21 Days [A Hawkeye/ Clint Barton fic] [HEAVY EDITING]

The Trial

Immediately after Natasha Romanoff woke up that morning, she knew getting Clint Barton ready for the trial would make her want to put a bullet through her own skull.

She turned on her side and seemed surprised when she did not see Clint curled up in a ball next to her. It had been a few days since they left the hospital, and sometime every night, Clint would manage to crawl in bed with her. He saw her as a security blanket; he was safe as long as he was with her. Natasha groaned, thinking he had possibly wandered off to see if he could shoot his bow before the cast went off. If it happened once, it could happen again. "Dammit, Clint..." She mumbled under her breath, pushing the blankets away and getting out of bed. "Even sleeping, I swear to God you can't be left alone." The Avenger left the bedroom and hurried down the stairs, but as soon as her head turned toward the kitchen, she froze.

Clint was sitting at the kitchen table drinking a protein shake as Laura prepared his IV medication. He used both hands to hold the cup up to his mouth as he sucked down the drink through a straw. An empty apple sauce cup sat in front of him; Laura had got him to eat, which Natasha was extremely grateful for. Clint put his drink down after he caught Natasha in his sight. "Hey, Tasha..." Clint's eyes immediately went to his wife after she gently took his bandaged hand. He watched her stick the needle into the tube sticking out of the bandage wrap and inject the medicine into his port.

"You seem better than you were yesterday."

"Laura just gave me my pain medicine...well, about a half hour ago." Clint leaned back against the back of the kitchen chair. "And that was after she found me stuck upside down in a tree outside."

Natasha blinked. "And why the hell were you in a tree?"

Clint shrugged, not making eye contact. "Tryin' not to lose my spy skills."

"Clint, that doesn't make any sense, you idiot." The Black Widow rolled her eyes and smirked.

"I had to tear his pant leg to free him, and then he immediately regretted his stunt after he hit the ground. Anyways, he was complaining about his stomach hurting when we came inside, so I decided to give the medicine to him now, instead of right before the trial. Besides..." Her eyes focused on Clint "...we're gonna try to clean up a bit before getting ready."

Clint shrunk in his chair, dreading it. "Can I just change my shirt?"

"Don't make me fight you, Clinton Francis." Laura's voice narrowed as she glared, putting him in his place. She rolled her eyes as she watched him pick up his glass again and finish off his protein drink.

"Yeah, Clinton." Hearing his full name coming from Natasha made him shoot a glare at her. Natasha chuckled and went to pour herself the rest of the homemade shake Laura had made Clint.

"I hate how the SHIELD nurses can just access our files..." Clint's comment to Natasha earned his ear a flick from Laura. He whined and looked at her in annoyance. "Come on, Hawkeye," Laura played, "let's go upstairs and get this over with." She seemed to be dreading it as much as Clint was.