Work Text:
At 12 am in Iowa, a woman makes a call and gives a weary sigh as she is left to a voicemail.
"Hey Clint. How're you doing, Barton?" the woman's voice crackles through the phone. “The family and I can’t wait to see you again.”
Clint Barton nearly smiled at the notification on his own phone, until the time on the screen caught his eye: 1:00 am.
And then he listened, half sitting up in bed as the quiet raged around him.
“I didn’t expect to miss your smug face this soon, but it feels like this little trip couldn’t come sooner! Cooper can’t stop talking about all the things he wants to do with you in New York. I swear that boy is a secret city boy deep in his heart. Maybe we should have skipped raising him on the farm, huh?” She let out a light laugh, one that Clint remembered falling in love with years and years ago.
But her voice was as sweet as it was calculated and Clint knew she learned from the best.
“How’re Nat and Bruce by the way? It’s hard to believe they’re tying the knot so soon after they met, but I guess when you’re soulmates things just make sense, y’know? But I’m getting off topic, aren't I? Cooper is bringing the gift you sent him for his tenth birthday last week and Garrett is bringing along the photo album you asked for. We just finished a few remodels on the house, too, so I’ll admit it’s a little sad we had to leave so soon. Anyways, Cooper needs my help with his shoes, so we’ll be seeing you soon, Clint! Love you.” With that, the voicemail ended.
Clint also knew that Natasha wasn't dating Bruce. And Laura wasn't supposed to fly to New York until the next month. And Cooper was six years past his tenth birthday and Clint got the photo album from Garrett a year ago. Clint swore that Laura and Garrett finished all their remodels with Clint when he visited just a couple months ago, too.
Because even if she learned from Natasha to keep her cool, Clint Barton taught Laura Emerson (formerly a near Barton and a future Clark with her inevitable marriage to Garrett with their soulmate status) how to put on a facade and leave bread crumbs.
Laura was not on a secure line, Clint could guess, and her clues, although obvious but with their meaning heavy, had Clint sitting up in bed and throwing the covers off his body. Next to him, James had already been stirring and Clint spared a moment to feel guilty about waking the man up, but the guilt was quickly forgotten.
He replayed the message, keeping his phone tucked between his shoulder and ear as he ordered Friday to turn on all the lights in the compound and warn the rest of the Avengers that they had a stressed Hawkeye and a half-awake, worried James Barnes incoming.
That was how a man, at 1 am in New York, responded to the voicemail left for him by a woman in Iowa.
➳
➳
Cooper, aged sixteen and newly residing in the bedroom on the first floor of the farm house, thought of himself as neither a deep nor a light sleeper.
There had been times where he woke up to Lila merely turning the handle on his door in the middle of the night and then there were times like when his Dad told him he once tried to convince his husband, James, to punch a hole in the wall just so he could wake Cooper up for breakfast that day.
So, no, Cooper wasn’t a deep sleeper. Nor was he a light sleeper. He settled for thinking that he fell somewhere in between.
The rest of his family, excluding Clint (Dad, to both Cooper and Lila) James (Papa, to Lila, and James (sometimes Pops) to Cooper), and Auntie Nat with their assassin instincts, or whatever, and Aunt Wanda’s witch powers, were all pretty deep sleepers.
So, when a door creaked open in the middle of the night, Cooper’s eyes flew open. He was awake nearly instantly after his eyes opened, but he stayed laying down with his face smashed into his pillow.
At first, Cooper thought it was Lila getting up for a drink of water or to wake someone up for comfort after a nightmare, so Cooper settled for listening to the almost quiet of the house to listen for his sister.
But the door clicked shut, sounding distant, and light footsteps followed. It only took Cooper a short moment to realize that the footsteps and the door weren’t sounding from the second floor.
But Cooper didn’t rise from bed yet. Something was off .
There were only a few, obvious, doors on the first floor: front door, door to Cooper’s room, bathroom door, and the backdoor. But Cooper’s door was still firmly shut and the bathroom was sat across from Cooper. The sound of the footsteps and door were too distant to be from across the hall and, with the thought, Cooper quickly, silently, sat up.
Someone was in the house .
As the thought filtered in, Cooper heard what he could assume was the front door creak open, the backdoor following shortly.
More footsteps sounded in the house, still light and barely noticeable to Cooper if he didn’t listen hard enough.
But, his dad and Stark had installed that security system. No one should be able to get in.
These guys got past it; these guys were smart .
He didn’t know what these people wanted, but Cooper knew that his family was stuck upstairs and most likely unaware of the intruders.
As he was trying to even out his breathing, Cooper pulled the covers back and slowly shifted so his feet were on the floor. His socked feet didn’t make any noise with the contact, nor did the floor creak when Cooper stood.
He thought everything over.
He couldn’t just leave and hope to not get caught.
He couldn’t get to his family without leaving the room and now that he thought about it, Cooper had left his phone with Lila for the night so she could talk to Cassie Lang after Cooper had over Skype .
Shit.
And he wasn’t anyone special, not like his Dad, Captain America, or The Maximoffs. Hell, he was just a lanky, newly tall, theatre kid! With his recent growth spurt, Cooper appeared to lack the best motor skills, realizing he might be just like his Dad’s disaster self in the end. His pants were even too short for his legs right now!
The most “training” he had had in the past year was when Auntie Nat and Uncle Sam had taught him some defensive moves back at Christmas. Aunt Wanda had taught him how to be mentally resistant, but that didn’t help with taking down some bad guys.
But , Cooper thought, those knives James had gifted him a year ago with Dad’s hesitant permission could do something.
Cooper swallowed, trying to calm himself down with the plan forming in his head.
And Peter, Gwen, and Miles had taught him how to incapacitate a person. Or at least how to attempt it.
He can do this. He can do this. He needs to do this. Or do something .
Someone passed by Cooper’s door and Cooper swore he heard some Russian muttering. Shit, last time he heard of some random person speaking Russian they were a HYDRA agent.
shitshitshitshit
Taking another deep breath and getting to his knees slowly, Cooper reached under his bed and carefully pulled the small case out from under his bed.
This is so stupid. I’m going to get killed.
But Cooper was opening the case and carefully taking out the clean, sharp knives.
Pops had taught him how to use them after he gifted the knives to him, and Auntie Nat gave some additional lessons for fun around New Years (unbeknownst to his dad).
And, if it all goes sour and his “training” fails him, Cooper will just try stabbing at these guys’ legs or whatever.
