Patience [Clint Barton]

5. Hacking

Blythe sat in a large comfy chair with a laptop on her lap and her fuzzy sock covered feet tucked under her. She wore a pair of black legging and a fuzzy grey sweater that constantly slipped over her left shoulder. She sipped at a Carmel frappe and munched on a bag of chips while she worked. Her fingers flew across the keys and her eyes held equations and passwords.

She was sitting on a couch in the Avengers tower trying to hack into a Mafia from Southern Peru. Fury had asked her to do so at the last meeting and Tony had relented to let her do it in the tower. The tower held a safer network but Tony was also quite annoyed that Fury hadn't asked him to do it so he was pouting in his lab.

The firewalls on the server were quite impressive, even to a skilled hacker as herself. Blythe had graduated Highschool by the age of thirteen, two years younger than Tony Stark, and college at eighteen. She received her masters in aerodynamics, Physics, and Science, and her bachelors degree in astronomy and technology. She then proceeded to enlist in the Air Force and then went to work for SHIELD. She had always been a very smart child, being bullied in primary school because of it. When she was five she had managed to hack into the Pentagon, on accident.

Steve and Clint had ran into each other in the hallway, both heading to the main floor to get a snack. They had started talking about the Star Wars Series when they walked into the room and looked at the beautiful woman in front of them. Steve grinned and nudged Clint who was shifting his weight from side to side.

"Watching people is slightly creepy, you know." She looked over at the guys, giggling at there deer in head light look. Steve turned bright red and started to mutter excuses while Clint just froze in shock.

"It's Fine. I was just messing around. We say that all the time on the base." She waved her hand at the men after she was done laughing and both boys let out a breath that they didn't know they were holding. Clint was the first to speak up, clearing his throat and rubbing the back of his head. He walked closer to Blythe and sat on the couch opposite of her, Steve following suit.

"So how's it going with the tech stuff?"

"Good, I should be done... now!" She tapped on last button and sent the files to SHIELD making her laptop ding. She stood and set her laptop on the coffee table, downing the rest of her coffee. Stretching out her tight muscles, she yawned with her arms raised above her head. Steve's jaw dropped as he glanced at the woman.

"But, It's only been an hour!!"

"I know. A hour of my life I'll never get back!" The guys sat on the couch in shock and didn't even notice as Blythe headed to the kitchen. Once they collected themselves, they both jumped up and followed her into the large kitchen. She opened the fridge door and popped her head into the cool space.

"Is there anything I shouldn't eat in here?" Blythe leaded back to look at the boys that had finally entered the kitchen.

"I don't think so."

"Wait, don't eat the Avocado in there. It's Bruce's and I don't want to have him go green on us." Clint spoke up quickly, just incase for some odd reason the agent wanted an Avocado. The green eyed girl froze slightly and bit her lip, rocking back and forth on her feet. Steve took in her appearance and was quick to divert the tension... at least that's what he though he was doing.

"What?" The thing that Mr. Roger's was trying to do did not happen. Instead he simply made things worse. Blythe's breathe started to pick up and the panic was evident in her eyes. The door slammed shut and the panicked woman slide to the floor and covered her ears with her palms. Her breath picked up even more if possible and her eyes started to water. At this point, the guys started to panic as well. Both men looked at each other and back at the woman who, was now rocking back and forth.

" Captain Rogers? I suggest you go and find Mr. Rhodes or Mr. Wilson to assist Ms. Jones before she passes out. It seems as if Ms. Jones is having a panic attack as well as flash backs." JARVIS spoke out to the men causing Steve to rush into action. Clint on the other hand kneeled next to Blythe, moving away when she flinched deeply. All of this because of a stupid avocado. Memories of her abusive family flooded her mind, remembering how they used her allergy against her.

"Hey, hey. It's alright. You're not there.... where ever there is. You're okay. You're safe. I've got you. " He slowly made his way towards the scared solider and sat right in front of her. At his words her eyes snapped up to his and her shoulders deflated slightly, her breathing slowly in just the slightest. Clint noticed this and moved even closer, talking in a soothing tone.

"You're in the Avengers Tower in New York City. It's currently 11:37 in the morning. I'm Clint, remember? We met a few days ago in the park. You and Sam are friends too." Her breath evened out even more and her wild eyes calmed a bit. Her body started to shake less but she was still tense and crying.

"Clint? You are, you are an archer?" A smile lit up the mans face as he nodded, finally setting a hand on the woman's knee. At first she flinched away, pressing herself against the fridge door as hard as she could, until the moment she realized he wasn't going to hurt her. Her shoulders finally slouched and her mind broke the barrier of real life and pained memories. Sucking in a deep breath, Clint finally slide right next to the woman, allowing her to lean against him. Wrapping an arm around her, he pulled her closer to him.

"JARVIS, tell Steve that I've got it under control. Also make sure no one comes up here without me knowing."

"Will do Mr. Barton." Blythe's shoulders shook as she sobbed into her new friend, clutching his black t-shirt in her fist.

"I'm sorry, I shou-.... I just-... I don't..." Blythe tried to apologize for what was happening, pulling away slightly. It took a solid minute for Clint to understand before he was turning towards her. He pulled her back to his chest and hugged her tight to his body.

"Blythe. No. You didn't do this and it definetly isn't your fault so don't you dare apologize. I don't know what happened to you for it to scare you so badly but, just know we are all here for you. Even Bruce who, doesn't know you too well will help you." At hearing this she relaxed into the man and let her mind wander. He realized that she was calmer and started to pull away to get her a glass of water.

"No, please. Clint please don't leave me! I promise, promise that I'll stop crying. Just please don't, don't leave me." Her hands scrambled for a grip on his shirt, her eyes wide with panic. He sat down, practically slamming down on the floor to calm her down. He pulled her onto his lab this time, enveloping her in his arms.

"Hey, it's okay. I'm not going anywhere. I promise." She breathed in his scent and she finally willed herself to stop crying. She didn't even have the energy to feel embarrassed about the situation she was. Crying and freaking out in front of a man that she had only met a few days previous. Allowing her new friend to see a side that she didn't show nearly anyone, and now sitting in said man's lap.

Clint wasn't bothered by this fact. He was more worried for the trembling woman in his arms and why she reacted in such a way because of an avocado. One thing was for sure, he would make sure she never saw an Avocado when he was around. He rubbing her back calmly and then going to run his one hand through her curly hair, gently.

The seconds turned into minutes, minutes turning to hours and soon, four hours had passed. After the second hour, Blythe had fallen asleep. Calmed by Clint's presence and emotionally exhausted by the mornings events, she fell asleep in the man's arms. By Clint sat calmly holding her as she caught up on much needed sleep, running his hand through her hair. He sat with his back to the fridge door still and his head tilted back. Blythe mumbled something in her sleep and curled up more in his lap, holding onto him even more.

Hundreds of thoughts ran through Clint's head. Idea's of what had happened to her. What was going to happen when she woke up. What they were going to do next and countless other ones. But by the fifth hour of their sitting there, he knew one thing was for sure.

Clint Barton was completely and utterly in love with a Major Blythe Jones, he wasn't sure if he hated the idea because as all love stories go, there was nothing he could do about it.