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Girls
Aug 21, 2015 20:25:55 GMT -7
Post by Ray on Aug 21, 2015 20:25:55 GMT -7
It's a rainy day in New York. The kind that makes the city calm down for just a few moments. The constant downpour drumming on the sidewalks drowns out the noise from the road, but every once in a while the loud, trailing squeal of someone getting soaked breaks through the white noise. He likes it, like this. New York can be hot and so loud it's nauseating sometimes, even for a guy who's deaf in his left ear. But the rain gets rid of all of that.
It beats against the two windows on the far wall of his apartment, blinds raised high to let in all the grey atmosphere, as Barton stares out. He has a nice view of the adjoining brick building and a dumpster, but leaning sideways against the frame gives him a slim shot of the street. Most days, there's nothing special out there. A couple kids, a taxi, a stray cat that gets Lucky all riled up. But today it's particularly empty. He checks his phone, the screen cracked already, and frowns.
Clint hopes T didn't walk from the subway in this.
He pushes himself off of the window frame and shuffles across the apartment to the small kitchen, Lucky watching him lazily from the comfort of the couch. Picking up a mug, Barton grimaces a little at the stale coffee within, and dumps it into the sink to keep him busy. He does a lot of that lately. Keeping busy. Without SHIELD breathing down his back, and with the rest of his (former) team all shacked away in Stark Tower having a grand time together, there isn't much to really do anymore. He considers getting a job, but his skills are limited to archery and picking pockets and acrobatics, and most places don't consider that a resume. He never even graduated. He barely got his GED five years ago. No one would hire him.
Maybe he could join the circus again.
Barton rinses out the mug and sets it aside, and checks the time once more. Only thirty seconds have passed, but he feels his frown deepening.
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Girls
Aug 21, 2015 20:41:33 GMT -7
Post by Snowglobe18 on Aug 21, 2015 20:41:33 GMT -7
"God fucking dammit" she mutters as she looks up at the sky. It had to be miserable on the day that she decided to come into the City. Whatever had possessed her to take a trip was beyond her, maybe it was down to the fact that she only had a couple more days before she would be back in Mystic for a while, aka school starting, and she wanted to hang out with Barton. Maybe it was the promise of practising. Even if there was no way her shoulder was getting any better or she just wanted to get away from her father.
All of the above?
She was going to have to make a run for it. Teresa shivered in her jacket, which by the way wasn't even bloody waterproof and it was her favourite jacket too, damn everything to hell. Her hair was starting to curl at the ends and if this rain carried on then she would end up with hair so deep in curls that she would look like the little girl in the pictures that hung from her father's walls in the house. Teresa shivered once more but this time she didn't think it was from the cold.
She shook her head. No she was just going to have to run and hope for the best. Which would be much easier if she hadn't decided to wear heels. Teresa cleared her throat and then ran as if the devil himself was after her, but sadly it was just making her even more wetter.
Teresa could've headed back home but she had promised to hang out with Barton for a few hours and hopefully they wouldn't actually move from the apartment. Especially when she was in soaking wet clothes. Barton would have to lend her something.
She finally came to Barton's apartment block and was glad to get out of the rain as she moved up the stairs and towards his door. The irony isn't lost on her when she comes to Barton's apartment H. Of course he would be in that. She shivered once more and then knocked on the door. Soaking wet right through. God, she hoped that Barton had something warm to drink and loads of heat because if not then she was going to be sitting on the couch with a blanket over herself and not moving.
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Girls
Aug 21, 2015 20:55:13 GMT -7
Post by Ray on Aug 21, 2015 20:55:13 GMT -7
There's a knock only a few minutes later, when Barton has paced back and forth from the window and the kitchen at least five more times. Luck perks up instantly; his floppy ears lifting high and his one good eye focused intently on the door. Barton only has to look at him to who it is. Not like he gets very many visitors anyway.
But with Nat, there isn't the instant excitement. Natalia doesn't like dogs - quite possibly her only flaw and, according to Barton, the reason why they would never be able to be anything more than friends - and Lucky isn't dumb to that. Nat has never kicked him or treated him badly, but they both navigate their own ways around each other without really having anything to do with one another. Lucky will usually sleep right through her visits and barely even register that there was someone there at all. With Sam, well, with Sam Lucky always runs to his slobbered on tennis ball before there's even a knock. No matter what, Sam will continue to keep throwing the damn thing.
Teresa, however, seems to be Lucky's favorite.
