Chapter Text
No one told him that the A Team had brought another hero with them.
Clint found out in the middle of an operation, HYDRA responsible for his compromised position. Barricaded on the roof, he had expected Tony or Sam to spearhead his extraction. Honestly, the man had been lucky to leave without an arrow lodged in one of his wings. His bright red feathers had given him away as a popular foreign hero, however, and Clint had reangled his shot and taken out another enemy agent.
His first impression of Keigo had been the exhilaration of flight. Remarkable aerial maneuvers, ones that Clint only dreamed of doing in a quinjet. He had flashed his signature grin and spouted off some nonsense about “flightless birds” before he had picked him up bridal style. If Clint hadn’t been so taken with him, he probably would have rolled himself right out of Keigo’s arms out of pride. Under Bruce’s watchful eye, he had coughed up the first sign of his problem.
“Gloxinia petals,” Natasha had said, a purple and white petal between her fingers, “for love at first sight.”
Clint had been all too ready to argue with her. His lungs had disagreed. He’d caught every petal he could, and his throat crawled from irritation.
“And pride,” she added, a touch softer.
His handful of petals spoke for him.