#god even hawkeye might actually be better than that

[lyriumsings]

i can’t enjoy she hulk shitting on redditors and man babies etc bc it all feels so insincere tbh like you admit there’s rampant misogyny and racism but that’s another story and yet made it a point to slim down she hulk, made her hair and face like perfectly coiffed and conventionally pretty in she hulk form, shoved in 50 million cameos bc you knew she couldn’t rate the way you’d want her to without them (imo she still didn’t even with them milking them fuck outta matt’s appearance) and her entire show revolves around “why can’t i find a MAN thaT LOVES MEEEE” yes very empowering very not forced and natural

[thebreakfastgenie]

5 underrated M*A*S*H episodes (define "underrated" as you please).

For the Good of the Outfit This is one the episodes that most openly condemns the army. It's also just really good.

White Gold Ken Levine, who cowrote Preventative Medicine, said White Gold was better. He was right. It's another knockout in terms of politics and it's funny as hell.

Pilot I don't think it gets recognized enough for being a really good pilot. It's also a good episode! The twist of Hawkeye rigging the raffle for Mulcahy actually surprised me the first time and must have been fresh in 1972!

Say No More This is one of the few episodes in season 11, besides the finale, that I actually rewatch. I think the story of Hawkeye and the general whose son he works on really packs a punch. It's one of the few that really nails late war Hawkeye. He doesn't get visibly angry like he might have a few seasons earlier. He doesn't take a swing, he doesn't even yell. But it's not because he's gone soft on the army; you can see in his eyes that the anger is still there, he just doesn't have the energy to really get angry. He's not going easy on this general, he's just tired. I think that sets up his mental state going into the finale better than any other episode.

Chief Surgeon Who I think this one gets more attention than some on this list, but not the attention it deserves. This is the only episode I think works as an alternate introduction to the series (if you're making an intentional introduction and not just catching reruns like god intended). It's a really good look at some of the dynamics in the cast and shows us multiple sides of Hawkeye. There's Hawkeye in his robe mouthing off to Henry, Hawkeye at the party strutting around having fun, and Hawkeye taking his work seriously. It shows him as a good leader and teacher as well as an excellent surgeon. It's crucial to understanding him and his motives. And as a bonus, it's the first appearance of Klinger!

For the most part I was looking for episodes that were underrated on mashblr, but I was ideally aiming for episodes also underrated by the general audience. There are a lot of episodes that are partially underrated (e.g. one scene is beloved in isolation and the rest of an equally good episode is overlooked) and I didn't include those but it would be fun to talk about sometime!

[majorbaby]

And now I'm curious whether you're planning to check out RTD's second run on Doctor Who, or if you're wary and waiting to see how it goes, or if you're uninterested entirely. I admit I'm curious, but for me it probably depends a lot on how much it leans into Moffat and Chibnall's style of playing around with the show's established canon, vs how much it does its own thing and moves on from that. Plus RTD def has his own flaws too lol, though I've pretty much only heard good things about his post-DW dramas so I've got hope.

i'm gonna try this new thing where i actually answer the question being asked up front and then i put all my optional "and also" thoughts under a cut: i'm famously bad at watching things on my watchlist but what matters is i want to watch it. this has more to do with my love and trust of RTD's writing than it does with me wanting to go back to the whoniverse.

and also...

very very important disclaimer that it's been years since i watched doctor who but i've been meaning to recently for nine-hawkeye parallel reasons (cowardly hero, bad god) so some of this might be off: i'm so appreciative of my doctor who years because i really fell completely in love with that world and my love for the doctor is surpassed only by my love for a select few of the companions. i also learned from DW that you can definitely love parts of a thing without loving the whole and that's fine - in fact, i think that is what we are meant to do with DW specifically. there are themes to the character of the doctor and recurring motifs but they're all nodded to and i don't really think it's possible for such a long running show/character with so many writers involved to even have a singular arc for its protagonist.

i view it as being similar to comic books. what is the overall "arc" of batman? it's just the same guy in a billion situations, and your different 'actors' are your different writers who write him. i think you can say new things about the world with the doctor or say something about the doctor in a new way but i'm skeptical if you can say new things about the doctor with the doctor and i don't think he should be used that way and RTD seemed to understand that.

i also just generally prefer 'monster of the week' style to 'story arcs' and i found RTD did that more often. i'd go even further and say it's a better way to do doctor who because when i zoom out i find that dw's seasons are episodic, because of how much there is. the episodes are the seasons and the seasons belonging to an actor are the arcs because they're all playing the doctor their own way and what we refer to as 'eras' are moreso eras of main writer/showrunner to me than they are eras of actors playing the doctor. and i think RTD understood this too.

i'm not saying let's throw out story arcs all together, RTD pulled off the arc of all time with 'i am the bad wolf' so it can be done well i just found moffat in contrast to be very 'this is an ARC', let me show you what an ARC is you sheeple'. anyway not to make this a steven moffat hatepost - but it is always correct to make a steven moffat hatepost is it not? this immortal post sums up my feelings about his writing pretty well and an obligatory: well if steven moffat writes so badly with such confidence then why can't i????

so no need for me to return to that world just because i've loved previous iterations. i'd go back because i really i like RTD a lot and it's also nice to be genuinely excited for who. i was excited for there to be a woman doctor because i remember a time when i genuinely believed there could never be a woman doctor but i was out of it for so many years by the time 13 came around and i was so disillusioned by the moffat years. so i sort of waved at the fandom when that happened, good for them!! about time!! i also like 12 a lot and i think peter capaldi is brilliant but when i watched it it wasn't the same for me as before. so actor appeal and world appeal don't really do it for me. it does come down to the writing.

all that said, i am a guy who loves when a story ends. i think nostalgia is overrated and bad and right now it's grip on cinema and audiences is very very bad. so i was kind of meh about david tennant returning. i like ten but he's not my favourite and he had a very good run and got his due, i don't personally need more of him. i would've liked more of nine because i felt he did not get his due, even though they still wrapped on nine very well. but it's clear to me that eccleston has moved on so i also would not want him back either.

donna, well, if there must be a returning companion from the ten years than yeah i'm happy it's donna because their dynamic is truly chef's kiss and catherine tate is brilliant and i'm not married to her tragic ending, i do think she deserved better than that. but i would still prefer someone new because i always lean towards 'new stories'.

if 'a returning character named rose' turns out to be anything other than a character who shares the same name as rose and the parallels are all projected on by the fans, then i will riot lol. rose's ending was perfect and i don't want it to change and just like you, i'm not interested in her being immortal or even coming back to help the doctor save the world again. if it were not for RTD i would not even consider watching more of "rose". it's true that some past companions have returned (my sarah jane <3) but i think if it's not kept to a minimum then that's bad for the doctor who ecosystem. new stories! new opportunities for other actors and writers!

other reasons i like RTD: he clearly still has a passion for doctor who, he's usually doesn't miss with his companions, he knows how to do tragedy and romance while having respect for his audience, he's smart writer and he's an overall strong writer.

tbh i should check out his other stuff because i like him so much and since i'm saying i'm coming back for his writing and not for the world as much. but also i'm really excited for ncuti gatwa's 15th doctor and i hope RTD stays on to write him, so maybe this is how i find my way back to doctor who.

[boogisstuff]

Matt isn't human

*Cambion

Demons are interdimensional beings

Demons wanted another gateway to achieve more power in human world

Bib. Couple has a threesome with demon. Demon Middle man for semen idk, demonology is weird

Daimon Hellstrom, aka Son of Satan, is that. A hero though, and renound demonologist. Team with defenders and Ghost Rider against demon possession

*Jack and Maddie want but can't have -or have but loose a baby-. One of them ends up making a deal with something unholy. It ends up adding guilt to a wrecked mind. Maggie tries to baptize the thing she brought into t’his world. He screams as the priest begins, as is normal. What wasn't, was the way he shrieked as the water kissed his skin–and ran into his eyes. it leaves him blind. Doctors say he had an allergic reaction to the oils, maybe something from the basin. 

*It's what makes Maddie snap. Jack becomes devoted to making Matt good. Teaches him to be kind, chivalrous, use his head not fists, even sends him to church. His ginger hair grows darker and darker until it matched his mother's. Complete with her curls. His eyes, also blue like hers, but far too bright to be natural, grow into an amber not unlike his own. His baby looks like everything he'd imagined since the most important person in his life promised a second important person. He makes himself believe the water burned the devil from his boy; left only the good parts.

*Still gets hit by the truck. Super senses. Trained by Stick, (who no one else can see?). Jack doesn't die, but is beat so bad he'll never fight again. He struggles to find work; lives off Creed fight, disability, donations, goodwill, and whatever odd jobs Matty can snag. Had Matt taken by Social services a few times. 

*Recovering from Midland circle; Maddie tells him. Tells him who he is to her, how he came to be.

{"What am I!?" He’d asks ghost rider}

He brings misfortune, pain, to everyone around him

*He has a breakdown. When he started hearing prayers he thought it was a mission from God. Now, realizes it's the tools of the devil. He takes back the "I'd rather die was Daredevil then live as Matt Murdock" skips straight to suicide. Inspires him to get back to Matt Murdock. He meets foggy for no alternative reasons. Trying so hard to stay out of DD. Foggy can tell he's not doing well. Matt tells Foggy what's up. Foggy realizes how bad it is, and tells him that the accident that gave him his senses had nothing to do with the devil

*dd joins an occult team with his older cuz. The Son of Satan; Daimon Hellstrom. (a real comic character not an OC. A former priest-hopeful and current occult expert, he’s pretty dedicated to fighting demons. However, seeing as his father, Satan, also impregnated a human woman as a means of gaining power I feel he might beagle to empathize a bit with Matty’s situation)

*Most people, even his teammates don't actually know if Daredevil’s occult or not. Citizens are fairly unsure. But then you get to those who interact with him, and they're even more unsure. 

*Basically, you meet and think he's just a guy in a mask. Then he's weird and you start thinking he is demonic, especially after finding out about Son of Satan. But SoS, when asked, just says he's part of the team because he's resistant to possession and knows Hell's kitchen better than anyone. Plus, moon knight is also part and sometimes defenders and punisher gets involved. (Hawkeye tried once and just got so confused) and DD is majorly unhelpful. Plus, only believes in the devil as a concept of temptation or sin.

*Holy objects affect him different. He's got darksoul but also human soul and is a confirmed Catholic. Bc he's only half (and was made different that SoS) he has a natural resistance, powers or nah. Works as dual souls, where if one is weakened, i.e. bc human Matt is dying, other rises to fill the void. As darksoul takes over holy objects have more effect. Cross gets hotter.

[noxnthea]

Where is the Black Widow’s deadliest domain? 

A: The World Wide Web!

—

Clint & Bucky, Clint & Natasha, pranks, polka

—

Clint looks down at his phone and sighs. 

Bucky nods at him from the fridge. “What’s up?” 

Clint frowns harder at his phone. “I can’t seem to figure out how to unsubscribe to these emails.” 

“What did you subscribe to?” 

“That’s the thing,” Clint says. “I didn’t subscribe to any of these.” He slides his phone across the counter to Bucky. 

Bucky picks up the phone and starts scrolling. A funding plea for Cornhuskers Co-Op was followed by helpful hints from Farsighted Folks International. Get Ripped Now. Caffeine Addicts Recovery. Anti-Archery Anonymous. “Have you tried getting Tony involved?” 

Clint huffs. “He just laughed and told me that even I should be able to figure out how to use an unsubscribe button. Which — duh. I’m a fuckin’ spy, man, I know how to internet.” He thumps his head on the counter, annoyed. “I’ve unsubscribed, blocked the addresses, changed my actual email account — they’re relentless.” He looks up at Bucky, eyes suddenly sad. “I’ve got so much spam I’ve been missing my coffee coupons.” 

—

Clint crashes into the kitchen at three in the morning, eyes wild. “They’re following me! I swear to god!” 

Bucky flips the lights on, all the better to try and understand Clint’s particular brand of crazy; they’d had many a post-nightmare midnight meet-up, but he doesn’t think this is that. He takes stock of Clint’s appearance. “You’re being followed?” 

Clint thrusts his laptop in Bucky’s face — too close, actually, for Bucky to read anything — and points frantically at a username that Bucky leans back to read. PizzaisanAbomination. "Look — look — this is the same person, same soulless spawn of satan, who posted all those horrible comments on my ‘Hawkeye’s on the Pies’ video last week!” 

Oh man, that had not been a fun five hours, as Clint ranted and raged at the person who refuted why his weekly pizza joint of the week review was wrong. The cheese, the sauce, the crust — even the restaurant decor was systematically destroyed in HawkeyeIsTheWorstAvenger’s comments. 

“It’s a different username,” Bucky points out tentatively. 

Clint whips his laptop away. “It’s them. I can tell. They’ve followed me to instagram, and —” he switches tabs, spinning it to face Bucky. “They’re on my Tumblr account, too, and that’s not even associated with On the Pies.”

—

“If I see one more Polka video, I might actually murder someone.” 

Bucky stares at the back of his eyelids for a moment longer, then begrudgingly opens them to look at Clint, who had unceremoniously banged into his bedroom to flop on his bed a minute ago. “Don’t we kind of do that anyways?”

Clint blows out a breath. “Only the bad guys though. This might lead to murder of a civilian. Or however many people I need to kill to fix my fucking TikTok algorithm.” 

Bucky rolls onto his side, rueing the day he decided to leave Hydra.  “Isn’t the algorithm supposed to only give you things you like?” 

“Exactly. And mine is not .” He punctuates each syllable with a vicious swipe, a fresh blast of loud, discordant accordion music following each movement. “I don’t get it,” he exclaims, as though it isn’t 5am after getting back from a mission less than two hours ago when any other sane person would be trying to sleep. “I hate polka! I’ve steered clear of anything that might get me these videos. I don’t interact, I don’t watch, I don’t like — there is no reason polka should be showing up on my For You Page, none.” 

Bucky nods in agreement. “You do hate polka. You’ve made that very clear.” Very, very clear. “We all know you hate polka. I know”  —he thinks of the time Clint had decided to spend all of a training session telling him about it— “Steve and Tony know” — he remembers the night in Poland when Steve suggested they visit a dancehall post-mission — “Natasha knows” — he cringes at the memory of — 

“Natasha.” Clint’s voice is a hiss in the darkness. “I’m going to murder her.” 

—

Bucky finds her three days later at the coffee shop in the Tower lobby, though it’s more likely that she allowed herself to be found. He pulls out a chair as she takes a dainty sip of her latte. “That was kind of terrible of you.” 

She smiles around the rim of the mug. “Kind of hilarious you mean.” 

“Well, yeah.” He glances around the room. “I think he’s in Belarus right now. Somewhere in Eastern Europe.” 

She nods. “There or the Czech Republic, depending which file he opened.” At his head tilt, her smile grows. “The Czech one ends at a polka hall.” 

“And the Belarus?” 

“The International Polka Festival, of course.” 

Bucky shakes his head with a laugh. “What’d he do this time?” 

“Made a really bad joke about spiders and the World Wide Web.” She leans back in her chair. “The punishment fit the crime.” 

--

other halloween joke ficlets here!

[amrv-5]

OK OK OK As a writer myself I know this is BAD to ask… but considering there are two major ways of reading the AoS epilogue (they are both actually dead and in an imagined/real afterlife vs BJ was ‘turned’ and they both run off into the sunset together)… in your heart of hearts… what do you feel happened? I ask only because yday when I expressed my EXTREME sadness you commented back something that would imply to me that the latter interpretation might be the ‘true’ one? I KNOW IT doesn’t WORK LIKE THIS BUT!!! I KNOW it’s MEANT TO BE OPEN TO INTERPRETATION I KNOW THIS!!! I do! But.

@partlyironic SADLKFSJFJA I AM SO SO SORRY I NEED U TO KNOW IN MY HEART OF HEARTS I THOUGHT THIS WAS A HAPPY ENDING. I THINK I AM POSSIBLY BAD AT CATEGORIZING GENRE IT TURNS OUT AND I AM. SO SO AORRY. INTERPRETATION UNDER THE CUT BC IT GOT REALLY LONG

Ough again I am so sorry LOL. Okay I'll say in my mind when I initially wrote this, I was thinking of a sort of "medium" happy ending. Like, they're both too deep in at this point to just Go Home like nothing has changed. Hawkeye would be an active danger to his father / community, and, if BJ brought him home, would be the same to his wife and kid, hence "You found me in a war zone, BJ. There’s nothing you could pick up in a minefield you should take home to your family." He sees the path he's on and thinks, okay, well, this could be the last time I'm really "human." Maybe I can get this under control, maybe I can't, but I can't know, and it's the best thing to do to remove the risk entirely.

And so I envisioned that as a sort of dual Lot's wife / Orpheus moment for BJ. I wanted to sort of set up this idea of, okay, if he 'looks back,' so to speak, what's going to happen? Well, one idea is that Hawkeye kills him, now or later. Pillar of salt'd, and Sodom still burns. But then again, if BJ can do this, maybe Eurydice/Hawk is "saved" from the underworld (becoming monstrous), and lives on in memory, not as a shade. But he doesn't really account for a third option, which is, like, what if Orpheus looked back, saw Eurydice get yanked into the underworld, and just...followed? Like, okay, not ideal, but better to be together in hell than separate in life. And the thing about pillars of salt/ash is that they don't burn. They can just hang out in a flaming city no problem. Sure, some things are worse now: their options are really limited, for one, as it's pretty damned hard to go back to your old human life when you're just loose ash, and also it's hard to do a lot of other things when your city that you love more than anything, more than even God, maybe, is on fire all the time, but if you really love your city (and it turns out that you do) you're going to stay with it.

That's more or less how I saw this ending. It's the "happiest" ending possible under the circumstances. Though I will say I initially wrote it with the idea in mind that BJ's still fully human (in body.....) and Hawk's in some ambiguous, you-interpret-how-much-of-him-is-still-human state. But so far people seem to be reading it as they're both immortal, which, while not something that honestly ever entered my mind while writing, makes total sense, and is definitely not a bad reading at all.

