How I Met Their Mother (Again)

Summary: Gather around kids and listen to the tale of how Clint Barton met the mother of his children… again. This is the true story of how Clint Barton found the love of his life, lost her and then was order to murder her and her unborn child. A prequel to Because I Could Not Stop for death.

Pairings: Clint/Laura, Tony/Pepper, Thor/Jane, Darcy/Ian, Steve/Bucky. Hints of Wanda/Vision, Bruce/Betty

Warnings: Um, spoilers for Age of Ultron. Parts of Civil War, maybe?

Disclaimer: I own nothing!

Author's Note: Hello all! This is the prequel/sequel to Because I Could Not Stop for Death. This story can very much stand on its own but the end will be kind of confusing if you never read that story. Also I'm quite proud of that one, so you should read it anyway! LOL. Anyway, hope you enjoy this quick little story. Still working on a sequel.

2005

Natasha Romanoff learned many things in her two years as an official agent of SHIELD. She knew that not every agent was as pleased with her defection as her partner (and sole cause of defection) and the director of the agency. One of those agents was her reluctant handler. She honestly couldn't hold that against him. She knew what she was capable of and she liked the fact that Coulson never relaxed around her. He never let his guard slip. It was such a refreshing change of pace from her oblivious partner. And that brought her to the final thing she knew to be true: Clint Barton was a mess of a man and she alternately loved him and wanted to push him into oncoming traffic. Sometimes both at the same time. Now was one of those times.

Clint was walking beside her with his patented lazy stroll while continuing his efforts to participate in the longest one sided conversation in history. Natasha made a halfhearted attempt at paying attention to his tale of ongoing battle with the coffee machine in his apartment, but her attention was split between her mess of a partner and the dark glares and hateful looks being directed their way. The two had been off for the past two weeks. They had only just arrived in HQ five minutes ago to be told that they were to see Coulson right away. Natasha figured it was about a mission which is why she had no problem dragging Clint away from the coffee cart in the lobby. And judging from the increasingly hostile looks being thrown their way, it was most likely a really good mission too. One that any of these agents would be happy to complete. Or more accurately, one these agents seemed to believe they would be better suited to complete the mission. And that right there was the part that pissed Natasha off.

She knew the majority of the agents believed she was allowed to stay with SHIELD because she was sleeping with Clint, Coulson or Fury. A few of them believed it was all three. Points to them for creativity if not being completely sexist and ignorant of her skills. She was fine with it though. She didn't care what any of them thought of her. She did, however, care that some of them believed the same to be true for Clint. She knew some of her partner's background. She knew that he was pretty much raised in a circus until becoming an assassin for hire. Apparently there were some who believed that Clint only made it as far as he had in SHIELD because Fury and Coulson were using him as some kind of weapon/sex toy. It was disturbing and made Natasha want to hurt people. A lot. Because Clint didn't deserve that.

Clint Barton had rapidly become her everything in a way that was slightly terrifying. He was the one to hold a hand out to her when she needed it the most. He gave her a purpose in life. And no, she wasn't talking about SHIELD. She was talking about her continued efforts at making sure the idiot stayed alive. It was touch and go sometimes. Clint seemed to move through life powered only by impulses, bizarrely accurate instincts and poor self-preservation born from no self-esteem and an insatiable curiosity that wouldn't be satisfied until he was touching, doing or climbing the impossible thing that everyone else walked away from. Though there was barely a year between them with Clint coming in just a bit older, Natasha often felt like she was physically and emotionally responsible for the wayward archer. It was a role she actually didn't mind as much as she knew she should. It was hard to not care about the man who despite a seriously screwed up past managed to have a smile and a kind word for pretty much everyone around him. And that brought her right back to the subject of her wrath. Because while Clint was kind and generous to all those around him, the other mouth breather agents failed to reciprocate. Instead, they paid his kindness back with jeers, taunts and scorn. That was completely unacceptable as far as Natasha was concerned.

"You're glaring again, Natalia," Clint said suddenly dragging her out of her thoughts. Her eyes widened as she took in her partner. He was still strolling along carelessly but his gaze was sharp when she met it. "They're jerks. Just ignore them."

"I'm not upset because they're hurting my feelings, Barton."

"I know. You're pissed because you think they're offending me," Clint smirked. "Like I said, ignore them. Nat, they're just jealous. They're not worth it. Besides I made it a rule to never let them know they annoy me. If they know, then they win."

"So by acting oblivious to their insults and mockery, you're winning?" Natasha mused with a slight smile. Clint winked in her direction before relaunching the tale of the mercenary that was trying to woo his ex-girlfriend, Bobbi Morse. Natasha felt her smile growing wider as she followed his lead. Clint Barton was special and she was determined to make sure that he stayed the same as he was in this moment for as long as she could.

They arrived in Coulson's office a few minutes later. Natasha stopped short upon seeing that Fury was also there. This mission was lot bigger than she originally thought. Clint didn't even hesitate as he flopped down in one of the two free chairs, draping his legs over the side. Natasha followed suit but sat down with far more consideration.

"What did you guys take the scenic route?" Coulson quipped, visibly checking them both over. Natasha fought the urge to scoff.

They were off for two weeks. Two boring weeks of doing the normal things super spies did to maintain their everyday lives outside of SHIELD. How could they manage to get hurt going to the bank? She paused, glancing at Clint out the corner of her eye. Then again if there was some way to do it, she knew that Clint probably discovered it and mastered it. The man was a menace.

"So what's the mission?" Clint asked around a cookie. Natasha raised an eyebrow. When did he get cookies?

"Did you steal those from the cart downstairs?"

