I'm still here! Hopefully, I didn't make you wait too long for this chapter. Nothing exciting here, just some sharing of stories. Thanks for sticking around!
The following day, Clint woke up to a furry dog nuzzling his hand. "Aw, Lucky, no." Of course, Lucky didn't listen and continued working his magic to get Clint out of bed. "Fine, fine, I'm up." Clint slowly propped himself up on his elbows, then pushed himself off the bed, planting his feet on the floor. After wiping his eyes, Clint grabbed his hearing aid from the charger and stood. He took Lucky's leash from the chair, attached it to the dog's collar, put on a coat, then took Lucky outside. "Snow's stopped."
"Seems to be a little warmer, too."
"Morning to you, too, Bucko." Clint leaned down, unhooked Lucky's leash, then let the dog roam around the designated dog area.
"Here." Bucky handed Clint a steaming cup of coffee.
Clint took it, inhaled the aroma, moaned, then gulped it down. "Thanks."
Bucky took the empty mug from him, replacing it with a full one. "Was on my way back from the diner, figured you could use a cup or three."
"Yeah, thanks. I can function now." Clint watched as Lucky rolled in the snow, then bounded back over to them. "Great, nothing like starting the day by giving a big, furry dog a bath." Lucky, in return, started vigorously shaking off the snow, causing it to land on Clint and Bucky. "So, that's how it's going to be then, boy?" Clint smirked as he picked up a handful of snow, formed a ball, then threw it at Lucky. The dog turned and tried to catch it with his mouth. Unfortunately, the dog missed, and the snowball flew and struck Bucky in the torso.
"Oh, it's on now, Barton." Bucky began gathering up snow, enough to make several snowballs. He was so focused that he didn't notice Clint had moved behind a large boulder and began making snowballs himself. Lucky could sense the brewing fight and started running back and forth from one man to the other. Bucky's strategy seemed to be quantity rather than quality. He started throwing one snowball after another toward Clint, thankfully not with his vibranium arm.
Clint shouted, trying to push the dog off him, failing miserably. On the other hand, Clint put his sniper's patience to use and waited for opportune moments, striking Bucky with every projectile. Lucky got so excited he leaped into Clint's arms, knocking the archer onto the ground, and began licking Clint's face. "Uncle, uncle!"
"Who's the nine-year-old now?" Clint and Bucky looked up to see Kate leaning over the railing outside her hotel room. The two men exchanged glances, and Bucky nodded. Both quickly gathered up the remaining snowballs and pelted Kate, with no throws missing their mark. "Hey!" Kate yelled as she waved her arms, trying to block the onslaught and failing. In a short time, she was as wet as Lucky after he'd rolled around in the snow.
Clint leaned down. "Go on, boy, go say good morning." Lucky ran off, went up the stairs, flew into Kate's legs, and knocked her to the ground. Clint yelled up at Kate. "Your prize for being the last one up? You get to bathe Lucky, Katie-Kate."
She was about to start whining when two snowballs hit her and knocked her on her ass. "Okay, fine. Come on, pizza dog." Lucky happily followed the grumbling archer as she returned to her room and shut the door behind them.
"Breakfast?" Clint asked.
"Sounds good," Bucky answered, reaching down to help Clint stand. They went silently to the diner and found a booth in the back where they could see all the entrances and exits. When they sat down, the server brought over a carafe of coffee and two menus, setting it all on the table. Bucky was a second ahead of Clint in reaching the handle, so he filled Clint's cup before his own. Clint lifted his mug in thanks, downed the contents, then refilled the cup. "You know, we could just mainline it? Hook it up to a vat. It would probably be easier."
"Probably, but not practical on missions."
Bucky drank his coffee. "Sounds like you've tried it before."
Clint smiled. "Once. It was a mission in Brazil. Nat and I were waiting for extraction. I lost track of how long we spent in the jungle. I'd never seen a more blessed sight than this little coffee shop. I paid them for the vat and tried to carry it off while Nat leaned against the wall, smirking."
"Natasha? Smirking?"
"Well, you couldn't tell if you didn't know her. The corner of her mouth lifted about half a millimeter then it fell back into place. I looked over and signaled for help, so she turned and left the building."
