Inell's Fanfiction Archive

“I’ve found the hostages,” Natasha says. “Their guard has been disposed of, and I’m bringing them out. Is it clear?”

“Clear enough. Thor, go to the entrance to help Widow with the hostages,” Steve orders, trying to stay focused on the people he’s fighting. “Hawkeye, give me your status.”

“I can’t get to him, Captain. They’ve swarmed around him, and I just can’t get a clear shot,” Tony says, his frustration obvious.

“Keep trying.” Steve glances up at the roof, but he can’t see anything except dark shapes moving around. “Hawkeye. Report.”

“I’m trying.” Clint sounds as if he’s in pain, tired and hoarse. Steve has to force himself to remain where he is, fighting the soldiers trying to keep them from freeing the hostages. “I’m so sorry. I’m trying.”

“I don’t care what needs to be done, you get him, Iron Man.” Steve starts fighting harder, needing to get this done so he can go help Clint.

“Oh God. Oh no!” Tony suddenly yells, and Steve turns his head, watching in growing horror as Clint’s dangled over the side of the roof and then let go. It’s like everything fades around him, all the noises are muted, and he’s frozen as he sees the man he loves hit the ground hard.

Steve doesn’t even think. He looks at the figure still standing on the edge of the roof and he starts to run. When he gets closer, he throws his shield, using all of his strength as he aims it at the figure’s head. He doesn’t feel anything when he hits his target and the shield manages to decapitate the figure. He can’t feel anything because Clint’s been thrown to the ground and isn’t moving.

“Clean slice, Captain,” Tony says, aiming his weapons at the others still on the roof.

Steve reaches Clint’s side and falls to his knees, sliding part of the way there. “Clint, I need you to look at me,” he demands, staring down at him. Clint’s covered in blood, his uniform is sliced all over, and he still isn’t moving. Steve reaches out and puts his fingers against his pulse. It’s barely there, just a faint flutter beneath his fingertips. “No. You can’t die. Do you hear me? You will not die. Hill, get medical here now!”

“The mission--“

“Fuck the mission! You get medical here or I walk,” he says, not caring if he’s being insubordinate or that he’s violating the public versus private rule of Fury’s. Clint’s barely alive, and he’s not about to lose him. He pulls his mask off and uses it to wipe some of the blood off Clint's face. He can still hear his team fighting, but he can’t leave Clint here alone. “Clint, I need you to open those pretty eyes of yours and look at me.”

Clint doesn’t listen. Steve doesn’t know what to do. Medical’s not here, and Clint’s barely breathing, and he doesn’t want to move him because he hit the ground after falling two stories. But he can’t just sit here and watch him fade away. He sits down and carefully puts Clint’s head against his thigh, not caring that he’s getting blood on his uniform.

“Hill’s sending medical. She’d better be sending medical. Damn it, Hill. Give me an ETA!” Steve strokes Clint’s face, trying to soothe him even if he’s unconscious.

“Five minutes, Captain.” Hill doesn’t sound happy, but Steve will deal with that later. After Clint’s better and alive and not just lying there so still and injured.

“Get them here faster,” Natasha says, her voice quiet and firm. “The hostages are free, the enemy is incapacitated, and we have a casualty on our side.”

Steve looks up at her and wonders if she can see how helpless he feels when she looks back at him. “He’s breathing, but his pulse is weak. He’s losing a lot of blood.”

“Our boy is too stubborn to die, especially this way.” She reaches out and briefly squeezes Steve’s shoulder before she kneels on Clint’s other side. She begins to murmur to him, but she’s speaking Russian, so Steve doesn’t know what she’s saying. She looks as solemn and serious as she usually does during missions, but her hand is shaking just enough when she reaches out to check Clint’s pulse for Steve to know she’s more worried than she appears.

“I have some medic training,” an unknown voice says, interrupting Steve’s concentration on the rise and fall of Clint’s chest. He looks up to see a woman standing there wearing fatigues. One of the hostages, he realizes. “I could look at him, until someone else gets here.”

“Please?” he whispers, reaching up to rub his bloody hand across his cheek. “He’s barely breathing.”

“I don’t know what the fuck those things were, but they definitely aren’t human.” Tony walks up to them and tosses Steve’s shield on the ground next to him. “Their arms were like these weird knives but not quite like that. I can’t even describe it. They had something on them, Cap. When I touched one, there was a reaction to the suit, like it was fizzing. I think it might be poisonous.”

