brandingproblem | open post

"With all that energy you've got..." Clint seems to muse on that idea for a moment before shrugging it off and simply letting the thought hang in the air unfinished.

"Well, we can't all be cursed with super soldier-ism."

"No, but anyone who gets close enough to me can be cursed with a super soldier." He lifts his eyebrows at that one, making it more of a joke about his energy level than any kind of serious statement. "Is there somewhere you feel safe enough to talk openly?"

He has a question or two, Clint.

"Oh, wanna jump into the clandestine stuff right away, huh." Given he have even answered the basic question of 'how long are you in town for', it isn't a surprise. "We can finish up your grub, and then I can take is somewhere. Maybe even the room I've got for now. Might be slightly swankier than the old shit apartment, even."

"Sounds good. If we're gonna end up on the floor for anything, a more comfortable one might be ideal." He'd suggest the room he got just in case, but this is better. More within Clint's control.

"Unless you got a nicer place while you're in town. That you know isn't bugged. Thick walls are a blessing that few have, so I won't ask about that." They are likely to end up on the floor at some point. Seems they always do, just to have a heart to heart.

God, he doesn't really want to do that right now or ever again. But somehow it's easier with Steve.

"You get up to anything interesting meantime? Or you here cuz you need something you're not getting elsewhere?"

"We can play compare and contrast, after I've seen what kind of floor you've got. Not bugged I'm pretty confident on." Still mostly for Clint's sake, to be honest. Steve doesn't have a whole lot to lose if he gets found out, except Clint's willingness to put up with him.

And get down on the floor and talk to him. Which he should avoid but is easier for him with Clint, too. Why it has to happen on the floor, he doesn't know, but it's a consistent part of the way things play out and to him that means it's important.

(He could maybe come up with some guesses as to why. He doesn't care about the whys.)

"I did some cliff diving on my way home. Found Tony and let him deal with his shit some. Otherwise, back to the routine. Lead the way. I'll fall in and follow." Back to wherever Clint's staying.

Edited 2024-12-06 03:34 (UTC)

Clint snorts in amusement at the floor comment. Yeah, that just seems to be a thing that developed in their time in Mexico. Maybe just because that's where Steve ended up a lot. Maybe Clint started getting into that after being pinned on the ground hard enough to not get the hell back up again. Maybe they just need to make up their own stupid little rules and rituals to create excuses.

"At least you got a little excitement in you. Tell me you didn't just dive without anything else and slam your face right into the ground." They can chit chat while they move. About the little things, the smaller things that aren't connected to the bigger picture.

That makes him laugh. It isn't for long, but it's sincere. "I didn't use anything, but I hit water face first instead of the ground, so it didn't do any damage, just gave me a good view and some cheap thrills. ...and water up my nose, I guess."

"You know, most people would either go feet first or put their arms out in front for, y'know, a dive. Bet it stung like a bitch." But a good sting. They know a thing or two about that.

"What'd Tony have to bitch about?"

"Feet first is cheating." Because it's the easy way out. "I did get my arms out most of the time, but once in a while I misjudged where the water was." There was flipping and spinning.

Easy part. But: "...I need to sit on a floor to talk about Tony."

"Oof, that bad, huh. Noted, put a pin in that." They don't even have to talk about it, really. They'll see when they get there.

"Plenty of exciting things even for someone like you to do while you're in town, though, I'm sure. Maybe you could go shark diving and then squeeze yourself out of the cage and face them bare, see how that goes."

"I looked into some options, in case my lead wasn't real, you beat me out of here, or just opted out of interacting. None of those options were being eaten by a shark."

Clint. What the hell.

"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?"

"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."

"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."

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?"

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."

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."

"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."

"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."

"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.

"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?"

"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."

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.

"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?"

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject