fiction | Part of the journey is the end

6. Echoes - 2

There was a Rogers the Musical billboard.

Steve pinched the bridge of his nose while everyone else erupted into peals of laughter.

"Best musical ever," Sam snickered.

"Worst musical ever," Steve corrected.

"They said I was easy on the eyes, which is very true. I'm flattered," Thor said.

"What else were they supposed to say?" Tony asked. "You're so perfect; it's honestly unfair for us mortals."

"You sound like Quill," said Rhodey.

Thor smirked widely.

Kate entered her aunt's apartment and greeted Clint, but he still wasn't able to hear anything.

"I would've been able to quickly fix your hearing aid," said Peter. "It's not that hard."

"If my hearing aid ever gets broken, I'll let you fix it," Clint said.

He realized his phone was ringing and picked up. "Hey, babe," he said, thinking it was Laura when it was actually Nate.

"Nate?" Clint said, confused and worried. "Why is he calling? Is everything okay?"

Kate wrote 'little boy' on a notepad and showed Clint, who realized it was Nate.

"It's sweet that Kate's doing this," Bruce said.

"She cares about Clint, and it would be nice if he cared about her too," Steve gave him a pointed look.

"I do care about her!" Clint protested. "That's the problem. I can teach her a few things, but after everything I've done and would've done because I know I would've become the Ronin if the Blip happened, she shouldn't be looking up to me."

Natasha clenched her jaw. She was tired of Clint thinking he wasn't good enough.

He asked him if everything was okay and where Laura was. Kate wrote 'Everyone asleep. He's bored'. Clint laughed and said he missed him.

Clint sighed in relief. Everything was okay.

She wrote 'Home tonight for movies?'

Clint swallowed thickly. He knew he wouldn't be able to make it since they had to still sort out the Tracksuit and Ronin mess first.

Clint said he wished he could be there, but he wouldn't make it. Kate looked at Clint sadly.

"She's realizing that her actions have consequences," said Peter.

"This mess is one that I half created," said Clint. "She would've been fine if she put on any other suit except the Ronin suit."

He told Nate he would be there in time for their ugly Christmas sweater party.

I hope so, Clint thought.

Natasha smiled sadly. Clint deserved to spend Christmas with his family. It was bad enough that she wasn't there this Christmas; the kids didn't need to miss out on celebrating Christmas with their father too.

Kate wrote 'Says it's okay if you can't be home for Christmas."

Clint sharply sucked in a breath and looked away while everyone else looked at him sympathetically. He hated doing this to his family, especially the kids. Laura used to be a SHIELD agent, she understood how this life was, but the kids never asked for it. They deserved a father that was there for them. It was why he kept trying to retire, but something always sucked him back in. After Thanos, I'm retiring for real this time, he thought firmly. Tony and Steve are retiring too.