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A cloudy Saturday afternoon finds Clint Barton sitting in the lounge room, frowning at the TV, not really paying attention to the movie playing on the screen. He has been in a brooding mood ever since the day before when Natasha departed the compound to go on a mission with Steve. He’s upset not only that he couldn’t go on the mission, but also that his best friend is away for the whole weekend.
The man has been nested on a corner of the couch for the last 24hs, approximately, not wanting to move from his spot until Romanov’s return. He has been even eating there as well, with some of his fellow Avengers being kind enough to make him food and bringing it to him, understanding how he feels. Although, it’s starting to get annoying for some of them.
On the other end of the couch, currently, Bucky is sitting with a bowl of popcorn propped atop his thighs, paying more attention to the screen than to Clint, despite being aware at all times of the other man’s presence. He wouldn’t dare to complain about Barton’s moodiness given that he doesn’t feel much different than him, with Rogers’ absence weighing on him too.
It’s that sympathy Barnes feels for Hawkeye that leads him to want to comfort the archer somehow. However, as he’s too comfortable in his own spot to want to get up and get close to the other, he decides to just take advantage of his modified body instead. So, after taking one look at the forlorn man, he detaches the prosthetic limb and uses it to reach toward Clint, resting the hand on his shoulder and squeezing lightly.
Thanks to brain implants that connect to the arm, Bucky can control it even when it’s physically detached from his body. That’s how he can move it from afar and comfort the other hero without the need to scoot over to the other end of the couch. Alongside that, the Sergeant also chooses to say some encouraging and reassuring words.
“I know how hard it is when they are away. I miss Steve too and worry about him. But they are both capable people, I’m sure they’ll make it back in safely.”
Clint barely registers the words, but once he does, he goes into full venting mode.
“She didn’t even tell‒” Clint starts before cutting himself off to start to scream. “Why is your detached arm touching me?!”
Despite being upset about the situation and wanting to talk about it with someone, more than anything to complain about Natasha not telling him she was leaving at all and him finding out through Sam, something else grabs ahold of Clint’s attention. It was only when he turned his head in order to look at Barnes that he notices the metal arm on his shoulder…detached from its owner’s body.
That, understandably, made the archer begin to freak out, only calming down after Bucky retracted the limb and joined it again with his metal left shoulder. It would seem that Clint’s disquieted emotional state, produced by Natasha’s absence, was so intense that it led him to react badly to the Sarge’s somewhat morbid attempt to comfort him.
In consequence, the archer’s scandalized reaction caught the attention of a passing Wilson, who had come to the kitchen looking for a bottle of water.
“You guys okay?”
The Falcon asks the two men sitting on the couch, noticing Clint’s bewildered expression and Bucky’s resigned one. And as soon, as Sam utters his question, the two others turn in his direction, looking like they were caught red-handed.
For a tense couple of seconds, the three Avengers stare at each other, not one of them daring to break the silence. Eventually, Wilson decides that whatever is going on, it’s not worth his precious time. Thus, he decides to leave it at that and walk away.
“Never mind,” he mutters under his breath.
“Sorry!” Clint calls out to a retreating Wilson, apologizing for his outburst before facing Bucky again. “Dude, seriously, warn me before you ever do that again.”
“I’m sorry, I was just trying to be…comforting,” Barnes apologizes as well, looking down at his lap with a bit of shame.
“Well, I appreciate the intention, but you almost gave me a heart attack.”
“Duly noted.”
With the matter seemingly settled, both men return their attention to the movie still playing. The same distance as before remains between them, although now there’s something taking residence in the middle of that empty space: the bowl of popcorn.
As half of an apology and half of a peace offering, Barnes decides to share his snack, hoping that would work where his arm failed. And so, the heroes finish the movie together, having emptied the bowl and with a Clint Barton feeling slightly better thanks to Bucky’s efforts.
By the time Natasha and Steve returned from their mission, Clint had decided to bypass the argument he had planned to start, complaining about Romanov’s unannounced departure, in order to just enjoy spending quality time with the Widow. And, naturally, Bucky did the same with Steve, although he never intended to complain about his best friend’s absence since he had been aware of it from the beginning, even before Rogers left.
So, in the end, it was all good between the best friends.