Chapter Text
Clint sat in the waiting area with the rest of the team, an uneasy eye on Steve. No, not Steve. This was Captain America, ready to ride in and right all the wrongs, except that this time, all he'd done was manage to nearly start a fight with the World Security Council before Tony and Fury had bundled him up and out of the room, leaving Bucky Barnes to whatever fate they could negotiate for him.
When Steve had been pushed out of the room, the team didn't know about it. It'd just been Natasha, who'd whispered what had happened to Clint in their own private language when she called. And, even though he didn't know Barnes at all, he respected Steve and the bond he had with his oldest friend. So, he'd come down to sit and wait, as had Bruce.
Steve wasn't looking at any of the three of them, and it had been at least an hour since he'd spoken. He wasn't quiet, though, little murmurs of anger and fear practically leaking out of his pores. Bruce looked uncomfortable to be near him when he was so furious. Truth be told, Clint was also uncomfortable as hell - no one could carry that much rage safely. Thankfully for all concerned, this wasn't making Bruce angry - yet - so it was just Steve they had to worry about.
Natasha sat at Steve's side, and it was her grip on his arm that kept him from doing more than going to his feet when the door finally swung open. Tony stood there, exhaustion weighing his shoulders and the corners of his mouth.
"We think we have a deal," Tony said, and Steve visibly braced himself.
"What is it?" Steve said, his voice a harsh whisper.
Tony closed his eyes and massaged the sockets with one hand. "The WSC wants to send him to the Raft - "
Steve stepped forward, anger and hurt in every inch of his body, and Clint tensed, coming up to his feet. There wasn't much he could do against Steve if he was in full steam, but he wasn't going to let him hurt Tony. They'd gone through too much to lose it in the heat of anger.
"Sit down, Rogers," Tony ordered, and Steve collapsed as if his strings had been cut.
Clint was impressed. Not very many people could cut the knees out from under Steve quite that fast. Some advantages to being bonded, he guessed.
"Do you honestly think that I'd come in here and tell you that, like that, if I hadn't gotten a better deal?" Tony demanded, and his glare could have peeled paint. "What kind of negotiator do you think I am?"
Steve blinked hard, took a deep breath, and let it out slowly, but he didn't say anything.
Apparently recognizing that that was the best he was going to get, Tony sighed and shook out his shoulders. "Yes, the WSC wants to send him to the Raft until they can get all of his triggers cleared out. I argued - successfully - that we can do that just as easily here, and at least here he's surrounded by other people who can take him down if it's required, without immediately resorting to lethal force."
He paused, clearly bracing for another outburst, and when it didn't come, he nodded.
"They agreed. But there are... conditions. One, he has to let me check over the arm for any tracking devices, explosives, or other weapons. If there are any, I have to disable them. The alternative was them taking the arm entirely."
Steve nodded, short and sharp. "You said one, that means that there are others. Let's hear them."
"He has to live with a member of the team," Tony said, and before Steve could volunteer their apartment, he finished with, "Collared by an Alpha."
At that, Steve looked incredibly torn, and Clint couldn't blame him. Steve had just collared Tony a little over six months earlier, and Clint knew that Steve adored Tony with every fiber of his being.
But this was Bucky, Steve's oldest friend, who'd been living in a literal hell for seventy years. Steve was going to throw himself on that grenade, lose his relationship with Tony to protect him...
Before he realized what he was going to say, he opened his mouth and said, "I'll do it."
Everyone in the room turned to stare at him. "You sure about this?" Bruce asked, voicing the thought that was clear on all of their faces.
"Yes," Clint said, and at the doubtful expressions on Steve's and Tony's faces, he tried to explain the reasoning that seemed obvious to him. "The only Alphas on the team are Steve, Natasha, Parker, and me. And I'm the only one who's not either already bonded or underage. So, either I step up, someone has to break a bond that already exists, we bond him to a teenager who isn't even here to agree, or he goes to the Raft." He looked at Tony. "That pretty much sums up the available options, doesn't it?"
Tony hesitated, and then said quietly, "The Council did agree that he could be collared by someone already bonded."
Clint rolled his eyes. "Like that's not going to cause strain on the original bond." This time he looked at Steve. "Face it, Cap. I'm the reasonable option here. Unless you think I'm going to take advantage or something?"
"No, I don't think you'd do that," Steve said hurriedly, obviously aware of the insult that Clint could take. "Just... this is a lot to ask of anyone, especially of someone who's only met Bucky once, and that wasn't under great circumstances."
Clint shrugged. "Not the hardest thing I've done." He looked back at Tony. "Does it have to be a permanent arrangement, or would I be able to release him at some point?"
"The Council is divided on that," Tony said. "But I'm sure if Bucky proves to be stable and doesn't go around killing people, they could be talked around."
Nodding, Clint asked, "And Bucky agreed to this?"
"He agreed to the concept," Tony said. "But I didn't tell him that it would be you because I didn't think you'd volunteer. I was pretty sure I was going to end up sharing a bondmate, actually." Tony smiled, but there was a world of pain in that smile. Clint couldn't blame him - it sounded like Tony had pretty much volunteered to lose his lover, depending on what Bucky needed.
"Well, let's go ask him," Clint said. He stepped forward, matched by Steve, but he turned to face him. "Cap, you stay out here. He's had enough of his head being played with. This has to be as much his decision as it can be."
"What the hell do you know about it?" Steve gritted out.
Clint didn't say anything - he just stared at Steve silently, impassively, until the other man wilted. "Yeah, okay," Steve said after a few slow breaths. "Maybe you do have an idea."
"Thank you," Clint said and turned to follow Tony back to the other room.