Work Text:
June 15
Clint groaned as he looked at the stairs in his apartment building. He had to go up two flights and his ankle wasn't that sprained but it was enough to make this climb more unpleasant than usual. He should really look into the owner fixing the damn elevator.
Oh wait. He was the owner.
Who let him do that anyway?
He mentally shrugged and added that to the never-ending list of shit that needed to be done before bracing himself for the first step. He winced a bit and slowly made his way up, fishing for his keys as he got to the landing. The mission was smooth; destroying Hydra bases seemed to go by faster when Bucky Barnes came along and went at the building with extreme prejudice. He was a sight to behold while destroying the base with his bare hands and Clint maybe had to think very un-sexy thoughts before meeting up with the team after it was over.
Clint was very human and a dumpster fire, so even if it was smooth, he would hurt himself walking away from the destroyed building by stepping into a hole that came out of nowhere.
He opened his door and felt a little sense of relief at being home. The showers weren't as great as the tower but it was his shitty water pressure. He dropped everything on the floor and started to strip as he walked towards the bathroom and checked his phone. He swiped open the message from Katie-Kate.
On my way with the mutt! Better be dressed when we get there, twenty minutes.
Clint couldn't make any promises so he hopped in the shower and made it quick.
When he walked back into the living room, one hearing aid in and a towel ruffling his hair dry he found Kate on the couch and Lucky hovering around her looking nervous.
“Hey Lucky dog! Why the long face?” Clint asked, crouching to his level and reaching his hands out. Lucky slowly walked towards him ears down and Clint looked up at Kate for an explanation.
“Heard a firecracker or something right before we walked in, he got a little spooked,” Kate frowned.
“Fireworks already!? Fuckin' hate those things,” he groaned and rubbed Lucky from head to toe. “Alright Luck, guess we have to build our fortress of solitude a little early this year, huh?”
Lucky looked a little calmer the more Clint talked to him and he smiled.
“I'll leave you two boys to your pillow fort, still want to let me kick your ass at the range tomorrow?” she smirked, standing up.
“Sure thing, I'm going to sleep like the dead though so don't expect anything before 1pm.”
“Never do, Hawkeye.”
“Shut up, Hawkeye.”
June 20
Clint looked over at Bucky again just to make sure he was there and he was pretty sure Bucky noticed.
“Why do you keep lookin' at me?” he asked.
Yup he noticed.
“Um, just making sure you're actually here walking with me towards the restaurant you agreed to go on a date with me at?” he asked, feeling like a complete moron. Bucky just smiled at him fondly while rolling his eyes, smoothly grabbing his hand and squeezing as they continued to walk.
“Do you want me to pinch you? With the metal hand?” he asked with a smirk.
“Maybe later,” Clint mumbled but when Bucky's smirk grew he knew that damn super soldier hearing caught it. Bucky opened his mouth to say something he was sure he was really going to enjoy before his phone rang.
“Gonna get that?” Bucky asked instead and Clint sighed as he pulled it out, seeing Kate's name across it.
“One sec,” Clint promised, pausing on the sidewalk to answer. “What's up Katie-Kate?”
“Hey Clint, I'm sorry I know it's finally date night and you're trying to get laid but I can't keep the mutt. Turns out it's also date night for me,” she said, sounding the opposite of sorry.
“Date night!? With who? America?” Clint asked and Kate groaned, that was as good as a yes. “Alright guess I can't be too mad. Have a good night, don't do anything I wouldn't do!”
“That's a short list, you're a terrible role model. Why am I friends with you?”
“Honestly, I'm not sure. I think it's the dog that you're abandoning tonight,” he teased.
“I'm hanging up now, I want all the details tomorrow. Barnes is a smokeshow.”
“I'm sure America would love to hear that.”
“She'll want them too. We're not blind, idiot.”
“Goodnight, Hawkeye,” he quickly said before hanging up and looking over at Bucky.
“Everything alright?” Bucky asked, an amused eyebrow raised.
“Dog sitter backed out, do you mind if we swing by and walk him real quick? Should still be enough time before our reservation,” Clint asked a little shyly and Bucky just smiled.
“Of course, sweetheart. Haven't seen the mutt in a few days,” Bucky answered grabbing his hand again and letting Clint lead the way through the blocks towards his building.
Lucky was excited to see both of them and it took a few minutes to get the leash on him while he danced around their feet. Bucky took the lead and Clint walked next to them, waving to the usual people he saw and enjoying the domesticity of walking his dog with Bucky.
