Work Text:
I don’t want a lot for Christmas
There is just one thing I need
I don’t care about the presents
Underneath the Christmas tree
I just want you for my own
More than you could ever know
Make my wish come true
All I want for Christmas is you
“Ouch,” Norah groaned loudly, as she gingerly took the only empty seat left in the waiting room. This was her first visit to the New York-Presbyterian Hospital in Brooklyn, and she hoped it would be her last. The hospital seemed nice enough, but their emergency room was the last place she wanted to be, especially the day before Christmas Eve.
She thought the man next to her was asleep until he opened his eyes and looked over at her. “That bad, huh?” He actually looked worse than she felt, which was saying something. His left hand was bruised with cuts around his knuckles, and the right didn’t look any better. There was dried blood under his nose and a small cut next to his left eye. Whatever happened, he looked like he’d been through one hell of a fight. Since he wasn’t there with a police escort, she hoped that meant that he was at least on the good side.
“Pretty bad. Can you break your ass, because I think I might have broken my ass,” she groaned.
“You can break your tailbone, which is essentially your ass. I’ve done it once before. If you actually broke it, I think you’d be in a lot more pain. That would be a shame anyway, you have a great ass.”
Norah wasn’t sure whether to be shocked or flattered. It was certainly up there on the list of most forward things a stranger had ever said to her. “I bet you say that to all the girls you meet in the ER, don’t you? How would you know anyway, since I’m sitting on it?”
He shrugged, but she saw his lips curl up into a slight smile. “I saw you standing at the check-in desk.”
“Creep,” she grumbled, but there was no heat in it. After the morning she’d had, she wasn’t even able to muster up enough energy to be offended. In fact, she was surprised to find herself a bit pleased. Beyond the bruises and blood, the man was quite attractive. His blonde hair was spiky, messy, and could stand to meet a comb. He needed a shave, but she certainly didn’t object to a little scruff, and the intense way that his blue eyes stared at her when she spoke was a bit unnerving, but she didn’t seem to mind that either.
“So, what are you in for?” He was obviously taking in her own injuries.
“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”
“Try me. I’ve seen some pretty crazy stuff.”
She looked down at the ice pack on her left hand. “Well, I was sitting at home…” she started explaining, before he cut her off.
“Sorry, can you look at me when you talk? It would make things easier.”
“Uh, sure,” she replied, looking back up at him. “Why?”
He pointed to both of his ears, and whispered, “80% deaf and I don’t have my hearing aids in. I can hear you a little, but it’s much easier to read your lips.”
At least that explained his intense staring thing. “You must read lips very well.”
“I do. Especially when they’re as pretty as yours.”
“Seriously? Are you like this with every woman you meet?” She tried to sound indignant but knew the blush creeping across her face gave her away.
“Nah, just the cute ones,” he winked at her. “Anyway, I don’t want to get slapped, so it might be safer to get back to your story. I’m Clint, by the way.”
She rolled her eyes at him. “Norah. So, as I was saying, I was sitting at home baking cookies, as one does at Christmas. Unfortunately, I apparently suck at cookie baking and burned the first batch. It made my apartment smell, so I opened up a window to let in some fresh air. Well, as fresh as you can get in New York City.”
“I hear that. Well, I guess technically, I don’t.” He laughed at his own joke.
“The window was right next to my Christmas tree, and is missing a screen. This is my first year having my own tree, and I was really proud of it. Anyway, a little while later, I noticed that the tree was moving.”
“Like on its own? Possessed Christmas tree, that’s a new one to me.”
“Well, I went to check it out and sitting in the middle of the tree was a squirrel. It must have climbed in through the window from the fire escape, and looked perfectly happy in my tree.”
“Do you live near a park?”
“Just across the street. Anyway, I couldn’t have him living in my apartment, so I tried to shoo him away toward the window, but he wasn’t having it. He looked right at me and knocked off one of my favorite ornaments, shattering it at my feet. Well, I tried to shoo him away again, and this time he moved up and began playing with another ornament, tossing it on the ground as well. Now I was ticked off, so I grabbed my broom.”
“Oh no.”