Barton is only reaching for the doorknob when Lucky comes leaping off of the couch and bounding straight for the door with tongue lolling. He doesn't even run that fast for pizza, and Barton suddenly feels cheap. He opens the door, navigating Lucky back with foot, and pokes his blonde head out into the hallway. As he already knew, Teresa was standing on the other side. What he didn't know, was how trenched she was going to be.
"Jesus." Barton comments, opening the door wider and no longer restraining Lucky. He scans Teresa up and down as Lucky wags his tail frantically. "What did you do, run from Connecticut?" He asks.
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Girls
Aug 21, 2015 21:11:26 GMT -7
Post by Snowglobe18 on Aug 21, 2015 21:11:26 GMT -7
Teresa looks around the hallway and actually hopes that Barton would be in. He usually was and it wasn't like she hadn't texted him to find out if he was actually going to be home. She just hoped that he hadn't fallen asleep or something. The last thing she wanted to do was disturb him from his beauty sleep, not that he needed any. She cleared her throat at that thought and then pulled her lip in between her teeth.
She looks up when she hears the door opening and a blonde head poking out from around the door and she gives him a smile. Her and Barton had one of those weird relationships. They could argue everytime they came face to face about something but it would never impact their friendship. He would always help her out with a certain archery problem or just be there if she needed someone to talk too. But mostly she was trying to get back on top form so that she could actually get within reach of what she had been before she had the op on her shoulder.
Teresa looks down at her clothes when Barton comments on her wet clothes and she scoffs. "Trust me it feels like I do" she admitted before bringing her brown eyes up and looking at Barton. "Can I maybe borrow some clothes until mine are dry?" she asked and was actually glad when he let her into the apartment. More than anything she wanted to get out of her wet clothes but the first thing she started with was getting out of her very cute, but very wet, jacket and turned her dark eyes back on Barton.
Her smile then pulled at her lips as she saw Lucky and crouched down before she scratched behind his ear, "I have missed you" she said and continued with the scratching before she put a kiss on the dogs forehead. Maybe she could actually twist Graeme's arm so that they could get a pet but she guessed that it had something to do with the owner of the apartment and whether he would let them.
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Girls
Aug 21, 2015 21:27:21 GMT -7
Post by Ray on Aug 21, 2015 21:27:21 GMT -7
"Uh. Yeah. Sure." Barton replies, closing the door behind her. He has no idea if anything he owns will fit her, but considering the trail of water she's bringing into his apartment, he doesn't really think that matters. He steps passed Teresa and Lucky, who beats his tail quite enthusiastically against Barton's leg without a care, and quickly ascends the metal set of stairs to the second level. His bed is unmade and untidy, like it usually is, but a stack of laundry he just carried up from the drier in the basement sits in a heap on top of the rumpled blankets. He digs through it, plucking out a plain blue t-shirt and a pair of shorts that must be Nat's, and carries them back down the stairs.
Lucky is still grinning ear to ear in a way only dog's can, all of his attention focused on Teresa. He catches her nose in a sloppy kiss, only adding to Teresa's collected moisture.
"Here," Barton tells her, folding the clothes together as neatly as he can muster as he steps back towards them. The clothes are still warm, surprisingly. He holds them out towards her, and nudges his head towards the stairs. "You can change up there if you want. There's a bathroom and some towels. I can uh, put some coffee on if you want it."
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Girls
Aug 21, 2015 21:41:30 GMT -7
Post by Snowglobe18 on Aug 21, 2015 21:41:30 GMT -7
Teresa chuckles when Lucky gives her a sloppy kiss before she looks up when Barton comes back with clothes, although she hadn't seen him leave especially when she had put all of her attention on the dog. She gives Lucky one final scratch behind the ear before she stands up and takes the clothes. This is actually the best thing she had felt in the last couple hours or so. Plus it would be so much better than staying in her soaking wet clothes. "I'll hang all this up in the bathroom." She smiles down at Lucky before she moves passed Barton.
She moves up the stairs and then stops and looks back over her shoulder at Barton "Coffee would be fantastic" she said and nods before moving up the stairs. In honesty anything would be nice right now just as long as it's warm and would take the chill off her.
Teresa scoffs under her breath when she sees the bed, of course, it doesn't really surprise her that it was untidy. She lets a smile pull at her lips before she moves towards the bathroom and hangs up her wet jacket in hopes that by the time she leaves it will be some what dry. She puts a towel around her head so that the water stops dripping from her hair before she removes her top and dries off with the towels that was provided.
