#clint + laura is like... clint was already a nothing character and they only kinda salvaged him with the hawkeye show

[buckybeardreams]

Loss

Chapters: 1/16

Fandom: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe

Rating: Mature

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Relationships: Brock Rumlow/Sam Wilson, Clint Barton/Brock Rumlow/Sam Wilson

Characters: Clint Barton, Sam Wilson (Marvel), Brock Rumlow, Steve Rogers, Tony Stark, James "Bucky" Barnes, Lila Barton, Cooper Barton, Nathaniel Pietro Barton, Kate Bishop, Harley Keener, Darcy Lewis, Rebecca Barnes Proctor

Additional Tags: Non-Traditional Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha/Omega, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Minor Steve Rogers/Tony Stark, Minor Bucky Barnes/Steve Rogers/Tony Stark, Past Clint Barton/Laura Barton, Established Relationship, Fluff and Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Sappy, Happy Ending, Kid Fic, Grief/Mourning, Depression, brief alcohol abuse, Brief suicidal thoughts, Separation Anxiety, Insecurity, Misunderstandings, Protective Brock Rumlow, Sam Wilson is a Saint, non-sexual nudity, Soulmates, Mates, Non-Explicit Sex, Anal Fingering, References to Knotting, Bonding, Claiming, Claiming Bites, Wordcount: 10.000-30.000, Breastfeeding, Co-Sleeping

Summary:

After Clint lost his soulmate he didn't think he'd ever love again, then he started to hook up with Brock. At first it was just a nice distraction but after a while he thought that maybe it could be something more, that is until Brock met his own soulmate. Clint was sure that would be the end of things, but now Sam and Brock both are flirting with him and he doesn't know what to do with that.

This is the 2nd part in a 3 part series, second chances, but they can be read as stand alone fics so it's not necessary to read the first one to enjoy this one.

You can find part 1 on tumblr or on ao3.

I'm not gonna be posting the full chapters for this fic here after this one, but you can read them on ao3. I'll be updating every Mon, Wed, and Fri.

Words: 1,890

Tony grinned when Brock opened the door, Harley strapped to his back and a bottle of sparkling apple cider in his hand.

"I brought non-alcoholic beverages!"

Brock laughed and pulled him in for a hug.

"You still doing that attachment parenting thing," Brock teased.

"Yeah, you?"

Brock nodded.

"Yeah, Sam's got Sonny right now. He took him for a walk in the park so I wouldn't strangle him."

"Oh no, is it teething?"

Brock raised a brow.

"What? No, not Sonny. Sam. He's driving me crazy. Sonny's a perfect little angel. He gets that from me."

"Uh-huh, sure," Tony indulged, passing the sparkling cider to Brock and following him into the kitchen.

"How's the restaurant? Running smoothly?"

"Smooth enough anyway. Running a business is no easy task, but I manage."

"I'd hope so, seeing as you are the manager," Brock teased as he grabbed the bottle opener and opened the cider before pouring it into glasses.

Tony rolled his eyes at the lame joke.

"At least the transition from a bar into a family restaurant by day, bar by night went smoothly. Everything else is just icing on top now. With the renovations done and the remodeling out of the way, now all we have to do is manage the staff. Well, then there's the paperwork and finances and whatnot, but Steve handles all of that."

"Yeah, I gotta admit, as much as I love hanging out with your baby daddy, I do miss you at all the mommy and baby classes."

Tony hummed, shrugging.

"Not really my thing, but Steve says Harley loves the baby ASL. He's not a fan of the swim lessons though."

Brock nodded in understanding.

"Sonny hated those ones at first too. He doesn't really care too much about the ASL, but the messy arts class is right up his alley. Sam says it's because I insist on having a sparkly clean home. He acts like it's a bad thing. A home can't be too clean."

Tony just hummed, because his Alpha had a similar need to keep things spotless and Tony definitely didn't care for it. At least Steve was willing to do all the chores for him, because Tony would definitely object if he had to do the cleaning. A place could definitely be too clean, but he wasn't about to open that can of worms with Brock. 

"Yeah, Steve was disappointed that Harley wasn't more into the art classes. He just doesn't like getting messy. He takes after Steve like that, kind of a neat freak, and yet Steve loves painting, which I really don't get. His paintings are fabulous though and his studio is a mess. The rest of the house though? Spotless."

Brock laughed and they headed to the couch to sip their sparkling cider.

Harley started to squirm when his feet touched the cushions and Tony set his glass down, standing back up to remove him from the carrier.

"Hi, pretty baby! Look at you! You're so pretty!" Tony cooed at him.

Harley just giggled and reached out to grab at his curls. Tony scrunched up his face and pried his grabby hands out of his hair.

"Okay, enough of that. Mommy likes his hair too much to let you pull it all out."

Tony set Harley down in a large octagon-shaped playpen. It had pillows and toys in it that Harley immediately made a beeline for. It's what Brock liked to call a yes zone, because pretty much everywhere else in their apartment he had to say no to Sonny constantly, but in his playpen everything was a yes.

"How are things going with you and Sam?" Tony asked, sitting back down.

Brock groaned.

"I'm not sure."

"Uh-oh," Tony said and Harley looked around like he was trying to figure out what was an uh-oh. "Trouble in paradise?"

"I don't know. Maybe? Things aren't bad or anything. Actually Sam's kinda annoyingly perfect. Sometimes I feel like it's hard to live up to that."

"Aw, Brock, I don't think Sam cares so much about that."

"I know he doesn't," Brock groaned. "Because he's freaking perfect and I'm a lost cause."

"No, you're not. You just need to give yourself a break. Trying to be perfect is just going to leave you feeling like you're not good enough."

Brock narrowed his eyes at him.

"When did you get to be so wise?"

"When my firstborn turned one," Tony teased, nudging him with his shoulder. "No, seriously though. Don't worry so much about trying to keep the house perfect and all sparkly clean and worry more about living your life. Spend more time with Sam."

"I spend almost all of my time with Sam."

"Yeah, but Sonny's there too. There's nothing wrong with family time, but when was the last time you went on a date night?"

Brock wasn't even sure. It had been months.

"You need to get yourself a babysitter, or drop Sonny off with us, and then spend some time alone. Remember why you became mates in the first place. It wasn't because you wanted a baby. It was because you loved each other and you fell in love at first sight. So spend some time looking at each other again and maybe you'll find that spark you used to have."

Brock sighed and downed the rest of his cider.

"God, I wish there was alcohol in this."

"Don't we all?"

They could hear the sound of keys in the door before it opened and Sam came in, Sonny strapped to his belly. Brock got up when the baby started saying mamamamama and pulled him out of the carrier.

"Hi, angel, look at how big you are? You want to go see Tony? Show him your new skills?" Brock cooed at his son, setting him down on his feet. "Go get him!"

"Come here, Sonny! You gonna walk to me?"

Sonny took a few wobbly steps before he got close enough for Tony to reach out and snag him up.

"Woah, you're so big! Such a big walker, huh?" Tony praised the baby. "Did you see that, Harley? Did you see how big your friend is? Walking up on his feet like a big boy? You're gonna be doing that soon too."

Harley was already pulling himself up and walking around while holding onto things, so he probably would be walking soon. He was only a month behind Sonny in age, so they played really well together, for the most part at least. Sharing wasn't any baby's strong suit.

Tony set Sonny down in the playpen after they cooed over him for a few minutes and Harley immediately crawled up to him and tried to crawl on him. Sonny shoved him off, but Harley wasn't offended. He just giggled and rolled over onto his belly, so he could push back up and go after the ring stacker. Sam came over somewhat hesitantly. Brock had been pretty irritated this morning, so he wasn't sure if he should give him space or not.

"Hey, Tony! It's good to see you!"

"You too! Always happy to come over and eat all of your food."

Sam laughed.

"You doing good, babe?" Sam asked Brock carefully.

Brock nodded, biting his lip. He had been pretty distant and irritable the last few weeks and he felt bad about it. Sam didn't deserve that. He was such a good Alpha and a good dad.

"Yeah, I'm good, Alpha," Brock said, licking his lips.

He patted the cushion next to him.

"Wanna sit with me?"

Sam looked surprised for a moment, then he smiled softly and sat down, looking like he'd just been given the best gift ever when Brock curled into his side and rested his head on his shoulder.

"I've missed you," Sam murmured in his ear.

"Missed you too, Alpha."

 *****

Brock was trying to make more of an effort and Sam definitely didn't miss the signs. He was more affectionate and he even got Sam a gift. It was important to point out that while Sam had felt the strain on their relationship, he hadn't really been upset at Brock about it. It was just one of those things where he assumed Brock would come around eventually and, well, he wasn't wrong.

"What is this?" Sam asked when Brock tossed a water bottle at him.

