The Winter Witch (A Hawkeye/Avengers fanfic)

Chapter 9

It had been six weeks since Winter had been rescued and moved into the Avengers Tower. After her episode at the mall, Loki began working with Winter to learn how to control her powers. Every weekday, after breakfast with the team, Loki and Winter would go into one of the training rooms where to others, it would appear as if they were having a staring contest. The two would sit in chairs facing each other and wouldn't move for hours.

Loki was trying to strengthen Winter's mind so she could learn to block out the unwanted voices and only let people in when she allowed it. He also worked with her on how to read people without them realizing that she was doing it. The silence in the room was deafening, but the two were never alone. Clint was always present but never in the way as he would sit in the rafters and watch Loki and Winter from afar.

On this particular day, everything seemed normal. Loki and Winter finished their session. The training room was warmer than usual since the weather outside was slowly shifting into summer. Winter always wore her hair down, but after the strain of the session she had just completed with Loki, she pulled her hair up into a messy bun. As she turned to grab her water bottle, Loki grabbed her arm.

"What is that mark on the back of your neck?" he asked.

Winter's hand went to touch the raised mark that she knew was there. "I don't know, I've always had it. I think it's just a birthmark."

Noticing the shift in Winter's behavior, Clint made his way down from the rafters and over to where the other two were standing. He quickly put his arm around Winter's waist.

"What is it Loki?" Clint asked. Clint still wasn't fully comfortable around Loki and didn't know how much he could be trusted with Winter. Another reason for him keeping an eye on their training sessions.

"That mark on her neck," he gestured towards her. "I know I have seen that somewhere. It almost looks like runes."

Clint knew of the marking; he had seen it before but never thought much about it. Before Winter or Clint could say anything, Loki began walking out of the room.

"Where are you going?" Clint asked.

"I need to speak with my brother," replied Loki as he stepped onto the elevator and left.

********

Winter and Clint made their way to the common floor kitchen. It was past lunch time, and they were both starving. Clint started digging into the fridge.

"How do sandwiches sound?"

"Perfect!" Winter replied as she hopped onto the kitchen island.

Clint pulled out all the fixings and began making them both lunch. Winter smiled watching him. She had only known him for over a month, but she couldn't help and smile every time she was with him. He made her feel safe. Whenever he would smile at her, her heart would race, and her stomach would do a flip. Unbeknownst to her, Clint felt the same. He would do anything for her if it meant she felt safe and loved. As Clint was finishing up, she noticed something in his ear that caught her eye. It wasn't the usual coms they used as a team, this looked different.

"Clint?" she asked hesitantly.

Clint looked up, "Yeah?"

"What is that in your ear?"

Clint felt a lump in his throat. He knew she would find out sooner or later, and it wasn't like he was embarrassed, but the story behind it was personal and the wounds still a bit raw. The only person that knew the full truth was Natasha.

"Well... it's a hearing aid."

Winter looked at him, a little confused by what he just said. "A hearing aid? But why?"

Clint took a breath, "Well, technically, I am legally deaf."

Winter's mouth dropped in shock. "What? How did I not know this?"

"Well, it's not like it's something I go around advertising and the hearing aids help me hear, so it doesn't really become an issue." Clint hesitated for a minute, "Except that one time they broke, and I was without them for two days. Believe me, that was a shock to the team when they found out." He chuckled to himself.

Winter was trying to take in the information she just learned. "Were you born deaf?" she asked softly.

Clint looked over to her and saw the sympathy in her eyes. He softly smiled, "No, it was from an accident when I was around twelve."

Winter reached out and squeezed Clint's hand. "I'm sorry."

He shook his head, "No reason to be sorry." He smiled at her and kissed her on her cheek.

Winter slightly blushed and cleared her throat. "You said the team was surprised. They didn't know either?"

"No, only Nat knew of course but because of my hearing aids, there really wasn't a reason to tell them. A few years back, we had a rough mission, and I was too close to a blast. Damn thing about shattered them. When the team realized what happened, Stark started working on getting me a new pair. It was after that when Steve insisted they all learn sign language." Clint laughed at the memory.

"Do you think you could teach me?" Winter asked.

Clint looked at Winter and had the biggest smile on his face. He took Winter's face into his hands, "I would be more than happy to." His heart started beating faster as he looked into Winter's eyes. Winter wanted nothing more than to close the gap between them. Clint slowly started moving his head closer to hers, but they were both taken out of their trance when Steve came running in. Clint quickly dropped his hands and took a step back.

"Hey guys, Thor and Loki need to talk to all of us in the conference room."

"We'll be right there," Clint hollered over. Winter let out a breath she didn't realize she had been holding in. Clint leaned his forehead to hers while holding her hands, his thumb rubbing circles on them. "Come on," he said as he helped her down from the counter.