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[brandingproblem]

overflows, misc psls/memes, starters that don't seem to fit anywhere else, etc

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[brandingproblem]

"Pfft, from the guy who has no problem with the idea of skydiving without a parachute straight into the ground, you're gonna let a couple sharks scare you? Punch 'em in the nose."

He glances aside at Steve. "Thought about playing some cat and mouse with you. But who's got the time for that anymore?"

[imperfectsoldier]

"Maybe if we drag 'em into knee deep water." There's humor there, though no denial he'd sky-dive onto concrete without balking at the concept. The water here is at least as much issue as the sharks.

Then, more seriously and with a slight head tilt. "I'd play. If I was at least mostly sure you were playing."

[brandingproblem]

"What I'm hearing is maybe sushi's on the menu." Take that, fish. Not so tough when you're on land.

"Could be I'd have been playing. Could be I would've wanted to see how serious you were this time around now that you know I'm not out specifically to die some ignoble death. Chose the direct approach instead. After a while."

[imperfectsoldier]

He realizes about then that he's never had sushi, isn't entirely sure he understands the appeal, but makes a mental note to try it at some point.

"Serious about finding you and spending time with you? You still want to know?"

[brandingproblem]

Aaaand that's already a response that hits somewhere awkward and weird. Steve had made it abundantly clear how much he actually cared about Clint and how much he genuinely wanted to spend time. And it's still...strange. It wouldn't have hit that way before. These days...

He rolls a shoulder. "Pretty sure I do know. Anything more than that is probably, heh, floor time."

[imperfectsoldier]

Steve's expression is a little odd - confused, maybe uncomfortable - at that specific thing being floor time worthy, but he recovers pretty fast though.

"Let's go find a floor, then. Not about this, unless you're feeling a need, but I could do with at least a vague itinerary and maybe to give you an answer to your question about Tony."

[brandingproblem]

"Got it." The vague itinerary might be something to put up a mild fight about, but he'll just have to see how he feels when they get to that point.

The motel isn't a run down disaster like the apartment, though it is a bit out of the way. Quieter. Not upscale, but hey, it's a motel, it motels, and that's all it needs to do. "Home sweet home away from home. Make yourself comfy. Promise there's no bedbugs."

[imperfectsoldier]

"I'm glad one of us is enough of a responsible adult to have thought about bed bugs." That one of them wasn't him.

His hotel might be slightly more upscale, it's not by a whole heck of a lot. He makes himself comfortable by sitting, yep, on the floor, with his back against the mattress. He figures if Clint's being this avoidant of 'how long will you be around', he should start. Something about fairness, probably. "Tony blames me for Thanos. Or Thanos winning, anyway."

[brandingproblem]

"He always was a short-sighted asshole," Clint quips easily enough. He doesn't take himself to the floor but pulls out a small chair by an equally small desk and sits himself backwards in it, arms laid across the back.

[imperfectsoldier]

"Nah. He called the potential threat out when he was creating Ultron. I'll give you asshole, though." He's got his own cranky about it all. "You willing to give me an answer on how long you're here, yet?"

[brandingproblem]

"Calling out threats and being able to actually deal with those threats are two way different things," he says gruffly. He wasn't there. And neither was Tony. So neither one of them get to judge what happened and why.

"And I'm here however long I'm here. 'Til the job's done. Not sure when that'll be just yet."

[imperfectsoldier]

Steve shrugs, slightly. They can judge if they want. It's absolutely not a thing Steve's going to... defend? himself about, even if he didn't more or less agree. Feels like the kind of thing he should be taking responsibility for.

"All right. Anything particular you want or need from me while I am?" He also sort of tilts his head around, but that one's about looking at tattoo progress, nothing more high pressure.

[brandingproblem]

"I wasn't expecting you, so I didn't really have any plans in mind." He tips his own head, in a sort of mirror to Steve, but his eyes stay right on his face. "You need or want something from me?"

...This landed in spam. I'm sorry :/

[imperfectsoldier]

"More or less the same thing I was looking for last time." He quirks a very slight smile. "Time, space, and you." That doesn't sound quite as glib as the words would imply - because it's not.

Time and space comes with some freedom. That he needs. Breathing room.

XD somehow worse than not getting a notif at all, damn!

[brandingproblem]

Clint tries very hard not to have some immediately dismissive quip. Call it growth from last time, maybe. "Well, seems like you've got all of that in spades." The real question is what Steve's going to do with all that time, space, and also Clint.

"Feeling any particular need to pummel someone into the ground?"

[imperfectsoldier]

"Probably, but whether that someone's you depends on you." That... sounds more challenging and opaque than he means it to, by a lot. "You seem a lot ... steadier than you were. I can always just go find trouble." He's far enough from home for that.

[brandingproblem]

"Maybe I've got your brand of trouble to thank for that." He's not sure if steadier is the word, but that might just be what to go with instead of 'not fighting this and being a quiet moody little shit from the word go'. "And if you're gonna find trouble, maybe I wanna make sure I'm that trouble. Imagine if you came all this way to see me and then started an international incident. Nat'll kill me."

[imperfectsoldier]

"Maybe." Whatever the cause - Clint doesn't feel like he's about to bolt at a moment's notice, and that's nice. Not that Steve quite trusts it, but that part is on Steve. "Maybe we can take some time and find a location we can stay in for a little while after." Transition back last time had been... rougher than it needed to be.

[brandingproblem]

Clint cocks a brow. "Somewhere to lay low together? Are you planning on getting up to more of my kind of trouble, Rogers?"

[imperfectsoldier]

"Maybe." There's a flash of a grin, which is more of a yes than a no, but. "We're gonna want it, anyway. Even if all I do is kick your ass, that walk back last time maybe happened a little early and I didn't much like the way things go rough after."

[brandingproblem]

"After-" He laughs to himself. "The ass kicking, not when I'm done here, I get you now. Here I thought you were halfway to planning a little vacation getaway for us, y'know, after-after. Yeah, we can figure something out. Somewhere cushier than concrete."

[imperfectsoldier]

"I would play a vacation get away from us, given what you did to my blood pressure by dropping off the map entirely. Except the part where I suspect your response would be the kind that would mean I never found you again."

Is he supposed to be more subtle than that? Nicer? More benefit of the doubt? Not happening.

He's not mean about it, though and somehow it sounds like some kind of compliment, at least in tone.

[brandingproblem]

"Never lied to you about what was gonna happen. I'm not gonna just stick around after and, what, take in the fruits of my labor or something like a deranged serial killer?"

So he feels like it's on Steve if Steve got all bent out of shape about Clint's disappearing act. He rolls a shoulder, aiming for casual. "Not altogether opposed to a getaway, I s'pose. We can talk about it later." If he wanted to disappear for good, he'd have to stop doing his self-appointed job. Which isn't something he's considering right this moment.

[imperfectsoldier]

"No." There's a quick, apologetic smile to go with that somewhat flat statement. "I meant I lost track of you for a while and couldn't have come to find you then if I'd wanted to. Freaked me out a little, but good reminder of how good you are."

Even with Natasha's help. Something after Malta, maybe.

"Though you not being opposed to a vacation is the best news I've heard in years." They can talk about it later, but the way Steve lights up a little at even the thought? Says something.

And not just thAt he wasn't lying about having gotten scared when he couldn't find Clint at all.

[brandingproblem]

"You're good at a lot of things, Steve, but you were never a spy." Got plenty of pointers, sure, but that's still different from living the SHIELD agent life for most of his. "Had to vanish for a bit. Last job went a little south. Too hot to handle after. Better now."