I know, right? Two in one day! I'm feeling uber guilty about neglecting this story and the Clint-bug just bit the hell out of me today. As always, I hope you enjoy!
This one has a few references to Clint's surprise birthday party in Chapter Eleven. You may want to skim over that chapter to refresh your memory!
December 1st, 2013
It was a great comfort to Clint knowing that Tony and Pepper were in New York to keep Georgia company when he was away on missions. It meant a lot to him and he would forever be grateful to Pepper Potts for the peace of mind she gave him in knowing that there was someone who could be there for his soon-to-be wife when he couldn't, especially after everything that happened recently.
But then, on the same token, it could be really fucking annoying sometimes.
Clint had just returned from three miserable weeks in the sandiest, dirtiest flea infested hole in the wall village in Egypt. The S.H.I.E.L.D. agent was supposed to intercept a load of weapons with nuclear capability as it switched hands between the arms dealer and the buyer, a known terrorist that worked along the Mediterranean and throughout the Middle East. The mission had been shit from the beginning; they were given false intel regarding the alias of the dealer and the blunder had almost caused Clint to blow his cover. The whole thing took much longer than it should have and there were so many mishaps along the way that it was almost comical. Almost.
Now, Clint was sore – there may or may not have been a few brawls there towards the end – and tired and dirty – fuck, he really needed a shower – and starving. Nothing sounded better at the moment than a hot shower, a warm meal, and his own bed, where his loving fiancée would be waiting, of course. Only, when Clint arrived back at their apartment shortly after three that morning (having moved in with Georgia after he proposed), said loving fiancée was nowhere to be found. His brows drew together as he paced down the hallway. Her things were still there so she hadn't gone to visit her parents or sister. Perhaps she was out with some friends?
Clint stood, frozen, in the doorway to their bedroom. His bag had been abandoned by the front door and the silence in their home was eerie. He should leave her be. He needed to shower, anyway. And eat. He would see her when she got home. That's what he told himself, anyway.
Snatching his phone from his pocket, he called her immediately.
"Hey, baby! Are you home? Everything went well?" Georgia cheerfully chirped when she answered her phone.
"Yeah, I'm home. Just got back. Everything's fine. I'm surprised you're out…"
Georgia smirked. She could totally see Clint's frown through the phone. "Pepper and I had dinner tonight. We're at Stark Tower. Did you know they have a hot tub on the terrace? It's highly surprising. I mean, we're seventy-something stories in the air and they've got a hot tub. You know their plumber had fun."
Rubbing his hand over his face, he let out a breath of relief. "You know it's almost four in the morning?"
"I do. Guess it's a little passed my bedtime, isn't it?"
"When are you coming home?" he asked before he could stop himself, instantly wincing. He sounded like such a woman. Who cared when she came home? They were in New York City, the Big Apple, the city that never sleeps, and she was a grown woman. It wasn't a big deal. But, then, of course it was. Because he cared when she came home. He cared greatly.
"I'm not sure. I think I'm in love," murmured Georgia through the phone. "This hot tub is to die for. I think we should get one. Then again we could always just use theirs. Tony won't mind, will he, Pepper?"
Clint heard Pepper's muffled reply and slumped onto the foot of their bed. "Okay, well, um…be careful…and have fun."
"Will do. I love you. I'll see you when I get home. I'm glad you're safe, baby."
His lips spread into the ghost of a smile. "I love you, too, G."
"You better."
Thirty Minutes Later
"Hey, you," Georgia grinned from her seat in the hot tub, looking not at all surprised when Clint sheepishly stepped out onto the terrace of Stark's suite half an hour after their phone call ended.
"Hey, uh, Jarvis let me in," he explained but Pepper didn't look concerned. The lovely redhead waved him over, "Care to join us? I can snag some of Tony's old swim trunks?"
"I'm good, thanks though. It's freezing out here. You girls are crazy."
"It's freezing out there," snickered Georgia. She motioned the water around her. "It's warm in here."
"I still think I'll pass."
