where does clint feel the most comfortable? how long does it take for him to start feeling comfortable somewhere/with someone?
it sounds like a cliche, but clint really does feel more comfortable the higher up that he gets. there are multiple reasons why this is true, but the main one lies in the fact that he can see everything from higher up. if he’s above the heads of everyone else, he can see where they are, anticipate what the next move is, and provide the most coverage possible. high up is where he spends most ( if not all ) of his ops with shield, and where he is most useful in an avengers mission.
high above the ground he knows where he is, who he is, and how exactly to control a situation to his favor.
( when he was younger he often went high up to avoid his father’s rage, as his father didn’t tend to look up. a lot of scraped knees from climbing fast up trees, or onto the top shelf of his closet. these early experiences made him realize that people don’t tend to look up when they walk into a room for danger. sure, people who are smart do, but the average person who has not been in danger all their life? they don’t look up. if he’s up, he’s got an advantage. )
but that’s likely not all this question was asking. where does clint feel most comfortable?
for a long time he does not feel comfortable in his apartment in brooklyn, due to the assault on him and barney, but he grows comfortable there again. he feels the most comfortable in places he knows intrinsically, knows the escape routes of, and is familiar with. this means that he feels most at ease at bobbi’s place, or at natasha’s in MCU compliant verses especially. in my verse with wcrldliar, he feels especially comfortable in the space he’s come to share with maria. these are also places he often takes his hearing aid off when he walks into them. he knows the people there know how to sign, he knows they are not going to be annoyed with him if he misses a few words here or there ( not that he gives a shit if you get annoyed really, fuck you. ) this also goes for any particular verses i have with various writers where he’s really comfortable around their muse and he knows they sign.
he does not feel as safe in stark tower - it’s huge and he does not control it - but he does feel safe there.
however he never truly lets his guard down anywhere. he’s a soldier and he deals with PTSD and anxiety as well as depression, it’s near impossible for him to ever truly let his guard down. there are people he relaxes it with to the point it’s almost imperceptible, but it’s never gone.
trust is not so much a matter of length of time, but about what the person does how they treat him, and who they prove themselves to be.
