Party Tricks

10

It was Darcy's last day off and she was determined to enjoy the hell out of it. If she could only find Clint she'd be well on her way.

So far she'd looked in the common area, his room, the roof, and...

Duh. She wanted to slap herself for being so stupid. Of course! He's gotta be at the range.

She dashed for the nearest elevator and let it carry her down to the floor that held impressive shooting ranges for both bows and firearms. Belatedly, she thought of bringing her own new bow. She was coming along nicely for having only shot it twice. So far she was... What was the word Clint had used? ... "Grouping" arrows near the yellowish circle in the middle of the target. Not on it, but near. Whatever, she was spending time with Clint.

Maybe she'd go back up and get it if Clint turned out to be down here.

Sure enough, he was all alone, pounding arrows into a target that was impressively far down range. Darcy smiled to herself as she quietly closed the door behind her.

She waited until he was finished before speaking. "Hey, I've been looking everywhere for you. I probably should've looked here first."

Clint set his bow on its stand and wiped his face with a towel, his back still to her.

She frowned. "Clint?"

Clint threw the towel over his shoulder and headed down range to retrieve his arrows.

Weird. Clint never ignores her. She waited until he turned around, arrows in hand, and spotted her.

He looked pleased at first, but his expression quickly morphed into something less appealing. Like he didn't want her there.

She let out a little wave of her hand and waited for him to get closer.

"I was talking to you," she said, "I thought maybe you were ignoring me?" Voicing it sounded stupid now and she cringed as the last word left her mouth.

Clint was staring intently as she spoke.

"Sorry," he said, putting his arrows in their quiver and taking it off.

"Were you in the zone?" She forced a laugh.

Clint grimaced. He looked unsure of himself. It was strange.

"I can leave if you want," she offered, feeling awkward and wondering if she was violating some sort of Hawk-time thing.

He shook his head, "I just..." He paused and swallowed, seeming hesitant. "I didn't put my hearing aids on this morning before I came down."

Hearing aids? What was he talking about? Oh, was he joking?

She smiled, made a little laughing sound. "Funny."

Clint ran a hand through his hair and met her gaze, "I couldn't hear you."

Oh. Was he serious? He looked serious.

"You... couldn't? Can't?" Is that why he was staring at her so hard? Was he reading her lips?

"Let me go and get them," he said quickly and disappeared, leaving a slightly shocked and confused Darcy behind.

Stupid. That's what he was. A damn fool.

He knew better than to put himself in that position. What else could he do but tell Darcy the truth? And now she knew that he was practically deaf.

He cursed himself all the way to his room. Was it so difficult to stick these little things in his ears that he had foregone them this morning? He knew Darcy would be lurking around. He had only wanted to shoot in blissful silence and what had that gotten him?

Irritated at himself, he punched the elevator button. What must she think of him now? As if it wasn't bad enough. Fuck, why does he care anyway? He's supposed to be staying away from her.

He took a deep breath before entering the range. He found Darcy playing with his hip quiver. She had it on and was flipping arrows in and out of it.

She spun around, looking somewhat embarrassed when he walked in. But damn it, was she adorable. It was like she was out to get him. Seriously. She had to be doing this shit on purpose.

"I kinda dig your other arrow holder thingy," she said, as if they were having a perfectly normal conversation about quivers. "The one that goes on your back. It's sexy."

Clint was somewhat astonished at her not calling him out straight away. Or yelling at him. Hell, he was surprised she was still there. And calling him sexy. "I like that one on you," he smirked.

"How come I don't have one of these? I'm practically a professional archer now."

"Take that one," he stepped closer. Was she really this understanding? Could they really go on like nothing had happened? Like he hadn't revealed something about himself that few people knew?

Her face lit up, "Really?"

"Yeah, unless you'd prefer a pink one to match your bow."

She whacked him with the arrow in her hand.

"Careful, that's a weapon. You wouldn't want to hurt me."

"Maybe I was trying to."

She smiled at him and then leaned to the left a little, then the right. He realized she was looking in his ears.

"Thank you," she said finally.

"No problem, I have some old ones I can-"

"No, for telling me something about yourself."

He swallowed and his eyes dropped to her lips. God, he wanted to kiss her right now and he should not be thinking that. But she had his quiver on, and it was sexy.

Focus Clint...

"You're not... I mean, you're..." Way to be articulate, buddy. "Okay with it?"

"Well yeah," she closed the space between them and wrapped her arms around his neck and holy shit was he up a creek without a paddle now. "Why wouldn't I be?"

Clint wasn't sure he could form actual words now. This was serious. He was seriously attracted to this girl and if he lost it and kissed her there would be no going back.

It wasn't like seducing someone for a job. This was... Serious.

Darcy leaned in and Clint felt his body tighten. What the hell, he was going to kiss her. Fuck caution and intuition and...

And then she pecked him gently on the cheek. "I can tell its kind of a big deal for you and I won't tell anyone. But, thank you for trusting me."

Yep, she did this shit on purpose. She was doing a damn good job of making him fall for her. He definitely should've stayed away from her.

"I never even noticed," she said, peering into one of his ears again. He tried not to feel awkward about that fact. But Darcy was strange sometimes. It did quell his desire to do something he would surely regret, though.

"You're not supposed to," he said.

He thought this was the point where she would ask who else knew and what had happened, was he always this deaf, and a stream of other questions.

But she stepped back and said, "Are you finished practicing, cause I kinda wanna try shooting with my new arrow holder thingy?"

"Quiver."

"Yep. I think I have this arrow flipping thing down." She pulled an arrow out, flipped it around her fingers and whacked him in the chest with it.

He smiled at her craziness. She really knew how to make him feel at ease. He could get used to that.

"Sure, go grab Kitty."

"I wish you'd stop trying to name my bow. It hates being pink, I'll have you to know."

"I can't name it, but it hates being pink?"

"Yep," she flashed him a grin before jogging out the door.

Yeah, he definitely shouldn't get used to this.

Hey guys, I'm glad you all enjoyed the bonus chapter this weekend.

Something super fun happens next chapter, so look forward to that ;)

Until then...

Cheers!