He really had to put that on pause; they hadn't even gone on their first date.
“Alright, let's head back. We should have enough time to put him in the apartment and make it to dinner,” Clint said as Lucky paused to sniff yet another tree.
“C'mon Lucky, you heard your dad,” Bucky said gently tugging on the leash. Lucky just turned, his tongue lolling out of his mouth happily as they trotted back towards Clint's place.
It was starting to get dark and Clint smiled as Bucky's shoulder gently bumped into his; this was an amazing start to the night-
BOOM!
The firework came out of nowhere and sounded close, making Clint flinch. He also didn't miss Bucky freezing next to him and Lucky immediately ducking his head and whining.
“Oh for fuck's sake!” Clint called out, reaching down to pat Lucky on the head and look at Bucky. “Buck, you alright?”
Bucky just took a deep breath and blinked a couple of times before looking around the street.
“Uh, yes I think so, I wasn't expecting that. I hate-I can't stand fireworks,” he said, his grip on Lucky's leash tight.
“Think you'll be alright walking back? Just another block,” he asked and Bucky nodded before swallowing and physically bracing himself. Clint slowly reached out as Lucky walked close to their feet, waiting to see if Bucky wanted to be touched or if he was too spooked. Bucky took it gratefully and they practically jogged back to try and miss any other firings; they weren't so lucky.
The dog was panting in fear when they finally got back in, running straight for the couch and under the blanket draped over it and the table. Clint made sure to close the blinds and turn on the fan before also turning the TV on.
“What's with the blanket?” Bucky asked, standing right behind him, sounding a bit shaky.
“Lucky hates fireworks so this time of year, I make a dark safe space for him, close the blinds and put on some white noise to block out the fireworks. It usually works. The actual fourth we sometimes head up somewhere quiet if I can manage,” Clint explained as he flipped on Dog Cops and turned the volume up as loud as he could before neighbors would complain.
Clint watched as Bucky slowly walked over and picked up the blanket to peek under.
“Hey boy, I know this shit sucks. It's scary, huh?” Bucky cooed and Clint's heart did not skip a beat, thank you very much.
“He should be alright while we are at dinner,” Clint offered and Bucky bit his lip, looking between Clint and the blanket fort.
“Are you sure? Would he be better off if we stay?” Bucky asked and Clint's heart sank.
“I mean, yeah, comforting him would help but dinner,” he said, trying not to whine.
“Can we have it delivered?” Bucky asked, looking back at the blanket fort and then at the window when they heard another muffled boom.
Clint was very much looking forward to their date but he wasn't about to make Bucky walk to dinner if he was clearly affected by the fireworks. He nodded and Bucky gave him his best smile.
“Of course, why don't you get comfy with Lucky while I call?” Clint asked and Bucky looked instantly better, kicking off his shoes and making his way under to tend to the dog.
He turned around and headed towards his bedroom, calling the restaurant to make his reservation a delivery and changing into something a little more comfortable for a night in.
When he walked back out, Bucky had moved other pieces of furniture and draped more blankets so that they could be under them and watch the TV at the same time. He peeked under it to find Bucky's back against the couch and Clint's best blanket over his lap. Lucky's front legs were resting on his thighs and he was still panting but looking less frantic.
“Food is ordered, 25 minutes. We good under here?” he asked with a soft smile and Bucky smiled back.
“Be better if you joined us,” Bucky said and Clint couldn't say no to that.
June 27
In a complete cliché, the snipers found themselves on the roof of the tower a week later. After defeating doom bots over the weekend, Clint and Lucky hung around the tower for a few days. It was more convenient when the call went out for some Avenging, but the number one reason was more time with Bucky.
Bucky Barnes, who was in between his legs, back against his chest as they sat in silence and watched the sun go down. They were wrapped up in the best blanket from the common area, a ginormous fuzzy monstrosity that Steve and Tony usually used. Bucky had a particularly evil glint in his eye when he produced it from behind his back before making their way up.
Clint let out a content sigh, tightening his arms around Bucky's stomach and resting his chin on his shoulder. He could see the slight curve of a smile out of the corner of his eye and Bucky's fingers, flesh and metal, lightly danced up and down his forearms under the blanket.
“I don't want to move, but I'm starving,” Bucky said quietly, trying not to disturb the perfect bubble around them. Clint turned slightly and kissed him right behind his ear, his stomach growling on cue.
