Chapter Text
Chapter 1
Clint's pov
There were rumors of an illegal auction in Madripoor that would be selling Avengers tech and objects for rich and dangerous people from all around the world.
Which was an awesome combination. Really.
However, as much as he hated to ruin the bad guys' fun, this time he had to.
Clint had heard about those kinds of events before but after the destruction of the Compound they were more common than before, making them easier to track and take down.
But the problem with this one was how specialized the whole operation was, and mainly, who were their clients.
Viper, Count Nefaria, The Owl, and Tombstone were only a few of the big names that were told to appear in the auctions.
It would be a dangerous mission. And that was why they were having this discussion.
"No, Kate, you're not going on this one." Clint said exasperatedly as he finished to prepare his equipment.
A loud noise of indignation came out of Kate's mouth, "What do you mean I can't go? We don't leave each other to go on dangerous missions by ourselves, remember?"
Clint immediately put the trick arrows back on the table and turned to face Kate, crossing his arms. "Are we really going to talk about that when last week you left for a mission in Europe and left me just a note?" Clint asked with raised eyebrows.
God, he still remembered how close he had been to a heart attack that day as he flew there crazy worried.
Kate was giving him more white hair than his kids ever did.
"Oh-no, w-wait..." Kate stuttered, at least seeming guilty as she justified herself, "I wasn't alone! I was with Yelena. She needed help and she wouldn't accept it easily, so I had to go there."
Black widows. Always so stubborn. Still didn't justify.
Clint was happy that Kate and Yelena were having a weird friendship that included her kidnapping Kate for dinners sometimes or them going out on missions in other countries because Kate would pressure her to.
He remembered well how it was.
He just couldn't help but be worried about Kate. And Yelena. But the difference between them was that Yelena was a Black Widow as experienced and skilled as Nat, while he was still training Kate.
Clint didn't know what he would do if she got hurt and he wasn't there for her.
He couldn't lose someone else. Not again. Not so soon.
"Clint?" Kate's worried voice drove him out of his thoughts, enough for him to realize that he was breathing heavily and holding the edge of the table with one of his hands to support his weight.
He was fine.
"I'm fine." Clint reassured her as he recovered himself, suppressing anything that could drive him to that state once more.
He would be fine.
"Are you sure?" Kate questioned, concern dripping from her voice as she reached out her hand hesitantly but it only hovered over his arm. "Look, I'm sorry, you know I am. I didn't know it would take so long and that you would be so worried. I won't do that again."
He believed her. It was Kate. She would have never done that on purpose.
It was for the same reason she was apologizing after he almost caused himself to have a panic attack. She had the bad luck to care about it.
"I know that, Kate." Clint put a comforting hand on her shoulder, smiling and watching her do the same before patting it, "But you aren't going anyway."
He winked at her and turned to put the rest of the arrows inside his quiver, passing by her frozen shocked face.
She quickly recovered and followed him towards the car, as always ignoring most of the things he said to her.
"No, wait, Clint." Kate stated as she walked next to him, "I have to."
Clint ignored her, but was forced to stop when she stepped up in front of him and scowled.
He sighed, "Kate, I won't discuss this with you. It's already too risky for one person to try to infiltrate it, let alone two. There's no reason for you to go."
He knew how badly it could end up and had talked to Laura about it. She had been the one to finally get any information of that auction after weeks of research, after all.
The locations of the auctions always changed and so did most of the people involved in its organization, just not whoever was in charge or auctioning the products. Which meant it was very likely that they would never find that out if they didn't try this time.
The possibilities… they were bad. Whatever was being sold, it was enough to have such important people from the underworld rumored to be in the same place. If they possessed it, Clint had no idea how much damage could be made.
That was why both of them agreed it was too much of a good chance to be missed and he had already had a moment with his kids and Laura.
Clint would take the risk. Alone.
Kate shouldn't get involved.
"Of course there is! I don't have to go inside, I can just give support and look out for you," Kate argued, pleading eyes facing him as she continued, "You promised, Clint. We're partners. We don't leave each other behind."
