A/N (( Do NOT own a thing, Avengers belong to story takes place shortly after the Avengers movie. My inspiration for Khaleesi's character is appearance only from the HBO show Game of Thrones. Enjoy!))

Of Hawks and Little Queens

Hard as he tried Clint Barton could not shake the feeling of dread from his bones. He had refused to sleep now for the second night in a row. Every time he closed his eyes he saw bits and pieces of the past, slivers of memory like razor-sharp pieces needling his subconscious. A dull ache had begun to throb behind his eyes, taunting him.

"Sleep." It whispered "Lay your head down and let the rush of the horrible truth wash over you."

"Shut up." He wanted to shout at the invisible force. "Leave me alone!" The words died on his tongue before he could conjure them into reality. He knew by now his antisocial behavior would be detected by his comrades, the others had surely noticed his lack of attendance during their rush of sudden popularity preceding the attacks on the city.

After the events in New York, Clint had found himself at a loss. He should have celebrated, enjoying the glory of their victory over Loki and his madness. However his tampered memories had him in a tail spin. His emotions spiraling out of any semblance of normalcy that he could pretend to have once possessed. The smoke had cleared and there was no more enemies to target his anger upon, nothing left in his cross-hairs, except for when he looked in the mirror that is.

He gazed up towards the clock on the wall of his S.H.I.E.L.D appointed dorm room. Only ten minutes had passed since he last checked. Upper lip curling into a disgusted snarl Clint cursed himself. Natasha had told him on the Helicarrier not to blame himself, not to dwell on the people he had helped maim and kill while under Loki's control. His actions were not his own. Her words had given him little comfort when she had spoken them. They gave him nothing now.

Shifting his attention Clint gives the door a few fleeting glances. Stay. Leave. Stay. Leave. If he was honest with himself he had nothing keeping him here in the city. No family, few friends. A common enemy had brought him within the vicinity of this dysfunctional team, victorious yes. Did he trust them all? No. The spy in him always kept everyone at an arm's length. Natasha had already been cleared to continue missions and hadn't given it a second thought when she had been summoned. Banner and Stark had jetted off to god knows where with some of the alien technology S.H.I.E.L.D had collected for research. None of that science mambo-jumbo had interested Barton in the least especially after everything that had happened. Rogers had decided on taking Fury's advice and take a road trip across America. As nice of a guy as he was Barton had nothing to relate to the other man with. So that left Thor. The demigod had departed with his insane adoptive brother in tow a few days ago. Taking that cursed Tesseract with them. Promising to return once he had properly detained the trickster in Asgard.

The only thing that had kept Clint in here this long after the they'd separated had been the parting words Thor had for the archer. He had stood upon the parks stone bridge one had clasping the Tesseract, expression grim and foreboding. Promises of an important mission, a task the demigod had felt apparently would be perfect for him to undertake on Asgard. He should expect an answer from him as soon as he was able to return. Loki had looked between the two of them with a strange stare that bordered on confusion before realization that was beyond Clint began to dawn. Slowly at first before it blossomed into a visibly white blinding rage. Clint had lifted a brow towards Loki. Assuming he was merely coming to an already obvious conclusion that his days of freedom were dwindling. No one likes a sore loser, he thought. Loki had narrowed his eyes to slits towards Barton before turning towards his adoptive brother with the same burning malice. Truth be told the others had been just as confused as Barton but Thor had merely shaken the cube in Loki's direction as if to say 'take it already and let us be gone.' No need to delay the inevitable. As he raised his hammer skyward there was an intense flash and cracking of unseen forces and they were gone.

To say Clint hadn't mulled over Thor's offer since he had gotten back to head quarters would have been a lie. It wasn't everyday you were offered a mysterious job on another plane of existence. An open-ended trip to the realm eternal if he accepted the job there was no guarantee he would be able to return home. The harder question to answer would be if he really wanted to return at all. It would be the final test to see how far he could run from his demons. Running his fingers through his shaggy hair he stood from his cot scanning the room. He would have to pack light. He wouldn't need much.