You'd always thought that nothing would be able to tear you and your newfound family apart. That whatever challenges you may face, you would face it together.
Until the day Tony called you in to Headquarters for an important meeting, excluding Clint, whom you haven't seen for the past few days. Although you had grown suspicious of his whereabouts, it was none of your business and you didn't like to poke your nose where it didn't belong. The both of you had retired after Sokovia, but you knew that deep down, there would always be the need to fight, to protect the world with your very life. Clint disappearing with no more than a few rushed sentences about a business engagement and Tony ringing for help out of the blue?
Something was definitely up.
"I'm sorry, what?"
"Don't make it sound so bad, Y/N. It's not the best route, but it's improvement." Tony said, massaging his temples.
"Improvement? From what? There's a reason I retired from this business, Tony. To avoid shit like this."
"Don't pretend like what they've been showing all over television isn't our fault." He snapped.
"Tony-"
"No, Y/N. Innocent people have died because we've been fighting our battles however we choose, whenever we choose. The rest of us have accepted the limitations, but it seems Cap has a different agenda. And he's taken half the team with him."
"This isn't just about the Sokovia Accords, is it?"
"Maybe at the beginning of all of this, it was."
"And Steve...it's all over the news. The bombing."
"Bingo."
"The Righteous Man himself? Going rogue? Didn't see that coming." You snorted.
"Really? I did. With the whole freedom talk this way and that, it was expected. Throw in his old war buddy and you've got an equation for disaster."
Tony shrugged and you cracked a faint smile. Depend on him to make things sound more amusing than they should be.
"Under the law on this one, huh? So, Clint..."
"Exactly."
You watched silently as he walked to the other side of the room and refilled his coffee cup before taking a long sip, eyeing you all the while. If it had been any other day, you would have turned him down in a heartbeat. But, seeing Tony determined to right the wrongs of something he had no control over, looking like he was beating himself up about it night and day...refusing him would've hurt you more. Plus, there was nothing more exhilarating than the thought of getting back out in the field and if your boyfriend could, why couldn't you?
"Fine. On one condition."
—————
Together.
That's what all of you had been from the beginning, but now?
You blocked Clint's right hook and twisted, throwing him over your shoulder and whirling around to press your knee against his throat. Eyes slightly bulging, he gave you a little smirk.
"Nice move."
"Thanks."
"Tony called you?"
"You should have told me." You growled.
Clint tried to lock his arms around your neck, but you evaded his grip and flipped him around to shove his face into the tar.
"How's a movie night sound?" He asked, bucking around to try and throw you off.
"Not in the mood."
He huffed a little and twisted his upper half around enough to level the rest of his body, quickly kicking you off of him. You stared him down as he scrambled to his feet, snapping his bow into a baton while keeping eye contact.
"It's a lot more complicated than you think, Y/N."
"Give me the dumbed down version."
"Over dinner sound good?"
Before you could reply, what felt like a metal ball slammed into your stomach and sent you sailing into an empty crate. You were seeing stars as you hauled yourself to your feet and tried to replace the oxygen that had been knocked out of your lungs. Clint was fighting T'Challa now, but he kept shooting you worried glances while trying to fend off the big cat.
"Wanda, that wasn't very nice." You muttered under your breath, running around the crate to find the girl. A flash of silver made you jump back and the man that had tried to hit you yanked his metal limb out of the wall of the crate, leaving a mess of wrangled wood behind.
"Hm. Never seen you around before." You raised your fists and the man did the same, his expression unchanging.
"Not much of a talker?" You asked.
"No."
"Right. Nice to meet you, anyways."
————-
You paced up and down the living room, biting your lip nervously and keeping an eye on the door. After the showdown at the Leipzig Airport, Tony reassured you that everything would be okay before he left Headquarters. That was last night.
You jumped as your phone rang loudly and you scrambled to answer it.
"How does a quiche sound?"
"Horrible."
"I knew you'd say that. Fine. No quiche for you."
"Where is he?"
"Oh, right. Delivery is on it's way, don't worry your pretty little self."
"Thanks, Tony."
"No problem, Y/N. And thank you...for being there when I asked."
"Anytime." You said warmly.
You smiled as he cleared his throat awkwardly before mumbling a goodbye and hanging up. The sound of a car pulling into the driveway made you sigh with relief and you ran out to see who it was. You froze in your tracks at the sight of Secretary Ross and a few guards exiting the vehicle, escorting Clint towards the house in handcuffs.
"What's going on?" You asked, crossing your arms.
Clint winked at you from behind Ross and you bit back a giggle.
"Returning your property, as Stark advised."
"My property?"
"That doesn't sound very humane." Clint said in a sarcastically shocked tone.
"He entered a joint plea deal along with retirement. Two years house arrest, three years probation." Ross stated as one of the guards removed his handcuffs and the other snapped a device around his ankle. Clint rubbed his wrists before moving towards you and swept up in a wave of relief, you yanked him into your arms and held him close, relaxing in his familiar embrace. Ross snorted disdainfully and you shot him the finger as he and his guards got into the car and drove off.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you." He whispered, tightening his hold around your waist.
"You could've been in there for life."
"Tony set it up after Rogers broke us out."
"I know." You pulled back to see him a little shocked and you shrugged.
"We had a deal. I'd play for him and he'd return you." Clint smiled and you brought your arms up to hold his face in your hands, brushing your thumb across his cheek.
"I'm really starting to sound like a package or something." He said, kissing your forehead and walking you into the house.
"Yeah. My package." You teased.
The both of you sat on the couch with collective sighs, his arm circling and pulling you into his chest as you laid your head against his shoulder.
"Normal life is boring." You sighed and he chuckled, running a hand through your hair.
"Who ever said we were normal?"
"Good point. Don't ever leave me like that, okay? I don't want to find out from Tony anymore that you've sprung from retirement without telling me."
"I know and I'm sorry. I just...I missed it, ya know?" He said quietly.
You nodded.
"Yeah...I know."
If there was anything the both of you knew, it was the life of living on the edge, of protecting people from the bad guys, of being right in the middle of all the action and fighting for what you believed in.
Who knows? Maybe it'd be easygoing after this. You'd always thought that no matter what, everyone would be right there with each other. Together. But, with everyone in disarray, separated, a solid split right down the middle...the chances of getting it together was slim.
And you'd do anything to have it all back.