No, he wouldn't fall for the puppy eyes.
Not this time.
"I'm sorry, Kate." Clint apologized sincerely, hating to see the hurt and disappointed look in her face and walking away before he gave up.
We're partners.
While he moved away, he remembered the first time he had said that to her. It was her trying to push him away from the fight back then.
And still, at the moment she heard those words, a sparkle shone in her eyes. As if that was all that she ever wanted to hear.
We're partners.
It wasn't fair to her that he pushed her away now after saying that.
Dammit. Clint stopped walking. He had already fallen for the puppy eyes.
He looked up to the sky and turned. "You can come," Clint sighed, immediately causing Kate's eyes to widen in hope.
"Really?" She asked hesitantly.
He was so weak to her.
"Really." Clint agreed with a sympathetic expression, watching Kate smile brightly.
"Yes!" Kate exclaimed and cheered, running towards him and jumping excitedly in his arms.
Oh. He still wasn't used to Kate doing that so it always surprised him.
Clint hugged her back, wrapping his right arm around her as his lips slightly went upwards. He knew they were friends, but hugging Kate felt like hugging one of his kids.
He never wanted to let go.
Until he remembered he had to make sure nothing would go wrong this time.
"But you will listen to me, Kate." Clint said as he guided her to face him, "I'm serious about it."
She had the courage to roll her eyes, as if she hadn't not done that many times.
Clint scowled.
"Okay, okay." Kate raised her hands in surrender still with the smile on her face, "I will listen to you."
Clint raised an eyebrow.
"I swear, Clint!" Kate promised and nodded, all puppy eyes, "I will."
He believed her but sometimes he knew it just happened and she couldn't help. Her crazy sudden plans were part of who she was.
Clint respected and certainly liked them more than he should, but they normally came with unnecessary risks and that wasn't a mission for that.
He just hoped they would be good ones. There was always a fifty-fifty chance.
"Fine. Go pick your stuff and I'll wait in the car." Clint said and nodded to the house, leaving her and approaching the car.
He didn't expect to see Kate hopping by his side.
"I already did that. They’ve been in the car since this morning." Kate explained simply and shrugged, entering the car and leaving him speechless standing right next to it.
That was hours ago before she even started asking to go with him.
So either she knew he would let her do it or she planned to do it independent of his answer.
The little shit.
Clint giggled as he entered the car and sat on the driver seat, putting the bag in the back part.
Kate looked at him curiously, "What is it? Why are you laughing?"
Clint faced her, shaking his head, "Nothing. I just realized something."
Kate was so like Nat.
He usually avoided thinking about that, but it was so obvious now that he couldn't help.
She was always one step ahead of Clint, and so was Kate.
Maybe it was a thing of the women in his life.
It was going well.
Probably too well and that was why Clint should have expected that something would go wrong.
It was always that way in his missions with Nat.
Clint smiled melancholically for a second, forgetting for a moment that they were very screwed.
At first the infiltration had gone well. The auction was in the limits of Hightstown, right on the edge with the Lowtown. The clients were arriving from both sides, and surprisingly, none of them were the crime bosses rumored or on their level. It had been a relief, but it still didn't change how dangerous the criminals participating were, their heavy security being mostly left outside for the safety of the other clients.
It didn't mean they weren't accompanied by clearly highly trained assassins.
The security of the organizers wasn't bad either, with short shifts and check outs each ten minutes, without even mentioning the tech that monitored and defended the place.
It was the kind that could match up to Tony's.
But since most of it was focused on the clients and guarding the merchandise, it left space for him to sneak into the facility.
His goal wasn't to attack anyone or stop the auction, just watch to gather information and then use it. Kate would give him support from outside and Clint would only do anything about it if what they were selling was an immediate threat, and only then.
He was also expecting to find the person behind all of this.
Until he heard the words coming from Kate's mouth, "Eleanor is here. My mom is here, Clint!"
Oh no.
After that it all went wrong.
Clint insisted that Kate focus on the mission, but of course she couldn't. Not when her mom, who should be in jail, was arriving at the illegal auction they had invaded.