He caught it thanks to his great reflexes, not because Brock had given him any warning before throwing the metal cylinder his way. Brock rolled his eyes.

"What does it look like? It's a water bottle, Sam."

"Yeah, but why?"

"I got it for you," Brock said with a shrug.

Sam's heart fluttered at the thought of Brock getting him something, but his brows furrowed in confusion.

"I already have a water bottle."

"No, you don't. I threw it away."

Sam pursed his lips.

"May I ask why?"

"No, you may not," Brock said plopping down on the couch.

Sam raised his brow at him and Brock ignored him for a moment, flicking on the TV before glancing back at Sam with a groan.

"Fine, I got you a new one, because I read that the owner of Hydra Flask is an asshole who doesn't support Omega rights. I can't have my Alpha running around sporting that logo on his bottle, now can I? People might think you're a traditionalist. God forbid."

Sam blinked at him for a moment before a fond look fell over his features and he sat down next to Brock, pulling his Omega into his side. Brock blushed when Sam pressed a kiss to his cheek.

"Thank you, love."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Brock grunted, but he leaned into Sam's side, turning to press his face into Sam's neck and hide a small smile.

Sam could feel it against his neck, but he didn't comment on it. He just ran his fingers through Brock's hair until his Omega yawned and made a sleepy little whimper.

"Come on, baby. Let's go to bed," Sam said softly.

Brock grunted, but didn't protest when Sam scooped him up off the couch and carried him off to bed. His back hit the mattress and his hands shot out to grab Sam's shirt, whining when Sam gently pried his fingers off of him.

"Shh, you're okay. Just let me undress you, then I'll cuddle with you."

Brock pouted, but let his Alpha do what he wanted. When Sam climbed into the bed he was wearing only his boxers and Brock had on only his shirt. Brock usually liked to sleep naked, but he had whined when Sam asked him to sit up, so Sam had just rolled his eyes, pressed a kiss to his forehead and left his shirt on. 

Sonny usually slept with them, even though he technically had a crib in the nursery, but tonight was one of those rare nights that he actually was using that crib that usually stood around empty like a decorative piece. Brock rubbed at his eyes, turning to press his face into Sam's neck and Sam smiled softly, wrapping his arms around him.

"Night, baby," Sam whispered softly.

"Night, Alpha, love you."

"Love you too, Omega."

Things weren't perfect between Sam and Brock, but that didn't mean they didn't love each other. Just because something isn't perfect, doesn't mean it's wrong.

[tarithenurse]

Orphan - 9

Starring:  Steve Rogers x Fem!Reader and MCU characters! Contents: Spoilers for Endgame!! A good cop of something hot, pining, worrying. A/N: PREVIOUS CHAPTERS can be found on the masterlist. Thanks for likes and reblogs and comments <3

9. Sisters, mothers, aunts

…   Morgan   …

All that wonderful snow just can’t go to waste, but after several wobbly snowmen and one perfect one (thanks to mom) the little girl has thrown herself into a pristine patch out of boredom, carefully considering her options as she sweeps the ground with arms and legs.

“What do these do?” Nebula’s voice pierces the fastmoving thoughts of the little girl.

The grey clouds tilt away, bringing the garden back into view and the blue woman wrapped in a mix of a borrowed bright yellow scarf and a green beanie. She’s crouched in front of a smaller snow figure (an attempt at a dog), bright black eyes taking in the lumpy shape.

“They don’t…do ‘nything,” Morgan admits. Are they supposed to do something?

Clearly dissatisfied, Nebula presses on. “Well, what is their purpose?”

“Why make ‘em?” Perhaps Nebs never got to build snowmen as a kid, the little girl realizes with horror. “For fu-un. What can you make with snow?”

“Shelter. Like a…hut.”

Morgan’s eye light up with the idea, already adding elaborate details to the construction in forms of turrets and battlements (even if she doesn’t know that is what the bumps on top of the walls are called). And who can deny a pair of big, dark eyes suddenly begging to partner on a project? Not the alien who swore years ago to protect the little one if anything were to happen to Tony, and so Nebula begins to stack the snow in a tremendous pile.

They’re digging out the inside of the mound (or rather, Nebula is excavating while Morgan forms and places blocks in a circle around the domed top) when a car pulls up, causing both constructors to pause and look. Short legs with heavy boots are already moving to run towards Uncle Rhodey when auntie’s voice sharply orders the girl to stay back. It sounds strangely cold and calm and Morgan can’t help to do what she’s told. A knot has formed in her tummy. Breath is quick. Is something wrong? She can’t figure out what it is because the only new is the woman who stepped out from the other side of the car, and one look at her face makes the confused girl feel happy. And sad. Weird.

 …   Reader   …

They talk like you aren’t there, bickering like a couple married for too long, and even if Rhodes is technically trying to defend you it’s as if he’s more worried about Cyborg Smurf and her feelings, his hands carefully reach out towards the woman, stopping short to protect her boundaries.

“She’s a spy!” No more than a hiss that won’t carry further than your straining ears.

“She was…lonely and afraid,” Rhodes insists, “jus’ looking for a family. Y’know what that’s like.”

Oh? If it wasn’t for the very clear memory of a sword then you would be staring at her now. Instead, you add it to the mental list of things that might be handy to know. It’s a long list.

“Want me to trust her? Think aga–“

“No.” The rapid answer stings. “I won’t tell ya what to think, just…accept Pepper’s giving her a chance, ‘ight?”

They continue back and forth, but your attention gets caught by the fluffy remains of a snowball landing on your boot with a soft thunk. It doesn’t take a genius to guess who threw it, but the nerves are gnawing at your insides as you turn to steal a glance at the kid. My half-sister. Sure, you might still not have a dad, but you have gotten an oddly stitched-together family to deal with somehow.

There are obvious differences between Tony Stark’s two daughters. The similarities, however? Just as many, and all hailing from the man you never got to know. Nearly identical set of eyes meet, filled with curiosity and a familiarity you know you can explain with logic if only you wanted to. Instead, you send a one-sided smile and lift your hand in a finger wiggling wave which the girl, Morgan, copies.

Movements slow, almost leisurely so, as you bend and scoop up a big handful of the cold precipitation to shape loosely in your hands. A wink and a questioning quirk of the brow is enough to send the kid into a silent fit of giggles before the projectile is launched in a soft arc to give her plenty of time to seek cover behind a snow hut in development.

You would have gotten a new handful of snow if it wasn’t for the exasperated sigh and the presence behind you. “Nebu. No!”

This is gonna be a loooong afternoon.

…

It’s awkward. Not only is the entire reason for you visiting painful, but Pepper tries a bit too hard (bless her soul), Nebula doesn’t try at all, Morgan is wonderfully oblivious to the adults’ tension, and poor Rhodes is trying to navigate it all. You manage to last a few hours, partially due to talking maintenance of the veteran’s leg braces when Pepper was occupied with the kid for a while, but mainly it’s been a sort of sweetened interrogation about your plans with Uni (waiting for an answer on the re-application), the home and job hunt (completely dependant on the study), and anything else they feel like. Like they’re going through a checklist.

Just as you’re about to ask Rhodes if he can bring you back to the Bartons’, his phone rings and not even the door separating the living room from the hallway is enough to hide how he snaps into military mode.

“Sorry, gotta go,” he offers as explanation when he pops back in, “duty calls.”

And with that he, and your ride, is gone. Moments later you hear the roar of the car, leaving you feeling trapped.

“You…we’ve got a spare guestroom…?”

The hesitation is evident: Pepper might have been the one inviting you but without intention of having you sleep over. No, this visit was no more than a test run to see if you were enough of a Stark or too much for her to want you in the family. She never said that, but you know it. It’s a typical method that you’ve seen one too many times in the foster care system, but this time you don’t blame her.

“I…thanks, but no…I might have another option.” Standing you dig out your phone and navigate past couch, chairs, and toys towards the relative privacy of the hallway.

Clint had given you a bunch of numbers any journalist or fan would kill to have, and right now your scrolling through them until you spot one who happens to live relatively close by and has a couch tested by others as a bed.

Hot and cold dances through your body, dousing the already jittery nerves with fuel. Each time you hear the call tone your heart drops and it doesn’t make sense that it would feel like this – that butterflies in your belly are trying to hold up cold lead.

“[Y/N]?” Of course, anyone would follow the warm baritone if it called out to them. “Uhm…hi!” It’s like the softest wool to your mind, shielding you in a cocoon against doubts or abandonment.

Everything will be fine. Then you remember you have to reply. “Yeah, hello! Ehh…” Smooth, real smooth, ugh! “I’m…I was…” Fuck it. “You once said I could crash at your place and uhmm…I’m kinda stuck away from Clint and Laura’s an–“

“You’re at To-Pepper’s?”