Re: the afterlife thing... hmmmmmmg very very very interesting. I'll say that interpretation literally never came to mind at all LOL I was thinking of it as all very concrete, especially after Hawk's speech to Frank and later BJ about the Nothingness of death, but I'm intrigued! But then again what's an afterlife, really. This could be an afterlife of sorts. Especially given that one (or both, depending on your reading) of the guys did definitively die. It's an afterlife of some sort for Hawkeye, at least, and the rest is who knows what.

anyway I AM SORRY IF THIS WAS VERY SAD UNINTENTIONALLY BUT THANK U SO SO SO MUCH FOR READING AAAAAA <3

[avengerscompound]

Small Gods: First Cup - 4

First Cup: A Hawkeye Fanfic

First Cup Masterlist | More Small Gods PREVIOUS //

Buy me a ☕ Character Pairing:  Clint Barton x F!Reader

Rating: E

Word Count:  1890

Warnings: nothing

Synopsis: Clint Barton has a coffee addiction.  One day that addiction brings him to The Elysian Fields coffee shop where he meets you.  Soon Clint feels like his addiction isn’t just caffeine-based.  But things are not as they seem.  With a store that only appears under certain conditions, no customers, and a dog the size of a Dire Wolf, Clint isn’t sure there’s not more going on with you and he isn’t sure how to figure out if his feelings are real or just a side effect of his addiction.

Chapter 4

Clint wondered if it was possible to be addicted to another person.  Not just in a psychological way where you just felt better around a person than when you were apart, but in an actual physical addiction where the chemicals of the brain were altered and you’d go through withdrawals if you didn’t see them.  Where you experienced a real high when you were together, and when you were apart you started to feel like you couldn’t quite function properly anymore and all you could think of was when you could get back together again.

That’s how Clint was starting to feel about you.  Each time he saw you it was like a rush.  His energy spiked and he felt jittery in an excitable way.  Where he could talk a mile a minute and there was nothing he could do wrong.  When you were apart, his thoughts were overwhelmed by thoughts of when he could see you again and if he went too long, he started to feel a little sluggish and hard to get started.

He was beginning to think maybe it wasn’t a healthy attachment. 

Maybe it was just infatuation mixed with his caffeine addiction.  You did always make him promise to wait to have his first cup of coffee when he came to see you after all.  And - you always met him with some new brew containing at least three shots of espresso and often a lot of sugar to go with it.  Maybe all this was a genuine connection superimposed over a caffeine high.

He needed to pick the feelings apart.  But not only that, he needed to work out what it was you were getting from the relationship outside of the really fucking amazing sex you'd been having.  And goddamn, if the sex wasn't phenomenal.  That kind of world-shattering seeing god type of sex that lasted hours and left you fully sated.  Though if Clint was being honest with himself - that might be mostly your doing as well.

That's why he had already had a coffee when he went to meet you at the dog park.  He figured that if he could smother the caffeine withdrawal and subsequent high by getting them out of the way first he could make sure this thing he felt was real and not bordering on some kind of chemical dependency to your company.

That was the plan anyway.  He'd been sitting at the park for an hour now and there was no sign of you.

He couldn’t believe that you would have just stood him up like that.  Things had been going so well.  He wasn’t sure if he should be hurt or worried.  He spent ten minutes deciding if he should try and call you - on one hand wanting to make sure you were fine, and on the other hand not wanting to be the guy who called up whining when the girl he liked didn’t like him back.

He picked up his phone and dialed Natasha.  She had picked up before he’d even moved the signal to his hearing aid.  “She stood me up,” he complained.

“And you’re calling me?” Natasha replied without skipping a beat.  “Shouldn’t you be calling her?”

“I don’t know?  Should I?  What if she doesn’t want to talk to me and I’m just the guy who can’t take a hint?” Clint asked.

“Or what if she got busy and hasn’t had a chance to get out?  Or what if she had an accident on the way over to you?  Or what if - and god forbid, Clint - what if someone who’s out to get you noticed you always around her?” Natasha reasoned.

“You think…?” Clint asked.

“How about this;” Natasha said.  “I’ll meet you over at her coffee shop.  If she’s there and it was a mistake or she got busy, well, we’ll get a coffee and no harm done.  If she’s not there, we worry and I’m there to help get to the bottom of it.  If she did intentionally stand you up without giving a reason, I’ll kick her ass for you.”

“Yeah?” Clint said, letting out a breath and feeling grateful once again that Natasha Romanoff was his best friend.  “You’ll do that?”

“Of course, dummy,” she answered.  “Now give me the address.���

Clint rattled it off and hung up.  He was now nervous again.  What if something had happened to you?  What if he had been sitting in the park and some asshole had kidnapped you as a way to get at the Avengers.

He made his way to your shop with Lucky on his heels and arrived as Natasha pulled up on her motorcycle.  He jogged up to meet her, hugging her after she packed her helmet into the seat of her bike.

“Hey, dummy,” she said, rubbing his back.  “So where’s this coffee shop?”

“Right here,” Clint said, pulling back from the hug and gesturing vaguely behind him.  He’d been there enough to know he was in the right spot without looking.

“Ha-ha.  Very funny,” Natasha deadpanned.  “I’m not going searching up and down the street again as part of a joke.  Is your girlfriend in trouble or not?”

Clint turned to look at the space between the barber and the vintage clothing store that he knew Elysian Fields stood, confused at what joke Natasha was aiming for.  He stopped dead.  It was gone.  Once again the space where the shop should stand just wasn’t there.  He turned around to get his bearings.  This was definitely it.  He’d been here dozens and dozens of times now and he knew it the same way as he knew the street this apartment block sat on.  “What the hell?  It was here!” he said, gesturing to the wall.

“Clint - I swear to Thor, if you have invented a girlfriend and a coffee shop just to make me run up and down this street for no reason - twice - as some kind of prank, I’m going to kill you,” she warned.  “I was genuinely worried about this woman you’ve been allegedly seeing.”

“I’m not making it up, Nat!” Clint yelped, gesturing at the space the coffee shop should be inhabiting.  “It was right here.  It’s always right here!  I’ve been going to it pretty much every day for the past three months!’

He felt like he was losing his mind.  He knew he hadn’t hallucinated it.  There had been touch and coffee.  He’d fucked you in at least a dozen different positions and you’d fucked him in a few of those same positions.

Natasha pulled out her phone and began to dial.

“Who are you calling?” Clint asked.

“Stephen Strange,” she answered, simply and Clint slammed his hand down on the phone so fast, it nearly knocked it out of her hand.

“Clint!” Natasha shouted.  “What the hell? Idiot!”

Despite the fact the word idiot was the same in English and Russian, Clint could tell, she was cursing him out in Russian specifically.  “Not Doctor Strange.  He’s so fucking full of himself.”

“Clint.  Yastrebok,” Natasha sighed.  “Either there is some magic at play here that has now made your girlfriend and the shop she owns disappear, or you’re having some kind of breakdown where you have invented a girlfriend, her coffee shop, and her giant fucking dog.  In either case, Strange can help better than anyone else we know.”

Clint sighed and let go of her phone.  “I really hate magic.”

“I know you do, yastrebok.  I know you do.”

Clint was starting to panic by the time Stephen Strange showed up.  It didn’t even really take him that long to get there.  A call with Natasha that involved quite a bit of swearing in what Clint thought might be Tibetan, which he didn’t know if Natasha knew, or Mandarin which he knew she knew, and then a brief wait while Natasha claimed he was putting on pants, and then a portal opened up in the street and he stepped through with his pajamas on under the annoying red cloak he always wore.

“This had better be good,” Strange complained.  “I was up all night fighting a Demogorgon.  I barely got any sleep and I haven’t had my coffee today.”

“Alright well, like I was saying on the phone,” Natasha said.  “Clint has been seeing this woman for a few months now.  They were supposed to meet at the dog park today only she was a no-show.  Clint called me and I said I’d meet him at her coffee shop and we’d ask why she didn’t show if she was there and if something had happened to her, we’d figure out what was next.  Only we get here and not only is she not here, but neither is her coffee shop.”

“You mean, that coffee shop there?” Strange said, indicating to the stores in front of them.

Clint and Natasha turned to look where he was pointing.  Between the Barber and the Vintage Clothing store black door and the window with ‘The Elysian Fields’ written in gold had reappeared.

“What the fuck?” Clint said, rushing forward and touching his hand on the cool timber of the door.

“I swear to Thor himself this wasn’t here, Strange,” Natasha said, taking a few steps toward the shop.  “There was nothing here.  It went barber and then clothing.  Not even an empty shop in between.”

Strange raised an eyebrow and took a step forward putting one hand on his head and holding the other out.  “There is a lot of magical residue here.  You know what the Elysian Fields are, don't you?”

“Like heaven, right?” Natasha said.  “In Greek Mythology.”

“Closer to Valhalla.   Where warriors go to receive their eternal reward,” Strange explained.

“So what?  We’re all dead and our reward is good coffee?” Clint asked, turning back to look at him.

“Or it’s just the name she chose,” Strange said.

“Well, I’m going in,” Clint said, shoving the door open, creating the familiar tinkle of the bell above the door.  “Come on, Lucky.”

Lucky trotted on happily behind him as Clint stepped into the room.  It was as empty and inviting as it always was, and you were in your usual spot by the fireplace.  You jumped up when you saw him.  “Oh my god, Clint!” you gasped, rushing over to him and throwing your arms around his shoulders.  “I didn’t think I’d get to see you today.”

Clint automatically wrapped his arms around you and buried his face in your neck.  All thought about weird, disappearing coffee shops and being mad about you standing him up, flew out of his mind and were replaced by the intoxicating scent of vanilla and coffee.

“We were supposed to meet at the dog park,” Clint murmured into your skin. “Why weren't you there? And what happened to your shop?”

“Yes, I have some questions too,” Strange interjected.  You pulled back from Clint to look at where Strange and Natasha were standing in the doorway.  Hati stood and began to pad his way over. He moved slowly and deliberately, somehow appearing even larger and more menacing than usual. “For starters, why is your cafe doused in divine magic?” He drew his hands back and snapped his wrists, two rings of runic magic circled each hand and Hati started growling.  “And why exactly are you housing a Warg?”

// NEXT

[blazingparker]

What’s Up, Danger?

**so this is the fic that the lovely @snowstark allowed me to run by them to make sure it made sense to other people and not just my own brain. i really, really hope you enjoy it!

read it on ao3!

Summary: When Peter Parker gets bitten by a radioactive spider in his college’s lab, he doesn’t expect anything that comes next. Not becoming Spider-Man, not being hunted down by the Avengers, and definitely not a secret friendship with Tony Stark.

--

“So, let me get this straight. You want us to hunt down the one superhero in New York City that’s not mooching off my bank account, force him to tell us who he is, and then try and get him to join the team?” Tony could not believe what he was hearing. He sat back in his seat at the head of the table and stared straight ahead at Nick Fury.

“We don’t know that he’s a superhero,” Fury drawled, relaxing in his chair at the other end of the table. “He could be more evil than we know.”

“Yeah, I’m sure the guy plucking kittens out of trees and helping lost old Dominican ladies with directions is a supervillain in the making,” Tony deadpanned, clearly not impressed.

“Tony, orders are orders.” God, Steve was infuriating.

“Tell me, do you ever question anything or are you a walking lapdog?” Tony and Steve glared at each other until Natasha cleared her throat, breaking the tension in the room.

“Look, we’ll bring him in.” At Tony’s look of indignance, she raised a hand. “There’s no reason to go out there guns blazing, though. He hasn’t done anything to warrant that. If we show up looking ready to fight, he’ll avoid us. We will handle this professionally. With tact.” On the last word she stared pointedly at Tony, who pretended not to notice.

“So long as this ends with us knowing who’s behind the mask, I don’t care how you get it done,” Fury said as he stood. “I’ll let Pierce know you’re on board. That should get the prick off my back for a while.” With that, he left the room to the six Avengers sitting around the table.

“What is it with you and going along with whatever SHIELD wants?” Tony barked out, and Steve crossed his arms.

“SHIELD knows what’s best to keep this world safe. We should trust them to give us missions that are important and best left unquestioned.”

“Yeah, I don’t think telling us to beat up the guy who saved the owner of that deli that got blown up last week qualifies.” Tony huffed out an irritated sigh.

“Look, let’s just try and approach him one-on-one,” Natasha suggested. “That way no one feels threatened. Maybe one of us can form a relationship with the guy, get him to trust us.” When no one voiced an objection, she continued. “Tony, you can go first since you’re so protective of the guy.”

“Protective?! I am not-” Natasha left the room before Tony could finish.

---

The first thing Tony noticed when observing Spider-Man was that the guy had absolutely no self-preservation instincts. He literally flung himself off the top of a building, whooping and hollering all the way down until he almost made a little spider puddle on the ground before finally shooting out a web and swinging away. The guy ran into a burning building without a second thought and came back out with a kid in his arms.

That last incident was how Tony finally had the chance to speak with him. By tracking him with JARVIS, he saw that Spider-Man had stopped at a local playground. It looked like he was taking a breather, and was even more likely given the guy had just inhaled massive amounts of smoke. He suited up and flew over to the spot, clearly catching Spider-Man by surprise.

“Hey there, Spider-Man. Or should I call you Danger-Man, since you seem to have a knack for running right towards it?” Tony landed a respectable distance from where Spider-Man was perched on top of the jungle gym.

“What can I do for you?” Okay, so Spider-Man was young. His voice told Tony that much.

“Look, I’m not gonna lie to you. Nick Fury sent me. Us. The Avengers. But it’s just me for now.” Already, Spider-Man had visibly tensed. If Tony could see his eyes behind those pathetic goggles, he’d bet good money that they had narrowed considerably.

“What do you want.” Spider-Man said, his tone conveying it was a demand that Tony tell him now, not a question anymore.

“We want to know who you are. What makes you tick. What made you put on that god awful excuse for a suit and run into a burning building today.”

“Not all of us are billionaires, Stark. Some of us have to work with what we’ve got, and I haven’t really got much.” Tony’s mouth quirked up in a half-smile at that and he huffed out a laugh. Spider-Man’s quips were infamous, and now he could see why. The guy was good.

“Look,” Tony allowed his faceplate to flip up. Maybe that would help relax the agitated vigilante in front of him. Being able to look at his eyes had to be better than a titanium-alloy mask. “For the record, I was against this plan. I told Mr. Eyepatch up there that we should leave you alone.”

“Then why aren’t you?” Spider-Man sounded a little surprised at that admission.

“I got outvoted. The Avengers are a democracy, apparently. Cap’s a real bitch about it. I preferred the authoritarian model.” Tony sniffed, glancing away before looking back at Spider-Man when he chuckled quietly.

“Good to know you really are the big happy family that they show on the news,” Spider-Man shot back. Tony couldn’t help a real grin from forming that time.

“Oh yeah, big time. Ever seen Annie? It’s like that. Except Annie is actually the entire team and I’m Daddy Warbucks for all of them.” After a moment of shared laughter, things grew quiet again. Tony took a step forward, counting it as a win when Spider-Man didn’t scramble to get away.

“I’ll leave you alone from now on, since that’s clearly what you want. On one condition.”

“What’s that?” Spider-Man sounded wary but intrigued.

“Gimme your number.”

“Excuse me?!”

“Just because I’m gonna leave you alone doesn’t mean the others will. If they pull some stupid shit while trying to convince you to tell them who you are, I wanna know. Give me your number.”

“How would I call you if you have my number?”

“I’ll call you first.” Tony was surprised to find he actually truly did mean it. Spider-Man just stared at him for a second before rattling off a phone number and disappearing into the night.

This definitely wasn’t ideal. Tony knew that. But at least this way he had a way of knowing if the team went too far in their attempts to complete the mission.

Grinning, Tony plugged the number into his phone before hesitating over the space left for the contact’s name. He didn’t know Spider-Man’s identity, and definitely couldn’t plug in Spider-Man in case anyone ever saw. Remembering his very first quip to the vigilante, his thumbs flew over the screen.

Danger.

---

Over the course of the next few weeks, Tony and Spider-Man struck up a routine. After each encounter with the Avengers, Spider-Man would give him a call and let him know how it went down. Luckily, things hadn’t gotten violent yet.

Tony was also finding himself...attached. To this masked vigilante from Queens. Something that made absolutely no sense and was probably going to end in disaster for them both. This guy clearly wanted nothing to do with the Avengers - no matter how friendly the two of them had become.

A ringtone disrupted Tony from his thoughts and he grabbed his phone, smiling a little when he read the screen.

Incoming call from: Danger

“What’s up, Danger?” Tony asked as he answered, pushing back from the lab table he was stationed at and walking to the window.

“Are you ever not going to answer the phone that way?” An exasperated voice came from the other end of the line. Tony grinned. He’d taken to always answering with the same “what’s up, danger?” First, it had been because he didn’t want anyone to walk in and hear him greeting Spider-Man. But slowly, it was becoming an inside joke with the two of them.

“Not a chance. But c’mon, gimme the rundown,” Tony said, gazing out over the New York City skyline as though he might see Spider-Man if he looked hard enough.

“Cap and Widow came this time. Gave me the same rundown, telling me they were running out of options and didn’t want to have to resort to other measures,” Spider-Man informed him. His voice dipped lower on the last few words in an imitation of Steve’s voice. Tony’s blood ran cold at that, and he quickly sat down on the nearest chair.

Why was he so afraid for Spider-Man all of a sudden? They were just pals. The guy was a vigilante that clearly had enhanced strength and other powers and could take care of himself.

“What the hell does that mean?” Tony asked, clenching his jaw.

“I didn’t exactly stick around to find out,” Spider-Man said with a laugh. “You could ask him though.”

“And risk him finding out exactly how I knew of this threat? Not a chance. Then things would just get worse,” Tony explained with a sigh.

“You really don’t need to be so worried. I can take care of myself.”

