Fic: Somewhere, There Are Birds Singing (Fraction!verse)
Title: Somewhere, There Are Birds Singing
Fandom: Fraction's Hawkeye comic 'verse (but with a touch of movie!verse for sweetness)
Characters: primarily Clint and Kate but there's a visit from Tony and Steve
writerverse Table of DOOM Prompt: 05. sweets
Prompt: I have two! roadtrip from redbrunja at the Avengers Rare Pair but it turned into a buddy-fic instead of a couple (although it can be assumed that they are well on their way to a relationship but it really is gen) & this stunning bit of conversation from sweetwatersong:
"You know, when this day started off, I didn't think I'd end up breaking the law and nearly running the sheriff off of the road."
"He deserved it."
"He's sixty-five!"
Word Count: (minus prompt words) 1424
Summary: Clint and Kate go for a road trip. Things happen. Oh, yes, they do.
Somewhere, there are birds singing. That’s how beautiful this day is. There might even be fluffy clouds running across the blue sky but Kate can’t see much but a small section of sky so she’s not sure. What she sees of it, it’s definitely a blue sky.
“Got the caffeine?” Clint leans in the window, an actual written-out checklist in his hand. It’s like he’s not expecting this the roadtrip to go well but he’s hoping that some planning might give him a bit more of an edge in the luck department.
Kate points over her shoulder at the ice chest she’d unearthed from Clint’s closet. He’s got so many amazing things in there that she hopes he let’s her investigate later, when there’s not a map to be followed and a playlist downloaded to be listened to. “Three different kinds, including the diet that you will keep your hands off. If you know what’s good for you.” She threatens him with a hand curled into a claw, as if her trimmed nails could hurt anyone.
“Snacks?” he asks, smiling at her attempt to keep him from stealing all the sugar-free drinks.
She picks up the grocery bag from the floor at her feet. “All here. Everything you demanded... I mean, requested plus everything else I could find that might rot our teeth and give us indigestion.”
“Perfect.” Clint nods his approval. “Now I just need to make sure that Maggie knows I still love her and I’m only leaving her because-”
“Clint!” she wails. “Your car is not going to care that we’re using one of Tony’s cars. This will get better gas mileage-”
“Language,” he barks, staring around him as if his beloved car might have snuck out of storage and is parked along the street, just waiting for him to mess up. Since he’s ruined every other relationship he’s ever been in, Kate’s not surprised that he’s worried about offending the one constant in his life. Women are for three to five dates but cars are forever.
“She’ll forgive you this one trip.” Kate pats the steering wheel. “If you don’t hurry and get in this car, I’m going to drive.
Because he knows that she’ll do just that, Clint opens the door and slides in. “Ready for fun, Katie-Kate?”
“Shut up and drive, Barton.”
***
Somewhere, there are birds singing. Kate knows this to be true because she saw them on their last stop. Unfortunately, they’re going so fast that she doubts she could hear them, even if she rolled down her window.
“Still there?” Clint asks, slightly hunched over the steering wheel.
Kate strains to look over her shoulder. As far as she can tell, they lost the police car several miles ago, but Clint isn’t taking any chances. She doesn’t blame him. Getting pulled over in this backwater isn’t worth the hassle. They’ll report the car and Tony’s lawyers will take care of any fines. With any luck, they’ll still make it home by dusk.
That’s when they saw the blinking light up ahead.
***
Somewhere, there are birds singing. As Kate goes off on the tangent she’s been on all day, she begins to wonder if birds sing at night because surely they’ve rounded midnight and are working on the early part of the morning. Regardless of the time, she could use something to soothe her nerves. The caffeine and sugar consumed throughout the previous day are beginning to make her nauseous.
"You know, when this day started off, I didn't think I'd end up breaking the law and nearly running the sheriff off of the road."
"He deserved it,” Kate says, as reassuringly as she can muster, given the situation they find themselves in. She’s wedged into the corner of the holding cell with Clint’s head in her lap. He doesn’t seem to mind that she’s running her hand through his hair in a rather distracted fashion.
"He's sixty-five!"
Kate tries to laugh but it comes out a sort of wheezy cough. The tightness in her chest reminds her more of the twelve-year old with the inhaler than the superhero she’s become today through hard work and determination. “A very spritely sixty-five who knows a lot more swear words than I’ve ever heard. And, hey, you stopped before you could really hurt anyone. That’s what they get for putting up a roadblock right as we got around that corner.”
“That’s how roadblocks work. Your first instinct is to step on the brakes and you don’t have a lot of time to think.”
They’re silent for a moment, each of them thinking their own dark thoughts about where this day has gone. What was supposed to be some fun time away has turned into one of those memories that will, hopefully, grow dimmer with time. That is, it will grow dimmer if no one called Stark Industries to see if the car really belonged to one Mr. Anthony Stark.
The loud laugh coming from the other room is a good indication that they will never live this day down. Not for a good long time. Around the corner comes the two people neither one wanted to see on today of all days. Tony Stark and Steve Rogers.
“I am never going to get the chance to be an Avenger now,” Kate breaths, the tiniest snarl in her voice as she begins to mentally list the ways this is going to hurt her in the eyes of Captain America. That he has a goofy smile on his face isn’t promising.
