Too Little Too Late

Clint Barton

Even when he wasn't there, the bastard still managed to get all the spotlights on him. How did he managed that? People were actually putting flowers down the front of what was Stark tower once upon a time. People who, not too long ago, were hating Stark with all they had. Part of him wanted to think that the masses were changing their minds just like they were changing clothes. The crowds were inconstant like that. The files, dumped everywhere on the internet weren't, showing them on a good side. Clint was especially disturbed by the Hydra's videos about Wanda. After Loki, the idea alone of someone playing with his mind would have sent him in a rage. He watched her little smile after having destroyed somebody's mind. It was disturbing. She didn't use her red mist on him but it shouldn't have been an excuse. Yet, they accepted her as part of the team as if nothing happened, as if not too long ago, she wasn't on the path on killing them all. She had unleashed the Hulk into innocent population, that alone should have made them think twice. He had been close to her, as if she was his own daughter. Pietro had saved his life. Clint had felt indebted to her in a way.

Nothing was right these days. Their returns should have been the ones of heroes coming back from a hard but won battle. Stark should have been there with a hell of an apology. Clint had dreamt about that explanation. That was what they deserved. At the very least. They had fought for what was right. Steve had been dead on about those accords. Clint didn't even need to read them to know. Even Natasha had finally saw the light. That year away from home had been really difficult. Wakanda was beautiful but it wasn't home. They couldn't go outside the private gardens. It wasn't the first time he had to leave his family behind. Never so long and never without a way to contact them once and a while. T'Challa had told them to lay low while he was working for them to go back home. Meaning no contact with the outside world. Clint had never been that good with being ordered around. Even when Phil Coulson was his handler. They had a strange bond together that was why he listened to him. They were like a family Phil, Natasha and him. He had tried to call his family anyway and failed. He wanted to hear Laura and the kids even if he couldn't go back to them just right now. The King had been pissed with him for a while after that.

He still couldn't believe that Stark had thrown them in jail. People now were saying it wasn't him back then, that he didn't have that kind of power in the first place. But the archer didn't believe that one bit. He remembered clearly when Stark came to visit them in their cells. Stark was is old abrasive self. Clint's anger had skyrocketed then. Now, he could admit that that comment on Rhodes' back had been going too far. If Stark had been expecting a "sorry I fucked up" from him he could always wait until hell froze over. Once the snarky comments had started, he just couldn't stop himself. Almost against his will at times. The anger needed a way out. In his exile, the hatred had helped him not going crazy. He needed someone to blame for everything. Everyone in the world was in the "Stark is Evil" bandwagon anyway. The entire planet couldn't be wrong. Captain America couldn't be wrong.

Wakanda had a lot of training grounds of all kinds. It was impressive. Even an archery range. The arrows here weren't as good as Stark's ones but it felt good to shoot again. Most days, he just felt like punching someone in the face. Anyone would do. He was feeling so much rage that training and sparring was not enough to let all that out of his system. The Dora Milaje were formidable warriors. Training with them was a good exercise. Even when they heard about their pardon, the fury did not subside. They were still criminals. They would just not go to jail. The avengers were to do community work by doing heroics. As he was right now, Clint couldn't go back home. His real home, the farm. It would have been dangerous for Laura and the kids. Control, he needed to control himself better before thinking about going back. The situation wasn't fair for his family. But that was the best he could do in that shithole of a situation Stark left them in. He knew that he should contact them, to tell them what really happened. The courage didn't come to him. Maybe he didn't try too much.