"I paid for them," Clint retorted, around a mouth full of shortbread cookies. "Or I will on our way out."

"Unbelievable," Natasha muttered, shaking her head. She wasn't too mad though as he sheepishly handed her one half of the cookie he was eating. She smiled and accepted the olive branch. She caught Coulson attempting to scold Clint through looks again. It lasted as long as it took for the man to fish out another two cookies for Coulson and Fury. Fury wordlessly accepted his with a ruthless smirk in place. Coulson looked torn between being the only adult in the room and eating the cookie. He ultimately settled for the common path when it came to Clint.

"So your mission," Coulson said around neat bites of his treat. "It's a bit complicated. It started as a recruitment job but the asset has proven to be too hostile to be recruited. The World Security Council is requesting that the target be put down. Due to the target's hostility and ability to lash out, we think it's best to do this long distance. That means your particular skill set, Clint. Natasha, you'll be his backup for this mission."

Natasha nodding, know that meant should Clint fail for some reason, it would be her job to finish the hit. Though Clint was a consummate professional when it came to his job, he still had moments of going off script. She was living proof of that. Clint snickered, almost as if he knew what she was thinking. He probably did.

"So who's our target this time?"

"A young woman we erroneously labeled as simply gifted. We now know she's a mutant. An alpha level mutant."

Clint whistled appreciatively while Natasha racked her brain to place this knowledge with the little she knew about mutants. Though they likely had been around for years, it wasn't until after the Cuban Missile Crisis that attention was brought to the mutant race. They largely stayed to themselves and outside of government purview. That was mostly because ongoing affairs related to mutants seemed to be policed, or at least handled by a group of students from Charles Xavier's academy. They called themselves the X-Men or something like that. Speaking of the X-Men…..

"Why aren't the X-Men handling this one? It sounds like their kind of thing," Clint asked, once again picking up on her train of thought. "Also what did this one do to warrant murder? Last I checked, they let that Magneto dude get away with pretty much everything."

"You're not wrong. This is usually something that the X-Men would've handled. However, up until a few weeks ago, our target wasn't operating alone. She and her partner swept a path of destruction across the United States," Fury answered. "Both have psychic mutations. Her partner, David Haller, was considerably more powerful and more unstable than our target. The X-Men claimed they had a personal interest in him and neutralized him. Our target, on the other hand, escaped in the chaos. Charles doesn't appear to have any interest in intervening in her case. I actually believe he wants us to take her out."

"Naturally that means we attempted to recruit her," Coulson added with a smirk. "However, she's been less than receptive to our previous attempts at outreach."

"Meaning what exactly?" Natasha asked, raising an eyebrow.

Coulson merely slid a picture from within the file on his desk. Clint let out a soft whistle at the sight of the three agents in the photograph. They were strapped to standard issue hospital beds with vacant expressions on their faces. Natasha winced. She knew one of the men in the picture. Well, she knew them in a vague kind of way. She wasn't particularly close to him but it was still jarring to see one of the few agents that managed to treat her with any kind of civility drooling and devoid of any sign of their previously sharp mind.

"Is it permanent?" Clint asked.

"We're not sure. It's been two weeks and they've shown no signs of improvement. They remain catatonic. And those are just the lucky ones. She somehow convinced four of our better high level agents that jumping out of the sixth floor window of the apartment building she was hiding in. The agents are alive, mostly. But they'll be out of commission for quite some time. A week later, she put those three in an as for now permanent state of catatonia."

"Okay," Clint nodded. "Now I get why you want long distance."

"From what we're able to tell about the target, her primary mutation appears to be telepathic and empathic manipulation. Her partner was an omega level mutant but he's no longer a threat. Now we just have to with Ms. Dinkley."

"Dinkley? The hell kind of name is Dinkley? I'd be a pissed off supervillain too if my last name was Dinkley," Clint laughed, earning a look of disapproval from Coulson, a snort of amusement from Fury and as always an indulgent smile from Natasha herself.

"Her alias is Velma Dinkley."

"Jinkes, that's genius," Clint grinned slightly. "I've always thought Velma was hot."

"Really, Barton?" Fury tilted his head. "I would've pegged you for a Daphne kind of guy. Thought you would be able to relate since you're both accident prone, kidnapping bait."

"I know you say these things out of love, Fury," Clint retorted with a grin. "But what can I say? Redheads just don't do it for me. I have a thing for brunettes. Oh, wait. Sorry, Nat."

Natasha rolled her eyes. "I don't know how I'll live with this but I'll try."

"That's all anyone can ever really do," Clint replied, false solemnity dripping from his voice. Natasha couldn't help the smile that crossed her lips. She saw Coulson trying to fight a grin of his own. The man straightened up once he saw Natasha looking at him.

"Anyway, care to get back to the topic at hand?" Coulson asked, clearing his throat. Clint's small grin grew wider.

"Okay, boss man. So what's her deal anyway? What's suddenly changed? You said that she was the least threatening of the pair and with her partner out of commission, you would think that she would be eager to get some kind of protection. So why is she putting agents into catatonic states and tricking them into pulling an R Kelly?"

"They peed on underage girls?" Natasha blurted out almost against her will. Clint stared at her in surprise before nodding slowly in understanding.

"Yeah, forgot about that. I meant making them believe they can fly."

Sensing that this was likely going to lead to another ridiculous question between the two partners (it really didn't take much), Coulson pushed another picture across his desk. Natasha didn't need to ask to know that this was their elusive target. She also saw immediately what changed for their target. The woman was pretty brunette with sharp and calculating brown eyes. She was young, probably at best a few years older than her and Clint. But what really caught Natasha's eye was the protective hand the woman had splayed across her noticeably swollen stomach.