“Hill!” Steve can’t keep the fear and anger from his voice. “We need evac NOW!”

“The blood seems to be originating from these two wounds primarily,” the woman is saying. She points to a deep cut on Clint’s chest and another on his ribcage. “Most of the others are superficial, but those have the potential to leave a scar if he doesn’t get treatment soon. They might anyway. Iron Man is right, I think. There’s something in the blood that isn’t normal. Do you feel anything, Captain America? You’ve touched the blood.”

“I don’t feel anything,” he says, blinking down at Clint and reaching for his hand. He squeezes it tight even if Clint’s not conscious to feel it. He frowns at the blood and tries to focus. “It tingles a little, but it wouldn’t affect me even if it’s poisonous. Those types of things aren’t effective on me.”

“Out of the way.” Two members of the S.H.I.E.L.D. medical team are finally on site, and they rush up with a stretcher and bag of equipment.

“Blood might be dangerous to touch. Lots of blood loss. Weak pulse.” The woman is giving report as she stands up.

Steve just watches, feeling powerless in a way he hasn’t felt since the past. As they talk over his head, he leans to kiss Clint lightly. “You have to wake up now,” he whispers. “I can’t lose you when I’ve only recently found you, sweetheart.”

A hand on his shoulder draws his attention away from Clint. Thor is standing there looking worried. “You need to let them take him, Captain. They will help him.”

“I…” Steve slowly nods but doesn’t want to let go of Clint’s hand. “I know. I just can’t let him go.”

“We need to get him to medical, Captain.” One of the med staff looks confused but somber. “He needs a transfusion, and we need to analyze what’s in his blood. If it got into his system, well, we need to move fast.”

“Cupid hurt?” Hulk wanders over to them now that the enemy is gone and looks down at Clint’s still form. “Cupid wake up.”

“Yeah, big guy. Cupid’s hurt,” Tony says, going over to pat Hulk’s knee. “He’ll be better soon, though.”

Steve reluctantly let’s go of Clint’s hand and immediately feels the loss. His breath catches in his throat and he bites the inside of his cheek hard so he can try to stay calm. “I need to go with him.”

“Nyet. We will go with him.” Natasha takes his hand, barely flinching when her skin makes contact with Clint’s blood. She must have felt it tingle, since he doubts she’d have reacted otherwise.

“We’ll get the hostages taken care of and meet you there,” Tony says, glancing at the group of people lurking around them.

“You will contact us if he wakes before we arrive.” Thor doesn’t make it a question. He nods and pats Steve’s shoulder on his way to the hostages.

Steve follows the medics and feels like he’s in a fog. Everything’s fuzzy and muted except for Clint. Natasha doesn’t let go of his hand, and he’s grateful for the contact, especially when he knows she cares about Clint as much as he does, just in a different way. They somehow make it to medical, and Clint’s taken away. He doesn’t even realize it’s him making the forlorn whining noise until Natasha puts an arm around his waist.

“They will take care of him, Steve,” she says, sounding so confident and certain that he wants to believe her.

“I can’t lose him,” he whispers. “When I saw him fall, I felt…I can’t…”

“I know.” Natasha leads him to a chair and makes him sit. “He has survived worse than this. Besides, he would not leave you if he has any say in the matter.”

Steve looks at her. “What if he doesn’t?”

Natasha shakes her head. “No. I will not discuss such possibilities. He will be fine. I know it here.” She puts her free hand on her belly.

He lets her be strong for the both of them because he isn’t feeling very tough right now. He isn’t sure how much time passes, but he looks up when the door opens and the rest of the team, plus Pepper and Jane minus Thor, joins them. Bruce is back to himself, and he looks concerned.

“Have you heard anything?” Bruce asks, starting to pace before they even answer.

“No, nothing,” Steve says, shaking his head.

“We brought you each a change of clothes,” Pepper tells them, gesturing to the two leather bags that Tony’s holding. “And Thor’s getting coffee and snacks because I thought you probably hadn’t taken time to eat anything yet.”

“We put a change of clothes for Clint in with yours, Steve.” Tony seems subdued compared to his natural self, and that makes Steve scared that maybe they somehow know something he and Natasha don’t.