“I was about to argue that I wasn't hungry,” Clint grumbled, making Bucky chuckle against him. Clint rested his face there, in that perfect spot against Bucky's neck and just took a moment to appreciate where they were; finally together.
“C'mon sweetheart, I'm sure Tony has ordered something for everyone to eat,” Bucky said starting to lean forward and untangling their limbs from the fuzzy blanket.
“Yeah alright,” Clint said, trying not to pout but failing miserably. He watched as Bucky stood up, appreciating the assets, grinning as Bucky dumped the blanket on top of his head.
“Hey! What the-”
BOOM!
Clint jumped a bit and scrambled to get out from under the blanket at the muffled curse from Bucky. He stood up and immediately grabbed a hand, wide grey-blue eyes staring at him.
“It's a fuckin' TUESDAY! Are you serious right now!?” Clint complained, quickly gaining himself armful of a super soldier.
“Uh, we should um,” Bucky stuttered out and Clint sighed, rubbing his back. He felt Bucky take a deep breath, his grip tight on Bucky's shirt. “We should check on Lucky.”
“Yeah, we should. This blanket would make a nice little safe space for him,” Clint said freeing one arm and reaching down for the blanket. Bucky nodded and let out a quick huff of air before peeling himself away from Clint an all but running to the hatch that would lead them back down into the tower.
In the elevator, Bucky stayed glued to his side and even though he wasn't physically fidgeting Clint knew he was shaken up from the sudden noise.
“Why don't you go to my room, calm Lucky down and I'll grab us something to eat? Meet you there in ten minutes,” Clint offered, talking into his temple before pressing a soft kiss there. Bucky just nodded, giving him a tiny smile and grabbing the blanket before making his way off the elevator and towards Clint's apartment.
He made his way to the main area where almost everyone was crowded around the island grabbing food from a massive take out order.
“Birdbrain! Where's Snowflake?” Tony asked as he appeared.
“He is going to make sure Lucky is okay after the fireworks. I seriously fuckin' hate those things,” Clint bemoaned before looking around to see if anything looked like his or Bucky's usual order. “Just do it the 3rd, 4th and 5th and then stop. The poor animals and veterans, it's just unnecessary.”
“Yeah I'm not really a fan of them either, my ma always tried to tell me they were for me for my birthday but I never got the point of them,” Steve shrugged, smoothly handing Clint a bag filled with his and Bucky's usual Indian order. He gave Clint a knowing smile and he knew Steve was just holding back giving him a hug, but his eyes said all the thanks he needed.
“If you guys want to come back down here, we'll probably put on a movie that I'll fall asleep halfway through,” Tony said around a mouthful of paneer.
“Don't wait up,” Clint said, clapping him on his shoulder and heading back up to his floor.
He slowly opened the door and announced his presence, smiling when he saw their mess of blankets draped over the couch and bar stools to make a tent. A metal hand appeared and pulled a blanket to the side, unveiling a couple of pairs of sad eyes staring at him from the nest inside.
“Hello gentlemen, room for one more?” he asked, kicking off his shoes and grabbing some utensils and bottles of water.
“Always, hurry your ass up,” Bucky called out before the blanket fell closed. Clint made his way over, glaring out of the window when he heard a couple more fireworks go off, the sparkle of color quickly disappearing over the roofs in the city.
“J, windows completely dark please,” Clint called out before gently getting to the ground balancing their dinner. He shuffled through on his knees, looking at the impressive array of pillows on the ground and the giant fuzzy blanket draped over his dog and boyfriend.
“I didn't even know I had this many pillows in here,” Clint chuckled, putting the food on the table next to a tablet playing music. They had discovered the Chill Vibes station on Spotify worked a bit better at calming them down than anything on the TV and he really enjoyed watching Bucky favorite a new song every time.
“I grabbed every single one, including couch cushions. Lucky was trying to hide under the bed when I got here, but once he saw the blankets being placed he planted his butt right here,” Bucky said, one hand buried in the scruff of Lucky's neck, the other one immediately searching for Clint's hand.
"Good boy, Lucky. Bucky to the rescue, huh buddy?” Clint cooed, reaching over to ruffle his ears. “Hungry?”
"Yeah, thank you,” he said softly kissing Clint's cheek before leaning into his side and letting Clint sort their food.
Clint hated fireworks, but he had to admit, waking up in the morning wrapped around Bucky and his dog at his feet in a giant pillow fort was pretty great.