The guy passed his room again and Cooper creeped towards the door, urging his hands to stop shaking. The knife case also had some type of knife holster thing, if that’s what they’re called, and Cooper had shakily strapped it around his waist and stuck the additional three into the holsters, keeping one knife held firmly in his shaky hand. A part of him thought that maybe the knife holder thing was supposed to go across his chest.
Cooper listened closely once he reached the door. The footsteps had mostly stilled, he thought, but he caught at least two whispered voices, although he couldn’t make out what they were saying. As the two guys spoke, Cooper was pretty sure it was two sets of footsteps that walked away from his door.
So, at least four guys? Fuck .
One of the voices faded away and the doorknob in front of Cooper shifted slightly under the pressure of a hand grasping it. Knob already turning, Cooper hurried away from the door and instead pressed himself against the wall next to it.
Please work, please work, please work.
The door slowly opened and the intruder crept in as the hinges quietly squeaked.
The guy, who was for sure a man now that Cooper saw him, slinked in and didn’t bother to look behind himself.
Cooper anxiously watched as the man, right in fucking front of him, made his way over to Cooper’s bed. There were no weapons in his hands, it seemed, but the moonlight caught the gun strapped to his waist and the knife strapped to his ankle.
At the obvious lack of a child in the bed, the man stilled and was about to turn around when Cooper found himself rushing forwards. Now grateful of his newly gained height, Cooper at least had a height advantage on this guy who was much shorter than himself.
Trying to not waste his chance, Cooper reached around the man and clamped a hand over his mouth, praying to whatever god there was that he wasn’t about to stupidly murder himself.
Running on dumb instincts and new adrenaline, Cooper held his breath as he struck his other hand fowards and stuck the knife into the side of the man’s neck.
Please die. Please die. oh my god.
And that thought process was something Cooper planned to let haunt him later, at a time when he wasn’t risking his life.
The man let out a choked gasp and reached up to gain access on Cooper hands, but in a blurry moment of panic, Cooper pulled the knife towards himself.
Suddenly, the man’s gasped cut off in a nearly silent, grotesque, stifled choke.
He didn’t fall limp, not immediately, but as Cooper felt something warm slide down his hand holding the knife, Cooper tore away from the man. With the lack of support from Cooper, the… body fell forwards onto the bed. In the moonlight, Cooper saw the blood that fled from the wound in the man’s neck.
Fuck.
Shit.
Cooper filed away the sight as something to bring up with a future therapist. Whether it be shock or too much adrenaline, an almost numb feeling was starting to take over Cooper.
His hands weren’t shaking anymore, though, so maybe that’s a plus?
He pushed down the frantic thought that wanted to break through, instead focusing on the mental image of his sister, his mother, and Garrett.
Cooper slowly turned around, eyeing the doorway. The door, left ajar, revealed the dark hallway and the slightly louder footsteps of the other intruders.
Cooper mentally cursed again before slowly making his way to the door.
He curled a hand around the door frame and peeked his head around the edge. He couldn’t see much, but he could make out the faint figure of a woman, also dressed head to toe in black, standing at the end of the hallway, right before the living room.
But then she walked away, towards the kitchen.
Cooper hesitantly creeped towards the end of the hallway, thankful for the veil of darkness. Is this what his dad felt like with SHIELD? God, is this what James felt like when…
He let the thought end.
Getting a better view of the scene ahead of him, the woman had made her way to the kitchen and seemed to be… searching? Squinting his eyes to focus on her, Cooper noted that she was looking in the corne—
Cameras, right? She was looking for cameras, he believed. He had heard Auntie Nat mention something like that and, in some show his Mom liked, the spies always looked for the camera.
Cooper, noticing her attention having been taken up by her task, looked away from her quickly. He could see another man looming outside, standing just outside on the back porch. A guard, maybe?
A quiet creak sounded from the stairs next to Cooper’s head and Cooper found himself very grateful that his Dad never let Garrett fix all the old creakings of the old house. Maybe this was why.
Without a second thought, reckless behavior, he thought briefly, Cooper swiveled around the corner of the stairway and crept up the stairs behind another woman.
In her hand, Cooper noticed a small gun. Cooper silently cursed himself for not grabbing the gun off the man who was— was in his room.
He just had to be the dude who brought a knife to a gunfight.
He continued on though and held his breath in an attempt to stay silent.
The woman paused at the top of the stairs and Cooper realized terribly that his back was exposed.
Please don’t shoot me in the back. Please don’t shoot me in the back.
The woman continued on and Cooper felt his stomach drop when she started creeping towards Lila’s bedroom.
Clint sent a silent prayer to whatever god was up in the sky again.
Sorry if I die , he thought, family in mind.
Cooper swallowed and rushed forwards. Although on accident, Cooper cut along the woman’s arm as he tightly circled his arms around her torso and with a hiss, the gun fell from her hand.
It thumped on the ground, but it obviously didn’t make a loud enough noise if the lack of people rushing the stairs meant anything.
Rather than yell for help, the woman kicked back and landed a kick on Cooper’s shin (better than the knee, maybe?).
Thank god for height!
With the kick from a steeled heel, Cooper nearly wilted until the image of Lila entered his mind again.
He stumbled backwards with the woman and he thought back to that move Peter taught him.
Holding his breath, Cooper hooked one foot around the woman’s leg and tugged backwards, his other knee coming to press against the back of her other leg.
Parker would have had his head for how messy that went.
The woman went down, however, and Cooper was sure it was only the height and weight advantage he had on the woman that got her down on the floor.
With a terrifying thought, Cooper noticed the lack of knife in his hand. Although uncertain, Cooper reached down and grabbed another one of his knives and slammed it down. Hard .
It landed in the woman’s back and she convulsed with the action but didn’t make a peep.
Despite the knife sticking out of her back, she reached back with her own knife (where did that COME FROM) and got a long drag against Cooper’s arm.
He choked out a gasp, leaving the woman too free. She pushed him off and scrambled for her gun.
Although his arm burned with pain, Cooper pushed himself up and tried to think about anything but the deep cut on his arm.
Her hand clasped around the gun and she swiveled around just as Cooper took hold of his last knife. Clumsily, the woman tried lifting her arm to shoot Cooper but she could hardly stand with a knife sticking out of her. Just as clumsy, Copper lurched forwards and dug the knife into her chest.
This shouldn’t have worked, Cooper thought briefly , HYDRA can’t be that dumb, right? If these guys even are HYDRA.
Cooper felt her blood seep into his shirt, maybe even his pants, as she fell forwards into him.
Unsteady on his feet, he let the woman sink onto the floor and took a shaky step away from her.
Mind feeling numb, Cooper reached past her and opened the door to Lila’s room.
Inside, the girl was nowhere to be seen.
