Onto the next chapter!
Thank you for the favourites and follows! Means alot! Really glad that you guys are enjoying this, because I'm loving it and finding it difficult to limit it to 10 chapters but they're my rules for requests so I gotta!
Reviewers!
Niom Lamboise; Gotta thank your idea for the chapters being great! I may have run a little wild with your idea, but I hope you enjoy the next few chapters anyway! :)
Cori; Thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying it that much :o Annoying Clint in stories, making people happy, writing until my fingers hurt, they're basically my daily tasks in order of importance and frequency! :P Hope you enjoy the rest! :)
Eniko151; I do this weird thing when I get such a nice compliment as yours where I pull whatever I'm wearing up over my eyes and squeal like an excited 5 year old. Your review came in while I having a conversation with my mother and had to do it and now she's worried for my mental health so thank you :P I'm glad you're enjoying it! Honestly, not much of a shipper of them, but I'm slowly coming around to it the more I see! :P Hope you enjoy the rest :)
Disclaimer; *Le sigh* ... *Le points to other chapters disclaimers* ... *Le can you tell I barely passed ordinary level French in the leaving cert?*
He was getting used to alot of things in this new life of his.
He was getting used to a warm bed, he was getting used to having a home. He was getting used to not being in cramped bases all day every day. He was getting used to having free reign over his actions and not having to beg for peoples permission to even see his sister for more than a half hour of training. He was still getting used to all this nearly 8 months on.
More than that, Pietro was trying his best to get used to having a family.
Because that's what they were, right?
Not in the conventional sense of the word. They weren't born to the same parents, they weren't adopted together. They didn't grow up together, though some days it did feel like that.
But, that's what they were, the people sitting around the breakfast table right now were a family.
At first, maybe not. At first, they were just a rag tag team of people with extraordinary powers and abilities thrown together to fight off some alien attack. Then they were given two new kids to fight off a robot attack.
But now, the way they laughed, the way they went on, the way they were so comfortable around eachother made them a family.
It was an ordinary morning as far as he was concerned.
After the horrible task of waking Clint and Tony (both more like eachother than they care to admit, both only waking by the promise of coffee and pancakes) the insane mix of residents of Avengers Tower sat down at the rather cramped table in the common kitchen area.
He knew them all well enough now to relax at these things. Before, at the likes of breakfast and dinner, the only times the whole group was ordered by Pepper to spend time together, he'd be on guard. He'd be waiting for one of them to attack, waiting for something to happen to him or his sister, just waiting for the usual something bad that would ruin a nice moment his life had.
He looked at the archer across from him as he enthusiastically told a story to Sam Wilson and couldn't help but smile. It was his easy going way at these events that eventually made Pietro relax. After six months living alone with him and Wanda on a farm he learned that Clint Barton was quite possibly the most guarded and on edge person he knew when in social situations. So, one morning when he saw Clint in the most relaxed state he's ever been in, that let Pietro know that it was fine to let his guard down around these people.
It was loud. Steve and Tony were having their usual argument about something or another, never really serious, they just liked disagreeing with eachother. Wanda beside him was talking to Romanoff across from her about some training she wanted to try. Natasha very rarely left Clint's side, and vice versa. Pietro knew they were partners for years, but he couldn't help his mind wandering a little bit more into that. Doctor Banner, Bruce he thinks he heard him being called once, was having a nice quiet conversation with Pepper. He liked the two of them. He may be speedy, may always seem like he has to be on the go and in these sort of dynamic situations, but he liked his peace and quiet and Pepper and Doctor Banner seemed to be the only two in this tower capable of that.
Right now, Pietro just happily sat in the middle of all the chaos and ate his pancakes. Pepper made good ones, he loved the mornings she'd wake up in the mood to make a big spread. With her job running Stark Industries, it was rare. But she made sure to make the effort at least once a week for the team.
"Alright kid!" Everyone looked to Clint when he spoke over the sound of the small crowd, Pietro's eyebrow raised when he realised the archer was grinning at him. "I let you awaywith training long enough! In the gym, 20 minutes."
"But-" Pietro started with a frown, about to say he didn't think Clint was rested enough to be sparring again. But Barton raising a hand and making some weird 'La la la' sounds cut him off.
"I don't wanna hear it! I'm fine and itching to train, so I'll see ya down there!" He was way too happy this morning. Maybe he was feeling better, because usually he'd be like a zombie right now. He was even a little easier to wake up this morning, and Pietro realised that must mean he's right and that's he is fine.
He watched with a slight smile as Clint patted Natasha's back, she had signed something to him but Pietro couldn't figure out what since he didn't even know the most simple ASL. He left then, out of the kitchen area after thanking Pepper. Pietro couldn't tear his eyes away from the archer, even after gone from view he watched.
Getting used to loving him was by far the trickiest one of the lot!
"It's fine to give the puppy eyes when he's here.." Natasha said, and Pietro looked to see her smirking at him. "But giving them to the wall is a little much."
"I.." He stammered out, a little speechless at being caught. He wasn't THAT obvious, was he..?
"Never seen him flustered before." Wanda said through a little laugh, poking her brothers cheek to get his attention.
