A/N: This one was quickly written and rushed, so it hasn't been beta-ed. But I wanted to get it posted today because it is Lynda's birthday! Happy birthday, Lynda! This one's in your honor!
I Could Kiss You - Steph/Clint
My name is Stephanie Plum, and for the last couple of years, I had the pleasure of working for my cousin Vinnie as a bonds enforcement agent in Trenton, New Jersey.
Alright, in truth it was only a pleasure about a quarter of the time, max. Sometimes it was pleasant because I met someone who, despite having skipped out on their bail and having to be brought in, was actually fairly cool and relatable. I'd even made a couple of friends of people I'd tracked down and been able to help.
Other times it was a great job because I got to do something totally badass that, when the gossips of Trenton, inevitably started chattering about it, no one could deny was amazing. Slowly but surely these days, which could only be described as pure victories, were becoming more common. And that was why, despite a few close-calls with quitting, I stuck with the job. The days where I won were satisfying, and I knew I was getting better with time.
When I chased the man I was after, Anthony Boyd, that day onto the roof of the abandoned warehouse, I thought it was going to be one of those victorious days where I got to strut into the Trenton Police Department and look like I actually knew what I was doing. That bit of hope counteracted the feeling I had that someone was watching me and made me brave enough to act.
The fact that the guy's rap sheet clearly proved that he was an ass also helped me decide, and I launched myself at him, taking him down with a flying tackle. As I pulled his arms harshly behind his back and affixed handcuffs, I finished my earlier explanation to him of why I was hunting him down.
Not that he didn't know, but the guy had interrupted me by shooting at me when I'd first found hi and tried to explain. And that was just rude. I hated being interrupted almost as much as I hated being shot at. So I was going to say my piece whether or not he was going to listen.
"As I was saying, I'm Stephanie Plum, and I work for Plum Bail Bonds, the organization that wrote the bond that allowed you to go free while you faced charges of illegally cooking amphetamines and second degree desecration of human remains. Ick. You didn't show up for your court date, so I'm taking you back to jail. Personally, I hope they don't let you out on bail again because that combination of crimes is just-"
I was cut off by the sound of squealing tires in the distance. Turning, I pulled Boyd with me and shoved him across the roof, intending to get a better view of what was happening. That turned out to be unnecessary because chasing after the cars on the road was a jet that was as clearly visible as the A on the side of it.
Of course I'd seen pictures of the Avengers and their jet- everybody had- but I had never been witness to one of their missions. And judging by the robots that were flying everywhere, that was about to change.
In truth, the fighting went pretty quickly, and despite his whining, I'd refused to release Boyd, just hunkered down while still maintaining a firm hold on him. When the combat noises seemed to be dying down, I cuffed Boyd to the railing that lead down to the door back into the building and walked to the edge of the building to take a better look. I didn't care what was going on, I was mostly interested in finding out if it was safe to be moving back toward my car.
I leaned over the side of the building just in time to see a sparking robot go smashing into my car, which of course, proceeded to blow up.
But the explosion didn't stop there. For some reason, the building next to it blew, then a few seconds later, the one next to it- which was only one away from the building I was standing on. I looked over at the fire escape longingly, then turned back to Boyd who was yelling at me not to leave him behind.
"Of course I'm not leaving you here," I yelled as I uncuffed him more quickly than I remembered moving in my life.
And, being the scum that he was, Boyd shoved me over as soon as he was free. "Bounty hunter bitch!" he yelled before kicking me in the abdomen and running for the staircase.
He knocked the wind out of me so bad that I couldn't move even though my brain was yelling at me to do so immediately. Forcing myself to calm down, I managed to catch my breath as I stumbled for my feet. Honestly, I didn't know why Boyd was running to the center of the building, as the fire escape seemed like the much better option.