For a moment, he allowed himself a moment of panic before he heard a quiet whimper come from Lila’s closet.
He rushed over, scolding himself for leaving the door open but too distracted by his sister.
“Lila?” He rasped out weakly. “Lila, it’s Coop.” He whispered.
“Cooper?” A small whisper asked from behind the closet door.
“We gotta go, Lila, we gotta go.” He urged, glancing back at the bedroom door. With his head turned, he didn’t notice the closet door creep open, but he felt Lila’s small hand take hold of his injured arm.
He hissed in pain at the contact and she swiftly let him go. Her mouth opened to question her brother, but Cooper reached forwards with his good arm and to clasp a hand over her mouth. Only now did he see the glistening, smeared, coating of blood on his hand. He pulled his hand back at the last minute and instead took hold of her sleeved arm.
“I’ll… I’ll explain later, but we have to get to Mom and Daddy, okay?” He whispered, careful to address Garrett by Lila’s own title for his step-father.
Tears visibly welling up in her brown eyes, she nodded and started forwards when Cooper tugged her along.
He stopped at the door, peeking out and keeping Lila behind him. His eyes took in the sickening sight of the woman in front of the doorway, blood pooling onto the floor.
“Close your eyes,” he whispered back to Lila and prayed she would listen.
He tugged her along, making sure she stepped around the body.
Their parents’ room was next to Lila’s luckily so the two were in their parent’s room with the door shut and locked behind them within the minute.
In their bed, his parents still lie asleep. He recalled that the two had spent the previous day up and busy since early in the morning for some local event they were volunteering at. A part of him wanted to be angry at his parents for lacking the hyper awareness needed for the quiet life they lived. Fuck, they were related to the Avengers and they weren’t even prepared for this kind of shit.
He smothered his conflicting emotions, knowing that the tension he dragged in behind him was weighing him down.
Lila pulled away from Cooper and scrambled for her father. She swiftly shoved at his arm that hung off the bed while Cooper crept up to his mother.
Momentarily forgetting what he had just done, he awoke his mom with a few shoves of her shoulder. Her eyes slowly opened and all the same widened as she took in the sight of her son. Horror scrambled its way into her eyes and Cooper abruptly placed his bloodied hand over her mouth, silently apologizing.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a drop of blood drip onto their clean comforter.
“Someone’s in the house, bad people, Mom, they're in here ,” he hissed quietly.
Frantically, she nodded. She was alert and awake now and when Cooper pulled his hand away from her mouth, she and Cooper took a look at the other people in the room. Garrett was stood, hair a mess, and looking around the dark room.
“Cooper?” He whispered.
Cooper pointed at the door, “Intruders.” He whispered back and Garrett gave an uncertain nod.
The man took a moment before he looked to his mom. Garrett and Cooper’s mom seemed to have a silent conversation before his mom stood and made her way over to the closet. She shoved things out of the way once the door was open and Cooper heard the slide of metal against metal. Suddenly, his mom turned around holding a fucking gun .
“It’s your dad’s.” She whispered at Cooper.
A hand wrapped around Cooper’s uninjured arm and Cooper looked back to see Garrett with Lila held against his free side.
A silent plan seemed to be made within the next few seconds before the family was following Laura Emerson to the bedroom door.
She gave a pointed look back at her family before slowly unlocking the door and pushing it open.
She led them out into the hallway, her footsteps only stalling when she saw the woman sprawled on their floor. Laura looked over her shoulder at Cooper, seeming to only now take in her son. Cooper thought he might have seen that horror return into her eyes but it was gone before he could tell.
And then a bullet was shot.
It was downhill from there. Lila screamed as Garrett pulled Cooper forwards while a body fell down the stairs.
Cooper watched in horror as his mom followed the body down the stairs, gun held steady.
Before the family was all down the stairs, a Russian yell broke out from the backdoor. Static rippled through the air and frantic Russian spilled from the man’s lips, only to be cut to a close as another bullet whizzed through the air.
The house fell silent, but the family didn’t stop.
In a blurry few minutes and a flurry of action, Cooper was suddenly armed with one of his knives, still bloody, and carrying a bag over his shoulder. His arm screamed in pain and he couldn’t hold back the gasp of pain he let out as he followed behind Garrett. The man himself had a hold of a shaking Lila and another bag as he glanced back at his step-son. In front of him, his mom still held her gun steadily along with her car keys stuck between her teeth.
Without noticing, Cooper found himself free of the bag and pulled out the front door.
“Hurry!” His mom called back, already running towards their car parked at the end of the driveway.
Cooper could only hope that they hadn’t messed with the car, too.
Air— no, metal whizzed past Cooper’s head and he barely kept from stumbling.
They’re fucking shooting at us.
He was shoved into the car, alongside Lila, and Cooper watched as his mother whipped around and returned fire. Garrett had already started the car and his mom barely threw herself into the passenger seat before Garrett was speeding off.
Cooper was pretty sure that was a bullet that just tore its way through the side mirror.
“Heads down!” Cooper heard his mom yell and he didn’t waste a moment before he ducked his head and reached over to tug his sister down alongside him.
Living in the area they did, no one was on the roads this time of the night.
Cooper wasn’t sure how long they had traveled before he heard his mom shift in her seat.
“Are you hurt?” He heard her quietly ask Garrett.
“I’m fine,” he responded, voice rough and somewhat shaky, “What about you, Laura?”
She sighed and Cooper peeked up and watched as his mom glanced at her leg, “Scratched up, but it's okay. Nothing bad.” She said shakily.
As if feeling Cooper’s eyes in her, his mom looked back and took in the sight of her kids.
Tension grew in her shoulders at the sight of her son, “Coop…” she trailed off.
“Mom…” he pushed out, the pain coming back to hit him with its reminder.
“Lila?” Garrett called back, unaware of his soulmate’s panic.
“I’m okay, Daddy!” She said back, voice clogged with tears that she tried to keep at bay.
Cooper wanted to comfort his sister, but he found himself wanting to stay still much more.
“Coop, you gotta give me a rundown, Bud, I can’t see you clearly.” His mom requested.
But the night was starting to hit Cooper and he felt himself seize up as flashes of the previous time, fucking less than an hour ago, flashed through his mind. Silence fell over the car and when his mom opened her mouth to ask her son of his injuries again, he spoke up, “I killed them, Mom,” he choked out, “I killed two people , Mom.”
She let out a gasp before a shaky release of a breath followed, “I know, baby, but it's— it’s going to be okay, just… just tell me if you’re okay, Cooper.”