"She's pregnant?" Natasha asked, despite it being beyond obvious.

"She is. I don't think I need to tell you the dangers this child would present. We've tried to rationalize with her and it was unsuccessful. She's a danger to herself and to the world. She will be even more dangerous should she be allowed to bring that child into the world."

"You want us to take out a pregnant woman," Natasha said, barely keeping the disgust from her voice. "I've done a lot of horrible things in my life but even I draw the line at killing a woman and her child."

"A child that could have the potential to undo reality," Fury spoke up. "David Haller is one of the more powerful mutants we've come across. Thankfully he was taken care of. But Ms. Dinkley is no slouch. From what we know about mutants, any child born to a mutant parent has the potential to also manifest mutant abilities. What do you think will happen with a child born to parents that powerful individually?"

"It's pretty much a guarantee," Natasha finished unhappily. As much as it pained her to admit, she knew they had a point. If this woman was as dangerous as she seemed and as ready and willing to kill, or at the very least mentally incapacitate, then she was a threat as was her unborn child. Still….

"Clint, you've been quiet," Coulson said, dragging Natasha's attention away from the situation and to her partner. The archer was staring at the picture of Velma Dinkley with a distant look in his eye. He was slightly paler and the cookie that he was happily munching on moments earlier was now littering Coulson's office floor. Their handler paid it no mind. He was instead focused on his asset. "Clint?"

The archer shook his head slowly. "I have to go," he murmured. He was on his feet before any of them could react. Thankfully Natasha's reflexes were quicker than him and she managed to grab his wrist before he was out the door. "Let go, Nat."

"Not until you explain what's going on. Where are you going?"

"For a walk. Is that a crime?"

"No, but we have a mission."

"No, we don't," Clint countered. He looked over her shoulder at Coulson and Fury still seated at the desk. "We don't have a mission. I'm not doing it."

"If this is about her being pregnant…."

"It's not," Clint cut Coulson off before he could finish. "I'm just not doing it. You told me that I could turn down targets. That you would never force me to do something I don't want to do. Well I don't want to do this. Also, I need to take some time off."

"What?" Natasha was officially confused. "We just came back from having time off. You bitched the entire time about being bored. Now you want to take time off again?"

Clint snatched his arm away with a dark glare. "Leave it alone, Romanoff. This doesn't concern you." Natasha dropped his arm in sheer surprise. Even when they were fighting against one another, he never spoke to her in that tone. She knew she wasn't the only one shocked by Clint's outburst. She watched as he looked over at Coulson. "I know I have the time. I'm not really giving you a choice here. I'm taking the time off and I'm not killing that woman or her child. If you don't like it, fire me. Or matter of fact, I'll make it easy on everyone. I quit!"

The archer took advantage of the stunned silence hanging in the air to quickly make his way out of the room. The door slammed behind him with a loud bang that served to snap Natasha out of her stupor. She glanced at Coulson and Fury and was somewhat pleased to see them in a similar state of dazed confusion. Neither of them looked like they had a clue as to where that outburst came from. That was unfortunate because she was kind of depending on them to know. For all that she knew about Clint Barton, she knew there were hundreds more that she didn't know. And if he was serious about quitting, things she may never know. That didn't settle right with her at all. She needed to figure out what the hell that was about so she could find a way to drag his arrow happy ass back to work.

She closed her eyes thinking about the situation logically. He was fine discussing their current mission until he saw the picture. That's when everything changed. Something about the woman set him off. But who was she? Clint didn't have any living family members. And aside from that ill-advised fling with Bobbi, he didn't have much of a love life. He joked that he was too hung up on his first love, a girl named….

"Laura," Natasha whispered, grazing her fingers over the picture. She heard Phil exhale and looked up to meet his gaze. "I think this might be Laura."

"You know about Laura?" Coulson asked, brow furrowed.

Natasha didn't even take offense to that. Laura was a touchy subject for Clint. And the fact was that she only really learned about her. She knew a hundred superficial facts about Clint but in one drunken night while they waited for extraction, she learned ten real things about her partner. She learned about his first love and she even shared about the small crush she had on one of the Red Room instructors, Yasha. It was the first time she ever talked about anything from the Red Room but she figured Clint deserved the same display of trust he was giving her. She noticed that Coulson was still waiting for a response and nodded her head. Coulson sat back with a nod of his own.

Laura Bishop was the metaphorical albatross around Clint Barton's neck. Despite never actually moving their relationship past flirty stares and smiles, Clint was head over heels for Laura. And when the then seventeen year old left the circus her and Clint both called home, Clint was at a loss. He admitted to Natasha that Laura asked him to leave with her. But Clint was scared. Even though he was fifteen at the time, Clint didn't think he could leave without Barney. A decision he would deeply regret as it left him bleeding and broken in the snow only a few months later. After his brother and mentor abandoned him, Clint drifted, becoming an assassin along the way. Natasha heard about Hawkeye long before she came across him as an agent of SHIELD. It was part of why she was willing to trust him.

"This is about the circus girl?" Fury interrupted her thoughts. Natasha looked to Coulson who nodded at the director. He sighed before picking up Coulson's office phone. "Maria, I need you to look up all information you have regarding Laura Bishop and cross reference it with Velma Dinkley. Join us in Phil's office when you find something."

