Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Black and white. That's how everyone starts their life. From the time they're born, every single person sees in black and white. The only way to change that is by locking eyes with the one you're destined to be with. In other terms, you have to make eye contact with your soulmate.

Your brother told you a lot about color when he found his soulmate in Hope. You tried your hardest to understand and follow along. He would point to things and tell you what each item was colored, but you only saw it as black and white, so you eventually gave up.

Going on 27, you were close to really just forgetting about the whole soulmate thing. Maybe you didn't have one. Your brother said that everyone has one, they just have to find them. Well, you were getting tired of waiting. 

When will your soulmate finally appear? What if you find them while you're on a mission with everyone else? What if they're the bad guy? 

"I still can't see color. I'm gonna grow old and alone and probably own twenty-seven cats, and my world will forever be in black and white. I'm doomed," you said into your comms, hearing your brother laugh.

"Only twenty-seven??" Scott teased.

Most missions were fun. Your twin brother, Scott, was by your side for as long as he possibly could be before he had to shrink himself and body slam into another person to save your ass. Jumping over the pile of rubble and the man who nearly shot you, you threw a quick 'thank you' towards Scott. Whether he was actually there to hear it or not, you had no clue.

You took another arrow out of your quiver and hooked it up to your bow. Taking aim, you let out a deep breath before releasing it. The arrow shot forward, then squelched as it went through one of the bad guys' head. You smiled victoriously as he crumpled to the ground.

No one knew who these people were. They just came out of nowhere and FRIDAY yelled a codename that you had never heard of before, and next thing you know, you're about a mile from the compound, killing people who are trying to kill you and your friends.

You became apart of the Avengers a couple of months ago. Scott wanted to keep you and his kid off enemy radar for as long as possible. Then some guy named Clint up and disappeared, and Fury eventually convinced Scott to let you join.

Scott, of course, was hesitant of you joining. You were doing just fine with your job as a recruiter for a hospital, being able to take care of Cassie when he really needed it. At least, that's what Scott thought.

While Scott was good at shrinking, making himself a giant, arguing with Hope, and going off into the quantum realm... you were good at basic things like telling terrible dad jokes and making a mean macaroni and cheese. You took up archery just for the hell of it and eventually, you fell in love with it. You practiced well enough that Scott knew to hide when you threaten to shoot him with an arrow. You were also good at combat; training with Natasha and Bucky always made you better day by day. Maybe they'd let you 'take them down,' but if that was the case, they never told you.

Being apart of the Avengers was way more fun than you thought. Every day, you learned something new. You were always told to 'live today as it's your last' and being an Avenger really helped you do that.

Suddenly, a pair of arms wrapped around you from behind, causing you to let out a shout. You were lifted off the ground, your legs flailing as you tried to get free. You didn't know whose arms you were in, you just knew that it wasn't anyone you knew. There are easier ways to get your attention. 

An explosion set off in the distance, if you had to guess, it was about fifty yards away. The explosion made the ground shake and the grip the guy had on you loosen. That's when you decided to strike. 

You threw your head back as fast and as hard as you could, slamming it against the guy's nose. You grinned wickedly as the sound of his nose breaking was simple music to your ears. His arms left your body to cradle his face and now bleeding nose, giving you time to pick up your bow and grab another arrow. 

You took one step back and fired the arrow straight into the guy's heart. With your chest heaving, you watch as the guy tried to reach out to you. He wasn't close enough though and he soon fell to the ground. You simply shrugged and decided to keep moving, getting another arrow ready in your bow.

Soon you were back with Bucky, Sam, and Natasha. You didn't know know where Scott was at the moment and you were about to ask if any of them had seen him.

Natasha quickly yelled at you to duck, and you never bent forward so quickly as she fired her gun in your direction. There was a thud behind you. You looked and it was the same fucking guy you shot in the heart. 

What the fuck?

You could hear Bucky roll his eyes as he spoke, "Y/N, you literally have the worst timing when it comes to talking about this soulmate shit."

"Hey, I'm trying to give us something to talk about!"

Natasha's voice rang through your ears, "Let's just focus on the mission at hand, guys. We can worry about soulmates later."