How…? “Yeah. Rhodes just bailed and…it’d feel strange to sleep over, y’know?”

“I get it. On my way.”

“Thanks.”

Both of you hesitate for a moment, making you worry about what you’re supposed to say when Captain freaking America is coming to your rescue, but before you can put any coherent sentence together, he has hung up. The hallway is silent now. The light reflecting off the snow outside, cold despite the yellow hue, and the sliver of light under the closed living room door is all the illumination available. In there, in front of the fireplace, is a tiny family which you theoretically are a part of….just not technically – and standing here in the gloom underlines exactly that.

How can it ever be different? Nothing can replace the life you’ve had. Your own mother. No, perhaps it’s better to just step away and pretend nothing ties you together, let Morgan be the only child left behind by Tony Stark just like she was the only one who got to grow up with him.

Lost in thoughts, you don’t register Morgan skipping out into the hallway until she’s wrapped her little arms up as high as she can around your thighs.

“G’night,” she grins crookedly for a second before sobering up, “please come back soon and make mummy smile more.”

With those words she’s running off up the staircase with not a care in the world while you’re left behind with an uncanny sensation of being watched – hairs stand on end due to the goosebumps running down your spine. Make mommy smile more, your semi-sister’s voice echoes inside your head. Make mommy smile more. Make mommy smile. Smile more. Smile more? As a new widow, it would make sense if Pepper doesn’t smile much, the loss being too strong, too present in every little thing. Still, throughout the afternoon she’s smiled and laughed with enough heartfelt joy that the sorrow became invisible if only for a moment. Did I make her smile?

Your brows scrunch in confusion and it’s impossible not to look at the silent women who seem to be waiting for you to do or say something. Anything.

“Did…? Have…?” Unsure what to ask the question dies on your lips.

Nebula shuffles, clearly uncomfortable. “The little one likes you, spy.” Danger still gleams in the black nothingness of her eyes but her posture screams doubt. “Perhaps I’ve been mistaken.”

It’s nothing but a tiny twitch of the lips when Pepper bites back a smile. “Would you mind checking that she’s brushing her teeth, Nebu?”

“Certainly, strong teeth are excellent for close combat.”

Once alone, your own awkwardness doubles. How long would it take Cap to get here? Pulling at your arm as if you can make yourself smaller, you’re sure you must appear sort of pathetic.

“It’s…thank you for y’know…havin’ me over,” you try lamely.

Even without high heels, Pepper is still a tall woman and she becomes almost elven in the scarce light. “She’s right, actually,” she admits, “I…it was nice having you here. To get to talk with you…even if it might have felt more like an interrogation…”

“Weeell…I mean…a bit, but that’s pro’lly logical.” C’mon, man! “Kinda hard for it not to fundamentally be freaking strange…all things considered.”

“I haven’t told Morgan anything…” It sounds apologetic, almost. “It’s up to you what role you want in the family.” Up to…? “But the way I see it…you’re Tony’s daughter. You’re family.” You can feel how your lips part at the confession, and you stand there gaping at the woman. “Just…give us time to find a balance.”

Maybe your father knew exactly what he was doing when he married this woman instead of your mom. Regardless: the past is impossible to change while the present is simultaneously tempting and scary due to the multitude of options available. I get to choose? It had been hard enough to put together a few outfits when you went shopping for the first time with Laura and Lila.

You don’t dare to look Pepper in the eyes. “Maybe get to know each other first? Before deciding?”

It’s a gentle hand that shapes around your shoulder, passing on a sense of security. “I like that,” the widow agrees, “you’re always welcome.” She hesitates, and you glance to see her biting her lip as if in doubt. “While you wait…why won’t you come and hear about Tony? Just let me tug Morgan in.”

 …   Morgan   …

Any smart girl knows how important it is for adults to brush their teeth too, and it had been a simple task to convince Aunt Nebula to join in by the sink where they’d competed in looking the grossest with the toothpaste drool, laughing so much Morgan’s cheeks began to hurt.

That giddiness is gone again as the kid crawls into bed. Nebula is standing by the window, staring at the few stars poking out between the clouds and Morgan knows deep inside her little chest that the alien misses flying between the stars.

“They want you back too, Nebu.”

Speaking softly, the words are barely even a whisper that most people would overhear. Not the blue woman. Hiding a sigh, she comes over to sit on the edge of the bed, a hand automatically fidgeting with a knife strapped to the thigh.

“They can wait,” Nebula’s voice cracks a bit, “and instead, when you are older and stronger, we’ll go visit them together.”

“Really?” The child’s smile is contagious, even as it turns into a wistful frown. “Gotta lot to learn first, then.”

 …   Reader   …

There simply isn’t room for anymore stories about your father, the great Tony Stark, but what you have heard is starting to paint a picture of a man much more complex that the news stories and interviews has ever managed to reveal. You shouldn’t be surprised. Neither at the (many) wild years – the last of which you are a result of – nor the dedication he showed when working on a project regardless of the magnitude, and still your mind is spinning from the effort of analyzing every tidbit of new knowledge.

Tired and unable to take more, you are already pulling on your coat and boots to get some fresh air when a car pulls into the long driveway, reminding you of the arrangement and a whole new set of worries.

Steve Rogers.

The name brings a cascade of butterflies with it, untameable despite your best efforts and forcing you to say goodnight and goodbye before it becomes obvious.

[pass-the-bechdel]

Marvel Cinematic Universe: Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

Does it pass the Bechdel Test?

Yes, once.

How many female characters (with names and lines) are there?

Seven (30.43% of cast).

How many male characters (with names and lines) are there?

Sixteen.

Positive Content Rating:

Three.

General Film Quality:

Significantly flawed, and well-known in fandom for it. Unpopular opinion? I still think it’s better than the first Avengers film.

MORE INFO (and potential spoilers) UNDER THE CUT:

Passing the Bechdel:

Natasha and Laura pass in a single-line trade. It’s sooo close to not counting.

Female characters:

Natasha Romanoff.

Wanda Maximoff.

Maria Hill.

Helen Cho.

Peggy Carter.

Laura Barton.

FRIDAY.

Male characters:

Tony Stark.

Steve Rogers.

JARVIS.

Thor.

Clint Barton.

Strucker.

Pietro Maximoff.

Bruce Banner.

Ultron.

Sam Wilson.

James Rhodes.

Ulysses Klaue.

Heimdall.

Nick Fury.

Erik Selvig.

Vision.

OTHER NOTES:

Everyone talking about Strucker like we already know who he is...

The “Shit!”/”Language!” gag was funnier before they hung a lantern on it. Not least because it takes almost a full minute before Tony harks back to it (fifty seconds, actually. I checked). If you’re gonna make a Thing out of it, you gotta follow up immediately, not after fifty seconds of cutting around to different character intros and action shots and a whole lot of other dialogue. 

Urrgghh, ok, I’m going to break my standing rule about not discussing source material, because we gotta acknowledge the colossal wrongness of re-writing the Maximoff twins - canonically Jewish Romani - as willing volunteers in a Nazi science experiment. It gets worse the more you think about it. There are a few things about this movie which generated significant negative outcry, and this incredibly offensive decision is one of them.

Tony and Thor fighting over who has a better girlfriend does have a certain charm to it. If you’re gonna have a testosterone-off, it might as well be about how great your partner is.

I got a zero out of ten on this out-of-nowhere forced romance crap with Natasha and Bruce. We’ll come back to this later.

“I will be reinstituting Prima Nocta,” Tony declares, as he prepares to lift Thor’s hammer and thereby theoretically take charge of the Nine Realms. Primae noctis (believed to in fact be a myth) refers to a supposed Dark-Ages law that granted lords the ‘right’ to take the virginity of any newlywed peasant woman who lived on their land. So, this is a wonderful little rape joke from Tony (or, y’know, not so little, since primae noctis in reality would make Tony a serial rapist). Ha ha ha ha. Hilarious. Good one.

I’m really mad about the parts here that are total garbage, because mostly, the revels sequence has a nice low-key quality to it, good solid team dynamics. 

I can’t fucking believe that they played the ‘and then Bruce falls with his face in Natasha’s cleavage!’ gag. I cannot believe it. Is this a disgusting frat-boy comedy from the nineties?

Honestly, Tony, just shut up and admit that you KNEW from the get-go that it was wrong to try and make Ultron happen (that is why you kept it secret from everyone else to begin with); don’t try to defend the decision now that you’ve got a ‘murderbot’ on your hands. Take responsibility for a bad choice instead of talking shit about how you had to and everyone else is just too short-sighted, damn it! 

Andy Serkis is delightful.

The Iron Man/Hulk fight absolutely KILLS the momentum of this film. It goes for way the fuck too long (eight minutes) and has no narrative significance at all. Pro tip for action scenes: they should always be driving the story somewhere. You can pull off eighty minutes of action so long as your plot is advancing alongside/within it.