“Have you heard anything?” he asks, taking the case from Tony but just putting it on the floor by his feet. “Does JARVIS know something?”

Tony sighs. “No, he tried but there wasn’t any news at the time. Hill’s pissed at how the mission went fubar, but we’re ready to walk if she pushes it, so I doubt it leads to anything more than her bitching about us not following orders and shit. I dare Fury to challenge us over this.”

“We saved the hostages and took care of the threat as requested.” Natasha lets go of Steve’s hand and stands up. Before she takes more a few steps away, Jane is sitting next to him and taking his hand.

“Do you need anything, Steve? Is there anything Clint’s going to need when he wakes up?” Jane asks. The fact that she says when and not if means a lot to him.

“They think the guy Steve beheaded with the shield was Collier. They had to piece some of those things together after Clint and I got through with them, but they think the head matches the images they had managed to gather. No idea yet what the hell was up with the blade arm things.”

The sound of Bruce’s phone ringing startles Steve. He moves to the corner to take the call before looking at them and frowning. When he hangs up, he crosses the room towards them. “They’ve asked me to help find an antidote for the poison. It’s not recognizable, and they think some of it got into his bloodstream.”

“Oh God.” Steve closes his eyes and counts to ten.

“Fucking hell. Did they say what it’s doing to him?” Tony asks.

“No, but I need to go now and start working with them. I’m going to figure it out, Steve. He’s still alive, obviously, so that’s good news.” Bruce sighs before disappearing behind the double doors into medical.

“You should go clean up, Steve. We’ll wait here, but you should wash up and change clothes,” Pepper says, ruffling his hair lightly.

“I’m not leaving until I see him. I can’t be gone if they come tell us anything.” Steve hopes she’ll understand, but he doesn’t care whether she does or not. He’s not moving until they come tell him he can see Clint.

“Pep, let it go,” Tony says softly, taking the chair beside Steve. “As we learned tonight, Cap has a pretty dirty mouth when provoked, and we don’t need him tarnishing your pristine image of him.”

Before Steve can say anything, the door opens and Thor comes in, followed by Director Fury. They’re carrying cardboard carriers with cups in them, which must be the coffee Thor was bringing. Natasha comes out of the bathroom at the same time, clean and wearing fresh clothes.

“What do you know?” Steve asks Fury, noticing Natasha close her mouth as he asks before she does, apparently.

Fury looks him over and grimaces. “You’re a mess, Captain. Stark, get a wet rag from the bathroom for him, at least. Barton’s alive and semi-stable. The doctors have given him transfusions to replace the blood that he lost, but there was an unknown poison on the, uh, arms of the creatures he fought. Banner’s working with the others in lab to get an antidote prepared. They aren’t sure what affect the poison will have or is having at this point, but his vitals are steady and they think he’s probably going to recover.”

“But they don’t know yet?” Steve glances at Tony as he gets up and actually obeys Fury without any flippant remarks. “What’s his status, Director?”

“Alive for now. His left ankle is sprained, there are some broken ribs, and he’s got a multitude of cuts and abrasions. The doctors say he’s damn lucky, especially after the fall he made. If it wasn’t for the poison, the prognosis would be very good that he’ll recover and heal with time. As it stands, the poison is an unknown entity, and he hasn’t regained consciousness yet. The doctors are being cautious in their estimates for recovery time until they make sure the poison isn’t doing any unknown damage.”

Thor sits on the floor by Jane’s feet, crossing his legs and sipping his coffee. “Clint is strong. He has a warrior’s heart and will survive this.” He frowns as he looks at the ceiling and mutters to himself. “I need to speak with my father during my next visit home to make him aware that human life is fleeting. He needs to reconsider his restrictions.”

“Can I see him?” Steve asks, ignoring Thor because sometimes it’s better to do that than try to understand his logic. Tony returns with the washcloth, and Steve takes it, but just holds it in his hand. When Pepper takes it from him, he lets her, even if it’s a little weird for her to be washing his face and hands for him.

“Captain, I’m not sure if that’s a good idea,” Fury says simply. “Agent Hill says that you were noncompliant with her orders, and I’ve heard reports that you stopped fighting when Barton was injured. We had a discussion about Steve versus Captain America.”