You rolled your eyes, quickly grabbing another arrow, aiming it at someone who was charging at you and then releasing it. "Easy for you guys to say! Y'all already found yours and can see color!" 

You heard commotion from behind you and decided this shot will take two arrows. You grabbed two, pairing them with your bow. When you pulled back, the guy was nearly an arms length from you and you weren't actually paying attention to where you were aiming, but this is something you've been working on with Natasha when it came to archery.

The arrows were released as you had your eyes forward, on someone completely different. When you heard the guy behind you crumple to the ground, you did a little victory dance. Training really does pay off sometimes.

"That was cute. What do you call that maneuver, Lang?" 

"Oh, shut your trap, Barnes." You stuck your tongue out at him.

Just then, Natasha appeared beside you. She told you to duck again, and as much as you wanted to quack at her, you hurled your body forward. Natasha used her gun, the loud bangs of bullets firing causing your ears to ring just a bit.

When she was done, you stood up straight again. Your hands went to your hips, and you almost dropped your bow, "Nat, tell me. What does red look like?"

She snorted, "How are we supposed to describe a color that you cannot see to you? Didn't Scott already try that?"

"I mean, yeah, but this is Scott we're talking about! Have you heard him try to explain something?"

"Hey!" Your brother's voice came in through the comms and it made you laugh.

"I dunno," you simply shrugged, earning a shake of the head from Natasha. "Think of something?"

Sam suddenly flew overhead and the two of you looked up to see that he was not alone. A bad guy had latched themselves on to one of Sam's feet, and you felt Natasha nudge your side. She was letting you take this shot.

Without another thought, you readied your bow and arrow, took aim, and released. The arrow flew through the air and pierced the guys stomach, causing him to let go of Sam. While Sam threw you a 'thank you', you watched as the bad guy fell at least thirty feet to the ground. It didn't do much though, because he was then standing and turning towards you and your friends. The bad guy saw you first and he lunged, but he wasn't fast enough. Before you could have the chance to blink, he was quickly punched in the temple by Natasha 

"Try not to worry about it so much, Y/N. You'll meet your soulmate one day, and who knows? Today could be that day." Natasha shrugged at you before being beckoned by Bucky.

"Don't worry about it?!" You shouted after her. You swiftly stomped your foot as if you were a little child having a temper tantrum. "Have you met me?!"

"No, I haven't. Who are you again?" Scott asked as he appeared next to you with a grin.

You laughed and gave him a playful shove, "Shut up, Scott."

The laughter died down when Steve's voice rang in through the comms, "We got incoming! Four blocks north of your position, Buck."

You could hear Bucky groan, and you wanted to laugh, but you didn't. You'll laugh at him later. As you gazed ahead, you noticed that Bucky was within ten feet of you, so you turned towards your twin brother.

"Which way is north?"

"How am I supposed to know that?" He asked.

"Why don't you two look in every direction that you can and see where the bad guys are? That would be north."

"Thank you for dumbing it down for me, Tony." You huffed.

You knew it, even though you weren't looking at him. You raised your finger towards your brother, because he knew he was about to make a remark about you basically admitting that you were dumb. Instead of speaking, Scott just snickered. He knew that you knew, and you decided you were gonna deal with him later.

Turning to face the remaining army of bad guys, you and Scott readied yourselves. You with your bow, Scott simply getting ready to close his helmet. You reached behind you to grab an arrow when you both noticed something weird. Squinting, you could see that the remainder of bad guys were not coming, they were leaving.

You opened your mouth in semi-shock and confusion. Licking your lips, you turned to your brother and motioned to what you just saw.

"You see that, too?" When he nodded, you spoke into your comms, "Umm... I don't think they're incoming, Steve."

"Yeah, as much as it pains me to say it," you almost punched your brother on the spot before he continued, "I agree with Y/N. They're not coming, they're leaving."

"But where are they going? Dammit!" You whined and stomped your foot again. "I was having so much fun!"

"You have a really different definition of fun from everybody else, Y/N." Sam muttered. 

Tony's voice soon filled your ears, "I believe we should be asking why they're leaving and not where to."

You could hear Steve roll his eyes, "Knowing where they're going is important too, Tony."

