a lιgнт ιn тнe darĸ

( author's note ): do NOT ship Five with anyone, she is a child and you are weird.

It had been a long day for everyone on the team, all of them physically and / or mentally drained and tired. They had a setback today, with the unexpected code green and the equally frustrating run-ins with the Maximoff twins.

Both twins were difficult, one fast and the other unbelievably annoying with her mind-tampering abilities. After actually seeing the two, the team were generally surprised that these were who Five had connected with.

They were also surprised that the twins hadn't gone to collect her from the ship whilst she was alone.

Either way, the kid was still with the mismatched group of people.

They arrived at a farmhouse, it was a decent size and perfect for a family to live in. Clambering out of the jet, with Five being carried by Clint, they approached the house.

"Honey," Clint called. "I'm home." He gently placed Five down on a couch before being greeted by his wife. "Hi. Company, sorry I didn't call ahead."

"Hey," His wife, Laura, greeted. The married couple shared a loving kiss as Tony leaned towards Thor.

"This is an agent of some kind..." he told the god.

"Gentlemen," Clint brought their attention to the woman beside him. "This is Laura."

"I know all of your names." Laura reluctantly admitted as the group of heroes shuffled awkwardly.

"Ooh! Incoming." Clint warmed as they heard the loud footsteps of children. They ran inside, a boy and a girl.

"Dad!" The girl greeted, Clint immediately picking her up into his arms.

"I see her!" He kissed his son's head lovingly. "Hey buddy! How you guys doing? Ooh..."

"These are... smaller agents." Tony attempted, his shock still present on his face.

"Look at your face! Oh my goodness." Clint continued playfully talking with his kids.

"Did you bring Auntie Nat?" Lila, Clint's daughter, asked.

"Why don't you hug her and find out?" The said woman stepped forward with her arms out, ready for her hug.

( *•.¸♡ - ♡¸.•* )

After explaining everything to the heroes, Clint and Laura took Five and migrated to their own room. They had his shirt lifted up, inspecting where he had been injured.

"See? You're worried for nothing." Clint reassured his wife, a hint of a smile on his face.
"Can't even feel a difference, can you?"

"If they're sleeping here, some of them are gonna have to double up." Laura told Clint, and he laughed.

"Yeah... that's not gonna sell." He told his wife.

"What about Nat and Dr. Banner? How long had that been going on?" Clint had a puzzled expression on his face after her question.

"Has what?" He inquired, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"You are so cute," Laura laughed, being quiet due to the sleeping kid.

"Nat and... and Banner?"

"I'll explain when you're older, Hawkeye." Laura claimed teasingly, a smile plastered on her face.

"Oh, Okay." He playfully scoffed, before the conversation took a more serious turn.

"It's bad, right? Nat seems really shaken."

"Ultron has these allies, these, uh, kids... they're punks, really. They carry a big damn stick and Nat took a serious hit. Someone's gonna have to teach them some manners."

"And that someone has to be you. You know I totally support your Avenging, I couldn't be prouder. But I see those guys, those 'gods...'" Laura sighed.

"You don't think they need me."

"I think they do. Which is a lot scarier. They're a mess..."

"Yeah, I guess they're my mess."

"You need to be sure that this team is really a team and that they have your back. Things are changing for us. In a few months time, you and me are gonna be outnumbered. I need— just be sure." Hawkeye's wife warned, making a reference to their unborn baby boy.

"Yes, ma'am." He told the woman, kissing her before she put her arm around his waist, feeling his injured side.

"I can feel the difference." Laura claimed, before looking back at the sleeping ginger.
"Is she okay?"

"Yeah," Clint let out a sigh. "It must've taken a lot out of her. She brought Banner back from the other guy— I mean, that must've been hard."

"Must have," Laura agreed, before looking at the '05' permanently on her wrist. "Who do you think she belongs to?"

"What? Her parents?" Clint asked, and his wife nodded before returning her gaze to him. "We don't know, we looked in her file, didn't find much. I'll get Tony to bring it up." He told his wife with a soft smile, before the two left Five to sleep it off.

( *•.¸♡ - ♡¸.•* )

Hours later, Five woke up in an unfamiliar place. This itself caused her veins to fill with anxiety and her breath to hitch in her throat. She had always been with somebody, rarely being alone due to her strict guarding at HYDRA, as she knew there was always somebody outside her door.

But now, she was completely unsure.

She slowly sat up, gently swinging her feet over the side of the bed she had previously slept on. Five took hesitant steps towards the door, and slowly turned the handle, before padding down the stairs where she could hear people talking.

She allowed herself to breathe when she stepped off of the final stair, as she could see the familiar figures of the Avengers.

They sat around a table, talking and arguing. There was two people the experiment couldn't recognise, however. These two were Nick Fury and Laura Barton, one in dark clothing with a menacing look on his face and he other with a bright face and a soft smile.

"Clint," Five muttered, moving to stand beside the man. He jumped in surprise, before smiling at the ginger.

"Hey," He said, crouching down to meet her short height. "How are you feeling?" He asked her gently, and she looked up at him with wide eyes.

"...I'm okay," she told the hero after a brief pause. "Where are we?"

"We're at my house," Clint smiled kindly as Laura came up behind him. "This is my wife, Laura." He introduced, and she smiled at the lady, already liking her presence.

"Who's that?" She pointed to the couple's kids, Cooper and Lila, who were doing various things, including drawing and colouring.

"They're our kids," Laura told her with a sweet smile. "How about I go and introduce you guys?" Five reluctantly nodded, taking Laura's hand as she led the experiment to her kids.

"Kids," Laura called, gaining their attention. "I want you to meet somebody, okay?" They nodded as Five stepped beside Laura nervously. "This is Five, Five this is Lila and this is Cooper." The woman introduced, and her children smiled at the young girl.

"Hi!" Cooper greeted excitedly, thinking the was ginger seemed nice enough. Five smiled shyly at the two, before sitting down beside them.

"Hello," She said quietly, as she had never been around anybody near her age, the closest most likely being Pietro and Wanda. Laura walked away, as they were getting along.

"Do you wanna draw with me?" Lila asked the fellow girl, and Five slowly nodded.

"I've never done that before," Five admitted to them, and they were both genuinely shocked.

"Really?" Cooper asked, disbelief present in his voice. She nodded reluctantly.

"Here, we'll teach you!" Lila told her happily, making the experiment smile brightly, and they did just that.

Cooper and Lila showed her how to hold the drawing and colouring supplies, and gave her demonstrations on how to do simple drawings, like a flower or butterfly, or even just some grass and clouds, etc.

The three kids were unaware of the four smiling faces that occasionally watched them help each other.

Two of those being Clint and Laura, admiring their children and Five's behaviour.

The other two being Bruce and Natasha, both dreaming of things they could never have, but desperately wanted.

But sadly, not everything works out.