Clint's recovery was slow. He would be perfectly fine one moment and the next forget how to read or pour a cup of water. It was the most simplistic things; he would wrestle with clothes, battle opening cabinets, and occasionally struggle with remembering where he had seen the face looking back at him through the mirror.
Every once in a while, he would have a breakdown, one where he would forget everything and stare off into space, trying to come back to reality. His vision would go completely dark, like he was sleeping, and he would be stuck in a void of nothingness until something familiar brought him back. A voice, a touch, a smell was all he needed to be there again.
That recognition usually came from Pietro.
Those situations terrified them both; Clint being scared of the possibility that next time one happened, he wouldn't be coming back, and Pietro being scared of losing Clint forever, this time for good.
It was a rare occasion when Pietro wasn't around when Clint forgot something, but when it did happen, they had devised a plan. Since Clint could barely remember his qualms with some man named Loki (who, Clint came to find out, isn't actually a man at all), he allowed Wanda to peek into his mind, and she was able to sense when he was struggling. If she noticed Pietro wasn't there, she would either take care of it herself or send in someone close by to help him out. It worked nicely, the whole gang a group of therapeutic helpers who were slowly getting Clint back on his feet.
Each team member even seemed to have their own little jobs; technology went to Tony, Thor supplying information about Asgard (if the need arose), Steve handled any questions about America and its past, and Natasha took care of all the questions or flashbacks he would have about his own life. Everything else was handled pretty well by either Pietro, Bruce, or Wanda, with Vision as a stand in every so often.
Everything went well, most of the time. Clint would begin to recall his happier memories first; successfully recruiting Natasha, kissing Pietro for the first time, taking down Loki, all of the good times surfacing one by one. However, with every good comes an evil, and they came hard.
It would be the smallest trigger, like a pencil snapped in half or a faucet left running. Sometimes it was a person, someone who's face he recognized from the crowd. The worst issues they faced when it came to these sudden recollections were when they happened in public.
Pietro and Clint were making their way downtown, a steady stroll setting the pace, as Clint was still banged up and Pietro needed to learn how to walk like a normal person if he would get anywhere in today's society. The archer had requested to start going out, as originally he was not allowed outside of the base. With Banner's permission and strict watch, he was routinely sent in a walk with his boyfriend so they could do "regular" activities, such as window shopping rather than piercing mannequins with arrows through the eye multiple times for hours.
As they were walking, Clint suddenly snapped his head, his hands twitching. Pietro looked to where he was staring and spotted a tall man with immense cheekbones and a perfect posture. He walked with pride, his long legs and lean torso decked in a black suit with a forest green tie. His hair was black, cropped and cut in layers that reached to around his shoulders. He carried with him a golden cane and two books. His eyes blew cold gusts to anyohe looked at. He was someone who demanded to be looked at, his presence felt by everyone around him.
Pietro shivered when he looked at them.
Something about the man made Pietro uneasy, but it had sent Clint extremely on the edge. He was fidgeting with his clothes, tugging on his vest and casting glances to the other across the street. He was now stopped at a red light directly to their left. If they walked beside him from the street over, they could catch glimpses of him through the crowd as they moved to the other side.
