#clint;

He didn’t answer the question. “You shouldn’t be here.” It annoyed him to a small degree how few people knew Loki’s face. Nobody would know the threat this man was until it was too late. How had the other Avengers not discovered Loki was back on Earth already? Why was he the only one who figured it out?

Unless Loki wasn’t actually here, and Clint truly was going insane.

Clint walked into the room in time to hear his name and some giggling. He paused in the doorway. The group didn’t seem to notice him as they talked, asking why he was even an Avenger, he had nothing to give. He rolled his eyes. It wasn’t the first time he’d walked in on someone talking shit about him, and they always seemed to have the same thing to say. How was he an Avenger, he didn’t do anything? He was the lamest one among them, etc etc. It didn’t used to get to him before, he’d just move on with his day. He knew his worth on the team, he knew what he did, he didn’t care if nobody on the outside could see it.

These days, after SHIELD, HYDRA, whatever, left him for dead, he wasn’t so sure about his abilities. He survived and made it back to New York, so he knew he had skill, but the doubt sank in, frequently, about whether the Avengers kept him on the team because he was good, or because they felt some kind of obligation to keep him around.

He had just decided that he suddenly didn’t want to be in this room anymore, when someone spoke up, calling to the group with a sharp ‘Hey!’ He looked over at the man. He had his back to the door, but Clint recognized James Barnes, Steve’s old friend from the past, the so-called Winter Soldier. Clint had spent some time with him. Not a lot, but enough. Clint wouldn’t go so far as to say he trusted the man, but there was something about him that Clint admired, that kept drawing his attention back to Barnes. He couldn’t quite place it.

“Barton has more skill than all of you put together and he’s a better man than you all could ever hope to be. Next time you question why someone is an Avenger, maybe you should be focusing on why you’re not.”

The words surprised him. There weren’t a lot of people who would defend him like that. Natasha would, without a doubt. Tony and Steve might. He hadn’t expected it from Barnes, though. The man turned and saw him, and suddenly seemed embarrassed. Part of Clint wanted to go in and talk to him, but the group that had been making fun of him kept him from moving. A few seconds passed and the group finally seemed to notice him. He made a quick decision.

Morning After || Accepting

From the moment Clint woke, he was fully aware of what happened the night before. He was aware of the woman’s body next to him. He didn’t move, trying to process it. It hadn’t been intentional, at least not at first. They could have stopped at any point, so why hadn’t they?

It took a long moment for him to move, to sit up and run a hand through his hair. He was naked, of course. His clothes were lost somewhere on the floor, but he wasn’t too worried about it. They had to figure out what came next. He wasn’t sure yet whether he regretted it.

Hamilton || Accepting