Also, Iron Man causes a huge amount of additional damage during this fight, in the service of the aforementioned pointless action. His efforts to minimise Hulk’s effects are extremely poor, and calling in his relief organisation to clean up after the fact does not negate that. 

Gotta love that throwing a wife and kids at Hawkeye at the same time as we suddenly start pushing this Natasha/Bruce thing. That’s not transparent at all. I also understand this to be a major deviation from Clint’s identity in the comics, and very unpopular with fans for that reason, but regardless; reinventing him as a family man to reset the romantic blather after baiting fans with the possibility of Clint/Natasha in the first Avengers movie is such a shitty move. I was not invested in the ship myself and would have loved to have them reinforce the just-friends relationship between Hawkeye and Black Widow, because there are not enough platonic friendships between compatible men and women in fiction, but 'they’re not interested in each other because they’re busy with someone else!’ is a weak reinforcement indeed. Less forced romances, and definitely less token wifey who exists for no other Goddamn reason at all. This comes out of nowhere, and not in a clever-surprise kind of way.

“You still think you’re the only monster on the team?” Natasha says, after telling Bruce about her sterilisation. This earned a HUGE backlash, and for good reason - despite all arguments about how what Natasha meant was that her being raised to be an assassin makes her a monster, the direct implication of her words as they are phrased and as the discussion is structured is that her inability to have children makes her monstrous, and that’s deeply offensive. It’s also completely in keeping with a narrative which is often played out against women, in which their value as people is attributed directly to their ability to produce offspring, so it’s not even like this outrageous implication of monstrosity - the corruption of what it means to be female! - is that unusual. It’s awful, but not unusual. Add on the fact that 1) Natasha’s nightmare-flashes specifically foregrounded her sterilisation over all other details of her training, supporting the idea that she believes that it’s what makes her irredeemable (instead of, y’know, all the murdering and stuff), and 2) this is Joss Whedon’s work and he is OBSESSED with highlighting the womanhood of his female characters and treating it like their defining trait while also variously punishing them for it, and you’ve got every reason to interpret this terrible fucking line as exactly the heinous thing it (presumably, unwittingly) seems to be. 

Steve ripping a log in half with his bare hands is the funniest thing in this whole movie.

Thor’s brief side-adventure with Erik Selvig is pretty out-of-place. He just...goes for a swim in a convenient magic pond that Selvig chances to know about. Seems normal.

Ultron is full of such boring, empty rhetoric. Reminds me of Loki in The Avengers, with all that sound-and-fury. 

I love Paul Bettany.

Man, they sure do find Natasha instantly. It’s almost like making a damsel-in-distress of her who needs to be rescued by the team was completely meaningless...

Breaking my no-BTS rule (since I already have done for this movie at this point) because it’s well-known how Joss Whedon ordered Elizabeth Olsen not to show exertion or ‘ugly emotion’ on her face in this film, because God forbid she compromise her attractiveness by being human. Joss Whedon is not human; he’s fucking trash. 

The final fight sure does just, y’know, get to a point where it ends. They really did not ratchet up the tension over the course of the Sokovia conflict, it just goes along until it stops (also, they say Sokovia is a country, but then they never call the city anything else, it’s just Sokovia. Is the city conveniently named after the country (very confusing), or is it a city-country, like The Vatican? I kinda assume it’s option three, which is that no one bothered to care because it’s just some fake European placeholder anyway and we’re not supposed to notice such a dumb oversight).

“I was born yesterday.” This is the best quip in this whole thinks-it-is-way-wittier-than-it-is movie.

Helen Cho deserved better than to be a prop rapidly dismissed and then just trotted past at the end for an ‘oh, she survived, btw’. 

Back when I reviewed the first Avengers movie, I said that I considered that film to be heavily overrated, so maybe it’s not such a surprise that I actually like this one better. The two primary problems I had with that first film were the overly simplistic plot, and the fact that most of the characters were OOC compared to previous films, and this movie does do better on both scores, so I feel more engaged by it, and less annoyed. That said...this movie has still got a lot of problems, and those include iffy characterisation and a plot with various holes, nonsensical complications, and conveniently ignored or smoothed-down dynamics. When I say I like this movie better than the first one, I mean just that: I like this better. That does not mean I am here to sing its praises. 

The tacked-on romance is part of the problem - for Clint as well as Natasha (but especially for Natasha). After Hawkeye was so heavily under-used in the first film (and his slightly-ambiguous relationship with Black Widow was the only human element that made him a character instead of a prop), Age of Ultron attempts to compensate by giving Clint a personal life, in the form of a magically-appearing heavily-pregnant wife and a pair of nameless children. The function of this family appears to be 1) to give Clint a reason to not be interested in Natasha, and 2) to ‘humanise’ him by giving him something to fight for and get home to, because we all know nothing legitimises a character quite like some otherwise-irrelevant dependents. Want a man to seem lovable and important? Give him a pregnant wife. That’s what women are for, anyway, right? To enhance a man’s story? In this case, to provide a man whose purpose in the story has been contested with insta-personality, because ‘he’s secretly a family man, ooh, twist!’ is way better than having to spend time on giving him something to do in the plot that is actually meaningful in some way. Great logic. Makes Hawkeye super dynamic, right? 

Natasha, unsurprisingly, is hit much, much harder. As the only female avenger and one of only two prominent female characters in a cast which has seven-to-nine male characters of equal or greater importance/screen time (YMMV on whether or not you think Fury and Vision count for that list), the pressure is already on for Natasha to be served up a quality narrative, because if she doesn’t get one, well...she doesn’t have six-to-eight alternative characters to pull the weight for her gender. The best solve for this problem would be to avoid the ‘Token Woman’ cliche in the first place, but since we missed that boat...not having the personal story of your only primary female character revolve completely around her womanhood and her catering to heteronormative expectations of a love interest would have been a good choice. This weird, forced, chemistry-free thing with Bruce Banner? Was the worst thing they could have used to define Natasha’s presence in the film. It sticks out like a sore thumb every time they have an awkward interaction, and it leads in to that atrocious ‘monstrous infertility’ element (though that particular egregious mistake could have been included with or without a romantic blunder, it...probably wouldn’t be, and we’d all be the better off). Even the Hulk-whisperer part of the relationship - while not awful on its own with all the unnecessary romance and Unresolved Sexual Not-Tension removed - serves to highlight Natasha’s female-ness by making her the soft maternal figure for the team, because God forbid one of the other male members of the team be asked to ASMR-speak to the Hulk while delicately caressing his hand. If Natasha’s presence in the first Avengers film leaned too heavily on her gender identity as a defining trait (and it did), this movie doesn’t fix that problem at all: it doubles down on it. 

The good news for most of the excess of male characters is, they by-and-large don’t feel as OOC as they did in the first film. The boorish romantic entanglement aside, Bruce Banner is still a naturalistic character highlight (all credit to Mark Ruffalo, who probably doesn’t know how to turn in a bad performance in the first place), and Thor’s dialogue is way less ridiculous this time ‘round, so he lands a lot closer to his personality from previous films simply by virtue of sounding like the same guy (unfortunately, the plot does not have the faintest idea what it wants to do with him as a character). Steve Rogers is still being written as if being Captain America is his character, which is a fundamental misunderstanding of his identity, albeit one which conveniently allows him to behave in a stereotypical self-righteously bland manner, thus avoiding the need for any nuance in his perspective or actions. This borderline fanfic-flamer ‘Captain America is my least favourite character so I’m going to write him as a boring stick-in-the-mud and then hopefully no one else will like him either!’ approach doesn’t grate quite as badly as it did in the first Avengers, and it can’t cancel out the innate level-headed charm of Chris Evans, so as disappointing as the bias is, it’s still a better balance here than it was last time. The one character who is not so flatteringly handled, however? Also happens to be the one who was arguably handled best last time, and unfortunately, he’s the one who is essentially treated as the ‘lead’. 