He knew he had asked too much from the kid, no matter how much she had gotten better at the whole hero thing. She wasn't a spy.
It wasn't her fault.
But when he needed her to guide him through the facility, she lost focus and he had the bad luck to end up walking into the presentation of the items of the auction.
"I wasn't invited, was I?" Clint questioned with an awkward chuckle as all the eyes focused on him. He turned and ran away before they could make a movement, hearing the pounding of many steps coming after him.
After that it was a long blur filled with explosions and many arrows, but he made it outside. He found Kate on his way off the streets, unfortunately towards the heavy security the clients had left outside.
Bad news. They weren't happy to see him and Kate either.
But somehow, they had been able to escape from them in the alleys of Madripoor and had entered Lowtown, having been able to keep away from them for now.
Clint was trying to catch his breath, leaning his back on the dirty wall behind him and holding his new bow tight. He didn't have any bad injuries, just a few bruises scattered over his torso and legs, which was weird.
It almost felt like they weren't attacking him to kill or even injure badly. He must have seen wrong.
He looked around, adjusting his hearing aids and searching for any sound or noise that told him how close their pursuers were to them.
He didn't catch anything yet, but he knew they wouldn't just give up. And with their numbers, it was certain that they’d eventually run into him and Kate.
Clint needed a plan, quickly. He wasn't really the planning guy, he actually sucked at it and normally Nat and Cap did that, but he was at least decent in times of need.
They could try to hide somewhere until they had a better chance to leave the city, but this was Madripoor. Since Power Broker took over Lowtown and ruled Hightown in the shadows, it wasn't safe to reach out to any of his old contacts. No one was reliable and every place had a chance of being a trap.
Leaving the streets could end up being more dangerous than staying in them.
Maybe they could get in contact with someone for rescue. Yelena would come for Kate. But they were off communications to not risk the sign being identified by anyone in Madripoor and they wouldn't be fast enough anyway.
A direct confrontation wasn't on the table at all. There was a limit for what they could do.
"I'm sorry, Clint. I really didn't mean it." Kate apologized, leaning forward and supporting her weight with her hands on her knees, breathing heavily. Her bow was slung over her shoulder and she had puppy eyes.
There was a cut in her right cheek and on her forehead and they were certainly deep enough to need stitches. From her breathing and expression of pain, it was also very likely that she had at least one broken rib.
It hurt to see her like that.
Since they had become partners, Clint had tried to understand that being harmed was part of the job so of course she would get hurt.
But he would never take that well. Not when it came to her.
"It's okay, Kate. You did the best you could." Clint said, and he meant it, "We have to focus on a way out."
Kate had already apologized in the middle of the fight, which had become a discussion about her mom as their asses were kicked and they tried to escape.
And he had told her the same because it was the truth. It was all Clint's fault. He should have known Eleanor had left the prison at the moment she did and tracked her.
He didn't and Kate paid for that during a mission he shouldn't even have to have allowed her to participate.
He was the one who failed again.
"What do we do then?" Kate questioned worriedly.
"Run away," Clint answered, looking into her eyes and smiling tiredly.
He didn't tell her what he was thinking, though. He didn't have the courage to do it right away and deal with her response.
Because in that situation, there was only one option that would give at least one of them a good chance to leave.
And that one wouldn't be him.
"Okay, in this specific case, I'm very fond of that plan. So how do we do it? Do we create a distraction? We can..." Kate kept talking, strangely excited over her ideas for distractions that could kill them, but Clint wasn't really listening.
He watched her, the way she was gesturing with her hand as she spoke and sometimes breathed deeply while holding her chest, probably because of the broken rib.
God, she was so young.
Clint just wanted to hug her and for the first time, he just did that. He put his bow around his shoulder and approached her, opening his arms.
"Clint, what are you-" She started confusedly but stopped at the moment Clint's arms gently wrapped around her.
He could see her shocked expression and big widened eyes from the corner of his eye before she realized that was real and rested her cheek on his shoulder, holding the sides of his suit between her hands.
It felt good. As good as all the hugs she had given him.
