Strictly a Bow and Arrow Guy

Clint Barton: Avenger, Expert Marksman, S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent. ((Avengers RP account | OC-Friendly | Multi-fandom))

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The Archer & The Geek | closed RP

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There was something about Clint that seemed… comfortable. Oliver couldn’t quite explain it. He was easy to talk to, and wasn’t trying to catch his attention or gain his favor. (And that was an aspect of his sudden celebrity status that was trying to get used to. It was just… weird.)

Plus? Clint was cute. Oliver had to give him that. Well, not that he’d say it, because that’d be weird. ‘Oh hey, hi, you’re really cute. No homo. Or maybe there’s homo. There could be a lot of homo, but I don’t know yet. Am I being creepy? Maybe I’m being creepy.’

So of course he was a little quiet during the walk, trying to distract himself from checking out Clint’s butt, or his arms, or his… everything. It was difficult.

At the mention of food, Oliver beamed. “You kidding? I love gyros!”

[trickshot-hawkeye]

Clint hadn't been unaware of Oliver checking him out, but then again he wasn't called Hawkeye for nothing. And because he was observant enough to realize that the younger man probably wouldn't appreciate having the ogling pointed out, Clint left it alone. Even if he was doing a bit ogling himself (and he'd never expected to find the lean geeky type attractive).

He grinned at Oliver's reaction; too many Americans had some weird aversion to ethnic food, and the enthusiasm was kind of cute. "Excellent." The cart was run by an actual Greek immigrant and Clint ordered in fluent Greek and paid, then stepped aside for Oliver.

"There's a park a couple blocks away," he said once they had their food. "Or we can just do the stand and eat thing." He shrugged. Oh, there was the awkwardness.

[trickshot-hawkeye]

[trickshot-hawkeye]

stark-the-lad replied to your audio post: Ready for LoveBad Company0:00 /...

((Somehow, you managed to post the wrong song.))

((What the actual fuuuuuuck tumblr?))

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The Archer & The Geek | closed RP

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“We’re usually on the same page,” they thought so much alike it was a little frightening at times, “but even I have trouble working with him sometimes.” He glanced away at the compliment, having a little “aw, shucks” moment. “What I don’t know, I can learn.”

((We can totally fast forward.))

[trickshot-hawkeye]

((FFing, then))

For a day in mid-May in New York, the weather was relatively cool, comfortable enough for Clint in his t-shirt and jeans. About this time of year in Iowa it would be nearly sweltering, one reason he liked more northern climes.

And just as comfortable, he realized, was being around Oliver. He had Tony's slightly-manic quality but it seemed to be tempered by no real need to fill silences.

Once on the street, Clint made a beeline towards a Greek street cart, one that served the most exquisite gyros outside of the Continent.

"You want?" he asked Oliver, gesturing with a thumb. "I'm not choosy but their gyros are frickin' amazing."

[trickshot-hawkeye]

ooc

I still owe tags, for which I am sorry; my brain has been kicking my ass the last few days and not letting me get restful sleep. At most I've been dozing, at least until last night when I finally slept deeply enough to dream.

I will do my utmost to get back on track today.

[billionaire-tony-stark-deactiva]

“This is what has to happen Tony.” “I gotta know…did you ever really love me at all?” “…Shit Tony, you know I love you…and that’s what makes doing this a thousand times harder.” “So that’s it..? You just expect me to let you leave and go on pretending that I don’t need you? Not gonna happen.” “It’s gotta happen. Christ, please don’t do this.”

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The Archer & The Geek | closed RP

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Oliver grinned. “Yeah, there were a lot of people I knew in the R&D department who probably shouldn’t have been there.” Then again, not everyone had the brain of a supercomputer. “I mean, I don’t know much about bows, but if you want, I’m sure I could learn.” And if there was one thing Oliver loved, it was learning. He had a terrible habit of taking up new projects just for the sake of exploring new things.

“Sounds good to me.” Oliver put the gun back on its rack. “Could be fun, just wandering around.” Which he hadn’t done in a while.

