"Clint?" You say in surprise. You had been walking around the mall. Not really doing anything. It had been a month since the last global catastrophe so you had some free time on your hands. You were sipping a slushie when you saw familiar sandy blonde hair and purple tinted sunglasses.
He turns when you say his name. Of course he can pinpoint you in the dense crowd as you weave through the mass of people to get to him. "Clint hey." you say to your fellow Avenger.
"Hey kid." He says. You roll your eyes. He and Tony always insist on calling you kid even though you saved both their butts a few times in the Battle of New York. You don't really mind, but you helped save the planet from an alien invasion. You should get a bit more respect.
"So what're you doing here Barton?" You ask as you decide to let the 'kid' comment slide. "Haven't seen you since Manhattan."
"Ahh," He runs his hand through his spikey hair. He seems flustered about something. You've always been observant. That's one of the reasons Nick Fury pegged you for the Avengers Initiative in the first place. That and your incredible inhuman powers... But observantness was a big thing too.
Suddenly it dawns on you. "You're doing something with Romanoff aren't you?" He fumbles for words. You smile. You always knew Clint had a very special place in his super spy heart for the scarlet haired assassin. It wasn't hard to pick up. His face becomes slightly redder around her. Practically unnoticeable to regular humans but not to your keen senses. The two of them seem to be able to have lengthy conversations with just eye contact. He runs his hand through his hair a lot when she's nearby or when he's thinking about her. And when you ask him about her when he's off guard he takes a microsecond too long to answer.
You can see why others find her attractive. Her hair is a nice shade of red and her eyes are a vibrant green, and her skin is flawless and her figure's not bad either. But personally, you think she's kind of intimidating and being around a girl that can put you on your back in under three seconds and kill you at the same time is kind of a turn off. She can be nice when she wants to. But at the same time, when she's angry, people tend to get body parts removed or bullets through their skulls. It's too hard to decipher her moods, even for you.
"So, what're you doing with Miss Cognitive Recalibration?" You ask the skilled archer. He sighs. He knows better than to beat around the bush with you. You've spent enough time with each other to understand each other pretty well. Life threatening situations tend to do that.
"Nat's going on a rescue op with Cap sometime tomorrow and at the same time, I'm being sent to Antarctica for about three months." Clint explains tiredly. He looks like he has a lot on his plate.
Your eyes widen a fraction. "Wow. That's out of the way." You wonder why Hawkeye's being sent to the bottom of the world. Did he tick Fury off and get a brutal time out in Earth's sub basement freezer? Or is he gonna recruit highly trained penguins into S.H.I.E.L.D?
"Yeah. Something about people seeing giant monsters that resemble dinosaurs when they get close to the heart of the continent." Clint explains. "They want me to check it out and see if some nut job really did build Jurassic Park without anyone knowing and report it to hq."
"Huh, ok. That makes sense." Over the past few years, your definition of 'makes sense' has broadened considerably. Being friends with the Norse god of thunder and a guy who turns into a hulking mass of gamma green rage may have contributed to that somewhat.
"So I decided to get Nat something before I left." Clint explains. "I was gonna head into that really fancy place with those light green boxes."
"Tiffany's?"
"Yeah that."
"Wow, that place is expensive. Like, "Tony Stark only gets his dates stuff from here" expensive. How are the S.H.I.E.L.D paychecks?" Clint winces. You take the hint. "Not that good?"
"Yeah."
"The good stuff is well over 2 K. Still wanna do it?"
"I dunno. I wanna get her something nice... but I also want to eat this month." Clint replied.
"Okay. Uh, why don't you get her something a bit more affordable. Besides, Natasha doesn't seem like the razzle dazzle 'I must have diamonds' type of girl. Why don't you go for something simpler?"
He looks up at me. "Like what?"
"Ahh." You look around and spot a department store. "How about that?" He follows your pointed finger. "It's not too expensive and has some nice stuff. You can probably find something good."
"Okay."
As you look at some jean jackets that are on sale, Clint browses the jewelry section. Soon you get bored with clothes and decide to join him. "Find anything interesting?"
"Eh not yet." His grey eyes are fixed on the display cases. "Nothing really stands out to me."
You two hadn't been there long. Only like five minutes. You decide to glance through the other set of the display cases. They have rings, necklaces, watches. The whole shabang. Then a colorful set catches your attention. You walk over and smile despite yourself.
The display case shows cartoon depictions of the Avengers fighting Loki and the Chitauri. There were red plastic watches with your faces inside, lanyards with A's all around the strap, and backpacks depicting the battle. It's all rather amusing how big you've become.
You knew that after the Battle of Manhattan concluded, your team had become an overnight cultural icon. You couldn't go anywhere without seeing your face plastered on a tee shirt or a cute miniature Iron Man or Captain America walking down the sidewalk with their parents. You were the latest craze. And apparently, you haven't gone out of style yet.
There's even some accessories for more mature Avenger fans that aren't as geeky as the backpacks but still proudly display loyal support of the team of superheroes. Like a silver bracelet comprised of miniature versions of Cap's shield. Or a small ring that looked a lot like Tony's ARC-Reactor. There was even a strange metal keychain that for some reason resembled Hulk's fist. (You know, it's invaded your personal space more than once.)
But one thing catches your eye.
"Hey Barton, get over here."
You hear him walk up to you. "What?" You point at the display case. Though there aren't a lot of them, there are still a few pieces of cute Hawkeye and Black Widow memorabilia.
One is a clamp bracelet with a red Black Widow symbol in the middle. Another is a chain bracelet with a bow and arrow charm dangling from it. But you can tell, Hawkeye has his eye on one little trinket in particular.
A thin chain necklace. In the middle is a tiny silver arrow. It wasn't cumbersome or loud. It was simple and had a good amount of subtlety. It matched the silent and skilled Black Widow perfectly. And you can see it in Clint's grey eyes. This is the thing he was looking for.
"Natasha's gonna love it." You say as you and Clint leave the store. He only has the necklace box in his hand. You have a couple bags on your arm. (The deal on the jean jackets was too good to pass up)
"Yeah, I hope so." He replies. You note with a hint of amusement that the necklace box has the Avengers logo stamped onto it.
"She will definitely. Well break a leg birdboy." You playfully punch his arm. He chuckles a little.
"Since when did I have a nickname?"
"Since now. Don't like it?"
"I prefer Clint."
"Whatever birdboy. Good luck with Miss Cognitive Recalibration." He laughs at this.
"She'll kill you if she ever hears you call her that."
"I know. So don't you dare tell her I said it or else I'll kill you before she can get to me, okay?"
"Yeah."
"Good. Well, I better get going." You say as you turn to leave. You casually wave to the archer.
"See ya weirdo."
"Lame nickname."
"I know."