Ten tense minutes later, Maria was knocking on Coulson's door with a stack of papers in her hand. The frown on her face said everything. Laura and Velma were the same person and her idiot partner just went after her. He was going to get himself killed. He was thinking with his emotions again and that never ended well. Okay, never except for the time when his heart wouldn't let him kill Natasha because he sensed something in her. With the exception of that one time, it never really ended well. But she would damned if anything happened to the idiot now. If she hurried, she was sure she could catch up to the moron and convince him that they were better together than apart. He managed to bring her in from the cold, he might be able to bring Laura in as well. She was halfway out of her seat when the door opened again.

Jasper Sitwell stopped short upon seeing Coulson's office fuller than he apparently expected. He was holding something in his hands and Natasha knew she wasn't the only one who sighed softly upon realizing that it was Clint's ID and badge. He actually quit. That asshole actually walked away from SHIELD… from her. From Coulson!

"Rumlow gave this to me. He said that Barton chucked in the garbage earlier," Sitwell reported. He placed the items on the desk. "Is Barton really leaving?"

Natasha tensed. The question in itself was innocuous but there was something about his tone. It just didn't settle right with her. She knew Coulson trusted Sitwell but there was always this air of insincerity around him. She especially didn't trust his interest in Clint. He was always quick to deliver word of the other agents talking about Clint. It was almost like he wanted to provoke some kind of reaction. Yeah, Natasha did not trust Jasper Sitwell. And she definitely didn't want him finding out that Clint actually did quit. Not until she got him back at least.

"Jasper, have you looked at a calendar lately?" Coulson asked with a hint of humor in his voice that wasn't present before. "It's springtime. Therefore it's time for Clint's annual temper tantrum. I'm shocked he only settled for throwing the badge and ID away."

"Didn't he vow last time he was going to burn it?" Maria mused with a wistful smile that was too sincere to be false. They might have been lying to cover up Clint's absence but Natasha was far too familiar with her partner to think they were making that part up.

"Pretty sure he said he was going to use it for target practice," she chimed in.

"Oh, that's right," Coulson said, nodding. He smiled at Sitwell. "See he'll back in a few days like he usually is. Natasha will bring him back."

Natasha blinked at the certainty in Phil's voice. She met his gaze once again and was surprised that she could read the reassurance there. He believed she could bring him back. He handed Clint's ID and badge over with a warmness to his normally aloof look. He was trusting her with one of the few things he allowed himself to care about outside of work. She swallowed against the sudden rush of emotions. She didn't know she actually wanted Phil's trust until he handed it to her without a word. There was no way she was going to fail now. She was going to bring that idiot back whether he wanted it or not. And she'd drag this Laura Bishop with her if she had to.

Laura would like the record to show that this was all David Haller's fault. Well, maybe she should know better than to trust a man with multiple personalities who called himself Legion. But hey, she was young and dumb. It seemed sexy at the time. It was a lot less sexy now. Because now she was four months pregnant with the child of before mentioned man with multiple personalities. Now she was being hunted down by several people that pretty much wanted her and/or her baby dead. Everything seemed a lot less sexy in retrospect.

She ran a hand through her newly darkened hair nervously. Despite the fact that she was out in the open, she still felt like someone was watching her. She thought she would have a little more time before the next wave of people trying to hurt them but apparently not. Seriously, this was all David's fault. He was always drawing attention from the wrong damn people. When she was eighteen, it fascinated her. His powers intrigued her. She followed him, painfully oblivious to how sick he truly was. But she knew now. Oh god, did she know now. And thanks to her poor sick ex and his more violent personalities, she had several people coming after her. The ones from SHIELD said they only wanted to talk. They said they would keep her and her child safe. But she knew better. She was a telepath. Did they seriously think she wasn't going to read their thoughts?!

Honestly, she did feel bad watching those agents falling because she pushed the thought on them. But at the same time, she didn't. Because though they said they wanted to keep her and her baby safe, she heard them calling her a freak. She heard them calling her child an abomination. They thought it would be better for everyone if she had an "accident" on the way back to SHIELD. And that, as they say, was that. One minute, she was standing there surrounded by four men thinking the vilest of thoughts and in the next she was watching in a mix of horror and satisfaction as they leapt from the open window. She didn't stick around long enough to see what became of them. A week later, she was approached by another group from SHIELD. They were noticeably more wary but nicer than the first bunch. But she didn't trust it. She wiped them before running. She thought she was in the clear but she was wrong. She had the all too familiar now feeling of being watched. It was then that she realized that she would never be free. No matter how far she ran or hard she tried, they would never stop coming for her. And it was all David, or Wayne or whoever's fault. She sometimes wished she never met him. Sometimes she wished that she never left the circus… that she would've waited for… him.

She sat down at an empty table of a sidewalk café, needing to both rest her feet as well as clear her thoughts. The thoughts that were drifting to the sweet and handsome archer she left behind at Carson's. In her lower moments (which seemed to be every day now), she imagined what her life would be like if she had just waited for him before leaving. She knew he was scared to leave his brother, though she was at a loss as to why. Barney Barton was not the nicest brother in the world. Maybe he was before Carson's but jealousy and bitterness buried any signs of any fraternal affection he may have held before. But Clint was stupidly loyal. He held onto those few and far between hints of affection and chose to stay behind with his brother. So she left him. And she didn't look back. Well, she did sometimes in her first few years on the outside. But then she was caught up in the whirlwind that was David. But as the chaos continued and reality started to settle in, she began wondered what if. What if she had waited? Would she be running, constantly looking over her should, terrified about the kind of life she was going to give her son….