The smile on Tony’s face only widens as Clint slowly sits up. “You always end up the best places, Clint. Someday, I want to be invited on one of these trips. It’s only right since I keep handing over the keys to my car. And how do you thank me? By getting it impounded.”
“I asked them not to call you,” Clint responds, completely deadpan.
“It’s my car. My name on the registration. They had to make sure it wasn’t stolen.”
Clint sighs. “I was afraid of that.”
“Would you rather I told them it was stolen?” Tony asks, his eyes widening in feigned innocence. “I can totally change my story. Sheriff Jenner would love an excuse to send you guys up the river.”
Kate begins to laugh at the picture in her mind of the sheriff waving at them gleefully as they’re trussed up and sent floating on a wooden skiff. Clint looks like a drowned rat in her dream, as is only right since he was the one who decided they needed to take this detour into Pennsylvania instead of sticking to the coastal routes like she had insisted. Nothing good happens in Pennsylvania. Of that, she is now sure.
Steve’s frown and “This is not funny!” stops her display of frivolity. Even Clint is looking at her with a stop that! look. “She’s insane,” Tony intones. “I always knew she was insane. I think I have insane on the unofficial poll hanging on the fridge.”
“Shut up, Tony,” both men say at nearly the same time but it doesn’t matter. At that exact moment, Kate can feel the day catching up with her and she’s powerless to stop herself from throwing up. It’s a small cell and both Tony and Steve have pulled up close to the bars so they’re spattered with the remnants of this disastrous day.
Wisely, the nearly-clean Clint decides to push his advantage. “Can we go before she gets sick again?”
“Fear enough,” Steve murmurs from where he’s jumped back against the wall. “I’ll go get the Sheriff.”
Tony and Steve begin arguing about who is going to get the Sheriff because it gets both of them out of the room. Clint peels off his shirt and leans over to clean Kate’s face. She leans into his touch, not feeling nearly strong enough to finish this day off with any sort of sparkling wit or witty banter.
“I don’t feel so hot.”
Clint feels her forehead with the inside of his wrist. It's so similar to how her mom used to do when she was a kid that tears fill Kate’s eyes before she even realizes what's happening. “Next time,” her best friend in the whole world tells her with a small smile, “I’m going to stop you from eating that whole bag of Cheetos.”
In appreciation, she gets rid of the rest of the contents of her stomach onto his shirtless chest.
***
Somewhere, there are birds singing. Kate pulls the pillow over her head. As far as she’s concerned, they can go right ahead with their singing. She’s not getting out of bed until she absolutely has to.
Fandom: Fraction's Hawkeye comic 'verse (but with a touch of movie!verse for sweetness)
Characters: primarily Clint and Kate but there's a visit from Tony and Steve
writerverse Table of DOOM Prompt: 05. sweets
Prompt: I have two! roadtrip from redbrunja at the Avengers Rare Pair but it turned into a buddy-fic instead of a couple (although it can be assumed that they are well on their way to a relationship but it really is gen) & this stunning bit of conversation from sweetwatersong:
"You know, when this day started off, I didn't think I'd end up breaking the law and nearly running the sheriff off of the road."
"He deserved it."
"He's sixty-five!"
Word Count: (minus prompt words) 1424
Summary: Clint and Kate go for a road trip. Things happen. Oh, yes, they do.
Somewhere, there are birds singing. That’s how beautiful this day is. There might even be fluffy clouds running across the blue sky but Kate can’t see much but a small section of sky so she’s not sure. What she sees of it, it’s definitely a blue sky.
“Got the caffeine?” Clint leans in the window, an actual written-out checklist in his hand. It’s like he’s not expecting this the roadtrip to go well but he’s hoping that some planning might give him a bit more of an edge in the luck department.
Kate points over her shoulder at the ice chest she’d unearthed from Clint’s closet. He’s got so many amazing things in there that she hopes he let’s her investigate later, when there’s not a map to be followed and a playlist downloaded to be listened to. “Three different kinds, including the diet that you will keep your hands off. If you know what’s good for you.” She threatens him with a hand curled into a claw, as if her trimmed nails could hurt anyone.
“Snacks?” he asks, smiling at her attempt to keep him from stealing all the sugar-free drinks.
She picks up the grocery bag from the floor at her feet. “All here. Everything you demanded... I mean, requested plus everything else I could find that might rot our teeth and give us indigestion.”
“Perfect.” Clint nods his approval. “Now I just need to make sure that Maggie knows I still love her and I’m only leaving her because-”
“Clint!” she wails. “Your car is not going to care that we’re using one of Tony’s cars. This will get better gas mileage-”
“Language,” he barks, staring around him as if his beloved car might have snuck out of storage and is parked along the street, just waiting for him to mess up. Since he’s ruined every other relationship he’s ever been in, Kate’s not surprised that he’s worried about offending the one constant in his life. Women are for three to five dates but cars are forever.
“She’ll forgive you this one trip.” Kate pats the steering wheel. “If you don’t hurry and get in this car, I’m going to drive.
