Natasha had left early in the morning after the Thanksgiving debacle. Without a word, she put on her jacket and walked out. Maj tried not to show how much it upset her, but when it came to such situations, the young woman was an open book.

Steve, although disappointed, wasn't as mad as she thought he would be. He had said he understood but reiterated his words from the night before. It was better than the alternative. He was at least kind enough to stay for a bit. He wasn't sure if she would have been able to deal with being alone at the moment, even if it was what she wanted.

Minutes after Steve closed the door behind him, Maj finally allowed herself to shed tears. She had only wanted to help, to not feel helpless. Granted, she should have listened to them, but what good was her newfound ability if she couldn't use them?

Eyes red and throat tight, the coily-haired woman stood from her spot on the couch and went to clean herself up. She needed to call Alec. This wasn't something he signed up for. She would hate to lose his friendship, Maj would understand if her friend wanted nothing to do with her. Then she would have to call Bruce. She was curious as to whether he would lecture her as well, but she still would feel better checking in on him.

The conversation with Alec wasn't as painful as she thought it would be. The man had worried more-so about her and Natasha's 'angry eyes'. Maj had relayed the aftermath to him, telling her friend that she wouldn't hear from Nat for a long while. It took her a while to drop her anger. Bruce was calm about the situation. He had only repeated Steve's sentiments although he did agree that she needed to practice using them. Willing to help, he told her they'd start after the holidays.

The next two weeks went by in a blur. Maj spent most of her time at Sr Margaret's, starting the night off working and ending it too drunk to head home. With each passing day, the guys grew more and more worried. Her moods shifted too often for their liking and she was more combative than they'd ever seen her. It soon got to the point where Weasel had to send her home a few times. That only aided her anger and feelings of uselessness.

The young woman had an abrupt wake-up call in the form of Clint Barton on December 5th. The man had jolted her from a drunken stupor by banging pots and pans only to change to loud metal music once she was up. In her state, she hadn't realised the man had actually returned home and stood in front of her.

"Get up," the sandy-haired man snapped seconds after Maj had collapsed onto her bed. As she pulled the blanket over herself, Clint snatched it up and threw it out of the room. "I said get up."

"Leave me alone."

"I'm not going to say it again, Majalia."

She ignored him. A wave of triumph washed over her as she heard him leave the room. It was short-lived as a minute later, Maj and her bed were drenched in cold water. The girl screeched as she jumped out of bed.

"Get dressed." With that, he left the room. Maj begrudgingly went to do as he said. It still hadn't hit her that he was there. All she felt was anger.

Twenty minutes later, she was showered, dressed, and halfway down the fire escape. The moment her feet touched the ground, Maj took off. She hoped to get as far as possible before Clint realised she was gone. She was proud of herself, but she knew there would be hell to pay. Maj couldn't bring herself to care.

Far for her happened to be the cemetery her parents were buried. It had been a while since she visited them. She'd been too drunk to stand on the day. Though in her current state, Maj could care less about it. Sitting against their headstones did cause some tears to form.

"I miss you guys."

It was true. She did miss her parents. Clint and Natasha were great, but they were barely around and their profession made them targets. They weren't safe. Any rational person would have gone to CPS and told them about it. In her case, Maj would have gone to one of her grubby, money-hungry relatives.

"I wish you hadn't died. That you hadn't left me. I wouldn't be like thi- I wouldn't be a freak."

A few hours passed before Clint showed up. By then, Maj was exhausted and her pounding headache did nothing to help. The man said nothing as he motioned to the front gates. With a despondent sigh, she stood, brushed off her pants and walked to his car. When they finally made it back the apartment, the two were silent. In spite, the man had turned the music on full blast. Maj spent the rest of the day glaring at him, but he showed no sympathy or remorse.

It was the next day when words were spoken. Clint spent the time yelling at her. Apparently he had been keeping tabs on her- something she should have known- and he brought up some of her past transgressions.

"You've been watching me?!"

"Oh don't start that crap. What the hell is going on with you? Do you have any idea how worried we are for you?"

"Worried? Oh please."

"Don't you walk away from me, Majalia."

"Fuck you!" the young woman screamed. "You don't get to tell me what to do."

"Last I checked, I was your guardian."

"You only use that term when it benefits you."

"What?"

"And while we're on that subject, you don't do anything with me unless it benefits you. For fuck's sake, you don't even care. You're only here because someone asked you to come. Either that or Natasha was angry enough to vent. So no, you aren't here for me. You're here to find out why your bond was so angry."

"Is that what you really think?"

"You're not here. You're never here. You said you'd be there for me and I promised the same. Yet I haven't seen you since the Battle of New York! I understand needing to get your head right, I really do but you never called." Tears had begun to form, one stray tear falling. "Do you know how that made me feel? For all your talk about us being a family and me being the little sister you never wanted, you couldn't even pick up the damn phone!" The damn broke and tears flowed freely. "Alec, Wade and the guy were great, but they weren't you and they weren't Natasha. I was almost kidnapped! I killed people! I discovered I was a freak! I wanted my big brother there and you know where he was? Out in the wind. I had to rely on cryptic answers to get anything. All I ever heard was that you were alive and dealing. Why couldn't you have just come to me? Why couldn't you… Why couldn't you love me?"

The last part came out so soft Clint was tempted to up the volume of his aids. Maj watched as the man deflated. He sank onto the couch, hands over his face. "I never-"

"Never what? Thought about how your actions affected others? No, you didn't."

"I'm sorry."

"Yeah, okay."

"I am, Maj."

"Are you really? Or are you sorry I called you out on your shit?" With nothing more to say, Maj left Clint to think of what she said. She didn't slam the door.

Hey guys! Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Funny how easy it is to get something out when you're inspired. The chapter was going to be longer, but I figured this would be a good stopping point. It was all emotional and all... at least to me. Clint finally showed his handsome face but unfortunately, the reunion wasn't the best. You'll see how that pans out in the next chapter.

I can't wait to hear your thoughts on this chapter. Although I really can't wait to have you all read the next chapter though.

We're almost to Bucky. I promise.

REVIEWS:

TimeLordsRule: So glad you enjoyed the chapter. Hopefully your question was answered. As for her now able to defend herself, I so appreciate your words. I definitely wanted her to grow to a certain point before we hit WS. :)

WPear: Thanks so much. I promise Bucky is coming soon :]