Tony Stark was throwing a party at Avengers Tower.

This wasn't an unusual occasion. It happened quite often, since Tony loved parties. But this was more of a small get-together, with only friends of the Avengers such as Jane Foster, Darcey Lewis, and James Rhodes.

Clint was sitting out of the 'party deck' as Tony called it, just outside of the party. His feet dangled over the edge, and his arms rested on the railing. In his left hand was a bottle of whiskey, still mostly full. Every few minutes, he'd take a drink while looking out over the city.

The door opened behind him, and he heard Tony walk out. "C'mon, Bird Brain! You've gotta come meet Cap's friend, Sam Wilson! He's actually quite cool."

Clint heard another voice behind him, one he hadn't heard for years. "Man, he sure looks like this one guy I knew."

Clint turned, and smiled.

The other man's eyes widened. "Holy shit. You made it out alive. I never thought you would, especially after you signed on for another tour."

Clint stood up and gave him a one-armed hug. "Good to see ya, Sanborn."

"Never thought I'd see you again, James."

Tony chose this moment to interrupt. "Uh, guys? You obviously know each other, but what's with the names?"

Sam turned to Tony. "I was in Iraq before I joined the Falcon project. I worked with this crazy man right here. We cleaned up bombs. Did you know that he once disarmed a car that could've blown all our men sky-high? How'd you word it?"

Clint chuckled. "I said it'd send us all back to Jesus."

"Yeah, yeah that's what he said. And while he did that, he wore no protective suit. Said he wanted to die comfortable."

Tony raised an eyebrow. "That does kind of sound like Legolas."

The door to the deck opened again and Thor poked his head out. "Jane would like you all to know that dinner is ready."

The three followed him back inside, Clint and Sam discussing how they'd been after they'd returned.

"What happened to your ex-wife?" Sam asked.

Clint smiled. "Not my ex-wife. She's always been my wife, and I'm glad that was sorted out. She's somewhere safe, away from all this."

"Still insane enough to be with a man like you?"

Clint laughed. "I guess so."