“I’m not worried.” The words came out just a little bit too fast, and Spider-Man chuckled.

“Sure, Tones.” The nickname sent..something through Tony. Not affection. It was not affection. Nothing like that. “Anyway, I gotta hang up. Got readings to get done.”

“So you’re in college!” Tony cried triumphantly, waving a hand in the air to try and tell JARVIS to add that to the file he had on Spider-Man. When there was silence on the other end of the line, he sobered up a bit. “I’m not gonna look into it. Promise.”

Another beat of silence.

“Alright. Talk to you later, Tony.”

---

The next time Tony’s phone rang, he was eating dinner with Natasha and Rhodey after being dragged out of his lab. When he saw Danger flash across the screen, he quickly excused himself and walked out of hearing range.

“What’s up, Danger?”

“Would you tell Hawkeye over there to quit it with the arrow-fest?” Tony’s eyebrows just about disappeared into his hairline and he clutched the phone a little tighter. He could hear Spider-Man’s breath coming fast, like he’d just finished swinging. He probably had.

“The what?” He asked, voice edging on a growl.

“He and Thor showed up, tried to ask me again. When I made it clear I wasn’t interested in joining the Brady Bunch and tried to leave, he took a shot at me. Without my danger sense, I definitely would’ve been hit.” Another interesting fact about Spider-Man, but Tony couldn’t pay attention to that now.

“He-fuck, I’m so sorry. That was never-I didn’t know. I’m sorry.” Tony ran a hand through his hair exasperatedly.

“It’s fine, Tony. You didn’t take the shot at me,” Spider-Man insisted. “I can handle a few pissed-off Avengers. Really.” After a moment of Tony trying to come up with a response, the vigilante spoke again with a softer voice. “Tony, I’m okay. It’s not your fault. I’m not hurt, I’m safe at home.”

Somehow, the knot that had been growing in Tony’s chest eased at hearing Spider-Man was safe at home. He nodded before realizing he was on the phone and that response wouldn’t really work. “Alright, as long as you’re safe.” Where the hell did that come from? “I-I hate to cut this short but I walked out on Rhodey and Nat and-”

“-and if you’re gone too long, the jig is up. No worries, I get it. I’ll call you tomorrow.” Tony couldn’t stop a smile at the understanding in the man’s voice.

“Talk tomorrow.”

---

After that phone call, Spider-Man’s run-ins with the Avengers got increasingly volatile. While Clint had admitted to losing his cool when he shot the arrow and acknowledged it had been a mistake, they’d lost whatever trust they’d built up with Spider-Man.

Well, the others had. Not Tony.

Each encounter had more biting remarks than the last, and their duration was getting shorter and shorter. The Avengers had even tried catching up to him multiple times in one night. All that resulted in was an exhausted, irritated Spider-Man - Tony could hear it in his voice when they spoke on the phone.

Tony was working on a new suit in the lab when he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. Glancing at his watch, he realized it was nearly two in the morning. His crooked heart started beating a little faster at that - only one person would call him so late.

“What’s up, Danger?” Tony asked cheerfully as he picked up the phone. The cheer dissipated immediately when he didn’t get a response. All he could hear was labored breathing and a groan of pain. “Hey. Talk to me. What’s going on?”

“Hey, Tony,” Spider-Man answered, words slurring together. Tony immediately moved to his closest functional suit, letting JARVIS transfer the call over as he got into it.

“What happened?” Tony tried his best to keep the panic from edging into his voice. The faceplate closed and he could see JARVIS running a tracking program, trying to find out where Spider-Man had last been seen.

“No big deal. ‘S just a guy. He had a big knife. Huge. ‘S not safe for the neighborhood,” Spider-Man answered. Tony felt a chill run through him - Spider-Man had been stabbed ? His danger sense never allowed anyone to land a blow.

“Apparently not so safe for neighborhood Spider-Men either,” he quipped with a shaky voice. “Are you doing okay? Have something to stop the bleeding?”

“Does pavement count?” Even in an injured state, the guy was still churning out one-liners like it was nothing.

“I have located Spider-Man, sir,” JARVIS piped up. “Plotting the fastest course.” Tony whirled around, blasting the nearest window and watching it shatter before shooting out of it at top speed.

“Why didn’t you dodge it?” Tony asked, desperate to keep Spider-Man talking to him until he could get there.

“Danger sense isn’t workin’.” Spider-Man’s voice was significantly quieter at that, like he was ashamed.

“Faster, JARVIS! Why not?” Tony barked the command at his AI but softened his voice for the injured vigilante.

“Tired.” The one-word answer was enough. Even if the Avengers hadn’t struck Spider-Man directly since the incident with Clint, they’d caused this. Their persistence had worn down a decent man to the point where he couldn’t defend himself against the common criminals of Queens. That wasn’t what they were supposed to be about, and Tony felt disgusted just thinking about it.

Luckily, he didn’t have to for much longer. The suit began to descend towards a rooftop in a sketchier area of Queens, and Tony spotted the red and blue jumpsuit the guy insisted on wearing. The faceplate flipped up as he landed and knelt next to the form lying on the ground.

“What’s up, Danger?” Tony asked, trying to tease as he gently pushed away the blood-soaked fabric to get a look at the wound.

“Oh my god, this again? Just leave me to die.” Spider-Man groaned, but didn’t push Tony away. The older man laughed, shaking his head. He then pointed his index and middle fingers at the wound, allowing a healing gel to spray out of the suit and onto the injury. It was a new creation of Tony’s - it would stop the bleeding and keep the wound stable until they reached a medbay and could get real medical attention.

“There we go, Spider-Man. We do need to get you properly fixed up, though. This is a temporary solution.” Tony said, leaning over the man still lying there limply. Slowly, Spider-Man brought a hand up to his head. Tony thought he was feeling for blood, and watched in shock as the hand gripped the hood of his mask and tugged it off.

Of course he’s hot, was the first thing that went through Tony’s mind. Floppy brown hair, soft pink lips, and those big eyes that reminded him of a certain deer from an animated Disney movie. Spider-Man shifted slightly, trying to sit up with a quiet groan, and Tony rushed to support him and help hold him up. Spider-Man looked up at him and gave him a crooked grin.

“It’s Peter,” he said. His name. Tony smiled brightly in return.

“What’s up, Peter?”

[mulcahy-my-beloved]

I just finished watching the MASH movie and so now i’m gonna talk about all of my favorite and least favorite things about it. Now, there might be slight spoilers, nothing too bad but still, proceed with caution just in case.

Let’s start with the good things.

I didn’t know the theme song had lyrics but boy let me tell ya, i love it! I even put it on my spotify playlist lol.

Love Radar but he’s also just the same as he was in the show so.

Also really love the dogs. Would die for every single one of them.

I know the movie Frank is different from the show Frank but i still loved seeing him in a straight jacket. And him getting punched.

Margaret was not insufferable like she was in the beginning of the show and her hatred for Hawkeye and Trapper actually makes sense *cough* shower prank *cough*.

Now, for the bad things.

I don’t like the movie Father Mulcahy all that much (although i may be just a tad biased). In the show he just seems so much more.... quirky, i guess. In fact, all of the characters are quirkier in the show than in the movie, ESPECIALLY Colonel Blake. In the movie he’s just so dull.

The shower prank Hawk and Trapper did on Margaret…. Yeah, i’d hate them as well. Also, really hated Colonel Blake’s response (well, more like his LACK of response).

Oh, the sexism. OH, THE SEXISM! But hey, it’s 1970, what did i expect? Actually, i take that back. The show aired only 2 years after this, i expect better.

The football scene at the end, oh my god. So long, so boring, unnecessary.

Anyways, all this to say that i didn’t like it very much and Margaret and Boone deserved better.

[legobiwan]

Hey, I actually went to see the new Spiderman movie the other night! (Masked and boostered, I am a responsible Lego). Spoilers ahoy, exit now if you would prefer to remain uninformed.

The first part of the movie went fast, like the Roadrunner on a cocaine binge fast. And I've seen some interpretations that the turbo slideshow running from Peter's identity being revealed to the trial to the court of public opinion to the whole school/MIT situation could be a mirroring of how the events both felt and unfolded for Peter in real-time, especially as a teenager.

This being said, I think that's a generous interpretation. Admittedly, I haven't actually watched the other MCU Spiderman films, but I know enough through internet osmosis to be familiar with the backstory. And even with that, the first act felt like a roller coaster about to careen off the tracks.

Charlie Cox is awesome. His inclusion in the film was 110% fan service plus introducing him into the greater, non-Netflix MCU. I'm curious if Feige and co. will "sanitize" the Netflix characters, as Disney seems afraid of going as gritty as Netflix.

I need to think about Stephen Strange's characterization in terms of casting the memory spell. (And yes, the spell was 100% hand-waving and Strange's presence in this movie was also 100% as a plot device). While I know he is kind of flippant, in general, he seemed to be casting aside any form of responsibility here. Maybe because he doesn't have the Time Stone anymore? Or he's just burnt out from the whole Thanos thing?

Speaking of Strange, I LOVED that he got his Loki, "I've been falling for 30 minutes!" moment with the Grand Canyon. If Loki ever met this universe's Peter Parker, I'm sure he'd be thrilled, hahahaaha.

Honest to gods, I would have been happy with an entire movie of just the villains talking and fighting and negotiating. Especially Alfred Molina and Willem Dafoe. The sequence where they were all zapped into Strange's chambers was easily my favorite. (Something tells me I will go feral if some form of Thunderbolts movie/show ever manifests as there is nothing better than a bunch of complicated villains trying to work together).

My theater freaked when Andrew Garfield came on screen. Far more so than Tobey.

Out of the three, I have to say Andrew's version was by far the most charming and my personal favorite. It has been a very long time since I've seen those movies (if I even saw all of them, which I honestly don't remember), but I really enjoyed his particular iteration.

I thought the detail with the Statue of Liberty carrying The Shield was fascinating. Apparently, this movie takes place after Falcon and the Winter Soldier, so I'm thinking the symbolism of the shield falling might have to do with John Walker's fall from grace? But maybe not.

(Also, I'm just picturing Bucky having a shit-fit about the fact they are retrofitting the bloody Statue of Liberty with the shield. Also, as an in-universe thing, just...wow. This movie also apparently takes place just before the Hawkeye series, meaning Rogers: The Musical! is in previews. Meaning a lot of people are pushing the Steve Rogers narrative even after John Walker crapped things up and Sam came out as the new Captain America. Which I find interesting in that you have to think certain factions are desperate to recapture the past (Steve), ready to steamroll over the unpleasant, recent present (John), and not willing to accept the future (Sam). And, you know, looking at our real-world political climate...)

(Yeah, if this timeline holds, then the surge in Steve Rogers imagery can't be a fluke. Forget John Walker and yeah, we're not "sure" about Sam Wilson *ahem*, let's just venerate Steve Rogers and his crew and our glorious past and attach the shield to the fucking Statue of Liberty which sends all kinds of weird-ass messages in this context and I want that conversation between Sam, Bucky and whoever else about that because wow.)

Anyway, I'm a little obsessed with the whole shield/Statue of Liberty thing and I'm glad the Spidermen plus Green Goblin took that out. And hopefully, it stays out.

Getting back to the movie...was it just me, or was the soundtrack a little overdramatic for the action? Lots of full-on choral music, high symphonic, Strauss-ian stuff and it felt really overblown for what this movie was.

I will say the humor was pretty well-balanced for an MCU flick. And Jonah Jameson 1000% channeling Alex Jones by not only emulating his speech style, but hawking supplements at the end of his piece made me cackle.

Honestly, Tom Holland and Zendaya and all of the "nu-crew" are good actors, but Molina, Dafoe, and Garfield (and Foxx, too) stole the show for me.

Like many recent MCU movies, there was just so much packed into this film that it barely had any time to breathe and really explore the issues it set forth. The second act, for me, was by far the best, as we at least touched briefly on the villain characterizations and their interactions with their alternate universe nemeses.

Rushed, but entertaining. The action scenes were what they were, but there was potential in there for so much more. Added points for fan service although I would have swapped that for some more character development. 7/10

[blue-ravens]

CharHawk + modern highschool AU or coffee shop AU whichever cliche you find more tolerable :P

high school au!! oh gosh yes.

1. right so i don't know who else out there and on the air is familiar with 'gilmore girls' but these two are the original rory gilmore and paris geller.

think about it

one's smart, loveable and charming, raised by a single adoring parent, beloved by everyone in the small new england town they call home, and other's a prickly, stuck up know it all from a never-seen family, politely considered uptight and rudely considered a bitch. and oh my god they were classmates.

2. charles is the one with the top grades, all the extra-curriculars that matter, the family name, the best clothes, the letterman jacket, the polo pony, the car, the stock portfolio, the dream of the harvard acceptance letter, and... no friends. and now there's this wildly likeable and charismatic happy go lucky scamp with a bright smile and a gpa to match, and charles may have no friends but is never short on enemies, and this no name nobody from nowhere just made the list. this barely bothers hawkeye because he has the friends and the parties and the grades and not in possession of a singular fuck to give about that tall drink of water with a silver spoon up his ass over there brooding by the window backlit by the sun just so and

okay maybe a fuck or two has been given

3. so of course there is the dreaded group project. by some contrived set of circumstances the scene is so tensely set at charles' house and it's very clearly from the instant hawkeye walks in the double oak doors into what can be best described as an art museum masquerading as a family house that so much is explained about his classmate. it's very apparent that the only human contact charles seems to have at home is his younger sister and the housekeeper. in that second he promises that next time will be at *his* house because he's not even sure his classmate has ever seen a slice of takeaway pizza much less been around a parental figure who'd happily order one, and that's the least he can offer. of course he won't stoop to pity, because while they are declared enemies he does know enough about him that pity will go wasted and unwanted. but now he understands. and it might actually be possible to LIKE him. he's funny. he's smart. he actually does care about stuff when he wants to. and oh god when he's in the group chat with peg and bj later he is NOT going to mention that he finds him CUTE because he'll never hear the end of it.

4. they bicker. they argue. they bring out the best in each other. they're competitive and there are pranks and there are also the moments when the rivalry isn't so rivalry-ish. at some point they just... get each other. neither knows how or why, but while they still butt heads over nearly everything and have entirely different motives, they both wish for the same things. i could really like you. more than i should. i really could love you. maybe it takes a 'i never told you anything before' moment. a moment of mutual understanding, the 'oh. you are like me more than i realised'. that.

and i bet that's at a party they've gatecrashed and someone donna spiked the punch.

maybe.

5. it's a given they'd both be pretty much neck and neck for the valedictorian prize at graduation but it doesn't really seem so important because something else and something far better was gained. and i'm not uhhh saying summer roadtrip with new friends and several fulfilling life experiences, but oh to hell with it, i definitely am.

[headcanonthings]

WinterHawk Fic Rec List

Disclaimer: None of these authors have requested to be on this list. These are all stories that I’ve read and enjoyed. Keep in mind that your taste might not match up to mine and that’s ok! Just because I’ve included it doesn’t mean you have to read it (I won’t be offended if you skip over this whole list). If you do check out a story and like it, please remember to leave kudos and/or a comment ❤

P.S. Always check out the story’s tags so you don’t get surprised by something.

Gen Fics - These stories highlight the friendship between Clint and Bucky so may feature them included in other ships i.e. Clint/Natasha or Steve/Bucky

Clint Barton’s Guide to Friends and Ceiling Vents by NoliteTimereEos (Rated T; Word Count 6,488; Features Clint/Natasha) In which Clint Barton meets a missing assassin in the vents and somehow becomes friends with him. Things don't go as bad as they could have. 

Clint and Bucky: Lost and Found by twangcat (Rated G; Word Count 2, 075; Features Steve/Bucky and Clint/Coulson)  The first time Bucky sees Clint limp into the Avengers tower pretending his ribs aren’t bruised while brushing his wild blond hair out of his eyes, Bucky smiles. When Clint immediately starts railing at Tony for blasting the guy Clint was fighting because, “I didn’t need rescuing Tony, I had him!” Bucky does a double take. 

  Learning to Say Hello by heartdesire456 (Rated M; Word Count 11,229; Features Steve/Bucky and Clint/Coulson) Clint had woken up one morning about three weeks ago (Well, Clint guessed about three. Definitely more than one. Maybe.) and stumbled down to the living room only to realize there was a guy on his couch. The guy just happened to be the Winter Soldier, who Clint knew was actually Steve’s old best friend, Bucky Barnes. Barnes had been having a staring contest with Lucky (one eye shut, to make it fair, Clint had noticed) and Clint had decided to just leave him to it and make decisions after he’d had some coffee. (In which Hawkeye befriends the Winter Soldier and discovers the Epic Love Story of Steve and Bucky nobody knows about)  Shooting Stuff Is Better With Company by WriteThroughTheNight ( Rated T; Word Count 11,636; Features Clint/Coulson and Steve/Bucky) "Natasha tells him that HYDRA is inside SHIELD (which Clint can hardly believe), and that the Winter Soldier is on the playing field. She says the latter with fear and awe, but Clint smiles, small and real, for the first time since New York." OR Clint and Bucky have been friends for years and it's to the archer that he runs after the events of DC.

WinterHawk Fics - Stories where Clint/Bucky are the main couple 

I’ll Keep you Safe Here With Me by sara_holmes (Rated M; Word Count 110,566) Yes, Clint is avoiding the other Avengers. No, he does not want to go back to New York. But then again, he didn't exactly want to be kidnapped by the Winter Soldier either. Really, he just wants to go back to bed.

(Side note: Pretty sure this is the fic that got me into WinterHawk)

Clint Barton’s Super Secret Sniper’s Club by sara_holmes (Rated T; Word Count 67,057; Other ship include Tony/Steve) Clint Barton's Super Secret Snipers' Club. (Invitation and pending mental health evaluation required.) "When Steve brings Bucky back to the tower for the first time, Clint’s first thought is that Tony Stark’s pride and joy is quickly becoming a less of a very tall and expensive ‘fuck you’ in the faces of investors who don’t believe in self-sustaining energy, and more of a superhero rehabilitation center." Boyfriends, compromises and learning to like oneself.