That's usually when she stopped that train of thought. True, she enjoyed an innocent flirtation with Clint that easily could've become so much more but the reality was that she hadn't seen the man in seven years. She doubted she would even recognize him if she saw him again. Also she had no idea what happened to him after she left. He probably didn't think about her again after she disappeared in the middle of the night. Hell, he probably didn't even remember her. And in a few months, she was going to have a baby. And while it was fun to occasionally imagine a world where she was with Clint, she needed to adjust to the fact that she was going to be a mother. A single mother to a child that very many people would rather see dead than alive. So she needed to get her out of the past and back into the game of figuring out how the two of them were going to survive. But none of that mattered if she couldn't shake her latest tail somehow. She put her hands on the arms of her chair, ready to push herself up when a waitress approached carrying a piece of chocolate cake and a cup of what smelled like peppermint tea. The scents reminding her that she hadn't eaten in far too long. Still, she definitely didn't ask for that and yet, she was clearly coming her way.

"I didn't order this."

"I know," the woman chirped in response. For a moment, Laura feared that she had somehow pushed this woman into bringing her food without thinking about it. That is until the waitress leaned closer with a secret smile. "It was actually from the hottie over there. He said it was your favorite."

Laura whirled around in her seat to where the other woman was looking. The man had messy blonde brown locks that were drooping into his face. His eyes were covered by dark sunglasses but she could still tell that he was very handsome. A cursory glance showed that he was also very in shape. His t-shirt did little hide his muscular arms. He had a hint of stubble lining his cheeks and very full lips. Really, he was exactly her type. But it was her type that got her into this mess in the first place. She was going to decline both the items and his attention when her admirer stood up and made his way to her table. He sat in the empty seat across from her with a smooth and easy kind of grace.

"Listen," she started, feeling like she had to let him down gently. It wasn't his fault that she was beyond screwed. "I'm really grateful that you thought of me but I'm going to have to say no."

"Even to the tea? It's your favorite blend too," the man replied.

Her brow furrowed and she could feel the palms of her hands tingling. "I don't know what kind of game you're playing but back the hell off now. Or I swear I will not be held responsible for what I do."

"Hell of a greeting for an old friend there, Laur," the man said before removing his shades. Those full lips tilting upwards into a familiar smile. His eyes sparkled in the fading light of the evening. But it was the nickname casually dropped that caused her breath to catch.

"Clint?!"

"So you do recognize me."

"What? But how? Why? What?!"

Clint grinned and pushed the plate over to her. "There will be plenty of time for questions and answers. For now, eat your cake. We have about ten minutes before things get really unpleasant for a bit."

"What do you mean?" Laura asked. Clint rolled his eyes and motioned for her to start eating. She sighed and lifted the fork, taking a huge bite of the cake. She admitted that she might have melted slightly at the first taste of food. The cake was devoured in mere seconds. Still it was worth enduring Clint's smug smirk as he placed an order for another slice of cake, another cup of tea and two cups of coffee with a shot of whiskey in one. "We expecting company or am I really that dull?"

"You could never be dull, Laur," Clint replied sincerely. He then pulled a phone out of the pocket of his hoodie and nodded at something on the screen. He looked up from the screen to scan their surroundings. He narrowed his eyes briefly before sighing. "And yeah, we're expecting company. Even faster than I thought too. Angry Russian incoming!"

Laura barely had a moment to wonder what he was talking about before a leather bound object was sailing from seemingly nowhere to nail him on the head. Clint let the thing clatter to the table as he glared at the petite redhead who now stood by their table. Laura really wanted to comment on her sudden appearance but her attention was stuck on the item. It was an ID. An ID with the same logo from the guys she "pushed" out the window.

"You're with SHIELD?!" Laura yelled, shoving away from the table. "You're here to kill us, aren't you?"

"What? How? Oh, thanks, Nat!" Clint grumbled. "You couldn't give me five minutes to talk to her on my own?"

"Five minutes?! You had a day!" Nat grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest. "I gave you a whole day to figure it out, Barton. Instead I watched you follow her around and not say a word. It's getting ridiculous and I'm over it. Coulson is getting twitchy and I'm pretty sure Sitwell is campaigning to steal your office chair."

"That bastard," Clint hissed. He then realized that she had been quiet for too long. "Hey, Laur. You know me. You know what I'm capable of. If I was really going to kill you, would I sit next to you?"

"You still a good shot?" she asked, despite herself.

"The best," he winked. It was a too familiar gesture. He would throw her the same cocky wink before making a shot that would be impossible for anyone other than him. It helped to settle her agitated nerves. Though she threw a wary glare in Nat's direction. Clint caught her look. "Laura, this is my partner in crime/babysitter, Natasha. Nat, this is Laura."

"I figured," Natasha replied, wryly. She stuck a hand out towards Laura. "Nice to finally meet the woman that Barton won't shut up about."

Clint flushed a bright red and suddenly Laura was facing the shy teenage boy who would smile and flirt with her between shows and practice. The same boy who spelled her name out in arrows just to cheer her up after one of her many fights with her mother and sister. She didn't need to read his thoughts because she knew that in that one moment that he was still the same boy he was back then. His partner, however, was an unknown. She didn't know anything about. So with a smile on her face, Laura reached forward to shake the woman's hand and opened her mind to read… nothing but open sisterly affection for Clint.

"You care about him," Laura murmured. Natasha's eyes widened even as she jerked her hand back. Clint snorted earning a slap on his shoulder. "You're not here to hurt me."

"Never, Laur," Clint promised. "I can only assume what you saw or heard that make you run from the other agents but I promise you that we're not here for that. I'm not here for that. I'm here to offer you an opportunity. A chance to stop running and looking over your shoulder."

"And in exchange, I would be the pet psychic of SHIELD?"

"No, there's no exchange. You would be free to do what you wanted. If you want to work for SHIELD, great. If you wanted to leave, that's your choice. Years ago, I was going down the wrong path when I got a chance to save myself. I offered the same choice to Nat over here and I'm offering it to you."

