Grief

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'Do we know if he had family?' The compound is silent yet loud with the guilt, grief, and frustration of the six of them. Fury had left the compound ten minutes ago after informing them of Clint's failed mission, leaving them reeling. Steve's question was the first words shared between them. He runs a hand over a stubbled chin, and Wanda puts a hand on his shoulder, knowing he's stressed.

'Clint kept his personal life private. I wouldn't be surprised if he did.' Nat says. She's taken up the seat in the corner of the room, everybody looks over to her in surprise, she hasn't moved since they found out the news. They forgot she was there.

'How are we supposed to find them?' Tony walks over with a few mugs of coffee and places them in front of Steve, Wanda, and Bruce.

'Guys.' Just as Tony sits down with a sigh, Peter sits up, back ramrod straight. 

'What is it, kid?' Tony asks, concerned. Peter pulls up his sleeve and shows it to the team. The hairs on his arm have stood on end, warning him of danger. All 6 of them look to the door as a large crash comes from outside. 'Wanda, take Bruce outside, please.' 

'No, Tony, I'm fine.' Bruce protests, but Wanda puts a hand on his back and leads him out of the side door.

'He could have helped, Stark' Nat chastises him. 

'We didn't need him adding to the situation.' As Tony says this, he taps his chest and his suit unfurls around him. Peter pulls his mask over his head, Steve holds his shield out in front of him and Nat, and Nat spins her shock sticks between her fingers. 

The door explodes of it's hinges, revealing you, standing there, light pulsing around you. You slowly look up, your eyes glowing. You're hoping the spectacle of your powers will hide the shaking of your voice, and the fear in your eyes. They can't know you're scared. They'll take advantage of it. It's what they do. 'You have 10 seconds to tell me where my father is'

'Hang on a minute, who are you?' Tony cuts in, stepping in front of Peter.

'9... 8... 7...' 

Steve holds a hand out to you. 'Look kid, we can't tell you who your father is until we know who he is.' The light around you flares and your hands glow. 

'Don't call me kid' 

'Hey, hey!' Nat steps out from Steve's shield and puts her shock sticks away. 'Calm down. We won't hurt you. What's your name?' You take a deep breath. From the looks of her, this is Natasha Romanoff. Your dad didn't like to talk about his work with you, but if you're correct, you can trust her. Your hands stop glowing. 

'Y/n. Y/n Barton.' 

'Clint? You're Clint's family?' You watch as she steps back in shock. So he didn't tell them about you.

'I'm his daughter. Now where is he?' 

'Well I guess we don't need to worry about finding his family.' Tony chips in, a little too cheerily. You glare at him, but your face softens when you register what he said. As hard as you try not to, you let your guard down. The room darkens as the light around you dissipates. You know the answer to the question you're about to ask, but you need to know. Your eyes well up. 

'Why do you need to find his family?' Without the distraction of your powers, the four of them notice how your voice wavers and your hands shake.

'I think you need to sit down.' Nat gestures to a chair. You shake your head and take a step back.

'No. Don't say that. If you say that then that means-' You put a hand on the door frame to steady yourself as the world spins. 

Steve sighs. 'He went on a mission that went sideways- he didn't come back. I'm so sorry.' His voice cracks on the last word. He doesn't like giving bad news. Your breathing picks up and you have to sit down on the floor as your vision starts to shake, until you realise it's not your vision shaking, it's the furniture. 

'This can't be true. I need my dad. He's all I have. I can't- I don't-' The sound of the shaking obviously has gotten loud enough to hear from outside, because Wanda bursts in, hands wielding red. She's ready to fight when she sees you, curled up on the floor. 

'What's going on here?' She asks the others.

'Clint's daughter.' Peter explains simply. 

'Oh no.' She tries to walk over to you but Steve holds his arm out in front of her. She glares at him. 

'I wouldn't do that. She's dangerous.' He tells her.

'She needs help.' Wanda corrects him. She steps out from his arm and crouches in front of you. 'Hey. I'm sorry about your dad.' You look up at her, and she gets a flashback to herself when she was 10. Sitting in the aftermath of the wreckage, their home scattered around her in pieces. Pietro with his arm around her, telling her it'll be ok. 

'I don't know how to stop it.' You tell her, referring to the quaking. 

 'That's ok. I know what it's like to have more power than you can handle, but you'll learn. I did.' She smiles comfortingly at you, as she does so her eyes flash red. On seeing you smile back, she gently takes your hand in hers. 'I know it doesn't feel like it right now, but it'll get better... manageable, at least' 

'You're Wanda, right? Dad told me about you. He said you were brave.' You sniff and wipe your face, the room slowly stops shaking.

'There we go. See? You're getting better already.' Her smile's so genuine and contagious that you smile too, a weak one, but a smile nevertheless.

'Thank you.' Now that the panic's subsided, you start to think clearly. 'Oh god. What am I supposed to do now?' 

'I'm sure you can stay with us whilst you're getting back on your feet.' Nat pitches in. 'Right, Stark?' The five of you turn to look at Tony. He looks caught off guard, as if he'd zoned out whilst you were about to bring the building down.

'Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot this was Stark's Hotel for Lost Children.' He rolls his eyes at Nat's disapproving look. 'We have some spare rooms.' You wring your hands together, unable to look him in the eye. 

After a moment of deliberation, you speak. 'No, I really don't want to be a burden. I'm 20 years old; I can stay in the house by myself. I'm sorry' You wipe your face off and start to head out, but you find your hand webbed to the doorknob. 

When you turn around, everybody's staring at Peter, who's holding his hand out towards the door, looking guilty. 'He insists.' Peter says awkwardly.

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