(Side note: would recommend pretty much any WinterHawk fic by this author)

Left Foot Forward by shatteredhourglass  (Rated M; Word Count 22,307; Other ships include Pepper/Tony and Bruce/Natasha) There was an unspoken rule among the Avengers that they didn't talk about Clint's soulmark. They didn't talk about it, they didn't look at it, and they didn't bring it up. 

Falling Off the Face of the Earth by Teeelsie (Rated E; Word Count 77,500) Cap relaxes his hold, but he stays where he is, still looming over him. “Clint. The compound’s been breached,” Rogers whispers urgently, then finally sits back and lets go of him. There’s another explosion, closer this time and throwing more light. He turns his head sharply and sees Bucky Barnes hovering near the door, looking… off. Clint pushes Rogers and he finally stands up so Clint can scramble out of the bed and grab some clothes. He’s wearing only boxers because it’s fucking hot in Wakanda, and he catches Barnes’ eyes flicking across his body. Clint long ago stopped being bothered by people’s reactions to the many scars on his body – not that that many people actually see them - but that doesn’t mean he appreciates when they stare. “Like what you see?” he asks with a hard edge as he pulls on his shirt. Barnes turns his head, at least having the decency to look embarrassed for being caught staring. Rogers looks at them both impatiently and quickly switches gears. “Clint, I need you to take Bucky. Get him out of Wakanda and somewhere safe.” OR Bucky and Clint fall into each other. Bad shit happens. Then it all works out in the end.

Lost & Found by mariana_oconnor (Rated M; Word Count 89,972; Other ships include Tony/Steve and Natasha/Sam) Clint Barton’s got a bag full of stolen money and a burning desire to stay under the radar. His old friends in the Carnival will be looking for him and they sure as hell won’t be happy. In a desperate attempt to stay off their radar, he ends up in Timely, a small town so far off the beaten track he’s surprised he even found it, and waits for Barney to comes and get him. Because Barney will be coming. Clint knows he will. But there's something about the town. Maybe it's the strange wolf that watches him from the trees, and the way people finish conversations when he enters a room. Or it could be the bartender, Bucky, who decided to hate him on sight. Something’s going on in this small town, and Clint’s not sure if he’s jumped out of the frying pan and into the fire.

Thank You for Staying with Us by Noxnthea (Rated T; Word Count 14,390) Ex-special ops, millennial motel receptionist Clint Barton is pretty sure that one of his guests is an honest-to-god assassin, but he's also pretty sure he's willing to let that slide because hot damn have you seen the dude's face? Besides, the only guy he's killed was kinda evil, so there's really no reason for Clint to do anything about his realization, right? or: five times Clint looked the other way, and one time he couldn't look away.

Historic Features by flawedamythyst (Rated T; Word Count 19,254; Other ships include Tony/Steve) “Electrical surges with no source, and music coming from the air, and that damn baseball game no one was watching, and I swear I sometimes hear voices right on the edge of hearing when I should be alone,” said Tony. “What does that sound like to you?” “Sounds like-” said Steve, then hesitated. Tony gave him a pointed look. “Sounds like a haunting,” he finished, reluctantly. “Oh no,” said Clint, in tones of mock-horror. “Ghosts!” Bucky laughed and kissed him. “Man, I hope they’re friendly.” Clint and Bucky are haunting the new apartment that Tony bought in Brooklyn to try and impress Steve.

[swan-of-sunrise]

Spellbinding (Chapter Five)

Summary: After a flirtatious sparring session with Loki and a troubling encounter with Peter Parker, (Y/N) confronts Tony and struggles to control her magic around the billionaire.

Pairing: Loki X Reader

Word Count: 5.3k

Warnings/Disclaimers: None

A/N: I hope that you enjoy!

Chapter Five June 10th, 2015 Avengers Tower, New York City (Previous Chapter)

The sound of the arrow hitting the edge of the bullseye was overshadowed by the loud applause filling the cavernous weapons training room. Grinning triumphantly, (Y/N) lowered her bow and headed over to the two figures standing near the doorway.

“Nice job, (Y/L/N)! You’re comin’ along pretty good!” Clint patted her on the back, a playful smirk on his face. “Not as good as me, obviously, but pretty good.”

Natasha gave him a small shove. “Clint, be nice!” He only giggled to himself and she gave (Y/N) a kind smile. “You’re doing really well, (Y/N). Maybe you could replace this idiot as the team’s resident archer someday.” Over the past couple of months, the two women had slowly gotten to know one another; Natasha was almost always away on missions but whenever she was free, they bonded over their training sessions and their statuses as the only female Avengers on the team.

(Y/N) chuckled. “That’s okay, I’ll let Hawkeye here keep his job; besides, I have a feeling I’ll be even more comfortable with a sword than a bow.” She set her bow back on the weapons rack and picked up a familiar blade. The hilt was decorated with intricately designed etchings, and it felt perfectly balanced in her hand; Loki, with Bruce’s help, had created it for her in the lab, explaining that it would be better to learn swordsmanship with a well-matched blade and that it would be easier to create one rather than search for the perfect fit. It really does feel natural, she thought with a smile, easily twirling the sword around in her hand. “Do either of you know when Loki’s coming down for practice?”

“Nope, haven’t seen him since breakfast.” Checking his watch, Clint’s eyes widened almost comically. “Shit, we’re late for that meeting, Tasha, Fury’s gonna kick our asses! We’ll see you later, (Y/L/N)!” He grabbed Natasha’s arm and began dragging her out of the room.

“Good luck with your first sword fighting lesson, (Y/N)!” Natasha called over her shoulder as she and Clint left and sprinted down the hall, desperate not to be reprimanded by Director Fury yet again. “Ow, quit trying to pull my arm out of its socket, asshat!”

Giggling, (Y/N) wandered around the room and occasionally swung her sword, silently enjoying the sounds it made as it cut through the air. She was excited when Loki and Steve told her she’d begin training with a bow and sword; she’d never told anyone before, but guns made her nervous and she was glad she’d never have to use one. And she couldn’t help but feel that learning to use the weapons of her mother’s culture would bring her closer to her somehow, but she was too embarrassed to say it aloud. The others might scoff at her sentimentality, but she knew that Loki would never do that.

At the thought of her best friend, she sighed in frustration and began pacing around the room with more purpose. It was becoming harder and harder to suppress her feelings for him, especially after he helped her through that horrible day two weeks prior, but she was determined not to lose the fight for their friendship. Shifting his focus from romantic literature to mystery novels certainly helped; it was easier to set her feelings aside as he read aloud from novels such as The Hound of Baskerville than when he read aloud from ones like Sense and Sensibility. Maybe I should have him read Mary Shelly next, she thought with an amused smile, that’ll really calm the romantic thoughts.

But just as she reached the opposite side of the room, an unsettling feeling put her senses on high alert. Quickly spinning around, she brought her sword up just in time to meet her attacker’s blade with a reverberating clang.

“Your senses are improving, Lady (Y/N),” Loki grinned, pushing her blade away with his own and stepping back. “I’m impressed.”

Before she could reply, he swung his sword at her abdomen and she was quick to clumsily swipe the attack away and block his next from clipping her shoulder. “I thought we were having a formal lesson today?”

Her best friend shrugged as they started to circle one another. “We were, but I concluded that unlike magic, swordplay doesn’t need to be taught formally. You have generations of Light Elf blood flowing through your veins, which means that you already possess a natural skill with swords; besides, I feel that using weapons takes considerably less concentration and caution that using magic.”

“Oh, I don’t know, if I wasn’t concentrating right now I’d never realize that you’re only trying to distract me.” She suddenly raised her sword and swung, but Loki disappeared as soon as the blade made contact with his; a heartbeat later, the cool edge of a training knife was at her throat and a sword-wielding arm was wrapped tightly around her waist, holding her securely against a strong form. “Clever, Loki…”

“My brother isn’t the only Asgardian-trained warrior in this tower, you know.” His warm breath tickled the side of her neck, and (Y/N) swore she could feel his nose nuzzle into her hair while her heart fluttered in her chest. “Now, try and break free of-”

Before he could finish his sentence, she elbowed him hard in the stomach and used his surprise to duck under his loosened arm, quickly straightening and parring away his fast sword strike. “You mean like that?”

“Precisely,” Loki sheathed the dagger and twirled his sword in his hand, an amused gleam in his green eyes. “Now, let’s see what else you can do.”

For the next half hour, they were at a stalemate; neither of them had been able to disarm or knock the other down, no matter how hard they tried, but (Y/N) knew she was tiring. Her strikes were becoming slower, it was becoming much harder to dodge his attacks, and she had a nasty feeling that Loki would quickly take advantage of her weakness at any minute. In desperation, she parried his sword away and swung hers at his head, but she immediately regretted her action; Loki easily blocked the strike and used his sword to twist hers out of her hand. It landed on the ground with a loud clang, and before she could reach for it, he kicked her leg out from under her and she landed harshly on her back. A moment later, he was hovering above her, one hand pinning both of hers above her head and the other holding his sword to her throat. The sounds of their heavy breathing filled the silence of the room, and (Y/N) couldn’t help but giggle in equal amounts of amusement and embarrassment.

“Well, it looks as though you’ve won fair and square, Loki. I’d shake your hand, but they’re a little preoccupied at the moment.”

Loki’s triumphant grin widened at her joke. “Your apology is accepted, Lady (Y/N), though I personally prefer your hands right where they are.” When she gave him a questioning look, he continued. “Now I can finally enact my revenge upon you for your heinous crime. You know which one, of course.”

(Y/N)’s eyes widened and she began struggling against him. “L-Loki, I told you, it was a complete accident, Steve and Bucky were there, they’ll tell you the exact same thing…!”

“I’m not quite sure that I believe your story; you’re telling me that the other day at dinner, you accidentally tripped over Steve’s foot, you accidentally fell on me and you accidentally began tickling me? You have to admit, it doesn’t sound very convincing.”

She tried in vain not to smile guiltily as he spoke. The truth was that she was curious whether the Asgardian was ticklish or not, so when she noticed Steve’s foot sticking out from under the table she decided to test out her theory. It turned out that the Asgardian did make the same sounds as the Pillsbury Dough-Boy when tickled, just as she suspected. “I honestly don’t know what you’re talking about, Loki!”

“Lady (Y/N), you should know by now not to lie to the God of Mischief.”

In one quick movement, he tossed his sword to the side and attacked her stomach with his free hand. She shrieked with laughter, tears rolling down her cheeks as she squirmed under him. She felt his hold on her wrists loosening, so she hurriedly tugged a hand free and began tickling him back. As expected, he laughed loudly, the cheerful sound mingling with hers and echoing off the walls as they rolled across the floor.

“Miss (Y/L/N), is something-? Oh man…”

They immediately stopped, Loki quickly rolling off her and helping her back on her feet when they noticed a familiar figure standing in the doorway. “Hello Peter, um, Loki and I were just…practicing our sword fighting.” (Y/N) blushed scarlet, embarrassed at having been caught in such a compromising position by the fifteen-year-old.

“Yeah, um…sorry if I interrupted you guys, I’ll…just…come back later, I guess.” Peter Parker’s eyes were flicking nervously between her and his black Converse sneakers, his hands shoved deep into the pockets of his jeans and a light blush spreading over his ears.

“Actually, I need to…I need to speak to my brother about our, um, mission tomorrow. I’ll see you later, Lady (Y/N).” After she murmured her goodbye, he gave Peter a nod as he brushed past him and left, his usually pale face turning more and more crimson by the minute.

(Y/N) picked up their swords and placed them back on the weapons rack. “So, what can I do for you, Peter?” During her two months in the tower, she’d only spoken to the teenager once and that was when Tony briefly introduced them; the billionaire had infuriatingly introduced her as ‘Galadriel, but if Galadriel was a total book nerd,’ something he was extremely lucky he said when Loki wasn’t around to hear. The teenager was in awe of her magic and heritage, and she was equally impressed with his incredible knowledge of math and science and how he applied his skills to his intriguing powers.

Peter shuffled from foot to foot and briefly made eye contact with her. “Well, I-I was just talkin’ with Doctor Banner and he mentioned you used to be a librarian before joining the Avengers, and…I was wondering if you could help me write my final paper for my English class?”

“Of course, I’d love to!” She led him out of the weapons room and down the hall to the elevator. “What’s the topic of the paper?”

They stepped into the elevator. “That’s actually what I’m having trouble with. We were supposed to read The Great Gatsby, but I never got a chance to, and now we have to come up with our own topic and finish the essay by Friday, and I’ve got absolutely nothin’.” He sighed and slumped against the wall of the elevator as it rose. “I understand if you’re too busy training for a mission or something, I know it’s a lot to ask but it’s worth like twenty-five percent of my final grade…”

“It’s okay, Peter, I said I’d help you; I haven’t been assigned a mission yet, so my schedule’s wide open.” The doors opened and she led him down the hall to the dining room table next to the kitchen. “Besides, I loved helping people with papers when I was a librarian, and it’ll be nice to continue using that college degree I paid a lot of money for.” Peter laughed and sat down next to her. “All right, since you haven’t read the book and you only have two days to write this essay, I’ll start by giving you a short summary…”

(Y/N) had absolutely no idea how long she spoke for; explaining the plot of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s most famous novel reminded her of how much she missed being a librarian. Not that she regretted joining the Avengers, of course, she just missed being able to use her extensive knowledge of literature to help people. She was glad to see Peter listening with rapt attention, and he even pulled a notebook out of his backpack and began taking notes while she continued. By the time she was finished, he was looking more relaxed than ever.

“Thank you so much, Miss (Y/L/N), that really helped!” He flicked through his notes one last time before turning to a blank page. “I think I’ll write about Daisy; she sounds like a pretty interesting character.”

“You’re welcome, Peter, but promise me you’ll try not to procrastinate next semester? It’s just that it’s so much easier to finish assignments well before the due date…”

Peter grinned. “I know, I know, Aunt May always tells me that! And I didn’t mean to procrastinate this much, it’s just that I suck at English and me and Mister Stark have been workin’ on my new suit a lot and, well, I guess I just got distracted.”

She smiled, but the wheels in her head began turning. “It’s okay, everyone has that one subject they struggle with and everyone gets distracted from time to time. I’m going to go get cleaned up and change, and I expect to see an introduction written by the time I get back, okay?”

“Yes, ma’am!” He chuckled and turned his attention back to his notebook.

(Y/N) took a quick shower and changed into a pair of jeans and a green blouse, quickly toweling off her damp hair before hurrying down to the lab. Just as she suspected, Tony was there, snacking and chatting away with Bruce as the doctor peered into a microscope. Taking a deep breath, (Y/N) opened the door and entered.

“Hello Bruce, Tony.”

“Oh, hi (Y/N),” Bruce looked up and smiled, whereas Tony only rolled his eyes and continued eating his blueberries. “What can I do for you?”

“I’m actually here to speak with Tony, if that’s all right,” Both men looked at each other in surprise and she turned her attention to the billionaire as Bruce quietly excused himself. “Tony, I know that we got off on the wrong foot when we met and I’m not going to apologize for turning you down when you asked me out, but I am sorry if I’ve been rude to you ever since.”

Tony sighed, popping another blueberry into his mouth before answering. “Well, I’d be an asshat if I didn’t try and follow that up, so I’m sorry for being rude too. Now that that’s over, can we get back to work?”

(Y/N) gritted her teeth but remained calm. “That’s not all I came down here for; I just spent over an hour helping Peter write a final paper for school that’s due in two days. He told me that the reason he didn’t write it sooner was because he’s been too busy working on his new suit down here with you. Is that true?”

“Yeah, so what’s your point?”

“My point is that since Peter listens to you, you should remind him that his education is very important. If he continues putting Spider-Man before his schoolwork, he’s not going to have a future.”

The older man only sighed. “Of course he will; when he decides he doesn’t wanna be Spider-Man, he can always have a job at Stark Enterprises.”

“And what if he doesn’t want a job with your company? What if he decided down the road that he wants to be a lawyer or a firefighter or a photographer? Without an education, he’d never be able to live the life he wants!” Realizing that she was speaking loudly, she took another deep breath and adjusted her glasses. “Tony, all I’m asking you to do is help him be a normal high schooler for as long as possible. I’m not saying you should take his suit away and forbid him from being Spider-Man next semester, just…let him be able to study for tests or hang out with his friends or go out on dates. Just try to help him find the balance his duties between being a high schooler and being Spider-Man.”

Tony only raised his brow and smirked. “Why’re you being so pushy about this, Hermione Granger? Is it ‘cause you’re trying to live vicariously through him? Let him experience the things that you never did?”

(Y/N) felt her anger beginning to build up inside her. “This has absolutely nothing to do with me, Tony, this is about making sure you don’t ruin his life in the long run. Need I remind you that not everyone is as privileged as you are and can make mistakes in life without there being consequences?”

“And need I remind you that if not for my ‘privileges,’ there’d be no Avengers and you’d be stuck in a Hydra lab somewhere being experimented on?”

“Are you going to talk to him or not?”

Tony shook his head, an unusually serious look on his face. “Parker can do whatever he wants to do. It’s his life.”

She nodded, her jaw clenched tightly. “Fine, then, I’ll go and speak to Steve about it.” Giving the man one last glare, she turned on her heel and headed for the door.

“You know, you’re starting to sound exactly like your boyfriend did when he tried to take over the world. Must be an alien thing…”

Without a moment of thought, (Y/N) turned around and thrust out her hands, her anger finally boiling over. A familiar purple aura surrounded Tony as she used her powers to swiftly lift him into the air and slam him into the wall behind him. Her unfiltered fury kept him in place, and she was sure to keep his mouth magically shut so he was unable to call out to J.A.R.V.I.S. for his suit. “Don’t you dare speak about Loki! He’s doing everything he can to make up for what he did, and maybe if you started caring about other people besides yourself you’d realize that!”

