The Winter Witch (A Hawkeye/Avengers fanfic)

Chapter 10

By the time Clint and Winter made it into the conference room, the rest of the team was already there. Winter sat down next to Bucky at the large table and Clint sat behind her.

"Ok, we're all here." Steve said, gesturing to Thor and Loki to begin the meeting.

"As you are all aware, I have been working with Lady Winter to strengthen her telepathy skills. I am pleased to say that she has improved immensely. However, something was brought to my attention today that I believe answers more questions regarding who Lady Winter truly is."

Winter felt her cheeks turn red as everyone gave her a curious look. Bucky broke the silence, "What do you mean who she is?"

"Lady Winter has a marking on the back of her neck that she believes to be a birthmark, however I think it may be more than that. I believe it to be her family's mark."

"What does that mean?" asked Natasha.

"It is often customary in Asgardian traditions for families to have a specific mark that is branded on their skin so that if they were to die in battle, it would be easier to identify their body if something where to happen." Thor explained.

"So, I have been branded?" asked Winter.

"Wait," interjected Tony, "you said in Asgardian traditions. Does this mean you think she is actually Asgardian?"

"I do," replied Loki.

Winter began shaking her head. "No, no, no. You're wrong. There is no way I am Asgardian. I was with Hydra for half my life. This makes zero sense. Maybe the brand is something that Hydra put on me."

"She's right, it would be like them to do something like that," agreed Bucky.

"Lady Winter, may I look at the marking on your neck?" asked Thor.

Winter hesitantly stood up and pulled her hair to the side so the marking was more visible. Thor gently rubbed his thumb over it, taking in a breath when he saw it. Winter could tell that Thor's hand was shaky while touching it, as if he was worried. Clint noticed the way Thor was reacting to the marking on Winter's neck. He had never seen Thor this worried before.

"Thor?" asked Clint.

"Brother, I think you and I need to go back to Asgard and have a word with the Allfather. If this marking is what I think it is, we need to act quickly."

Winter quickly turned to Thor, "What is that suppose to mean? What is the marking?"

"I'd rather not say unless I am absolutely sure. Fear not Lady Winter, we will get to the bottom of this and help you in your recovery." With that, Thor and Loki left the room to prepare for the journey home.

Everyone was left in the conference room, completely confused as to what had just happened.

"You know, every time I think we're about to get answers, we're left with even more questions," said Sam.

********

It had been weeks since Thor and Loki had left. Since Loki wasn't there to train with Winter, Bruce and Tony gave the green light for Natasha to start training her physically. Winter was so happy to finally get the cast off of her wrist and do more physical training than mental. It was quickly found that Natasha was no match for Winter. Every time Natasha thought she had Winter cornered, Winter would counteract and pin her to the matt. It had been like this for weeks. As frustrated as Natasha was, she was also impressed.

"You need a different sparring partner," Natasha said while grabbing her water bottle.

Winter smirked. "I guess I could always get James to help. He did train me after all."

Clint made his way into the training room. "How did it go?"

Natasha glared at him, "How do you think?"

He raised his eyebrows, "Again?"

Winter shrugged, "What can I say, I was trained by the best."

"Winter, we have all trained and sparred with Bucky, no one is that good." Natasha side eyed her.

Before Winter could respond, JARVIS' voice rang through the training room. "Agents Barton and Romanoff, Captain Rogers asks that you please come to the conference room."

Clint sighed, "That's our cue."

While Clint and Natasha made their way to the conference room, Winter went back to their floor to clean up after her sparring with Natasha. As Winter made her way out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her, her bedroom door swung open.

"Winter?" Clint started walking in and froze when he saw her.

Winter clung to her towel tighter, "God Clint, don't you knock?"

Clint turned his back as Winter hurried into her closet to get dressed. "Sorry, I was just in a hurry to let you know that Nat, Steve, and I are headed out on a mission."

Winter walked out of her closet; she felt her heart drop. This was the first mission since they rescued her and her first time away from Clint. Winter didn't know why, but the thought of being away from him made her nervous. She had grown close to everyone in the tower, but it was different with Clint. She wouldn't admit it out loud, but she had started developing feelings for him.

Clint could see the worry in her eyes when he told her he was leaving on a mission. He didn't want to leave her, but after Steve told him and Natasha what the mission was, he knew he needed to go. They were infiltrating another Hydra facility. A quick in and out, in hopes of finding more information about Winter so they could help her.

Clint walked up to Winter and put his hands on her face. "Hey, it'll be ok. We'll be back before you know it."

Winter leaned her forehead against his. "Promise me you'll be safe?"

Clint smiled, "Always."