“Oh yes. I used the handle to poke at the thing, and it attacked me!” She could tell that Clint was trying hard not to laugh, and she even thought that it might be funny to her one day, but today was not that day. “So, I’m flailing around with this squirrel on my arm, trying not to scream, but failing miserably. The broom was still in my hand, and in my flailing, the handle knocked the tree over and sent me tumbling backward onto my butt, where I also managed to hit my head hard on the coffee table. That damned squirrel finally crawled off of me like his work was done and went and sat in the tree again, which was now completely sideways on the ground with ornaments rolling everywhere. He was just staring at me. I’m pretty sure he was mocking me.”
“So, is he still there?”
“No. I wasn’t going to let him win. I got up, and this time I held up the sweeping part of the broom. He climbed right on it, and it was a race as he started climbing up the handle toward me, and I tried to toss the broom out of the window. I was victorious and celebrated by slamming the window shut.” She sighed dramatically, holding up the hand with the ice pack. “Right on my hand.”
This time he didn’t bother to contain his laughter. “I’m sorry, you’re obviously hurt, so I know I shouldn’t laugh, but that is a funny story.”
“Yeah, yeah. Laugh at my misery. It’s painful to sit, I have squirrel scratches on my arm, I probably have Rabies, a smashed-up hand, a giant bump on the back of my head, and quite possibly a concussion. Not to mention my tree is ruined and there’s lights and ornaments all over my floor.”
“Well, the worst of those is the possible concussion. Squirrels don’t usually carry Rabies, so you’re safe there.”
“And how do you know that? Are you a Veterinarian?”
He gave her a surprised look. “No, I’m not a veterinarian. I used to live in a small town in Iowa though, then traveled with a circus. I know a little about animals.”
“Well, I hope you’re right. I was looking up animal scratches on the way over here, and Rabies shots don’t sound like a lot of fun. Wait. You were in the Circus? Ringling Brothers? What did you do? My dad would take us to Ringling Brothers any time they were in town. I thought you might look a little familiar, but I don’t know why.”
“No, I was in a different type of circus. Much smaller. I’m not surprised that I look familiar to you, but it wouldn’t be from there. How long have you been in the city?”
“I moved here in June. I grew up in Pittsburgh.”
“Well, I’m gonna try not to be offended that you don’t recognize me, then.”
“Alright, I told you my story, it’s time to tell me yours. What brings you to the ER the eve of Christmas Eve, and why should I know who you are?”
Before he could answer, a nurse came out of the door and shouted, “Barton, Clint?”
“I think this is you. Barton is your last name?” He nodded and stood up. “That’s so unfair. I humiliated myself with my story and now you’re off the hook.”
Clint smiled down at her. “Russians.”
“What?”
“Russians. I’m here because of Russians.” He turned and followed the nurse through the door without another word.
It wasn’t much longer before it was her turn to be called. The nurse led her down a hallway to a large room with beds separated into little cubicles by curtains. She went over her information, checked her vitals and looked over her wounds before letting Norah know that a doctor would be with her shortly. She left, pulling the front curtain mostly closed behind her. Norah laid back on the bed and closed her eyes until the sound of a curtain moving, this time from the side, made her open them again.
“Hey! Fancy meeting you here. How come you didn’t get one of these sexy hospital gowns?” Clint, who was obviously in the cubicle next to hers, was now beside her bed. “Sorry, hope you don’t mind, I heard you come in,” he indicated the open curtain that separated your areas.
“Not at all,” she turned her face toward him, making sure he could see her when she spoke. “I guess I don’t have any reason to have one of those. It looks good on you, though. Have you seen a doctor yet?”
He grinned at the compliment and purposely flexed his arms to show off some pretty impressive muscle. “Yeah, waiting to have an X-Ray. Might have a few broken ribs.”
“Broken ribs from Russians? I’ve got nowhere to be until a doctor sees me, so let’s hear it.”
