Christmas was right around the corner, they were currently sitting in the third week of December. The apartment was already decorated with tacky tinsel and bright baubles; the tree stood over by the window with blues and purples sprinkled over the branches and warm white lights wrapped around which illuminated the apartment in a comforting glow at night. The majority of the presents had been wrapped, all currently sat in bags ready for Christmas day. They had all decided to celebrate at the Roger-Stark residence as their apartment was the biggest one.
And so with the holiday so close, Clint had devised a plan. He was going to tell Pietro that he loved him on Christmas day with the perfect present. The timing was brilliant, they had met during the first week of last December, Pietro had moved in during early February. Therefore Christmas would mark over a year since they had met and almost a year since their relationship began to grow. It was the perfect time for Clint to admit that he loved Pietro and that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with him.
"Pietro, you ready?"
"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming." Pietro emerged from the bedroom, tugging down on his sweater as he wandered to the coat rack. "You sound like a nagging old man, relax. We have ages until the stores close." He shrugged on his coat and leaned over to plant a kiss on Clint's cheek as the man grumbled. Clint had made an appointment for his special present for Pietro and the last thing he wanted was to be late or even miss it. But of course, Pietro didn't know, and he planned to keep it that way.
"I just want to make sure we don't miss out on all of the good stuff, that's all."
"Uh-huh, sure thing." Pietro chuckled as he zipped up his coat in preparation for heading out into the winter weather. Outside thick snowflakes were falling from the sky; it had been snowing most of the night so there was already a thick blanket covering the ground. The ice was minimal for now but the snow continued to fall from heavy looking clouds, slow but heavy.
The two locked up after saying goodbye to the furballs, making sure there was nothing they could get into to cause any trouble. With that, they set out and headed into the town, hats on and gloves on as they wandered hand in hand, huddled together to stay warm.
The town was nice; the lights were on despite being day-time and they sparkled, reflecting off of the snow lying across the roofs of the stores and the ground. The store windows were filled with signs of red and green, Christmas trees, snowmen and snowflakes. Everywhere was glowing with joy as the speakers played smooth Christmas music and stalls lined the streets selling hot chocolate, egg nog and all sorts of delicious Christmas foodie goods.
"So what's on the list, old-man?"
Clint chose to ignore the newfound nickname and pulled out the piece of paper folded in his pocket.
"Well there's some final little pieces we need to pick up, a toy for Peter and we need to get that book for Bucky. After that, we need to grab that whiskey I ordered for Nat, and some food shopping for that special pudding you wanted to make for after Christmas dinner."
"Oh! I almost forgot- here, I will go and grab the ingredients for my pudding, you're useless with food shopping and if we split up we can grab everything quicker?" Pietro suggested, leaning over to look at the list in his boyfriend's hand. "I can also grab the whiskey, the stores are close together."
Clint opened his mouth to respond; he wanted to stick together, spend time with Pietro, but then, "Yeah, great idea," It was the perfect opportunity to go and grab Pietro's present without raising any suspicion, "We can meet back here in, say, half-hour? Then we can go grab some hot chocolate."
Pietro grinned, took the list and tore it along a folded-line to separate the list into his shopping and Clint's. He handed over the top off and gave Clint a soft peck on the lips, "We have a deal. I'll see you in half an hour," And with that Pietro ran off, excited to see the town, see the different displays while he grabbed the last few bits he needed before he could finally celebrate his first Christmas with his new family.
Clint watched with a fond smile, shaking his head as he watched the Sokovian run off into the hustle and bustle of late Christmas shoppers and exploring families. Once he was out of sight, Clint turned on his heel and wandered off in the opposite direction; he had important business to attend to.
Pietro couldn't stop smiling as he wandered through the stalls. Christmas had always felt like such a distant experience for him; his family never really celebrated the way Pietro saw on TV, and their celebrations often led to arguments or disagreements with the stress of presents, food and decorations. It was never any fun.
