The Winter Witch (A Hawkeye/Avengers fanfic)

Chapter 8

Clint was in the bookstore with all the guys. After they had successfully found the games they needed, they all agreed to go there to help keep Loki happy and not bored. As Clint was looking through a magazine, he suddenly heard Winter's voice scream his name as if she was standing right next to him. He dropped the magazine when he suddenly had a picture of Winter flash into his mind. As Clint began to panic, his phone started buzzing. It was Natasha.

"Where is she?" he asked before Natasha could even say anything.

"How did you know she was gone?"

"What happened?" he asked in a panic.

"I don't know. One minute she was with me and Pepper and then I turned around and she was gone. If we don't find her, Bucky is going to have a heart attack. Where are you boys?"

"We're at the bookstore. Meet them here, I'm going to go look for her." After he hung up his phone he ran out of the store. He didn't know how, but he knew exactly where to find Winter. He ran through the mall, running through crowds of people, when he finally turned down an empty hallway and found her sitting on the floor in a ball, with her head in her hands, rocking back and forth. Clint sat on the floor and gently reached out and touched Winter's shoulder. Her head looked up and she had tears streaming down her face.

"Clint?" she whispered.

Clint smiled, "Hey sweetheart." Winter flung towards Clint, wrapping her arms around his neck. He wrapped his arms around her back, gently rubbing it in comfort. "It's ok, I'm here." He whispered into her hair.

Winter's breathing started to return to normal and Clint leaned back and took her face into his hands. "What happened?"

She shook her head, "I don't know. It just happened all of a sudden. I got this sharp pain in my head and then suddenly it was like everyone in the mall was shouting in my head. I couldn't make out what half of it was. I panicked and ran."

Clint continued to hold Winter in his arms. His mind was trying to figure out what exactly happened that made him able to find her. He had to know. "Winter?"

"Hmm?" she responded.

"When I was in the bookstore, I heard you yell my name as if you were standing right next to me and then an image flashed in my mind of you sitting here."

She nodded her head, "In the chaos of all the noise, you were the first person my mind yelled to for help."

Clint felt his stomach flip. Out of all the Avengers, including Bucky, her subconscious chose him. He couldn't help but smirk as he continued to hold her tighter. Before either of them could say anything more, his phone began buzzing again.

"Hey Nat," he answered. "Yeah, I found her. She's ok, but I don't think she should stay here. Too many people. We'll meet you all out at the cars." And with that he hung up his phone.

Clint stood up and helped Winter get to her feet. He wrapped a protective arm around her shoulder, and she wrapped her arms around his waist. He leaned down and kissed the top of her head. He led her to a side door of the mall where they wouldn't have to walk through the crowds. As they made their way into the sunlight, Winter made a hissing noise and buried her head into Clint's chest.

"What's wrong?" Clint asked while gripping her tighter.

"The light... it hurts." Clint ushered her over to a shaded area under a tree. Trying to think of what to do, one person popped in his head. He called Natasha.