Stark's beloved assistant rose from the hot tub, shivering as she pulled a towel around her. "Damn, that wind is biting. I'll be right back, you two. I'm going to find Tony, see where he's gotten off to."
"Didn't mean to run off your play mate," murmured Clint as he lowered himself onto the patio just beside the hot tub. A roll of steam wafted off the surface of the water like a sauna. Georgia stood, leaning out of the hot tub carefully so as to not drip any water on him, to press her lips against his, "I don't mind…I missed you."
"Ditto," he said against her mouth, bringing his hand up to cradle the back of her head, his fingers weaving between the dark strands of her wet hair. A sudden gust of wind slammed into the sky scraper that is Stark Tower and Georgia shrieked, sinking back into the warm water. She peered up at him from beneath wet lashes, "Are you sure you don't wanna join me?"
"Say no to an offer like that, Barton, and I'll have you declared mentally insane," smirked Tony as he and Pepper joined them on the terrace. "Heard she was over here and you just couldn't stay away, huh? What, afraid Georgia would like it over here so much she'd never want to go home? Afraid my money and charms would steal your woman?"
Georgia snorted. "I think you're afraid my charms are stealing your woman, Stark."
"And that's not entirely wrong," chimed Pepper as she shot Georgia a lovely smile. "I really did have a great time tonight, G. I haven't had a good girl friend since college."
"Same here," replied Georgia, mirroring Pepper's smile. "Well, aside from my sister and half the time we want to kill each other so I don't think she counts."
"Oh, tell me about it. Growing up my cousin and I were very close but she…" and so began another round of Pepper and Georgia's enthusiastic conversing. Smirking at the women, Tony thrust a pair of navy blue swim trunks into Clint's hand and slid into the hot tub beside his girlfriend. Clint eyed the seemingly clean shorts. "I, uh, guess I'll go change."
Tony sent him a look that clearly said, 'No one gives a shit,' but muttered, "You do that."
When Clint returned from the bathroom in Tony's swim trunks, his chest bare, his clothes folded in hand, the girls were dying of laughter and he noticed everyone had drinks in hand. Tony motioned a glass on the patio table. "I take it you like scotch?"
"It's not my favorite but I'm not exactly picky," rumbled Clint as she traded out his clothes for the glass and joined his fiancée and friends in the hot tub. "What'd I miss?"
"A very entertaining round of What If," said Tony.
Clint's eyebrows drew together. "What If?"
"What If…" began Pepper giddily, her cheeks red from laughter and alcohol. "You guys weren't the Avengers?"
"What would you do? What careers would the Avengers have if you weren't the Avengers anymore?" clarified Georgia. Looping an arm around her shoulders, Clint felt Georgia snuggle into his side, the water pooling around their torsos. He sipped his scotch. "Okay, I'll bite. What would we be?"
"Well, Tony, here," giggled Pepper. "-would be a male stripper."
Clint beamed, snickering at his teammate's fate. "Obviously."
"And you," Georgia toyed with the hem of his swim trunks beneath the water. She flashed him a coy smile. "-you would work at the Renaissance Festival."
There came a beat of silence. "I'm sorry, what?"
"We couldn't think of anywhere else your skills would be needed! Well, other than the circus, but I read this book once about a traveling circus called Water for Elephants and it just did not sound pleasant. You would not enjoy that life," declared Pepper.
"Besides," added Georgia. "-working at Renaissance Festival, you won't have to be constantly on the move. They come to you."
"And I suppose you ladies figured out what I'll do in the off-season?"
Tony's permanent smirk grew. "Kids birthday parties and the occasional Comic Con."
"Well, at least I won't be dressing up like the Village People and grinding on other men," Clint shot back, causing the women to erupt into another round of endless giggling. Clint waited for their laughter to die down and asked, "Okay, so what about the others?"
"So, Steve would be a stunt man for an Evil Knievel show or something like that. Something where he rides motorcycles over school buses through rings of fire. He's already got the outfit and everything," said Georgia.
"And then we thought Bruce would make an excellent professor," began Pepper. "But that's boring so instead we decided he'd work for a Mexican drug cartel."
