#clint barton.

tales of suspense #101

wow bucky, tell us how you really feel.

ok but honestly, this is def one of bucky’s biggest issues with clint, which is that he sees past the bluster and sees the potential that clint has… and feels like clint is just wasting it. he sees someone who doesn’t stick around for the long haul, who puts on airs, and just overall isn’t himself.

like sure, it’s one thing to put on the act when around someone you want info from, or to play a role with an enemy. he doesn’t complain or stop clint when he uses that bluster to charm people either. but here he’s specifically talking about just working with clint because at some point, the facade kinda needs to drop. being sarcastic and funny isn’t great to work with 24/7–it gets old, really fast. for bucky, there needs to be some sort of substance underneath it. like yeah, bucky himself can joke and be lighthearted, but he also knows when to double down and be serious, because it is serious, and he wants people to know and trust that he’s taking it seriously. that’s how trust is formed. constantly responding to things with the first funny thing you can think of doesn’t build trust and seems pretty childish after a while.

and this is also really important for bucky in particular, who is used to having a partner at his back that he not only trusts, but respects. like, steve and bucky make jokes in the field and have that kind of banter–but that’s after years of working with each other. bucky knows he can fully trust steve to have his back and vice versa, because steve has been honest and open and vulnerable with bucky, their relationship has grown into one of close brothers, and that ability to bond and trust and be open with each other in those off hours builds that trust that in combat, they’re gonna be there for each other. more or less the same with nat–they’re such a well oiled team, they can think about breakfast places or flirt on the battlefield and it doesn’t even occur to either of them to worry if the other is going to flake out on them because they take each other seriously and have been their open and honest selves with each other.

like i can’t speak on clint too much, as i am not a clint barton expert, but his marksmanship is mostly shown with a bow and arrow. and idk a ton about bow and arrow physics, but arrows are way slower than bullets and are greatly affected by wind and air conditions, so to fire arrows with any kind of accuracy at the distances clint does… that’s actually really impressive, and either takes an acute sense of math, angles, trajectories, and calculations to do, or so much practice and familiarity to just know it by gut

bucky works more as a sniper, and definitely works with guns, and it’s not that clint can’t, he just prefers not to, and i definitely think there’s a fair amount of crossover between their marksmanship. the difference, i feel, is that clint got to be good mostly through practice and experience, and obviously correct me if i’m wrong, but it feels more like he was self-taught? vs bucky had all his WWII combat training and was taught to snipe without a scope by doing the calculations in his head on the fly. both men are experts and don’t need assistive equipment to hit the target–and both probably can do both the math and the muscle memory way of shooting–but both have strong suits that are more in line with how they learned.

❝ can i ask you something ?? ❞ jessica didn’t wait for a reply before continuing, no matter his response she’d ask anyway. it wasn’t like she knew that many people with kids, although, she never imaged she’d turn to clint barton for such advice. ❝ what’s the secret to getting a kid to sleep through the night, and you know, actually stay in their bed ?? ❞ not stick to walls and the ceiling...

Felicia raised her eyebrows at him. “What is it that you want from me? You know I’m not really the heroic type...”