“(Y/N)!” Bruce appeared in front of her after running in from the hall, his hands raised in a submissive gesture. “(Y/N), you need to listen to me!” When she made no move to attack him, he slowly inched forward. “I need you to breathe, can you do that for me, (Y/N)? Take a deep breath and just relax, find control over your powers!”

(Y/N) struggled to control her breathing as she listened to his words, but just when she felt her muscles and powers begin to relax, Tony stretched his fingers and pressed a button on the metal bracelet he wore. One of his security suits burst through its storage container and aimed its repulsor beams at her; without a second thought, she allowed Tony to fall to the ground in a heap and thrust her hands towards the suit, effectively knocking it into the opposite wall with a swirling cloud of purple magic before it could fire. The suit immediately got up and just as Bruce shouted “No!” it shot its repulsor beams directly at her. Acting on instinct, she pushed Bruce out of the way and crossed her forearms in front of her, deflecting the beams and making them ricochet off her magic and back towards the suit, causing it to explode in a ball of fire.

The entire room shook violently with tremors and the ceiling began to tremble; panicking, (Y/N) thrust her hands upwards and concentrated on stabilizing the concrete with her magic. After a tense moment, the ceiling tremors began to calm down and stop altogether, which was when she realized that the emergency sprinklers were on and the lab was filling up with dark smoke as the fire alarms blared. Where’s Tony and Bruce, she thought, coughing as she stumbled through the wrecked lab in search of the two men.

“Bruce! Tony!” She called out, her voice shaking with worry. “Bruce! To-!” A hand on her arm caused her to turn and gasp; standing before her was a soaked and worried but unharmed Bruce Banner. “Bruce, thank goodness you’re all right!”

“C’mon, I already got Tony, we need to get out of here!” Bruce grabbed her hand and quickly led her through the smoke and smoldering remains of Tony’s suit to the exit. When they finally got out of the lab, the doctor slammed the door behind them and leaned heavily against the wall. It was then when (Y/N) noticed that Tony was laying on the ground, his chest heaving as his eyes stayed focused on the ceiling, and that there was a distinct green tinge to Bruce’s jugular that was slowly fading away.

“Thank you, Bruce.”

“…Fury’s gonna be pissed, isn’t he?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Director Fury looked up from the security footage on his computer monitor with a disapproving frown on his face. After rushing up to the lab and having them thoroughly checked for injuries, Director Fury ‘requested’ (Y/N), Bruce and Tony join him in his office several floors below; (Y/N), who had only ever spoken to the director once before when she first joined the Avengers, was scared out of her mind, something she was sure Bruce knew when he gave her hand a comforting squeeze. She felt guilty that she lost control over her powers and scared of what her punishment would be; she didn’t want to be kicked off the Avengers team all because she’d risen to Tony’s childish bait. I wish Loki were here, she thought as she pulled the blanket the firemen had given her tighter around her shoulders for comfort.

“So, you’re telling me that several S.H.I.E.L.D experiments were compromised, thousands of dollars’ worth of our equipment was destroyed, the Hulk was nearly unleashed and an entire floor of your tower is temporarily condemned all because you couldn’t put a sock in it, Stark?”

Tony smirked. “Sounds about right.”

Deciding she needed to speak up for the billionaire, (Y/N) quietly said, “It’s not all his fault, Director. I went to the lab and asked Tony to speak to Peter about how important his schoolwork is when I should’ve spoken directly to Steve instead. And it was me who lost control and destroyed the lab in the first place, not him.”

“Thank you for your honesty, Miss (Y/L/N), but I’m not pissed off about you losing your cool or even about you two destroying the lab; I’m pissed off because your guys’ petty arguing’s keeping you all from functioning as the team I believe you can be.” Director Fury stood and leaned against his desk. “Now, Doctor Banner and I are gonna leave to check in with the clean-up, and if this stupid-ass fighting isn’t resolved by the time we come back…well, let’s just say that you’re not gonna like the consequences.” The director gave them one last glare and gestured for Bruce to follow him into the hall; the doctor flashed them a sympathetic look before leaving, and (Y/N) flinched as the door slammed shut.

The billionaire lounged casually in his chair, twirling a small screwdriver around his fingers over and over as he made fleeting eye contact with her; he looked sincerer than she’d ever seen him before. “I, ah, guess I should apologize…I’ve been treating you kind of unfairly over the past few months and saying some harsh things, and I’m really sorry about that…”

“Then why say them in the first place?”

His fingers stilled as he looked down at them, remaining silent for several moments before answering. “I guess it’s ‘cause I didn’t like the fact that you’re such good friends with Reindeer G – I mean – Loki.”

His answer took her by surprise. “Why not?”

The older man looked out the window and smiled humorlessly. “Well, for starters, the guy tried to take over the world with a hostile alien army and is responsible for the deaths of at least eighty people over two days, not to mention he threw me out a window and I…well, my heart stopped when I came out of that wormhole and I would’ve been a goner of not for the enormous green rage monster out there. Can you really blame me for not wanting to become best buddies with him or anyone who actually likes him?”

“Yes, I can, at least a little bit.” She ignored the confused look on his face and continued. “Loki’s here on Earth to make up for everything he did; he joined the Avengers, the people he was once sworn enemies with, of his own free will to do good. Loki’s my best friend and I believe wholeheartedly that he deserves a chance to redeem himself for what he’s done, just like Natasha and Bucky. Everyone else in this tower has put the past behind them and accepted him as their teammate except you, Tony. I’m sorry about what happened to you during the battle, I really am, but you can’t change what happened in the past so it’s pointless to keep hyper-focusing in it.”

“I think Capsicle’s been rubbing off on you, (Y/L/N); that was some speech,” Tony chuckled, then grew serious. “But you’re right; I haven’t given either of you a fair chance.”

(Y/N) nodded. “And I’m really sorry I lost control and said those things earlier, it was wrong of me to say them. You’re not a selfish person, Tony, and it’s unfair to degrade you because you happen to be more well-off than most, it’s not your-”

“It’s okay; seriously, I was definitely asking to be talked to like that. And don’t worry, I’ll speak to Peter about balancing being a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man and a high schooler; Banner’s been bugging me about it, too.” His usual grin returned. “So, can we agree to start over and maybe be friends from now on? ‘Cause you actually seem like a pretty cool person to be around, (Y/L/N).”

“I think I can agree to that, Tony.” She accepted his outstretched hand and shook it, a cheerful smile finally making its way across her face. Not the way I expected this day to go, she thought to herself, but I’m glad we’ve finally made up.

Just then, the door opened to reveal Director Fury and Bruce. “Great, now we all can get back to work. Except for you, Miss (Y/L/N), I want a private word.” Without wasting a moment, Tony and Bruce left the two of them alone. (Y/N)’s hands began to shake, so she started tugging at the sides of her blanket again to keep them occupied. “I believe congratulations are in order, Miss (Y/L/N).”

“C-congratulations?”

Director Fury made his way over to his chair and sat. “You showed real control over your powers today.”

Frowning, (Y/N) stopped fiddling with the edge of her blanket. “But Director, I almost killed Tony, a-and what about almost unleashing the Hulk and all the damage…?”

“The key word there is ‘almost’. Sure, your emotions clouded your judgement, but you were able to reign in your powers and stop yourself from doing anything too serious.” The director’s eye twinkled slightly. “In my book, that’s something that deserves a congratulation and not guilt, Miss (Y/L/N). Wouldn’t you agree?”

“I suppose so, Director.”

Director Fury nodded. “Good. And as for the damages, Stark has more than enough money to fix them within a day, this time with even stronger fortifications. Now, you’d better go change clothes before you catch a cold; we wouldn’t want one of our newest Avengers getting sick, would we?”

Blushing, (Y/N) stood and smiled shyly at the director. “O-of course not, Director. Thank you.” She quickly left the office as he returned to the paperwork on his desk, hardly believing what had just happened; she’d been absolutely convinced that she’d be kicked off the team for her actions. It was kind of Director Fury to give me another chance, and I don’t intend on throwing it away, she thought with determination, hurrying down the hall to the elevator.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“To make a long story short, you lost control over your magic, regained control with the help of Doctor Banner before you could kill Stark, destroyed one of Stark’s suits in self-defense and stopped the ceiling from collapsing on all three of you, correct?” Loki asked, his lips already curving into a proud smile. Only minutes before, (Y/N) had found her best friend in a fit of rage and the only thing keeping him from confronting Tony himself was Mjolnir resting on his lap; the moment she entered his suite, however, he ceased arguing with Thor and immediately asked her if she was all right.

Despite her best efforts not to see too far into his actions, his obvious concern over her well-being caused her heart to flutter and her cheeks to redden, but she was quick to hide her feelings by giving him and Thor the full story of what happened; all they knew of the incident was that her and Tony’s argument led to an explosion in the lab, so Loki had immediately assumed Tony was at fault and went into a rage. Luckily Thor had enough foresight to prevent him from doing anything too serious, she thought to herself.

Nodding, (Y/N) relaxed her aching muscles against the cushions of the couch. “Correct, and Tony and I had a good talk. I think we’re going to get along from now on.”

Loki nodded, directing his attention to his brother and gesturing to the hammer. “Now, can you please remove this infernal thing from my lap? I promise I won’t go after Stark.” Although his face was relaxed, she could see a glint of anger return to his emerald-green eyes so she quickly laced her fingers through his slightly colder ones. He looked at her in surprise and the anger seemed to melt away the longer he stared into her eyes. “I swear on our friendship, Lady (Y/N), that I won’t harm Stark in any way.” He glanced back at Thor with a brow raised in expectation. “Now will you move it?”

“All right, all right, don’t get your cape in a twist, brother,” Thor chuckled, standing from his armchair and easily picking up Mjolnir. “I’ll go and see if Banner and Stark require assistance in cleaning up the laboratory. Again, I’m relieved you’re unharmed, Lady (Y/N).” He gave her what he apparently thought was a gentle pat on the shoulder and left before he could see her nearly topple off the sofa.

Rolling his eyes, Loki helped her right herself. “Such a brute, honestly.” He glanced down at their intertwined fingers as his face once again grew serious. “Are you sure you’re all right?”

“Well, it would be a lie if I said I didn’t feel guilty about losing control…”

To her surprise, Loki’s face broke out into a bemused grin. “You Midgardians are so odd; you pen sayings such as ‘to err is human’, and yet you always blame yourselves for your mistakes. It’s perfectly acceptable to make errors, Lady (Y/N), and you should be extremely proud of the fact that you managed to rectify yours so easily. Trust me, as someone who has fought against and alongside Doctor Banner, regaining control over oneself is no easy feat.”

“You sound exactly like Director Fury, you know, but you’re right.” (Y/N) elbowed him playfully in the side and grinned when he suppressed a giggle.

“Is it really wise of you to begin this again, Lady (Y/N)?”

“Well, it’s not like you’re brave enough to do anything ab-” She was cut off when she was struck on the side of the head by a throw pillow.

Loki burst into laughter, clutching his sides and his pillow tightly as he looked at her. “You should see your face!” He choked out between breaths. “You look like-!”

At that moment, (Y/N) grabbed another pillow and smacked it against his face, giggling at his stunned expression and mussed hair as she adjusted her crooked glasses. “You were saying?”

“Um, Miss (Y/L/N)?” They both hastily lowered their raised pillows and looked at the doorway where Peter Parker stood, once again as red as a tomato, holding his notebook. “I-I, um, need some help on my body paragraphs…”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

A/N: Thank you all so much for reading and commenting! I’ve created a Spotify playlist inspired by this series, and I’ll be updating it every time I upload a new chapter. Enjoy!

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2wx8TZwpDN0l33tES3W3Nk

Chapter Six

Spellbinding Masterlist

Tagging: @nexiva @ravenclawbitch426 @cminr @confusedfandomwriter @momc95 @nickkie1129 @austynparksandpizza @brooke0297 @destructivebliss @outoftheregular​ @itscomplicatedx​ @0-artemis​ @vivloki​

[step-on-me-natasha]

Blade; chapter 1

summary: Parker "Blade" Wiles, a high ranking SHIELD agent with an aptitude for sharp objects, goes missing. When Blade is found again with a darker and colder demeanor, SHIELD, with the help of The Avengers, are tasked with finding out what happened to their colleague and friend.

OC is ace and uses they/them pronouns

pairing: Natasha Romanoff x OC! reader (Blade)

warnings: knives, dead mom?? if anything else, let me know

*thoughts are in italics*

Dear Journal, it’s Parker, well it’s actually Blade, my therapist said that it would help if I wrote in a diary everyday. I don’t know how this is supposed to help. How is writing in a journal going to help with the fact that my mother just died? I don’t get it. But, here goes nothing I guess.

When I was maybe 9 or 10, I started playing with knives. My mother would always tell me it was dangerous, but there have only been two instances where I got hurt by one. The first time was when I was in high school and I was cutting a carrot for my lunch and I looked away and the knife slipped. It was only the tip of my finger, so does it really count? The second time was last week when some damn HYDRA agent threw a fucking samurai sword at my head and it barely missed my ear. Which by the way, ruined my streak of at least 20 years of not getting cut by a knife. Other than that, nothing bad has really happened.

I guess I never really learned my lesson because now I play with knives for my job. Anyways, I’ll write some more tomorrow.

--Blade

“First entry down. Boom” You say with a slight head nod. Never in a million years would you have thought that you would be writing in a diary, especially not a bright fucking purple one. That’s the best Dr. Lawrence could do? You work with superheroes and play with knives for a living and she thought that a bright purple diary was a good idea? It’s a rhetorical question, it’s definitely not a good idea.

A knock at your door took you out of your trance of staring at this obnoxiously bright diary. Steve pokes his head in, Jesus Christ he’s such a dad, you think.

“Hey there, we got a team briefing in 10. A new HYDRA breakthrough.” He says.

Oh goody. “Alright, thanks Steve.” You stand up and stretch your legs and back out.

“So uh, new hobby?” He says pointing at the journal.

“Oh yeah, totally. Dr. Lawrence said it would help if I wrote my feelings down. I think I'm gonna name it Sheila.”

He nods, “Sheila. Uh... yeah, Sheila suits it”.

The both of you begin the walk down to the briefing room.

“Wait wait wait, HYDRA? I thought we got rid of them when SHIELD collapsed.” You asked.

“They’re rebuilding.”

“Of course they’re fucking rebuilding.” You say with a sigh.

“Nice of you guys to finally join the party.”

“You actually interrupted my therapy sanctioned diary entry for today Tony, so thanks.” He rolled his eyes and scoffed.

“No need for the attitude Blade.” Now it’s your turn to roll your eyes and scoff as you fall into your seat.

“Let's just get this over with, I have better things to do” you mutter.

“....Alrighty,” Steve starts, “with the collapse of SHIELD and consequently HYDRA, what's left of HYDRA went underground. They used and analysed everything they had on physical files. We now know that they are trying to re-created the super soldier serum.”  

“Awesome” Bucky grumbles.

“That’s not all,” Steve continued “they are exclusively experimenting on women and children.” The room goes silent.

“Why wouldn’t they re-use the Red Rooms resources then?” You pipe up.

“They didn’t want to draw attention to themselves and what's left of the Red Room is nothing but retired widows who just want a normal life.” Natasha says.

“Including you?” you ask her. “In the future yeah, but not now.” You nod and your eyes linger on her.

“Do we have a location?” Bucky asks.

“Eastern Germany, more specifically East Berlin.” Steve replied. Whose bright idea was it to go back to Germany?

“Alright, suit up everyone, wheels up in 15.” Tony says as everyone begins to leave.

You make your way back to your room to grab your gear and suit up. Ya know, I know that this mission is important but, why do I have to go? I know it's unhealthy to stay holed up in my room but god, I really don’t want to go, you thought to yourself. You sigh and start walking towards the quinjet, grabbing your journal and a pen on the way out. You're the last one to get on, plopping down on a seat in the back. You start writing.

Sup Sheila. I guess writing has kinda distracted me from my poor pathetic self. I’m going on this mission to stop HYDRA. Yep, you heard me right. HYDRA. They’re fucking back. And guess where they are! Germany! FUCKING GERMANY! The audacity. I bet they’re all men. No woman, even a HYDRA agent, would go BACK to Germany. I digress, anyways, I guess this mission could help. I haven’t been in the field since the accident. So maybe this is for the better? I truly don’t know, i’ll let you know when I get back

--Blade

You close your journal and kind zone out. I don’t even know why I’m here. Why couldn't they bring Clint, oh yeah, he fell off the roof trying to fly. What kind of fucking idiot does he think he is? I bet he’s having the time of his life right now. Not having to go on this mission. He’s probably watching shitty sitcom re-runs while eating something dumb, like garlic bread. Mmmmmm, garlic bread. I could eat so much garlic bread right now it’s not even funny. If I could, I would fuck garlic bread, and I DON’T EVEN LIKE SEX. Good thing Wanda’s not here, she would be concerned.

“Hey, you good?” Natasha nudges you and asks.

“About as good as I can be for someone who’s mom just died and is going to stop a rogue Nazi division from the 40s that never really went away.” That is such a lie, I was totally thinking about garlic bread.  

“Huh, well, that’s one way to put it.” She says, “Well, if you ever need someone to talk to, I’m here”  

“Got it, thank you Nat, I really appreciate it.”

Normally when someone says something like “I'm here if you need to talk” and all that other bullshit, it just goes in one ear and out the other. But when Nat says it, it makes you want to believe it. It’s almost comforting. You get up from your seat to grab your blades, and Tony stops you.

“What Tony?”  

“Hey, what's with the attitude? I just wanted to say that I upgraded your knives for you. Something nice, ya know. Thought you might need some cheering up.”  

“That- that's actually nice. Thank you Tony.”  

“They need a little sharpening but, I figured you could do that since it's kinda your thing.”

You chuckle, “Yeah, thank you, again.” I guess you learn something new everyday. Tony isn’t actually a self absorbed douchebag all the time. You start sharpening your swords when someone sits next to you.

