#hawk guy

"Alright, here we go. Off the wall, bounced through the corner, off the other wall, through the gap in the vid screens, and on Stark Tower on the map."

"No way in hell."

Clint Barton, my boyfriend, was kicked back in a chair and watching as I planned out my trick shot. We were supposed to have training with Natasha and Maria Hill today, but they'd both been called for some official SHIELD duty or other, so that left me and Clint to do our own training. We were both archers, so we'd decided the best way to train would be a no-holds-barred trick shot competition.

I was winning.

"There's no way in hell that you're gonna be able to do all that and actually hit Stark Tower," said Clint, kicking his feet up on the desk he'd commandeered.

"You underestimate how much I want to pay Stark back for his comments about my aim at New Year's."

"Oh yeah! I totally forgot about that! You almost killed Hill!"

"Yeah yeah, whatever," I said, taking my mark and drawing my bow. "None of that's gonna matter when I beat you in this trick shot contest."

Clint scoffed, but he stayed quiet while I got ready to take my shot. We hadn't quite resulted to sabotaging each other. Yet.

I stared down the length of my bow with laser focus, aiming for just the right spot on the wall to kick off my chain of ricochets. I breathed in and breathed out, and at the tail end of the exhale I released my arrow.

It went so fast I could barely keep track of it, but I heard a thwang as it stuck in the wall. Clint and I turned as one to look at the map, and lo and behold, my arrow was buried in the wall right where Tony Stark's tower was.

"HA! Take that Barton!" I yelled, jumping up and punching the air. Clint stood up and grabbed his bow in one motion, coming to stand in the middle of the room.

"That was impressive. But now it's time for me to regain my honor." He turned in a slow circle to survey his options around the room. He took his time, but once he finally decided, he turned back to me. "I'm gonna skip it off the floor, off the wall, past the corner, off the wall again, and bullseye the center of the door."

I couldn't help snorting. I walked past my boyfriend on my way to lean against the desk, patting him on the shoulder and leaning in to whisper in his ear.

"Good luck with that."

Clint just shot me a cocky grin over his shoulder, then turned around as he drew his bow. If it were anyone else but him trying to make this shot, I would've said they had no chance. But Clint Barton was the master of making impossible shots with his bow and arrow.

Other than me, of course.

Clint breathed in and breathed out, keeping his eyes locked on his target the whole time. I was insanely tempted to fake cough or sneeze, but I stopped myself. I wanted this to be a fair fight.

Clint let his arrow fly, and it seemed to be on the perfect path as it made its way around the room. Unfortunately for both of us, the door flew open right before the arrow got there. Maria Hill and Natasha started walking in, and Maria had to dive out of the way to avoid getting impaled.

"Barton! Y/L/N!" yelled Maria as she popped back up. Natasha was giving us a look too, and Clint and I were smart enough to know exactly what we needed to do.

"Run!" yelled Clint. He didn't even need to say it, because I was already halfway out the back door.

Clint caught up quickly, and the two of us sprinted down the corridors of SHIELD. Sometimes Maria and Natasha would be so done with me and Clint that they wouldn't chase us, but apparently almost nailing them with an arrow was enough to make them run. I could hear their footsteps pounding behind us, and I knew we needed to lose them quickly, or else we were doomed.

"Left!" called Clint. He was right behind me, and he knew the ins and outs of this SHIELD base better than just about anyone else. I dove hard around the corner to the next left, and Clint followed. He sped up to be just a little closer to me, and then he grabbed me around the waist and yanked me to the left again. We were in another hallway, but I doubted it would throw two of the most dangerous agents at SHIELD off for long.

"What are you doing?" I asked, staring at my boyfriend as he wrestled with something on the wall. I glanced over my shoulder, expecting to see Maria glowering at us, but we were still safe so far.

"Finding us a fool-proof hiding spot," he said. He grunted and pulled hard on a mesh vent covering, tearing it out of its place. "Come on!"

I followed him without a second thought. I trusted Clint more than anyone else I'd ever met, and more importantly, I didn't have time to second guess him.

The air ducts at SHIELD were, understandably, massive, so Clint and I both fit fairly comfortably. I helped him wrestle the grate back into place, and we finished the work not a moment too soon. Maria Hill and Natasha came storming down the hallway, and I froze exactly where I was. The slightest sound or movement might be enough to alert the superspies to our presence, and then we'd really be in trouble.

Miraculously, Nat and Maria kept going. They charged down the hallway without even a second glance at our hiding spot!

I sighed in relief and slumped against the metal side of the vent.

"You are amazing," I sighed as Clint sank down next to me.

"Thanks, I know."

I smiled and gave him a light punch in the arm.

"So is this where you disappeared to all those times Fury or Hill or one of the Avengers were trying to find you?"

"Yup. And now you've been trusted with the sacred knowledge of the ultimate hiding spot, too."

"It really is the ultimate hiding spot," I mused, looking around our surroundings. Nobody would think to check for us in here, but it was also perfectly comfortable. We could also make our way around the base without anyone seeing us, which could definitely come in handy later.

"Yeah, I can be pretty awesome sometimes," Clint agreed, an easy smile on his face.

"Don't get too full of yourself," I teased. "We wouldn't even be in this situation if you hadn't missed your shot so badly and almost killed Maria Hill."

"Oh come on, my shot was headed for exactly where I said it was. They opened the door and threw me off."

"Okay, Hawk Guy. Whatever you say."

Clint hummed in annoyance, turning my direction and wrapping both arms around me. He leaned in closer and closer, and I just smiled.

"You know, since I did almost kill Maria Hill, we've got some time to kill up here..." he said, trailing off but raising one eyebrow as he looked at me. I grinned.

"Hm... I can think of some things we could do..."

Clint kept leaning in, and I let him close the distance for a long, lingering kiss. When we broke apart Clint leaned back in for another one, but I spoke before he could do it.

"How do you feel about vent tag?"

Clint's face lit up in a massive, mischievous smile.

"I feel amazing about vent tag."

He kissed me again, much more deeply this time, and then before I knew what was happening he'd dropped me onto the floor of the vent and was crawling off like a madman away from me.

"Hey! Come back here you cheater!"

I took off after him at lightning speed. Clint was my best friend and the love of my life. We could go from kissing to vent tag in .2 seconds, and that was exactly what I looked for in a relationship.