Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Clint Barton bent down to look at the little girl that had tugged on his tunic.

dark blonde curls framed a sweet smile and brilliant blue eyes that caught the light and almost seemed to glow.

he kneeled down to eye level, ‘hi sweetheart, whats your name?’

‘Lyla’ she replied ducking her head down and cuddling a rag doll with a wooden head.

Clint frowned slightly but said ‘thats pretty, it was my grandmothers name too’ and the girl giggled looking up at him.

‘are you the archer from midgard?’

yes I am, i work with the mighty prince Thor to protect the realm.’

before more could be said a lady in waiting walked briskly towards them, the girl shying away from the woman.

‘child,’ she said tersely. ‘come away and don’t bother the man. go back to your nurse.’ Lyla nodded and ran back to the small garden she had come from and disappeared in to the shadows of the wall.

‘she wasn’t bothering me ma’am. cute kid, who’s is she?’

the woman looked like she’d bit into a lemon with a side of vintager before getting the look that said she was eager to share gossip.

‘the child is dangerous, i don’t know why the all-mother feels it safe to keep such a thing around, it will only show its true colours and bite like the viper in the bosom it is.’

Clint schooled his face to control his anger, before asking what she meant.

‘well, its said her father was a giant hawk, that could let fly metal feathers from its wings with deadly accuracy, and the less said about the ‘mother’ the better, ’ Clint could hear the air quotes on that, ‘mother?’

‘that bastard argr the all-father burdened us with. Loki. takes too much after ‘is name sake Loptr he does, never been comfortable around that one to be sure.’

he must have an odd look on his face, but she didn’t say anything more when prince Thor came over slapping him on the back and rattling his quiver and knocking the arrows over his shoulder with the force, ‘well sir Hawkeye! how do you fare this morn? are you ready to show the warriors 3 your archer skills?’

‘just fine thanks and you bet’ he replied, turning to the woman he said with a slight smirk at her wide eyes and slack jaw, ‘i had a fun time talking with you, but I have something i gotta do, laters’

Thor nodded to the woman, calling her by name, ‘Lady Birgit’ before almost dragging Clint towards the practice fields.

***

They were half way there when he dropped the bomb on Thor ‘so tell me, how come you never mentioned that your brother had a kid?’

Thor stopped, his arm still around Hawkeye’s shoulders, his grip tightening as he searched for how to respond to such a odd question.

sighing he replied, ‘i did not think it necessary to inform the Avenger’s of my brothers proclivities’

Clint lifted a eyebrow at that. 'i think the fact your 'brother’ gave birth, if that woman is to believed, is something we shouldn’a been told.’ how old is she?’

Thor blinked then blushed slightly, 'the girl is 4 of your years old’ Clint nodded to himself, 'so he was pregnant when the shit storm in Manhattan happened, right?’

‘verily, he was’

‘okay, that explains a few things’ without a backward glance he left Thor, walking swiftly off to the stands surrounding the field to stand next to Natasha.

he leaned close whispering ‘we need to talk’ she gave a short nod, almost more like just a flex of her jaw that not many people would have noticed she had even moved.

***

Nat and Clint sit on the huge bed, the bottle of vodka she had snuck in her bag resting on her knee as she thinks about what he just told her.

‘are you sure they aren’t just fantasies? you know for sure that it really happened?’ she questioned him again hoping that this time the answer will change.

‘yes Nat im sure, the weird force released Loki then took me over and I...’ he waves his hand in a wobbly manor not wanting to say what he knows it was.

‘he was already pregnant by the time of the invasion, im surprised he didn’t miscarry when he was hulk smashed.’ he sighs again taking the bottle from her and downing a large swig, the burning in his throat making his eyes water. ‘where’d you get this stuff anyway? this isn’t your usual stock’

all she replied was ‘special circumstance’

That night he dreamed. it wasn’t his normal dreams, or missing targets or losing people he cares about. no that would be too easy.

The room is dark and cold, he can see Selvig working on the tesseract machine through the plastic slats.

Loki has called him to his sleeping chamber. The Other has spoken to him, Loki needs more incentive to work faster, pain is always a great motivator.

Pain of the mind can only take him so far, and it is easily forgotten once its over.

Now, physical pain is called for. Loki’s eyes are suddenly grass green, wide and frightened. he knows what he’s been doing, but couldn’t stop himself from doing it. saying things that he knows cant be true. he drops the scepter, or try’s to but it stands on its own like a bad b-movie effect.

Barton reaches out to grab it, his eyes going from the tesseract blue glow to almost full black.

The Other, using Barton’s body tells Loki his plan, that he knows his body intimately, and he is ripe for it.

Loki try’s to fight but the mental link was a where most of his recent strength had come from.

He crys, curled up in the corner, knowing that it will happen again until the seed takes root.

***

Clint wakes in a cold sweat as the dream fades. he had at first thought it was a sick fantasy, but that just didn’t add up to what he felt. He remembers telling Loki his grandmothers name when he asked about his family and past. it figures that Loki would remember that and name what must be their daughter after someone he only knew very briefly.

Lyla Barton was a strong woman, who didn’t take no shit from no body. that fact that her son and his wife were drug addicts and all around horrible people should never reflect on her.

She tried many times to get custody of Clint and his brother Barney, but some how the courts just never seemed to get their heads out of collective asses to do that.

By the time Clints parents had died leaving him and his brother pretty much on their own, Lyla was too old to care for them, a year later she died as well, some thought maybe it was old age, others someone looking to square a debt Clints parents owed.

Then came the circus, colourful and bright. His talent as a sharpshooter winning him the best sleep tent and better meals than most of the other performers. though his brother mostly just took care of the animals he was allowed to share a space with him. not that there was much space to begin with.

One night his brother left. He never saw him again, but he always wondered if it had been his fault.

Was sure it had been.

but 25 years later thats mostly just water through the sewage pipe.

now he has a daughter to think about, and a crazy baby mama to try and figure out.

he’s got his work cut out for him.

 

~~~