[trickshot-hawkeye]

"Apparently all that's required to get hired there is a pulse," Clint agreed. "And hey, if you wanna give it a go, I wouldn't turn you down. Tony's offered but, as I'm sure you know, he's a little difficult to work with. From what I've heard, you're just as smart but willing to admit when you don't know something." Yeah, so maybe Clint did some asking around, just because he liked to be prepared, and he and Oliver had barely crossed paths until now.

He gave a one-shouldered shrug and gestured to the door. "Won't be quite the crowds since it's not the lunch hour."

((If you wanna fast forward or something, walking/traveling scenes are always so awkward))

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The Archer & The Geek | closed RP

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“I’ve seen the arrows you use. That’s some pretty ingenious stuff, really. You come up with that yourself, or…?” Oliver trailed off, worried that he might offend Clint. And that would be bad. The hand holding the pistol in his hand dropped to his side; the other he shoved in the pocket of his jeans.

[trickshot-hawkeye]

Not for the first time, Clint was struck by the complete earnestness Oliver had, making him seem so damned young -- though that might be Clint's cynicism sneaking in.

He looked back up, making sure to smile and make eye contact to show no offense had been taken, and the compliment had been appreciated. "Most of the arrows are my idea, yeah, and my bows are almost always my own design. SHIELD R&D likes to think they know how to design them better but I've been using bows since I was 10, and they seem to think that what works for a rifle works for a bow."

Finally he replaced the Nerf gun on its shelf. "So are you hungry at all? I missed lunch and I could really go for some street food."

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The Archer & The Geek | closed RP

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“Well, yeah, I mean, my dad can name his successor. He gave it to Pepper, but she only lasted about a week before she quit after that whole thing with the Stark Expo.” Oliver shrugged, smiling awkwardly again. He really didn’t mind the praise, because when it came from Clint, it sounded sincere. “Don’t get me wrong, she’s still pulling a lot of the weight here. She’s a great teacher, too.”

Oliver was completely oblivious to Clint’s gaze, as he was still looking over the weapon. The glossy finish was still holding strong, but these had been kept around purely for decoration. They didn’t see nearly as much use as the rest of his arsenal did. “I guess they think I built some really fancy revolvers for myself. And I can see how they’d think that, y’know, since I’m eccentric and all.” He laughed as he said it, looking up to see Clint’s grin. “I have a reputation for being a little weird, but not as weird to go crawling through the vents.” He paused for a moment, furrowing his brow. “You actually do that?”

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"Ohhh, yeah, I can see why she'd throw in the towel after the Expo. Nat was ready to strangle him over that." And Clint? Clint had just laughed his ass off that anyone could ever hope to tame Tony Stark. That was like trying to herd cats.

Clint laughed at the "eccentric" comment. "Eccentric is still using a bow in 2013, I think I might have you beat there. I might as well just be throwing rocks the way some people talk." He shrugged, looking down and smirking when Oliver asked about the air vents. "I get bored?" he said, sounding completely unrepentant. "Plus it keeps the other agents on their toes and me in practice, according to Fury."

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The Archer & The Geek | closed RP

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“A lot of people are pissed I’m even taking over at all.” Oliver shrugged. “I think a few board members were hoping my dad would just kick the bucket and one of them would be able to take over. Pepper’s pretty much done all of my dad’s work for the past five or so years, but she wouldn’t have had any legal claim to it.” He filtered through some documents on his computer before closing everything down. “And here comes a mystery heir to the throne. I think half of ‘em hate me because they don’t think I deserve it, even though I was born into it.” Oliver stood and stretched; he’d been sitting in the same place for too long. Truth be told, he wasn’t even sure he deserved it. The idea that he could even have all of this had never even entered his mind, despite the fact that he had figured out at a young age that Tony Stark was his father. It wasn’t even something he’d wanted. All he had strove for was for Tony to acknowledge him.

