Chapter Six

"What's she doing here?" Clint asked glaring at Coulson.

"It's a free country big brother," she told him.
Clint ignored her and continued interrogating Coulson. "Did you coerce her into this?"

"Clint," Natasha began trying to diffuse the situation.

"I didn't coerce her into anything," Coulson defended himself.

"I'd like to believe that Coulson I would, but the minute Director Fury told me about your little mission, I knew you would bring her in."

"Clint!" Carly warned. "Don't blame him, I came here of my own free will, not coercion," she sneered.

"Forgive me if I find that hard to believe," he spat at Coulson. "Because it seems to me he has you at his beck and call every time he mentions Caleb's name!"

Carly exhaled and started to walk away.

"Where are you going?" Bruce asked after Tony nudged him.

"I'm leaving of my own free will," she shot at her brother.

"Carly," Steve called after her following her.

"That could have went better," Natasha sighed before narrowing her eyes at Clint. Hawkeye hung his head and walked off.

Coulson began to pack everything away, while the Black Widow went the same direction as Clint had went.

"I think we need to look into the family relationship of Clint and Carly Barton and this Caleb guy," Tony told Bruce getting up from the table.

"Do you always take refuge out here?" Steve asked coming across outside sitting down in the grass.

"Yeah," she smiled faintly, he sat down beside her. "I would hide out here and Clint would hide out on the roof."

"Why don't you tell me why you and brother have such a strained relationship?" He asked gently.

"Are you sure you want here this story?" Carly asked Steve, drawing random patterns on the ground with her fingertips. "It's pretty long."

"We have all the time in the world," Steve told her grabbing her hand.

"Maybe it's a good thing your sister's here," Natasha said tentatively placing her hand on Clint's shoulder. "She does love you Clint it's just hard for her," she soothed.

"I know," he sighed pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Do you want to talk about it?" She asked sitting down beside him laying her head on his shoulder.

"I was five years old when Carly was born," Clint began the story. "I was outside in the waiting room, when my father came out carrying a baby Carly Christine. He placed her in my arms and said 'this is your baby sister, Clinton as the older brother it's your job to look out for her, protect her. When I was six my parents died, Carly was still a baby. They put us in an orphanag. Carly was three when I overheard two of the workers there saying Carly would never be adopted if they kept trying to keep us together. So, I ran away."

"To the circus," Natasha supplied.

"Yes to the circus. I thought she would be better off. I thought she would be placed in a home and loved and taken care of," Clint explained. "I was 17 and I was starting out at SHIELD, I decided to go back to the orphanage to see what happened to my baby sister and she was still there."

"So, you brought her back with you."

"I couldn't just leave her again, but I also knew that she couldn't stay with me on the base." He paused. "That's where the Coulsons came in, they let her stay with them and I was able to spend as much time as I wanted with my sister. I even taught her how to shoot a bow," he chuckled. "She and Caleb became junior SHIELD operatives, everything was going great until that mission."

"You don't have to go on," Natasha said gently.

"I need to. We were about to leave the building was going to blow up. I didn't see the gun, but he did. He saved Carly and I left him there while I dragged Carly kicking and screaming out of there."

"He abandoned you," Steve said.

"I understand why though," Carly said softly. "And I don't blame him for it."

"But you blame him for Caleb's death?"

"For a while I did," she said softly.

"That's why you agreed to help Coulson find Caleb's killer to put this whole ordeal to rest."

"And I want my brother back."

"Wow," Bruce said looking at the screen.

"Yep," Tony muttered. "It seems that directly after this mission the junior division of S.H.I.E.L.D. became less active."

"Do you think she blames him?" Bruce asked.

"For the death of her best friend at the age of eighteen, the mission that her brother was team leader of," Tony said. "Maybe but probably not as much as they blame themselves. Carly because he died saving her life. And Clint because he got them into this situation."

"That's got to be hard to lose your best friend like that," Bruce stated sadly.

"And her brother," they heard Steve say.

"What no lecture?" Tony asked.

"It's not like it would stop you," he sighed. "Do you know the whole story or just the half?"

"We know the whole story."

"He abondoned her that makes it obviously clear at to why she hasn't forgiven him," Bruce stated.

"I'd love to see how this all comes to head when he finds out that Cap and Carly are dating." Tony said.

"Steve and Carly are dating?" They heard Natasha ask. "Since when," she directed at Steve.

"Two weeks ago."

"I'm glad," she smiled. "But you're wrong," she turned to Bruce. "They forgave each other a long time ago, they just haven't talked. I think you should know some things about Clint and Carly."