It would most likely be the last one.
He moved away from the hug, standing in front of Kate when she chuckled, "What was that for? I know I'm very huggable, but I need to remind you that this is not the time for that after all the times you did the same to me. See? I'm learning."
She was. She truly was a good hero, better than Clint ever was or tried to be. So stupid. A weapon trying to be something more than that.
He wasn't like Nat. He wasn't more than what he thought he was. He also knew that if someone deserved whatever would happen, it was him.
"Kate." Clint started, holding her cheek and looking into her eyes, "You're running away. I'll stay."
Color immediately drained from Kate's face.
"No. No, Clint, we will escape together. You can't stay, you will…" Kate said quickly, choking out, "You won't make it."
Probably. He wouldn't make it easy for them, though.
He had been in worse situations, but it wouldn't be pretty if he stayed. There were many outcomes, but very few of them included him leaving there or even staying alive.
But it was the only way.
They had seen his face, and even if they hadn’t recognized it immediately, they would have identified him already and known who had broken into their facility. But they would have no idea who his partner was.
And they wouldn't care.
Not as long as they caught him, the person who had seen what they were doing and knew the clients there. Kate wouldn't mean anything to them, or at least less than the Avenger who interrupted their operation.
It was criminal logic.
"Maybe. Maybe not. But they saw my face and they have no idea who you are. They will come after me and forget about you if I create a distraction big enough." Clint explained, hoping she would get it even though he knew deep down she wouldn't, "It should give you enough time to get to Buccaneer Bay."
That was all that mattered. For her to be safe.
"No, stop!" Kate snapped and slapped his hand away her face, her expression contorted in anguish, "You can't do that to Laura! To your kids, Clint. You have a family. How can you tell me to leave you to die, or worse?
Her eyes were filled with tears and she had hurt shining in them.
Of course Clint didn't want to do that to his family. They had already suffered enough, mostly because of him. They deserved better. But he couldn't let someone else die because of him either.
It wasn't like his chances of survival were big, but Kate wouldn't have any use to whoever caught them. They would kill her off or torture her to take information from him, and both of those perspectives were part of his nightmares.
He didn't plan to die. He just needed to make sure she didn't end up the same way he would.
"It's the only way, Kate. There's no way those people will let me leave this city, and if you're with me, they won't let you too. You have to go now or you won't make it." Clint said more harshly than he wanted to, but they didn't have much time left.
The criminals shouldn't be away. They would soon find them, mainly if they kept discussing.
"I don't care. I won't abandon you to danger and run away to save my own skin!" Kate exclaimed hurtfully, gesturing at behind him and questioning, "How can you ask that from me, Clint? How can you do that to me?"
He had to. He would never make her do it in another situation, but this was life or death. Her death.
Clint would die before allowing that to happen. Not another one.
"I'm not doing anything. I just need you to be safe and that won't happen if you don't listen to me." Clint argued, locking his gaze with Kate's.
Please, listen to me just this once. Please.
"No, no…" Kate shook her head and held her head between her hands, turning and looking away from him, "It can't be the only way."
Clint hated to do that to her. To cause her so much pain.
He wished there was another way, but there wasn't.
Between all the noise of the city the loud sound of countless steps and cars screeching echoed in the alleys, causing him to whip his head towards it.
It was hard to tell but they were probably already in their block.
That was too close. Too close.
"There isn't. I tried to find one, but there isn't one, Kate." Clint retorted, trying to keep his cool and not lose himself to despair, "Please, you need to leave right now."
Clint grabbed his bow and stood in the fighting position. If she didn't do it in time, he had to delay them before she could.
"I don't care. I'm staying, Clint. You can't convince me otherwise and you can't force me." Kate stated and faced him determined, grabbing her bow from her shoulder too, "We leave together or we don't."
No, no, no!
Why wouldn't she listen to him? Why did everyone Clint loved had to be so stubborn? Why did they have to try so hard to protect him?
He wasn't worth it! He never was. Why did they have to make sacrifices like that for him?
Pietro. Nat. And now Kate.
