Ruthless and Mockingbird

"What..." Clint seemed at a loss for words. "What are you doing here?"

"Not exactly the warm welcome a girl hopes for, but, since you asked, Nick Fury assigned me here," said Bobbi. "He said you're a man down and, after all the casualties we have Loki and his Chitauri army to thank for, he thought it would be best that I joined the team."

"So here she is," said Tony, a smile on his face. Understanding dawned on Clint and he jumped out of his seat.

"You knew about this!" said Clint, pointing an accusing finger at Tony. "Why didn't you warn me?!"

Bobbi looked offended, but it was hard to tell if it was genuine. "Oh, that hurts," she said. "You need to be warned about me? Am I really so terrifying?"

"I didn't mean-" started Clint.

"Yes, you did," said Bobbi.

"Stop telling me what I mean and don't mean! You always do that!"

"Oh, I do not! Stop being dramatic!"

"I'm not being dramatic!"

While the two had their exchange, Tony leaned back in his chair, sipping his wine with an endlessly amused look on his face. Everyone else around the table was looking confusedly at each other, silently asking if they had any idea what was even going on.

"I should've known coming here would start something like this," said Bobbi. "It was too much to hope for that we'd be able to have a normal conversation and act like human beings."

Clint took a breath to speak, but Bruce interrupted.

"Okay, what exactly is going on?" he asked, finally having enough of their bickering. Gesturing at Bobbi, he looked to Hawkeye. "Clint, who is she?"

Clint hesitated, unsure how to word it.

"She and I.. You see, we're.. um.."

"I believe the word he's looking for is 'married'," said Bobbi. "I'm Barbara Morse, codename Mockingbird. You can call me Bobbi."

"Oh shit! You're married?!" said Ruth. Some eyes flickered to Natasha whose face betrayed nothing. She might as well have been made of stone.

"Why didn't you tell us?" asked Steve.

"We're separated," he said, sharing a look with Bobbi before continuing. "We haven't seen each other in over a year."

"But that doesn't explain why-"

"It's not something I like to talk about," said Clint, and he left it at that.

No one really knew what to say, and Clint and Bobbi were just standing there, staring at each other, so Tony broke the ice.

"I think we're about done with dinner, don't you think?" he said, and everyone was greatful for the excuse to leave. "Bobbi, you can help yourself if you're hungry." Natasha was up first, walking as quickly as possible toward the exit.

"Nat," said Clint in a soft, pleading voice, but she just kept moving with her head held high until she was out of the room.

"I already ate," she said, watching the interaction. If she felt any particular emotion, her face didn't betray it. Everyone except Tony followed after Natasha.

"Right then. Hawkeye can show you to your room when you're ready. Your things are already there. I'll be back sometime tomorrow, Pepper and I have a party to be at in.." he checked his watch. "Thirty-five seconds. Gotta run."

"But I don't know where her room is," said Clint as Tony started to leave.

"The one across from yours!" he said and he disappeared out the door. Clint narrowed his eyes, but realized it could be worse; Bobbi could be bunking with him instead of near him.

"Follow me," he said, his voice purposefully devoid of emotion. She did as he said without a word. The ride in the elevator was torturous.

Clint's stomach was clenched uncomfortably in nervousness at being so close to his wife again. As one might guess, their parting had not been sweet. Things had been said that wounded them both and Clint had been almost relieved to never have to face her again after what was said and done, but now that she was here he didn't know how exactly he felt about it.

Soon, they found themselves standing outside Bobbi's room.

"Here it is." With a wave of the arm, Clint indicated the door in front of them.

"Your bedside manner is terrible," said Bobbi as she opened the door.

"I don't recall you complaining about my bedside manner on our honeymoon, Birdie," Clint shot back before he could stop himself.

Bobbi laughed in spite of herself and the old nickname. He hadn't changed much.

"Goodnight, Clint."

He nodded and then took off down the hall, made a right, made another right, and kept walking until he was face to face with Natasha's door. He stood there a moment, debating with himself.

He knocked on the door and waited for her reply.

Inside the room, Natasha bit her lip. She knew who was on the other side, and she really didn't want to talk with him right now. Still she collected herself and swung the door open.

Seeing Clint, however, sent rage bubbling up inside of her, and she spoke with venom in her voice, "How can I help you, Barton?"

"You deserve an explanation," he said, suddenly finding the carpet very interesting.

"I deserve more than an explanation," she said through gritted teeth. "But I'll let you start there."

"Can I come in?" he asked hopefully. He didn't really want to have this conversation in the corridor where anyone could overhear.

Natasha shrugged and moved out of his way. Once Clint entered she shut the door, and stood facing him. It took everything in her not to punch him in the face. "I thought you were divorced."

"Not exactly," he sighed. "I should probably start from the beginning."

Clinching her fist, Natasha sat on her bed, motioning for Clint to the chair opposite her. She spoke once he sat, "That would be the place to start."

