let out a quiet curse.

"No fucking way," he breathed out as he watch Steve Rogers held Agent Sharon Carter tightly as he maneuvered her down the building. "This definitely put a new spin on things."