Cling clenched his teeth to not scream in frustration and hurt. It was okay. Everything would be okay. He just had to change his strategy.
It was what Nat would do. It was what he had to do.
"Okay," Clint nodded, keeping his eyes on Kate's and shooting an arrow at a bad guy who walked into the alley three streets away from them.
Kate frowned in confusion and surprise, but her eyes sparkling with hope, "Wait, what? Okay? I don't have to leave alone anymore?"
That was going to hurt.
"Yes. You're right. I don't have the right to ask you to leave. We'll make it out of here together." Clint lied with a small smile, watching her shoot a criminal with a gun in his hand out of the ceiling above them.
Her instincts were getting sharper. It was sad that he probably wouldn't live to see them get even better.
She turned and reflected his expression, sighing in relief, "We will. I will take you home, Clint. And then we'll have that movie night I missed when I went on that mission with Yelena."
She believed him so easily. She didn't even suspect. Clint never deserved that trust, and doing what he was doing just confirmed that.
"I will remember that," Clint snorted to swallow the knot in his throat and then spoke steadily, "Now, if we are going to do that, we have to get to our boat. It won't be easy and they will come after us with all they have to stop us from getting there. You will have to trust me on this and follow my orders, Kate."
He needed confirmation. Soon the other bad guys would realize two of them had walked into them and they would have problems.
But Clint couldn't go without knowing his plan would work. Nothing mattered more than Kate making out there.
There was no room for mistakes.
"I get it. I can follow orders when I want." Kate snorted and walked towards the entrance of the alley, stopping in the middle of the way and turning to him with an apologetic look, "I'm already not doing that, am I?"
Clint resisted the will to grin. He would miss her so much.
"Yes." Clint scoffed and pretended to be annoyed as he walked and passed by her, tapping her arm to make her walk next to him, "Follow my lead and keep the crazy plans for when we are desperate and I have no choice but to tell you to go for them."
It wouldn't get to that point but she needed to think it would. She didn't have to know she would be safe much before then.
"That will happen. I know you love my plans, Clint. You don't have to admit it." She winked and he snorted, shaking his head.
Her smile grew bigger, her innocence so obvious at that moment even before they started shooting arrows and she was proud of herself every time she used a trick arrow right.
It would be worth it for that. For her.
His decision was already made.
Clint's expression became professional again when he worked side by side with Kate as they ran through the alleys. He knew the path to where their boat was so he led the way, with Kate covering them.
Which was perfect. The criminals had already realized they could use the port to escape and had covered the area to stop them.
That meant he was getting the hardest part of the job and was able to see the danger coming and deal with it before it got to Kate.
She was doing a good job with the bad guys pursuing them too. He never saw her work that well and they were partners for six months already. He was so proud of her.
If he didn't know for sure that this was the only way, he would think they could actually make it together. That there was another option.
He didn't have that illusion, though. There were too many criminals still left. They had taken dozens of them down, but they were still coming.
When they arrived at Buccaneer Bay, he was already low on arrows and Kate only had two left, having had to have used most of them to cover their backs. They were safe for now, but the larger amount of criminals would come soon and not just by land.
Helicopters. Other boats. The self defense and prevent attack of the city at the Bay built by the Power Broker.
Clint made sure to save some of his most dangerous ones for the second part of his plan.
He would certainly need them to take all of that away from Kate.
"We did it." Kate whispered when they stopped running, only a few meters from their boat. She breathed heavily and smiled brightly, "We did it, Clint!"
Yeah, she did it. He just had to do his part now and she would be safe.
"We did." Clint nodded, "You can get in the boat and turn it on so we can leave. I will be there in a few minutes."
It was a lie. A lie, that this time, Kate realized.
Her expression faded and a swirl of emotions passed through them. Betrayal. Anger. Indignation. And the last one that hit Clint like a knife cutting through his heart.
Hurt.
"No, no, Clint, tell me you aren't thinking about doing what I think you are." Kate snarled, clenching her teeth.
It shouldn't go like that. They didn’t have time for that.
"Kate, get in the boat." Clint ordered more pleadingly than he wanted, trying to even keep his voice steady.