He glanced down at himself and felt nausea rise. His clothes were bloodied and his shirt was torn on one side. Blood coated most of his injured arm and the shirt under it while both his hands were decorated in what must be a mix of his own blood and of the— the bodies.
His pants were no better, with splotches of blood found all along his thighs from what he could tell.
His head was pounding now too, most likely from the stress and panic but he urged himself to respond to his mom, “My arm— my arm is cut and I don’t know what else, b—but—”
Then the car was turning abruptly as Garrett muttered out a long line of curses.
“We have to get you to a hospital Coop, oh my god.” His mom explained, worry bleeding through her tone.
“What’re we gonna tell them mom? This isn’t just my blood.” He choked out.
“You got attacked on your way home, Cooper, and you ran home… I, uh, there might be one of Garrett’s pairs of sweatpants back there, in that bag—I don’t know.”
Without a word, Lila dived for the bag and unzipped it. She shuffled around the items inside before she carefully placed a bundled up pair of sweatpants next to Cooper’s lap.
Still silent, Cooper made the effort to change his pants. He supposed if just his shirt was fucked, then maybe the story will be believable. Maybe.
He wasn’t sure how long they drove, but Cooper felt like the smell of blood would be stuck in his nose for weeks now. Along the way, his mom informed him to use his sleep pants and press the fabric against his cut. He did so, bring down on his lip hard to keep from whimpering at the pain. Garrett’s sweatpants didn’t fit Cooper terribly too, but they almost felt too clean to be worn by Cooper.
He wasn’t sure how many people got attacked like this in Iowa, but Cooper only hoped that his story would pass.
Later, when they had parked in the hospital parking lot, his mother got out of the car first and got into the back with her kids for a few short moments to search through the bag they brought with them. She pulled out a black wallet, of which was visibly stuffed with various bills.
At Cooper’s questioning glance, she caught sight of her son again and carefully ran a hand down his face, “Your Dad is always so prepared,” she explained, looking at him with teary eyes.
Last Cooper checked, the clock had read eleven o’clock when he first woke up for the night. By now, he could assume something on an hour had passed and he could only hope that this ER visit would be done by sometime in the morning. After what just happened, he couldn’t imagine it'd be a good idea to stay static for so long.
“This place never gets too busy, according to Clint, and it was out of the way but I can’t have you waiting forever and we need to go, but—” she continued on, but Cooper cut in.
“Let’s go in then, Mom.”
And they did.
➳
Cooper’s case of a good stabbing took up the mantle of being a main priority in comparison to the couple other patients waiting in the ER. He still was stuck there well into the next day after being treated. Stitches, he learned, sucked. There was also some nasty bruises he didn’t know existed on his body and even then, Cooper felt grateful that, besides his soreness and lack of his usual amount of blood, he was still alive.
Lila and Garrett, Cooper learned, were the best out of the bunch. Neither had been injured besides emotionally and it was Cooper and his mom that were any way hurt. His mom snuck away once Cooper was settled, letting him know she would be back very soon, and returned within the hour dressed in what he assumed were her pajama pants but one of Garrett’s hoodies he knew she kept in their car.
She explained that she had also stepped outside and cleaned up a little bit, location of where this occurred was unknown to Cooper, and then proceeded to sit alongside Cooper for as long as she could.
Whoever those assholes were that broke into his house, Cooper fucking hated them. Dead or not.
Later, once they were on their way once more, Cooper wasn’t surprised to hear from his mom that they were going to be heading to New York. Lila had expected to head to the airport, as they usually did when visiting their family in New York, but it was only her who was shocked when they proceeded to drive for the rest of the day.
Airports and airplanes weren’t the safest now, Cooper assumed.
On their way there, his mom called his dad and went on talking about visiting him. He caught the random, weird details she threw in, like Natasha and Bruce getting married despite Natasha’s relationship with Wanda. He didn’t question it much and his mom explained it without being asked.
Clues , she had said. Your dad will know what’s going on , she said.
And he believed her, choosing to let Lila sleep with her head on his shoulder while he drifted on his own rather than throw more questions at his mom.
Life, he knew, was going to be a little sucky for awhile.
➳
➳
“What’s going on, birdbrain? If the coffee is out again, just ask Friday to order some mor—” Tony started, standing next to, more so leaning heavily on, Steve who was much more awake in comparison to his soulmate.
Along with them, besides Natasha and Wanda who were living over in California with their twins, the rest of the team was scattered around the common room.
Bruce, Thor, and Vision had sat themselves on one of the couches, Bruce leaning against Thor as he listened to Vision discuss his recent visit with Natasha and Wanda to pass the time. Sam, on the other hand, was pouring himself a cup of milk in the kitchen.
“It’s not about the fucking coffee, Tony!” Clint burst out, visibly anxious as he stepped off the elevator, James in tow.
“Clint—” Steve started, voice too soft and too nice for Clint’s current mood.
“It’s my family!” Clint explained, tossing his arms into the air with the need to let his emotions out. He felt James wrap his hand around his wrist and tug him towards him and, despite the emotions flooding through him, allowed James to wrap his metal arm around Clint’s waist in form of comfort.
“What’s going on with them?” Sam asked worriedly as he returned from the kitchen.
“I don’t know, not really, I just know somethings wrong.” He explained, trying to calm himself down even slightly, “Laura called me and said all types of weird shit like Cooper being ten. It’s something Natasha and I taught her to do. If a line isn’t secure, anyone can tap it so she just needs to leave clues that something's off. And something is off .”
“What can we do to help, Clint?” Bruce asked, standing from his spot on the couch, Thor rising with him.
“Can you track a voicemail, Tony?” Clint asked quickly.
Tony nodded, “I can do a lot of things, Barton, if you need me to.”
With a nod, Clint tossed his phone over to Steve who gently placed it down onto the arm of the nearby couch. Tony scooped the phone up and nodded at Clint, “Friday will keep you updated.” And, with that, the genius turned and made his way into the elevator.
“Steve?” Clint questioned, “I know you’ve got all that access to SHIELD’s shit and—”
“I’ll look into any weird activity around the farm and—” Steve assured.
Vision cut in, “And I will assist Captain Rogers with checking for HYDRA activity and anything of the like.”
Clint nodded, relieved, “Thank you.”
The two left and Clint realized how heavily he was leaning against James.
“I can get in contact with Peter and Pietro and let them know what’s up, Barton.” Sam stated, already pulling out his phone.
“I wish to assist as well, but I’m afraid unless you are willing to wait awhile, I cannot properly check the perimeter of the farm.” Thor spoke up, “But if it would help, I can.”