He pouted at her and shook his head. "I don't know what you two are on about."
"I think it's a little late for that, son." Steve laughed, and it just increased Pietro's embarrassment level. "We're not all as dense as Barton when it comes to this."
"Well, Tony might be." Pepper chimed in as she stood, earning a laugh from Banner as he helped her clear up the table.
"Hey! Even I can tell there's something going on with them!" Tony defended with a pout, his arms folded across his chest like a toddler.
"Only after we pointed it out." Sam countered, and that was the comment that had his jaw on the floor.
They actually spoke about this..?
Was his personal life just conversation for the lot of them? Something to chat about over some beers and pizza?
He groaned a little and let his head fall against the table, feeling his sisters hand rub circles on his back as he earned some chuckles from everyone else.
"What do I do?" He grumbled to the wooden surface, though it was directed at the remaining team members in the room. "I try get him to realise, try see if he's interested. But nothing works."
"Because he's an idiot." He heard Natasha reply through a laugh. He raised his head to look at her, not really believing they would actually help him. But Natasha, Wanda, Steve, Tony and Sam all leaned in like they had been waiting for this chance for the past two weeks. "He doesn't do subtle."
"That's for sure!" Steve laughed, looking from Pietro to Sam then. "He loves his cheesy pick up lines. What was the one he used on you?"
Used on Sam..
He used a pick up line on Sam..
That was half the battle out of the way! Interested in guys, that was definitely one of Pietro's main worries!
"Oh god.." Sam groaned, face palming at the memory of it. "Did you sit in a pile of sugar? Cause you have a pretty sweet ass."
"That was it!" Steve laughed, nodding his head as he did so. The others laughed too, and even though the situation had him mortified it even gave Pietro a chuckle.
"Not as bad as that one in the bar in Detroit." Natasha said with a smirk, and Steve's mimicked expression told Pietro the memory was directed at him.
"Oh I felt bad for the poor soul.." Steve chuckled, leaning back in his chair. "I don't even know where he thought of 'I bet you $20 you're gonna turn me down'.."
"Please tell me that worked." Tony laughed, nearly spitting out his coffee at the line. Pietro wondered if the billionaire was subtly taking notes.
Both Steve and Natasha laughed, their heads shaking.
"The guy gave Clint $20 without a second thought! Poor Clint gave up after that rejection and just went to the next one with 'Just ask the other 15 what lines I used and see what one works for you!'" Natasha replied once her laughs calmed down enough to be heard properly.
Pietro smiled to himself at the little stories. He liked the idea of Clint chatting people up, liked thinking of him as just some normal guy going to bars to pick someone up. He knew Clint the person, Clint the farmer, Clint the fighter. He knew Hawkeye the archer, Hawkeye the Avenger, Hawkeye the SHIELD agent, and even Hawkeye; the worlds greatest marksman. But he never really knew Clint the person, Clint the flirt, Clint the drinking partner. He felt a bit jealous that even Steve knew that side of Clint.
"I don't know. Not sure Pietro would get away with lines like that." Wanda said from his side, and he looked to see her smirking at him. She knew damn well he was known for chatting people up exactly like that! But they were only ever one night stands, times he just wanted to get the ride out of his system. She knew he wanted more than that with Clint, and that's what she was telling him with that line. "Maybe just keep up the way you're going and something might break through."
"Not likely." Tony scoffed, swinging back in his chair to sip from his coffee. Him and Clint really were too alike. He saw the archer in that position each morning while planning the day. "Just go for it! If he rejects you, he rejects you. Just move on and it'll be fine!"
They all very quickly shut up when Clint poked his head in the door. Pietro had a little heart attack moment thinking the archer heard every word, but he simply smirked at the speedster.
"Go get ready! I was serious about training y'quick little bastard!"
Pietro laughed and nodded, standing then with a nod of thanks to everyone at the table before walking past Barton to go get ready.
"It's your funeral, old man!" He smirked as he passed, patting Clint on the shoulder before moving down the hall.
He didn't know what he was going to do. But he'd try a bit of everything and see what works!
"You joining our little team soon enough?"
"I don't know. Might be too much seeing your face each day."
"Don't use my beautiful face as an excuse."
Pietro smirked and shrugged at the response, his hands not moving from their spotting position though as the archer did some bench reps. Weight lifting was one of the only exercises over the past while that he'd let the archer do. He was itching to get shooting the say after he collapsed in the barn, and Natasha suggested this to keep his hands and arms busy. Didn't use up too much of his energy and it gave Pietro a pretty nice view while spotting him.
"I never said beautiful." Pietro said through a chuckle. Clint's eyes were closed as he lifted but he did crack a smirk.
"I know. I was correcting it for you." He chuckled, nodding his head a little to let Pietro know he was finished.
He helped the archer set the weight on the bar and he soon jumped up with a 'Woo!' to sit at the end of the bench. Pietro rolled his eyes and threw a towel at him.
"You're a meat head." Pietro sighed, making his way to the training ring Stark had set up in the middle of the room then. It was alot nicer to fall on than those horrible mats Barton has in his barn! "Wouldn't think it with scrawny arms like yours."
