The Lone Wolf (Clint Barton)

Chapter 38: Staring Contest

Jackie POV:

We had boarded the jet a while ago, each of us hoping to get rest. However, it ended with Dad sitting and thinking (while staring), Sam watching Dad while laying down, and me leaning against Dad's back and resting my eyes. "You alright?" Sam asked, his tone low. I didn't have to open my eyes to see Dad's nod.

"Let's take the shield Sam." Dad stated. "Let's take the shield and do this ourselves."

"We can't just run up on a man, beat him up, and take it." Sam sighed, sitting up while I opened my eyes. "Do you remember what happened the last time we stole it?"

"Maybe." Dad shrugged, glancing at me.

"I'll help you in case you forgot." Sam continued. "Sharon was branded enemy of the state, Steve and I were on the run for three years, and Jackie, your daughter, was taken by HYDRA and experimented on. I don't know about you, but I don't wanna live the rest of my life in la vida loca. We just got our ass handed to us by Super Soldiers, and we got nothing."

"Not entirely true." Dad informed, jumping off of the crate and going to sit down beside Sam while I went to go lay down on the seats opposite of them. "There is someone you should meet." Glancing back at me, I simply raised a brow at Dad before turning around and going to sleep. No, I wasn't tired. I just didn't want to talk about Clint and I's marriage trouble, something I knew that he'd be asking about soon if I was asleep.

When we got back to US soil, I gave Dad and Sam a ride to the neighborhood they were wanting to go before heading back to Dad's apartment. Cleaning up the dirty dishes we had left, I sat down on the floor in front of the TV and turned it on to a random channel that wasn't the news. Turning on my phone, I read through Clint's text messages that he had sent throughout the day. Finishing reading through it all, I decided to call him.

"Hey." He greeted, his tone soft.

"Hi." I responded, wrapping my arms around my legs and pulling them to my chest.

"Whatcha doin?"

"Just sitting on the floor cause Dad doesn't have a couch. He and Sam are going to cause some trouble."

"What's new?" I chuckled at his words, leaning against the wall, having moved to the corner for a more comfortable spot to be in. "Well, Simba and Kion miss you. I think they're going to kill me for causing you to leave."

"Clint, you're not the cause of me leaving. I just had to support Sam and talk to Dad, and now I'm caught up with this whole ordeal."

"Yeah, I saw the announcement and Tony sent me a file on him. What's he like?"

"Let's just say that he's lucky his wife isn't planning his funeral right now."

"I figured you let him live just because his wife is pregnant."

"How'd you know?"

"Because you have a soft spot for mothers." It was silent for a while, the gentle sounds of Clint doing something on the other line comforting. "How much grain do you feed Drifter again?"

"Just put a cup full in all of the containers. Why are they in the barn?"

"It looks like it's going to storm and Raven is close, so I put her in here. But then your stallion threw a fit so I put him inside too."

"Oh."

"What? Surprised that I know so much about horses?"

"Not really, you were raised on a farm anyway. Plus I ramble a lot while I work with animals."