I was about halfway there when I heard the rumbling. Resigned to my fate, I screamed, trying desperately to grab onto the handrail of the fire escape as the explosion propelled me off the side of the building. Of course, that kind of catch only happens when you're highly trained and know what you're doing, so I missed the rail. Before I could scream a second time, however, I felt something hit my body. Hard.
It was the oddest feeling when I realized I was moving UP instead of plummeting to my death, and a few seconds later I slammed into a rough, metal ground. Honestly, I knew I was doing some kind of combination of gasping and crying that had to be making me look dreadful, but I thought it was fair given the fact that I'd almost died. Then, as it slowly sank in that I was alive, the crying turned into laughter. Next to me, I heard an amused grunt, mixed with a groan, and I managed to roll onto my side in the direction the noise had come from.
As I rolled, I noticed that I was reasonably sure we were inside the jet, and when I completed the turn, I realized the the man lying on the ground next to me, who had saved me and taken the brunt of the fall when we landed, was none other than Hawkeye. The bow on the ground next to him was a dead giveaway. When our eyes caught, my brain that was filled with gratitude completely bypassed anything resembling a filter for my mouth and I blurted out, "I could kiss you right now!"
He looked full on startled, which seemed odd because I was sure the Avengers had groupies throwing themselves at them left and right. Once he spoke though, I understood his surprise.
"Well, don't let me stop you," he said with laughter in his eyes.
Figuring I could take my romantic soulmate at his word there, I scootched over until I could press my body against his completely and proceeded to do exactly that. There was no warm-up period as we learned what the other liked, rather, we seemed to instinctively know exactly what would make the other groan and gasp.
Eventually my attention was pulled away from my soulmate by the very loud sound of a throat clearing. I looked up to see a brunette with bangs and her hair pulled into a bun, staring down at us with an unamused expression and her arms across her chest. I flushed red, and Hawkeye just said, "oh, give it a rest, Hill. I do things much more deserving of your ire on a daily basis."
There was an amused laugh from down by our feet and I saw the rest of the Avengers, in full uniform, standing there looking amused.
"Oh, well, you see," I stammered, not wanting them to think poorly of me. "That Jeep you blew up was mine, and then it blew up the building next to it, and the one next to that, and the one next to that, and the one next to that, which I was actually on the roof of at the time. And uh, Hawkeye-"
He cut me off to correct him saying, "Clint," while grabbing onto my hand and squeezing even as he sat up and helped me up next to him.
"Clint," I paused to feel my soulmate's name on my lips, and I couldn't stop what I knew was a sappy grin from breaking out on my face as I continued. "Right, Clint, well… actually… I don't know what Clint did, but he definitely saved my life."
"And you were just thanking him?" Iron Man asked, and I gaped because those words matched my platonic soulmark in grey.
Addressing Iron Man, I said, "well, yes, I guess I was thanking him."
Tony grinned as he quickly caught on, "we're platonic soulmates; are you and Legolas are romantic soulmates by any chance?"
"Yep, Steph's mine. Figures she'd match up with you as well. That's gotta be penance for something in my past," he said before pulling me firmly into his side. Then he looked over at me with a smile of his own and explained the question on my face of how he knew my name, "I saw you on the roof before the team even got there- I was over on a cherry picker a couple blocks away doing surveillance on the area. I read your lips, so I know your name and that you were a bounty hunter. I'm sorry, I'm guessing the guy you arrested is dead- he hadn't made it out of the building before I shot my grappling hook arrow at the jet and grabbed you on my way up."
I looked over at the wall of the jet and saw a hook viciously embedded into the wall. "Huh," I said. When I looked over at the burning building I sighed and said, "let me go talk to the fire department so that when they find the body, they know who it is and I can get my money."
I stood on admittedly shaky legs, and started walking, feeling Clint's arm come around me before I could stumble. As we moved toward the gathering emergency responders, I was surprised to feel the rest of the team gather around us. Iron Man leaned over and stage whispered, "you're part of our crazy family now, and we take care of each other. Plus, the Captain there is really good at cutting through bureaucracy and red tape."