He strode over to where Clint stood admiring his guns. “You know, most people wouldn’t even realize those are Nerf guns,” Oliver said with a laugh. “Everyone who comes in here just thinks I have an eccentric gun collection. Guess the silver paint throws them off.” He reached for the other and rotated it between his hands. “You think I’d have Nerf guns and not mod them? These here, these are my babies. They’re easier to reload,” he ejected the empty chamber and jerked the pistol so that it jumped back into place with ease, “and they shoot farther and with better accuracy. I made some darts that aren’t as flimsy. There’s this material I found that’s sturdier than foam, but it doesn’t hit any harder than the normal darts.” Oliver grinned as he pulled the slide back and aimed the gun away. When he pulled the trigger, there was a loud pop as air was expelled from the chamber.

“It’s kind of funny when visitors think they’re real guns.”

[trickshot-hawkeye]

Clint hadn't been much aware of the goings-on within Stark Industries, though he'd been aware that suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, Tony had a son no one had known about.

"Yeah, I guess I can see them getting a wild hair up their asses about it, but Tony can give his company to whomever he chooses. They should count themselves lucky it's someone smart and responsible like you." As soon as he said that he tugged on his earlobe, aware that he'd maybe given praise where it wasn't wanted or might be viewed as odd.

At Oliver's mention of people thinking that Nerf guns were real, Clint snorted. "They don't weigh enough to be real, and they're freakin' huge, they look like something out of sci-fi even with the paint job."

He watched Oliver expertly handle the toy and had to tell his hormones to shut the hell up, now was not the time to develop a hand fetish. "Mine have the reload mod and I did the penny trick but I never got around to doing anything else. Works just fine when I'm harassing people through the ventilation system." His grin was slightly predatory.

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The Archer & The Geek | closed RP

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Oliver mentally kicked himself. The whole invasion thing was a sore subject for everyone involved. Oliver himself had a hard time thinking about it, and he hadn’t even been involved in the fighting. Instead, he’d been evacuating employees from the lower levels of the tower, under Tony’s orders. Thinking back, he was lucky that he hadn’t encountered Loki; that would’ve thrown a wrench in things, where his father was concerned.

“Oh, uh… yeah.” He glanced back at Clint, smiling awkwardly, still feeling guilty for bringing up a sore topic. “Yeah. On paper, I’ve already taken over, but there’s still a lot to learn. It’s cool, though, ‘cause Pepper’s keeping an eye on me and making sure I don’t fuck anything up. It’s, uh…” He sighed and turned back to his work. “It’s a lot of pressure. I’ll get used to it.” Oliver swallowed, smiling awkwardly. “I hope.”

[trickshot-hawkeye]

Clint could read the apology on Oliver's face, no matter that they barely knew each other, and he was grateful that Oliver let the matter drop.

"That's a lot to put on someone your age," Clint observed. "Though I guess it's better to have Pepper walking you through it, she's got the patience of a saint." And it was pretty obvious that, for all Oliver was a Stark, he seemed to have a better head on his shoulders than Tony did. "I'm sure you'll do fine," he said, trying to be reassuring, "the place hasn't crashed and burned yet."

In his cataloging of the room around him, his eyes lit on a pair of Nerf Mavericks sitting on a shelf and he picked one up, grinning. "You modded these at all?" he asked, checking the toy over. 

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The Archer & The Geek | closed RP

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Oliver wasn’t used to seeing Clint in civilian wear, since he usually only saw him in his SHIELD gear or his Avengers uniform. Then again, he hadn’t really been around Clint all that much to begin with, so Oliver wasn’t as familiar with him as he was the others. Which was the whole point to this thing, getting to know him.

“No, no, you’re fine. Don’t worry about it.” Oliver grinned as he sorted through a couple more e-mails. “I’ve just got a few more things to do, shouldn’t take more than a few minutes. You can have a look around if you want, not that there’s a whole lot to look at. Have to keep the place neat and devoid of any all personality to… I dunno, make an impression or something, whatever.”

He shrugged and gestured at the expansive windows behind him. “Got a great view of all the reconstruction going on, though.”

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Clint watched the younger man in his peripheral, hands shoved in his pockets while he ostensibly looked everywhere else; he didn't know Oliver well enough yet to know if he'd be okay with the amount of direct eye contact Clint was used to giving.