“Sweet knives!”  

“Thank you Sam, they’re nice, aren’t they” You say glancing at Tony.

“Alright, let's go over the plan.” Steve gathers everyone's attention.

“Sam and Tony, you guys are in the air, make sure nothing goes in or out of the base. Blade and Nat, you two take the front entrance while Bucky and I take the back. It’s not a big base, we need to get in, take what we need and get out as soon as possible. Use your comms if you need something.” As the jet lands, everyone splits up into their designated teams.

“Are you sure you’re okay to go on this mission?” Nat asks. “I mean, you’ve been staring off into space since we took off.”

“I’m gonna be totally honest with you, most, if not the whole time, I was thinking about garlic bread.”

“Why were you thinking about garlic bread?”  

“Well, I don’t know, it happens from time to time, I can't stop it.”  

“You’re really weird.”  

“You’re stuck with it.”

By this time, all teams have left the jet. You and Natasha are nearing the front. Do I still want garlic bread? Yes. I do.

“Please don’t think about garlic bread right now”

“You have very little faith in me, I was thinking about….not garlic bread”  

“Mmmhmm, yeah, sure. Just,” she sighs “watch by back and don’t do anything stupid.”  

“I don’t do stupid things. The person you should be telling that to is Clint. He fell off the roof for fucks sake! Trying to what? Hmmm?? Trying to fly! Fucking fly!”

He shouldn’t be called Hawkeye anymore. He already got too many bad ideas about trying to be a hawk. We should revoke his superhero name and call him sharpshooter or some shit. No more bird names.

You and Nat enter the base. It’s too dark in here. HYDRA couldn’t afford some lights? Cheap bastards. You’re walking down the darkest hallway known to man, when you hear something.

“You hear that?” You ask.

“Yep, we should probably go check it out.”  

“Fuck no! I am sure as hell not doing that! This place gives me American Horror Story: Asylum vibes, and I am not here for it.” Unless Sarah Paulson is there. I would do anything for her.

“Jesus Christ Blade! This is what we are here for!”  

“Ughhhhhhh, fine. You go in first though.”

You two go into the room where the noise was heard.

“There’s no one here.”  

“no shit Natasha, it’s almost like you have eyes.”

She gave you a pointed look and you sighed and started searching the room.

“What are we looking for again? I was too busy thinking about garlic bread to catch what Steve said”  

”Of course you were . We’re looking for any information regarding HYDRA. Weapon plans, base blueprints and info on the winter soldier project.”

*GASP* Buckyyyy….. “Got it, thanks.”  

“I'm gonna go find another room, you got this covered?”  

“Yup, don’t worry about me, I got this” you give her a thumbs up as she leaves.

You continue to look around the room when you feel a slight breeze.

“That's weird” You say to yourself. You start following where the wind is coming from and find a door.  

“Wow, HYDRA could afford a secret door but not lights?” You go through the door to find another empty room.

“Okay, that’s extra weird.” The door closes.

“Oh shit.”  you try to open the door but it doesn’t budge. “Hello!” you use your comm but you just hear static.

“Ok well, that’s not good.” you start trying to find a way out until you hear footsteps behind you. OH SHIT, STRAIGHT OUT OF THE HORROR MOVIES. And then the lights cut out.

“Okay, ha ha! Very funny! Making sure the person with the big scary knives can’t see. Well jokes on you! I'm just gonna start swinging! And if I hit something, then well, hopefully it’s HYDRA.” You yell out.  

“You are not gonna make it out alive” A voice came from the right of you. You pull out your swords and turn to the right.

You gasp. “You’re a woman!”  

“Indeed I am. But, like I said earlier, you’re not making it out of this one, sweetheart”  

“Oh honey, they call me Blade for a reason, so you might not make it out alive.”  

“I highly doubt that” she said as she hit you upside the head, knocking you out.

A/N: AHHHH! this is my first book/fic and I am very excited! please please please don't be afraid to like or comment, it makes my day when you do!

[winterhawkwonderland]

2020 Exchange Round up!

It’s here!!! An easy to find complete list of works from our 2020 Winterhawk Wonderland Exchange event. It is listed by title of work and author or artist, and includes rating, summary, and word count (if applicable). Our event excluded any of the AO3 Big Four warnings, but please do check tags and warnings on each work before diving in, just in case you find something there that squicks or triggers you!

Once again, thank you all so much for participating and making this a great event! Love the Winterhawk fandom!

If you do not see your work listed, please contact the Mods and we will update the post - all works were pulled from the AO3 Collection, but it’s possible we overlooked something or made a mistake! Additionally - Tumblr (in true Tumblr fashion) would not let us tag some creators - their names are on the list but the hyperlink doesn’t work. We apologize for the technical difficulty, but have no way of fixing broken Tumblr links. Please know that no offense was intended. 

The 300 Club by @fosterthefuture for @gwhell. Rated T, 10,109 words “Me here?” Bucky asks, a little hysterically. “What do you expect me to do, be the one to haul your frozen body in from the snow bank you inevitably fall into and die in?”Clint chuckles, as though what Bucky’s asked is completely illogical, which it decidedly is not. “Nah, you can suit up if you want to come along to make sure I stay on track, but I’ll make it back just fine. I really just need you to be here to make sure the door stays open, help me get my boots off and into those blankets when I get back.”“Clint,” Bucky asks, eyes now closed. “Please tell me you wouldn’t do this if you were completely alone.”The silence that emanates from the sauna is telling.“Well,” Clint finally says, “I’m trying to not get into the habit of lying to you, Barnes.”

40k misunderstandings by @verdantbogmoth for @flawsinthevoodoo. Not Rated, 3,280 words. “Are they real?” Bucky gasps. “Who keeps bags of real rose petals just lying on hand?”“Tony, for special random events and for us to steal to have fun with,” Clint supplies helpfully. “Where do they go?”“Everywhere,” Bucky decides. “The couch, the table, the fucking tv stand.” Clint pops the bag and they spend several minutes turning Bucky’s living area into a very perfumed, petal draped nightmare. “Oh, my god.” Bucky says gleefully. “It looks like a porno,” Clint claps. “A serial killer porno!” Bucky amends. “This is fantastic. Why aren’t rose petals everywhere, always. Why don’t more people just throw them around for any old event?”

[ART] Christmas fluff by @elynehil for @chekov-in-a-dress. Rated G. Winterhawk Wonderland gift :)

[ART] Cooking By The Book by @not-the-blue for @thegrowingwordsmith. Rated G.  Clint attempts a holiday recipe from Bucky's childhood. He... might need a second attempt.

[art] i (heart) hawkeye by @gwhells for @lantaniel. Rated G. Art for lantaniel for the Winterhawk wonderland gift exchange!

[ART] i still feel this way when light catches your face by @quicksillver for @sevdrag. Rated G. Winterhawk Wonderland gift! :)

An Affinity for Elf Culture by @bella-dahlia for @trekchik. Rated T. 8,501 words. When Bucky Barnes was told he would be doing press and community outreach as part of his prosthetic program, no one mentioned to him it would involve dressing up like an Elf from the North Pole.The hella cute blonde elf in head to toe purple hadn't been brought up either.Hiding in his hoodie wasn't going to be an option, was it?

All I Want for the Holidays Is You by @merelypassingtime for @flowerparrish. Rated G. 7,205 words. Clint obligingly took the last name in the hat. Unfolding it he read the name, Bucky. Crap. What was he supposed to do with that? When Clint draws Bucky’s name for the Avengers holiday gift exchange, he struggles to find the perfect gift.

as long as it’s with you by @theproblemwithstardust for @theonlyceeceej. Rated T. 2,651 words. Clint didn’t know when the thing between him and Bucky became an actual thing. At some point the banter had evolved from a fun and engaging way to pass the time into a weirdly competitive game of flirting chicken.

A bad day turned good by @gabrielsammysangel for @misterknife. Rated G. 1,115 words.  Clint Barton was having a bad day, one kiss to take it all away. Aka how a full bad day can be wipped away when you have a good boyfriend.

Bandages and Soot by @fanbinbun for @hawkguyandthewinterdude. Rated T. 2,358 words. “Oh, you’re new. Hi! I’m Clint. I come here often.” “I have been warned.” Bucky said with amusement curling his lips. “Got a name, or should I just give in and start calling you ‘hot nurse’?”

Because of Coffee and a Chocolate Doughnut. by @jazzrose343 for @loonyloopylisa. Rated M. 5,257 words. Bucky is an Actor. Clint is stunt actor and coordinator. Shenanigans Happen

Better Than Fine by @vexbatch for @theproblemwithstardust. Rated T. 4,439 words. Clint promised Kate he'd bring a plus one to her engagement party, but now he needs to find one. Maybe Bucky will do him a favor? Maybe Clint's crush on Bucky won't be a problem for said favor?

[ART] The Cat doesn't agree by @misterknife for @Inktastic1711. Rated G.  5 words. Clint was determined to get the best family photo this year. Except now he's pretty sure that fighting alien hoards or doombot armies might actually be easier than wrangling a cat into a sweater.Bucky says that Alpine's sorry.Clint thinks she might kill him in his sleep.

cause it's just what you must do by @sevdrag for yamyamyam. Rated T. 3,399 words. Clint ducks away at Tony's holiday party for a breather. Little does he know this closet is occupied.

Christmas With the Barnes's by @jstabe for @claraxbarton. Rated T. 3,163 words. He knows Clint is nervous. If he’s honest, he is a little too. He and Clint have been dating just shy of two years but with their hectic work schedules, it’s rare for them to have full days off together so Clint isn’t used to large family gatherings.

The Common Room by @trekchik for @nana-evans. Rated E. 1094 words. No one knows they're together. Right?

Communication is key by @averyrogers83writes for @harishe-art. Rated G. 3,434 words. Bucky screws up and pisses Clint off possibly ruining any chance of having more than a working relationship with the archer.

[ART] Cookies For Two by madnerding for @hopelessly-me. Rated G. 29 words.  My prompt was for cookie decorating and I hope I delivered. Enjoy!

Coping Mechanisms by @mariana-oconnor for @feathers-and-cigarettes. Rated E. 4,321 words. After the events of Freefall, Clint Barton is exhausted, bruised and on everyone's Most Wanted list. Luckily, or unluckily, it's Bucky Barnes who ends up finding him.

Cover Me by @downwarddnaspiral for @feedmecookiesnow. Rated M. 8,618 words. Clint and Bucky end up off the grid and in close quarters. Featuring the world’s crappiest safehouse, a semi-retired spy, and an assassin with strong opinions about the cold.

Delicate, hand wash only by @mollynoble for @pherryt. Rated E. 6,074 words.  “Hey, Buck, what do you need?” Clint moved closer, he wanted to reach out but he resisted the urge, that could be a bad idea right now. “What can I do to help?” He pitched his voice low and soothing. There was a pause, then Bucky's eyes focused on him. “Right now all I want is a bath and then sleep.”

Draw Me Like One of Your Frenchmen by @alchemistdoctor for @thwip. Rated M. 1,410 words. This is written for andthwip in the winterhawk wonderland exchange, who requested sexting during inappropriate times, date night ends in trying a new kink, or getting off in the field. I managed the first two!

Fate or Natasha by bear_shark for @kidd-you-not. Rated G. 1,663 words.  How it ended: Bucky watched the rise and fall of Clint’s chest while he slept. Every few minutes, he would snuffle and rub his face against Bucky’s chest. Bucky’s phone pinged, and he carefully checked his texts. Natasha: How did your date with Clint go? Bucky sat up quickly, jostling Clint. “What the hell?” 

The Fight Before Christmas by @theonlyceeceej for @jstabe. Rated E. 4,040 words. Now, don’t let it be said that Bucky couldn’t take a joke. He could. Really. But sometimes it was just too much. Clint was just too much. Clint is the epitome of a schoolboy with a crush; Pulling pigtails, calling names, the lot! Ok, maybe it was more than a crush, judging by the many thoughts about being thrown around by the Winter Soldier. He just needed to get his attention... But will it work?

For This by @endof-theline for @elynehil. Rated G. 5,652 words. Bucky and Clint are moving in together and it's not just the boys we have to worry about, because Lucky and Alpine are moving too!

Getaway Car by @feedmecookiesnow for @genderfluid-and-confuzled. Rated G. 4,405 words. The guy regains his balance and starts running again. He slips one more time, slides a little more, and then suddenly he’s right next to the car, fumbling at the handle of the passenger side door. A blast of cold wind comes as he yanks it open, practically falling into the seat in a swirl of snowflakes. “Go, go!” he yells, and Clint goes. He doesn’t even question it, just slams the car into drive and shoots out into the street, skidding a little on the ice.

Guardian Angel by @chrissihr for @spacetimeconundrum. Rated T. 3,469 words. Clint attracts strays like moths to flame. All he wanted to do was bring home a puppy he found in a box marked ‘free’ in crayon. It was just sitting out in the rain under the awning in front of his neighborhood pizza place.He couldn't just leave it there ... right?

Hit Me With Your Best Shots by @thegrowingwordsmith for @fosterthefuture. Rated G. 2,185 words. As a barista, Bucky has witnessed a lot of crazy customers and their creations. He has made drinks with so much syrup that there was barely room for coffee, and gotten orders with so many modifications that it had to print on multiple stickers. None, however, even came close to the strangeness of Too Much Caffeine guy.

[ART] How do you like them apples? by @lantaniel for @vexbatch. Rated G.  Because Clint is incapable of 1.doing a calm activity, and 2.not climbing a tree.

Howl by @drgrlfriend for @mariana-oconnor. Rated T. 9,729 words. Excerpt: Bucky gets that uncomfortable feeling again, like he missed something. Lost time maybe. It’s been happening less and less, but it still happens. “I don’t know what you mean.” The man runs a broad hand up the back of his neck, mouth pulling to the side as he seems to consider his words. “Skin feels too tight sometimes? Feels like you gotta keep moving, but no place feels right? Got an ache deep in your bones that you just can’t seem to get rid of?” “What —” Bucky swallows, the rest of the sentence jagged in his throat. He knows there are Avengers who are witches, or telepaths, or whatever, but he’d never heard of Hawkeye being one of them. “How are you — are you in my head? —”

[ART] I got you by @vexedbeverage for @gabrielsammysangel. Rated T. 100 words. I decided I wanted to do some art but then my writing brain told me I couldn't stop there. I've never done a drabble before so I thought I'd give it a try!

I Love How Your Soul is A Mix of Chaos and Art by @flawsinthevoodoo for @merelypassingtime. Rated T. 5,745 words. This is basically a 5+1 where Clint "Borrows" a great many hoodies as a coping mechanism and Bucky decides Clint needs to be a part of his life, not just his laundry.

if these wings could fly by @flowerparrish for @hawksonfire. Rated M. 4,018 words. He waits a few moments, pretty sure he’s going to have to start knocking again, when the door swings open. There’s Bucky, shirtless, disheveled, wings spread out behind him like some kind of tragic painting of an angel. Not that Clint knows much about art, but with the dark colors and dim lights he thinks this could totally have been something one of those old dudes dreamed up.

It Must be Winter in my Heart by @harishe-art for @jazzrose343. Rated G. 3,055 words. It's the holiday season and for some reason Clint and Bucky keep getting mistaken as a couple. They hadn't even planned to meet up most of them time. Why does this keep happening to them?

It was Only a Winter's Tale by @harishe-art for @averyrogers83. Rated G. 1,628 words.  Clint and Bucky prepare to celebrate their first winter holiday together when Bucky has a realization during an argument.

it was peace by @loonyloopylisa for @drgrlfriend. Rated G. 1,932 words. “Um, hi, I’m Bucky?” he said, hating himself for the way it came out like a question. “Hi Bucky,” the man answered, a wide smile on his tan face, “I’m Clint. What can I do for you?” Inwardly thankful for this therapist for making him practice he said, “I was wondering if you had any volunteer opportunities?” Clint gave him a considering look, bright blue eyes narrowed thoughtfully. Bucky was sure he was assessing him and finding him lacking, taking in the missing arm and coming up with a reason Bucky wouldn’t fit in. He was bracing himself for the rejection when Clint said, “sure.”

A Kind of Magic by @sian1359 for bear_shark. Rated G. 7.034 words. Bucky has some help adapting from being Hydra's Winter Soldier to becoming the Avenger's Winter Soldier

Lilac you a lot by @hawkguyandthewinterdude for @harishe-art. Rated T. 6,490 words.  It starts with one purple sock and just escalates from there.

Lost Time by @lissadiane for @vexedbeverage. Rated T. 10,029 words. Clint’s always known the universe doesn’t like him all that much. But all he knows now, as his heart beats out a rhythm and there isn’t a heartbeat to harmonize with it, is that he’s found his soulmate -- and he’s been dead for over 70 years. It’s ironic. It burns. It shouldn’t surprise him. Barney won’t be surprised. Barney’s been saying the universe has it out for them for Clint’s whole life. And this is just further proof. In which soulmates exist but Clint's parents are proof that sometimes, they go terribly wrong.

The Maybe To Your Story by @kangofu-cb for @mollynoble. Rated E. 5,162 words. Bucky walked out of the shared bathroom whistling under his breath, happily ignoring Steve’s groan as he whipped off the towel around his waist to half-assedly swipe at the water droplets on his shoulders. “Oh, you’re still here?” he asked blithely, toweling at his hair. “Might want to shake a leg before you get an eyeful of something you want to see even less than my dick.” “I’m going, I’m going,” Steve grumbled. “Fuck. Can’t believe I’m getting sexiled for the third time this week. For Barton.” Or, instead of talking about their feelings, Clint and Bucky decide to fuck about it.

my hands no longer an afterthought by @shatteredhourglass for @quicksillver. Rated T. 2,922 words. Bucky's moving on with his life. Shaking off the Soldier. There's still that one nagging, blond idiot-shaped regret, though.