“You don’t waste any time, do you, Norah? Okay. Long story short. I used to live in Bed-Stuy. It’s not in the greatest part of town, but I needed an apartment and it was cheap. The neighbors were pretty nice,” he shrugged, pulling the little chair next to her bed closer so that he could sit on it and not have to shout. “Well, they’re trying to gentrify the area, and a group of Russians were trying to take over the building to get the tenants to leave.”
“And they attacked you?” She honestly expected a silly story like hers, but this sounded much more serious.
“Well, yeah, a few times. It’s been a while though. I thought I was done dealing with them. Anyway, I kind of ended up buying the building so everyone wouldn’t be kicked out. I lived there for a while, but all the hipsters moving into the area kind of ruined it for me, so I rented out my apartment to my buddy Wade, and moved to Manhattan, which is nuts enough, but put me closer to work. Wade keeps an eye on the building, but I still check in pretty often. I went to deliver some Christmas presents to the tenants today, and the Russian guys saw me and tried to shoot me.”
“Oh my gosh, you’re kidding!”
“Wish I was. They missed though, but then there was a big fight and they pretty much kicked my ass, but I finally got the best of them. The police came, they got arrested, and I came here.”
“So, are you really brave, or just really stupid? Picking a fight with the Russian mob? People actually shooting at you? I’m surprised you weren’t arrested as well.”
“Nah, they shot at me, and the police in that area know us all well enough to know that I’m one of the good guys.” Taking in her doubtful look, he frowned. “I am!”
“I believe you. Why’d you come all the way out here for treatment, though?”
“Well, the people here know me because I’ve been here a few times. Now, enough questions about me. Do you and your boyfriend have any big plans for Christmas this weekend?”
“Wow,” she sniggered. “Was that an actual question or your terrible attempt to find out if I had a boyfriend?” He began to sputter out an answer, but she cut him off. “No boyfriend. I would be spending Christmas with my parents in Pittsburgh, but my dad surprised my Mom with this old people’s cruise from China to Australia, and it happened to fall over Christmas. My mom tried to get my dad to switch the date, but I assured her that I’d be fine. They’re having a blast on the trip, so that’s worth spending Christmas alone. What about you?”
“My parents are dead. I’ve got an older brother but we are hit or miss, and right now is a miss.”
‘Oh, I’m sorry to hear that. Maybe you could call him?”
“Nah, it’s okay. My partner actually made other plans on Christmas Day, or I’d usually do something with her.”
“Oh,” Norah was surprised at the feeling of disappointment that hit her at his words, she didn’t really know this guy, so why should she care if he was seeing someone? “She made plans for Christmas without you?”
“Sure. She likes to get away and take time for herself, and we usually don’t have much to do on Christmas, so it’s a good time for her to go. I mean, it’s not like we’re…” He suddenly started grinning at her. “Oh! When I said partner, did you think I meant like a romantic partner? Is that why you suddenly became Ms. Frowny Face? Jealous?” Once again, he flexed his arm muscles at her, and she had the overwhelming urge to throw something at him. “No, we work together. She’s not my girlfriend. She’d kill me.”
“I understand the feeling,” she grumbled.
The front curtain opened and the doctor stood there looking surprised. “Oh, um…Hello. Did you get lost, Mr. Barton?”
“Nah, I was just entertaining my neighbor, Doc. I’ll leave you two alone to talk.” He walked back to his cubicle, pulling the curtain closed behind him.
After checking her out, the doctor ordered an X-ray for her hand, CT scan for her head, and blood tests. He assured her that Clint was right that squirrels didn’t usually carry Rabies and didn’t even trigger the Rabies protocol. When the nurse came to take her to the X-ray room, she ran into Clint again waiting for his turn.
“If I keep running into you like this, I’m gonna think that you’re following me,” he teased her.
“You wish. MRI and X-ray for me.”
“Just an X-ray for me. There’s two people ahead,” he sighed. “Does the doc think you have a concussion? I’ve had a few of those. They are awful.”
“Probably not, but better safe than sorry, I guess,” she shrugged. “You’ve broken your tailbone, had a few concussions, and I can see scars on your arms. What in the world do you do for a living? Are you a UFC fighter?”
He gave her an exacerbated look. “Do you really not recognize me?”