"Sounds like her. Did you make it out with the container?"
The server came over carrying another coffee carafe and took their orders. When she left, and their cups were full, Clint answered. "Nope. Natasha walked back in with Coulson on her heels. All it took was him looking at me and in his calm voice advising me I'd have to choose between the vat and my quiver, which I didn't think was fair."
"Man, that had to be a tough one." Bucky finished his coffee and refilled his cup.
"About the roughest one, I'd ever made. But I thought about it and decided the arrows helped pay to keep me in coffee, so I could always buy a vat of my own and keep it on base. So, I returned the vat and even let the guy keep the money." Clint took a sip of coffee and smiled. "I have a lifetime credit at the shop, so if you're ever in Santarem City, let me know, and I'll put you in touch with the owner. Coffee's on me."
"Good to know. I know I spent time in Brazil after the war, seeing that's where a lot of the Nazis ended up."
"Hitler?"
"I never saw him, but it wouldn't surprise me. I remember they had plans in place. They took me out of cryo once to take someone out in Argentina. A leader wasn't doing what the assholes wanted him to do. I was there long enough to take care of him, then back to whichever base I was at."
The server showed up with their plates and yet another carafe. After making sure they had everything they needed, she left them alone. Clint picked up the syrup and doused his pancakes after smothering them in butter. "I'd love to go somewhere and be a tourist, not be there because I've been sent to spy on someone or take out some bad guy. Not sure what that would be like, but I'd like to try."
Bucky nodded, liberally sprinkling his enormous omelet with pepper and hot sauce. "Sounds nice. You deserve it."
"Don't sell yourself short, Bucky. You do, too." Clint couldn't imagine being under someone else's control for seventy years. Hell, he almost broke after Loki was in his brain for only three days. "You came out stronger and deserved to enjoy yourself. Do what you want to do."
"That's why I'm here. Haven't been to a lot of the US, so I figured this would be a good opportunity to get a glimpse of it."
Clint snorted. "Sorry to disappoint you, but there's not a lot to see in this part of the country. My suggestion for a road trip? Route 66. Takes you from Illinois to California. It's not a bad journey, especially on a bike."
"Is this another mission story?"
"Of course, aren't all my stories?" Clint inhaled a piece of bacon, then continued. "Some other alphabet government organization needed help catching and stopping gun traffickers. For some reason, Fury thought I could pull off a biker look. Either that or the idiots would be too shocked to think I'd be a biker. I was never sure which. Anyway," Clint said, waving his fork around, "I infiltrated a motorcycle gang who used stops along Route 66 as points of contact. Oddest damn place was a big blue whale. They'd picked up the guns from inside the monstrosity, but SHIELD was waiting for them when they got back on their bikes."
"A whale?"
"Yeah, my thoughts exactly. That's the thing about Route 66. It's got all these oddball exhibits and places to see. There's a place where you can stay in a wigwam, a restaurant/gas station with a giant soda bottle out front with a straw, and the big blue whale, just to mention a few."
"I'll add Route 66 to the list," Bucky said, finishing off his omelet and then moving on to his toast. They each finished their breakfast, and Kate walked in as they were about to leave. "Nice of you to make it."
"Can it, Barnes. Do you know what it's like to have to clean up after bathing a golden retriever?"
"Can't say that I do."
"Good, that means it's your turn next time." Kate shoved Clint over and sat down next to him. "Glad you left me something," she said, grabbing a piece of bacon from Clint's plate and a piece of toast from Bucky.
"Speaking of, where is Lucky?" Clint asked.
"On one of my beds pouting. He thinks he's just been tortured."
"He'll get over it," Clint said. "I checked the forecast, and we should be clear to head out today." He looked over at Kate. "Go ahead and order something. Once you're done, we'll get packed up and get on the road."
"No pressure, CB-1." Clint motioned the server over, and Kate placed her order. Once the food arrived, Kate made quick work of it, and, as soon as she finished, Clint tossed down money to cover all three breakfasts. The trio returned to their rooms, took showers, and prepared to leave. Clint stopped at the office to drop off the room keys, then got back in the SUV and steered it back onto the interstate aimed toward Iowa.
