#bowstringbound

Rima tilts her head to the stranger.

@bowstringbound has decided to become a target – ! || STIRRING THE POT.

say that again. i dare you.

Oh, Clint knew better than dare Bucky to speak once more. A brow twitched, fingers of both hands digging into his arms, though, one barely managing to do so compared to the other. Nostrils flared, brown eyes staring straight toward the archer's own blues, barely held back anger clear as day with how he held himself. A miracle that he hadn't shoved Hawkeye against the wall already, considering how he could be when in a terrible mood. James took a deep breath, held it for a moment, then exhaled it through his teeth.

" I told you. " He began, voice low as he slowly stepped over, each step heavy but quiet. " Shovin' your nose, in my fuckin' business with Natasha, is none of YOUR damn business. " Arms were lowered, shoulders raised along with his chest puffed as he tilted his head back. Damn Clint for being taller than him but whatever, he didn't care, he still could fold him in half if he really was tempted. The soldier would remain a few feet away from the other, leaving him enough space to leave if he decided things would get physical.

Sure, Bucky was really worked up, but his private life was no one's business, no one, and even less Clint's business. God, he hated it, he hated it so much.

The hero had his hearing aids out and was simply enjoying the comfortable quiet between them, but could still feel the low vibration of Aubrey's phone buzzing on the dining room table. The ranger knew damn well who was spamming her phone this early in the morning; a court order didn't stop calls from burner phones and various apps. His gaze shifted to the phone, pupils narrowing with distaste.

A hand moved from his steamy mug to clasp Emma's within his own, the warmth from the cup still on his palms. Icey eyes met with sea, they were stern but laced with a fondness that he only reserved for her and Aubrey. "Sweetheart," Clint started, selecting his verbiage carefully. "If you want, I can make all of this go away," he said with a jut of his chin towards her quivering phone. "All of it."

Clint had killed for less and with Kyle, the assassin felt as if he was putting his honed skills to good use. Although, Barton knew it would be easy to get away with and Kyle was no boar that he needed to rush. Yet, the Avenger still remained choosy with his words, deliberately mincing them. He didn't want to implicate Emma in the ugliness that he was willing to orchestrate. The hawk was already poised to strike but only would forward his talons on cue.

"Just say the word and it'll be done."

She should have silenced the damn thing entirely. She was certain she knew who it was that was messaging her at an ungodly hour in the morning, but like she did with every other message he sent her, she ignored it in favor of the coffee she cupped between her hands. The warmth of it flowed into her palms, warming her from both the outside and inside as she took her sips of the coffee.

Buzz buzz buzz

What an insistent bastard. Rolling her eyes, Emma was moments from reaching out and turning her phone off entirely when she felt Clint's hand take hold of her own, drawing her attention away from the device. The instant their gazes locked onto one another, she felt that this was going to be more serious of a conversation than she was ready to have without at least another cup of coffee.

And she was right. Hearing the words that come from his mouth, hearing the implications of what was being spoken, Emma found herself growing quiet as she silently squeezes Clint's hand in her own. Taking in a deep breath that she lets out with equal slowness, she takes her other hand off the mug, using it to come and cover his own where it holds her other hand... and thinks.

It would make life so much easier if Kyle was simply... gone.

"...I don't want you to be charged with anything, Clint... not on my behalf." she speaks carefully, dragging her lower lip between her teeth for a moment before releasing it again. "I wont lie and say that its not tempting... I want to say yes. But I care about you more than I care about him bothering me. If you're convicted, I would wait for you to be freed, but it would kill Aubrey if you were gone for that long..."

Clint: 😏😏😏

Loki did not often sit quietly.

He did now, though, feet dangling off the edge of a roof that absolutely would kill Clint Barton if he pushed. The night was cold, just shy of January, the stars fighting the clouds for dominance, and the archer was squatting next to him. The twelve inches of space between them was palpable.

"I have spent a lot of time running from myself," Loki said quietly, eyes on the rooftops spreading out ahead of them. The honesty made him sick and relieved all at once, and the distaste that produced made him sicker. He swallowed, and the honesty, for now, won out. "And I thought—arrogantly, mind—that if I ran long enough, I'd outrun myself."

He pulled one leg up and tucked his knee under his chin. The fact that he had even agreed to meet the man at all. The fact that a mortal, and a half-deaf, half-divorced, stupid mortal at that, was making him—

"And then King Loki found me," he drawled, sharp, just shy of too loud. "Have I told you about him? You'll adore this one, Archer: he's me. From the future. Mad, that. And he told me—"

Loki hesitated, which was also new for him, and which he despised immediately. Still.

"He told me," he tried again, more carefully. "That I'm... even the good version of me might not be the real one." A pause. "Not that being good is the end-all, be-all, of course," he added quickly. "You're terrible at following directions, for example. Atrocious."

He didn't speak for a long moment, hands pressing flat against the rooftop to keep them from trembling.

"Barton," he said, low. "What if I only want to be good because someone's watching? What if the... this wanting I feel is just another bloody con, and I've gotten so good at the trickery that I'm inflicting it upon myself now?"

Then, barely a breath: "What if this..." He wrinkled his nose at the implication even as he flicked his fingers between them. "Whatever this is. What if this is the thing that..." He hesitated. Again. And then groaned and tipped his head back, exasperated. "I hate this. We should have scheduled a very brief and sexless dinner date like normal people."

The silence stretched so long Loki actually looked at the archer, worried he wouldn't say anything at all. And then he did.

"Maybe in another lifetime, we get our timing right."

Loki barked a laugh at that, the loud, good one that started in his belly.

"Dramatic," he wheezed, and the knee dropped back down off the roof's edge. "You're learning from me, Barton. Next time, look up at the sky wistfully when you say it, too."

A beat. He could feel the honesty wanting to crawl up his throat again, and this time, he swallowed it hard.

@bowstringbound has decided to become a target – ! || Make him admit if you're attractive.

“🔥?”

"Stroke my ego, Barnes."

" Tch, " Came the noise right out of his mouth at those words. Of course Clint would be looking for an ego boost whenever he had the chance - no, actually, when did he ever not chase for one? He couldn't remember when was the last time it didn't happen. But then again, the archer didn't have anything special going on aside his peak aim, and in a world where magic, mutants and many other things were also present, James couldn't fault him for fishing for a compliment. However, when asking the soldier, out of all people, it always an exercise in remembering that he was brutally honest most of the time. Brown eyes kept their gaze upon the blonde, studying his face, brows furrowing as he then took a moment to shift his weight from one leg to the other, arms folding over his chest.

“ Really comin' out of left field just to ask me that, Barton? ” He spoke out, tone a little stern as he then shook his head. “ Fine. You are attractive, but only when you don't run your mouth, which is extremely rare. ” A smirk began to settle on his lips, pointed pearly white canines barely peeking from under his upper lip. 

Stares Tony in the face.

"Don't  stare  at  me  like  that.  I  do,  and  I  hate  every  second  of  it."