"Winter here is cold, and bitter. It chills us to the bone"
It seemed to be an especially cold autumn as November rolled through, and into the start of December. Kate barely noticed as she just threw all her focus into school, and patrolling. It was easier that way. Or seemed to be. Eli took her aside after one hard battle with a jewelry thief that can spit acid. He had started to do so more and more, noticing how much she was pushing herself. And yet seeming half numb at times. The earlier conversations were shorter, more brusque, and fighting than talking. The later ones quieter as the weeks drew on with no sign of the door. She had tried one more time with Will's trump. Just one more. But after a second failure, she just placed it away in a drawer, along with the necklace and ring he had given her.
"Kate, you gotta face it. How do you know the door's coming back?"
"It has to." She opened up about Will meeting their daughter, and always talking about someday. But she wasn't sure now, and as her own birthday(Dec. 9th) drew close, Eli threw a curveball to her.
"....A date?"
"Yeah, just a little something. Should do something for your birthday, and I got us hooked up. You don't have to worry about anything. How about it?"
Kate debated, but she needed a distraction. Anyway, they're friends, he understood, right? No big deal.
Wrong, that night was unseasonably warm, but it was one of the few things right about the night. The conversation in the carriage was awkward. What was she thinking? She can't do this to him, he's her teammate. And she still loves Will. It's not fair to either of them. So she tried to explain, and he seemed to understand. And then he tried to kiss her.
"You did NOT just try to kiss me. You did..."
"No! Kate, I..."
"You did NOT."
And then Ronin shot the already bad night to hell by jumping them.
"Kate, the carriage isn't moving."
Correction, jumping Eli and then testing her in fight.
"Jeez, what the hell was that?"
No way was she going to tell the truth.
"Oh you know. Central Park carriage ninja."
No he didn't buy it, but the evening was already ruined even before the fight happened.
Then the next day, surprise, surprise, turned out that Clint Barton is indeed alive in her world after all. And he wanted to see the bow. His/her bow. The bet came right out of left field. He makes the 'Robin Hood' shot,(And god, didn't the knife twist sideways in her heart a little at the reference.) and she had to give up the name of Hawkeye and the bow. He doesn't make it, and she kept them both, plus the older Avengers would leave all of her team alone. (All of them now that Cassie was talking with them again, and things were better. Even things were getting better with her step dad too.)
"...You're gonna miss each and every shot you can't be bothered to take. That's not living life, that's just being a tourist. Take every shot, Kate. If it's worth caring about, no matter how impossible you think it is...You take the shot."
Which he did, and of course, like the expert archer he is, and what she thought she was. But not yet, clearly not yet.... He made the shot.
And everything seemed even darker and colder.
(with apologies to the wonderfully talented Matt Fraction for the canon dialogue in italics. From Young Avengers Presents: Hawkeye)
"Kate, you gotta face it. How do you know the door's coming back?"
"It has to." She opened up about Will meeting their daughter, and always talking about someday. But she wasn't sure now, and as her own birthday(Dec. 9th) drew close, Eli threw a curveball to her.
"....A date?"
"Yeah, just a little something. Should do something for your birthday, and I got us hooked up. You don't have to worry about anything. How about it?"
Kate debated, but she needed a distraction. Anyway, they're friends, he understood, right? No big deal.
Wrong, that night was unseasonably warm, but it was one of the few things right about the night. The conversation in the carriage was awkward. What was she thinking? She can't do this to him, he's her teammate. And she still loves Will. It's not fair to either of them. So she tried to explain, and he seemed to understand. And then he tried to kiss her.
"You did NOT just try to kiss me. You did..."
"No! Kate, I..."
"You did NOT."
And then Ronin shot the already bad night to hell by jumping them.
"Kate, the carriage isn't moving."
Correction, jumping Eli and then testing her in fight.
"Jeez, what the hell was that?"
No way was she going to tell the truth.
"Oh you know. Central Park carriage ninja."
No he didn't buy it, but the evening was already ruined even before the fight happened.
Then the next day, surprise, surprise, turned out that Clint Barton is indeed alive in her world after all. And he wanted to see the bow. His/her bow. The bet came right out of left field. He makes the 'Robin Hood' shot,(And god, didn't the knife twist sideways in her heart a little at the reference.) and she had to give up the name of Hawkeye and the bow. He doesn't make it, and she kept them both, plus the older Avengers would leave all of her team alone. (All of them now that Cassie was talking with them again, and things were better. Even things were getting better with her step dad too.)
"...You're gonna miss each and every shot you can't be bothered to take. That's not living life, that's just being a tourist. Take every shot, Kate. If it's worth caring about, no matter how impossible you think it is...You take the shot."
Which he did, and of course, like the expert archer he is, and what she thought she was. But not yet, clearly not yet.... He made the shot.
And everything seemed even darker and colder.
(with apologies to the wonderfully talented Matt Fraction for the canon dialogue in italics. From Young Avengers Presents: Hawkeye)