Chapter Text
Kate came trotting down the stairs.
“Alright mom,” she said as she turned to enter the living room area. “I’m going out back to get some shooting in; figured I’d get some training in before the mee...........”
She stopped herself mid-sentence when she found her mother wasn’t the only one in the room who turned to greet her. Beside the woman was none other than the original Hawkeye himself, Clint Barton.
“Kate, you know who this is right?” her mom said, a light smirk evident on her face.
The man then came up and approached her himself, extending his hand.
“Hi,” he said casually. “Clint Barton.”
Managing to shake her head out of its shocked state, she accepted his gesture, taking his hand and shaking it.
“Kate,” she said, still trying to process the fact that her idol was in her home right now. Part of her was kicking herself; she’d faced death and won a hundred times over by now, yet as soon as a technical stranger shows up in her apartment, she doesn’t know how to strike up a conversation? At the same time, it wasn’t a stranger though. It was HIM; the person she’d looked up to her whole life, the very reason that she got into the whole superhero business in the first place.
“I hear you’re a pretty good shot,” Clint spoke up. “I was hoping that maybe you would want to do some shooting, but, you know, if you already have your own routine........”
“No!” Kate said, her hand shooting out instinctively for added emphasis. Slightly embarrassed, she managed to recompose herself before she continued. “I mean, I do, but I can be flexible.”
“Cool,” Clint said. “Well, let’s get to it then.”
“Alright,” Kate replied. It took her a moment before she realized that, since they were at her house, she would need to lead the way. “Oh, right, follow me!”
They then went out back and set up her usual practice targets. Kate couldn’t help but feel a little embarrassed at first, since it was surely a bit lower tech than what Clint was likely used to, though the man showed no signs of disappointment. He simply took out his primary bow (which Kate had to fight the urge against nerding out TOO HARD upon seeing), some arrows, and soon, the two were off and shooting. As expected, Clint hit the bullseye on his very first shot, so Kate took a breath, letting herself relax and let go of the pressure she was putting on herself, before matching her idol.
They went on to shoot some more, eventually moving beyond just the basics and more situational, fluid shooting scenarios. Kate gradually settled more and more as they continued. After target practice, they did some sparring and even sword fighting. Clint’s experience showed itself more in these endeavors, but the man made a point to show Kate some things and complimented her mastery of the fundamentals and her ability to improvise. At one point, she used a sword fighting trick that he had shown her earlier, implementing it to perfection.
“Not bad,” Clint declared. “You really are a fast learner.”
“Thanks,” Kate said, lowering her blade.
The man then lowered his head, beginning to take off his gloves.
“Kate, let me tell you why I’m really here,” he said, tossing his gloves over by some of his other equipment. “I’m here because I’ve heard a lot about you. I’ve also spent the better part of the last several months trying to find out what I could about you, and I needed to come and see you in person today in order to know for sure that I was making the right decision.”
“What decision?” Kate questioned, uncertain of where he was going with all this.
The man hung his head for a moment before returning eye contact.
“Something a lot of people don’t know about me is that I have a family,” Clint confessed.
Well, that caught Kate off guard. For some reason, such a possibility had never occurred to her before.
“I love them very much,” the man continued, “but for years, my attention has been split between them and, well, work. The truth is that I’ve tried to retire a time or two, but it just couldn’t seem to stick. This time though, I think it will, and that’s because of you.”
“So, what, you’re saying you want me to take your place?” Kate questioned, laughing nervously. Was this really happening?
“The truth is that, as I’ve studied you and come to understand who you are, and now seeing you in action today, I believe that you can make the name Hawkeye mean more than I ever could. I was trained essentially to be a soldier, a spy.......an assassin, if I’m being completely honest. I had a history before the Avengers, handling situations in ways that forced me to compromise who I was. You don’t have that though; you’re a good person, and you inspire others to be better than they are.”
Kate couldn’t believe what she was hearing.
“You’re an inspiration too, Clint,” she insisted. “You inspired me to do this in the first place; you showed me that you don’t have to have powers or a really crazy advanced suit of armor to save the world. You just need to have some skills and a lot of determination and courage. You showed me that anyone can be a hero in their own way, using what they have.”
Clint let out a huff, a light smile spreading across his cheeks.
“I appreciate you saying that,” he said. “I still need to think of my family though; I’ve already missed seeing so much of my kids growing up, and I don’t want to miss any more. That’s why I’m giving everything I have to you, Kate. All my weapons, all my gear, and the craziest trick arrows you ever saw.”
Kate’s jaw threatened to drop to the ground at any moment.
“I.........I don’t know what to say,” she stammered.
Clint let out a chuckle.
“I’ll have to bring you the rest later,” he said, walking over to his gear, “but for now, how about you take this.”
Clint grabbed his bow, his primary bow that he’d used during his time with the Avengers, and held it out for her to take. Kate just stood there at first, the moment feeling as if it were a dream. She finally reached for it, gripping it firmly in her hand, looking it up and down.
“It’s all yours now, Hawkeye.”