Nowhere to go but with you by Lacerta for @sian1359. Rated G. 5,905 words. Clint fights the urge to cross his arms, keeping them hanging loosely by his sides instead, and forces himself to relax his shoulders. It’s just a small precaution in case he needs to react fast but, god, he hopes it doesn’t come to that. He doubts any precaution that doesn’t include a loaded weapon would help him last more than a minute. He watches the man sitting across the kitchen table from him, curled in on himself under Clint’s warmest blanket with his hands wrapped around a steaming cup of coffee, and tries to wrap his head around the very unusual, very alarming situation he has gotten himself into.

On The Fifth Day of Christmas, The Winter Soldier Stole For Me..... by @ch3ls3ara3 for @alchemistdoctor. Rated T. 8,178 words.  “Are these pears? Why the hell is there a pear tree in my apartment?” he asked Lucky who was now sitting patiently, staring up at the bird with his tongue hanging out and tail wagging. “What is happening?” Clint Barton knew he was a disaster, it never really shocked him anymore when he ended up in strange situations. These twelve days leading up to Christmas, though? Those days he would have never seen coming.

the one where Clint hates christmas horror by @thwip for @bella-dahlia. Rated M. 2,898 words. “We take turns, Clint. This week is Nat’s turn, next week is yours,” Tony quips, sipping from his own mug. “We can watch The Holiday, for the third year in a row, then.” Clint opens his mouth and starts to protest Tony’s eye roll because The Holiday is a cinematic masterpiece and Kate Winslet may give her best performance yet, Tony! Not to mention Cameron Diaz! Singing Mr Brightside! It’s a great film, when the front door opens and Bucky and Steve walk in, laughing about something. Clint's mouth snaps shut and his eyes immediately flicking towards Bucky, admiring the way the navy fabric of his henley clings to the thick biceps that are almost bursting out of it.

Operation Snowbound by RedTeamShark for @heartonfirewrites. Rated G. 4,048 words. The mission is a simple job: tag a convoy as it drives through the pass and then skedaddle back down the mountain. Easy enough that Clint could do it in his sleep. And he doesn’t even have to pull the trigger, that’s what Bucky’s there for. Until an unexpected weather event leaves the two of them stranded on a mountainside in a blizzard, battling the cold, Clint’s taste in coffee, and Bucky’s idea of idle conversation.

Outside the World by @pherryt for @verdantbogmoth. Rated G. 4,767 words. Bucky doesn't really remember who he is, and what little he does remember is impossible. All his therapists have said so. There's no way he can be who he thinks he is - a character from a children's book.And yet, the world around him just doesn't *feel* right - its too dark, too colorless and doesn't match the vibrancy of his dreams. Dreams he tries to capture both on paper and on his walls.Bucky doesn't have any answers he can count on, just the hat he's kept all these years, but that guy that started following him - as vibrant and eye-catching as the pieces of Bucky's dreams -Well, he just might.

The Prince's "Delivery Boy" by allyouneedissleep for @endof-theline. Rated T. 4,917 words. He wouldn’t have any issues at all with the secrecy rules stating that only people in confirmed legal marriages could tell their significant other about their job if he was planning to marry anyone except the Prince who was first in line to take over as King of Brooklyn after his marriage went through. Clint was about to effectively become Queen of Brooklyn and he couldn’t even tell his fiance what he did for a living. As far as Bucky knew, he was a delivery boy. A DELIVERY BOY.

[ART] Snow Way Out! by @inktastic1711 for @fanbinbun. Rated G. 24 words. Prompt: While on a mission, Clint and Bucky end up on an impromptu sledding trip down the snowy hill/mountain to escape the bad guys. Bonus points if the sled isn't actually a sled.

Snowed In by @chekov-in-a-dress for @ch3ls3ara3. Rated T. 4,332 words.  Secret Santa Story for CarafeOfColdBrew! Dad Bucky and his daughter Nat are on their way to Bentonsport where Bucky is supposed to check out a possible site to build a resort when they get overwhelmed by a snowstorm. How lucky that they get pointed to a bed and breakfast owned by a certain handsome dork.

So much to say (I just can't speak) by @hopelessly-me for Allyouneedissleep. Rated T. 3,260 words. Bucky has never considered himself the jealous type. But when Steve and Clint start hanging out more and more, Bucky starts pulling back to protect his own feelings.

Some Luck by @claraxbarton for @not-the-blue. Rated T. 3,558 words. “Cowboys?” he asked. Judith smiled at him. “I love to give my darlings what they want.”

a storm is comin' in by @heartonfirewrites for @chrissihr. Rated T. 9,686 words. Sasquatches don’t exist. Clint is sure of it. So what’s that fuckin' bigass yeti doing outside Tony’s upstate cabin in the middle of a nor’easter, looming ominously and ruining Clint’s plans for a quiet Christmas alone with Lucky?

Time and Time Again by @pherryt for @shatteredhourglass. Rated E. 6,497 words. The past has a way of catching up to people and Clint knows that better than most. Despite that ingrained life lesson, he still doesn't expect it when a part of Steve's past turns out to also be part of Clint’s. He's... not sure where to go from here.

too cold to feel (but i know you're there) by @hawksonfire for @trashcanakin. Rated T. 1,983 words.  Clint’s been cold his whole life. He doesn’t mind, really, has learned to always keep a pair of gloves on him, even in the summer. He gets weird looks for it, but he stopped caring what people thought of him a long time ago. His apartment has always got spare blankets laying around, and his dresser is jam packed with thick pairs of socks.

[ART] A Walk in the Woods by @spacetimeconundrum for @downwarddnaspiral. Rated T.  One finds the strangest things in the woods...

What's a Guy Like You Doing in a Place Like This by @sevdrag for @kangofu-cb​. Rated T. 8,091 words. A 5+1 fic for Winterhawk Wonderland: Five Times It Wasn't A Date, and One Time It Actually Was.

Word Search by yamyamyam for RedTeamShark. Rated T. 3,858 words. Bucky doesn't understand why he should have to see a doctor about a measly little bullet wound. Steve doesn't understand why that would be optional, Jesus Christ, Buck, we can have nice things now. Clint doesn't understand why he can't visit Bucky in the super-secure lockdown ward. The NYFD doesn't understand why Clint can't get out of a baby swing without the jaws of life. Natasha doesn't understand why she puts up with any of these idiots.

[ART] You Come Here Often? by @trashcanakin​ for Madnerding. Rated G.  winterHawk in the vents.

You had me at Loathing by @kidd-you-not​ for Lacerta. Rated T. 5,715 words. "What?" he asks absolutely no one, completely baffled. Movement to his left catches his eye and he twists around, still hanging from the balcony railing by his legs, and gapes. There, right there on the adjourning apartment building, is a man. A man clad all in black, with chestnut brown hair falling to his chin and a mask covering the lower part of his face. Holding a sniper rifle in his right hand and giving Clint a mocking little salute with the left. "Motherfucker!" Clint screams. Hawkeye and the Winter Soldier work for competing companies. Unfortunately for everyone involved, they cross paths on more jobs than either of their handlers can endure.

Honorable Mention:

The Opposite of Love by @teeelsie-posts for @loonyloopylisa. Rated E. 10,000 words. You know that social media post where the guy says he’s a felon and he’ll come terrorize your family for Thanksgiving in exchange for a free meal? Yeah, that’s what this is. Except that Clint is Clint, and Bucky is Bucky, and they’re both Avengers, but Clint’s family is a bunch of assholes and Bucky decides to help him out with that. Oh, and it’s Christmas, not Thanksgiving. Mod Note: This fic was begun for last year’s exchange then discarded for another idea, but Teeelsie finished it unexpectedly and asked permission to include it in this year’s collection and we were happy to allow that. Please enjoy!

[arrow-guy]

Talk to Me

Original request from @scrawlingwithstyle: Here's a request I've been sitting on for a bit. ClintxReader; Clint is deaf and most people rely on his lipreading skills, but Reader knows some ASL from when her family thought her autistic younger sibling would never speak (they became vocal close to seven years old). They have secret conversations across the room, thinking no one else on the team understands. . . . They're wrong. Adjust however you like!

A/N: Okay, it’s taken probably close to a year to actually get around to this, but i kind of breezed through writing it? And it was a whole bunch of fun to finally put down in a document. I didn’t change much about your request, but I definitely added to it, and made it a little romantic? Idk if it’ll come off as romance, it’s kind of goofy (it’s Clint, there needs to be a goof somewhere.) I really hope you like it, though!!

Page dividers by @carryonmyswansong

Pairing: ClintxReader

Word Count: 5.5k

Warnings: None

“Are you sure about this, Bruce?” I ask. “Ross let me go as soon as you went AWOL. I haven’t worked with people like this in years.”

“Of course I’m sure! You were the best back in the day.”

“Back in the day,” I laugh. “You make it sound like we’re ancient.”

“We’re not as young as we used to be,” he says. “But that’s the point. You’ll bring some much needed experience to the table.”

“But I’m not a spy and I definitely don’t have any powers.”

“Trust me, (Y/N), superpowers are not all they’re cracked up to be, and both spies have long since ceased their spying activities.” I cock one eyebrow and he laughs. “For the most part.”

“Saying a spy stopped being a spy is like saying you misplaced the hulk.”

“Ah, very true.”

“I’ll do it, though.”

“You will?”

“Well I can’t very well leave you to fend for yourself, now can I? As it stands, I’m already a shitty friend, working together can’t hurt things.”

Bruce grins and grips my shoulder. “I’ll see you Monday, then.”

I roll my eyes, but can’t fight back my smile. “Do I need to pack a bag, or will I be allowed to go home at the end of the day?”

“Not sure yet. Might as well bring a change of clothes and a toothbrush just in case.”

“Alright, then. I’ll see you Monday.”

“I can’t believe you actually pulled it off, Banner,” Stark says. “You wrangled a counselor for the team?”

“What,” I say. “Like it was supposed to be hard?”

Bruce laughs and reaches out to place his hand on my shoulder. “I’ve known (Y/N) for just about as long as I can remember. I’m sure she’ll be a good fit.”

“As long as you can remember, huh?” I look past Captain Rogers and find a sandy haired man. He grins when I meet his eyes. “Just how long?”

I bob my head from side to side. “Somewhere between twenty years and most of our lives.”

He whistles. “Pretty long time, then.”

“Mhm.”

Bruce clears his throat. “I’m sure (Y/N) wants to see where she’ll be working, so I’ll just show her to her office.”

Everyone in the boardroom waves and Bruce leads me out of the room. As soon as we’re out in the hall I sigh and bow my head, finally able to let my shoulders relax.

“That was a lot.”

Bruce chuckles. “Trust me, it’ll either get worse or stay exactly the same as time goes on, depending on who you’re talking to.”

“The blond guy who spoke up, that’s Hawkeye, right?”

“Clint Barton, yeah.”

“Will I be seeing much of him?”

“I’m not sure. I don’t really know much about the guy. He seems pretty happy-go-lucky and stable most of the time, though.”

“Huh.” I shrug and hitch my bag a little higher on my shoulder. “You never know with some people.”

“True. I’m sure you’ll deal with him at least once more after this. He’s the curious type.”

“I guess I’ll have to look forward to that, then.”

Bruce hummed in agreement and leads me to the elevator bank and takes me down to what will eventually be my office. He gives me a basic rundown of the facilities and shows me which restroom is closest to my office. I ask for a baseline reading on everyone on the team and Bruce rattles off what he’s noticed about the main five.

“Steve will most likely drop by to make small talk, but it may take some time for him to open up in any way that counts. Tony will joke about therapy, but once he warms up to you it’ll be impossible to get him to leave.”

“Oof, that bad?”

“He’s long-winded.”

“Then I guess I’ll have to enforce appointments with him when he starts to take interest.”

“Probably wise.”

“And Natasha?”

“I doubt you’ll see much of her. She has her ways of working through her issues on her own.”

“Do they involve murder?”

“Don’t know, and I don’t care to.”

“Got it. None of our business. I’ll let her come to me if she needs anything.” I plop down behind my new desk. “What about Thor?”

“Who knows. He shows up when he wants and tends to be a pretty jovial guy.”

“Ah. Is there anyone else outside of the tower I can expect?”

“Wanda, Sam, and Rhodey will be around from time to time. If Steve has his way, Bucky will move in at some point, and Wanda is currently in the process of moving into the tower, so you may see her more after that. I’m not sure how often she’ll drop by. She’s fairly private due to her powers.”

“Energy manipulation, right?”

He nods. “That, and other mind tricks.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“But that just leaves Clint, and we’ve already gone over what you can expect from him.”

“It doesn’t just leave Clint, Bruce.” I fold my hands on the desktop. “I expect to see you in here at least once a week. Ideally twice.”

Bruce scowls. “(Y/N), you know how I feel about that.”

“Yeah, well, I listen to your opinions on that stuff when I’m just your friend. Now I’m your therapist, and you’re going to listen to me because I know what works for you. So I expect you to get your pasty ass in here when you’re scheduled.”

“You’re making appointments for me now?”

“Until I’m sure you’ll come to me on your own, yes.”

He rolls his eyes. “Fine. Send me the schedule. I’ll see you at my appointed time.”

“Wonderful.” I relax my shoulders, letting my professional mask slip. “Thanks for this, Bruce. I mean it.”

“I know you do.” He cracks a smile. “You’re the only person I trust to get to the root of our issues.”

“I appreciate that. I’ll try not to let you down.”

“Believe me, (Y/N), if anyone’s gonna let me down, it’ll be the team.” I laugh and he heads for the door. “I’ll see you later. Good luck with your first day.”

“Thanks, Bruce. I’ll see you later!”

“So, (Y/N),” Tony says, spreading out on the couch across from my chair. “What’s your deal?”

“My deal?”

“Yeah, what makes you tick? What motivates you to try and heal the fragile minds of the Avengers?”

“I’d say a decent paycheck is a pretty good motivator, Mr. Stark.”

He seems disappointed with my answer. “Is that it?”

“Well, that, and I want to make sure Bruce is doing alright. He’s struggled with therapy in the past, and I want to make sure he’s getting the kind of help that he needs.”

“I see.” He presses his lips together and folds his arms. “You’re not even curious about the rest of the team?”

“Of course I’m curious, but nothing discussed in this tower will be shared with anyone outside. I take my patients privacy very seriously.”

“You sure you don’t just fear for your life?”

“Living in New York, I fear for my life constantly. That doesn’t mean that I’m worried about getting merced if I get a little loose lipped outside of work.” I sigh and lean back in my chair. “That being said, I won’t be sharing your confidential information with anyone you haven’t specifically given authorized access to your records.”

“Huh.”

“Yeah. It’s almost like I’m a professional, right?”

He smiles. “I’m really starting to like you, (Y/N).”

“Then I guess I have a lot more of this to look forward to, then, don’t I?”

I laughs and hauls himself up from the couch. “We’ll see.”

I make a note of his response in my open document. “Sounds like a tentative yes to me, Mr. Stark, and I’ll be here so long as you deem my services necessary.”

He nods and exits my office. He leaves the door open.

“How are you liking it here so far, (Y/N)?”

“It’s been quiet, Captain Rogers. It’s a bit like pulling teeth trying to get anyone to make use of their resources.”

“I guess it would be. We’re a relatively private bunch.” He pauses a moment. “And, please, call me Steve.”

“Right, Steve. Is there anything that I can do for you today?” I ask. “It’s entirely alright if you just want to make small talk.”

“Oh, well, uh…” He awkwardly clears his throat and shifts uncomfortably on the couch. “I guess I just wanted to get a lay of the land.”

“I understand.” I glance around my office. “I should probably bring in some art and plants. Make it a little less sterile in here.”

Steve laughs. “That might help.”

I smile. “Maybe an area rug?”

He shrugs. “Whatever you think would be best.”

“I appreciate the creative freedom.” I close my laptop, set it to the side, and settle back in my chair. “Is there something on your mind, Steve?”

“No,” he says quickly. He immediately looks conflicted. “I… well, kind of.”

“Feel free to speak. Nothing you say will leave this office.”

“You hardly know me.”

I shrug. “I know how stressful this environment can be. And, while your team is very good at what they do, they’re also the ones who are causing your stress.”

“I don’t know if I’d say that.” I watch him chew the inside of his cheek. “I guess I’m just concerned that things might not get better, even when Bucky’s moved in.”

“Why’s that?”

“I don’t know. I’m worried that it might not be a good fit for him, or that the team won’t accept him, or that he might not even want to be around me.”

“Those are all valid concerns. Have you mentioned any of this to him?”

“God no. I don’t want to stress him out more than I already have with all of this moving business.”

“I might suggest bringing it up. He might be having similar worries himself, and, as helpful as it is to work towards what’s troubling you with me, I won’t be able to settle your nerves.”

“Maybe you’re right…”

“If nothing else, it might open up a new line of communication between the two of you, which couldn’t hurt.”

Steve stays for another hour, just talking. When he leaves, he asks if I want the door open or closed. I don’t give him a definite answer and he leaves it open, just a crack. I laugh and start on his profile.

Someone knocks on my door and I glance up from my paperwork to see Clint standing in the doorway.

“Mr. Barton,” I say. “I was wondering when I might see you.”

He shrugs. “Here I am.”

“After two weeks, I was starting to think you were avoiding me.”

“If I was?”

“Then it’s none of my business.”

The corner of his mouth lifts in a smile. “I like that answer.”

I rise from my desk and gesture to the couch. He raises his eyebrows, but takes a seat anyway. I sit across from him and watch as he tries to decide just how he should sit. In the end, he leans heavily on his knees. Nothing about him is relaxed.

“I’m starting to think Bruce was wrong about you.”

“What’d the green bean tell you about me?”

“Nothing concrete,” I answer. “He just mentioned that you seem to have a positive outlook on things most of the time.”

He snorts. “Great.”

“Mmm, I see. It’s a facade, then?”

He frowns and presses a finger to his right ear. “Could you say that again?”

“I said, it’s a facade, then?”

“Sometimes.”

I nod. “Interesting.”

He barks out a laugh. “Yeah, interesting.”