July 6
Bucky watched over the edge of his book as Lucky tried very desperately to trip Clint in his mission of going to the park. He grinned as Clint put his phone and wallet into his pockets, telling Lucky that tripping and killing him wouldn't get him to the park faster as if the dog knew exactly what he was saying.
He was feeling pretty amazing after they spent the holiday weekend out of the city and in a secluded place in the woods. They wanted to be as far away from the war zone that the city was going to eventually become for the fourth. He felt a little bad about not being with Stevie for his birthday, but the fireworks were fraying his nerves and he wasn't a strong enough man to deny himself a weekend with his boyfriend and Lucky.
“Alright babe, I'm just meeting Katie-Kate at the park for the kid drop off,” Clint announced and Bucky watched as he bent over to clip the lead on Lucky. Bucky tilted his head and frowned at the fridge that was getting the better view of his ass in those jeans.
“See you in a bit sweetheart,” Bucky said back, putting the book in his lap to give Clint his full smile. Clint made his way towards him, Lucky panting next to him looking at Clint like he was an idiot for walking the complete opposite way of the door.
Bucky looked up and puckered his lips, silently demanding a goodbye kiss. Clint gave him a soft smile that made his chest glow, before dipping down to plant a sweet kiss on his mouth.
“Be back soon,” he said quietly, quickly brushing a kiss on his forehead as if he just couldn't resist one more. Bucky watched quietly and fondly as the two of them tumbled toward the door, looking very much alike as they tried to get out of the door before the other.
“C'mon dog, time to go see the better Hawkeye,” Clint said before the door softly closed behind him. Bucky gave himself five minutes before putting the book down and scrambling to find every soft thing in the place.
Clint loved his dog, he really did, but he also loved the idea of having Bucky to himself all night long. He jogged up the steps, eager to get back into the apartment and not feeling a single ounce of shame about it. He grinned as he opened the door and before he could announce his arrival, he paused when he saw what had happened to the living room while he was gone for less than thirty minutes.
He slowly shut the door and glanced around for Bucky and when he didn't immediately see him, he slowly made his way towards the pillow fort he had gotten used to seeing the past few weeks. It wasn't their usual quick and haphazard set up, this looked more structurally sound and planned. It was after the holiday, he wasn't expecting anymore fireworks, so what was this all about?
“Buck?” he called out and he looked towards the hallway when he heard the padding of bare feet. Bucky grinned at him, still in his sweats and t-shirt from when he left but his hair was pulled back and he had the pillows from Clint's bed in his arms.
“Hey! Everything good for the night?” he grinned and Clint smiled back.
“Yeah, just wondering why you set this all up? There shouldn't be fireworks tonight and we don't have Lucky,” Clint said pointing to the fort and Bucky just shrugged, looking a little nervous all of a sudden.
“Just get into something comfortable, okay?” Bucky asked and a stronger man might have been able to say no, but Clint was not that man. He made his way to his bedroom and changed into a worn purple shirt and his favorite Blackwidow sweats before making his way towards the fort and opening it up to peek inside.
"This is probably the most structurally sound one so far, I'm impressed,” Clint mused, climbing in and towards Bucky to give him a sweet kiss.
“Yeah I planned this one so it shouldn't fall on us later,” Bucky said with a small smile.
“So what's this for Bucky?” Clint asked again, backing out of his space but their thighs still touching.
“Just wanted to thank you for all of the times you made me feel safe in these things, for taking me out to the woods for the weekend to keep me relaxed for the holiday and you know,” he shrugged, looking over Clint's shoulder at a very interesting spot on the blanket.
“I'm not sure I know, it's really nothing Bucky, you didn't have to thank me,” Clint said softly and Bucky gave him a smile.
“I really wanted to keep this sweet and romantic, but to be honest, the amount of times I've wanted to ravage you in these pillow forts is obscene but your dog was always here,” Bucky said, getting right to the point. Clint just wiggled his eyebrows and gave him a cheesy leer.
“So you wanna make our own fireworks?”
Bucky groaned and shoved him over, making Clint hoot with laughter. Clint just grinned up at him, wiping the tears from his eyes.
“You think you're funny, don't you?” Bucky said, not able to hold back his own fond smile. Clint put a hand on his neck, gently pulling him down for a kiss that was mostly teeth because of their grins. When they broke apart a little breathless, it was Clint's turn to groan.
“We will never be able to have Lucky in one of these ever again.”