"A natural progression from a teacher," scoffed Clint.
"Shut up. He'd be perfect," urged Georgia. "He's so innocent looking that he can easily push the drugs across international borders without raising suspicion. But if anything does go wrong, he can just Hulk out and kill everyone. Or, you know, permanently maim or seriously injure."
"I don't even know what to say to that," muttered Clint as he polished off his scotch.
Tony snickered, "Oh, they haven't even gotten to the best one yet."
"Let me guess, Natasha?"
Pepper's cheeks flushed, "Mhmm…Natasha…well, we did find something for her but I can't say it out loud. It's too dirty."
Clint's brow furrowed playfully, "Oh? Then that leaves…"
"Thor," grinned Georgia. She gave a dramatic pause, looking at a giggling, red-faced Pepper and her smirking billionaire boyfriend who, for once, didn't appear too bored with all the non-geniuses in his presence. Finally, Georgia cleared her throat and announced, "Our demi-god would be a voice over actor for soap operas."
Clint burst with laughter. Tony's eyes gleaming evilly as he toasted the women's decision. Sipping the last of his scotch, the Iron Man murmured, "Can't you see it, now, Barton?" His voice dropped to mimic the low, rumbly, Shakespearian, almost exotic tones of their alien friend. "This week on the Young and the Restless…"
May 26th, 2017
It was just after seven on a Friday night, the last Friday of the month, and as usual, the Avengers and their significant others we're gathered at Stark Tower for their monthly movie night.
It all started with Clint buying the Nikon...
Tony Stark was nothing if not a curious man and his curiosity had peaked when he realized not only was his feathery friend serious about making home movies, he'd actually been filming them! What exactly were on those videos? Perhaps, Tony hoped, a porno starring a certain peach. But the billionaire couldn't be sure. So, when Tony went snooping, things went much smoother than he'd expected when Georgia shoved a handful of discs in his hands. "That's all of 'em. Go to town."
"Seriously? This is real?" Tony examined the discs. "This is real life? You don't mind me watching? ...oh, I get it. These are all the PG-13 films. You've got the good ones stashed somewhere. An old shoe box in the closet, perhaps?"
"Nope. Those are it."
Tony got through three of the videos before Pepper, and the shortly thereafter Bruce, caught him. Pepper's initial reaction had been to scold Tony, but then a clip of the video caught her eye. Clint was following Georgia around a grocery store, Chelsea Market it looked like, and the soldier was teasing his blushing wife despite the rude stares of other shoppers. Pepper couldn't help but giggle.
Tony mocked his woman, faking like he was surrendering to her chiding and reaching for the DVD player. "No, wait, wait, what's this?" Pepper asked, scooting over to take a seat beside him on the chaise. The video had changed and it looked like Georgia and Steven were in the sky?
"That's when we played baseball on the Helicarrier after the Holtman case," answer Bruce, a wistful expression consuming his gentle face. The doctor shot his best friend a sideways grin. Recalling how the game ended, he suggested they turn the video off. Not wanting to embarrass his best pal, Tony flicked off the home movie but declared that he wanted to watch the rest. It was Bruce who suggested getting the gang together to watch and reminisce and somehow it turned into a monthly gathering.
That Friday, it was the Captain's turn to pick the video. He selected a disc, called a DVD he'd learned, that had the words 'birthday,' 'Superbowl,' and 'Easter' scrawled on it in black Sharpie. Per Natasha's instruction, Steve inserted the DVD into the player and resumed his spot on the fluffy rug in front of the couch, ignoring Tony's remark about upgrading to Blu-Ray. Whatever that meant.
The Avengers and the girls were spread out across the living room of Tony and Pepper's suite. Everyone had a drink in their hand and there were bowls of popcorn and sweets scattered over the tabletops and between bodies on the couches and sofas. As the home video began, Jarvis dutifully lowered the lighting and an image appeared on the screen.
Georgia blinked at the camera, smiling quickly at someone off screen. There were bodies in the background but the camera's proximity to the young woman's face was such that the figures around her could not be made out. "Talk about a close-up," muttered Tony.
