Half an hour later, the Quinjet landed. The safe house was not as she expected: a wide open area surrounded by distant trees, bright clusters of flowers in the nearby meadows, insects thriving with persistent buzzing, and the distant red barn with the lone two-story house at the end of the rock-strewn winding trail.
Jayden kicked at the pebbles as Steve led her forward, his hand a constant, comforting pressure on her shoulder. She kept her eyes forward and into the back of Clint, who was leading the group with a supporting arm around Natasha. After she skimmed Tony and Thor, she looked down at her feet coated in dust from her kicks.
As they drew closer, a small, pink bicycle perched against the balustrade caught her attention; her brows furrowed. Were there kids here?
"What is this place?" Thor, in front, questioned as they walked up the wooden steps to the porch.
"A safe house?" Tony quoted Clint from earlier.
"Let's hope," Clint murmured as he opened the door.
Jayden nervously wrung her fingers as they entered the house, her eyes taking in every detail as they made their way to the living room.
"Honey, I'm home," Clint called, making the group blink.
A brunette popped almost out of nowhere, holding a handful of colourful pens and paintings. Jayden zoned in on her heavily pregnant stomach before flicking to her expression, gauging her reaction to their abrupt arrival.
"Hi, Company. Sorry, I didn't call ahead." Clint sheepishly grinned, surprisingly casual, as he moved to greet the stranger.
Or, a stranger, so she thought; her brows skyrocketed as the woman gave him a quick peck on the lips before pulling him into a close embrace.
"This is an agent of some kind," Tony attempted to explain off.
The couple separated and turned to their awaiting audience. "Gentleman, kiddo, this is Laura."
"I know all your names," Laura smiled. The somewhat awkward group didn't offer a reply, and Jayden could only stare. So Clint had a girlfriend/ wife none of them knew about?
Nobody had a chance to recover as a barrage of hammering footsteps caught their attention. Jayden tensed, almost expecting danger, but refrained from doing anything, as Clint's toothy smile only doubled in size. Two children rushed into the room; her already wide eyes practically bulged as they rushed into his open arms, calling him dad.
Well... it certainly explained the pink bicycle.
"These are... smaller agents." Tony tried to follow up as Clint hauled the girl into his arms, squeezing her tightly.
It was hard to wrap her head around it. Hawkeye, a father?
She felt a sickening twist in her stomach as they interacted and automatically peered at Tony, but he was turned to the scene, either ignorant or ignoring her conflicted gaze. She looked away with a bitter scowl. It was just a fantasy. It could never be anything more. Steve's hand, still on her shoulder, squeezed and tugged her closer. She gripped the hem of his uniform and leaned to his side, his warmth a quick comfort.
"Sorry for barging in on you," Steve, ever being Captain America, apologised after Nat scooped Clint's daughter into a hug.
"Yeah, we would have called ahead, but we were busy having no idea that you existed," Tony quipped with crossed arms. Jayden couldn't stop herself snorting; almost immediately, his head snapped to her with a small smirk but, just as quickly, smoothed it away.
As Clint explained Fury setting his housing and family arrangement away from SHIELD, her eyes met his daughter's in Nat's arms. The girl shyly smiled at her, but Jayden quickly looked away. Her desire to make new friends was at a new-time low.
YOU ARE READING
Unforeseen¹
FanfictionJYD2641 had enough. In her seven years, she's only ever known the cruel hands of her doctors, who were determined to make her the next Winter Soldier. All she'd ever known was death, pain, and fear. Instead of a parent's loving embrace, she had the...