"Guys," Scott grabbed your attention. Your smile dropped when you saw his face. It was one of concern. He was pointing. You turned and looked in the direction he was pointing, which was the direction the remainder of the army used to be. Now, there seemed to be a hooded figure in black and gold. "Who's that?"

The hooded figure, as far as you could tell, was actually coming towards you and your brother. It filled you with both dread and excitement. You wanted to be done, because you were exhausted. You were then excited, because it meant you could mark at least one more kill before this shit was over.

Your grip on your bow tightened, "I don't know... Guys, we got a hooded figure. Probably two blocks north of mine and Scott's position."

Scott finally snapped his helmet shut with a wicked grin, "Well, I say we kick this guy's ass! If he can scare away an army, he has to be dangerous."

You gave an open-mouthed smile to your brother, gently patting him on the shoulder, which he eventually swatted away. "You finally got the braincell! Good thinking, Scott!"

"Y/N, Scott, stay where you are." The both of you started to protest to Bucky's words. "Sam, where's that backup you wouldn't shut up about earlier?"

Sam was silent for a moment before he finally spoke, "Don't worry! They're close!"

You rolled your eyes. You were not going to wait around for some stupid backup. The hooded figure would reach you and Scott before Sam's backup. So, you decided to take matters into your own hands.

You reached behind you and grabbed an arrow. You hooked it with your bow and took aim, "You guys are losers." You closed one eye to make sure you could get a head shot, "I got this."

Scott was about to say something, but was silenced by the thwick that came from your bow as you released the arrow. The hooded figure had to be about twenty feet from reaching you and Scott, and you were not about to take any chances on your brother's life. 

The two of you watched in pure amazement as the hooded figure caught the arrow with such ease, as if it was absolutely nothing. A string of curse words were forming in your vocal chords, ready to fly out of your mouth like no tomorrow. You were ready to shout at this stupid being for actually catching the arrow instead of letting it pierce him in the head, when the figure finally decided to remove his hood and mask. 

Blue met y/e/c and then everything changed.

Chapter Text

The bow that you had a death grip on had clattered to the concrete as you stumbled backward, not believing what you were seeing. Scott had to catch you from falling on your ass as you were about to trip over a dead body that you hadn't noticed before. He set you up right, a look of concern washing over his features.

He was talking to you, probably asking if you were okay, but it was like you became deaf. 

Colors were loud. 

You could still see some black and white in your vision, but now there was so much more! You had so many questions!

Of course, the first thing that came out of your mouth was "Oh, shit." which made your twin worry even more. 

Behind you, Bucky squinted and held a hand up to block the sun from his eyes. When he took in the figure's features, his eyes widened. "Wait, is that Clint?"

Tony's gasp rang loudly through the comms, "Legolas?! You mean, he's alive?! I thought he dropped off the radar!"

"He dropped off your radar, Stark. Not everyone else's." Natasha said subtly and no one said anything about it.

You finally gained control of your voice again as the shock passed through you. Glancing towards the sky, you couldn't really believe that the clouds were still white. 

So. Many. Questions.

"I can see colors." You said, as if it were nothing, causing everyone to stop and stare at you for a brief moment in disbelief.

"You say what now, Y/N?" Scott's voice cracked.

Clint stopped right in front of you and you simply couldn't take your eyes off of him. The gold accents of his outfits glittered in the sun as he pulled off his hood. He bent down and picked up your bow, holding it out to you as well as the arrow that you nearly killed him with.

"Nice shot."

Your eyes drew into a squint as you noticed the playful glint in Clint's, "I missed!"

He shrugged, giving you a smile you could honestly die for, "Guess that's a good thing then."

You huffed and spun around. As you were reaching behind you to put the arrow back in your quiver, you made your way over to where Sam, Bucky, and Natasha were. Clint and Scott were trailing you, and then you watched with a soft smile as Clint and Natasha embraced each other with a tight hug.

"Clint is my soulmate." You suddenly said.

Sam and Bucky screeched like ancient pterodactyls, "What?!"

Your twin brother paled, his mouth opening and closing like a fish. Natasha just looked between you and Clint with an amused smirk. The redhead licked her lips and decided that she was going to have so much fun with the situation she was just placed in.

