Nightingale. */\Clint Barton x Reader/\*

Chapter 8

I went skiing! Weeee

Okay yeah on to the chapter.

You walked through the halls, a certain skip in your step. Nanuk pranced happily by your side, his head held high and eyes bright. A few yards ahead of you, the training room door swung shut as Steve and Bucky entered the room. You reached the door seconds later, pushed it open, and skipped in.

"Hello Y/N. Are you ready?" Wanda was standing off to the side of the training room, watching as Bucky and Steve chatted a bit before sparring. You strolled over with a broad smile on your face.

"Ready as I'll ever be."

"Alright. Let us start by seeing if you can focus on gathering shadows in a specific place. It might seem a bit premature, but I need to know what your powers can do."

You nodded and closed your eyes, feeling around for the shadows lurking in the corner of the room. They still felt a bit cold, imposing and angry, but it was slightly comforting. As if they were beginning to accept you. Your strength began to grow as the shadows gathered around you, swirling like a dark mist. The weight of Nanuk pressed against your leg vanished and panic began to overtake you. Your breathing became ragged and your head spun. The shadows' anger flared and you tried to draw away. The training room disappeared and all was dark for a few moments.

Then, a blinding light burst through the darkness and the shadows retreated. You shuddered slightly as cold air pressed against you from all sides. Something crunched under your feet and you knelt down. Cold snow brushed against your fingers and you groaned.

"You've got to be kidding me," you muttered angrily. Nanuk wasn't there and you couldn't see anything. You sat down and wrapped your arms around yourself, trying to keep warm.

45 Minutes Later

The snow cracked behind you and you jumped. Something growled not too far away from you. You held perfectly still, trying not to be seen. Then it rubbed against you. Blinding light flashed and the animal was staring at you. It wound its way around you, purring and limping slightly. You tentatively ran your hand through it's fur, piecing together what the animal was in your mind. It had soft, pointed ears and an extremely fluffy face. It had a fairly small body and an itty-bitty tail. 'A bobcat,' you thought. 'Definitely a bobcat.'

"Can I give you a name little guy?"

The bobcat simply purred and settled down, setting its head in your lap.

"How about..." you thought for a moment. "How about Newt?"

Once again, no response. Just a purr.

"Newt it is."

After a while, the Newt decided to get up. He pushed you to your feet and led you across the mountain to a small cave where he pushed you down and laid his hand on top of you again.

Many exhausting (not really) hours later

A bright sparking orange light is not a fun way to be woken up. Of course, this was how you woke up. Your eyes flew open and you brought your hand up to shield your eyes. The orange sparks were forming a weird circle that led...to Avengers Tower? Standing next to the portal was Clint and a strange man with black hair, a red cloak, and some weird yellow necklace with a green gem in the center. Newt quickly stood up and growled at the two, baring his teeth and trying to look scary. He looked like a large angry house cat.

"You get a new friend, Y/N?" Clint smiled slightly, looking more relieved than anything.

"I guess so," you said. You reached out and stroked Newt's fur. He turned and wound around you, limping slightly.

The strange man spoke up, wringing his hands together. "Since you've found each other, we should be getting back. I've left the Sanctum alone for too long."

Clint nodded and helped you up, escorting you through the weird portal. Your stomach flipped around. Newt followed you through. As soon as you stepped into Avengers Tower, you were tackled in a hug by Wanda.

"Where did you go? You just vanished! Nanuk has been in a panic."

"Sorry about that...I don't know what happened."

Clint wrapped an arm around your shoulders. "Everything is solved now. We found you. Go with Wanda and get cleaned up. I'll send Nanuk your way."

"Thank you, Clint." You gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before taking Wanda's hand and leaving the room, Newt limping after you.

Short chapter. Hope you enjoyed :D