James placed a hand on Clint’s shoulder, taking up the role of the calm one in the relationship for the current moment it seemed, “We can check the security footage first but be ready Thor. This is a really great offer, thank you.”
Thor nodded, smiling comfortingly at the couple.
Detecting the request already, Friday was pulling up the security camera footage for the farm in the television.
Clint’s heart dropped at the sight. Each camera’s screen came up with a blaring ‘NO SIGNAL’ sign.
“F-Friday, can you get the footage from the past week?” Clint asked carefully.
“I can only receive the footage for this week until ten o’clock yesterday, Agent Barton.”
“Fuck,” Clint cursed, “Play the footage from yesterday, Fri, please.”
Without a word, Thor shared a look with James. Soon after, Thor was off, scooping up his hammer from the coffee table and heading for the nearest exit.
The footage played at a faster speed, due to the lack of activity within and outside of the house until it came close to ten o’clock.
Here, Clint watched as four people crept towards the house and easily made their way in.
“They got passed security.” James muttered from beside him.
Within the house, the four spread out around the first floor. With the sight, Clint’s heart dropped.
Then the security footage cut out.
That was all there was.
“Shit,” James cursed.
“Laura was able to get in contact with me. That means they’ve gotta be okay, right?” Clint asked slowly, shakily, “James, they’ve gotta be okay, I don’t know what I’ll—”
Jame tugged Clint until the archer was facing him. James placed his hands on Clint’s jaw and, despite his own worry, did his best to comfort his soulmate, “We’ll figure this out, Clint, no matter what, okay? Everyone is working on figuring out this fucking mess but there is no chance that we’re letting anything happen to our family, Clint, you can be sure of that.”
Clint nodded slowly, “Who do… Who do you think went after them?”
“You know who I think, Clint. I wish it wasn’t like this, but I can think of a couple reasons why someone was after them.”
Clint clenched his jaw in frustration before he let out an unsteady breath and reached up to tangle his hand with James’.
“Sirs? Boss was able to find the location of where Laura Emerson sent her voicemail: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Upon further analysis, Boss also found security footage of the family car in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Based on an educated guess, Boss assumes that they are aiming to come to New York.”
“Any updates on them though?” Clint pushed.
“Nothing positive. Cooper Barton was checked into the ER in the outskirts of Iowa for a knife wound gained for a reported mugging around eleven the same night the security footage cut out. He was discharged the next day around twelve in the afternoon. After a quick look, and if our guess is correct, your family should arrive in New York within the day.”
“He was checked into a hospital !?” Clint yelled.
“But he was discharged within the twenty four hour mark, Clint,” Bruce pointed out, carefully, “It wasn’t a fatal wound, at the very least.”
“But—”
Clint was cut off by the elevator opening and Pietro and Peter tumbling out.
“We heard the news!” Pietro called, becoming a blur of blue before he was suddenly in front of Clint. He turned Clint and took hold of the archer’s arms, eyes wide in panic, “What happened to them?”
“We don’t know, not yet, but we think they’re coming to New York.”
The next few minutes were spent trying to get the room into some sort of controlled state. Wanda and Natasha were called as well and put on standby in case they needed to come out to New York, if things were to get nasty.
With his world on edge, Clint couldn’t sit still.
“I feel like we should be doing something, Jamie.” Clint blurted, “The house just got invaded and we aren’t doing anything—”
“Boss is monitoring their location in this moment. They are currently on the exact trajectory to drive right into New York and he found that Cooper, Lila, Laura, and Garrett are all inside the vehicle. Captain Rogers also requested that I relay that there was a thinly veiled trail of conversation between two HYDRA agents that was reported of making their way to Iowa for a small mission meant for a group of new agents. Reported as an assassination mission.”
Clint stumbled on his feet in shock before the anger took over.
“I’m going to murder those bastards.” He hissed, hands curled into fists and fingers aching for his bow and arrows.
The muttered Russian cursing and angry promises that erupted from James seemed to echo the sentiment.
HYDRA just won’t die .
➳
➳
They didn’t stop much, mostly due to fear of being trailed or drawing attention to themselves.
Cooper wasn’t used to having that kind of worry, but was surprised by how easily his family fell into working with that fear and stress. Maybe his dad really rubbed off on them like that.
His mom said they’d get to New York soon. She and Garrett had switched off during the past half a day for driving. Cooper offered to step in as well, but with his recently cut up state, his mom put him on the sidelines for driving. Only Lila had really gotten some rest between the kids in the car during the long hours that had passed. Cooper felt too anxious to really rest and, besides him, whatever parent wasn’t driving was catching up on some sleep before they would be driving again.
“Where are we right now?” Cooper asked quietly, not trying to wake up the sleeping Lila next to him and his mom as she rested in the passenger seat.
Garrett paused before responding, “Allentown, I think. Just a little longer until we get to New York, buddy.”
Cooper nodded, mostly to himself, before he turned to look out the window. Noticing the trees they passed and the cars that drove by, Cooper sighed as he found himself reminded of their leaving of his childhood home. His best guess was that they wouldn’t be living in Iowa anytime soon.
He thought about school briefly. He wasn’t the most popular kid at school, so there wasn’t anyone he was really leaving behind, but it sucked to not say goodbye to the teens he hung out with during lunch from his theatre class or that one girl he nearly asked out back in February.
He was planning to audition for the upcoming school play, and the musical too, but maybe he could just do some newer, better theatre stuff in New York. Hell, New York houses broadway!
And at least he wasn’t going somewhere where there was nothing waiting for him. His family was here, so maybe the sudden change would be more beneficial despite it’s terrible cause.
His dad(s) were there, all of his various uncles (sadly not his aunts due to their living on the west coast, those traitors) and all the various superpowered, and some not, family friends. Besides, Kate, Cassie, Gwen, and Miles were in New York. Kate was still a bit distant with Cooper and he was aiming to change that. He was also aiming to hang out with the spider crew, and Cassie Lang, more. He had the chance to somewhat grow up with Cassie, so getting to see her more often than not was nothing less than a benefit. Along with this, Cooper was more than happy to get to live around his Dad and James.
So, this move may not be the worst for Cooper.
But, for Lila, and the rest of his family, he wasn’t too sure.
His parents just had to up and leave their lives, their jobs, and responsibilities. He was sure they could make a perfectly fine life for themselves out in New York, but that meant starting from square one which was by no means easy.
And Lila, she was a lot younger than Cooper. With that, Lila had practically made friends with her entire grade and he wasn’t sure that the future of not seeing these friends again had set in yet. She loved her family as much as Cooper though, even if she didn’t have any blood relation to any of the family in New York.