"Really?" You nodded as Natasha pointed between you and your newfound soulmate. "You two are soulmates?"

"Wait, so you weren't kidding when you said that you could see colors?" Sam asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

Bucky shrugged, copying Sam, "Well, I guess that's a good thing. I was getting tired of you constantly complaining about not being able to see colors." He put a hand on your shoulder in a supportive manner and smiled at you widely. "Still, I'm very happy for you."

You sighed and looked up at the sky, briefly wondering what color it was called. It was a nice and bright color that went well with the white clouds. You were pulled out of your trance when you felt someone nudge your side.

It was Clint. He was now standing very close to you and you didn't realize that you had held your breath as you took in his facial features. To your amazement, his eyes matched the sky! You found that exciting.

"So, I think I am your soulmate."

You were so quick to retort, "Really? I had no idea." It earned a good smack to the back of your head from Natasha. You pouted and looked back at her while Clint laughed.

"What's your name?"

You gave him a hum. "Well, it might be Y/N, but it might not be. Who knows?" There was another smack to the back of your head and you could hear Natasha's irritated huff. You crossed your arms over your chest. "Fine, before Nat here decapitates me, my name is Y/N. You must be the famous archer that goes by Clint Barton."

And he decided to pull a you. "Really? I had no idea."

You couldn't help the laughter that bubbled out of you as Natasha was now smacking Clint upside the head.

From the side, you could hear Bucky mumble something to Sam, "Yeah, they're already perfect for each other."

Chapter Text

PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS IS NOT A CHAPTER! I KNOW YOU MAY BE DISAPPOINTED TO READ THAT, BUT I FEEL LIKE I OWE YOU GUYS AN EXPLANATION FOR MY DISAPPEARANCE. I PROMISE YOU THAT I HAVE NOT FORGOTTEN ABOUT THIS BOOK. I PLAN TO UPDATE IT VERY SOON.

THIS AUTHOR’S NOTE IS IN ALL OF MY MARVEL BOOKS THAT NEED TO BE UPDATED. PLEASE BE PATIENT WITH ME. I AM STILL HERE.

Hi guys. I know it has been quite long since this story has been updated. Your comments have not gone unnoticed, and I promise you that this story has not been abandoned. I definitely plan on updating all of my stories within the next month, I just need you guys to be patient with me.

Okay, down to business. I am not at all doing this to gain your pity or for you to feel sorry for me. As a decent human being and as an AO3 author of stories that you guys somehow have taken an interest in, I feel as if I owe you an explanation. Back in November of 2021, I was diagnosed with cancer. My specific cancer is called osteosarcoma, which is bone cancer. If you want to know, osteosarcoma tumors start growing on the inside of the bone, then get big enough to break the bone, and then continue growing outside of the bone and freely into the body. Basically, these tumors break bones from the inside out. That is exactly what happened to my right femur.

Since being diagnosed, including the biopsy I had a week prior to my diagnosis, I have had fourteen (14) surgeries all related to this cancer. There have been five on my right leg, four on my lungs, one on my hip, and four on my chest. My last surgery was a total hip replacement (I turn 25 in April) at the beginning of March of this year. Long story short, for the past two-ish years, I have been fighting for my damn life. I have been through eight different kinds of chemotherapy, and was in the hospital probably every other week from the end of 2021 to the middle/end of 2023. It’s been hell. I am considered permanently physically disabled. I am, I kid you not, titanium from my right hip to the bottom of my right calf. 

I have been fighting and recovering. Again, it has been hell. I did not have the motivation at all to write while fighting. I was mainly focused on taking care of myself and recovering to the best of my abilities. However, I am pleased to announce that since July of 2023, I have been cancer free. I am now having scans every three months, my next one is actually on April 15, but I am still recovering. I finally feel that want to write again. I have some motivation.

So please, be patient with me. I promise this story is getting updated. Just give me a little more time to fully get back into it. I have not forgotten about this book, and I have not forgotten about you guys. There will be an update soon. I promise.

If you made it this far, thank you for reading and understanding. I am trying my hardest, and again, this story has not been forgotten. User bannerbarton is back in action.

Stay dazzling. See you with an update soon xx