Clint POV
"From the circus..."
"Agent Coulson signed to be his handler."
"Seventeen years old..."
"Shot Agent Garrett with a bow."
"A bow? Who uses a bow?"
I clenched my hands tightly as I tried to ignore the whispers around me. This was stupid. I can't even walk right yet. Why the hell did he put me in a combat class with an injured leg?
"Agent Coulson shot him from two buildings over."
"Get your fucking facts straight, asshole. He was on the same building as me and shot me point blank. Now could you shut the hell up?" I snapped, turning around to glare at the other trainee.
"Barton!" The instructor barked.
The other guy snickered and I turned back around to face the instructor. Agent Davis or something stupid like that. He motioned for me to come forward. I heaved a sigh and limped over without my crutches.
"That's your third outburst," Davis said quietly.
"Well if these grown men would stop gossiping like fucking teenagers then I wouldn't have outbursts as you put it," I replied.
"Run a mile, go."
"A mile?" I snorted.
"Two miles. Go."
"Sir yes sir," I replied.
"Three. Not another word. I'll let Agent Coulson know you're going to be late for your next class," Davis ordered.
I rolled my eyes but limped for the track, fighting hard to refrain from flipping the other trainees off when I heard them laughing. Three miles is nothing. I've had to run six across rooftops to get away from the police once in New York. Granted, they didn't actually see me.
About halfway through the first mile my leg started aching worse than before, but I kept going. It took a lot of effort to keep from letting myself stop or collapse in front of the other trainees.
I finished about a minute before the class was scheduled to end. Davis didn't say anything, just threw a towel in my general direction. I wiped the back of my neck and changed shirts quickly before grabbing my crutches off the wall and following Agent Davis out of the room.
"I thought you said he would be late."
"I thought he was going to be."
Agent Davis walked off, leaving me alone with Agent Coulson. I fixed him with my usual glare and started to move past him.
"What did you do to get a three mile punishment?"
I shrugged and moved forward again. The older man's hand shot out and hit my shoulder. I clenched my jaw and barely restrained myself from jerking away.
"I asked a question, Barton. I expect an answer."
"I told one of the other guys to shut up if he couldn't get his facts right," I replied icily.
"And I'm sure you said it that politely?"
"Yep."
Coulson didn't reply and he let go of my shoulder before turning on his heel and walking off. I followed after a moment, still unsure of where to go or where we were going for that matter.
"It's lunch. You'll eat in the cafeteria with everyone else. And just so you're aware, I do have other agents watching to make sure you stay in this lunchroom and that you eat. After this, I'll come and get you to take you to the next class. However, as I said earlier, until you're cleared from medical then you aren't shooting, so you'll just have to stay in my office for an hour or so. I'll be back later, go eat," he ordered, pointing towards glass double doors that opened into a large cafeteria that was already packed with people.
