Inell's Fanfiction Archive

The woman behind the ticket counter is familiar, and she gives them a friendly smile when they approach her. “We haven’t seen you two around lately. Some of us were starting to wonder if you’d moved or if you were cheating on us with MoMA.”

“No cheating. I’m not a huge fan of modern art, so there’s no concern about that. We’ve just been busy. Sorry, Wendy,” Steve says, apologizing even though he’s not entirely sure this is a situation that warrants it.

“It’s really my fault. Steve would probably come here every day if I didn’t distract him with other things.” Clint moves his hand down Steve’s back and leans closer. “Nice to know we’ve been missed, though.” He winks at Wendy even as his hand settles on Steve’s hip.

Wendy’s eyes widen, and she fumbles with the brochures she’s about to hand over to them. “I guess I just won twenty bucks.” She shakes her head and her smile returns as she gives them the map they don’t need but that she still insists on providing every time they visit the Met.

“Only twenty?” Clint nudges Steve and grins at Wendy as he passes over the money for their admission.

“We’re curious but not rich.” Wendy waves them on through. “Now get. I’ve got other customers in line.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Steve follows Clint and reaches up to run his fingers through his hair. “We were so obvious that museum employees had a running bet on our relationship?”

“Looks like it. We’re never, ever, ever going to tell Fury, Hill or Sitwell the details about this. We’d lose our reputations without a doubt.”

“It does make me feel pretty unobservant,” he admits. “What kind of captain am I if I can’t even see something that’s right in front of my face?”

Clint smirks. “Who says it was me that was obvious? I’ve got years more practice at being sneaky and hiding how I feel than you do, babe.”

“I think I must be good at it since you didn’t notice. Or else you’re very unobservant.”

“Yeah, yeah. Whatever. We’re both oblivious.” Clint bumps their hips together. “Where do we want to go today?”

Steve takes the map from Clint despite knowing every gallery in the museum by now. Wendy’s right, though. They haven’t had a chance to visit in over a week. Movement in his peripheral has him focusing elsewhere for a moment before he looks back at the map. “How about the Arms and Armor? I know it’s one of your favorites, and I wouldn’t mind doing some sketching there. I’d like to practice detail work today, I think.”

“Yeah, I love those galleries. Makes me think about if we were back then, still a team, with all that armor and the weapons and having to fight without technology. I mean, in some ways, we’re not that far off. You’ve got a shield, I’ve got my bow, Nat’s got guns and knives, Tony’s got armor, Thor’s got a hammer, and Bruce’s got some anger issues. But we also have communication tools and computers and JARVIS helping us out. It’s fun to think about us kicking some medieval ass, but I know I’d rather be here now than back then.”

“Archers were often utilized in military campaigns in a way that’s been lost over the centuries. You’d get a lot of admiration and respect from the people of those times.” Steve isn’t sure why Clint doesn’t get more recognition than he does because archery requires skill and talent that not many people possess.

“Guns make more noise and it doesn’t require the same sort of dexterity that shooting with a bow does, so it’s not that surprising that it became more of an elite talent. You don’t have the same reload options like some weapons, either. You can shoot as many arrows as you can keep by you, but a gun’s going to have more bullets and require less time to use it.”

“It might be logical, but it still annoys me when I see those comments about Hawkeye using ancient weapons and being the weakest link,” Steve mutters. “They have no idea how damn good you are and how many times you save our asses.”

“And that’s why we don’t read our own press.” Clint shakes his head. “Who cares what a bunch of reports or bloggers say? Some of them call Hulk a monster, just because he’s big and green and smashes shit. Some of them say Nat’s the weakest link because she’s a girl. Can you imagine? Just because she’s got tits, she’s somehow inferior to the rest of us. I think you, Tony and Thor are the only ones who don’t make the weakest link discussions on the net, since big manly men and flying robot suits can’t be weak in the public’s opinion. They all need to get their heads out of their asses.”

“The frustrating thing is that those type of statements are coming from professional journalists. If it was just fans saying those things, we could at least understand that they might have favorites on the team or people they didn’t like for whatever reason.” Steve doesn’t bring up an article he read shortly after Tony got him a laptop that listed all the reasons Captain America no longer stood for America because he’d obviously have prejudiced and skewed political viewpoints dating from the forties. It bothered him at the time because any amount of minor research would have shown that his team had been racially diverse and hand chosen by himself. Now, he could distance himself from it and chalk it up to bad journalism.

“The fact that we have fans is still a bit much to take sometimes,” Clint says. “It’s fun, in a way, and just downright odd in another. I mean, someone actually takes time to update a social media site about my ass. What the hell?”

“Well, it is an extremely nice ass.” Steve takes a moment to enjoy the view of Clint wearing another pair of tight jeans that leave little to the imagination. “Is that the site that Tony uploads photos to sometimes?”

“You’re joking, right? Nevermind. This is Tony we’re talking about.” Clint groans. “That totally sounds like something he’d do. He certainly knows more about that aspect of being in the public eye than the rest of us.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised if Pepper wasn’t, also.” Steve feels his cheeks flushing as he leans in closer to Clint. “She asked for an invitation to watch if we ever experimented with exhibitionism. At the time, I didn’t know exactly what that meant, but I asked JARVIS after.”