“Agent Hill can shove her orders up her--“

“Tony, behave.” Pepper stops wiping the blood off Steve’s hands before she stands up. “Director, if you wish to continue having Stark Industries foot the bill for whatever you deem necessary at any given time, you will refrain from idle threats involving Steve’s continued participation in the Avengers Initiative. If you do continue, you will lose your funding as well as Iron Man.” She smiles sweetly. “They can be the Avengers without you, Sir, but what would you be without them?”

Fury arches a brow and suddenly laughs. “Well done, Ms. Potts. I fully intended to let Captain Rogers see Barton, but it’s nice to know that Barton’s got such a supportive family. Agent Coulson would be most pleased,” he says, stepping back from them. “I’m going to go see my agent first, if you don’t mind, but I’ll allow Rogers to visit if the doctors approve it.”

He disappears through the doors to medical, and Steve’s left feeling nauseous and scared. “He hasn’t woken up yet,” he murmurs, rubbing his now clean hand over his face. He notices blood stains on his sleeve and cringes. They’re right. He needs to change before he goes to see Clint. He doesn’t want him to wake up and see a bloody uniform to remind him of what happened.

“Fury freaks me the fuck out,” Tony admits, smiling wryly when Steve glances at him. “He almost sounded like he cares.”

“Of course he does,” Natasha says. She’s sitting cross legged on the floor opposite Thor, sipping her coffee and eating a scone. “Clint and I are his favorites, even if he’s not allowed to acknowledge such things.”

Steve stands up and grabs the bag that Tony had given him. Instead of going to the bathroom, he just strips down there. He’s wearing underwear, after all, and it’s his family, so he doesn’t care if they see him changing. He doesn’t want to risk missing the chance to go see Clint.

“Um, Steve, buddy, you’re giving us a bit of a show,” Tony points out. “I’m not sure if I need to cover Pep’s eyes or not.”

“Not,” Pepper says. “Stop perving on Steve, Tony.”

“Me? I’m the one trying to remind him he’s not alone!” Tony hmphs.

“I don’t really care right now,” Steve says, too tired and stressed and worried to care about anything except Clint waking up. “Natasha, will they let me stay with him until he’s awake? Or released?”

“They won’t force it usually. Or perhaps they just know I’ll kill them if they try,” she muses, handing him his socks. “We will ensure that we’re allowed to stay.”

“Okay. Good.” Steve smiles slightly at her, relieved that she’s on his side. He finishes getting dressed and folds his uniform up, putting it into the zippered compartment of the bag so it doesn’t mess up the change of clothes for Clint. He sits down on the floor beside Natasha and eats a few bites of the scone as she feeds him. When the door opens again, he’s glad to see Fury. “Well?”

“I’ve seen worse,” Fury says. “But he looks fucking awful anyway. They’re optimistic, even with the unknown poison. Banner’s told them they’re finding a cure or else Hulk’s going to be pissed, so that should add a little initiative, too. You can go see him, but we’re going to have a talk after this about the proper way to disobey direct orders.”

“Understood.” Steve’s already on his feet, and Natasha’s standing behind him. “Where is he?”

Fury looks from him to Natasha and back, rolling his eyes before he motions to the doors. “Two visitors, but that’s all for now. The doctors aren’t happy that I’m letting him have even one when his condition is still erratic, but there are some perks to being director. Stark, I expect a new gun out of this. Something shiny.”

“No guns until the dust clears,” Tony says. “And we get visiting privileges in the morning.”

“We’ll see.” Fury slaps Steve on the shoulder and nods towards the door. “Room six, at the end of the hall to the right.”

“Thank you, Sir.” Steve rushes through the doors and follows the directions until he finds the room. When he steps inside, his heart clenches at the sight of Clint lying in the bed with bandages and wires and tubes all around him. There’s a steady beep from the heart monitor, though, and that’s what matters the most right now. He’s still alive.

Steve walks over to the bed and sits down, reaching for Clint’s hand and holding it as he shifts around to lie his head on Clint’s thigh so he can stare at his face. Natasha settles on his other side, and he doesn’t look to see but he figures she’s holding his other hand.

“I’m here, sweetheart. You’re not alone anymore. Natasha’s here, too. The others are waiting for you to wake up, and Bruce is working on a cure for the poison. You need to open those pretty eyes and let me see them,” he murmurs, tightening his grip on Clint’s hand and waiting, hoping he’ll wake up soon.