Kate’s head shot up at the name. The man was giving her his codename. All this time she’d struggled with whether she could live up to it, and now here he was GIVING it to her!
The sound of someone walking could then be heard, and Kate turned to see that it was Peter.
“Sorry,” he said, gesturing between her and Clint, “I’m not interrupting anything, am I?”
“Not at all,” Clint spoke up first. “Umm........”
“This is Peter,” Kate said. She looked to Peter, who gave her a nod of permission. “Spider-Man.”
Clint’s eyes then widened; he walked up to Peter, offering his hand to shake, which the latter accepted.
“Thank you,” he said.
“No problem,” Peter replied. Kate could tell that he was used to it by now, even if people usually thanked him while he was in costume.
“Well, anyway,” Clint replied. “I need to be heading home, but I’ll bring the rest of my gear in a couple of days.”
“Okay,” Kate said. The man then shook both of their hands before walking away, taking his leave.
“How did that feel?” Peter asked.
“Uh..........I’m still trying to wrap my head around it even happening,” Kate answered.
She then turned to him.
“How was the honeymoon?”
“It was great,” Peter said. “I’ll fill you and everyone else in more some other time, but we had a good time, for sure.”
“Great,” Kate replied. “Now, I’m guessing you’re here for the conversation you promised me before you left?”
“Yep,” Peter confirmed. “Although, I guess it comes down to more of a question than a full conversation though: are you ready?”
Kate glanced down at her new bow, holding it up.
Her answer would be easier than she thought.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Peter walked into the compound with Kate, the two heading towards the main room of the building. The latter was still holding onto her new compound bow like a kid who’d just gotten the toy she’d always wanted for a Christmas present. Peter could hardly blame her; the Avengers were some of the most popular people on the planet going all the way back to when he and the others were in late elementary or middle school.
Still, Peter found himself unable to resist a good jab.
“Please tell me that you’re not going to sleep with that thing?”
Kate looked at him, her face appearing defensive.
“So, what if I do?” she questioned. “Just kidding..........maybe.”
Peter rolled his eyes right before they arrived in the main room, with the other four already there. Eli got up to greet them.........at least one of them.
“Hey,” he said, coming up to Kate.
“Hey,” she replied back.
The two then exchanged a quick peck on the lips, causing Peter to stop in his tracks, looking back and forth at them and the rest of the team.
“Okay, so.........when did that happen?”
“They made it official right after the wedding,” Riri explained.
“Alright,” Peter said, slowly coming to accept this new reality. “Well, I suppose congratulations are in order.”
“Thanks, man,” Eli replied.
“Don’t worry,” Sam spoke up. “We’re all still getting used to it.”
“Or maybe some of us could read the signs from day one?” Riri insisted.
“What signs?” Amadeus said.
“You boys are so clueless,” Riri replied, shaking her head.
“Anyway,” Peter said, reigning his friends in. Once he had their attention, he proceeded.
“Well, thank you all for coming today. Now, I know that this is something that has been on everyone’s mind for a while now, and I’ve done a lot of thinking about it too. After a lot of that and discussing some things with M.J, I have decided that, effective today, I am stepping down as team leader.”
Peter gave the team a minute to process the news. Some of them seemed as though they’d already accepted it, while others appeared more dejected.
“I want to make something clear though: this is not the end,” Peter spoke up. “I’ll be stopping by to check in with you guys every now and then, and I’ll still be essentially a reserve member, so if you ever need me out on a mission, all you have to do is ask.”
Still, the team said nothing, and the silence was starting to get to him.
“Look, if anyone has any questions, or you just have something to say.......”
“I think we’ve all been kind of expecting this for a while now,” Sam spoke up. “Like I said before, as soon as you and M.J. got engaged, a lot of us started to wonder.”
“Yeah,” Peter replied, nodding. “It’s not just that though. It’s..........for so long now, it feels like I’ve always had my foot in two worlds at once: the world of Peter Parker and the world of the Avengers. Even before you guys, I was involved on some level with different things the Avengers were doing, and I enjoyed it. Then the snap happened, and I met you all, and you guys have all grown to be family to me. I love you all as brothers and sisters, and there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for any of you.”
“The same goes from us to you,” Eli spoke up. Peter nodded in reply.
“As great as these last few years have been though, part of me has always felt that I had the responsibility to help. Even after you all proved consistently that you could handle yourselves out there, I still couldn’t shake the sense that leading this team was something that I just NEEDED to do, that it was me fulfilling my responsibility to the world. Part of me has always missed consistently being able to be a Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, but I loved this too, and my sense of responsibility always leaned this way between the two. But after everything that’s happened with Thanos, I’ve realized now that there’s someone who can do the job just as well, if not even better than me, and that’s why I’m appointing Kate as the new team leader. The thing though is that I believe this should be a group decision. So, all in favor of Kate Bishop......
“Hawkeye.”
Peter turned to her, observing the confident smile on Kate’s expression.
“All in favor of Hawkeye being the new team leader, raise your hand,” Peter instructed.
Immediately, everyone in the room raised their hands.
“I guess that settles it then,” Peter said. “Congratulations.”