The big problem for Tony Stark is that this movie is not interested in digging in to the pathos of any character, it’s all-flash-no-substance on that front, and Tony really, really needed a less heavy-handed slathering of ‘afraid of what might come (feat. messiah complex)’ to motivate his actions and reactions in this film, because without any exploration he’s basically just a billionaire kid playing with matches. If this were an Iron Man film (either the first or third one, anyway), we’d get into some tasty deconstruction of Tony’s mental state and confront his hubris, etc, and - crucially, most crucial of all, it’s a mainstay of all his past stories in the MCU - Tony would own up to his mistakes, listen to the advice of those around him, and take contrite steps toward fixing the problem not just in the direct sense of ‘beating the bad guy’, but also in the personal and emotional sense of working on his own flaws and making amends with the people he hurt along the way. This movie offers none of that. To begin with, Tony’s ‘I know best and I will not be taking any questions’ approach to creating Ultron feels like a significant step backwards in his character development so far (Iron Man 3 was specifically about addressing his PTSD and associated tumultuous emotions surrounding the fear of imminent alien invasion, so his reactionary and secretive behaviour in this film feels particularly out-of-touch with a mental reality Tony has been explicitly working on for the past couple of years); Tony is actively aware that it’s a bad call and thus hides it from the other Avengers until it’s too late, and then he’s bizarrely unrepentant about his mistake. Worst of all, he actually attempts to repeat that mistake, only worse, late in the film (the fact that his idiotic ‘mad scientist’ pep talk actually convinces Bruce to help him again is the weakest character moment for Bruce outside of the aforementioned romance crap). The plot rewards Tony’s second, far worse mistake, in the creation of Vision, who turns out to be ‘worthy of wielding Thor’s Hammer’ and whatnot and conveniently provides every necessary skill to defeat Ultron in a deus ex machina so overt you could use it as a textbook example, so even though Tony had absolutely no way of knowing that he’d get a good result this time and almost every reason to believe he’d just compound the existing problem, his reckless disregard for the literal safety of the planet is treated like a good thing because it happens to work out this time, and they just kinda sweep under the rug the fact that Tony is playing God (and being uncharacteristically stupid and selfish about it - in other films, Tony is normally only reckless with his own safety, and it’s when his actions spill out into unintended consequences for others that he realises the error of his ways and cues up a positive learning curve; it’s what makes him palatable). At the end of the film, once Ultron is gone and Tony has thrown some dispassionate wads of cash into ‘relief efforts’, he strolls and quips and eventually drives off into the sunset in his expensive car, with nary a mention of, I dunno, maybe a little guilty conscience? Maybe a hint of having learned a valuable lesson? The closest he gets is just suggesting that it might be time he retires from Avenging, but neither he nor anyone else lets on that there’s a need for serious self-reflection. The Tony Stark in this movie is the nightmarish male-fantasy version of the character, the playboy with the cool tech and no limits who does whatever he wants and then...literally rides off into the sunset in the end, no muss, no fuss. He’s kinda like a complete reversion to his original self, pre-Iron Man, frittering money around and designing weapons of mass destruction while convincing himself he’s bringing peace to the world one explosion at a time, but that Tony has no business here, seven years of character development down the track.

While we’re talking iffy characterisation, we should also segue into plot, and that’s something we can do easily enough by looking at our villain, Ultron. Calling Ultron an actual character feels...ambitious. He’s a CGI robot full of empty rhetoric and, you guessed it, more of those quips that this movie has in place of any meaningful dialogue. I’d call him self-fellating, but he ain’t got nothing to fellate, so instead he just blathers a lot in a manner that sounds vaguely poetically intelligent but is, upon a moment’s consideration, just vapid nonsense (much like Loki in the first Avengers, as noted above, but at least Loki had the benefit of a flesh-and-blood actor delivering his lines with conviction; James Spader does solid work as the voice of Ultron, but trying to make a CGI robot who spouts a school-kid’s attempt at edgy philosophy sound like a genuine menace is an uphill battle). Speaking of genuine menace, I assume the reason the film is called Age of Ultron is because A Couple of Days of Ultron Causing Disturbances in a Handful of Specific Locations was too much. For all the big talk (and there is..so much), Ultron doesn’t get up to all that much trouble, most notably in the sense that he apparently has his code all over the internet and yet he doesn’t bother stirring up a single ounce of chaos with that ungodly power. Why bother including this as an element of the character if it achieves zero story? Is it purely to make Ultron seem ~unstoppable~ because he keeps downloading into new robots? Because it didn’t really land, y’all. They try to play it like a big victory for the good guys when Vision burns Ultron out of the ‘net, but in context it’s meaningless because he didn’t do anything while he was there. Pretty much everything about Ultron was all talk, little to no action - even a whole bunch of the trouble he did cause happened off-screen, with Maria Hill just popping in to let us know that ‘there are reports of metal men stealing shit’. Cheers, cool. And you know, Ultron makes a song and dance about how he’s going to save the world by ‘ending the Avengers’, but then he...does not pursue that at all. He tries to make himself a pretty body, the Avengers thwart him, and then he enacts a doomsday machine to destroy all life on Earth. Like every other aspect of the character, the whole ‘end the Avengers’ schtick is just white noise, there’s no meaning in it. Ultron is just a same-old-same ‘What if Artificial Intelligence wants to WIPE US OUT?!’ cliche, and maybe that’s what he was in the comics too, I don’t know, but it’s the job of the film to tell that story in a dynamic way, and they had two and a half hours to do it. And yet.

There should be more to this than a nondescript placeholder villain concept and a series of action set pieces that just kinda happen until they stop. At least the first Avengers had some variety in each of its action sequences, using the location and the different skills and weapons of its antagonists, whereas this one is just ‘there are robots and the good guys punched and shot them until they were all broken, the end’. Even making the city fly in the end doesn’t actually make it interesting, not least because the characters spend most of their time running around the (weirdly, perfectly stable) streets not having to deal with any consequences of being up in the air anyway, and the doomsday device is too nebulous to ratchet up any real tension about figuring out how to deal with it. The conflicts with the Maximoff twins have at least some spark of life in them, but the characters themselves are treated to an over-simplified and very contrived narrative arc that uses what they do and what they know more as plot devices than as details of actual people’s lives, leading to a cheap death for Pietro so that Wanda will be distracted enough to abandon the big ol’ doomsday button, and it’s just all so convenient. There’s no heart in any of it, and it makes the moments that try to have heart all the more embarrassing and out-of-place (don’t even get me started on what a prescribed attempt at tugging the heart-strings it is to have Hawkeye name his magnificently well-timed newborn after Pietro, because DAMN). When I said I liked this movie better than the first Avengers, I meant just that: I like this better. That’s not to suggest that it is significantly better in any sense, because it isn’t, and I can’t even argue that this one has a better story, because honestly, it doesn’t. The first film made more sense, it was just less interesting to watch, and the things about it that were contrived were contrived in different ways. The first film was weaker and more irritating on character, and character is always the most important part of a story for me, so as annoyed as I am by the major character blunders in Age of Ultron, I’m still not as annoyed as I was after The Avengers. That is damning with the faintest of praise; this is just not a particularly good movie, it makes a poor use of its cast at the best of times, delivers a sub-par action extravaganza, and the script is not half as witty as it gleefully convinces itself that it is. It comes as no surprise, I’m sure, that I am very glad a certain writer/director departed the franchise after disappointing everyone with this outing. I say I like this better than the first Avengers, but gee, it’s a close call.

[thisnerdblog]

Sooooo, I know we are all sick of this, Jen coming back time and again to hash over something that has already been hashed to hell, a year late with no Starbucks. (Sad for you guys, coffee would have been nice) I’ve been ready this nice indulgent fic that is just a lovely little Tony centric ditty. Tony is getting in contact with the family and loved ones of the Avengers and offering them safety and asylum at the Avengers Tower with himself after Civil War. It's very Tony sympathetic and a bit angsty, some characters are OOC, but hey, whatever its fun and harmless and people are allowed to do what they want to do. The only thing that kinda got in my craw the idea that Natasha didn’t care for Tony. And I found myself asking “did we see the same movies?��. Their friendship may not be close or focused on, but I really do think out of all Team Iron Man, except Rhodey, she cared about Tony the most. She also had the most similar reasons for accepting the accords as Tony did, take that for what you will. Natasha has shown care for Tony, patting his back and bantering with him, standing at his side when they face Steve and Sam after Bucky had been captured first throwing snark alongside him. Tony and Natasha are scared terrified peas in a pod. While Rhodey is all for the Accords for the most heroic and selfless reasons, Natasha and Tony both fear being alone again and are working to alleviate their guilt. The Avengers are Tony and Natasha’s family, period, that's all they really got. Steve admits that the Avengers aren’t his family, Thor and Bruce have up and left, Clint has Laura and the Children, the people that they are closet to are abandoning them or may abandon them. These two are doing their damnedest to kept their little patchwork family together and those idiots are doing their best to tear apart. I think people misinterprets the Stairwell Scene to be something negative, Natasha turning on Tony, but like listen to what they are saying and how they are saying it. It starts out with Tony updating Natasha on Rhodey’s condition, his voice is low and very contained, he is keeping himself together by a thread. Natasha then tells him that Steve wasn’t going to stop and if doesn’t Tony either, Rhodey is the best case scenario for all of them. She says this low and very calm, bordering on almost comforting. like I don’t know, giving a friend some bad news, she is telling him she didn’t let Steve go because she wanted to, but because it was the only way that would cause the least amount of damage (physical and emotional). Tony then lashes out at her, jabbing right into one of her wounds, once a double agent, always a double agent. She then promptly puts him in his place, without raising her voice or becoming anymore aggressive then she has to. She understands that Tony is hurting, she is too. One of his dearest friends has been irrevocably injured from friendly fire, another friend has abandoned him, his family, the people he felt a kinship with, people he fought and bled are ripping at the seams and nothing he does is stopping it. He’s hurting, lashing out where he can in a vain attempt to alleviate guilt and hurt. She leaves him with the “watch your back”, and I think that is more concern than ominous. A “I’m not going to be there now, think with that big brain of yours, the people who have supported you are falling like flies. Your going to be alone, watch yourselves.” The whole exchange is not really friendly, but it is a friend letting another vent and putting him back in his place. I dunno, I feel like this is just me rambling, but I really just don’t like the idea going around that Natasha and Tony aren’t some sort of friends. And as we have seen, Tony and Natasha are the most loyal of the bunch.

