Out of the Loop
Clint Barton had some time to kill.
He sat in a booth at the airport bar, wondering how bad the food was. He had three hours until his connection to JFK, and little to do to keep his mind from wandering.
At first he was a little miffed that Natasha wasn't returning his calls, but eventually he figured she was on assignment, or in the ass-end of nowhere, or both. He didn't need to call in to SHIELD to advise that he was coming back in after his sabbatical, but he'd left on strange terms, and figured a courtesy call would make him look good. His calls to Nick Fury went straight to the Director's voice-mail. Fury didn't call him back, and Clint wondered, just a little, if he was still in everyone's bad books.
The waiter approached him and cheerfully deposited a bottle and two shot glasses on the table. Clint eyed the Ketel One with interest, but gave the waiter a sad smile. "Sorry, I didn't order that."
"It's from the lady at the bar" The waiter said, gesturing with a nod of his head.
Clint craned around, identified his benefactor, and felt a slow smile creep across his face.
"Enjoy" the waiter added with a wink, before resuming his post.
"Well, well, well" Natasha said, sauntering over to Clint. She dropped into the seat opposite him and smiled. "Long time, no see, as they say."
"Damn, woman" Clint said, grinning openly at his best friend. "It is good to see you." He opened his mouth to tell her she looked great, but checked himself. Yes, she did look good... but she was paler than usual, and there was a tightness in her shoulders that suggested pain of some sort. His brow furrowed. "So, what did I miss?"
Natasha slowly reached for the bottle as Clint studied the definite stiffness in the movements of her left shoulder.
She cracked the seal on the bottle and looked him directly. "Seriously? How long have you got?"
She poured the vodka.
Fin
* * Author's note- Well, hey there! I haven't been too inspired to write in a while, but I'm trying again. So, I wrote this just after Winter Soldier came out, but it seemed a bit obvious, so I didn't post it. Then that seemed silly, so I figured I might as well put it up. Short but sweet, hope you liked it. Feedbaack always appreciated. And no, I don't own anything or make anything from doing this sort of thang. Thanks for reading x