"Nat," said on-screen Georgia. "You've got the Nikon ready, right?"
"Affirmative," came the Russian's voice. The video footage jostled as the camera was brought down, the Widow checking her watch. The camera lifted once more to Georgia's face. "Five minutes, G."
"Oh, it's Clint's surprise party last year!" shrieked Pepper. "Awww. That seems like so long ago!"
On-screen Georgia gave a short spiel, thanking the guests for coming and helping celebrate her husband's birthday, etc, and while the footage continued, Clint squeezed his wife's shoulder. She shot him a smile over her shoulder and Clint pressed a kiss into her hair. That had been a really great birthday. Honestly, he was still shocked they were able to pull the "surprise" aspect off. Georgia was turning his senses soft.
The video continued and, when on-screen Clint knocked out on-screen Tony, the troupe of friends erupted with laughter. Well, all but Tony. In fact, the Iron Man grew a little indignant. "You just left me there?!" Tony's annoyance was only further encouraged when on-screen Georgia told on-screen Coulson and Steve she'd send them the footage of Clint's mini-attack on Tony. "You made copies?!" And, finally, the billionaire was pushed over the edge when the video later showed the Hulk and Captain America taking a Sharpie to their unconscious friend's face. "Steve?! Bruce?! You said Coulson did that!"
"Steve and I were bonding!" Bruce defended their actions. "It was healthy!"
"Tell that to the skin poisoning I got from the Sharpie!"
The friends watched on as the birthday party drew to an end, expecting the film to cut to the Superbowl footage soon, and were startled when the video opened on Clint and Georgia's bedroom. The Nikon was aimed at the bathroom door, which was closed, a strip of light glowing underneath the door. Off the screen, Clint's voice called, "Hurry up, G!"
"Patience, Barton…I'm almost ready," called Georgia from the bathroom.
"Oh, no," murmured Bruce. Beside him, Natasha tossed her head back and let out a barking laugh. They knew exactly where this was going.
"Oh…my…God," groaned Georgia, sinking back into the couch, burying her face in her hands as her husband leapt up, dashing for the TV. "No, no, no, no, no."
"I knew it! I knew it!" yelled Tony triumphantly. "PG-13 my ass! You made a dirty movie. Hot damn, Barton, I knew it."
"Shut up, Tony," growled Clint. The assassin shot the billionaire a warning glare but the Iron Man was too busy revealing in the fact that he was right. There was no way a couple as attractive and sex-crazy as Clint and Georgia Barton hadn't made a sex tape.
"There's nothing on there, I promise," professed Georgia. "Honest, it's just me in some lingerie. We didn't film us doing anything."
"Bullshit," announced Tony. "Yep, I'm calling bullshit."
"Tony-" Pepper and Steve began at once. Though they were both slightly amused at the turn of events, Georgia's face couldn't have gotten any redder if she'd been born a tomato. Steve finished, clapping a hand on his friend's knee, "Lay off, Tony."
Georgia shook her head. "There's nothing to lay off of. There's nothing on that video, I swear."
There came a brief lapse of silence. Clearly, no one believed Georgia and Tasha's smirk certainly wasn't helping. Finally, Tony sat up, swirling around a drink in his hand. "Prove it."
Clint snapped, "Are you insane?"
"I'm sorry, what?" asked Georgia, her look of disbelief mirroring her husband's. Tony merely shrugged, taking a swig of his drink. He was unfazed by the shocked looks of his peers. "You heard me. Prove it. Let the video play."
"No!" barked Barton. "Hell no! I'm not letting you see my wife in-"
"Fine," snapped Georgia. "Play the video, Clint. He won't give up and he'll figure out a way to watch the video one way or another. Better to just get it over with. Besides, everyone else is dying with curiosity so…" At that, Bruce and Steve began to spew, muttering about them not caring and how they believed her. That, too, was bullshit, even if Steve was blushing like a virgin. Curiosity was a powerful thing.
And so that's the story of how the Avengers got to see Georgia in sexy, skimpy Robin Hood lingerie.
Review!