And if Auntie Nat and Aunt Wanda move back to New York any time soon, Cooper was sure she would love Tommy and Billy (maybe not as much as Cooper already loves them but she can try to beat him).
Cooper, trying to stifle the conflicting emotions he was sure would rise up once he got sight of his dad, thought about Cassie for a few moments.
He wondered if she had convinced her dad to let her take out an Ant-Man suit for a ride yet. She had yet to update Cooper on that development.
➳
They pulled up to the Avengers Compound around five in the morning, approximately thirty-one hours since the break-in.
There was no one stopping them from driving up the compound driveway and the lot didn’t seem very busy either.
The car wasn't even parked when what looked like a million people spilled out from the compound entrance though.
Laura and Lila were awake now, so the entire car seemed to light up with a newfound joy and relief.
As soon as the car was in park, Cooper was shoving open the car door and stumbling out. For a moment he worried that he was still dressed in that bloodied shirt but was relieved when he recalled shoving himself into a cleaner shirt from the bag resting in the car. It was too large, clearly fitted for someone with a build like his dads’.
He took hold of the top of the car door to keep from tripping over his own feet and quickly took a head count of everyone waiting for the family to tumble out of the car.
His family was here. Even his aunts .
Cooper merely shut the car door behind him before his dad was breaking away from the group and running at Cooper. Without hesitation, Clint Barton pulled his son up into a hug. He barely had more than two inches on his son, but that didn’t keep him from lifting him off the ground with his hug.
Cooper hugged his Dad back just as tightly, burying his face in his Dad’s shoulder.
“Fuck, Coop, I was so worried,” his Dad whispered. One of his hands came up to bury itself in Cooper’s mop of hair, making Cooper feel like a baby again. But in a good way, he supposed. “I was so scared,” his dad admitted after a moment.
Cooper sniffed, only now noticing the tears that had slipped down his cheeks, “Me too.” He choked out.
Another pair of arms wrapped around the father and son and Cooper barely had to look up to know who it was. The metal arm gave him away enough.
“You’re safe here, мой мальчик.” James mumbled, tugging his family close.
Behind them, the rest of the family stepped out of the car. Lila wasted no time before curling a hand in her mother’s pant leg, feeling uneasy.
Slowly, the various people who stepped outside came forwards to greet and comfort the family. Tony rushed forwards and pulled Laura into a hug, although unusual for the man it wasn’t surprising given how close the two had grown within the last eight years, talking to her quietly.
Steve and Sam followed closely behind and took to reintroducing themselves to little Lila. Once she felt a little more comfortable, she took to grasping onto Sam who, after sharing a brief look with Laura, scooped her up into his arms. He started talking about how excited the compound was to see her, how excited he was to finally see the Lila Barton, and he smiled at the way she hid her smile behind a hand. Steve stayed back with Tony, talking to Laura with a deeply earnest expression once she broke away from Tony.
Natasha, a little boy secured on her hip, came forwards alongside Thor to speak with Garrett. The interaction was much more professional with the lack of connection Garrett held with Natasha, but Thor took one look at the sad expression on the man’s face before pulling him into a big, long hug that consisted of Thor expressing his hope for a better life for Garrett and his family in New York.
Once Clint and James broke away from Cooper, Bruce made his way over. He simply placed a hand on the teen’s shoulder and gave him a close-lipped smile before he expressed his concern for the teen and his family and how happy he was to know that they were all okay.
And Cooper was still a little star struck with the man, despite knowing him for so long. He held back from hugging the man, like he would do with everyone else around him, knowing very well how Bruce felt about things like hugs.
Vision hung back for awhile until he made his brief way between the family members to say his greetings before hanging back to observe the interactions in front of him.
Peter, alongside the Maximoff twins and the additional twin secured on Wanda’s hip were quick to take the place of Clint, James, and Bruce once they separated so Clint could get to Laura.
“Cooper,” Wanda breathed out, worry and relief flooding through her tone, before she reached forwards with her free arm to tug her, pretty much, nephew into a hug, “I’m so sorry this happened to you, darling, HYDRA never should have been able to get their dirty hands on you. We will never let this happen again, Cooper, I swear.”
Cooper nodded, resting his head on top of Wanda’s head, “I know, Auntie, I know.” He choked out, already feeling some new tears begging to fall, “At least now I can be a killer cousin, huh?” He attempted to lighten the mood.
“You’ve always been great to the twins, Coop.” Wanda mumbled before slowly pulling away.
Cooper looked away from his aunt to look at two of his uncles. Pietro seemed to be practically vibrating with worry and the determination to stay still. Peter, on the other hand, had his arms wrapped around himself and his brows were furrowed.
Almost immediately after his twin had released Cooper, Pietro dove forwards to pull Cooper into his own hug. Still mostly unfamiliar with the language, the sokovian reassurances that spilled from Pietro’s lips were lost on Cooper although he got the point well enough.
Peter, rather than wait for his turn, wrapped his arms around his boyfriend and Cooper, “I’m so glad to see you here, Cooper.” Peter muttered.
Cooper felt a delicate hand curl into his shirt and Cooper was reminded that Wanda was still hanging around. Freeing an arm from the hug, Cooper wrapped an arm around Wanda’s waist and pulled her into the hug alongside one of her boys (Cooper, although having been unable to get a good look at the little boy, was pretty she was holding Tommy).
After a few minutes, the group broke up and migrated over to the rest of the family.
Natasha, and her other boy, Billy, sat on her hip, found themselves walking alongside Cooper and he was unsurprised when she wrapped her free arm around his waist as they walked, “I was very scared for you. I’m very relieved to see you here, Cooper.”
“I’m relieved to be here, too, Nat.” He replied quietly, putting his own arm around Natasha’s waist.
The family made their way back up to common room and Cooper swore he could feel the atmosphere change into something much more… determined.
Alongside his mom, step-dad, and little sister, Cooper sat down on one of the couches. Suddenly, there was a little boy sat in his lap and Cooper came face to face with, upon further inspection, Billy Maximoff-Romanoff.
He smiled up at Cooper and Cooper managed to smile back unsurely. He secured the child in his lap and settled in for the conversation he knew they were all about to have.
Slowly, the rest of the family settled in. Most prominently, James, Clint, Natasha (with a smiling Tommy in her lap), Wanda, and Pietro sat on the floor in front of Cooper and the rest of his family from Iowa. If he looked into the subject deep enough, he supposed technically these people on and below the couch were what were considered his closest family, but Cooper couldn’t pull himself to really believe that everyone else in the room didn’t qualify as his closest relatives.