“No. I just know you have a partner, get injured a lot, and apparently the police let you go after you beat up Russians, who try to kill you.”
“Well, that’s because I’m one of the good guys.” He puffed up a little, but the movement seemed to cause him pain, so he slumped back down in his seat. “You know, because I’m an Avenger.”
Norah immediately had to cover her mouth to keep from laughing out loud. “You’re an Avenger? Okay,” she giggled. “You don’t look like Iron Man or Captain America. Maybe Thor with short hair? You look a bit shorter than he does on TV, but you do have some pretty impressive arms.” She couldn’t believe those words came out of her mouth, but it was true. He didn’t even have to flex to make his arms impressive, but he was happy to do it again with a grin.
“Hawkeye. You know, the guy with the bow?” He looked a bit dejected when she didn’t seem to have a clue what he was talking about. “Hawkeye and Black Widow. We’re partners? At least we were before SHIELD fell. Still are, really.”
“I’ve heard of Black Widow. She’s awesome!” Norah knew she shouldn’t tease him, but she couldn’t help it.
“Have you really never heard of me?”
“I knew there was someone with a bow, but sorry, I didn’t know your name, if that’s really you.”
“It’s really me. I even have an official Avengers card that Tony made us all last Christmas,” he replied. “So, what do you do?”
“Nothing as exciting as you, apparently. I’m a Network Engineer. Basically, it means I’m a great big nerd and I live in front of a computer.”
“At least Russians or aliens aren’t trying to kill you all the time.”
“No, I’ve never had anyone try to kill me, except a squirrel,” she giggled.
The door to one of the x-ray rooms opened and a nurse came out. “I didn’t believe it when they said we had an Avenger waiting, but wow! It’s really true. I don’t mean to sound like a fangirl, but would you mind signing an autograph for my son? After your X-ray, of course. You’re like his sixth favorite Avenger!”
Clint rolled his eyes at Norah as she tried to hide her laughter. “Sure, let’s just get this over with,” he grumbled.
“Oh, I’m actually here for her,” she pointed at Norah apologetically.
“Of course you are. Good Luck, Norah,” he said, as she was wheeled into the room. “I really hope you don’t have a concussion.”
Clint wasn’t in the hall when she was done with her X-ray, and by the time she got back from the MRI, his cubicle was empty as well. The nurse informed her that he was discharged just a little while ago.
She was disappointed that she didn’t get to say goodbye, since he made the trip to the ER a little more bearable. Of course, he probably had more important things to do than hang around waiting to say goodbye to her, given what he did for a living, she decided.
Even before she knew that part, that he was an Avenger, she had to admit that she found him interesting. He was a great big flirt for sure, but he was funny, and he made her laugh. The fact that he was quite attractive didn’t hurt either. He didn’t take himself very seriously which was a rarity for men in the city, and Norah found it refreshing.
After having her bruised, not broken, hand wrapped, scratches cleaned up, and being declared concussion free, she was finally able to leave. She gathered up her belongings, prescriptions, and discharge papers and headed back into the lobby, where she was shocked to find Clint sitting in a chair just outside the exit from the ER. He looked up at her and smiled.
“So, what’s the verdict? I’ve got some bruised ribs, but nothing’s broken. They wrapped them, gave me a prescription for pain, and told me to keep the cuts on my knuckles and hands clean.”
She tried very hard to hide the goofy smile on her face from finding him there waiting for her, but knew she was probably failing miserably. “My hand is bruised, not broken. The scratches aren’t likely to give me Rabies, and I have a lovely knot on the back of my head, but they found no signs of a concussion. I have a nice list of things to look out for, antibiotics, and pain meds as well.”
“So, you don’t have a concussion?”
“Nope. Doc says my brain is just fine.”
He seemed relieved. “Oh good. That will make this next question seem way less creepy. What are you doing after this?”
“Besides going home to pick what’s left of my tree and my dignity off my living room floor? Not much. Why?”
“Well, while I was on the X-Ray table, I was thinking. You’re alone for Christmas, I’m alone for Christmas, maybe we should be alone for Christmas, together. We could get out of here and go get a slice of pizza to start with.” He looked at her with sudden concern. “Do you like pizza?”
