Hey hey hey! So I actually have several of these done and will post one a day until I'm done with last years Whumptober prompts! Woohoo! Then I'm gonna get a jump start on writing this years so that I can be ahead of the curve and hopefully not take a year to finish them this time HAHA. Anyway, enjoy!

Prompt: Gagged

Clint had to hand it to them. While duct tape was significantly more comfortable – until removal at least – than a good ol' fashioned cloth gag, it was a hell of a lot more effective at achieving actual silence. He had plenty of experience with both, because he'd had just that kind of life, so he felt like a relative authority on the matter.

With a cloth gag, he could talk around it. It wasn't exactly clear, more like half words relying on tone of voice. But at least he could get his point across, mostly.

With duct tape, he was relegated to hums of various intensity. And really, if you wanted someone to honest to God shut up, then the tape was the way to go. It hurt like a bitch to take off though.

Apparently he'd annoyed his captors enough that 'honest to God shut up' was what they were going for, because he found himself with a nice strip of duct tape across his mouth. Mere minutes ago he'd been doing his level best to talk these guys into killing their boss, or each other – he wasn't picky.

He didn't try to say anything else because, honestly, no matter who it was coming from humming at people just didn't carry a lot of weight. Instead, he just used his gaze to mock them as best he could. A sarcastic eyebrow twitch here, a slight eyeroll there, a dose of a 'are you seriously this stupid' glare just for shits and giggles.

It wasn't as effective as, say, cutting them to pieces with words, but at least it kept him entertained. It also kept them distracted while he worked to cut through his ropes with a shard of glass he'd grabbed when they carelessly threw him to the floor upon arrival. He felt bad for whoever had been here last. If they'd been the reason for the shattered glass on the floor, it must not have a been a pleasant stay. But one man's terror filled captivity was another man's path to freedom, so Clint sent up a hope for the man's survival and took the opportunity presented to him.

Cutting blind with a crooked shard of glass wasn't a precision skill. It was more of a 'hope to hell you didn't slit your wrist' kind of deal. So far, he'd managed to keep the glass mostly cutting the rope and not his skin, and he was more thankful than he'd ever been for the hard calluses built on his fingers from his bow string.

"Shouldn't the boss be here by now?" one of his captors muttered.

The other shrugged nervously.

"I thought you talked to him," the first accused.

"I thought you did!"

Inexplicably, they both looked back at Clint.

He shifted his gaze back and forth between them and then arched his eyebrow in a distinct 'I told you so' gesture.

The two men looked back at each other and then in a blink, both drew their guns, shouting accusations.

Clint watched, blinking in vague surprise when they proceeded to shoot each other and fall to the ground.

He looked back and forth between the bodies, not quite sure how he'd managed to actually pull that off. He didn't dwell on it long, though, before focusing back on the rope keeping him bound. A few moments later, and quite a few knicks to his hands and wrists, he was free.

He yanked the tape off in one fluid motion.

"Son of a bitch!" he hissed, feeling to make sure he hadn't, in fact, ripped his lips off like it felt. He hadn't.

"Well, fellas, it's been a real. Your mutual distrust and hatred made this pretty easy all things considered," he commented to the men on the ground as he retrieved his weapons and headed for the door.

Hope you enjoyed this one! It was fun!