Promise - Kate Bishop

4.3 - Stories

"No, it's not impossible." Barton argued, making conversation whilst decorating the tree. "The first arrow you release just has to be wood. So, when you release the second one, it splits up the middle. "

"I call bullshit," Kate said in a singsong tone, fixing the lights. "I've tried it."

"He's also maybe, I don't know, superior to your shooting skills since he's been doing it for longer than you." Jasin stated, shrugging.

"I've done it a few times." Barton said.

"Got any other cool tricks?" Kate asked.

"Well, I can knock somebody unconscious with this, like, 20 feet away." He answered, holding up a small, circular ornament.

"That's so cool!" Jasin beamed.

"No, you can't." Kate said, not believing him.

"I'd use a quarter or a nickel. A dime's too light."

"Prove it." Kate challenged him, Jasin pulling out a quarter and flicking it over to him.

"What, knock you unconscious?" He asked, glancing at Jasin.

"I'm down-"

"No." Kate stated sternly, glaring at Jasin. "I want you to hit something."

Clint rolled his eyes, going back to decorating the tree, Kate sighed, "Fine, live forever without me believing you. I'll just tell every stranger I see that Hawkeye is full of bullshi.."

Clint flicked his wrist, sending the quarter flying through the room and flipping the television off.

"Whoa!" Kate said, flabbergasted. "You gotta show me how you did that."

"Like this," Jasin said, pulling out another quarter and flicking her wrist, sending the quarter through the room and turning the TV back on.

-Skip-

More margaritas were made, and now Kate stood in the hallway with a quarter, getting ready to curve it around a corner and flip the TV off again.

"Alright, you ready?" Barton asked.

"Yeah." Kate answered.

No she's not. Loki snickered.

"Be nice." Jasin scolded.

Ew. You sounded like Thor.

"Don't act like you don't like him." Jasin thought, smirking.

Shut up.

"Oh, god." Barton groaned, Kate's laughter filling the hallway. After Clint demonstrated what she was supposed to be doing, and a few more tries, Kate finally managed to flip the TV off.

"Oh, my god!" Kate said excitedly, walking over to the couch and jumping over the back of it to sit down.

"What?" Clint asked, not sure if his eyes deceived him.

"Holy shit, I did it." Kate said, curling up into Jasin's side. "That was crazy."

Barton chuckled, "Hey, not bad, kid."

"Not bad. Alright." Kate said, accepting the praise. "Best shot you ever took?"

"Uh, the one I didn't take." Barton answered, Jasin's breath catching.

Inhaling and exhaling would be beneficial to you, you know. Loki said.

Jasin merely rolled her eyes and steadied her breathing.

"What does that mean?" Kate asked.

"It means... Nevermind, shouldn't have said it." He answered.

"Oh, come on, you can't do that." Kate whined.

"Nevermind, it's nothing." Clint waved off Kate's curiosity.

"What? Come on, consider it my Christmas present." Kate said.

"No. It's not the right time." Clint argued.

"Look, it'll be a good story, I'm sure-"

"It's just not a good story, okay?" Barton stated, causing the room to go into a tense silence. He sighed, "It's about the time I met someone. I was sent to take her out. And when I got there, when it was time.. I couldn't do it."

"Mom.." Jasin thought, remembering all the information she had researched on everyone.

"I just had this feeling that she wanted out." Clint continued. "Turns out, I was right."

"You mean Natasha." Kate said, Barton nodding.

"Yeah." He answered, looking around to try and stop his tears. "She was the best there was."

Kate sighed, "I'm sorry."

"It's alright. It's.. When you do what I do for a living, it.. It's just a game of managing loss, right? So.." Clint answered fidgeting restlessly, moving to look at the TV they had flipped sometime after Kate had turned it off.

"Kids, Janie, Janie, Tommy!" The male lead actor called out, rushing up the stairs to give his family a long, emotional hug. They sat in silence for a little while, until Kate spoke.

"You lost your family in the Blip?"

"Yeah. Like half the world." Barton answered.

"God, that must have been devastating." Kat said after a beat of silence, voice trembling.

"Yeah, there are no words." Barton replied, voice just as shaky.

"Is that where you met the Ronin?" She asked.

"Hey, Loki, have you ever heard the saying 'If she asks about it, she knows about it'?" Jasin thought to herself.

No. Why?

"Katie may not be the brightest, but she's not dumb." Jasin answered, staring hard at Clint who still remained quiet after Kate's question.

Kate sighed, looking away, "It's you, isn't it?"

"Everybody dealt with the Blip in their own way," Barton answered. "I continued doing what I was trained to do."

"Protect people," Kate strained.

"Hurting people. Investigating first, but in the end, my job has always been to hurt people." He spoke, sorrowly.

"You were a hero," Kate said sadly.

"I was a weapon." He clarified. "I was aimed by the right people at the right targets, so.."

"Look, you made mistakes, but those are behind you." Kate fought.

"No, it's tied to me." He said, "Tied to my family."

The room was enclosed in a tense silence, Barton speaking again, "That's why I'm here. And I can't go home till I fix it."

"Okay, enough with the goddamn sappy sappy bullshit!" Jasin shouted, shocking the other two in the room. "Sure, yes, you made mistakes, but so did Kate and I for crying out loud. How do you think she got her credit cards declined? Sure, her consequences may not have been as severe as the ones you're currently facing, but we all go through these times. Hell, I worked for a Soviet training facility that was created to train and mold people into highly trained assassins. I'm not trying to fault you for the feelings you have now, I'm just trying to make you realize that if you bottle all this up you're never going to be able to fight through it."

Jasin sighed, finally relieved she was able to get all that off her chest, looking at the two who wore shocked faces, "I'm stepping out for a bit."

Kate and Barton watched as she stood up, grabbing a coat and left causing the silence to build again before the male spoke, "I really appreciate what you did tonight. It means a lot."

Kate offered a tight smile, Clint speaking again, "You know, you should get some rest. You have a big day tomorrow."

Kate looked at him uneasy, casting a glance to the door, "But Jasin.."

"I'll go out and look for her, go get some rest."

"Yes, boss. Goodnight." Kate said, standing and walking towards the room she and Jasin claimed.

"Night."