The Avengers never cared! (Peter Parker X Reader)

Chapter 17 Leaving so soon?

*Clint pov*

I was standing in the dark. I didn't know where I was or what time it was. I was just standing there. I didn't know how I got there. It seemed to be a room of some kind but I wasn't sure 'cause I didn't want to take the risk of stepping somewhere else. I could fall down or step into a trap if I did that.

"Hello?", I asked. The room echoed it back once, twice, three times. It had to be a big room. My hello was replaced by something else. It sounded like crying. A child. It was familiar. Was it coming from one of my kids. I shuddered. Please don't. Was it Lyla? Cooper? Nate? 

The crying suddenly changed to a quiet sniffling. "Leaving so soon?", I girls voice said. The cold reality hit me. Y/n. I could see her now in the shadows. She wasn't older then maybe 7. And she said the word she had always said to me, when I was leaving the tower to go back home. 

"Stay", I heard her say louder. She started pulling my arm. "Stay", she repeated louder, almost screaming even. 

Then I woke up. 

... 

I spent the whole morning in a trance. Her words repeated in my head over and over again. They were the last words I had ever heard her say, before she went missing. "Leaving so soon?", would things have gone differently had I stayed? Could I have saved her from who ever took her? Why was it that I was reminded of her over and over again. 

I went for a walk to clean my head. I would be going back to the farm that day and wanted to enjoy New York anyways. But not like this. I was seeing Y/n in every corner. Everything reminded me of her. I walked by the coffee shop she loved and almost felt like I heard her laughing. I sped up and went to the park. But there she was again at the cotton candy machine begging me to buy another one. I had spent every free minute of my time in New York with her, so that it almost felt like she was my daughter. I was pretty sure I was her favorite uncle. She had always been so happy to see me and so sad when I went back home. She even begged to come with me a few times. I loved being in New York back then, but now I was just reminded of the niece I lost every time I was there.

I just walked around the city, without a plan, deep in my memories. My feet carried me to the place I always visited when I was going home: The cemetery. I trailed along the many gravestones to get to the Stark family grave. It was bigger than the others. As always I looked at the names first. Most of them I didn't know. 'Howard and Maria Stark' were the only ones that were ever mentioned in the tower or anywhere on the news. The others Tony himself never knew either or were just never relevant enough to mention to him. Y/n was a completely different story. Her name was practically tabu as soon as new Avengers came. Although we still continued to search for her for three years, she was only brought up in a meeting, elsewhere the topic was too sensitive. I mean it had been so secretive over the last few years that not even Peter and Wanda had known of her until the meeting a few weeks ago. 

I trailed my hand along the engraved initials of Y/ns full name in the stone and put some flowers next to it. I wanted to talk to her, badly. So I did. I didn't care if anyone heard me.

"Hey little Stark, I brought you some flowers. Their your favorite: tulips. I was for a week in New York and I'm going home today. I hope your not mad at me for it. I know I came visiting a few weeks back but I had to come today again." 

Every word sounded silly coming out of my mouth. I wasn't good at monologging. And it kinda felt awkward. I had done it every time I came here but it always felt like I didn't need to do it. Like she already knew. Maybe this wasn't healthy. I mean what Tony was doing, shutting her completely out of his mind wasn't either, but I think the attachment I still had made it hard for me to do that. Sometimes I was longing to talk somebody else about her, then her gravestone. 

"Goodbye little Stark see you next time", I said. 

I turned and was about to walk back. I had only made a few steps when I heard a voice behind me. 

"Leaving so soon", I heard someone say.

I stopped in my tracks but didn't turn around. I knew that voice. It sounded like Y/n. But she is dead. I reminded myself. I slowly turned around to see who it was. I gasped as I saw the person. She was wearing a white baseball cap over her shoulder long hair and a beige coat. I recognized her face. It looked like Tonys, minus the goatee of course. Y/n. No it couldn't be. She was dead. Was I seeing ghosts?

"What?", that's all that came out of my mouth.

She chuckled. "Sorry couldn't help myself"

"H-How?"

"Relax, I'm not a ghost", she rolled her eyes. "I'd look like my fifteen year old self if that was the case"

"Doesn't mean I'm not imagining you", I stepped back. I wasn't sure this was real and I wasn't taking chances. Maybe I should start seeing a therapist after all.

"uncle Clint I'm real"

"prove it"

She threw a rock at me.

"ouch"

"Sorry"

"How do I know you're not someone playing a prank on me?"

"Seriously?"

"Yeah, I'm not taking any chances"

"Tony calls you Legolas, I call you Katniss" 

"Name of my children?"

"Lyla, Cooper and I don't know the name of your youngest son"

"Nathaniel"

"Oh so Natasha got her wish after all"

"Okay last question: What is a secret only I know about you?" 

"The only test I ever got an F on was Chemistry and you signed it so nobody else saw it" 

I smiled and hugged her tight. I was almost crying. I thought she was dead, how was she alive? Was she okay? What happened to her?

"How are you standing in front of me right now?How aren't you dead? ", I asked still perplex. 

"How did you draw that conclusion?", she asked me as if she knew the answer. Did she?

"Well, we looked for you for three years without success", I said. "There wasn't any sign that you were still alive. It was like you just vanished one day."

"Yeah well I wouldn't have gotten far either, if I had just assumed I was kidnapped. If you'd checked my friends houses first, you would've found me in what? a week"

"Wait you chose this?"

"Yes, I ran from home and lived at a friends for three years", she said. "It really was an arrogant move of Tony to think I wouldn't go willingly", she laughed. 

Why did she use his name? She used to call him Dad. What happened? I didn't wanna push her though so I didn't ask. 

She looked at her watch. "I gotta go. Please don't tell anyone about this, I'm not ready to meet anyone else yet." I nodded. It was her secret to tell. I didn't have a say in this. "Here's my number", she handed me a piece of paper. "Tell me when you're in town", With that she vanished into the distance and I was finding myself walking back to the tower more confused than before.