“Let’s start with the obvious,” Steve started from where he stood in front of the television, “The Barton Farm was attacked. We found that it was a HYDRA attack and their goal was an assasination.” He sighed and looked around the room. His eyes lingered on James, “After a deeper search, Vision and I are fairly sure the attack was meant to draw James out of “hiding” or pull an Avenger into the open with this new vulnerability from a loss of family.” He shook his head, mostly to himself, “Its sick and twisted and I wish we could have prevented this from happening. The farm is, was, your home and I can’t imagine how this has impacted you all.”
Cooper shifted under the Captain’s gaze, almost overwhelmed by the amount of raw sympathy in the man’s eyes.
“And,” Sam began, rising to stand next to Steve, “We understand if you can’t right now, but it would be beneficial for us all if we know what exactly happened that night and up until now.” He explained, “But I think it's best we get you all set up in some rooms first, hm?”
Cooper nodded, despite knowing the decision had already been reached.
Eventually, Cooper found himself walking into his usual room at the compound. Lila had yet to get a permanent room at the compound, so she readily volunteered herself up to sleep in her parents' room. Although she didn’t say it aloud, he knew that there was a deep part of his sister that was on the verge of cracking with a newfound fear and, even if she made the decision to sleep in her parents’ room simply based on a childish need to be attached to a parent at the hip, she was going to need the strongest support she could get. And, Cooper knew that he wasn’t going to be that person for awhile.
How was he going to deal with being a fucking killer?
The reality of the situation was really closing in on him now.
Most of the family had duties to attend to, including Peter who had to rush to get to his (paid!) internship on time. Tony tried to excuse him but Peter wasn’t having it, claiming favoritism (of which Tony didn’t deny). Cooper was also pretty sure he was trying to distract himself from the past day's events by throwing himself into his work.
James and Clint offered to help out Cooper if he needed any assistance getting settled into his room, but after taking a look at his mom, Cooper thanked them but denied the offer. Wanda and Natasha, and apparently the twins, offered the same thing, but Lila was the one to request their presence so she could play with the twins.
Pietro wanted to stick around too, but Cooper felt the sudden overwhelming need to just be alone so he convinced the speedster to stop by Clint and James’ quarters to pick up Lucky for a walk.
Alone, Cooper gave a long sigh. It was only about a few years ago that he was given his own quarters at the compound. He had grown a tendency for overstaying his original stays, so he took it upon himself to request his own quarters after he decided that bumming it on his dad’s couch for longer than expected wasn’t all that cool of him.
Cooper glanced around the living room of his quarters, pleased to find it all in the same order as he left it. It was minimalistic and Cooper shown through within the worn in blankets thrown on the couch and the poster collection, made up of concert posters and any movie poster he got a hold of, that was growing on one of the walls.
A few pictures of him through the years with his family hung along some of the walls too and Cooper’s eyes caught onto a picture of him and his dad from when he was three that hung on the wall as he walked down the hallway.
He stopped by his room and grabbed some clothes before making his way to the bathroom. He hadn’t showered since the break-in and the hospital didn’t exactly offer him a shower besides cleansing his injured arm off.
Shutting the bathroom door behind him, Cooper caught sight of himself in the mirror and his eyes widened.
He wasn’t sure why no one reacted when they saw him. His shirt he had changed, but his uninjured arm seemed pretty fucked up looking. And his collarbone was tinted red with flaky blood.
His hair was a mess, and there were deep purple marks under his eyes.
Cooper pushed off the lack of reactions from them having seen worse.
A slight feeling of nausea rose at the sight of the blood. Taking a deep breath, Cooper turned away from the mirror and instead started towards the shower. He switched the water on and took a short minute to pick up the stray hairbrush on the counter to brush through his mess of hair. Future Cooper will thank him.
Once he was settled again, Cooper was quick to strip down. Before he stepped into the shower, Cooper hesitated before stepping away to search in the cabinet under the sink. He found the plastic bag he was looking for and made due with a loose hair tie to secure the bag around his stitches. He didn’t need an infection, no sir.
Cooper also planned to go about his shower one handed now, which could be better .
Cooper stepped into the shower and tried to hurry along. He found himself content with just sitting under the warm water though so he convinced himself to try and relax for a few extra minutes before moving along in the shower. So, he let his eyes slip shut and leaned against the wall of the shower.
Trying to keep from falling asleep, Cooper made the mistake of opening his eyes as his head tilted downwards. The teen had to grab hold of the wall to keep from tripping up when he saw the water tinted red.
It’s just old blood, he reminded himself, you’re okay .
Suddenly a shower didn’t seem as lovely as it did a few minutes ago.
He pushed through it though, washing away the dried blood and cleaning away the past couple of days of grime.
Stepping out of the shower, Cooper, admittedly, felt a lot cleaner and… like his usual self.
Drying off and dressing, Cooper took another look in the mirror.
You’re okay.
Feeling a little better, Cooper walked straight to his room and landed on his bed.
At first, he didn’t want to sleep in fear of having nightmares after seeing the things he saw, but James’ voice echoed through his head of the fact that sometimes when he was so exhausted, he would sleep without dreams, or nightmares.
Based on how hard it was to keep his eyes open, Cooper decided to risk it.
For the first time since his house was broken into, Cooper felt at least slightly calmer but entirely more comfortable than he was.
His eyes slipped shut and an exhausted sleep overtook him.
➳
Cooper woke up to a big ball of golden fur laying on his chest.
“Hey, Lucky.” Cooper mumbled, tapping the dog gently until he rolled off of Cooper’s chest. Ah, oxygen.
Taking a quick look at the clock, Cooper noted that he got to sleep about six hours, until about twelve in the afternoon.
Cooper sat up in his bed, wincing at the pain that ran down his body. He let his head hang back as he let out a long sigh.
Fuck.
After a few moments, Cooper started the process of getting out of bed, which included Lucky happily leaning against Cooper the moment he stood up.
The teen tugged at his shirt, straightening out the fabric and wincing when his hand passed over a bruise on his torso.
Lucky barked as he watched the teen, tongue hanging out of his mouth with a natural joy that only Lucky Barton could have.
Cooper sighed and patted the dog on his head, “Hey, Bud.” He greeted.
Lucky barked again in reply before he trotted off towards the bedroom door. It was only slightly ajar, but that didn’t stop the dog as he nosed it open.
Cooper followed slowly after Lucky, only now noticing the faint smell of what he assumed was bacon and hash browns that floated through his quarters.
He already had a good guess of who had taken up a temporary residence in his quarters and he proved himself correct when he stepped out into the living room.
On the couch, his Dad was laying upside down, feet hanging off the back of the sofa. Ever used to the show, Cooper could tell without even looking at the television that his Dad had put on an old episode of Dog Cops .