[avengerscompound]

Legacy - Chapter 10

Legacy: A Hawkeye Fanfic

Series Masterlist PREVIOUS //

Buy me a ☕ Character Pairing:  Clint Barton x  F!Reader

Word Count:  2005

Rating:  E

Warnings:  Pregnancy, domestic abuse, post-endgame, angst, developing-relationship, hurt/comfort, smut, Laura and Clint have broken up.  Comic Clint/MCU Clint mix.

Synopsis: Nothing is the same after the events of Endgame.  When Clint has trouble returning to a life where his family hasn’t changed but he has lost everything, he moves back to the city and tries to move on as a single parent. When Nate finds you bruised and pregnant in the stairwell of his building, he decides that there might be another way that he can make Nat’s sacrifice worth something.

Chapter 10

Coming home without Tasha had been hard.  You were ready to go home and get on with your life as a new mother.  Only Tasha was still too small and needed more time in the NICU.  So where you had been expected to be up most of the night feeding her and changing diapers, instead you had an empty crib and multiple trips to the hospital to check on her.

Clint had said it was a little bit of a blessing.  You weren’t sure if he was just saying that to try and make you feel better or not.  He was definitely a little highly strung on the return home.  He had told you that being home without her meant that he could get the apartment closer to being where he wanted it.

He really did get right into the renovations too.  Some of his friends came and helped, so there were days where the place was full of Avengers doing home repairs.

By the time you went to pick up Tasha to bring her home the walls had been painted, the floors sanded and polished so they matched and the kitchen had been finished with new appliances, countertops, and cabinets as well as a floating island and a new tile floor.

There was still a lot to do.  Upstair particularly hadn’t been changed at all.  It was two large unconnected bedrooms that you could only access via two different staircases on the opposite sides of the apartment.  Clint had big plans for replacing stairs and connecting the upstairs and putting in another half bathroom.  For now, it was enough that you now had a place that worked for your new family.  There were enough bedrooms for all the kids.

But finally, there was Tasha there with you both.

Being a new mother was tough but you really loved it.  Even as sleep-deprived as you were.  Clint was such a natural dad.  He only complained about the messy things like changing diapers and being puked on in a light joking way.  You never once doubted that he wasn’t enjoying the role of dad to the little girl.

You were actually happy.  This was the family you had always wanted and never expected to have.  It was easy to forget the shit that you’d struggled out of.  Clint seemed to feel the same way.  He was happier and more relaxed and now when he spoke about the people he’d lost that had led to where he was now, it was more about remembering the good things than being lost in the grief of what he’d lost.

The two of you made a new life with the family you blended together.  It was a kind of serendipity.  Maybe if either of you were asked there might be things you would change about each of your pasts.  No one deserves the abuse either of you had suffered and even a happy ending might not have made up for experiencing it in the first place.  You would both have wished Natasha alive if that kind of thing worked.

Still, you were happy and each day that passed the more the happiness outweighed any grief or guilt you still both carried.

It was easy to forget there was still bad in the world.

By the time Tasha was four months old, Cooper, Lila, and Nate were all staying over regularly again.  Things had been slightly erratic for the first few months while Laura let you and Clint adjust to the newborn.

It wasn’t an unusual day when Kate came around and she, Lila, and Clint were up on the rooftop doing target practice while you were downstairs with Cooper, Nate, and Tasha.  When there was a knock at the door you didn’t even think to check the peephole to see who it was.

“Cooper.  Can you turn that down a little?  It’s kinda loud.”  You called back as you pulled the door open.

“Found you.”

The voice of the man at the door sent a chill through you and you wheeled around to see Richard standing in the doorway.  You went to shove the door closed and he slammed it back at you, making it hit you hard in the face and sending you reeling.

“What do you think you’re doing, bitch?”  Richard seethed as he pushed his way inside.

“Get out of here, Richard.  There’s nothing here for you.”  You said trying to push him back out the door.

Cooper had jumped to his feet and moved to where Tasha was playing under her baby gym, kicking her feet happily.  “Nate, come here, bud.”  He said.

Richard struck you in the face knocking you to the ground.  Lights popped behind your eyes and your head spun as you tried to get back up off the ground.  “You aren’t allowed to be here.”  You said and you got on your hands and knees.  He kicked you, knocking your back over.  It felt like he’d broken a rib.

“I’m here for my kid.  You think you can keep them from me?”  He spat.

“Hey, you don’t hurt her!”  Nate yelled, puffing his chest out and putting his hands on his hips.

“Nate!”  Cooper called.  “Come here, buddy.”

Tasha had started to cry from all the yelling and Cooper scooped her up off the ground and held her close to his chest.

“Alright, kid.  Let’s not be a hero.  Give me the baby and I’ll leave.  She’s mine.”  Richard said, trying to sound reasonable.

“She is not.  She’s my sister.  You get out of here, mister!”  Nate ordered.

“Alright, this is moving past being cute,”  Richard said taking a few steps towards the kids.  “Give me the baby and no one else has to get hurt.”

“Cooper, take them to the bathroom and lock the door.”  You choked out as you tried to get back to your feet.

Cooper grabbed Nate by the arm and dragged him towards the bathroom.  Richard lunged at them and you grabbed his ankles, tripping him to his knees. He aimed a kick at your head and there was a thwip-woosh sound, and an arrow embedded itself into his shoulder.

“Fuck!”  He cursed, grabbing the bolt as you staggered to your feet.

Lila stood at the door with her bow drawn looking at the scene.  “Don’t you move.”  She said, though there was a shake in her voice.

“Cooper.”  You called.  “Take the kids up to your dad.”  You moved to block him and Nate from Richard as they passed him.

When Cooper got to the door, he began to run, dragging a protesting Nate with him.  You slowly moved towards Lila.  Her hands were shaking slightly but she kept the bow trained on Richard.

“Don’t be stupid, little girl,”  Richard warned.  “You’re not going to kill me.”

“Don’t need to,”  She said and dropped the aim to his groin.

“Come on, Lie,”  You said, putting your hand on her.  “Let’s go get your dad.”

Lila backed out with you, keeping the arrow pointed at him.  He lurched forward and she let the arrow loose.  It hit him in the thigh.  You both turned and ran to the stairwell, ignoring the burning pain in your face and side, and how hard it was to draw in each breath.

“Dad sent me down to get us drinks,”  Lila said as she ran.

“Oh god.”  You said. “I’m sorry, Lila.”

“It’s not your fault.”  She said.  “Come on.”

You burst through the door to the roof, you lungs burning as you slammed it behind you.  Clint was already on his way to the door as Kate took Tasha from Cooper.  “Where is he?”  Clint asked.

“Following I think.  Lila shot him.”  You babbled.  “Shot?  Is shot the right word.  Did you shoot him?”

“It’s alright.  It’s going to be okay.  He’s broken both his parole and the restraining order by just coming here.”  Clint soothed.  “I’ll be back.”

He ran from the room and Kate came and dropped Tasha into Lila’s hands.  “I’m going with your dad given I’m the actual Avenger here.”  She said and ran off after him.

You came over to Lila and put your arm around her.  “Are you okay, sweetheart?”  You asked.

She nodded.  “Never shot a person before.”  She said.  “Never shot anything that wasn’t a target.”

You kissed the top of her head.  “You saved us and he’s just hurt.  You did good.  But we’re gonna get someone you can talk to about this.”

She looked up at smiled at you.  “You should sit down.”

She helped you to one of the deck chairs on the roof.  The sound of sirens started echoing up from the street and Cooper went and looked over the edge of the roof.  “There’s police and ambulance coming.”

“Good,”  You said.  “That’s good.”  You held out your hands to Lila who was bouncing Tasha on her hip and pulling faces at her to get her to calm down.  “You want me to take her?”

“No, it’s okay.  I’ve got her.”  Lila said.  “You should get looked over by the paramedics before you hold her.”

