Clint POV
The light was off in Agent Coulson's office. To be fair, I was two hours early. Sleep wasn't an option with all the other recruits in the barracks. The few people that milled around in the halls shot me odd looks, but no one said anything to me. Not that I expected many people to be awake at two in the morning. I sank to the floor and rubbed my eyes. I let my head rest against the wall and studied the agents walking past.
What am I even doing here still? It's early, not many people are around. I could slip into his office, get my bow, and be on my way.
Yeah, but to where? Barney and Jacques made their feelings about you painfully obvious.
Barney has a hit on him though. He's your brother, Clint. He at least deserves a second chance. Well, no, he doesn't. But he's still family. Horrible family.
Not as bad as dad.
The hall emptied and I rose to my feet, slipping the lock picks out of my jacket sleeve. For a government organization, they had pretty simple locks.
Agent Coulson didn't seem to be inside. I shut the door behind me and locked it. My foot caught the edge of Coulson's desk and I swore quietly. I flopped down on the couch and closed my eyes.
Hopefully he wouldn't be pissed about me breaking into his office, I thought tiredly.
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"Why did ya have to screw this up, Clint! Ya just had to go and stick your nose where it doesn't belong!" Barney snapped, throwing me into the crates behind the main tent.
"It's wrong, Barney! You're stealing from people! Jacques killed someone!" I yelled back, struggling to my feet.
"He gives us a place to stay, you idiot! Where do ya expect to stay when the cops force the circus to shut down? When Jacques gets put behind bars? You're a fucking idiot, Clint!" Barney yelled, throwing a punch.
I fell into the mud again and held back tears.
"He killed someone, Barney. He killed that woman," I whispered.
"And you ran to the cops!" He roared, stalking forward, hands clenched into fists.
I scrambled backwards until my back hit the crates. My jaw already ached and it was only one punch.
"They didn't believe me! I swear they didn't!"
Barney grabbed the front of my shirt and hauled me to my feet.
"Barney, please! They didn't believe me! Barney," I cried, grabbing his wrists.
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"Clint? What the hell are you doing in my office?"
I jerked back from the hand shaking my shoulder. It took me a minute to realize it was Coulson. He was crouched in front of me, hand still outstretched, frowning.
"Are you alright?"
My shoulders shook and I couldn't help it when the tears started rolling down my cheeks. No I'm not alright.
"I'm fine," I lied, "I'm okay."
"You're crying," he replied gently.
"I said I'm fine! It's nothing. Just a fucking dream."
"Language," he chided, "why aren't you at the barracks?"
"Couldn't sleep. Your office was quiet. Sorry," I said, wiping my eyes on my sleeve.
"No need to apologize. You didn't touch anything, did you?"
I shook my head and studied the older man for a long moment. He straightened and moved over to his desk. I listened as he rummaged through his drawers. I nearly jumped when he tossed a pack of Kleenex to me.
"Do you want to talk about it?" He offered, sitting down in his chair.
"You actually care?"
"Yes, I care. You can talk to me, Clint. You can trust me," he replied.
"Trust doesn't really work out for me."
Coulson nodded and I toed my shoes off before bringing my knees up to my chest.
"My brother... He's not a bad person, Agent Coulson. He just didn't know what else to do. Barney was just trying to take care of us."
"We both know that's a lie."
"He's not a bad person," I repeated.
"If this is your attempt to save him, it's a sorry attempt, Clint."
"I just- please, give him a chance?"
"It's not my decision-"
"I'll behave! I'll fucking- I'll read, listen to you, tell you whatever you want to know. Just, please, don't kill him. He's the only family I have left, sir," I begged.
Coulson remained silent and I shuddered at the way he was studying me. This wasn't going to end well.
"I'll see what I can do. Keep in mind that it all depends on what happens between now and when we get sent out," he warned.
I nodded and wiped my eyes on my jacket sleeve again.
"Thank you."
Coulson just nodded and turned to his computer.