I watch him look around the room, examining the art on the walls and the stacks of paper on my desk. When he turns his head to the left, I notice his purple earpiece and something suddenly clicks. He tilts his head to the side when he sees me staring.

“What?”

“Would it be easier if we signed?” I ask, signing along as I speak.

He looks surprised. “You sign?”

I laugh. “Yes. My little brother is on the Autism spectrum. When he was a kid, he was almost entirely nonverbal. Mom taught him sign, and the rest of the family learned along with him.”

“That must’ve been really nice for him.”

“It was nice to be able to communicate with him when he couldn’t vocalize what he wanted to say. He eventually started speaking when he was about seven, though.”

“And you still held onto the signing skills?”

“Of course! It’s not like he just, bam, started talking. It was a long process, and he still has nonverbal days sometimes.” Clint starts to actually smile and it warms my heart. “It’s come in handy in my particular line of work too. Deaf and hard of hearing folks need counsellors and therapists too.”

“Which brings the topic of conversation back to me.” He shakes his head and leans back against the couch and signs, “You’re a tricky one, (Y/N).”

“I’m not tricky!”

“Then what?”

“I’m accommodating.” I speak again, but continue to sign along. “You don’t have to tell me everything, or anything, really. But I’m here to help, if you need me.”

“Thank you.”

“Of course, Clint. Any time.”

“Seems like you and Clint are getting close,” Bruce says.

“I don’t know what you mean, man.”

“He’s in here all the time, (Y/N). There’s no way Barton needs therapy five times a week.”

“It’s not always about therapy, Bruce. I strive to make my office a safe space where everyone knows that they can speak freely. He knows that he can come here and chill out without worrying about the rest of the team.”

“Barton doesn’t really worry about anything, though.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure of that.”

Bruce stares at me, eyes narrowed, and snaps his fingers. "You like him."

I roll my eyes. "I do not like him, Bruce. And you're not even here to talk about Clint, you're here to work on yourself and managing your stress levels."

He rolls his eyes. "I'm sure there's something we could talk about aside from me."

I sigh and hold my head in my hands. "I've been here for two months. I haven't been around long enough to form anything more than tentative relationships with the rest of the team. I'm more concerned about whether or not they can open up to me than I am with my love life."

“Right,” Bruce clears his throat.

“Thank you.” He looks thoroughly ashamed and I have to laugh. “I appreciate the interest, but it’s just not something that you need to worry about.”

“No, I understand.” He smiles and shrugs. “I guess I just miss having that easy rapport with you.”

“I mean, we still have that, Bruce. It’s just not something that I want to talk about in the workplace. It’s one thing to shoot the shit over lunch on a Saturday, it’s another to discuss my patients with another patient, all of whom are my coworkers.”

“I didn’t think about it like that.”

I smile. “It’s fine. Did you want to pick up where we left off on Tuesday?”

“Yeah, sounds good.”

“(Y/N)?”

I’m startled by the woman in the doorway. “Ms. Romanoff?”

She shakes her head and steps into my office. “As long as you’re not a government official, it’s just Natasha.”

“Ah, right.” I sit a little straighter in my chair. “What can I do for you, Natasha?”

“Clint’s said you’ve helped him a lot.”

“I don’t know about that. We just talk. He does all the helping.”

“I figured you’d say that.” She moves quickly across the room and takes a seat on the couch. “I’d like to talk to you, if you have the time.”

“Oh.” I scramble up from my desk to sit across from her. “What about?”

“I need help working through a recent case.”

“Are you sure I’m qualified for that?”

“Well, you said Clint does all the helping. Maybe what I need is a sounding board.”

“Fair enough. Where are you caught up?”

Natasha rattles off the details of a recent mission. I do my best to follow her, but she loses me when she starts explaining the intricacies of a piece of Hydra technology they discovered. Eventually, she perks up, almost looking like she wants to jump up from her seat and run from the room.

“I think I’ve got it.”

“That’s great!”

She calmly gets to her feet and walks to the door. “Thank you, (Y/N).”

I shake my head. “It was my pleasure.”

“Even so, you helped me.” She flashes me an unexpected smile. “I appreciate that.”

“It’s not a problem, Natasha. I hope that we can speak again at some point.”

She nods and heads for the door. “I’ll see you around.”

In the hall I hear, “Oh, hey, Nat.” and Clint pokes his head in soon after.

I smile. “Hey.”

“Hey.” He leans in the doorway and folds his arms. “What’d Nat dump on you?”

“Doctor patient confidentiality, Barton,” I say. “I can’t tell you.”

His arms fall to his side and he dramatically slumps into the room. “I thought you trusted me!”

I laugh. “I do trust you, Clint. But it’s not my information to give.” He drapes himself across the couch and grins at the sight of me fighting back my smile. “If it were, Bruce would have full access to what we talk about in our sessions.”

“That’s private information, (Y/N)!” He laughs. “I see your point.”

“Good.”

“Did you want to grab lunch later? That weird little cafe down the street started serving some kind of coffee burger.”

“Ugh, and you want to eat that?”

“(Y/N), it’s a coffee burger.”

“With all the heinous shit you put in your body, it’s a wonder you’re still alive.”

“If you think I’m bad, you should meet my dog.”

“Is that an offer?”

“Maybe.” He shrugs. “Guess you’ll have to stick around long enough to find out.”

I roll my eyes. “It’s been four months, Clint. If I haven’t run for the hills yet, I’m pretty sure it’s not gonna happen for a while yet.”

Something twinkles in his eyes. “That’s good to hear. I was worried I might scare you off.”

“If anyone were to scare me off, it’d be Tony.” I shake my head. “That man is a handful.”

“What happened to patient confidentiality?”

“Since when is Tony being a handful a secret?” He laughs and I relax in my seat. “But, yeah, I’ll get lunch with you.”

“Really?”

“Someone has to make sure you don’t keel over from physically eating coffee.”

“Oh come on! It’s not like they solidified the coffee and stuck it on a bun!”

“How do you know they didn’t? Maybe they turned the coffee into jello, passed it through a meat grinder, and threw it on a griddle.”

His face scrunches up in disgust. “Ugh, that’d just be burnt coffee.”

“I’ve watched you drink an entire pot of burnt coffee.”

“Desperate times, (Y/N). They call for desperate measures.”

I sigh and shake my head. ”I guess it’s fine, so long as you’re not addicted to caffeine pills.”

“Those don’t do anything for me.”

“That’s terrifying.”

He laughs, hauls himself up from the couch, and offers me a hand. “Shall we?”

“Shall we what?”

“Head out for lunch.”

“Now? I thought you said later.”

“It’s been like five minutes. It’s later now.”

I laugh. “I can’t just go now. I have an appointment with Steve in twenty minutes. We can leave after that.”

He pouts. “Fine.”

“Don’t give me that look, Clint!”

He sighs and trudges towards the door. “I guess I’ll just have to make a reservation for one thirty.”

“That’d be great.”

He flashes a brilliant smile before disappearing out into the hall. I shake my head and move back to my desk.

“That man is gonna get me in trouble.”

“I thought you said you weren’t involved with Clint?”

“I’m not, Bruce.”

“Then what’s this?” He places his phone on my keyboard.

I pick up the phone and find an article titled “Hawkeye’s New Flame, or Just a Fling?” pulled up. A picture of Clint and I at lunch the other day sits just below a paragraph speculating who I could be. I snort and hand him his phone.

“Clint and I went to lunch. That’s all.” I sit back and fold my arms. “What’s the problem, Bruce?”

“I don’t want you getting dragged into some kind of media storm because you work with us.”

“It’s one article!”

“There’s at least four more like it that I’ve seen.”

“I’m not worried about it, Bruce. Clint just went out for lunch and some pap caught us talking. That’s it. There’s nothing more to it, but I can’t stop people from talking.”

“You shouldn’t have to deal with it.”

“No one should have to deal with anyone plastering their personal life all over the internet, but you know what? I’d rather get caught out in public with Clint than Tony.” I laugh. “Can you imagine the shitstorm that’d kick up if that happened?”

Bruce tries not to laugh. “I guess you’re right.”

“It was bound to get out that the Avengers brought in a counsellor at some point. It’s better that it’s like this instead of some media outlet picking up a rumor and deciding that you’re all unstable.”

“Well…”

“I’m not saying you’re the most sane bunch, but that’s no one’s business but yours. Regardless, don’t worry about this. It’ll be fine.”

“Alright.” He pockets his phone. “You’d tell me if something was wrong, right?”

“Of course I would, Bruce. If something comes up, I’ll let you know.”

I sit on the floor of the gym and lift the collar of my shirt to wipe the sweat from my face.

Clint plops down on the floor beside me and tips his head to the side.

“Definitely didn’t expect to find you in here,” he says.

“What, I can’t work out?” I groan and lay back. “Ugh.”

“You okay?”

“No. I knew I should’ve just stuck to the treadmill.”

“What’d you do to yourself?”

“Weights.”

He laughs. “Why did you do that?”

“I don’t know. Is wanting to be able to lift a very large dog a good reason?”

“I wouldn’t say it’s a bad reason.” He lays beside me and props himself up on his elbow. “I could help you, if you want.”

“I don’t know how I feel about being all sweaty gross around you.”

He pokes my stomach and I laugh and shift away. “I don’t know, (Y/N), sweaty’s the new sexy.”

“Aw, that’s sweet.” I laugh and scrunch my nose. “Also kind of gross.”

“Sweet and kind of gross, I think you’ve pretty much summed me up perfectly.” I laugh so hard that I snort and he grins. “So, do you want help working out?”

I press my fist to my mouth to quiet my giggling. “If you’re willing to, I really would appreciate it.”

“Then it’s a done deal.” I thank him and his smile softens. “Sorry about those articles last week, by the way.”

“It’s fine, don’t worry about it.”

“I should’ve warned you, at least. I’m used to it, but you didn’t sign up for pap shots and gossip columns when you took this job.”

I scowl. “Honestly, Clint. If you’re not gonna read my lips, read my hands. It’s totally fine. I don’t care. I had a nice time at lunch. A few dumb articles won’t change that.”

“You mean that?”

“Well, yeah. I like spending time with you outside of all of this,” I say, gesturing to the tower in general. “With, y’know, no expectations of maintaining all of the professional bullshit.”

“Pretty sure you’re the most professional one here.”

“Thanks, I’m glad that comes across in the day to day, but do you understand what I’m saying? Like I genuinely do not care about what a shitty news outlet says. At the end of the day, the only opinions that matter are ours.” I sigh and settle on the floor. “Sorry.”

“Sounds like we’re not the only ones who need therapy.”

I hum. “Maybe I do.”

“No shame in it.”

I smile at him. “I know.” I sit up and get to my feet. “It’s getting late, I should head out.”

“You’re in tomorrow, right?”

“Yeah, I’ll be around till noon. I’ve got a wedding later in the day.”

“Not yours, right?”

I laugh. “No, definitely not mine.”

“Cool,” He smiles up at me. “Then I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Since when do we have staff meetings?” Clint asks.

“Since we brought on a counselor,” Tony says.

I frown. “I’ve been here six months and I’ve never been to any kind of meeting.”

“I’m going to ignore the fact that you brought that up and just keep moving with the meeting.”

I snort and shoot Clint a look. He laughs and signs for me to stop. I wave him off and turn my attention back to the head of the table.

Tony rambles on for about half an hour before Steve cuts in and the two of them start going back and forth. They bicker for twenty minutes before Thor swans in, greeting everyone with his bright, booming voice. I was stuck in my office the last time he was on Earth, so our paths never had a chance to cross. Steve takes a moment to introduce the two of us and Thor vigorously shakes my hand, unintentionally jostling me around the whole time. He takes his seat on the other side of Bruce and the conversation picks up again.

I catch Clint’s eye twitching in my peripheral when Thor speaks a little too loudly. I gesture to get his attention and he raises his eyebrows when he meets my eyes.

“You good?” I sign.

He nods. “Can’t pay attention to save my life in these meetings.”

“I’ve never known anyone to compliment your attention span.”

He mouths, “Oh, ha ha,” and I laugh.

“You’re mean, (Y/N).”

“And here I thought you liked me.”

“Never said I didn’t.” He grins. “The way things are going, I’d say you’re probably just my type.”

I shake my head and hide my smile behind my hand. “Stop.”

“Aw, you're cute when you're embarrassed." I flip him off and he laughs. “That's a compliment!"

I snort. “Pay attention, Clint.”

We manage to make it through another hour and, by that time, someone has turned off the lights and started giving a presentation. I fold my arms on the table and rest my chin on top and beg myself to stay awake through this meeting. I’m sure it’ll only be a little while longer.

Clint’s hand creeps into my line of sight and he taps the table to get my attention. I shoot him a quizzical look and he lifts his eyebrows.

“You still with us?” he signs.

“No.”

“It’s going longer than I thought it would.”

“I’m honestly about to fall asleep.”

“Aw, (Y/N), no.”

“This is how I go out. Avenge me, Clint.”

“No!”

“It’s your job. You have to.”

“But who will help me through the trauma?”

I cover my mouth to muffle my laughter. “I’d be dead, that’s none of my concern.”

He shakes his head. “And you call yourself my friend.”

Natasha clears her throat, startling me away from the conversation. I try to pay attention to the presentation, but I just can't wrap my head around what they're talking about and Clint easily distracts me again.

"Quick question."

Surprised, I sign, "Shoot."

"Would you want to go out with me?"

My brain stops working for a second. "Wait, what?"

"I said, will you go out with me?"

My heart hammers in my chest. "Like as friends, or on a date?"

He sighs. "We've been hanging out as friends for months now. I'm asking you on a date, stupid."

My face heats and I sit back in my seat. “Oh.”

He laughs. “Did I break you?”

“A little.” I frown.

“Just say yes!”

Startled, I glance up the table, only to find Natasha glaring at Clint and I. Everyone is looking at us and I suddenly want to disappear.

“What’s the problem?” Steve asks.

“I’m sick of watching the two of them flirt with each other,” Natasha says. “You’ve been mooning over each other for months. Just say yes and be done with it.”

“Nat, they haven’t said a single thing since the beginning of the meeting.”

“They’ve been signing at each other the entire meeting.” She looks directly at me and signs, “I see everything.”

“Sorry.”

“Just say yes.” She looks very pointedly between Clint and I. “You’d be good together.”

“I thought you said you didn’t like him!” Bruce says.

“That was months ago, Bruce. Things change.”

“Don’t be hard on her,” Natasha says. “Clint’s an acquired taste.”

“I’m just gonna, um…” I gesture to the door. “I’m just gonna go.”

I see Tony and Steve nod and I shove my chair back from the table and make my escape. The door shuts behind me, and I’m free. I sigh, relieved to be free of the weight of everyone’s eyes on me, only for the embarrassment of having my crush exposed to my coworkers to settle deep in my stomach.

I press my fingertips to my temples and walk down the hallway. “I knew he was gonna get me in trouble.”

I make the decision to just go back to my office. Maybe I can at least get some work done or, at the very least calm down. I turn as the elevator doors close and catch a glimpse of the conference door opening at the end of the hall. I shift slightly so that it’s not in my line of sight.

The elevator ride feels like it’s too long and I immediately flop down on my couch as soon as I’m in my office. I can't get comfortable and shift around until I'm upside down with my legs over the back of the conch, staring at the ceiling. I press the heels of my hands over my eyes and groan out of frustration.

“I left without even answering him,” I mutter.

The door suddenly opens and I freeze, pulling my hands away from my face, waiting for whoever it is to announce themselves.

"(Y/N)?"

"Clint?" I try to sit up and smack my head on the edge of the coffee table. "Shit."

"Are you okay?" he asks.

I rub my forehead and sit up a little more carefully. "I'll live."

He takes a seat on the coffee table and watches intently as I sit upright on the couch and face him. He reaches out and gently touches my forehead, only to jerk his hand back when I wince.

"Sorry."

"Don't, it's fine."

"Okay." He sighs softly and shuffles awkwardly on the table. He stills when I touch his knee and takes my hand in his. "I'm sorry about the meeting. I shouldn't have put you on the spot like that."

"Honestly, Clint, you don't need to apologize," I murmur. "I got flustered and then embarrassed when everyone else got involved."

"I know. I probably like pushing your buttons a little too much."

"That's not it."

"But I do push your buttons."

"Yeah, but only 'cause I let you." He smiles and I squeeze his hand. "But I'm a deeply private person. To have Natasha butt in like that, no matter the good she meant by it, really set me on edge."

"I had no idea."

"I don't feel like I have to keep everything close to my chest when I’m with you. You tease me, but it’s never from a place of malice and you know me well enough that you never take it too far.”

“I mean, you give as good as you get.” He doesn’t meet my eyes as he runs his thumb over my knuckles. “But still. I should’ve just asked in private, but you know me.”

“Yeah. You’re sweet, but kind of stupid sometimes. More than a little impulsive. And way too fond of coffee.”

“Aw, I thought that was endearing!” He smiles when I laugh. “The invitation still stands, but you don’t have to say yes.”

“What’re you talking about?” He meets my eyes and I shake my head. “I’m not about to turn you down. You haven’t introduced me to your dog yet.”

“Oh, I get it, you only want me for Lucky.”

“Mhm.”

He shakes his head and kneels on the floor in front of me. “Shoulda known.”

“I know, I’m pure evil.” He grins and takes my face in his hands. “I should be fired, right?”

“Without a doubt.”

I hum softly and lean forward to bump my nose against his. After a moment’s hesitation, Clint closes the distance between us and gently kisses me. I place one hand on his forearm and tilt my head to the side to kiss him back. He smiles against my lips and pulls away, his eyes flitting over my face.

“So… about that dog.”

I have no idea what would happen to them after that, but I’d like to think they’re having a great time, petting dogs and continuing to mess with each other, all whilst falling in love.

I’d love to know what you guys thought of this little one shot. Did you love it, did you hate it? Did you breathe out through your nose a little bc you kind of laughed but also didn’t? Be sure to like, reblog, comment, or shoot me an ask and tell me all about it!

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