But this year things changed and he planned on appreciating and living every special little moment. The sooner they finished their shopper, the sooner Pietro could have fun experiencing the Christmas market with the man he cared about.
The pudding ingredients were easy. The employees were delightful and helped him with everything on his list. They even offered some substitutes that would make the pudding taste better. Pietro listened intently and ended up leaving with all of his ingredients as well as a new cookbook. He would never admit how poor his self-restraint is, but it was definitely lacking. He thanked the shop workers, leaving a small tip to the nice woman who picked out the cookbook and headed off to find Nat's whiskey.
The whiskey was a little trickier. The person who handled the old liquor store was nice, but Pietro knew nothing about fine Russian drink. Food, maybe. Alcohol, not so much. He had forgotten the name of the brand and ended up going with one of the more expensive bottles after being ID'ed twice, 'just to be on the safe side'.
Clint left the store with Bucky's book tucked neatly away in his bag. Peter's new science kit sat underneath while Pietro's special present sat in its own bag, hidden from prying eyes. With a glance at his phone screen, he realised he had plenty of time to spare unless Pietro came back early. Clint made his to the meeting point and glanced around, unable to find a familiar head of silver. A hum rumbles at the back of his throat as he glances around at the food stalls before a smile creeps over his lips.
When Pietro comes back to the meeting point, flustered from rushing back after his kerfuffle in the liquor store, he stares at Clint sat down on a wiped-down bench. He wanders off, huffing a small breath as he adjusts the bag in his cold hand. His gloves only did so much to defend against the nipping air.
"Sorry. I ran a little later than I thought I would." He excused, sitting down on the clean patch next to his boyfriend. Clint smiled and shrugged.
"Hey, no problem. Here." He held out his hand, offering a drinks tray in which sat two paper cups with lids leaking steam like little chimnies. "It's eggnog. I was going to get you a hot chocolate but I figured we had that at home. I realised you probably haven't tried it yet, so uh... Yeah," He chuckled. "It's nice. At the very least it'll warm you up a little." He was rambling but Pietro only giggled and shook his head.
"Thank you," With a quick peck to Clint's cheek, Pietro took the drink from its cardboard holder and sighed blissfully as the warmth from his cup seeped through the wool of his gloves. "I've always wanted to try eggnog." He lifted the drink to his nose, sniffing gently before blowing through the small hole in the lid and taking a cautious sip. A shiver ran down his spine as the warmth spread through his body.
Clint smiled and tapped Pietro's cup with his own in a 'cheers' like gesture. "I'm glad you like it." He took a sip of his own, relaxing contentedly as he began to warm-up. "So, I was thinking since we have some hours to spare, we could have a look around the stalls? There's a Christmas market set up outside of town with an ice rink and some gaming stalls. We could check it out if you wanted to?"
Pietro's eyes lit up, "I'd love to go ice skating. I haven't been since I was a kid."
Clint nodded with a smile, he knew what that meant. If the last time he went skating was when he was a kid then it was tied to a bunch of bad memories Pietro was probably trying to forget. Clint wanted to turn those memories into good ones, ones where Pietro could look back on them with a soft fondness.
"Then it's settled, ice skating it is." The two settled against each other as they drank quietly, discussing their holiday plans, how they hoped everyone would like their gifts. Pietro was definitely excited for his first Christmas with his new family, and Clint was excited to celebrate Christmas with Pietro by his side.
They finished their drinks and then began to make their way to the market, each carrying an equal amount of bags.
It didn't take them long to get to the market and once they did Clint lead them straight to the ice rink. The ice rink itself was set up in the centre of the market under a large tent. The stall was set up to the front which a relatively short queue. The rink was large enough to fit everyone on comfortably. There were children with their families, couples, friends. Some were doing tricks while others clung to the side, wobbly-legged and nervous.
They were allowed to keep their shopping safe in one of the lockers set up alongside the ice rink. Clint paid and they were set up with a pair of skates each.
