Indigo Nights

'Don't call me that, toots.' Who's that mysterious figure he keeps chasing after? ClintxBobbi. Features Mockingbird.

Author says: This fic was what came to mind when I heard rumours that Mocky would be in Avengers 2… (I sure hope so) Enjoy!

Yet another bloody spec op. This time to Japan, land of the rising sun and secret band of ninjas calling themselves The Hand. Clint's mouth quirked. Here we go again with the cheesy villain group names.

He was supposed to take those morons down, and find out who their leader was. It was way too easy- and that was the potential problem. There was something brewing behind the scenes, a tangled mess he had to unravel. Not really his type of job.

Still, though, he'd had his fair share of fun there. So-called Japanese underworld rulers were terrible compared to him. In no time, the skilled bowman known as Hawkeye had managed to cut down their ranks by a lot. He'd already taken down tons of ninjas, but it looked like there were more. Where was Elektra recruiting all of these goons, anyway? Assassins 'R' Us? Yeah, just call me Hawkeye the Ninja Slayer. Sounds good, eh?

That was other trouble brewing on the horizon, however.

He'd police the rooftops nightly, keeping a watchful eye out for signs of Hand activity. It was a mostly fruitless way of keeping him out of boredom, but as it turned out, he'd soon encounter someone that made his nightlife in Tokyo a lot more… interesting.

At first, he'd barely noticed the shadowy figure until he- she?- cut straight across him with a devastating kick to the gut. He hadn't been expecting it.

Clint's booted feet pounded concrete as he chased after the cloaked assailant. The mysterious person was agile and lightning-quick on his feet. He was masked and hooded, presumably to hide his identity. The figure seemed feminine, so maybe it was a girl after all.

Clint barely had time to ponder all this as he took off after her.

She was fast, and had the added advantage of his distraction- thus, it was no surprise that she outran him and disappeared. She obviously knew the rooftop routes well and probably took a shortcut to safety. At least, that was what he told himself to alleviate the damage done to his ego. He'd let a girl sucker-punch him and get away! Grr.

The following night, he spotted her again. This time she was perched on a high ledge and spying on something through black binoculars. He crept silently towards her, mentally thanking Cap for the stealth training. Although he always thought he was more of a tactician than an infiltrator, but… oh crap. She'd shifted position-

He found himself having to duck when she practically flew towards him and tried to uppercut him He swung his bow around, hooking her belt and throwing her off-balance. He hadn't expected her to recover so quickly, and she managed to get a few punches in before he shoved her off him.

His fingers were tangled up in her mask, and while she was occupied with trying to shake him off her tail, he yanked the cover off. Blonde strands spilled out from the black cloth, and she managed a string of curses that would have made any sailor proud.

'Who are you?' he hissed. Another growl from her and she tried to knee him in a rather sensitive part of his anatomy.

She was good, but they were too evenly matched, and no one was getting the upper hand anytime soon.

'Might want to consider giving up, Blondie.'

'Do me a favour?'

'Yeah?' he panted.

'Don't call me that, toots.'

She kicked his chest hard. When she pulled back in preparation for another blow, he got his first good look at her.

Blonde, blue eyes, hidden behind a pair of amber goggles, helluva body- typical 'dumb blonde' appearance, but something told him she was a lot more intelligent than she looked to be.

What was up with her aggressiveness, anyway? He was just yet another secret spy for the government, just doing his thing. Who was she?

'Listen, I think you and I have got a huge misunderstanding here, Blondie-' She locked her left leg behind his and sent him falling to the floor. 'But couldn't we just try to work this out like civilized human beings?' She elbowed him in the ribs. His next words came out as a wheeze. 'The name's Hawkeye, and who are you?'

'Grl, I've got no quarrel with you, so would you mind taking that lovely foot off my stomach? Kind of hard to talk with you squashing it, there.'

The blonde peered at him suspiciously.

'Hawkeye? As in, the Avenger, cocky, world-famous Hawkeye? I've heard of you; didn't know you were stationed in Japan. Mind telling me why exactly were you chasing after me?'

'Gee, I dunno, maybe it's because you decided to randomly hit me as you passed by.'

Her full lips twitched, and she offered him a gloved hand. He took it, still admiring the beauty of her face. Not such a bad-looking girl, and witty too.

'Mockingbird, S.H.I.E.L.D. field agent. Nice to meet you. Now, I've got a mission to attend to. See you around, sport?' He could've sworn she winked at him, but the gesture passed too quickly.

She spun around and ran before he'd had time to register her words. Damn, she was fast.

'Hey, Mocky! Wanna go out on a date sometime?'

Well, she was hot, and he was never once to pass up an opportunity like that.

She paused, and turned with a merry smirk on her face.

'Well, you'll have to catch me first, sport.'

And with that, she ran; and he continued the chase.