"Scrawny?" Barton practically choked the word out. Pietro hummed with a smirk, resting his back against the turnbuckle in the corner of the ring as he watched the archer approach. "You only think that cause I'm around a super soldier all day. His are enhanced, mine are all natural!"
"We're not talking about boobs here. I know yours are big, and damn they're pretty nice, but we're talking about muscles." Pietro couldn't help himself, Clint was making too easy a target.
The archer growled and slid into the ring, standing back up properly in the middle of it just as quickly and stretching himself out a little.
"Get the fuck out of the corner." He said lowly, causing Pietro to frown. Maybe he hit a nerve, or maybe Barton was just annoyed he didn't have a come back to the boob joke.
"What are we working on today, boss?" Pietro asked with a smile, deciding to try throw the heavy mood out the window as he moved to face Barton in the centre of the ring. The mood seemed to hang over the archer though, something dark crossing his features as they squared up to eachother.
There was no answer. This was a communicative thing with the pair. If Pietro asked what was going to happen during training, and he got an answer by a swing of an arm (like now), then that meant he was being tested and just had to last as long as he possibly could against the assassin.
His personal best was three minutes and fifteen seconds.
He avoided the punch by ducking down, though Barton's knee very quickly connected with his chest and sent the speedster flying backwards flat out on his back on the mat. He couldn't help but let out a breathless chuckle as he sat himself up, rubbing the sore spot on his chest as he smirked at the archer.
"Alright, I was a little off, I'll admit it.." Pietro started through a chuckle, standing up then to mimic Clint's fighting stance. "But, as usual, you found the right way to turn me on."
It was an unspoken rule between the two that Pietro was kind of forbidden from going anywhere near his usual speed. Alright, it wasn't really unspoken. It was a rule that came from a very frustrated Barton shouting 'For fuck's sake, kid! I am NOT re patching the roof again!' when Maximoff ran rings around him the third or fourth fighting session. So, while they sparred, he went normal speed.
This time, Pietro made the move. He swung out with his leg to try trip the archer up, but Barton simply leapt in the air to avoid the sweep. Expecting that, Pietro picked the moment Barton would be most vulnerable and struck out across his face with a fist, sending the agent down onto his knees when he finally landed.
"Even that didn't mess up your face." Pietro pouted as Clint glared at him, the archer simply spitting out a bit of blood onto the mat and testing out his jaw before leaping back to his feet and going for the speedster.
This was new.
This scared Pietro.
While Pietro was to go slow and give Clint a chance to teach him something, it was an actual unspoken rule that Clint would keep his skill level to the most minimum he possibly could to both give Maximoff a chance to learn different fighting styles and to mimic what Barton called 'The shit basics most bad guys know.'.
But this? This wave of attack was something he'd never seen before. Even while fighting the robot army of death he didn't see the archer move like this.
Fists were flying at a dizzying rate. Pietro had to increase his speed to proper levels just to avoid each hit, the pair moving around the ring in some sort of ritualistic dance. They were aiming everywhere, face, chest, throat, and a few to the stomach. Some landed, which shocked the speedster, because he should be moving quick enough to avoid all blows from Barton, should just be close to a blur for the archer.
One blow that landed on his stomach told him that something in Clint had snapped and he wasn't messing around anymore. While others were painful, he'd easily shake them off and the two would go at it again. But this was beyond painful. This knocked all the wind out of Pietro and had him on his knees clutching his stomach to relieve the pain that was radiating from there.
He didn't have a moment to rest though, because when he looked up he could just make out Clint flipping in the air in what he could only describe as a somersault before he could feel a foot connecting painfully with the part of his body that connected neck to shoulder, quite possibly one of the only nerves in the body that could paralyse someone in an instant.
He let out a painful yelp and fell onto his back, his hand shooting out to clutch the abused and already bruising part of his upper body. His eyes were screwed shut from pain, so he could only hear when Barton walked past him and left the ring.
"Next time you want to fuck around and play a flirt, make sure you have the balls to back it up." Clint's words hit his ears, and he found himself amazed that the archer didn't even sound out of breath. He sounded off though, sounded annoyed. "And don't ever waste my training time with it again."
The slamming of a door told him that he was left alone in the ring, in the room, battered and bruised from a sparring session he never even dreamed he'd go through.
He let out a curse and smacked his fists on the mat beneath him, finally opening his eyes then to look up at the ceiling.
Being subtle and patient didn't work. Barton didn't even notice his apparent puppy eyes or the efforts to keep close and in constant company with him.
Flirting definitely didn't work. Flirting just got his ass handed to him and pissed the archer off enough to have him storm out of a training session.
Pietro let out a sigh and slowly sat up, watching the door the archer left through like he was expecting him to just come back and apologise. He didn't need to apologise though. He did pick a shitty time to try flirting. He knew how seriously Clint took training, so it was definitely a bull shit move to pick it as the time to mess around.
Only one option left, and it was the one that he was most terrified of.
'Just go for it! If he rejects you, he rejects you. Just move on and it'll be fine!'
Alright, Pietro..
Just go for it..