"Do you remember how to skate?" Clint laced up his skates, tugging to make sure they were secure to his feet.
Pietro was doing the same, "A little." He would admit that he may have forgotten most of what he was taught and his muscle memory wasn't likely to kick in after so much time.
Clint nodded as a he stood up, testing his balance on the blades and quickly getting the hang of it. He and Nat went skating every year for Christmas so he had become rather used to skating around. "It's alright. I can help you if you need me to."
Pietro gave a slight smile; he hoped once he got on the ice the skill would start to come back to him. He stood up slowly and wobbled, quickly grasping the edge of the rink to steady himself. Clint reached out but Pietro shooed him away, determined.
His legs shook as they tried to adjust to suddenly having all of his weight displaced onto two thin blades. He managed to find his centre of gravity and slowly straightened up. Clint watched in amusement as Pietro took tiny steps towards the entrance onto the rink. He was still a little unsure but he appeared to be grasping the concept quickly.
Clint slid out onto the rink and steadied himself on the ice. Muscle memory kicked in as he shifted his legs to test the skates while he waited for Pietro to join him.
Pietro was slow, but Clint wasn't going to complain. Pietro began to shift onto the ice once he had grasped how to balance himself properly on the skates. He managed to wobble onto the rink, a hand grasping the edge to keep steady. He was doing pretty well, all things considered.
He pushed himself away from the edge and Clint grabbed his hand as he slid his way. Pietro swayed a little but Clint helped him keep his balance. Pietro's cheeks flushed a little but he accepted the help being offered to him. With that, the two began a steady pace around the ice rink.
Pietro was slowly starting to remember how to skate; he watched Clint's feet, the way they moved to pull him forward and he began to copy. Soon Pietro was skating without much support from Clint and a smile grew across his face. He laughed as they picked up their pace and began to skate around together, hand in hand.
Clint showed off a little. He performed some spins and turns but didn't dare try anything too extreme; he wasn't a figure skater but he was confident with his skills. Pietro laughed as he watched, their hands never parting as Pietro spun around carefully using Clint's momentum.
The two skated around for well over an hour. They talked very little and instead focused on enjoying the moment; the listened to the music, people watched and even danced together in a quiet corner of the ice rink.
When their time was up they left the ice rink with big smiles and rosy cheeks. They handed back the skates and wandered off to investigate the gaming stalls for the last couple of hours.
There was plenty of stalls around to choose from. Hook a duck, hoop and ball games, pop-up rides and even arcade gaming machines and a pinball set up. They were all perfect opportunities for some fun and even a chance to win a prize or two.
Clint and Pietro both chipped in for some tokens to make sure they had enough between them to have a go on any rides or games they wanted to.
Pietro suggested they go on the rides first and they added in their tokens as a Magic Carpet Ride, a long piece of metal with a row of seats that went up and around in circles. They tried out the Waltzers; a set of chairs on a track that went up and down like a rollercoaster. Clint had insisted that they were spun around and Pietro almost slapped Clint for encouraging the lady to spin them faster every time they came back around.
The rides were fun and soon they moved onto the gaming stalls.
Pietro had poor luck with any game he tried. Clint insisted they were rigged but Pietro was determined to win at least something small for his boyfriend.
He ended up winning only a small keyring and he handed it sheepishly to Clint. Clint laughed and pressed a kiss to his cheek, keeping the key chain safe in his pocket.
"Alright, now it's my turn to win you something."
"Aw, Clint, you don't have to-"
Clint had already begun to make his way towards a different gaming stall. It was a ball toss game. There were targets, each with their own numbers. There was a large piece of cardboard towards the back telling you how many points were needed for the different types of prizes.
"So what do you want, P? Pick any prizes you want."
The game manager snorted at Clint's cockiness but accepted the tokens happily, handing Clint a group of five balls to throw.
Pietro looked over the array of prizes and noticed a rather large stuffed cat. Clint followed his gaze and grinned. The cat was classed as a large prize, which meant he needed 150 points to win it. Easy enough.
