Through the Bottom of a Glass

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot and any OCs.

Chapter 2: It Will Come Back

6.30pm

"Where is he?!"

"I don't know! That's your job!"

"He was with Rhodey, last I saw…"

"Don't look at me, I'm not his keeper!"

"He probably thinks he's being hilarious by hiding. He'll come in through the back in a few minutes, mark my words…"

Pepper Potts, Steve, Bruce Banner, James Rhodes and Natasha were all standing at the bar of Cap's, waiting for the Stark part of Stark Industries to arrive. But something had gone wrong on the way there. Pepper, Bruce and Rhodey had lost Tony Stark. Pepper was frantic, Steve was irritated, Banner was stressed as was Rhodey, Natasha was just pissed. Pepper had reserved two long tables on both platforms by the doors.

Suddenly, they heard a crash and a string of expletives come from the backroom.

"Told you so." Natasha smirked as Tony swaggered in, ignoring the scowls thrown his way. He brushed a few specks of dust from the shoulders of his Black Sabbath T-shirt.

"Miss me?" he asked as Bruce pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Where the hell did you go?!" Pepper asked furiously.

"Took a detour," Tony replied nonchalantly as he took a swig of Rhodey's Bud Light.

"Through the backroom window?" Steve asked, wearily. Tony nodded and turned to Pepper.

"So, Peps, how many hands do I have to shake tonight?"

Pepper scowled at the infuriating inventor before sitting down on a stool.

"A bottle of your finest white wine, please Natasha," she ordered. Natasha chuckled as she went to find a bottle of Pepper's favourite Pinot Grigio.

"Oh, and any chance of a whisky while you're at it, Red?"

7pm

Clint waltzed in with his guitar case a half-hour later at seven, just as the first patrons were beginning to trickle in. He spotted the stage on the right and made his way past dark brown tables to set his guitar down.

"You're late," Natasha said as she whizzed past him with four plates of piping hot food.

"My watch stopped," he muttered.

"You don't own a watch!" she shouted across the room from where she was setting the plates down on a long table by the door. Yeah, but Rogers doesn't know that. Clint kept his thoughts to himself as clambered onto the stage and gazed around. He did a double-take when he thought he saw the billionaire Tony Stark sitting beside a lady with strawberry-blonde hair, Clint also glimpsed Darcy from the diner sitting between a beefy guy with long blonde hair and another pretty brown haired girl.

8pm

Clint was in the middle of setting up the sound equipment when he sensed someone behind him.

"You okay?" Steve asked, balling up the dishcloth that never seemed to leave his hands as he spoke.

"I'm almost done here. I should be good to go by eight-thirty," Clint replied without turning around to face Steve.

"That's not what I meant," the blonde said, leaning against a speaker.

"I know what you meant," Clint replied bitterly, barely lifting his head over his shoulder.

"Look, I don't know what Tasha has told you, but I don't need pity. Just get me a beer and one of Sam's burgers, okay?"

Steve shook his head exasperatedly and turned on his heel, muttering something inaudible under his breath as he went.

8.30pm

By the time Clint was ready, the bar was buzzing. A group of women from the Stark party were gossiping and giggling from a table below the stage. Tony, Bruce and Steve were laughing and chatting as Steve rushed up and down the bar, Natasha was a blur of red as she dashed around the tables with drinks and the odd plate of fries and bowl of nuts or potato chips. The curtains were pulled and the lights were dimmed. Clint sipped his Heineken before shifting his guitar strap on his shoulder. There was a big crowd, he just had to make them his crowd. To do that he needed to make a great start, and with a song most people knew. He made his decision in seconds and took a deep breath before he stood up to the microphone.

"Now that she's back in the atmosphere
With drops of Jupiter in her hair, hey, hey, hey
She acts like summer and walks like rain
Reminds me that there's time to change, hey, hey, hey
Since the return from her stay on the moon
She listens like spring and she talks like June, hey, hey, hey
Hey, hey, hey…"

The lady with strawberry-blonde hair seated at the table looked up and nudged a thin woman with dark brown hair beside her. Darcy from the diner looked up too and said: "Jackass?" quite loudly, prompting the rest of the women to laugh. Even Clint laughed slightly as he sang.