Peter extended his hand for Kate to shake, which she accepted.
“Now you get to plan for our end of the meetings with the OGs out west all the time,” Amadeus pointed out.
“Oh, yeah,” Kate said. “I’ll have to work on some ways to spruce things up a little in those meetings.”
Laughter filled the room in response to that.
“Well, Riri, I guess you’ll get everything switched out then from me to her?” Peter inquired.
“Consider it done, bo.........Peter,” Riri replied, correcting herself.
“Thanks,” Peter said, turning to address the team one more time. “Look, guys, even though I’ll be back operating in a more local capacity, I want you all to know that I still expect frequent updates from you all personally. I still expect to be filled in more than just the average citizen watching the news.”
“Of course, man!” Amadeus assured him.
“Thanks,” Peter said, letting out a deep sigh.
“So, I guess this is goodbye then,” Riri said dejectedly.
“I like to think that this is more of a see you later kind of situation,” Peter corrected.
One by one, the team came up and hugged him, each one thanking him in some capacity. Riri went first, followed by Amadeus and Eli. Sam came up next, his hug lasting longer than all the previous ones combined.
“Thank you, Peter,” he said, clearly stifling some heavy emotions. “You’ve always been there for me, even when I was just a stranger who fell out of the sky.”
“Whose first words were about an imminent threat coming to destroy the world,” Peter added, causing them both to laugh. “I’m just glad that I was the fortunate one to find you that day, because my life has been all the better for it.”
Peter and Sam finally released each other, leaving only Kate left.
“Take care of all of them,” Peter instructed. “In case you haven’t noticed, they’re a pretty crazy bunch. You might have to whip them into shape.”
“I’ll try my best,” Kate responded. She then set the bow down for the first time since she’d acquired it, embracing Peter in a warm sisterly hug. He reciprocated the gesture, albeit hopefully in a more brotherly manner.
“I’m going to hold you to that coming back thing,” Kate muttered in his ear, her voice getting heavy. “I still need to finally land a shot on you one of these days.”
Peter chuckled.
“Don’t worry,” he said, “I’ll make sure to remind you why I have the perfect record.”
The two of them held their embrace for several seconds before finally separating. Peter then turned to face them all again, observing their sad expressions, a couple of which included tears. In fact, he was beginning to feel some well up on his own too.
“Well, I’ll see you all around,” Peter said.
On that note, he turned around and walked to leave the building. He stopped just shy of the exit to the room though, turning back to observe them all one more time. Part of him felt ridiculous, as he knew that he would see them all again; they would still be a part of each other’s lives. Still, a major chapter in his life was coming to a close, and part of him wasn’t sure he could follow through with it. Yet, his mind was made up.
Willing himself to turn around, Peter then walked out of the room.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Peter opened the door to his and M.J.’s apartment, his wife getting up from her seat at their kitchen table as he came in.
“How did it go?” she asked him.
Peter closed the door.
“Pretty well,” he said, tossing his keys aside and coming up to his wife, greeting her with a kiss.
“You still think you made the right decision?” she asked him as they folded their arms around each other.
Peter looked up, sucking in and letting out a heavy breath.
“I do,” he said, “but man, I’m going to miss seeing them every day. What about you; do you think I made the right choice?”
M.J. leaned in, planting a deep kiss on his lips.
“Absolutely,” she replied. “Also, there’s something that I want to show you.”
Taking him by the hand, she led him to their room, where the new suit Peter had been working on was now finished.
“I may have taken the liberty of finishing it up,” M.J. said. “What do you think?”
Peter walked over to it, picking it up and holding it. He had opted for a return to the traditional red and blue, albeit with a more highlighted web pattern, a slightly darker shade of red and a deeper blue.
“It’s perfect,” he said, setting it back down on the bed. He then let out a sigh as his eyes remained trained on it.
“What is it?” M.J. asked.
Peter shook his head.
“Everything’s been changing recently,” he said. “Most of it’s been good: you and I tying the knot, going back to a more friendly neighborhood approach........but that doesn’t mean that it’s not a little intimidating, you know?”
“Yeah,” M.J. said, coming alongside him.
“Well, whatever happens, I guess we’ll have to face it together,” Peter said.
“Sounds like a plan,” M.J. replied.
The two of them leaned in for a kiss, the world slowly beginning to fade away around them. Unfortunately, the sensation ended up being short lived, as the sound of sirens could soon be heard in the distance, drawing their mutual attention.
“Well, guess there’s no time like the present for a test run,” M.J. said, nudging her head in the direction of the new suit.
“I’ll try and be quick,” Peter assured her.
“Take your time,” M.J. urged him. “You’ll know where to find me when you’re done.”
Peter then planted one more kiss on his wife before quickly changing into the new, fresh outfit, trying his best to soak in how clean it was now, since it would never get any better than that. He then leapt forward through the window, flying out into the New York sky, into a new day, a new journey..........a new path. Peter didn’t know what that path had in store for him, but as he felt the rush of the wind against his new suit and the warmth of the sun against his body, there was one thing he felt confident about:
Whatever this new path had in store for him, he would be ready.