Clint picked up a ball and glanced around the targets. The ones he needed were the smallest and hardest to reach targets, of course. He tossed the ball in his hand as he calculated his throws. He had five balls, which meant five chances.
This was just too easy.
He threw the ball and watched as it landed in a 50 circle. He smirked and picked up another as the game manager watched dubiously. Clint landed another 50, then two 25s with ease. He landed the last throw with ease; he watched as the ball slipped into the 50 circle, it ran around the rim, threatening to fall out before it then fell in.
The game manager rose his brows and nodded.
"Alright, man. That's fair game." He turned to Clint as he collected up the balls from the targets, putting them away in the basket. "Which prize did you want? You can grab a large one, which is any one of these up here." He gestured up to the board containing the large prizes but Clint didn't bother looking.
"I'll take the big cat, please."
The guy nodded and retrieved the prize for Clint. He handed it straight to Pietro who hugged it tightly and grinned.
"Show off." He teased but he wasn't going to complain. The cat was soft and perfect and it was definitely going to be taking up Clint's place in their bed.
Clint gave a smug smirk and wrapped his arm around his boyfriend, thanking the game manager before he wandered off.
"What can I say? You wanted the cat, I got you the cat." He planted a kiss on Pietro's temple as he rolled his eyes fondly. He had seen what Clint could do in an archery range so it was no surprise he was able to hit the targets so precisely. It was like his little superpower.
It was starting to get dark now. The sun was low in the sky which told Clint it was time they started to head home. Daisy and Lucky would need feeding and it wasn't fair to leave them on their own for so long.
They retrieved their shopping bags from the locker; Clint ended up carrying most of them to allow Pietro to carry home his prize. Clint was starting to wish he had brought the car along.
They walked together through town, a few of the stalls were beginning to close down now and the lights were shining brighter in contrast to the darker surroundings. It only made them even prettier, at least that's what Pietro thought.
"I really hope I got the right whiskey for Nat." Pietro leaned close to Clint to keep himself warm. The temperature was steadily dropping as the sun hid away behind the landscape and neither of them could wait to be back home in their warm little apartment.
"Ah, I'm sure it's fine. Either way, it's Russian and it's alcohol. Nat will love it."He teased and Pietro chuckled.
"Yeah, that sounds like Nat-"
"Don't move!"
Pietro froze as a man stepped out from the shadows. Clint tensed as he gripped Pietro's hand tightly, pausing his step. He eyed the man carefully; he was dressed head to toe in black, face covered with a scarf or bandana. His hand held a gun, cocked and loaded and pointed right at them.
"Alright... alright, take it easy..." Clint kept his eyes on the gun, the guy had his finger around the trigger; he was ready to shoot at any second.
The guy shifted the gun, aiming it at Pietro, then Clint, then Pietro and back again. His eyes kept flicking between the two of them, cautious.
The street they were in was small and empty; many were hiding from the heavy snow so it wasn't a surprise to see the street so desolate. Clint shivered as he shifted himself closer to Pietro.
The guy shifted his gun very quickly to Clint, "I said don't move!" He yelled. He glanced at their bags, "Drop 'em. Hands up."
Clint nodded and slowly placed the bags on the ground. Pietro shook but followed along quickly, setting down the stuffed animal and what little shopping he was carrying. He felt cold, he had never been in this situation before, even when he lived on the streets. He had no idea what to do, he didn't want to get either of them shot.
Clint kept calm. He knew he had to get them out of this situation and quickly. The longer they were stood here the more likely it was that one of them was going to get hurt. He couldn't let that happen.
"Alright, alright..." The guy hesitated, glancing at the bags before glancing back up at Clint. "Your wallet. Hand it over!"
Clint nodded, "Okay, alright." He took a deep breath and reached into the pocket of his jacket slowly, his other hand still raised and easily visible.
