Metal Birds?

2: Why?

"Clint?" Pietro said softly, edging towards him. Clint groaned and hit the side of his head, growling something in Pietro's general direction. Natasha stared at Pietro in confusion, and then looked to Clint on the ground. She swiftly got up and left the room, leaving Clint and Pietro alone to have their conversation.

"You're not real!" Clint insisted loudly. Pietro continued toward him and sat on the ground next to Clint.

"What do you mean?" His voice was soft and comforting, but there was the underlying tone of confused concern. "I'm real."

"No you aren't! This is just another one of those dreams! I'm dreaming and you're not real! YOU'RE DEAD!" Pietro's eyes widened and he stared down at Clint, trying to wrap his head around how Clint must be feeling. Yes, Pietro died, but he wasn't dead anymore, so what's the big deal?

"I'm real," he said again, reaching towards Clint slowly.

"No you're not! Leave me alone!"

"If I wasn't real, would I be able to do this?" Pietro retaliated, gently placing his hand on Clint's arm. Clint lifted his head slightly and glared at Pietro, still not believing him. "Clint, what happened to you?" he asked softly.

"Ask yourself, asshole, you're the one who died," Clint grumbled, shaking Pietro's hand off him. "Why am I even talking to you? You aren't even real," he muttered, mostly to himself. Pietro squinted in confusion.

"You keep saying that. What do you mean? I'm very real," he insisted. Clint barked out the most horrid, twisted laugh you'll have ever heard in your whole life.

"Yeah, and I'm the president. You're obviously just another stupid illusion made up by my brain because it wants me to suffer."

"Why would you suffer from seeing me? Am I really that ugly?" Pietro joked. Clint let out another horrible laugh and shook his head.

"You died! I saw you die. I dragged your very dead body back to the Shield carrier and brought you into here yesterday night when we got here. I've been in here, screaming at the wall and breaking things all day because you died. Dead people don't just come back, walking and talking and asking questions, Pietro!" Clint yelled. He froze. Pietro grinned.

"Well, I'm not dead now, and you called me by my name!" he said happily. "I knew you believed me!"

"Say you are the real Pietro and you aren't dead," Clint suggested, still wary on the whole 'whoa he's back from the dead' thing. "How?"

"How am I not dead anymore?" Pietro clarified. Clint nodded. "Well, I got killed by some bullets. Then I woke up on a very uncomfortable table about an hour ago. The bullets were out of my chest and on a tray, covered in my blood. It was disgusting. So, I tried to figure out how I wasn't dead and sat there for twenty minutes, thinking. I figured out that I have slight healing abilities thanks to that stupid German scientist and his tests, and that I heal fast."

"So, you heal fast. How did you come back from the dead, then?"

"I actually still don't know. I was on my way to ask Banner but I heard you yelling and I wanted to see if you were okay." Clint scoffed.

"Why would you want to see if I was okay?"

"Because we're friends?" Pietro tried with a hopeful smile.

"But I'm the one who got you killed."

"Actually, I was being stupid and got myself killed. It was for a good cause, though," he added. Clint stared at him in confusion. "Saving you from dying," Pietro explained.

"Uh-huh," Clint said slowly. "So, if you got off the table what, and hour ago now, then what did you do before you came here?"

"I went to find Wanda. She was training with Steve and Sam but they were happy to let her take a break to talk to her not-dead-anymore brother."