[ buckshot is my bread, and I'll drink whiskey instead of water ] [ OPEN ]

[nailsthetarget]

WHO: nailsthetarget and YOU
WHAT: Clint healing. Crankily.
WHERE: Fratvengers house
WHEN: anytime after Clint gets back
WARNINGS: Clint
SUMMARY: The Fratvengers couch has been taken over by a huge, angry archer. Good luck getting the remote back.

Comments

[youmakemesmall]

[Even though she is mad at him, guess who is bringing snacks? This woman. Who is still angry. But loving, anyway. Everything Jan does is for his own good, whether he likes it or not.

She fairly throws the bag onto his lap.]

Here.

[Jan looks at the TV.]

Spoiler: He throws her out a window so he doesn't have to pay child support.

[nailsthetarget]

[ And even though he's mad at her for locking him out of his room, he takes the bag graciously enough. It's full of terrible junk food. Jan knows him---and his high-capacity, iron stomach. He makes a low, vaguely happy noise and rips into the chips. ]

Yeah, I know. I'm pretty sure I've seen this one. Or lived it. Whatever, it gets kinda hard to tell sometimes. [ he says it casually, through a mouth full of chips. ] Are we talking again?

[youmakemesmall]

I guess so. If you lost me your friend count would be in the negatives.

[She takes out a cigarette. Lately, she has been smoking ALL the cigarettes.]

By the way, I found your note.

[For good measure, she punches him in the arm.]

"Be back later, feed the dog"? You're a dick, Clint.

[nailsthetarget]

Hey, I did come back, didn't I?

[ It'd been incentive to. If he'd called her and said goodbye, he would have been accepting the fact that he might die. He didn't have any intention of that, so no call.

And he knows Jan. She would have wanted to come with. He couldn't have her doing dumb shit like that. ]

Jesus, Jan. I'm already injured. Cut me some slack.

[youmakemesmall]

I'm glad you did.

[She turns away a little to blow out some smoke but it's really so she doesn't get all emotional.]

I'm not even going to bother asking what you were doing since I know you won't tell me.

[nailsthetarget]

[ he pulls a slight, painful-looking smile. ]

Further proof that you're the smartest person on our team.

[ he can't tell her. It'd be too much. Besides, "I was trying to save your life" just sounds way too Lifetime to come out of his mouth. Hell, knowing Jan, she'd probably laugh at him.

Clint sits up, pulling his long legs off the couch. He pats the cushion next to him. ]

C'mon, ladybug. I'll share.

[youmakemesmall]

[Jan puts out the cigarette, unable to stay mad when he calls her by such a cute nickname. She sits next to him, leaning her shoulder against him gently.]

I know you're good at what you do but as a friend, not as a teammate, I worry.

[nailsthetarget]

[ he puts an arm around her shoulders. Things probably should be awkward between them after their little romantic interlude, but he's not going to be the one to establish a state of awkwardness. She's right; he doesn't have other friends. ]

Look. I don't pull jobs unless it's necessary. Trust me on that.

[youmakemesmall]

I know. But still.

[Jan is just grumpy. She'll get over it.]

Just don't get caught next time.

[nailsthetarget]

I won't. This time? It was a fluke.

[ she's tiny and comfortable and worth it. He doesn't care how much he hurts, or how much hell he'll catch in the future. If he can figure out a way to keep her here and safe, he'll take whatever the universe dishes out. ]

Next time, I'll call. Pinkie swear.

[youmakemesmall]

You better.

[She can't say anything more than that because yes, she will cry all over.]

Anything good on TV?

[nailsthetarget]

I dunno. I've just been surfing. Nothing good's on until...two or three am. That's when the best infomercials come on.

[ This man is so bored, Jan. So bored. ]

[youmakemesmall]

Good thing I bought this for you.

[It's an old Avengers coloring book.]

Enjoy.

[nailsthetarget]

[ it's a kid's book, full of thematic crosswords and action illustrations of this worlds' Avengers being all heroic. He flips through it idly. ]

Did you bring me crayons?

[youmakemesmall]

Would I ever leave you hanging?

Glitter crayons.

[nailsthetarget]

You know me too well.

[ of course, the last time he picked up a coloring book, it was with his sons. Almost every day, he gets little reminders like this one---small, mundane things that drive nails into his heart. Clint closes the book and sets it aside. ]

Thanks.