She quickly changes into the clothes that had been provided by Barton and looks at herself in the mirror. She looks a sight. Mascara running everywhere, which she quickly tries to resolve. Making sure that she gets all the black streaky lines from her cheeks. When Teresa is in the dry clothes she moves out of the bathroom and over to the bed where she sits and dries off her hair. No doubt it will end up curling but there was nothing that she could do. It wasn't as if Barton owned a hair dryer, or did he? Although to be honest she really didn't want to get into a conversation over why Barton actually had a hair-dryer.
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Girls
Aug 21, 2015 21:52:22 GMT -7
Post by Ray on Aug 21, 2015 21:52:22 GMT -7
Teresa disappears up the stairs and Lucky trots up after her, looking far too pleased with himself. Barton clucks his tongue and gives a small shake of his head, before turning towards the kitchen. He washes out the coffee pot, unable to remember the last time he actually did, and follows the same daily routine of pouring in the coffee grinds and water. It starts chugging away, without any real need for help from Barton, but he remains planted where he is.
The bathroom upstairs has a door, but the rest of the apartment out from under the second-floor landing has a perfect shot of everything up there. Barton doesn't need to find out, even accidentally, that Teresa decided not to close the bathroom door or to even use the bathroom as a changing room in the first place. God knows, Barton doesn't.
He plucks down two mugs from the cabinet; one with the logo for a fire-station in Washington D.C. that Barton has no idea where he got, and the other a cutesy mug probably meant for middle-aged housewives reading "shhh this isn't coffee" that he also has no idea where he got. It's not that his memory is bad, which it is sometimes thanks to repeated concussions and unexpected introductions with fists, but instead the simple fact that Barton has never, not once in his life, stepped foot in a store looking to buy mugs.
They just show up. Like gremlins.
He pours the coffee into them regardless, his face bathed in the steam. "How do you want it?" He asks, calling up to her. "The...coffee." He clarifies, wincing a little to himself.
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Girls
Aug 21, 2015 22:07:20 GMT -7
Post by Snowglobe18 on Aug 21, 2015 22:07:20 GMT -7
When Teresa dries her hair, some how it manages to fall around her shoulders without actually knotting up which is a damn miracle in itself. She sits on the bed for a moment longer until she hears Barton calling up to her and couldn't help but smirk to herself. She clears her throat before she hangs the towel up in the bathroom to dry before padding down the stairs. "However you want us to have it, darling" she teased at him before grinning.
She moves over to the small kitchen area and sits on one of the stalls. "Come on, Barton. You know me well enough to know how I like my coffee" she said and then nudges her head towards the coffee pot. "And if you don't I like it black"
This hadn't been the first time she had been here, hell it hadn't even been the second but she liked the fact that he had targets in his living room. The apartment was simple. It didn't have a lot of stuff in it, unlike hers back in Mystic. Her apartment had well pretty much everything both her and Graeme needed and hell things they didn't need either. But this place was nice and roomy and it meant that they could practice whenever she came over, but after this time might not be for a while.
"I'm actually glad that you weren't going anywhere" she admitted. Teresa was always worried that if she dropped by unexpectedly, which she never did, then Barton would be out. Which meant stalking the halls of Stark Tower, just like he did lately. Plus she didn't want to hold him back if there was anywhere he wanted to go but couldn't because she was coming over. So really it was a bit difficult to know when to approach him about being in. "You weren't going anywhere, right?" she asked quickly and put her dark eyes on him.
Teresa looked down and then smiled to herself when she saw Lucky and scratched his ear again. She absolutely loved this dog. She would always bring pizza for him but today she hadn't. It didn't mean that she couldn't get any if she managed to stay later than she planned.
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Girls
Aug 21, 2015 22:19:45 GMT -7
Post by Ray on Aug 21, 2015 22:19:45 GMT -7
"Black. Right." He knew that, he thinks. Every time she comes over, whether here in Bed-Stuy or back at his no longer existing house in Corpus Christi, there had always been coffee. But he distinctly remembers Teresa, usually, getting it herself. Usually without even asking. She never had to. It's not like he doesn't have a cabinet full of it to keep him fueled day in and day out. Lexi might be famously addicted to coffee in their social circle, but Barton is the one who practically lives off of it. He has more coffee than he has food right now. In fact, he thinks his fridge might actually be empty.
He slides the mug to her across the kitchen island, and drops two sugars into his own. He drinks coffee any way, it never really matters, but right now he wants something sweet.
