LRS-Episode II: Black Widow and Hawkeye

Chapter 13

CLINT'S P.O.V.

Clint lost track of how long it had been since he wore his wedding band. He hardly ever wore it during his SHIELD days and especially as an Avenger. If he had it on while out in the field, then an enemy would see it and realize he was married. From there, they could look for whoever his family was. No way would he dare take that risk. The last thing he wanted was for them to get targeted when they had already been living off the grid. Even with that it'd been dangerous sometimes. But now it felt good to have that ring back on like Laura usually had hers.

This farmhouse had been their second homestead in Iowa since joining SHIELD, having been relocated here by 2016. With all the crap with the Sokovia Accords and then being broken out of that Raft prison, he'd had no choice but to reveal his family's existence and agree to house arrest (damn ankle bracelet and all) so he could stay with them. That is, till the Blip and all.

The man watched proudly from the porch as his daughter Lila hit the bullseye on the tree target in front of the house again. Especially having made it home in time for Christmas so he could retire, he cherished every moment he had with Laura and the kids.

His phone vibrated in his jeans pocket. Just to be safe, he turned his hearing aid back on. After checking to see who was calling, Clint took a relaxed breath and answered. "Yeah?"

"We need to talk, Clint Barton."

He sighed with relief, recognizing her voice. "I'm listening, Yelena. My hearing aid's on."

-/-

Clint had taken the phone call into the kitchen to not disturb the others outside.

Natasha had talked about her sister-figure all the time and her daughter was no exception, not even talking like she was adoptive. So he was glad to be of service with an anecdote. He'd already given a worried Kate some advice on how Yelena's newfound protectiveness was a hidden side to her that already existed. Now it was time to help Yelena with learning the kid's origins.

"You mean she was taken as an infant?" said her strong-accent voice through the speaker.

"Yes, unfortunately she was." said Clint. "Just like Natasha. In fact, that's part of why she took the kid in. She saw her own situation in the baby and, well, unlike the real parents—who were in a bad spot because of the Blip and needed help—they didn't realize who they were talking to. But Natasha found out it was the Red Room. She knew they wouldn't actually take care of her. Not properly." he said sadly. "They'd have trained the girl as an assassin and, like her own mom, little Yelena's came to her senses. Your sister knew they were gonna kill both parents to cover their tracks. So she tried to help them out. But before she could intervene in time, they were both gone... set up to look like they'd been mugged and shot down in an alley or something. See, normally, the baby would've been brought to her godparents. But they'd also turned to dust when Thanos happened." he said with a tired eye roll and snapping his fingers.

Clint lowered his head, taking deep breaths before he could continue talking.

"Nat stepped in before widows could grab her, then changed her name to yours. With you 'erased', well, she wanted to honor you." he sighed. With a bit more seriousness in his cracking voice, he continued, "Listen, Yelena. One way or the other, she's gonna find out she's an adopted child and will have mixed reactions about it. Even now, the kid's worried she'll forget about Natasha. It's our job to make sure she never does. When she's old enough, I want you to be the one to tell her that her 'real' mom fought for her before Nat came. I want you to make sure she knows who rescued her from the Red Room when things went south."

"Therein lies the problem." Yelena sounded extra upset. "They DID take her, just days ago."

"What?" Clint grabbed at the counter, astonished. "How?"