The guy waited anxiously, gun trained on Clint as he pulled out his wallet slowly. He extended his hand forward slowly, offering over the wallet. The guy looked down at the wallet and with his free hand reached over to grab it.
His hand connected with the wallet and Clint made his move. He grabbed the man and pushed him away. The guy stumbled back and fell against a wall with an aggravated grunt.
"Pietro, run, now!"
"What? No! Are you insane?"
The man rebounded quickly and punched Clint with his gun hand. Clint yelled and stumbled back. The man kicked him down, causing his body to collide back into the wall. His head smashed into the brick, smashing his hearing aid.
The world around him developed into a fuzzy static of noise. He couldn't tell what was happening, he felt disorientated and dizzy.
He grumbled, laying in the snow as he tried to get his bearings.
"Clint!" His name was unclear, it sounded like it was far away, somewhere buried deep under the ocean. He clenched his eyes shut and ripped out his hearing aids, clumsily tossing them aside.
Then there was a bang.
Followed by more.
They were so loud. Clint heard them clear as day. They were sharp and harsh against his damaged ears.
He remembered.
Pietro stood, mouth agape as he stared at the shooter.
Clint barely managed to turn his head; his eyes widened when he saw what had happened.
Pietro had wrestled the man to the floor. The gun had gone off.
Pietro collapsed to the floor, a scared whine escaping his throat as the shooter scrambled up and away from the scene. Pietro gasped, his hands dug into the thick snow as he stared at Clint helplessly.
Clint scrambled up and run over to Pietro, collapsing on his knees beside him. He picked him up from the snow and held him close, his hands shaking as he looked over Pietro's body. He couldn't count the holes. There was too much, shit, there was so much blood.
Pietro was speaking, Clint could see it but he couldn't focus enough to understand what he was saying. He stared at Pietro's lips, shaking his head slowly.
"Pietro, it's going to be okay. You're going to be okay, alright? You're okay." The words fell out of his mouth, he had no idea if they even made sense. His ears rang as he gripped Pietro's hand, he wanted to apply pressure but he had no idea where.
Pietro choked on another shaky gasp.
Clint watched in horror as Pietro raised his hands slowly, confused. Pietro's hands shook as they began to move. Clint focused on the movements, not understanding.
Then it hit him.
"You... You learned sign language?"
Pietro nodded, swallowing against his drying throat as he signed again.
I love you
Don't be scared
Clint didn't cry easily. But this broke him. He sobbed and shook his head, grasping Pietro's hands with his own. He pressed his head to Pietro's, feeling his breaths begin to slow.
"I love you too... God, Pietro I love you so much." He whispered, at least he thought it was a whisper.
He had to call an ambulance.
He pulled back and shoved his hands into his pocket to find his phone, keeping the other hand pressed to Pietro's chest. His chest rose and fell quickly, shaking with the effort to stay alive. Clint's vision blurred with his tears as he managed to dig out his phone. He tapped blindly and held the phone up to his ear.
He could barely make out the rings and a voice on the other end. He couldn't hear what was being said.
"Please... Please I need help..." He sobbed and looked down at Pietro. He was struggling, his eyelid fluttered softly against the snowflakes as he tried to stay awake. Clint urged him to stay awake. "My boyfriend... He's been shot... Please. We're..." He looked around desperately for a street sign, anything to tell him where he was. "49th... Outside of the Christmas market." He looked back to Pietro. His eyes were closed.
He shook Pietro, "Come on, kid... Come on you gotta stay awake. Don't do this to me, don't you fucking dare." His throat protested, he knew he was screaming.
Pietro mumbled as his eyes opened, they were unfocused, dull.
Clint dropped his phone into the snow and pulled Pietro up to his chest, crying into his hair as he gripped his jacket.
"Please..." He whimpered. "Please, Pietro, you can't do this to me..."
His voice trailed off to make way for his tears. He lost his focus, he began to rock gently with his boyfriend in his arms. There was nothing he could do.
"Please..."