"You are! You’re planning to stay, aren't you?" Kate asked, clearly rhetorically as she continued angrily, "What were you going to do when I realized? Knock me out? Tie me to the boat so you could kill yourself?"
He hoped he wouldn't have to do any of that, but it was too late already. Clint would never raise a finger to hurt Kate but he would do anything to protect her.
He loved her too much not to.
"I will do what I have to to keep you safe, Kate. That's what partners do." Clint explained with a sad smile, asking tiredly, "So please, just get into the boat and leave. I will distract them enough for you to be too far away if they go after you."
He wouldn't let that happen soon. He would make sure his distraction was big enough for them to even forget about her.
Nat always said calling attention was one of his strengths. It wasn't really a compliment when he was a spy.
"Partners don't lie to each other. Partners work together and find a way together. That's what you taught me. How can you do otherwise the first moment everything goes wrong?" Kate shouted, too loud for people who were trying to escape.
She was right. Clint sighed. He really taught her well.
But she also was too young to understand how badly a situation like that could end. She was lucky to be skilled and smart enough to survive a confrontation with Kingpin.
There? She would be torn apart by the organizers of the auction or all the criminals who weren't very fond of heroes.
Especially the one who had messed up their businesses many times and his partner.
He couldn't risk that fate for her.
"It's too dangerous, Kate. I have a chance if I stay, because they might want information from me. You? They will kill you or use you against me. This is real. You will get hurt or…" Clint swallowed, not wanting to even picture the next option, "Die."
But he could see it. The sparkle in her eyes turned opaque. Her broken body with blood pooling underneath it. Her lips blue and her skin turned sickly pale.
Clint couldn't let that happen.
"I know. I told you, I know the risks! I chose to stay. To fight. That's what we do, Clint. We are heroes!" Kaye exclaimed, with so much determination in her voice.
She really wouldn't listen to him, would she? Like Nat didn't.
"Don't force me to do this, Kate. Please," Clint begged, this time not hiding how desperate he was.
It didn’t work.
Kate narrowed her eyes, entering in the fighting position he trained her to use, "I know you think this is the only way, Clint, but we can still do it together. I'm going to take you home to your family. One way or the other."
She was so decided. That was one of the things he loved about her. And normally that would be enough for her to convince him to do anything.
But not this time. Clint wouldn't do it again. He wouldn't carry that pain and guilt.
He closed his eyes for a second, sighing and opening them to face Kate as he whispered, "I'm sorry, Kate," before attacking too quickly for her to shoot a tranquilizer arrow on him.
He kicked her bow away, but Kate didn't back down and faced him hand to hand. She defended herself from all his blows and attempts to immobilize her, returning them with even more energy than him even with a broken rib that slowed her down and probably hurt a lot.
She was really motivated to win. But she just couldn't. As much as he hated to do that, he just couldn't let her get hurt.
Still, when Clint got to hold her shoulders and was ready to put her down, she kicked his leg and pushed him to the ground with her body.
The impact was hard on his back and he would have needed some ice when he came back home.
It wouldn't happen soon, though.
"I will bring you home, Clint." She said firmly, holding him down with all her strength and weight and immobilizing his arms.
It was good, but it wasn’t enough to stop him.
Clint held her arms and threw her on the ground on his side, quickly getting up and pointing a bola arrow at her. But before he could shoot it she kicked his bow at the exact point it pushed him backwards and caused him to shoot the arrow away.
"Damn you, Kate." Clint cursed and breathed deeply, watching Kate get up with tears in her eyes.
It shattered his heart and it stopped him from raising his bow again.
"Damn you, Clint." Kate retorted, "We don't have to do this. We can come back home together. As you said we would always do."
He did. Because he was stupid. He made a promise he couldn't keep.
But there was another one he would. No matter what.
"Last chance, Kate. Leave, or I will make you." Clint forced himself to say, scowling and raising his bow, with another bola arrow ready to be shot, "Please."
He didn't allow himself to show any more emotion when a lonely tear rolled down Kate's face even if his heart felt like it would explode.