Laura narrowed her eyes. "Why? Your superiors want you to kill me. I doubt they want you offering to let me live my life."

"Fury and Coulson work in mysterious ways. Even I don't always know. But I do know that this is not a life, Laur. Looking over your shoulder and terrified that you're going to hurt someone in a permanent way when they push too hard. I'm offering you an opportunity for something more. But it's up to you to take it."

"And you're saying that if I choose, I could just… I don't know… move away from it. Live on a farm in the middle of nowhere and SHIELD would be okay with it."

"I'd say so. Fury bought me a farm when I first joined up," Clint retorted with a smirk. Natasha rolled her eyes. He caught the gesture and scoffed. "I don't know why you're rolling your eyes, Red. You love it on the farm."

"No, I love watching you create project after project on the farm," Natasha corrected with a smirk of her own. "Coulson and I have a bet that the place will look completely different than when they bought it for you in the first place within the next five years."

"You and Phil make bets about me?" Clint asked with a small pout. Natasha fixed him with a glare that was too fond to be threatening. Apparently Clint knew this as well as he simply smiled and turned his attention back to Laura. "So that's the deal. You can come with us and know that you and your baby are safe. Or I'll leave you alone and let you do what you want. I don't know how that story ends but I do know that I won't let anything hurt you or your baby."

"You promise?"

"I swear it," Clint answered, seriously. "Or my name isn't the Amazing Hawkeye."

Laura sat quietly mulling it over. It was a tempting offer: both the promise of safety and the implication that Clint would be in her life again. But could she trust that SHIELD would come through. Could she really trust that these government agents would care about the life of a couple of mutants? Could she really trust SHIELD with the life of her son?

"They're not going to run tests or experiments on us… are they?"

"They're not going to do anything to you that you don't want or give permission for," Clint replied. "I swear to you that nothing will hurt either of you."

"He's pretty good at keeping his word," Natasha chimed in with a secret smile of her own. Laura once again felt a petty sense of jealousy stabbing her at the obvious open affection between the two. But she knew there was nothing there. She remembered what Natasha said about her when she first introduced herself.

"You still talk about me?"

Clint flushed again, looking down at his hands before taking a deep breath. He looked up and she was once again faced with the full intensity of his eyes. They were a swirl of gray and blue with flecks of green. She adored everything about Clint but it was his eyes. They were the truest reflection of his soul. They were beautiful.

"Yeah," he finally said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Yeah, I still do. I always will. Even if you don't come with us. I will always think about you."

Laura felt herself blushing. That was definitely not the answer she was expecting. "I left you behind. I thought you would've moved on."

"I did. Sort of. Let's just say I regretted not leaving with you pretty much right away. Regretted it even more when that asshole Duquesne royally kicked my ass and left me for dead in a ditch."

"I always hated that French bastard."

"I wish I could've," Clint murmured. Laura stretched her arm across the table and placed her hand over Clint's. He gave her a small smile before twisting his hand so that their fingers interlaced. "Come back with me, Laur."

There were a million reasons why she should drop his hand and disappear. Sure Clint was under the belief that he had some kind of control over the future but she knew better. She knew exactly what would happen. She knew that she should run while she still had a chance. But… this was Clint. Clint Barton, the boy she never forgot. And he was here in front of her, promising to help her. Promising to be a part of her life despite everything that's happened. And he was looking at her with those eyes and that smile. It was impossible to deny him anything when he was looking like that. She had seen so many of the older women (and a few of the men) fall victim to that look. Clint never lacked for anything in the circus whether it was desserts, affection or extra clothes. All he had to do was give that look and people were falling over themselves to give it to him. And Laura… well, she was not about to be the exception.

"Okay," she sighed. "Okay, I'll go with you. But if this doesn't work out…"

"I'll help you escape if you hear something you don't like," Clint said.

"And when he fails, I'll make sure you get out," Natasha chimed in, earning a dirty look from Clint but a sincere look of gratitude from Laura.

"Okay then. Let's do this."

Phil knew he was risking a lot taking in Hawkeye as an asset. The most alarming thing was that he was actually a kid. Most people heard about Hawkeye and the almost impressive record he had developed in the year and a half he had been active and assumed he was older. Maybe that he had some special ops training. That is until they did a little research. Then the picture was simultaneously surprising and yet even more impressive than before. Because Hawkeye was not a special ops assassin with military born training. He was a scrawny teenager who escaped from the circus and somehow tripped his way into life as a mercenary for hire. Phil never thought he would hear about someone "accidentally" becoming an assassin for hire but then again he never quite met anyone like Clint Barton before.

The kid was a walking, talking mess of contradictions. He was graceful yet the clumsiest human Phil ever encountered. The archer could be (and often was) surrounded by a huge crowd and still look lonely. He was loud, boisterous and overly cocky while somehow being shy, quiet with the lowest sense of self-worth. Phil had no idea how one person could manage to encapsulate so many different personality facets but Clint did. He had it down to an art form. During their first meeting, Phil found himself wanting to parent the lost teenager while also strangle him for being a cocky piece of crap.

Despite that, or maybe even because of it, Phil recruited him. He brought in the mass of contradictions and it wasn't a decision he ever regretted. Not even when the just out of his teens (so still a kid) archer went radio silent while on a mission to apprehend the Black Widow. He turned up two terrifyingly silent days later battered, bruised and not shockingly stabbed but still too damn smug. Phil was too caught up in the battered, bruised and stabbed part to notice the smug at first. But Nick did. Because Clint succeeded where several more qualified agents had failed before him. He successfully managed to turn the Black Widow.