He nodded for lack of a better response. He'd had an office at SHIELD HQ that he'd never used, and he'd never had to worry about anyone's impressions of it.

When Oliver mentioned the reconstruction, it was all Clint could do not to shudder in memory of his world tinted blue. "Yeah, uh, I've seen more than enough of that," he replied, turning his back on the window. "So you're learning to run the company?" he asked, changing the subject.

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The Archer & The Geek | closed RP

Oliver’s head was threatening to explode. While Pepper was still shouldering a large portion of the responsibility of running the company, that didn’t mean Oliver could slack off. Sometimes he wanted to, but his own personal moral code wouldn’t allow it, and if Gaia found out he’d been blowing off his work? She’d probably slap him, and he wanted to avoid that.

So there he was, totally ignoring all of the research and development he could be doing, and was instead poring over documents and memos and spreadsheets. Spreadsheets? Those were easy. He could deal in numbers and equations without a problem. Everything else was still a little lost on him, but Pepper was helping to ease him through the transition. He figured she was just happy that he was easier to work with than Tony was.

He really just wanted to finish his work so that he could get out of there faster. Clint had said he’d drop by so they could hang out, and Oliver didn’t want to keep him waiting. There was something about the other man that called to him, like he was a kindred, geeky soul. And Oliver could really use that right about now.

“Mr. Stark, sir, there’s an Agent Barton here to see you.”

Oliver looked up and smiled at his secretary, a lovely older woman. “Thanks, Colleen. Go ahead and let him in.”

He’d only be a few more minutes, but he didn’t really want to leave Clint waiting on him.

[trickshot-hawkeye]

Clint had been somewhat surprised when Oliver said he wanted to hang out; not that he wasn't amenable to it, he just wasn't used to people actually meaning it when they said "let's hang out." It was one of those things you just said, y'know?

Still, there he was, standing in the waiting area for Oliver's office floor. He could see the younger Stark through the clear glass walls the Tower's architect seemed fond of. The secretary returned and gave him a nod, gesturing for him to go on in.

Compared to Tony's, Oliver's workspace was quiet as a tomb for all there was quiet music playing. "Hey," he said, pacing around with his usual nervous energy. "Not interrupting, am I?"

[itsmyrestingface]

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So you don’t get out too much, do you? That’s a shame. Maybe we could go do something some time? You seem like a cool guy, and I haven’t really had a whole lot of time for socializing.

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Not unless it's work-related, no. And don't get me wrong, I've seen most of the world while working for SHIELD, but it's just not the same, y'know?

That sounds great, actually. And yeah, about all the socializing I have is with the Avengers anymore, and I love my team but good god do I wanna strangle them all some days.

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I haven’t seen it. I didn’t think he’d be capable of the pouty face, y’know, being all stoic soldier and all. Okay, so he’s not that stoic.

I guarantee the moment you organize an Avengers camping trip, that’s when everything goes to hell in a handbasket. It’s like the universe knows. “Avengers taking a holiday? LET’S INVADE EARTH.” Or some dude gets a bug up his ass and has to go on some rampage because of a massive insecurity complex. Or both.

[trickshot-hawkeye]

Must be a remnant from when he was scrawny or something, but good god. It starts with puppy-dog eyes and everything goes downhill from there.

This? This is why I don't even schedule vacation anymore, I just go. The universe is a fickle bitch and will ruin my time off so I just don't even let her know what my plans are anymore. Then again, the last "vacation" I had was four months of physical therapy after a bad mission, so maybe I'm bitter.

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Dude, I don’t even know if he could deal not being able to use his cellphone. He’d probably figure out some way of getting around it, which defeats the entire purpose of the trip in the first place.

Actually, do that. Because that’s something I need to see.

[trickshot-hawkeye]

Cap would get his sad face that Stark isn't doing team bonding. Have you seen that man's sad face? It's like a nuke. A ridiculous, grown-man, pouting nuke.

Barring intergalactic emergencies, I think this needs to be a thing.