Past Friends

Part 79: Punching Bag

Clint noticed the second he walked in you rolled your eyes angrily, letting out a groan as you started to hit the bag harder. He knew that all of the Avengers were taking turns watching you and he could also tell it was getting to you, forced to have a babysitter every second of the day. "You wanna talk about it kid?" you hear Clint call over and you stop for a moment to turn and look at him. You don't say anything, choosing instead to ignore him as you take a sip from your water bottle before you start punching again.

Clint puts down his equipment before sending a message in the group chat he had with the other Avengers that you were in the training room with him. He knew the second they realized you were "missing" they would probably go crazy and put the building on lockdown. It was obvious to him how much the others really cared about you but he also knew they weren't really getting anywhere with their search for the Beetle and it was stressing them out. You were stressed, they were stressed, with all this pressure going around Clint was starting to see the cracks beginning to form and decided to try his best to patch them up. He was never the best at giving advice but he could listen, and sometimes that was all you needed to feel better. He already talked to Natasha, Tony, and Steve about everything, and the atmosphere around the place already appeared to be improving. Steve then talked with Bucky and Sam, Natasha spoke with Wanda and Vision, while Tony chatted to Bruce, he also ended up calling Rodey to vent some more. They all seemed to be in better moods, well all except you but it made sense seeing as you were still out of the loop. Not to mention with this whole "misty eye"/possible possession thing happening he knew there was a lot on your mind.

You watched as Clint came over to steady your punching bag giving you the tip that you shouldn't clench your fist until the last possible moment, as you used up less energy that way. Bucky had said something similar to you before but you had forgotten until now. You stopped punching for a moment, staring down at your dominant hand before following Clint's instructions and punching again. It felt different, you felt different, you started to feel better as you continued to throw punch after punch. "They won't let me be by myself," you say as you start to vent "the only alone time I get is in the bathroom or while getting dressed, a girl can only take so many showers". You let out an angry huff as you begin to punch the bag faster, "I'm not a baby, I can take care of myself, I know I'm not strong or have superpowers but still, I'm not weak! They act as if the wind blows too hard I'll suddenly crumble, that if I fall I'll shatter like glass, I've been on my own for years, I've been able to take care of myself since I was a kid". You punch so hard it begins to hurt, your breathing gets even heavier but you don't slow down, in fact, you only punch harder and faster. "No one needs me and I don't need anyone!" you yell as you hit the bag with one final hard punch, you were out of breath and needed a minute to recover.

You realized what you just said, and quickly turn locking eyes with Clint, feeling nothing but shame and regret from saying that you didn't need them. Of course, you needed them, you loved them and wanted to be with them forever but you were overwhelmed and just needed to be alone to process what you were feeling. You didn't want to burden them with your worries, you had a lot on your mind and you preferred to process it on your own, the way you always use to.

Clint knew you didn't mean what you said, after finding out that you wrote the Loki report he read up more about you, to get a better feel for the kind of person you were; He learned about your time as "Robin Hood", how you only joined up with Shield because you pretty much had no other choice. How you had no serious attachments besides your Grandparents and how after they died your overtime work nearly tripled. From other agents, he found out that you were always super helpful and polite but that none of them really knew anything about you. He came to the conclusion that you were a good person at heart but because you had always done things on your own you had a hard time letting others in. He could see you beginning to change after meeting the Avengers, you started to open up, little by little. But there was way too much happening all at once right now, and you were likely to relapse, and he didn't want to see that happen.  

Clint came over and gave you a pat on the shoulder in a comforting matter, before telling you to grab all of your stuff and to follow him. He completely grazed over what you had just said, you're more than a bit surprised but comply with his request. You quickly follow him out of the training room as he leads you up to the viewing area/control room. You watch through the window to the training room below as with a couple of clicks on the control panel the room transformed. You watched in amazement as the usual equipment disappeared and was replaced by obstacles and barriers. It reminded you of the "Danger Room" from that superhero show from the 90s, what was it called again? Whatever it was it wasn't really that important this was far cooler and actually real. 

You head back down with Clint where you met Steve, Natasha, and Tony outside the door of the training room and they hand you a large box. "We were going to wait until later to give this to you but Clint thought it would be best to do it now," Natasha said, as it happens Clint messaged them again while you weren't looking. You aren't sure what to think but thank them for the gift, a bit surprised they got you something. You open the box and your eyes go wide and for a moment you weren't entirely sure if you were seeing things correctly or not. "Is this... what I think it is?" you ask in disbelief and Tony responds with "well if you are thinking that it's a semi-robotic super suit made from Chitauri Tech and bullet-proof Polymer-based microfiber then you would be correct". You try not to cry or start freaking out with excitement as you realized what was happening. They tell you to go try it on so you can start your training as the newest member of the Avengers.