"Okay," he said, and readied himself to tell their story. "We met a few years back when I was temporarily working as chief of security for Cross Technological Enterprises. Bobbi was hired to investigate the company and, after fighting each other for a while, we discovered they were knowingly manufacturing a machine designed to brainwash superheroes with ultrasonics. The idea behind it was to trick superheroes into killing each other. We were kidknapped by Crossfire, I lost some of my hearing, and we saved the day. But anyway, in the week we worked together, we fell in love. We eloped and everything was perfect. We were really happy for about a year and a half, and then things happened that slowly tore us apart. We started fighting all the time, and it just wasn't working out. She did something I just couldn't forgive, and I needed some time to deal with it. So, we decided to separate. Natasha, I haven't seen or heard from her in over a year."

"And you thought the best way to deal with it was to talk with other women?" Natasha felt sick. Sure they never actually acted on their feelings, but the fact remained that he was leading her on while he was still a married man. She couldn't help but feel sympathy towards Bobbi Morse.

"I'm not proud of what I've done," he said. "I truly thought our relationship was over. All we needed to do was sign the papers."

"Why didn't you?" Natasha said, glaring.

Clint sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "I don't know," he said.

"Do you still love her?"

That, Clint had to think about. If someone had asked him that a week ago he would've said no. But now that she was here, he wasn't sure. He'd loved her more than anything once, but were those feelings still there? After the year they'd spent apart, he still didn't know how he felt. He needed more time, but by the look on Natasha's face, he wouldn't be getting much more of it.

"That's what I thought," she said as she got up and made her way to the door. Opening it, she gestured to Clint to get out, in which he complied. Before he got all the way to the door, Natasha spoke one last time, "We've been partners for years, Clint. It would've been nice to know what was happening in your life, instead of being lied too. I'm not too sure I can ever trust you again."

And with that she pushed him gently out before shutting the door behind him.

That last sentence hurt Clint more than he was like to admit. He stared at the door for a moment before taking a step toward it again so his head rested against the dark wood.

"I'm so sorry, Nat," he said, barely above a whisper though he knew she'd heard it. Turning around, Clint walked back down the hallway unsure of whether he'd ever be able to fix things with either his partner or his wife.

**

Once Bobbi had unpacked all her clothes, she decided she didn't want to stay cooped up inside her room all night. She swapped her yellow-lensed glasses for a regular pair and changed into grey pajama pants and a Georgia Tech t-shirt.

Her plan was to explore the mansion and get a feel for the layout, while at the same time avoiding her husband. It was so strange to see him again. When she was assigned to the mansion and Fury informed her he would be there, Bobbi had entertained the idea that they might be able to reconcile their past and get back together. When Clint suggested that they separate for a while, it had nearly broken Bobbi's heart to let him go, but she did because that was what he needed. She figured after a few weeks he would come back, but he never did.

So lost was she in her thoughts that when she opened her door and stepped out into the hallway, she bumped directly into Clint as he was apparently walking back to his room.

"Oh," she said in surprise. "God, I'm sorry. Lately my head's been.. elsewhere."

"It's... it's fine," he said rubbing the back of his head. "Well, goodnight!" Before she knew it, Clint rushed to his room, slamming the door in haste behind him.

Shaking her head, Bobbi continued down the hallway to the elevator. Once inside, she pressed a random button, which just happened to be the button to the basement.

With a "ding" the elevator stopped and she stepped off, taking a look around. She seemed to be in a laboratory section which, as a woman with a PhD in biology, suited her just fine.

"Can I help you with anything, Ms. Morse?" a voice said from behind the blonde woman.

"Nothing in particular," she said as she turned around. Bruce Banner was standing behind her. "I was just having a look around."

"Would you like me to show you around?" he said smiling kindly.

"Yeah, that'd be great. I've been dying to know what kind of equipment Stark's been hiding down here," she said.

Bruce chuckled, "Well, come right this way. That's where we keep all the toys."

Bruce turned and walked to a door on the side. Pressing a few buttons, it slid open before the two. Inside, there were all manners of machines lined up against the walls and on tables in the middle. A large centrifuge about the size of a washing machine was in the right corner, a mass spectrophotometer was sitting on a counter next to a gas chromatography machine, and there was a comparison microscope in the left corner. A wall-sized cabinet with glass doors was against the wall to the right, inside it more laboratory glassware than Bobbi had ever seen in one place. Beakers, test tubes, flasks, graduated cylinders, the list goes on. There were even some machines Bobbi wasn't familiar with.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" said Bruce with a smile on his face.

"Very," said Bobbi, her voice laced with wonder. She walked closer to the different machines and confirmed that they were all state of the art and worth millions of dollars.

"What field of study are you in exactly?"

"Biology, but I also have a degree in biochemistry," she said. "Although I have also found some interest in your thesis on Gamma Radiation."

"Well, it's a very simple science, really," he said sarcastically.

"Is it really?" she asked, playing along.

"Of course," he said. "All I have to do is get angry."

Bobbi didn't know what to say to that, so she just sort of awkwardly nodded her head without saying anything.

"I'm sorry, that was a little insensitive of me," Bruce grinned, "It was meant as a joke."

"Ah," she said, smile returning. "I think you need to work on your delivery a little more."

"I'll keep that in mind."

Bruce continued to show Bobbi around the lab, letting her explore and tinker with different machines and gadgets. For around two hours they discussed different topics, some focusing on what was before them, others venturing off into personal anecdotes.

Finally, Bruce bade Bobbi goodnight and headed for his room, leaving the woman to tinker with a couple of the newer items Tony had invented.