Dimidium - Marvel Studios [7]

six.

I laid on my back, my eyes staring ahead at the blank ceiling as the darkness danced around the room. Steve lay beside me, facing away as his breathing fell to a rhythmic beat, and I could tell that he was asleep. I was happy that we was finally able to sleep, as over the last few nights he would force himself to stay awake with me just in case I needed him. There was still no chance that I would be able to sleep, so I just lay beside him as we both pretended to sleep while neither of us slept a wink.

I had spent the afternoon standing in the lab, staring at the pager as people walked in and out, knowing that nothing was going to change so there was no point in standing and staring. Rhodey had arrived back from Washington today, and from what I had heard they hadn't actually decided on any courses of action quite yet, and there still wasn't a time frame for when they would. I hadn't seen Thor in a few days now, and Bruce hadn't left his lab in the last 24 hours either.

The compound was really quiet these days, none of the workers who would normally be bustling through the halls making it in anymore, not that we exactly expected them to. I let my mind wander for a moment, which probably wasn't a good idea as when I did I would always end up with tears streaming down my face. I thought about Natasha, who I knew for a fact would be lying in her room in a very similar position I was in, not being able to sleep a wink. There was no chance that she was as stable as she was letting anyone think, but I was also positive that she would shut down all of my attempts to try and get her to open up.

My brain was running at 100 miles an hour at this point, my eyes moving around in the darkness as I furrowed my eyebrows quickly. I turned to look at my night stand, my phone sitting in the corner as I stared at it, trying to think about the last time I had received a call from anyone. "Oh my god" I said as I reached over and grabbed it, sitting up so quickly that my vision blurred for a moment. I unlocked it, my fingers swiping hurriedly as I clicked on the small icon of the green phone. I scrolled down to B, seeing Clint and Laura's names sitting one after the other, followed by a bunch of random numbers that I had from government officials.

1 week ago. That was the last time that I had called Clint. The last time having spoken to each other being in my mission room before we left for Africa, Natasha and I having to convince him that we would be perfectly fine without him.  I let out a shaky breath as I dropped my phone onto the bed, looking over to Steve as I pushed my hair behind my ear, looking at the sleeping blonde.

"Steve" I said as I moved over on the bed a little bit, setting my hand on his arm as he shifted slightly under my touch. "Hmm?" he mumbled as he rolled onto his back, opening up his eyes slowly as he looked over to me, scratching his beard quickly. "We need go go Iowa" I said to him quickly, my words mashing into one as he opened his eyes fully, understanding exactly what I was leaning as he nodded his head, making me push the sheets off of me and get up as quickly as I could.

!

We walked out the back of the jet, which I had flown myself, having taken the smallest one we had at the compound. The sun was coming up over the farm house, the flights barely taking an hour thanks to Tony's high speed repulsers. Steve wanted to drive, but there was no chance that the highways would even remotely be clear enough to get to Iowa and back in under 24 hours.

I walked through the grass, staring ahead as Steve walked slowly behind me, looking around quickly. "Oh my god" I said as I walked a bit faster, trying to scan the house to see if there was any sign of life, which there wasn't. I ran up the porch steps, setting my hand on the door handle as I tried to open it, just to find out that it was locked. I looked down at the ground, walking over to the small figure of a frog, picking it up as I grabbed the spare key.

I shoved it into the door quickly, pushing it open and walking into the completely silent house, looking around as I walked into the living room. "Clint?" I shouted loudly, moving through the rooms as Steve trailed along behind me. I shook my head as I let out a deep breath, walking into the dining room to see the table empty, turning back around and making my way up the stairs. "Laura?" I shouted, running up the stairs quickly and barging open the door for the main bedroom.

The orange and red hues were falling in through the window on the clearly made bed, the bathroom door open to just show an empty building. As I searched more and more into the rooms of the house, the reality was becoming a lot more real for what I was seeing. "Anyone?" I shouted a bit louder, hoping for someone to walk out of a room, seeing it was me and running into my arms. Tears pricked the back of my eyes as I walked down the hall, all the doors to the kids rooms wide open, and once again completely empty and free of any of the Barton family.

"It's Auntie Ally" I shouted as I walked into the boys room, standing on a piece of stray lego that was on the floor, the plastic cracking under my boot as I took a small step back. "They aren't here" Steve said to me as he came into the room, making me turn around quickly as he looked over at me with a saddened look on his face. "They aren't here" I repeated as I looked around the blue painted room once again, Cooper and Nate's beds made like they were every morning, their pyjamas folded and set on top of their pillows.

"They aren't here" I breathed out, a tear falling from my eye as Steve walked over to me, pulling my into him as he set one hand on the back of my head, stroking my hair. I let out a sob as I put my head on his chest, squeezing my eyes shut as he rubbed his hand up and down reassuringly on my back.

And while we stood there thinking that the worst had already happened, another piece of my heart shattered off.

——

A/N: I realised that Ally hadn't even thought about Clint yet so I thought that it was only normal for her to realise that she hadn't seen her best friend in so long
also I know that Clint didn't dust (obviously) but let's just imagine that he had left the house because it brought him too much pain to stay where his whole family had died ;(
I hope you liked this chapter and please don't forget to vote and comment and I will hopefully see you soon