Misery Business

Seven

The two of you were in the cabin for a total of three days. You didn't spend a lot of time outside the bed. It was glorious. When you were evacuated and arrived back in the states and at the tower the debrief seemed to take forever.

At some point during the days you were in the cabin the two of you had decided that you wanted to keep your relationship on the down low. You had mentioned that some people likely wouldn't approve. After all, you were teammates and often fraternization between coworkers and teammates was greatly frowned upon. Clint agreed.

A part of you thought it was silly, but you couldn't deny that the secrecy added a different kind of thrill and excitement to things. There was something so incredibly hot with finding ways to be together without the others knowing not to mention the rush that the possibility of getting caught gave you.

To everyone else, it seemed like your relationship and friendship was exactly the same as it always was. You had forgotten that you told Steve he could give your number to Sam until about a week after you got back from Italy. He called you and asked if you wanted to go for coffee sometime.

You and Clint were laying naked in his bed as you spoke on the phone and when you started to turn him down he shook his head quickly and signed that you should go out with him at the very least you could always use a new friend. So, you agreed.

You liked Sam. He flirted shamelessly with you and when he tried to take things further you made up an excuse about how you weren't fully ready to try dating or anything yet. Sam was a laid back sort so he didn't ask you for more.

The intel that you and Clint gathered had paid off and eventually they were able to find the HYDRA base that they suspected Loki's scepter was at. Thor came down and the whole team put together a plan of attack. It had been nearly three years since the scepter had disappeared and everyone, especially Thor, wanted to find it and get it off the planet.

The attack on the base was intense.

You heard Tony swear over the comms, "Shit!"

"Language!" Steve called out before he asked Jarvis what the view was like.

You heard Thor say something along the lines of "at long last" and heard as Natasha responded to him.

Then heard as Clint said, "I think we lost the element of surprise."

Tony was on the comms again, "Wait a second. No one else is going to deal with the fact that Cap just said 'language'?"

You could hear the eye roll in Steve's voice as he said, "I know, it just slipped out."

On the opposite side of the base, you took out a set of bunkers with cyclones of water. Tony managed to take out the shield that was protecting the base. As you dealt with another bunker you heard Natasha call out "Clint" at almost the same moment as Steve said, "We have an enhanced in the field."

Your heart clenched when you heard Natasha say, "Clint's been hit." You dealt with more guards and another bunker as you made your way to where you knew Nat and Clint were. Listening as Thor and Steve discussed the enhanced.

"Clint's hit pretty bad guys, we're gonna need evac." Natasha's voice flowed into your ear.

"I can get Barton to the jet, the sooner we're gone the better." Thor said, "You and Stark secure the scepter."

You slid to a stop next to Clint, looking into Natasha's concerned eyes before you examined the wound yourself. Over the comms you heard Steve say, "Copy that."

"Find the scepter." Thor stated

"And for gosh sake, watch your language!" Tony said.

You heard Steve's sigh as he muttered, "That's not going away anytime soon."

Thor dropped in next to the three of you, Nat told you to go with Clint and Thor to the jet as she told the others that things were locked down.

In less than twenty minutes the scepter was secured and Tony was flying the jet back to headquarters. You were sitting next to where Clint was laid out on a table, an IV for the pain. You listened as Nat tried to comfort Bruce who always struggled so much when he came back form the Hulk and how Thor managed to make it worse. Tony announced that a Dr. Cho was flying in and looking to set up in Bruce's lab.

You looked at Clint in question, "Dr. Cho?"

He gritted his teeth against the pain, "She's a geneticist I think. Has some kind of healing shit."

Tony walked over to where Thor and Steve were examining the scepter and discussing how he and Bruce were going to give it the once over. There were a couple of days before the farewell party for Thor.

You and Natasha were in Bruce's lab as Dr. Cho and her team went to work on Clint. She had some kind of healing machine that was knitting his wound together.

"If you had brought him to my lab the regeneration cradle could do this in 20 minutes." Dr. Cho said.

Tony walked back in the room with a glass and snarked, "Oh, he's flatlining. Call it. Time?"

"No, no, no, I'm gonna live forever. I'm gonna be made of plastic." Clint's laugh was sardonic.

Tony handed him his drink as Dr. Cho said, "You'll be made of you Mr. Barton. Your own girlfriend won't be able to tell the difference."

"I don't have a girlfriend." Clint responded automatically,

"That I can't fix," As Dr. Cho turned away from him Clint's eyes flicked towards you and you gave him a small wink.

"This is the next thing Tony." Dr. Cho was saying to him, "Your clunky metal suits are gonna be left in the dust."

Not upset, Tony nodded his head, "That is exactly the plan. And Helen, I expect to see you at the party on Saturday."

You tuned them out as Nat took a smoothie and walked away and you moved closer to Clint's side to check out the doctor's machine. Tony and Bruce left the lab next and then it was just you and the doctor.