Chapter One

This is going to take place after the events of the first Avengers, but I am not sure that I will be following the rest of the storyline leading into Age of Ultron. I'm kind of just going with this idea I have in my head that is going to be a mix of the movies and the Hawkeye comics. I'm not sure how well it's going to work, but hopefully you'll like it!

I heard the scream again. It woke me from my own nightmare, blending at first with the screams that echoed in my head. The screams from that day. The day that the world was forever turned upside down and the city almost fell to a legion of alien soldiers. I was not the only one that found themselves struggling to shake the horrors I saw amidst the destruction. For months now after the attack on New York, the man in the apartment next door woke me up every night to the sounds of his scream. The noise was gut wrenching even after all this time.

Each night, his pain would wake me up and I would lay in silence, hearing him through the thin wall as he gasped for air until he could settle himself down. I never heard anyone else there trying to comfort him; he was alone.

I wished I could help him. As creepy as it probably would sound, I often found myself wishing I could offer some comfort to the stranger I had begun to feel a strange camaraderie with. I knew it was insane to have such thoughts towards someone I didn't know, but if the attack on the city had taught me anything, it was that people needed to be able to lean on each other in dark times.

I wasn't even sure what the man in the next apartment looked like. I had never seen him in the hallway or walking into the building. Either he never went outside or he kept odd hours. I don't know what I would even say to him if I did run into him. I couldn't very well tell him that I heard him without sounding like a stalker.

I laid in the dark, listening to his ragged and gasping panic through the paper thin wall and my heart broke for him once again. I heard a loud crash and the sound of glass breaking before a string of curse words brought an amused grin to my face. His voice was rough and almost in a growl as he shouted at the "damned table" that was the source of the collision. I rolled over onto my side and chuckled softly before closing my eyes again. It was good to know I wasn't the only one who was a mess these days; it made me feel just a little less crazy.

I sighed and willed sleep to take me again, but it was always hard to find after my own nightmares. The flames and the cries of hundreds of people were always there to greet me when I slipped into unconsciousness. It was difficult to relax when I knew what was waiting for me in my own head.

Another loud bang jolted me out of my doze. I sat upright in bed. It sounded like the bang came from outside my window. The metallic clang that followed was coming from the fire escape outside. Fear rushed through me and my throat felt tight. I grabbed the knife that I kept beside my bed, thankful for once that my paranoia was actually going to pay off. My hand shook as I pushed the covers off of my legs and stepped onto the cold floor. I barely registered my owns movements as I made my way over to the window.

It was still dark outside and a layer of frost touched the corners of the glass window. I could feel the cold air rushing in through the cracks around the windowpane. As much as the fear that was coursing through my body begged me to run in the opposite direction, I pushed myself forward. I would not allow myself to be harmed without a fight. I had felt truly hopeless during the the alien attack; I was not able to defend myself or try to escape. I was as helpless as a child and I would never let that happen again.

I grabbed the window and pushed it upwards roughly in one swift motion. The hand with the knife was clenched so tightly that the handle was digging into my skin as I held it up in a defensive position.

"What are you doing outside of my fucking window?" I demanded, trying to put as much venom in my voice as I could in an effort to appear more intimidating than I felt.

I stepped closer to the window when I received no response. I could hear someone breathing outside. As I reached the window, I could see the back of a man sitting on on the metal walkway, his feet dangling over the side and his head resting on the railing. The air was bitter cold and I could see his breath rising in the air in front of him in fast puffs. I hit the knife against the metal walkway to get his attention.

"Hello? Seriously, what are you doing out there?" I pressed, "If you're planning on robbing or murdering anyone, I think sitting outside in the cold isn't a great start."

The man let out a low laugh, but didn't say anything. He just tilted his head a little towards me.

I frowned in frustration, unsure of what to do. "I have a knife." I figured it was worth putting that information out there even though I was beginning to doubt that the man was planning to suddenly attack me.

At this, the man finally asked, "Do you get a lot of suspected murderers outside your window?"

I could hear the joke in his voice and I suddenly felt a little ridiculous standing with a kitchen knife while wearing sweatpants and an old t-shirt in my barefeet. I lowered the hand with the knife and crossed my arms across my chest against the cold.

"Are you usually stomping around outside people's windows and making enough noise to wake the dead?" I said in retort.

The man hung his head a little, but then pointed at his ear so I could see the small device. Guilt wracked through me as I realized what it was.

"Oh shit, I'm so sorry," I rushed out. I was thankful that he was facing away from me and couldn't see the bright red on my face.

"Not a big deal," the man replied, "I was half asleep when I came out here and I forgot to put both of them in. I can only hear out of the one ear right now. My fault. I'm sorry that I woke you up."

"You're the guy that lives in the apartment next to mine, aren't you?" I asked, ignoring the cold and walking right up to the windowsill now.

He nodded, "Yeah. I'm sure you're just thrilled about that. I'm sorry if I've woken you up any before."

I decided to keep the regular unscheduled wake up calls to myself, knowing that it would just make him feel worse, "Are you okay?"

There was a long pause and I began to think maybe he hadn't heard me again before he replied, "Sure."

"That's convincing," I said sarcastically.

There was a snort of laughter, "It was very convincing, I thought. But I'll be fine. You should try to get back to sleep. I won't make anymore noise out here, I promise."

I sighed quietly at the sadness I could hear in his voice. I slowly pulled the window back down and marched quickly to the kitchen.

A few minutes later, I watched the man startle slightly as I settled down on the fire escape beside him. He turned to look at me with a look of sleepy confusion as I handed him a mug of hot chocolate and a small blanket.