Phil didn't know how he managed it but there was no denying that he had. Natasha was far from docile or interested in playing the internal politics game that every agent played in order to advance. Honestly, she showed no interest in being promoted to any rank higher than the one she was currently held. The only thing she showed any interest in was Clint. Phil had lingering doubts about her loyalty to SHIELD but he knew without a doubt in his mind (finally) that Natasha Romanov was definitely loyal to Clint Barton. In the two years since her defection from the KGB, Natasha had proven to be a valuable asset to SHIELD, especially when paired with Clint. There was a reason they alone made up Strike Team Delta. The pair were in synch with one another in every way. Clint had somehow managed to not exactly tame but manage the Black Widow and make her a team player, a feat that everyone thought was basically impossible.

So really, Phil shouldn't have been surprised when Clint appeared after two more days of radio silence with Natasha and Laura Bishop in tow. And honestly he really wasn't that surprised. He wasn't even surprised when Clint essentially demanded that they allow Laura to decide her own fate, whether it be with SHIELD or not. Additionally he requested that they promise to protect not only her but her son no matter what decision she made. Phil listened patiently, keeping his face and thoughts as blank as possible. Finally Clint finished and sat down in the armchair he occupied a few days before. Phil let his gaze drift first to Laura, who was sitting in the chair to Clint's right with Natasha hovering between the two chairs. Then he looked at his two assets. Despite his initial hesitance around Natasha, Phil was still good at reading her tells. Right now, she was nervous. Almost as nervous as Clint. But she was prepare to do whatever was necessary. She wouldn't let Clint give up SHIELD. But she also wouldn't let him go back on his word to Laura. Phil smiled internally. Clint really did know how to pick them.

"Is that all, Agent Barton?" Clint bit his lip, glancing from Laura to Natasha and then back to Phil.

"Yes, that's it. That's all, sir."

"Okay. So it seems as though you have a decision to make Ms. Bishop. Would you care for a place in SHIELD or would you like to find employment elsewhere. Either way, you will be provided with appropriate protection and security for you and your son."

Laura's eyes narrowed. "You're serious? You're honestly sitting here and telling me that you're not going to lock up in a cell?"

"I believe that is exactly what I am telling you. I'm sure that Agent Barton here has told you how he was recruited into the agency. So far he has made good on all the faith I placed in him that day. I believe in him. He hasn't steered us wrong yet."

Natasha's gaze softened a bit and he saw her posture subtly relax. Laura still appeared tense but honestly he didn't expect much more from her. The woman had no reason to trust him. She was protecting not only herself but the life of her child. He might've thought less from her if she did immediately give into their demands. But the fact that despite her obvious affection for Clint, she was still calculating the risk… it only rose her in Phil's esteem.

"I, uh, I need some time to think about this," Laura said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. Her free hand rubbing her stomach absently. "Is that okay?"

"That will be more than okay, Ms. Bishop. Take all the time that you need. Clint, you can set her up in the guest room at home until a decision is made."

Clint blinked slowly before a bright smile spread across his face. Phil gave into the urge to smile in return. Phil had broken many a rule to provoke that smile in the past. He was just happy that this time he had Nick's blessing to okay any decision regarding Laura. Even he was of the belief that the young woman had enough to deal with in her life without SHIELD making things even more complicated. If Laura chose to leave SHIELD, Phil would make sure that she had a new identity established for her and her son. But… he had a feeling that wouldn't be necessary. He met Natasha's gaze and enjoyed the fond eye roll she gave him in return. No, judging by the soft looks between Clint and Laura, Phil had a feeling that Laura Bishop wasn't going anywhere that Clint Barton couldn't follow.

2016

Phil wasn't wrong. Nick watched as Laura ultimately did decide that she would rather work with SHIELD than split off on her own. Phil, Maria and Nick had already set up a position for her on the chance that she would say yes. She would be working directly with their psychological consultant, Andrew Garner, the husband of Phil's partner, Melinda May. She would be working with other gifted individuals to help them cope with their powers and the consequences that may come from it. Andrew would still work as a consultant but Laura would be the agent there for them from the minute they became known to SHIELD. Nick had a feeling she would excel in the position and she did. She was a soothing presence when most of the gifted that came through their doors were met with hostility or fear born disgust. She was a valuable asset. One he was loathe to lose but he couldn't deny that it was for a very good reason when she ultimately did decide to retire.

Five years after Laura Bishop accepted the position as agent of SHIELD and gave birth to her first child and two after she officially became Laura Barton and a year after she gave birth to her second child, Laura was officially retiring. While helping others to train their powers, her own abilities had only grown. Nick knew she was getting twitchy living in a city where she could feel and hear everything around her. So he wasn't that surprised when Laura slipped into his office one day in 2010 asking if she could take a leave of absence for a few. Nick offered her early retirement with the option to consult on the more difficult cases. He then reminded Laura that he bought her bratty husband a farm for a reason. It was more than just a bargaining chip. It was a place for the archer to get away as well. Now he was offering it to them as a home. Clint could easily commute from home when necessary for a mission or a briefing.

And so Laura and Clint moved out of the apartment down the street from Phil's home and onto the farm that had changed drastically from when it was initially purchased. Nick, Natasha, Phil and even Maria were fixtures on the farm watching as Cooper and Lila grew up with the steady and loving guidance of their parents and beloved aunts and uncles. And then Iron Man happened and Thor came to Earth and soon after the Avengers. And everything changed. Nick was forced to lie and tell Clint that the man he saw as brother and sometimes a father was dead. But Phil was different after his resurrection. He wasn't sure if it was safe for the man to be around Clint, much less his children. So he kept it a secret watching as the archer closed himself off a little more every day. Then SHIELD fell, HYRDA was exposed and Bucky Barnes was alive. Nick really thought things would've fallen apart but instead they pulled together.

