DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING

….

"Master Barton, I must insist on you contacting one of other Avengers about this matter," said the disembodied voice of the tower's AI. "None of them will be pleased if you withhold this from them."

"Its fine, Jarvis," replied Clint through gritted teeth, collapsed in a heap on the floor. Thanks to one of his wings unexpected muscle spasms the archer had accidently set one of them on fire while he was boiling some water on the stove. He admitted to himself that his response to the fire wasn't a dignified one, especially with someone of his training, and he was glad the rest of his team was on a three day mission in another state, otherwise he didn't think he would ever live it down.

"That burn on your right arm looks quite serious," JARVIS tried again.

And it hurt like a bitch too, but Clint wasn't about ruin his team's concentration by having them worry over a little burn. "Really Jarvis, it's fine. I've suffered worse things than this. Besides, the team needs to focus on their mission, not on me."

When the AI went silent, Barton let out a sigh of relief before pushing himself off the floor. He inwardly flinched when the use of his arm tugged at the burn near his shoulder. He would have to fix himself up before he did anything else.

"So much for staying out of trouble," Clint muttered while he applied the burn cream on his arms and back. The one thing that his friends asked for him to do before they left, and he couldn't do that. Sometimes he wondered if he was just born unlucky…

"Excuse me, Master Barton, but Ms. Potts is on her way up."

The winged archer immediately snapped out of his daze. "She's what?!" He threw everything back into the first-aid kit and clamored up the nearest air vent, ignoring JARVIS who was telling him that he wasn't allowed to climb in the vents unless someone was there to get him out if he got stuck again. When the AI persisted the blonde snapped, "Zip it JARVIS! Tony isn't the boss of me and I only got stuck once!" When JARVIS went silent once more, Clint watched and waited as the elevator doors opened to reveal a tired, but anxious looking Pepper Potts. Several emotions crossed her face as she moved about the floor. Worry, hope, and finally disappointment when it seemed she didn't find what she was looking for.

Instantly, Barton felt guilty and inwardly wondered why he was hiding in the first place. Pepper was nice. He liked her. He trusted her. And she didn't give him cold stares after the whole Loki incident like some of the SHIELD agents did. He was…somewhat sure that Pepper wouldn't judge his new appearance. Gulping slightly, he slid from the vent and landed on the floor though not as silently as he normally would thanks to his new added weight. The soft thud he made was enough to draw the woman's attention.

"Clint," Pepper breathed upon seeing a once missing friend. Her eyes were wide with joy and wonder before she rushed to the blonde and enveloped him in a warm hug. "I'm so glad you're back."

Clint returned the hug as relief washed over him. "Good to be back," he replied softly.

Pepper pulled back and took the male's appearance. Of course her eyes were first drawn to his large gold, brown, and white wings. She hesitated at first before placing a hand on one of them. They were warm, soft, and shuddered ever so slightly under her touch. Next, she studied the cuts and bruises that littered his body. They all seemed to be healing nicely, but there were a couple of fresh burns along his arms. And now that she looked closely, some of his feathers were charred. "Did…did you set yourself on fire?!" she asked incredulously.

"No…"

"Yes."

Barton sent a sharp glare at the ceiling before turning back to the woman. "Not on purpose. Just a little accident while trying to fix some food." He looked a little sheepish before turning completely serious. "Please do not tell the others."

"Your secret is safe with me. And don't worry, I'll make sure JARVIS won't tell anyone either."

Clint smiled gratefully. "Thank you. If they found out about this they'd never let me stay by myself again." He then retreated back to the kitchen area in order to clean up the mess he made. "Apparently, they don't think I can take care of myself."

'Well, you did kind of set yourself on fire,' Pepper thought, but decided not voice that. Her once missing friend looked depressed enough already. Instead she suggested that they take a little walk so he could get some fresh air.

Clint immediately perked up at the idea, but remembered he wasn't allowed outside of the tower without someone accompanying him. That was on the list of things he was not allowed to do. Along with things such as: Lifting heavy items, using his bow, using weapons period, crawling around in the air vents, and so on. He told her as such.

"But you won't be alone if I go with you. I count as someone, or have you forgotten?" The strawberry-blond walked over to him and took the broom away from him. "Come on, there's a new Thai restaurant that just opened up. We can order on the phone and then go pick it up ourselves. It'll be really quick and no one will know."

The premise of seeing the outside world again was too much to pass up. He glanced warily up ceiling, but sighed in relief when the AI simply wished them a safe journey. "Alright, let's go!"

"Stupid scientists. They do all sorts of freaky shit to me and couldn't make these wings fire-proof," Clint complained as he adjusted the large trench coat on his shoulders, slightly worried that his wings might show. Pepper let him borrow one of Tony's designer coats that the genius sometimes wore whenever he didn't want to be recognized by the paparazzi.