"Tell me, did you fall for a shooting star–
One without a permanent scar?
And did you miss me while you were looking for yourself out there?"

Now the rest of the patrons were beginning to take note of the talented singer, even Tony Stark shut up for a second to see why everyone had gone quiet. Clint closed his eyes and enjoyed the attention as his fingers strummed on his guitar strings.

10pm

Jamie Hennessy pushed open the doors of the first pub she saw. She was met by a near full-house and the sounds of raucous laughter and peoples' conversations. She pushed her way through bodies to make it to the bar.

"Hey there, what can I get you?" A smiling, good-looking blonde guy in a white T-shirt greeted her. Jamie sighed heavily.

"Bottle of Miller, please," she replied. The bartender disappeared for a moment and Jamie sat down on a stool. She placed he elbows on the counter and rubbed her eyes as a bottle of orange liquid was set beside her. She thanked the bartender and glanced around. There was a guy with a guitar on a stage to the right, she also spotted a seedy looking guy with enough gel in his hair to drown something chatting up a small girl with wavy brown hair, he did not exactly look like he was interested in her personality.

Jamie picked up her bottle and pushed her way toward them. She slid in between them and faced Hair Gel.

"Uh-uh. She is not drunk enough, nor is her IQ low enough. Get out of here," she ordered sternly. Hair Gel was as much a wimp as Jamie first thought and ambled away with his tail between his legs. She then turned to the girl, who did not seem to be particularly bothered by the flight of her would-be suitor.

"Hi, sweetheart. What's your name?" Jamie used a tone similar to what you would use with a young child.

"I'm Darcy!" she said brightly, though her speech was slurred, she attempted to pick up a tray of various alcoholic beverages;

"Okay, Darcy. Why don't you go sit down with your friends, I'll bring this lot over, alright?" Darcy nodded happily and made her way back to her friends. Jamie picked up the tray, she caught the eye of a redheaded woman and smiled before glancing around and spotting Darcy at a table under the stage.

"Is there a Darcy here?" she asked, holding up the tray. An elegant woman with strawberry-blonde hair, looked up and smiled apologetically.

"Yeah, sorry," she said as Jamie set down the tray.

"Why don't you pull up a chair and have a drink with us-"

"Jamie. Jamie Hennessy. And it's absolutely no problem, I offered," Jamie said hastily. She pulled an empty chair from a table behind them and sat down.

"So, Jamie. We better introduce ourselves…"

10pm

Clint finished up his first set just as the doors were pushed open. He took no notice of whoever opened them. He took the guitar from his shoulder and took another swig from his second Heineken.

He took off his knit sweater, the lights were beginning to heat him up a little too much, his forehead was slightly damp. Clint finished his drink and hefted his guitar back on his shoulder. He decided to try an original. He strummed on his guitar for a few seconds and put his mouth to the microphone.

"You know better babe
You know better babe
Than to look at it
Look at it like that…"

His voice was huskier when he sang this time. The table in front of him became silent and he saw a new girl look up.

"Don't give it a hand
Offer it a song
Honey make this easy
Leave it to the land
This is what it knows
Honey, that's how it sleeps
Don't let it in with no intention to keep it
Jesus Christ don't be kind to it
Honey don't feed it
It will come back…"

Clint analysed her features as he sang. She brown hair that fell past her shoulders and greenish-grey eyes that looked straight back at his. Her face was quite long, she had a crooked smile. A very nice crooked smile.

"I know who I am when I'm alone
Something else when I see you
You don't understand
You should never know
How easy you are to need
Don't let me in with no intention to keep me
Jesus Christ don't be kind to me
Honey don't feed me
I will come back…"

Clint wrote that song after he had been kicked out for the second time. He thought about how Bobbi used to look at him, smile at him. He could not prevent the pain in his chest each time one of those memories arose. But as he sang, Clint decided to try and charm the new girl. He gave her his sexiest smile but looked away before she reacted.