Clint laughs, loud enough that a few other people in the gallery glance their way. “No wonder she and Tony work. They’re both a little crazy. I can’t believe she’d--God, that’s too funny. She was probably teasing, babe.”

“Yes, well, she shouldn’t. I think JARVIS was laughing at me when he explained it,” Steve mutters, thrusting out his lower lip intentionally.

“Next time, just ask me. There’s probably not a lot that I don’t know or haven’t heard of.” Clint looks around before leaning in to kiss Steve’s lips. “Stop pouting. I’d hate to have to find a hidden corner and show you an example of exhibitionism.”

“I don’t think I’ll ever want to try it. The thought of people watching you and seeing you that way makes me more angry than aroused.” He studies Clint’s face as they reach the first of the galleries in the Arms and Armor section. “Have you done it?”

“Yes. I didn’t hate it, but it’s not one of my favorite things.” Clint looks at him. “I don’t really like to share, either. Now, doing it somewhere where we might get caught but probably won’t? Now that’s something different. I’ve thought about that, with you, and wouldn’t mind it when or if we ever decide to try it.”

Steve thinks about that as he looks at the first exhibit. The thought of him and Clint hidden away somewhere that anyone could interrupt at any time and catch them did sound a lot more exciting than being on display for a bunch of people to watch and see personal intimate things they didn’t have any right seeing. He clears his throat. “I’ll, uh, add that to the list.”

“You do that.” Clint reaches out and takes his hand, stroking his fingers across Steve’s palm. “And we should always talk about this stuff and decide what goes on that list together because it’s important that we know what we want.”

“Communication is key. That’s what Pepper told me. You’ve done a lot of stuff, I know, and I want you to tell me if I ever suggest anything that you don’t enjoy. Right now, it’s not really important since we’re nowhere near exploring most those things, but I plan to keep you for as long as you’ll have me, so I know we’ll eventually do some of them.”

“See, the thing is, I might not have enjoyed something before because of who I was with or the situation. With you, it might be better. I’m not really going to rule anything out until we reach the point where it’s up for discussion. And, for the record, I’m not planning to let you go anytime soon.”

“Good.” Steve grins and squeezes Clint’s hand. “I like that idea of just deciding as we go and not stressing about any of it. I like what we’ve done so far, and we’re both in agreement that Pepper doesn’t get to watch.”

“Right. No watching for her.” Clint smiles. “She is right about one thing, though. Your artwork should be on the walls and not hidden away in your sketchbook. It’s just as good, if not better, than most of what’s here.”

“Now you’re talking crazy,” Steve says, ducking his head. “I’m okay, but nowhere near museum quality.”

“I’m not crazy. I just know true talent when I see it. Maybe not a museum, yet, but you should think about letting others see it sometime.” Clint shrugs. “Seems a waste to keep such a gift to yourself.”

Steve runs his fingers through his hair. “I don’t know. It seems private, but maybe one day I’ll consider it.” Another movement out of his peripheral makes him lean down and whisper against Clint’s ear, “Is there any particular reason that Natasha’s following us? I thought I saw her on the subway, but I know I’ve seen her twice since we got here.”

“She’ll sulk if she realizes we’ve both spotted her,” Clint says, sounding amused and affectionate. “She’s bored, and we’re both a little worried about losing some of our skillsets since we don’t really use them with the team. I’m pretty sure she followed Thor the other day, and she’s followed Bruce before, too.”

“Skillsets being stalking and spying?” Steve isn’t always able to understand what exactly Clint and Natasha have been trained to do and what their duties with S.H.I.E.L.D. had been prior to the Avengers becoming a team. He knows that he’s still bothered by the idea of them being forced to use sex on assignments, but Clint doesn’t seem to think that’s out of bounds, so he has to wonder what else they’ve had to do in the line of duty. While they don’t have those same assignments now, he can still be angry about it even if it’s nothing he can change.

“Yep. Two of them, at least. In Nat’s case, she’s always been an above average spy and the lack of undercover work makes her twitchy. If following us or the others helps her relax, I can’t really complain. She knows the limitations of privacy, especially with the team.”

Steve considers it and nods. “It’s safer to follow one of us than a stranger, at least. I’m glad we chose these galleries, though, since she’ll enjoy the various weapons on display.”

“You’re amazing, you know?” Clint smiles up at him. “You find out my best friend is spying on us, and you’re relieved we chose a gallery she’ll enjoy seeing.”

“I don’t know how amazing that is. I’m just worried what she’d do if she gets even more bored,” Steve deadpans.

Clint leans up and steals a quick kiss. “I still say amazing.”

“You’re biased, sweetheart.” Steve tugs on his hand and leads him through the gallery until they find an exhibit that interests them both. While Clint reads out the history behind the items, adding his own commentary to what’s written, Steve gets out his sketchbook and pencil and begins to draw the details of the armor and shield.