Chapter Text
Most parents want to see their kids follow in their footsteps in some way. Clint was no different. His heart had soared when Lila first came up and asked him for her own bow. This was certainly better than her joining the circus too.
“Keep your hand loose. Your grip is too tight, the bowstring will snap your arm.” He gently corrected her as she took aim. Loosening her grip on her front hand, she readjusted. It was a compound bow, so she wasn’t holding back much resistance. Even so, she was taking too long to aim and her hands were shaking. Just as he thought, when she let the arrow fly, it went wonky.
“Damn it.” She mumbled under her breath.
“Hey, don’t let your mother catch you saying that.” He ran a hand down her hair. “Besides, it still hit the target.”
“Barely.”
“Better than you were doing last week.” Patting her shoulder, he gestured for her to follow. “Come on, let’s retrieve this batch and try again.” Lila followed him up to the target. He let her attempt to retrieve the arrows first, but when they proved stubborn, he pulled them out and tightened the tips for her.
They walked back up to the firing line and had her try again. She was getting better, even if she couldn’t see it. There were small improvements everywhere. Her arm was straighter, her grip looser, stance steady. Kids never saw those kinds of things, but it made his heart swell with pride.
Lila was about to take aim again when he saw one of the pigs rooting around behind the target off to the right. “Hold on.” She lowered her bow and eased the string forward without losing the arrow. “BaconBits is in the way. Let me move him.”
Jogging towards the animal, it made no indication it planned one moving. “Go on, scram.” Nudging it did absolutely nothing. Damn thing. “We are going to eat you one day, you know.” He stared at the pig, willing it to move.
Wracking his brain for how to get it out of the target zone, he almost missed the squelch . He heard the noise and drew a breath, registering the pain before the cause. A stabbing agony shot through his side.
What he liked about archery, partially, was how quiet it was. If only he had put a bell on his over-eager daughter like he had threatened too so many times before when she’d sneak up on him. Maybe he would’ve heard her setting up a shot.
Right now, all he could hear was her screaming.
Not even remotely in his control, his knees hit the grass. A hand met the wound, cradling the bloody arrow sticking out of him. Thank God she only had practice tips on these. A hunting tip would’ve only ended this faster.
Her little feet pounded the ground as she ran towards him. “Daddy, daddy, I’m so sorry daddy!” Lila’s face was red and blotchy from sobbing. It made his heart clench. That made everything worse. He was already bleeding enough. The shock prevented him from crying. He could feel the pain, but it was like he couldn’t react to it. Probably for the best. He didn’t want her to see him like that. He didn’t want her to see him like this. “I thought I could do like you do! I wanted to ricochet it, Daddy. I’m so sorry!” Small sobs sent wracking hiccups through her chest as she knelt down next to him.
He cupped her face with the hand not covering his wound. “It’s okay, sweetheart. Everything is okay.” Clint forced himself to breathe through the pain, breathe through the lie. “It’s my fault, alright? It’s Daddy’s fault. Range safety should’ve been covered before I ever put that bow…in your hands.” The grunt slipped past his lips before he could stop it.
“I’m sorry…I’m so sorry…” Her crying had calmed somewhat. Good. That was progress. She was still hysterical, but that was understandable. At least she was more coherent.
“Shhh, it’s alright. I’m alright. Don’t cry, baby.” He wiped her tears away with his thumb. Her eyes closed and he took the brief window to let the full-face cringe finally take over. He schooled his expression back to normal as quickly as he could. “Now, Lila, Honey, I need you to go get your mom. You're not in trouble. Just get your mom, so she can get me help. Okay?” She nodded against his hand. “Good, now go on.”
Stumbling to her feet she took off towards the farmhouse. Once he was sure she wasn’t going to look back, he looked down at the wound again. It was through his side, not quite inwards enough to be any major danger. Well, beyond internal bleeding. Still, there was always a chance. He already felt shaky, and it wasn’t the adrenaline leaving his system. He knew that wasn’t good.
Laura, still covered in flour from her latest baking experiment, raced towards him. A phone was already in her hands, and she was already talking to someone. Whether she called S.H.I.E.L.D directly or regular old 911 he didn’t know. He just wanted them to get here fast, preferably with painkillers.
His wife knelt next to him. “At least she’s not in the circus, right?” He flashed her the best smile he could muster. It looked more like a grimace. Running fingers through his hair, and holding what she could of his weight, she stayed on the line with whoever was coming to help.
“You’re not teaching Cooper.” She finally said, when the line went quiet for a moment.
“I’m not giving up on teaching Lila,” He shot back, voice low and laced with agony. His hands were already getting pale.
“Stubborn bastard.” Her fingers hovered over the wound as she mumbled it lovingly.
“Good thing too.” He put more pressure on it himself and winced. “I’m definitely too stubborn to die like this.” A dark chuckle melded with a groan, “Way too ironic, on the nose, you know?”
“You better be.” Her hands cover his back, around the entry wound. They held him together until help arrived.