This fucker. Jamie's new friends snapped around to face her when the idiot onstage smiled at her. Pepper had briefly explained this Clint guy to her and it was safe to say that his reputation went before him. Pepper, Jane and Maria smirked instead of giving her the daggers Jamie was sure she was receiving from the tables behind theirs. This guy was an amazing singer, though, and in spite of her indignation, Jamie knew she could do worse than the rugged singer.

"You'll hear me howling outside your door.
Don't you hear me howling babe?
Don't you hear me howling babe?
Don't you hear me howling babe?
Don't you hear me howling,
Don't you hear me howling,
Don't you hear me howling babe?"

Now this guy had the nerve to wink at her. Jamie scowled back and sipped her second Miller.

11.45pm

Clint tried to make his way toward the new girl but she had the habit of disappearing every time he got close. Eventually, he gave up and headed back to the bar to be greeted by a disapproving Natasha. She opened her mouth to berate him but Clint held up his hand to shush her.

"I don't want to hear it. I just want one pint of lager, please Tash," he said and gave her a small smile. She sighed and pulled down the lever of a tap.

"You were great tonight, Clint. You've got a gift, Barton. As much as it pains me to say it," she said as she placed the glass in front of him. Clint shrugged as he brought the drink to his lips and took a sip.

"Bottle of Miller, when you're ready." A voice came from his right. Clint glanced right, he almost laughed when he saw the girl he had been chasing for almost twenty minutes sitting on the stool beside him.

"Hey," he said. She looked at him and buried her face in her hands briefly.

"Oh for God's sake!"

She got up to leave again but Clint put a hand on the arm of her red and black shirt. She looked at him quizzically and he quickly withdrew his hand.

"Look, I'm not gonna force you to talk to me. I'll even leave if you want," he said peaceably. She raised one eyebrow and sat back down.

"No, it's-uh- it's alright." Natasha set down a bottle in front of the new girl and gave Clint a warning look-which he ignored, of course.

"I'm Clint, by the way," he said, extending his right hand out.

"Jamie. You were actually pretty good up there, Clint, aside from one or two things." Jamie shook his calloused hand and smirked.

"Oh, and what would those be?" Clint asked with a hint of indignation in his voice.

"Well, for starters, when there's a note that requires a lot of power, you need to be careful not to shout. You could do with smiling a little more, too."

Clint bristled at her criticism and took a longer swig of his lager.

"You're still one of the best I've heard, though." He lifted his head to look at her. Jamie was certainly pretty, her accent was different to anything he heard day-to-day.

"What are you a talent scout or something?"

"Nah, a high school teacher."

"No way!" Clint laughed and looked at her incredulously.

"You don't look like the typical teacher."

"What were you expecting? Spectacles, a tight grey bun and a pencil skirt?" Jamie laughed quietly. They both sipped their drinks in comfortable silence for a few minutes.

"So, where's that accent from?" Clint asked.

"Ah, Ireland actually," she replied. They chatted together until they both finished their drinks.

"Another?" Clint asked. Jamie shrugged.

"Don't why not," she replied as took out her purse. Clint quickly covered it with his hand, she opened her mouth to protest.

"Don't bother. Just let me buy a pretty girl a drink." He grinned and winked at her.

"Well, I can't argue with that logic," Jamie replied. Yup, Clint's night was certainly looking up.

Hellooo! Me again. The songs I used in this chapter were 'Drops of Jupiter'-Train and 'It Will Come Back'-Hozier. Definitely give that second one a go, it's probably one of my personal favourites. If you have any song suggestions, do let me know. The next chapter will be Clint and maybe some of Natasha and Steve. Also, if you read 'Bad Ideas,' you should recognize Jamie *wink*. I'll try and update that sometimes next week.

Thanks for reading! Have a great night, day, afternoon, etc…

Love ya! ;)