Nate came over to you and climbed up on the deck chair resting against you and gently patting your stomach.  “You okay?”

“Yeah, I’m okay.  Thank you for being my brave hero.”  You said, gently.  “I love you kids so much, you know?”

“We love you too,”  Lila said.

“Yeah, we wuv you.”  Nate agreed, kissing your cheek.

“Someone just came out on a stretcher,”  Cooper called from the edge of the roof.

“Can you see who it is, Coop?”  Lila asked.

He leaned over the edge a little more.  “I think it’s the guy.  It’s not Kate anyway.”  He said.

“You sure it’s not dad?”  Lila asked.

“I’m pretty sure,”  Cooper said.  “Yeah.  I think it’s the other guy.”

“Good.  That’s good.”  Lila said, flopping down on another chair.  Tasha babbled happily and patted her cheeks.

“Should we go down and find dad?”  Cooper asked.

“We better wait here.”  You said.  “They’ll come up when they’re ready.”

Like your words had summoned him, Clint appeared in the door with a couple of paramedics and a police officer.  The kids all rushed over to him slamming into him.  He held them close, taking Tasha from Lila as he crouched down and pulled them close.  “It’s alright.  Everything’s fine.  You all did great.”  He soothed.  “You’re safe now.  Did anyone get hurt?”

Cooper shook his head as he melted in against his father.  “Not us.”

Clint indicated to the paramedics to go and see you.  They moved over and started looking you over.  Checking to see if he’d cracked any ribs and patching up your wounds.  They took photos of your injuries as they worked for evidence.

“Okay, guys.  We need to talk to the police too.  You'll have to tell them what happened.  Okay?”  Clint said gently, as he looked his kids over.

“Yeah, we can do that,”  Cooper said.

“We’re going to need you to take you into the hospital for some x-rays.  I don't like how that rib feels.” One of the paramedics said to you. 

Clint looked between you and the police officers.  “We will go with her to get checked out first okay?  I'll bring them to the station later.  You've got Hawkeye giving a statement right?”

“Yes, she’s gone down there.  Just be sure you do.”  The officer said.

“Don't worry, man. We want this over and done with.  For good.  We’ll be there.”  Clint said.

He came over to you holding both Nate and Tasha and crouched down kissing your forehead.  “Sorry I wasn't there.”

You shook your head, trying not to cry.  “Sorry being with me means you even have to worry about that.”

“Oh, honey, don't be stupid.”  He said and rubbed his nose against yours.  “He is not your fault.  Let's get you patched up so we can get done with him for good.”

You nodded.  That was something you wanted more than anything.

// NEXT

[avengerscompound]

Legacy - Chapter 3

Legacy: A Hawkeye Fanfic

Series Masterlist PREVIOUS //

Buy me a ☕ Character Pairing:  Clint Barton x  F!Reader

Word Count:  1732

Rating:  E

Square filled:   @marvelfluffbingo - Hurt/Comfort

Warnings:  Pregnancy, domestic abuse, post-endgame, angst, developing-relationship, hurt/comfort, smut, Laura and Clint have broken up.  Comic Clint/MCU Clint mix.

Synopsis: Nothing is the same after the events of Endgame.  When Clint has trouble returning to a life where his family hasn’t changed but he has lost everything, he moves back to the city and tries to move on as a single parent. When Nate finds you bruised and pregnant in the stairwell of his building, he decides that there might be another way that he can make Nat’s sacrifice worth something.

Chapter 3

Clint was really beginning to enjoy the summer.  It had been a long, long time since he could remember actually really enjoying one.  Not since everyone had turned to dust.  It was a season that had been tainted.  The last time he had really remembered enjoying it was the one where his family had died.

Since then there were five where he’d been alone, furious and broken.  Where the summer was just an uncomfortable season where he remembered everything he lost.  Then there was one year where all he felt was guilt and melancholy.  Guilt over the fact he couldn’t be what Laura needed him to be and melancholy over a season he usually mourned.

This year had been better.  He had the dog now and his kids were with him.  He’d take them to Central Park and visit the Zoo or go to Heckscher Playground and let them run around in the water.  He’d taken them to see movies where they’d sat in the cool watching all the new features that had been made now half of Hollywood had reappeared.  He’d taken them to see the Mets play and down to Coney Island to visit Luna Park.  He was making the effort to be who they needed him to be at least.  Cooper and Lila had already lost one dad.  They didn’t deserve to lose another.  Even if he had already mourned their deaths.

One thing that was helping him a lot was you.  Part of it was probably a huge case of white knight syndrome.  He was aware of it.  He wouldn’t have joined the Avengers if he didn’t get a kick out of helping people.  He helped people a lot.  It was kind of his thing.  It was more than that though.  Yeah, he was happy he’d gotten you away from that asshole of a boyfriend.  Yeah, he was happy that he’d set you on your feet so you could do this whole pregnancy thing without the looming threat of a man that beat you or not being able to provide for them.  Mostly he just liked having you around.

He’d shut people out.  It wasn’t just that he wasn’t letting new people in, he’d also shut out the friends and family he already had.  Opening that door for you seemed to open up a little bit of the man he used to be before all this happened.  Not only that, without Richard looming over you, you started to come to life.  You were like a breath of fresh air.  Even after you moved into the apartment next door you’d come by to have meals with them.  Often bringing over some of the dishes the neighbors had been making, sometimes cooking from scratch.  While he missed eating pizza as much as he was, it was definitely good to that the kids were eating better.  Laura would be happy to hear it in any case.

You’d gotten a job at Stark Industry basically doing data entry.  It wasn’t much, but it was something that you could sit for and it would last you until you couldn’t work anymore.  On your days off you were with them.  You came to movies and the park and the zoo.  The kids had all bonded with you quite closely considering it had only been a month and a half.  He liked seeing you with them.  He liked you.  He liked himself with you.  He started to recognize the guy he’d used to be.  The one that was happy and flirtatious and hadn’t lost his family.

Which kinda sucked because he couldn’t see how there was any chance for you two to be anything.  He couldn’t properly hit on you.  The flirting was harmless but you’d just gotten out of an abusive relationship.  You needed time and space.  You’d already said you’d worried that he wanted something from you as payment.  He wasn’t exactly in the best place either.  How was he supposed to make a new relationship work when he’d fucked his marriage up so badly?  Not to mention you were pregnant.  It upped the stakes.  He had to be really sure that there was something there before he messed with your life.  The problem was that he was never sure about that kind of thing.

It has been Nat that has introduced him to Bobbi.  It has been Nat who has pushed him towards Laura.  He didn’t know if he had it in him to try without he smacking him over the back of the head.

As the summer drew to a close he had really started to relax.  It was a weird sensation after so many years where he wouldn’t let himself.  You were at his apartment with the kids waiting for Laura to pick them up.  You were all playing Mario Kart.  He couldn’t quite believe how much fun he was having.  The kids were being hypercompetitive.  You were shoving him every time he got in the lead to try and make him crash.  Everyone was laughing and screaming, but that good kind of screaming where you’re having so much fun it comes out as shrieks.  Each time you pushed against him he felt a warm tingle inside him.  That little flutter of potential.  He wanted it to go away but at the same time, he liked it.  He liked that he could feel that again.

You shoved him again making him fly his baby Luigi off the side of the rainbow road.  “Oh, that’s it!”  He said trying to grab your controller out of your hands.

“No!”   You squealed, climbing up the back of the couch.  He wrestled with you for it making everyone laugh and Lucky start to bark excitedly.

“Yes!  You want to play dirty, we’ll play dirty.”  He teased.

There was a knock at the door and Lila jumped up and ran over to answer it.  “Mom!”  She squealed.

Everyone froze and looked over to see Laura standing in the doorway looking bemused.

“Mommy!”  Nate yelled, running over to Laura and throwing himself at her.  She caught him and picked him up as she pulled Lila into a hug too.

“Hey, guys.  I missed you.”  She said as she held them close.

Clint stood a little startled.  He knew Laura was coming today but he thought he had a few more hours.  He checked the microwave clock but it was flashing 12.00 as it had been since the day he moved in.  “Are you early?”

“Yeah, sorry.”  She said.  “I totally misjudged how long it would take to get here.  I don’t wanna rush them out or anything.  I do have that baby stuff you asked for in the car though.”

“Oh, great.  Thanks, Laur.”  He said and introduced the two of you.  “How about we go get that and you guys pack up the last of your stuff and then we can all go out and grab an early dinner?”

“Sounds good to me,”  Laura said putting Nate down.

“You mind helping them out?”

You nodded.  “Sure of course.  Come on you lot.”

Clint followed Laura downstairs leaving you and the kids to pack up their things.  “I hope this stuff is okay.  It’s all really old now.”  Laura said as she made her way down the stairs.  “I forgot that until I was going through it and it was covered in almost a decade of dust.”

