A Brooklyn Bar
Authors Note: Just a little idea that came to me, I couldn't help noticing how alike Skye and Kate Bishop are. As always I do not own AOS, Marvel of any of their characters.
He's sat on his favourite bar stool scotch in hand when she enters the bar. She stands out in this dark, dank hole of a bar despite its state of disrepair he likes it hear. Since the battle of New York it's been hard to have a drink in peace, he can't go out into populated areas of the city without at least one person recognising him. But this is the kind of place that values anonymity nobody pays him any mind and that's how he likes it.
She's a breath of fresh air as she breezes into the bar; he scans her from head to toe. She's young probably not much older than Kate and beautiful. Her chestnut hair falls in long waves down her back, her features hint at Asian decent Chinese maybe? She's beautiful there's no doubting that with her modest curves and pretty face she turns more than one head. That's an achievement in this place, this bars patrons are usually too wrapped up in their own misery to pay attention to anyone else.
She throws herself onto the stool beside him in a huff and attracts the bar mans attention. He saunters over to her with a smile that Clint has never seen before. "What can I get you miss?"
"Double scotch neat" she snaps out, she's pissed at something or someone. Looking at her he can tell this is not her usual demeanour the pissed off look doesn't suit her kind face. The bar keep sets her drink in front of her on a napkin, they have those here? She really must have made an impression on the guy. She takes the drink and slams it down smacking her lips and wincing slightly at the burn.
"Same again" this time her tone is softer, he nods and refills her glass "On second thoughts maybe you should leave the bottle"
"That Bad?" he doesn't know what makes him do it, he didn't come here for the conversation after all. Maybe it's the way she stares dejectedly into her glass, she looks like she needs a shoulder and she really is very beautiful. If Katie were here she'd remind him about his track record with women he meets in bars but she's not.
"You could say that" she looks up from her glass and offers him a weak smile. Repeating his action from before she rakes him over with her gaze, her brow wrinkles and then her face splits into a massive grin, that lights up her features. "Hey I know you, you're..." she leans closer to him and whispers "Clint Barton" huh most people know him as Hawkeye since New York.
"Have we met?" he asks her because it's entirely possible.
"No, never but ah...I've seen that handsome mug on a couple of files" she whispers in his ear and winks.
"Oh so you're S.H.I.E.L.D then?" that makes sense.
"Well sort of...I'm training to be a field agent but I'm not even Level 1" she sighs.
"It's tough huh, is that what's got you knocking back cheap scotch" he points at her glass.
"No, no my team are great well mostly" ah now we get to it. "I had a little incident recently, I got hurt. It was bad and ever since then my S.O. has been kind of suffocating" she shakes her head.
"The overprotective type, I get that" he'd probably been like that with Kate a few times but he couldn't help it. As annoying as she could be he'd be lost without her. "He must really care about you, it's not a bad thing" he reasoned. She took a sip of her drink and shrugged.
"I know he means well but busting up my date because he can't let me out of his sight. That's not normal right? I mean that's completely out of line" some of the fire she'd had in her stride when she entered the bar crept into her voice as she banged her fist on the bar.
"Steady on there, have you seen this place it's likely to collapse if you keep that up" he chuckled.
Her eyes swept the room and she burst into giggles "Yeah you're right this place is a dump".
"That's better" he smiled at her the roguish grin that he reserved for pretty women "Look busting up your date was not cool and so not something a Supervising Officer should do. Maybe it's not that kind of SO he wants to be, sounds more like jealousy than over protectiveness to me" he nodded knowingly.
She spat out the scotch she'd just sipped, coughing and spluttering clearly she'd not expected that. Mopping up the spilled alcohol with the ratty napkin "Sorry". Her cheeks were stained red with embarrassment.
"Don't worry about it" he bumped her shoulder with his.
When she'd gathered herself she turned back to him "Do you really think he's jealous?"
"Sure, I mean your beautiful and there's nothing like a near death experience to make people realise their feelings"
"You sound like you've been there"
"Maybe, how do you feel about him?" he asks because he's a guy and he has eyes, if this guy's not going to make a move he might.
"I don't know I never really thought about it, I mean sure he's hot but he's closed off. Moody as hell most of the time and he has no people skills...like at all. We're so different we'd kill each other." She's confused it's clear she's never really entertained the idea before.
"You know what they say about opposites"
"Maybe, awww I don't know" she takes the bottle the bar keep left on the bar and pours them both another drink. She raises her glass "To fucked up situations" they clink glasses and she downs the amber liquid and swipes her hand across her lips.