He was doing what was right for her. For someone he considered his daughter.
"No." Kate stated, her eyebrows furrowing.
Clint shot the arrow but it missed Kate by a few inches when she rolled to the side, leaning on one knee, she quickly grabbed her own bow and an arrow at the same time Clint grabbed a sonic arrow.
They both shoot at the same time. She had grabbed a shock arrow. It was too late when Clint realized what would happen.
The impact of both arrows at each other electrified and threw them in the air and backwards. Clint fell on his back again and felt his nerves burning, this time not being able to hold back a grunt of pain and clench his teeth.
After a few seconds, the effect of the shock arrow was gone and he was able to breathe straight again.
Fuck, that hurt.
He made a face at the high pitched noise in his ears and checked his hearing aids, being relieved to not have lost them or the electricity having burned them out. Updating them to take shocks had been a good idea.
He was getting better in being used to doing everything including fighting, without them, but for what would come he would need them.
A moan of pain took him back to reality. Clint immediately ignored his own pain and shook his head to recover himself, getting up in panic before he saw where it came from.
Kate.
She had fallen on her side, right on the side he supposed she had a broken rib. Her bow and few arrows were laying next to him, her expression was contorted in agony and she was breathing quickly, but still trying to sit up.
Clint had caused that. He had hurt her. He should have never let her come in the first place.
He approached her and she started to try to move away from him when she realized. That hurt more than any physical pain he had ever felt.
He kept walking towards her and crouched next to her, holding her arm to stop her from going away and then carefully putting his arm around her torso to pull her up.
Luckily, Kate was in too much pain to fight against him. Clint never thought that those words would pass through his mind.
He was able to stand with her and carried all her weight as he walked with her towards the boat, her head falling forward. She accompanied him motionless, but he saw the glimpse of something and raised his other hand in time to stop a tranquilizer arrow from hitting his neck.
Clint held her wrist, the end of the arrow just a few inches from his skin as she faced him with a desperate look burning in her eyes. Kate tried to press it, but he was stronger and pushed it away while still holding her.
She was good. If he wasn't called Hawkeye for a reason, he wouldn't have seen it coming. She would be a great Hawkeye in the very likely case he didn't come back.
"Kate. Enough." Clint asked softly.
She scowled and her lips pressed on a thin line. Their gazes locked. She eventually dropped the arrow, and sighed in defeat as she averted her eyes.
Clint hoped she would understand one day.
He carried her inside the boat, holding her body tight when she started struggling, her back against his chest as he avoided her ribs.
Her grunts of pain indicated that it wasn't working.
"Damn, Kate, stop. You're hurting yourself!" Clint exclaimed worriedly, but she didn't listen.
She kept moving, struggling. He couldn't see that. He couldn't let her continue.
Clint grabbed one of his own tranquilizer arrows and injected it on her neck. Kate let out a gasp of surprise.
"No, Clint…" Kate breathed out.
He held her until she stopped squirming and trying to kick him, relying tiredly on his shoulder. Even with his suit, he felt the tears wetting them.
Clint fought to hold back his own. Kate would never forgive him for that.
He carefully sat her on the ground, the tranquilizer doing its job and allowing him to tie her torso to the structure of the boat with one of his bola arrows.
Kate looked up, her eyes already fuzzy as she faced him crouched in front of her.
"Clint… don’t do that. Please… I can't do that…" Kate pleaded, nothing more than a whisper as she shook her head and hrabbed his wrist.
There was fear in her eyes. Despair. That emotion he had felt when he held Nat's wrist. Sheer impotence.
"Lemme go, Kate." Clint smiled sadly, not being able to stop the tear falling on his face.
It was too familiar once again.
Lemme go.
"No. Please, no. Clint." Kate said, fully sobbing quietly.
No. Please, no.
He reached out with his other hand for a blanket they had used to protect themselves from the cold wind in the day from the next city to Madripoor.
Clint covered her body up to her chest, taking his disposable phone out of his secret pocket and setting up a message for Laura and Yelena's emergency contact he saw in Kate's phone.