Pepper sent the male a sympathetic smile. "Yeah, but I think they're already starting to heal and regrow. With any luck, the team won't notice when they return."

"Yeah, hopefully." Barton held on to the coat tighter, carefully taking deep cleansing breathes that Bruce had taught to help with combat the unexpected muscle spasms of his wings. So far it seemed to be working.

When the pair entered the restaurant the agent choose to stand at the back of the place while Pepper picked up their order. He didn't want anyone to pay that much attention to him, just in case something weird happened. He had bad luck like that. As he continued to wait the blonde noticed a tall male enter the establishment in a somewhat hurried manner, wearing a trench coat much like his own, but probably not as expensive. Clint let his eyes follow the man as he ordered his food almost impatiently and afterwards stood awkwardly to side while he waited.

'Strange,' Barton thought. His attention then returned to Pepper, who had just received their food and was heading back over to him. He met her half way and took the bags of food from her. As the two prepared to leave Clint gave a final glance to the stranger, trying to figure out why he was acting so suspicious.

The man had finally received his food and was turning to leave as well, only to be bumped hard accidently by an employee carrying a tall stack of trays. Everyone in the building flinched as the trays clattered loudly to the floor, but Clint wasn't focused on the noise. He was focused on the single white feather that had fluttered out of the other man's trench coat.

"No way…" Clint breathed. He blinked several times to make sure he was seeing right. His breathless whisper must've been heard because the male, who had bent down to help the young female worker, head had snapped up and looked straight at him. The two continued to stare at each other with wide, shocked eyes until Clint felt a small tug on his sleeve, successfully breaking him out his daze.

"Clint, you okay?" Pepper asked, concern lacing her voice.

"Uh…yeah…sorry about that," Barton replies and quickly followed her out the door, willing himself not to look back this time. 'Very, very strange indeed.'

The surprises didn't end at the Thai restaurant as Clint had found out the second he and Pepper stepped off of the elevator. Several points of his arms that had been burned screamed in protest as Thor pulled him and Pepper into a bone crushing hug. The agent managed to bite back a scream, and instead offered a greeting to his large friend.

"I was so worried when Friend Tony's talking ceiling had alerted me of your departure!" Thor boomed, hugging the pair of mortals even tighter. He didn't seem to notice they were turning blue.

"And you didn't hear JARVIS tell you that we would be back soon?!" Pepper wheezed out.

The demi-god finally realized that he choking his friends and let them go. Sheepishly he said, "I guess I did not hear that part. My apologies, my friends."

"Don't worry about it," the archer muttered, absently rubbing his stinging arm. Pepper noticed this and gently pulled away the coat to inspect his arm. She bit her lip a little and suggested that the burns be rewrapped.

"The Hawk has suffered burns?!" Thor asked loudly. "How has this happened?! Was there an intruder who broke through the tower's defenses?! Should we alert the other Avengers?!"

"NO!" Clint exclaimed. That was the last thing he wanted. "It was just an accident that happened in the kitchen. Nothing to worry about, big guy."

Thor looked at Pepper, who nodded her head in confirmation. "Very well. But shouldn't we at least inform Friend Banner about your injuries?"

"Believe me, Thor, I've suffered worse things." The awkward silence that came with that statement was deafening. "Why are you even here anyway? I thought the mission was supposed to last three days."

"Friend Tony and Friend Steve thought it would best if someone stayed with you."

A hot wave of irritation flashed through the winged agent. "I thought we all agreed before you guys left that I didn't need anyone staying with me?! Steve said it was high priority mission that required all the Avengers."

"Well yes, but we couldn't help but worry that something would happen to you while we were away, or you would…"

"Or I would run away?" Clint finished for him. When Thor didn't answer Clint felt his irritation grow.

"Brother Hawk, please understand that we only wish for your safety while you recover from your ordeal. You yourself have always made sure to be there for the rest of the Avengers whenever we are injured, even when you had a mission to complete."

Upon hearing that Barton felt all the anger leave his body. "B-But that's…"

"And Lady Natasha told me to tell you that if you say "that's different" then you would not be allowed to use your bow three weeks instead of just two."

"Sometimes you guys are just too much," Clint said with an exasperated sigh, but he couldn't help but smile. Maybe he wasn't so unlucky after all. "Sorry for being an ass."

"You are forgiven, Little Hawk. Just as long as you share your food."

END CHAPTER

Wow, that was a long break from writing. Sorry for the wait and sorry for not much happening in this chapter.

Thanks for the reviews from lanteaddicted, thejellyfish99, Guest, TheNaggingCube, and Sandy-wmd.

Until next time, BYE!