They talk for half an hour about anything and everything she's really easy to talk to and it turns out they have a lot in common. They're both orphans, had a rough start in life and they both had rather unorthodox introductions to the crazy world of S.H.I.E.L.D. She's an enigma in many ways and an open book in others a complete contradiction and he kinda likes that. Before he knows it he likes her more and more she's smart and resourceful and she's not put off when he tells her he's allergic to technology. She offers to teach him and although he really has no problem with the fact that he still uses a phone on a wire and a pager. If he gets to spend a little more time with the bubbly woman beside him maybe an introduction to the 21st century wouldn't be so bad.
He thinks it's hilarious that she's a hacktivist that won her one and only laptop in a card game. She doesn't push for wild tales about the avengers although he can see she wants to ask. She's happy to listen to whatever he offers about his life outside of the world of superheros. Despite all she's told him he knows that Skye has a lot of secrets but that's OK he does too.
All in all he's glad he ventured out that is until the bar door is thrown open; it bangs off the wall as a rather angry looking guy enters. He's taller than Clint but not by much and boy is he pissed, he thinks he was on the mark with the jealously guess earlier. He strides over to them as he gets closer something clicks in his brain he knows this guy or rather he's met him briefly before. He's part of Coulson's team which means she is too. He's still pissed at Coulson though she doesn't know that and he'd not hold it against her if she did.
"Here you are, I've been looking for you all over Brooklyn" he whispers viciously.
She gets off her bar stool and makes herself as tall as she can, despite her heels she's still a head shorter than the guy giving the Hulk a run for his money. She jabs a finger into his chest "Look Grant Ward, I don't know what the hell has gotten into you but back off alright. I'm 24 not 14 I don't need a chaperone or a big brother kapeesh" she cocks a hip and crosses her arms across her chest. No wonder big guys in a spin over her she's sexy as hell especially when she's mad. He'd step in play the gentleman but she looks like she's got it covered.
Ward rubs the back of his neck awkwardly his anger ebbing away, she's got him by the balls and he knows it. "Look maybe I was out of line..."
"Maybe!"
"OK, OK I was out of line but you barely knew the guy he could be a drug lord or some super villain's henchman. I was just looking out for you because..."
"Because what Ward? Do you realise just how ridiculous you sound? Do you honestly think that Agent Parker from legal is a drug lord?" she's incredulous and Clint can't help it he collapses onto his arm in a fit of laughter that rumbles through his entire body.
"He could be" Ward answers defensively which only makes Clint laugh harder catching Grants attention.
She shakes her head at him like he's an errant child and he knows he crossed the line but something changed. When she was shot he felt like the bottom had dropped out of his world, Skye had breezed into his life and despite a rocky start she'd become a constant. He'd taken for granted that she would always be there, always be his rookie. Watching over her as she fought for her life made him realise just how important she was to him how much he'd come to care about her. He couldn't stand the thought of her with another man but how the hell does he tell her that. He may be confident in the field but he's so damn awkward when it comes to women.
"Look man, just apologise and for god's sake tell her how you feel" Clint stood he took a roll of notes from his pocket and left a few on the bar. "It was nice meeting you Skye, if this dummy screws it up, look me up" he kisses her on the cheek and shakes his head at Ward and then he's gone.
"Was that...?"
"Clint Barton, yeah" she replies "and he's right you should apologise" she waits expectantly.
He sighs "I'm...I'm sorry OK, I should have trusted that you can take care of yourself"
"Yes you should" she nods.
"Do you forgive me?" he's hopeful her eyes have softened.
"Maybe...are you going to tell me what the hell is going on with you?" she's on to him.
"It's just...just..." he stammers
"Just what? Spit it out Grant" he's thrown off kilter she used his first name, she never does that.
"I..." he gives up on trying to get the words out and opts to show her instead. Hooking his thumbs into the hoops on her jeans he pulls her flush against him. He strokes her nose with his gently before pressing his lips against hers in a chaste kiss. He pulls away and watches her carefully.
She touches her lips "huh looks like Barton was right" opposites do attract. She grabs the lapels of his jacket and yanks him back down crushing their lips together and there's nothing chaste about their next kiss.
When they finally pull apart he has to ask her "What was Barton Right about?"
"He thought you broke up my date because you were jealous" she's triumphant in her realisation.
He opens and closes his moth "I was not jealous of Parker" she cocks her eyebrow and he knows he's busted "OK maybe a little" he concedes.
She grabs his hand "Come on you hulk wannabe let's get out of here" she leads him out of the run down bar and into a cold New York night.