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"What? You can't be serious!" Tony Stark's obnoxious voice nearly screamed into Clint's ears as he got closer to the house. Everyone was outside of the porch, enjoying Bruce's cooking. But, his grayish blue eyes caught sight of something different. An added person. Blond hair. Tall. Muscular. Then Clint realized it must be Cap. "How could you have not heard of the Hunger Games? It's all over the place! What about Twilight? No? Harry Potter? Jeez, you really need a guide!"
"Leave him be, Tony. He doesn't have to enjoy the same things as you," Pepper declared. Steve nodded his thanks to her but Tony never backs down that easily. Bruce could even see the upcoming argument. The scientist sighed deeply as he wondered if he should get involved. Meanwhile, Clint decided to skirt around the edges, waiting for someone to notice him. In the meantime, he'd enjoy Tony being Tony.
"I'm not saying that! He hasn't heard of them! God, I never read Twilight but I know it's about a stupid average girl falling in love with a stupid handsome guy!" Tony cried.
"Uh, actually Bella is a human girl who falls for the vampire, Edward. But she also falls for an old friend who ends up being a werewolf," Bruce meekly mentioned. All eyes focused on him with mixed emotions of shock, amusement, and surprise. Bruce quickly went defensive. "I had a lot of free time!"
"O-Kay... That's besides the point. From now on, we are having team movie night to help Capsicle catch up!" Tony announced. Pepper rolled her eyes. Steve seemed to want to bash his head on the table. And Bruce looked mildly amused.
"Does that mean we are watching the old classics like: Pinky, All that Heaven Allows, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, On the Beach-"
"What the hell? Since when are those classics, Bruce?" Tony snapped. "No, we're gonna watch Halloween, The Birds, Psycho, Cinderella, Friday the 13th, Batman-"
"Really, who wants to watch a billionaire turned super hero?" Bruce mocked. Tony settled a slight glare on the man as Pepper and Steve started laughing. "Seriously, only horror?"
"I threw in Cinderella."
"Seriously, only horror?" Bruce joked.
"Hardy, har har," Tony began but was again interrupted.
"I think each person should make a contribution to what movie will play. That way Steve doesn't get stuck following one person's preference," Pepper said. With that the conversation died down. Everyone agreed with Pepper, except Tony. But his fight never got started because they all turned to Clint as he hit the bottom steps making the wood creak as he placed his weight down on it's aged frame. Everyone turned to look at him. He gave a sheepish smile and nodded a hello. "Did Natasha find you?"
"Yeah. She's dealing with a phone call. Should be here soon," Clint responded. Pepper nodded and slowly, the group went back to eating. Except Steve, who stood and walked to face Clint at the steps. With a smile, the old man held out a hand. Clint looked up into the captain's blue eyes and saw honesty and kindness. Feeling no threat from him, Clint grasped the awaiting hand and the two shook.
"Steve Rogers. Didn't get an official introduction before," Steve explained. Clint smiled.
"Clint Barton," Clint replied as the shake finally ended. Nodding in greeting, Steve shifted to allow the archer room to get further onto the porch. As Clint got up, he noticed that nearly all the food was gone. His surprise wasn't hidden in time for Bruce's welcoming gaze. Focusing on the doctor, Clint saw the sheepishness settle over the once relaxed form. Deciding it was as good as any to liven up, Clint smirked. "Jeez doc, thought you cooked more so we wouldn't run out."
"Uh," Bruce called as Tony's laughter burst through. Now fully embarrassed, Bruce looked away from the archer. Clint flashed a glance at Steve and noticed he seemed rather red as well. Then his eyes hit Pepper. She was redder than either man. Raising an eyebrow, Clint waited. "We were really hungry and the food has been out for almost an hour and a half."
"No worries," Clint laughed, allowing everyone but Tony to relax. The billionaire hadn't been fazed by his accusation. Heck, he rather much enjoyed it. Only a minute more passed before Steve and Clint settled into some chairs around the table. Once down, Clint reached for a dog and began to load it up with as much toppings as possible.
"Hell, guess we weren't the only hungry ones!" Tony declared as everyone watched Clint expertly drop more and more on his hot dog. When it seemed like nothing else could be added, Clint dropped some more items and then paused to look at his masterpiece. "Now, eat that without making a mess."
"Twenty bucks says I can," Clint countered. Tony smirked as the two looked over the dog. "One drop of anything on the plate and you win. Nothing falls, I win."
"Deal. Go ahead. You're gonna fail," Tony mentioned. Clint snorted, forgetting easily that this group did not know him. Very slowly and carefully, Clint picked up the dog. He handled it like a bomb about to go off. Showmanship, really. Clint had made bigger dog messes in his past and never made a mess. This dog would be a cake walk. And only a minute later proved that, when the dog was gone and no trace of it ever existing. Tony's jaw looked broken. Bruce seemed impressed. Steve was a mix of awe and disgust. And at some point Pepper vanished.
"Fay uf," Clint announced with a mouth still full of dog. Tony's jaw set.
"Double or nothing!" he snapped in awe and admiration. Clint swallowed and smiled before working on loading up another dog. As he finished loading the dog, Clint wondered what made him originally not want to hang with Tony. It was fun messing with the genius. But this time, when he picked up the dog, a noise made him drop the whole thing. "Ha! I win!"
"Shut up," Clint ordered as he felt like someone else was watching him. Something was wrong. His eyes flickered across the beach and the surrounding woods nearby but nothing looked out of place. At Clint's words, Steve and Bruce tensed but Tony frowned.
"You can't tell me to shut up in my own house!" he snapped. Clint then focused a glare on the immature man. That was enough to silence him. Tony could now tell that something was up. He may not know what, but he wasn't one to question the awareness of others. Clint stood and focused on the woods behind Steve, who had been sitting across from him. The super soldier stood as well while Bruce seemed to cower in the man's shadow. Tony stayed completely still.
"What's going on?" Pepper questioned a second later when she reemerged from the house with some fresh drinks. Right away Steve and Clint waved for her to go inside while Tony jumped to his feet to push her back. Surprised, she dropped the drinks and the glasses shattered on the wood. No one but Pepper seemed fazed. She cried out in shock but aloud Tony to shove her back. The two then stood in the doorway.
"Should we suit up?" Tony whispered, feeling unnerved by the tense stand off going on. Steve, who had been trying to focus on something in the woods, deferred to Clint. But the archer's gray-blue eyes were still manicly shifting about. He couldn't find what had made the noise. Normally, by now, he'd relax though right now he can't. The noise wasn't normal Miami noise. It was the sounds of an assassin getting into position.
"I can't tell yet," Clint answered as he glared at the woods. He needed something. Anything to go off of. Even just a glint of sun off a sniper scope. But his eyes were failing him right now. And if his eyes weren't up to par, it could spell the end of him. At least, that's how it used to be. When he was alone, Clint had to protect all sides of him but now, the other Avengers could help. Too bad he wasn't sure if he could trust them just yet.
"Clint!" Natasha suddenly screamed from up the beach. Everyone focused on her. She was running as fast as she could and, almost, looked petrified. "Udaipur!"
Knowing that that was the only mission were Clint had actually been the target, he ducked down as something hit the table where he had been standing. Bruce spun around as Steve leapt over the table, both putting themselves in the line of sight. Pepper screamed in shock as Tony pushed her further into the house. He watched as Clint slid under the table.
"What the fuck?" Tony cried and looked to the table. Embedded in the wood was a tranquilizer dart. Not dangerous, per say, but surprising considering it had been aimed for Clint. "What is going on?"
And that's the end of another chapter. Don't forget to review please. ^_^