They would track and come for her.
Laura knew what had happened to him in that case. She would protect their kids, Kate included, and Lucky. He still couldn't help but write I love her in the message.
And Yelena… it was obvious she already loved Kate as much as he did. He was on good terms with her, but she didn't care about him. After all, he still hadn't saved her sister. He couldn't ask anything else from her.
She would take care of Kate and stop her from coming for him and risking it all.
They would all be fine.
"It's okay." Clint whispered, kissing Kate's forehead gently as he did for his kids when he put them to sleep.
It's okay.
"Please…" Kate begged one last time, her breath already slowing down.
Clint looked at Nat. He held her wrist as right as he could. She looked at him. A melancholic smile on her face.
Please…
She looked at him one last time before taking her hand off his hand and jumping towards the ground. Clint screamed, never hating his vision so much as he did at that moment.
He watched her body fall. And fall. And hit the ground. He saw the exact moment her skull was broken. The blood coming out of it. The spark left her eyes.
The loud noise of helicopters took Clint out of his mind to realize he was crying, Kate's head had fallen forward and she was loosely still holding his wrist.
He understood Nat at that moment. It didn't make the knowledge that he would cause Kate an imaginable pain with his actions less hurtful.
Clint let go of her hand kindly, putting it on her lap.
She would be okay, though.
He got up and felt numb as turned on the boat, doing everything he had to make it go away as quickly as possible. He jumped off the boat, rolling on his knees and looking back at it.
She would be alive.
Now it was time to make sure of that.
Clint grabbed an explosive arrows and shot at one of the helicopters coming, which fell a few meters from him. He wouldn't let any of them pass by him.
So he fought.
Clint used freeze arrows to freeze the boats. He shot a Pym arrow on the defenses that would blow the boat with Kate. He shot more and more arrows, taking down every helicopter that got close and defending the port with all he had when the criminals finally reached him.
Arrow after arrow.
Blow after blow.
He used every arrow he had until there were none left to shoot and he had to use them as weapons to fight hand-to-hand.
Clint fought tirelessly, not caring about himself in the process. His pain wasn’t important.
He was a weapon again, doing what it was made to do, this time for someone who deserved his effort.
But even he had limits. He wasn't a super human like Cap and Nat. He wasn't a god like Thor. He wasn't a tech genius like Tony. He wasn't Hulk.
He was just human. And eventually he fell with the impact of an explosion next to him and wasn't quick enough to dodge a sedative shot right on his chest, going through his suit.
Fuck.
Clint felt the sedative start working as he lost control over his limbs, as they didn't obey him and stayed still when he tried to get up.
That was it.
He was at least able to turn his head to the side, towards the boat where Kate was already out of the reach of Madripoor. Even hundreds of yards away, his vision was still good enough for him to see her tied inside it, but safe.
He made it.
Clint gave a small smile, not even uselessly fighting the sedative as a fog took over his mind. It just didn't matter anymore.
"Look at what I've got here." A sly masculine voice he recognized as the aunctioner of the illegal auction echoed in his ears, making him want to take off his hearing aids, "An Original Avenger."
Yeah, that word never fit him and only caused problems.
He couldn't turn to see who was speaking, but he felt sick when his hand touched his chest and then his cheek.
Great. A creep.
Why didn't they kill or just torture him already?
Other voices spoke, but those ones he couldn't understand.
"No, let her go. She isn't important. We have what we wanted here." The auctioneer chuckled darkly, and Clint supposed they were talking about Kate.
A wave of relief passed through him. His plan had worked.
"Carry him inside. We will have a surprise item in today's auction," The aunctioner ordered, his next words infiltrating a hint of panic through the fog in Clint's mind, "You'll be the best item I ever sold."
Oh.
It was an illegal auction focused on the Avengers.
He was an Avenger.
Clint should have predicted that outcome.
His consciousness was swallowed by darkness with that last thought.
Hey, guys! Please if you can, give me some feedback with comments and tell me your opinions, ideas and theories about this chapter. It motivates me to write and I would love to write better for you. Just please, no hate.