“Duh, doesn’t everybody?”
“Whew, dodged a bullet there.”
“Not your first today, so it would seem.”
“Yeah, yeah. At least I missed them. Respect the skills,” he grinned. “Anyway, I could help you with your tree if you wanted me to, and maybe tonight we could take a walk through Rockefeller Center or look at the window displays in midtown? All the stuff New Yorkers do at Christmas. Tomorrow we could go to dinner, anywhere you wanted.”
“We won’t be able to get reservations anywhere in the city for Christmas Eve at this point.”
“Sure, I can. Well, more specifically, Tony Stark can. Speaking of Stark, he has this big Christmas dinner party thing on Christmas Day. It’s a lot of small talk and fancy food, but it isn’t too bad. You could be my plus one if you wanted to go with me?”
“You’re actually serious about all of this, aren’t you?”
He nodded. “It may seem a little crazy, given that we just met earlier today, but I feel like we’ve bonded over doctors and medical diagnoses, haven’t we? Besides, I bet the doctor suggested you not be alone for a while in case you really do have a concussion.”
“True, I suppose,” she shrugged. She was already sold on the idea of spending time with Clint and getting to know him better when she saw him waiting for her in the lobby. Not being alone for Christmas was just an added bonus.
“Look, I know that it probably sounds like I’m hitting on you in the middle of an emergency room lobby, but…”
“Yes?” She raised an amused eyebrow at him.
“That’s just because I am absolutely hitting on you in the middle of an emergency room lobby,” he chuckled. “What do ya say?”
Norah considered him for a moment, before nodding. “Slight modifications. No fancy dinner tomorrow. My family has cheese fondue on Christmas Eve. It’s a tradition, so we’ll cook. I wasn’t going to bother since it was just going to be me, but I’d rather do that than some stuffy restaurant. Plus, if I decide to go with you to that party on Christmas day, I really only have one fancy dress, and don’t feel like spending the rest of the day shopping so I don’t have to wear the same dress twice.”
“Really? Nat has a whole closet full of party dresses. I thought all women did?”
“I’m a Network Engineer, Clint, not a spy. How many fancy dresses do you think I need?” When he shrugged, she shook her head in disbelief, and changed the subject. “Another thing. I don’t think that either of us should be walking around the city in our current conditions, so we grab a pizza and medications, go to my place, and watch the greatest Christmas movie ever made.”
Clint crossed his fingers on both hands, brought them up to his face, and closed his eyes tightly. “Please say Die Hard. Please say Die Hard.”
“Duh,” she giggled. “Of course I mean Die Hard. It isn’t Christmas until I see Hans Gruber fall off of Nakatomi Plaza.”
“You very well might be the perfect woman, Norah,” he grinned.
Having no idea how to answer that, she didn’t bother. “So, pizza?”
“Yeah. Pizza. I’m starving.” He held his hand up, and they headed for the door. As she stepped out onto the sidewalk, he turned to her. “So, about what I said just a few minutes ago, about hitting on you. That didn’t scare you off?”
“No, not at all. What do you say we start with pizza and see what happens from there, though?” She held her non-bandaged hand out to him, and he gave her a big goofy smile as he took it, entwining his fingers with hers.
“That seems fair to me. I wonder if that squirrel’s still lurking around your apartment?”
“I have no idea, but I don’t intend to open my window and find out, at least until I put a screen on it. Hey! After all this, maybe I’ll join the Avengers,” she teased him. “Apparently it’s not that hard. I could be Squirrel Girl!”
He looked at her and laughed. “No, no I’m afraid you can’t. Strangely enough, that name’s already taken.”
“You people are very weird.”
He used the hand he was holding to pull her a little closer as they walked. “You have no idea.”
Norah wasn’t quite sure what she was getting herself into, and she certainly wasn’t expecting to spend her Christmas weekend with a guy that she met in the ER. Especially one who was an Avenger and spent his time fighting bad guys, aliens and apparently Russians. He was sweet though, funny, quite handsome, and she was very much looking forward to whatever happened next.