Chapter Text
"You have heart."
"What did it show you, Agent Barton?"
"Why am I back? How did you get him out?"
"No! Not again!"
Agent Clint Barton sat up in bed suddenly, dripping in sweat, heart racing so fast he thought it might explode.
"Clint! You're all right."
"Tasha?"
Only after he felt Natasha's hand on his shoulder did he dare look around. He was in her apartment, in her bed. He was safe. He repeated that thought over and over again until he started to believe it.
"I'm here. You're OK." She got up and walked over to the mini fridge she kept in her bedroom, pulling out a bottle of water, twisting the cap off, and handing it to him as she sat down beside him again. "Take a drink. Just a sip or two...no, go slow. Trust me, you'll regret it if you don't."
He nodded to her and took one sip, then another. She knew what she was talking about. The woman he'd been spending more and more time with had her own share of nightmares.
"Better?" she asked. When he nodded in response, she continued. "Is it the same dream?"
Ever since they had fought Loki, he'd been having these nightmares in which Loki was still controlling his mind. More and more often he wound up here, with Natasha. He didn't want to be alone. But at the same time, thinking about what might happen...
"God, Tash, what if...what if Loki's just biding his time, ready to strike when we don't expect it. What if he's not gone? I could be putting all of you in danger. I almost..."
"He's GONE, Clint. Stop doing this to yourself." She reached up and held his face between her two hands, forcing him to look at her. "He doesn't control you anymore. And he's worlds away."
He knew she was right. This had to stop...he had to stop it. He was headed for a psych ward if he didn't. Or worse. Still, knowing all the damage he had caused while under Loki's control...it wasn't easy to live with, even knowing that he had basically been a mindless puppet.
No, this had to stop. Without warning he got up and started throwing his clothes on.
"Where are you going?"
"Out for a drive. I need to clear my head."
"Let me come with you."
"No." He hesitated when he realized he'd said that more harshly than he intended. "I just need to be by myself for a while. I'll be back." He leaned over the bed to give her a quick kiss, then he grabbed his helmet and was out the door.