Work Text:
A lot of villains are under the misconception that Clint Barton is the weak link of the Avengers. If they have their eyes on an Avenger to kidnap for their nefarious plans, it would inevitably be Clint that they target. The super soldiers are too strong, Natasha is too deadly, Thor is a literal God, Bruce and the Hulk are a package deal, and everyone knows the consequences of kidnapping Tony Stark. So better to target the teams human archer instead.
The team tells Bucky that it's not the first time this has happened and not to worry too much, but it's the first time it's happened on his watch. And worse, it's the first time it's been Hydra.
A ransom message eventually comes through via a grainy video. Clint sits at the centre, looking at the camera unimpressed as Hydra agents train their guns on him.
'You know, four is kind of overkill.' He tells them with a stiff roll of his shoulders. His hands are handcuffed behind his back so he doesn't have the full range of movement. 'Would have preferred zero. But beggars can't be choosers I guess. What's that, seven calibre? Nice. I prefer the twelve myself. Eight in a pinch.' Clint carries on rambling.
Bucky glances to his side when he notices that Natasha is writing down every number that Clint slips into the conversation.
Natasha naturally catches him watching. 'Coordinates.' She says simply.
Eventually the kidnappers get sick of the rambling, slapping the back of Clint's head with a gun.
'We want our asset returned to us.' A man says in a stiff Russian accent. 'If you offer up the Winter Soldier, we will return the archer to you. We will be in touch to arrange the trade.'
Clint winks at the camera just before the feed cuts out. Natasha huffs out an unimpressed laugh.
'He gave us the full co-ordinates.' She tells the team, already heading out of the room. 'Suit up, we're leaving in ten.'
***
Naturally, Steve isn't happy with the plan. But Bucky couldn't care less what Steve thinks right now. Stark has given him some high tech ear plugs that will stop him hearing his trigger words, so they have that failsafe at least.
The basic plan is to exchange Bucky in order to bring Clint home safe and then Bucky will tear the base apart from the inside.
Steve drones on with his objections. But Bucky has already put the ear plugs in, happily not hearing a word of it.
They stand in the entrance of the base for five minutes, waiting to make the trade. But no-one shows.
After ten minutes, they share worried glances. 'Surely they know we're here.' Tony grumbles.
'Maybe the coordinates are wrong?' Steve suggests.
Natasha just shakes her head in response.
After fifteen minutes, Clint strides out of the base, chewing on an energy bar.
'Oh hey. Did you guys bring snacks? These are-' He wrinkles his nose as he takes another bite. 'These are just awful.' He spits it out, tossing the rest of the bar behind him. 'Hey Babe!' He grins, walking over to Bucky. 'We should get out of here. The place is gonna blow.' He tells them, grabbing Bucky's hand and leading them back to the jet.
'How the fuck did you get out?' Bucky asks, utterly confused by the turn of events.
Clint raises an eyebrow confused. As they climb into the jet, Clint bristles as he realises what Bucky meant. 'You thought I'd just be a damsel in distress?!' He scowls. 'Barnes, you dick!'
'That's not what-'
'Yes it is! You thought you'd have to come in guns blazing when I am totally capable of looking after myself.'
'Its Hydra.' Bucky says bluntly.
'And I just kicked Hydras butt. Fuck you.' He huffs.
They sit in a tense silence after that. Bucky can't help but watch Clint for any signs of injury. His eyes flick over the man, cataloguing the blood stains on his clothes.
'It ain't mine.' Clint tells him firmly when he catches Bucky looking, refusing to elaborate.
***
When they arrive back at the tower, Clint storms ahead, muttering that he needs to shower.
At a loss, Bucky ignores Steve's insistence that they have a team meeting and heads to his floor. Unable to relax, he has Jarvis pull up the footage that Stark had mentioned getting from the Hydra base.
Bucky watches, eyes firmly focused on the screen as the kidnappers push Clint into a tiny cell. The second the door is slammed shut, Clint uses a pin he pulls out of nowhere to break out of the handcuffs in less than a minute. After a quick survey of the room, Clint yanks off an air vent, tosses it to the side and uses his upper body strength to pull himself into the ventilation system.
The footage flicks to a different camera where Clint drops down onto one of the guards, knocking him unconscious. Clint gets his hands on the man's gun and dispatches any Hydra agents he comes across with brutal efficiency.
As expected, Clint doesn't miss a single shot. Each bullet goes straight through the forehead of the agents, ensuring they won't get up again.
The screen flickers and Bucky's blood runs cold when he realises Clint is walking into a lab with The Chair. He forces himself to watch Clint, noting the way the man on the screen tenses.
In the footage, Clint busies himself collecting various chemicals and equipment he finds in the lab. After a moment Bucky realises that Clint is making a bomb which he carefully deposits on the seat of the chair. Clint flips the chair off as he presses the detonator, giving himself fifteen minutes to escape.
Bucky pauses the footage as the elevator to his floor dings. He takes a moment to collect himself before Clint walks in.
The man is freshly showered and redressed in cozy clothes. He loudly slurps the ice coffee in his hands through a straw as he glances at the screen. 'Whatcha watching?'
'Just my boyfriend taking down a Hydra base on his own.'
Clint whistles. 'He sounds impressive.'
'He is.' Bucky confirms, keeping his voice light and gentle.
Clint falls into the space next to Bucky, leaning against his shoulder as they watch the last of the footage. On screen, Clint rushes to the exit, shooting anyone who crosses his path.
'I'm sorry I yelled.' Clint says quietly. 'It's just... They took me because I'm the weak link of the Avengers and I'm so sick of proving that I'm not.'
'That's what people think?'
'Yeah and it's rude as fuck. Me and Nat are the highest ranking agents in SHIELD. There's a reason Fury put me on the Avengers Initiative. And it's not just my pretty face. Although I wouldn't blame him if it was.' He says, forcing the joke to lighten the mood.
'I'm sorry. You're just so ...'
'Be careful how you finish that sentence Barnes.' Clint warns.
'I was going to say human.' Bucky gives him a soft smile. 'You don't have the serum or a suit of armor to protect ya.'
'Don't need them. I know what I'm doing. Besides, this was easy. They kept me conscious, didn't take my hearing aids and put me in the most basic bitch handcuffs. Seriously, I was escaping from that model when I was ten.'
'...Why were you in handcuffs at that age?' Bucky has to ask.
Clint waves a hand dismissively 'Circus stuff. Point is, that was amateur hour, I expected more from Hydra."
'I guess I just heard Hydra and panicked... I couldn't stop imagining them putting you in that damn chair.'
Clint wraps an arm around Bucky, cuddling in. 'I blew it up for you.'
Bucky presses a kiss against the top of Clint's head. 'I saw. Thank you.' He lets out a small laugh. 'You single handedly took down a Hydra cell.' He says in awe.
Clint grins up at him. 'Damn right I did.'