"You did this, you know?" he said aloud to the woman standing beside him. Laura arched a dark eyebrow and looked up at him through her eyelashes. He rolled his eye. "I watched Stark grow up. I've had the horror of watching a presentation that Phil created on Rogers. I practically raised Clint myself. I know those men. And this whole togetherness thing they've got going on. That's not like them. It usually takes world ending crises and near death experiences to get them to work together. But they decided to band together against the Accords and the Superhero Registration Act all on their own."

He nodded with his head at the Avengers who were outside on the lawn of the Avengers Mansion playing what looked like touch football but was really just a free for all. Wanda was doing her own thing and levitating herself and the ball. Pietro was zipping around and tripping most of the players, even those on his team. Bucky and Clint were nowhere in sight but every now and then splotches of purple or black paint appeared on the field or one of the team. So he had a pretty good idea of where those two were. Steve and Tony were completely oblivious to the obvious chaos as they continued to toss out orders and plays to their teams that weren't paying a bit of attention. It was dysfunctional but it was somehow perfectly them.

"Are you suggesting that I somehow influenced them?" Laura asked, voice dripping with innocence. It was Nick's turn to raise an eyebrow. Laura giggled. "I didn't do much. Just a nudge here and there. A reminder that they are stronger together. And offering them incentive to get their collective acts together."

"The twins."

"The twins," Laura nodded. "You're right. Tony and Steve are on such opposite sides of the scale when it comes to worldviews and personalities that they will always clash. But having a family that gives them the incentive to keep it under control. And I knew that the twins would be the perfect foundation to build a family on."

"Plus you fell in love the minute Clint told you about them."

Laura gave him a look. "Tell me you didn't. Tell me you hadn't already come up with a plan to bring them in if Clint hadn't brought them back."

"Do I actually need to tell you?"

"You do. You have surprisingly strong mental walls for a man with no psychic talent," Laura replied.

"It helps to have a nosey psychic agent who gives in far too easily to her husband's psychotic whims."

"What can I say? He's got a cute ass."

"Too much information!" Nick spluttered along with Laura's clear giggles.

Suddenly a loud roar sounded from outside. They both peered out the window to see the Avengers scattering as the Hulk roared in the middle of the lawn. There was a patch of black and purple paint on his pants leaving no doubt as to who caused this one.

"Should we be concerned?"

Laura closed her eyes. "Nah, the big guy is just playing around. Bruce really needs to let him out more. The Hulk likes to have fun too."

"I can think of a number of reasons why that is a horrible idea."

"Let me guess they start with Tony, Clint, Lila, and Thor?"

"I knew I liked you for a reason."

She gave him a bright smile before heading upstairs to tend to her youngest child. Nick leaned against the window watching the team outside. Clint was trying to convince the Hulk to let him climb onto his shoulders proving that he shot Bruce on purpose. Wanda was distracting Lila from trying to convince the Hulk to let her do the same thing by using her magic to create shimmering shapes in the air. Pietro was still zipping around the property though Nick wouldn't be surprised if the kid had gone further than that in his travels. His speed was increasing with every passing day. Vision, Sam and Rhodey were taking advantage of the relative calm to set up a barbecue picnic. Thor and Jane were already cuddled together on a blanket under one of the many trees that littered the property. Steve and Tony were posted against the trunk of the neighboring tree talking with soft smiles on their faces. Occasionally one of them would look up at the branches above leaving little doubt in Nick's mind where the other half of the so called Sniper Brothers was hiding out. Natasha and Darcy were sitting with their heads close together, giggling and Nick did not want to know what happening there. Matter of fact the was getting the hell out of dodge before whatever scheme the two friends cooked up came to fruition.

Nick shook his head wistfully. His little superhero experiment worked out even better than her imagined. When he first envisioned the Avengers Initiative he never thought it would work this well. Hell, he wasn't even sure that Stark would be able to get over his own insecurities and emotional issues to remotely trust the others. But he did. He more than trusted them. He let them in. He called them family. Nick always knew they would save the world. But more importantly, they saved one another. Now that he did not see coming.

"Tony! Hulk just called me Cupid! I told you I was his favorite!" Clint crowed from where he sat perched on the shoulders of the green rage monster. Hulk let out a snort that was somehow fond. Tony stood up straight.

"Why the hell does Feathers get a nickname and not me?! And why he is the favorite?! This is such bullshit!"

"Language, Tony!" Bucky's mocking laughter echoed through the treetop. That is until Steve yanked him down from his perch. He landed with a heavy thud on the grass below, glaring up at his best friend. Steve smirked down at the older man.

"Bite me, Buck."

"We all know you really wish he would. Among other dirty, dirty things," Sam retorted before clutching his head. "How the hell does she always know?!"

Nick snorted. Yeah, they were saving the each other every day. Despite the political quagmire they were in, Nick knew they would come out on the other side stronger than ever before. Because they had each other.

*The End

So this was just a quick little side story of how Clint and Laura found each other again after the circus. One of these days I might actually explore their lives in the circus but let's face it, I already have WAY too many stories I should be working on. LOL. Right now I'm working on the sequel to Because I Couldn't Stop for Death. There will be some exploration of issues and characters brought up in Civil War. But only for the first few chapters. After that it's back to domesticated Avenger fluff.

So hope you enjoyed! See you soon with the third part in this little series: United We Stand.