Because he knows that she’ll do just that, Clint opens the door and slides in. “Ready for fun, Katie-Kate?”
“Shut up and drive, Barton.”
***
Somewhere, there are birds singing. Kate knows this to be true because she saw them on their last stop. Unfortunately, they’re going so fast that she doubts she could hear them, even if she rolled down her window.
“Still there?” Clint asks, slightly hunched over the steering wheel.
Kate strains to look over her shoulder. As far as she can tell, they lost the police car several miles ago, but Clint isn’t taking any chances. She doesn’t blame him. Getting pulled over in this backwater isn’t worth the hassle. They’ll report the car and Tony’s lawyers will take care of any fines. With any luck, they’ll still make it home by dusk.
That’s when they saw the blinking light up ahead.
***
Somewhere, there are birds singing. As Kate goes off on the tangent she’s been on all day, she begins to wonder if birds sing at night because surely they’ve rounded midnight and are working on the early part of the morning. Regardless of the time, she could use something to soothe her nerves. The caffeine and sugar consumed throughout the previous day are beginning to make her nauseous.
"You know, when this day started off, I didn't think I'd end up breaking the law and nearly running the sheriff off of the road."
"He deserved it,” Kate says, as reassuringly as she can muster, given the situation they find themselves in. She’s wedged into the corner of the holding cell with Clint’s head in her lap. He doesn’t seem to mind that she’s running her hand through his hair in a rather distracted fashion.
"He's sixty-five!"
Kate tries to laugh but it comes out a sort of wheezy cough. The tightness in her chest reminds her more of the twelve-year old with the inhaler than the superhero she’s become today through hard work and determination. “A very spritely sixty-five who knows a lot more swear words than I’ve ever heard. And, hey, you stopped before you could really hurt anyone. That’s what they get for putting up a roadblock right as we got around that corner.”
“That’s how roadblocks work. Your first instinct is to step on the brakes and you don’t have a lot of time to think.”
They’re silent for a moment, each of them thinking their own dark thoughts about where this day has gone. What was supposed to be some fun time away has turned into one of those memories that will, hopefully, grow dimmer with time. That is, it will grow dimmer if no one called Stark Industries to see if the car really belonged to one Mr. Anthony Stark.
The loud laugh coming from the other room is a good indication that they will never live this day down. Not for a good long time. Around the corner comes the two people neither one wanted to see on today of all days. Tony Stark and Steve Rogers.
“I am never going to get the chance to be an Avenger now,” Kate breaths, the tiniest snarl in her voice as she begins to mentally list the ways this is going to hurt her in the eyes of Captain America. That he has a goofy smile on his face isn’t promising.
The smile on Tony’s face only widens as Clint slowly sits up. “You always end up the best places, Clint. Someday, I want to be invited on one of these trips. It’s only right since I keep handing over the keys to my car. And how do you thank me? By getting it impounded.”
“I asked them not to call you,” Clint responds, completely deadpan.
“It’s my car. My name on the registration. They had to make sure it wasn’t stolen.”
Clint sighs. “I was afraid of that.”
“Would you rather I told them it was stolen?” Tony asks, his eyes widening in feigned innocence. “I can totally change my story. Sheriff Jenner would love an excuse to send you guys up the river.”
Kate begins to laugh at the picture in her mind of the sheriff waving at them gleefully as they’re trussed up and sent floating on a wooden skiff. Clint looks like a drowned rat in her dream, as is only right since he was the one who decided they needed to take this detour into Pennsylvania instead of sticking to the coastal routes like she had insisted. Nothing good happens in Pennsylvania. Of that, she is now sure.
Steve’s frown and “This is not funny!” stops her display of frivolity. Even Clint is looking at her with a stop that! look. “She’s insane,” Tony intones. “I always knew she was insane. I think I have insane on the unofficial poll hanging on the fridge.”
“Shut up, Tony,” both men say at nearly the same time but it doesn’t matter. At that exact moment, Kate can feel the day catching up with her and she’s powerless to stop herself from throwing up. It’s a small cell and both Tony and Steve have pulled up close to the bars so they’re spattered with the remnants of this disastrous day.
Wisely, the nearly-clean Clint decides to push his advantage. “Can we go before she gets sick again?”
“Fear enough,” Steve murmurs from where he’s jumped back against the wall. “I’ll go get the Sheriff.”
Tony and Steve begin arguing about who is going to get the Sheriff because it gets both of them out of the room. Clint peels off his shirt and leans over to clean Kate’s face. She leans into his touch, not feeling nearly strong enough to finish this day off with any sort of sparkling wit or witty banter.
“I don’t feel so hot.”
Clint feels her forehead with the inside of his wrist. It's so similar to how her mom used to do when she was a kid that tears fill Kate’s eyes before she even realizes what's happening. “Next time,” her best friend in the whole world tells her with a small smile, “I’m going to stop you from eating that whole bag of Cheetos.”
In appreciation, she gets rid of the rest of the contents of her stomach onto his shirtless chest.
***
Somewhere, there are birds singing. Kate pulls the pillow over her head. As far as she’s concerned, they can go right ahead with their singing. She’s not getting out of bed until she absolutely has to.