Clint sighed and nodded.  “I guess if it’s no good we can have a baby shower and buy whatever else.”

Laura looked at him and raised her eyebrow.  “We?  Is this your baby, Clint?”

“What?  No.  I’d have told you I was with someone.”

“Well, that’s something at least.”  She said with a shake of her head.  “Who is this woman, Clint?  Why are you doing this?”

“She doesn’t have anyone.  And her ex was beating her.  I… Laur, I couldn’t do nothing.”

“There’s doing something and then there’s bending over backward.”  She said.  “Do you want something to happen with her.”

“No.  It’s not like that…”  He said.

“Clint, I just saw you.  I know what you look like when you’re falling for someone.”

He sighed and opened the door for her to go outside.  “I just… Laura.  She needed someone.  I couldn’t be who you needed me to be.  I tried.  And I wish it was different.  But it’s not.  And she needed help.  I can give her that.  I should be dead and I’m not so I need to do something to make it count.”

Laura stopped and looked him over.  She approached him and cupped his jaw.  It was such a familiar move yet it was like it was something that used to happen to a whole other man.  “I miss her too, Clint.  Every single day.  And I miss you.  But you aren’t the man I miss.  I think he died right along with us, only we don’t remember that happening.”

Clint opened his mouth to say something.  To apologize or try to explain or something.  She put her finger on his lips.  “It’s okay, Clint.  I can’t even try to understand what those five years were like.  I’m not even sure I want to.  You aren’t who you were before.  But the world isn’t what it was before.  It’s different and maybe you’re right.  Maybe she needs you.  But maybe you need her too.  Just…”  She paused and took a deep breath, caressing his cheek with her thumb.  “Be careful.  For both your sake.”

He nodded leaning his head into her hand a little.  “I don’t want anyone to get hurt.”

“I love you, you know that?”  Laura said.  “If helping her, or being with her helps you find yourself, do it.  Be happy.”

He smiled sadly and nodded.  “I love you too.”  He said.  “I wish…”

“Me too, Clint.  But let’s not dwell on it anymore.  We’ve all lost too much.  Time to move forward.”  She said.  “Now help me get these things outta my car.”

Clint nodded and popped the trunk.  He did wish things were different in so many ways.  Laura was right though, it was time to move forward.  Most likely nothing would happen between you and him.  It was unfair of him to expect it would.  He could be your friend and he hadn’t made a new one in a long time.  That was a good start.

// NEXT

[tarithenurse]

Orphan - Chapter 8

Starring:  Fem!Reader and MCU characters! Contents: Spoilers for Endgame!! Some serious stuff. Some fluffy stuff. Some sad stuff. A/N: This is a bit shorter chapter, but dude did I love writing it. Ehehehehe. PREVIOUS CHAPTERS can be found on the masterlist. Thanks for likes and reblogs and comments <3

8. We stan

There are fans and then there are über fanboys. Among the latter it’s possible to find not just Nathaniel but Cooper, too, both of them staring at the two WW2 soldiers like it’s the first superheroes they have ever seen. The guests do take it very well, trying to keep up the polite conversation with Clint (who obviously knows them) and Laura who is managing to contain the amusement at watching the kids and their dad’s slight jealousy – not because he isn’t a hero, however being their dad is the category he get’s labeled under instead. To spear Steve and James some of the embarrassment, Lila makes sure to haul the boys away from the table as soon as they’re done eating.

“So, how’ve you settled in?” Steve ask, finally turning his attention fully to you.

A corner of you goes a little bit crazy with amazement over the fact that Captain fucking America is talking to you. Be cool. “Pretty good, I think,” you smile sort of in his direction but mostly at your plate, “I’m grateful I’ve gotten to stay here‘ntil I’m back on track…” Laura’s hand squeezes your shoulder briefly, and you know she’s trying to tell you it’s no problem.

“Any thoughts on whatcha want?” Somehow the Captain makes the question sound like he cares and it damn near melts you. “Where d’you wanna go?”

“I’ve kinda been looking at rentals in the city already…for when I’m allowed to leave.” This isn’t news to Laura, and you hear her quiet hum in agreement from where’s she’s bend over the dishwasher. “I wanna finish at uni…’s bout time, right?” Fuck that smile is perfect.

You have to move your attention from Steven when he’s buddy pipes in: “In New York? I’m trying to find a place too…maybe we can help each other out?” A faint blush spreads to his cheeks for a second. “I mean keeping an eye on adds and stuff…you pro’ly know the city better than I do now.”

“Not sure…things’ve changed whi- after the Snappening.”

“True,” he concedes, “betcha not as much as since ’43.”

The comment makes his co-heroes laugh and Laura laugh. You get it, of course, but what can you do to help him? Still, you promise to keep an eye out for a place suitable for a couple of guys.

“No no, just me! Steve’s my best friend since f’ever, alright, but I ain’t gonna stand being ‘roun him 24/7.”

“You’re the one who snores.”

“Well you take hou–“

Thankfully, Laura interrupts their friendly bickering with steaming much of coffee and pie for dessert.

…

Having said the goodbyes and goodnights, it comes as a surprise when someone knocks on the door to your room. What’s even more startling is that it’s Steve standing there, sheepishly twirling a cell phone in those strong hands.

“I uuh…” he begins, about as coherently as your thoughts are, “I just…’m glad you doing fine and I know Clint an-and Laura will help ya with anythin’…”

“They’ve been really nice, yeah.”

For some reason the man blushes, making him look younger – well, age’s relative when it comes to a man that look to be around 30, technically is born 105 years ago while having been unfrozen for a bit less than half of that. Or something. A corner of your brain continues down the track of calculating ages, but most of your focus is applied to the conversation.

“Is…? Are you looking for a place, too?”

“What? Oh, no…no I got a-a place, Bucky’s crashing with me.” Furrowed brows hide the gorgeous eyes before he meets your gaze. “I’ve got some contacts, so I might be able to find you somewhere good ‘nd affordable…if y’wanna.”

Two heroes on the case…daymn. “Suuure…that’d be cool. I dunno when I can move though.” Hint! Hint!

“We’re working on it. But’s fair to say you can look at enrolling at Uni and…stuff…”

“Oh.” What?

Everything, also known as your life, has been on hold since you got caught spying on your biological father’s funeral so the idea of finally moving on is odd. Your belly does a swoop before settling down with heavy feeling. Mostly, you’re happy at the idea of getting on with your plans, but you also feel a bit sad because it means you will have to say goodbye to the Barton’s who you’ve accidentally ended up liking. More than liking. Always cheerful Nathaniel, who welcomed you with open arms; Lila, who comes to you with tea or hot chocolate to gossip and talk about school or friends; Cooper, perhaps more quiet, but often picking your brain when it comes to homework; Laura, who never hesitated to let you into the home and lives she was (is) trying to rebuild for her family while doing the best she can to be there for her husband through the loss of friends.

“[Y/N]…” Steve says softly, and you look up at him but see nothing but a blur. “It’s gonna be okay.”

Strong hands pull you gently into a hug so warm you can’t help but feel safe. Safe enough to let go of all the worries, both past and present, in the form of a steady stream of tears while the man hold you and strokes your hair. There’s no reason to talk, to try to explain. He knows.

It takes a few minutes before you manage to stop crying, and during that time you’re vaguely aware of someone approaching and leaving again. Laura? Eventually, though, you can breathe in a newfound calm freely, realizing for the first time how much energy you’ve been devoting to worrying – not that you have all the answers now, but at least Steven Grant Rogers are telling you things are going to be fine. Of course you believe him.

Pulling back a bit, you see how the grey t-shirt has a huge stain from your tears, and you try to apologize only to be stopped with the reasoning that it’s just water and it will dry. Thank gods for waterproof mascara! It’s with reluctance you step back as he releases you from the embrace.

“If you don’t wanna live alone at first then you can crash at my place.” The words are hurried, proving the man is somewhat shy. “I mean…if…uhm…”

He’s kidding…it doesn’t look like it’s a joke though. “That…that might be nice, actually…thanks.”

You mean every word, afraid of what thoughts will come to you at night if you were by yourself instead of a house full of life and, well, friends. And you still want to get on, find momentum once more and reclaim…something. Bright eyes are staring at you with equal parts delight and terror before Captain America does an awkward little bow and then rushes down the stairs, leaving you with a tingle at the back of the knees as if you want to follow. It’s Captain America, the inner voice of reason miffs, everyone wants to follow him.

Logical thoughts or not, you can’t shake the image of his smile as you go to bed, and you end up thinking more about that man than Pepper Potts and your future until sleep finally overpowers you, bringing with it dreams strong arms holding you, and tender lips searching for yours.​