“Morning, Dad.” Cooper greeted, enthusiasm lacking.
His dad perked up, nearly slipping off the couch as Lucky ran to hop on to the couch, nearly slamming his body into his owner’s.
“Coop, hey!” His dad greeted.
Cooper nodded, shoving his hands into his sweatpants’ pockets and hoping his dad didn’t notice the small wince that came about from moving his arm too quickly.
But it obviously didn’t go unnoticed by the Amazing Hawkeye.
A sad look passed over the archer’s face and he easily turned himself right way up on the couch. He nodded towards the kitchen, “Jamie got breakfast for everyone. Made sure he got what you always get from that little place by the park.”
Cooper smiled at the thoughtful action and eagerly made his way over to the kitchen, his desire for food becoming more and more clear with each step.
Food in hand, Cooper settled down next to his dad on the couch and watched Dog Cops alongside him. It reminded him of the mornings he used to spend with his Dad when he was younger. The thought made him grin.
Although the teen knew what conversation they were inevitably going to have, Cooper enjoyed himself as he sat with his dad, eating the food his Pops got for him and petting Lucky who happily laid across his owners’ laps.
It was a few minutes after Cooper cleaned up any of the trash from his meal and sat down again with freshly washed hands did the atmosphere shift in the room.
“Coop…” his dad started slowly, not bothering to switch off the television or properly turn towards his son. The archer had been in the place of his son many times in his life. If his son was anything like him, and Clint knew he was, this wasn’t a conversation his son could take with all the attention on him.
Cooper didn’t respond, instead burying a hand in Lucky’s fur.
“I don’t know how those guys got into the house,” His dad started quietly, “And I’m so sorry that they got passed the security Tony and I put in and I’ll never fuckin—”
“It’s not your fault, Dad.” Cooper stressed, “They’re stupid fucking bad guys. It’s their fault, not yours, not James’, not Mom’s, Garrett’s, not even Lila’s.”
“Or yours.” His dad filled in, tapping a finger on his knee in order to push off the desire to fiddle with an arrow or something of the like.
Cooper was silent for a moment. “I know,” he muttered, “But… I know how you get, Dad.”
“I should have been able to protect you all more. I couldn’t even get to Iowa in time to help you guys.” Clint admitted, “But we’re not talking about me, Coop, we need to talk about you.”
Cooper bit his lip and leaned back into the couch. He focused on the colorful images passing on the television.
“You got admitted into a hospital, Cooper, what the hell did they do to you?”
Cooper knew that tone. Everyone in this mixed up family had it. His dad wanted to get revenge for his son, but little did he know that the deed was already done.
Time to face the music.
“I was the only one who knew when they broke in, Dad.” Cooper admitted, “So I had to do something .”
“Coop?”
The teen went on, “I could hear them walking around y’know? At first I thought it was just Lila who was coming downstairs ‘cause she had a nightmare but then I heard—heard them speaking Russian. You all used to talk about how prominent Russian seemed to be getting when it came to HYDRA, and I also knew that no one in the house spoke Russian, at least not casually.
I couldn’t let them get upstairs, I couldn’t, Dad. So… so I…”
His dad’s brows furrowed, already starting to gain the train of thought. He opened his mouth to question his son, but Cooper pushed on.
“I got out those knives that Pops got me. He taught me to use them a little bit. Not sure if he told you that, but don’t give him shit for it, please . And I knew that the spider kids had taught me a few things, so did Auntie Nat and Uncle Sam. I’m only this lanky ass theatre kid though, y’know? B-But then they were getting closer to my room and I couldn’t just do nothing , Dad.”
Cooper let silence fall over the room for a few seconds.
His dad’s eyes skipped across his son’s face, “Cooper… did you kill someone?”
Cooper nodded quickly, expression screwing up. He tilted his head down towards his lap and he swore that was blood caught under his nails.
“I couldn’t let them get to Lila, Dad. Or Mom, or Garrett. And they were getting too close and I didn’t know what to do but I had to do something so I—” Cooper noticed the few tears that slipped down his cheeks, “There were two of them, Dad. I killed two people. ”
His dad didn’t give much of a reaction. A reaction could be bad , so he schooled his expression into something unreadable and just looked at his son. He was hunched over, tears dripping off his young face. His hair, longer than it had been the last time Clint had seen it, was falling in his face, and the clothes he wore, noticeably not his own once more with how baggy they were, hung off his thin form.
He looked so young , so innocent .
HYDRA forced his untainted hand and now the kid was leaving his old life with some new blood coating his conscience.
Wordlessly, Clint placed a hand on his son’s shoulder and tugged him towards himself.
His son eagerly wrapped his arms around his Dad, silently sobbing into his shoulder. Everything was spilling out now. All the fear, all of the worry, and regret. The terror and awful realization that he had done that . He killed someone . Killed people .
“I’m sorry, Dad, I’m so, so sorry.” Cooper choked out.
His dad shook his head quickly, “Don’t apologize, Cooper, please don’t. You never should have had to do that but you don’t apologize . You’re safe now and I will make sure you never have to do that again. You’re so young, kid, so fuckin’ young. I always wanted you to have a better life than I did, but you’re already having breakdowns at sixteen.”
Cooper buried his head further into his father’s shoulder, “Father like son?” He whispered hoarsely.
“God, I wish that weren’t true.” Clint mumbled back.
Silence passed over the two.
“Does it get easier?” Cooper asked quietly, “Dealing with everything after ?”
Clint sighed and tugged his son closer, “For normal people, not really. It’s the kinda thing that sticks to a person. But… Coop, none of us are going to let this drag you down.”
Cooper pulled away gently, revealing red eyes and tear-tracked skin.
His dad reached forwards and pushed his son’s hair out of his face, a tendency he had grown into over the past sixteen years and his son’s love for embracing his long, fluffy, (sometimes) mess of hair. “I will always be here for you Cooper, even if I’m across the goddamn country or I’m dealing with stupid Avengers stuff. You are my priority, Cooper, and I will be with you for every step of this new stage of your life, okay?”
Cooper looked up at his dad. His dad was many things, and within it all, being a fucking amazing dad was the most prominent to Cooper.
Cooper nodded and swallowed, trying to will his tears down. He tried cracking a grin and gave a hollow laugh, “And N-New York can’t be so bad, right? Lotta cool people a-and it’s got all the cool theatre stuff.”
His dad took a long look at Cooper before he tugged the kid in for another long hug, “I think you’ll love New York, Coop.” His Dad responded, holding his son just a little bit tighter.