"Nope, nowhere." He replies with a small reassuring smile. For the last couple of weeks he's spent plenty of time at Stark Tower, mostly helping Tony Stark herself with some experiments. Apparently her suits, famously splashed across the newspapers lately, don't have the best targeting system, or so she says. Barton's been up close and personal with Stark's tech, and knows it's pretty damn good at finding any target it wants to, but the woman is a picky genius who strives for perfection. And apparently, that included Barton's skills with a bow. He feels weird working for Tony; not because she's sarcastic, stubborn, and reckless, which are all traits she and Barton actually share. But because he knows he's not really working for or with her at all. Steve and Sam have their own suites in the tower and they all play superheroes together, and Barton just shows up some days and shoots some robots for engineering purposes. He gets a free lunch, a pat on the back, and a security escort.
Weird.
But today there are no tests, and there haven't been in a couple days. He guesses Stark got what she needed.
"I don't have a life, remember?" He teases a little, and guzzles down some piping hot coffee.
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Girls
Aug 21, 2015 22:37:16 GMT -7
Post by Snowglobe18 on Aug 21, 2015 22:37:16 GMT -7
Teresa grabs hold of the mug when it comes sliding towards her, wrapping her hands around the hot cup. She can feel the warmth spreading through her and she's actually thankful for it because of the fact that she needed something to warm her up. "Thanks for the clothes by the way" she smiles and then finally puts the mug to her lips and taking a drink. That spread the warmth through her even more and she actually felt the chill lift off her slightly.
She scoffed under her breath when he teased her about the fact that he didn't have a life. "I don't know," she said softly and looked around. "you haven't done too bad here, although the targets in your living room seem a little bit too much" she teased at him before glancing over her shoulder. When Teresa had been able to use a bow and arrow, she had put an arrow through her books and then fell back on the couch, that was still at her apartment. She hadn't taken the arrow out but sadly Teresa had brought a new book. The professor didn't like the fact that she had come to class with an arrow sticking out the book.
Teresa put her eyes back on him and then licked her lip. "Plus you're going to have to find some other things to do after this weekend" she admitted. "I can't come and save you any more, sadly I have school starting back up next week" She knew that the time that she wasn't actually in class would be spent on homework, studying or just looking over Graeme's body. Which the latter was so much more better than the formers. Hell even Graeme liked the idea.
"So, that means I have one more day in which to kick that butt of yours at archery" Teresa gave him a grin before she looked back over at the targets. If she actually hit the damn things it would be a miracle. Barton knew that she wasn't up to scratch and kept telling her to keep at it. That eventually she would get back to where she was. It was better than the doctors telling her that she shouldn't be doing it at all. What was that saying again?
Oh yeah...
Doctor's don't know everything.
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Girls
Aug 22, 2015 18:15:07 GMT -7
Post by Ray on Aug 22, 2015 18:15:07 GMT -7
Barton glances towards the two human-shaped targets at the opposite end of the room, sitting side-by-side between the rain soaked windows. They're covered in impact marks, but the majority reside centered upon the heart and head. A few arrows remain sticking straight out of their abused forms; the arrows creating a smiley face on an otherwise faceless object.
She might be right. That might have been too much.
"It's not a beach house." He reminds her, nonetheless. It's safe, and accurate, to say that he took a giant step down with this place. The rent is cheap for the city, and it's certainly not the domain of someone who has about a million dollars, give or take, in their bank account. Most millionaires bought penthouses in Manhattan with views of Central Park and elevators that open right up into a glamorous living room. Barton has an apartment on the third floor of a hundred year old building, with no elevator, and a neighbor who has three young children who start crying loudly at random intervals. He's living the life of a college drop-out working two dive jobs. Even Nat, in her small apartment in a Ukrainian neighborhood across Brooklyn that always smells just a little bit like beets, has a better place than he does. So Barton isn't really sure if T is just being sweet, or somehow actually likes the grunge look.
"Damn," He comments, a hint of a smile on his lips when she, once again, reminds him of her impending college schedule. "Guess I'll have to find someone else to watch bad Netflix with." It's another tease, a far less subtle one, and he sips at his coffee after clucking his tongue sadly and shaking his head. He knows her. She'll be back next weekend with a pizza and a case of beer and an excuse about needing a break from school. "You bring your bow?" He asks, though he didn't see her carry one in. It's usually hard to miss. "Cause if not, you know where mine is."
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Girls
Aug 22, 2015 18:53:31 GMT -7
Post by Snowglobe18 on Aug 22, 2015 18:53:31 GMT -7
Teresa had to admit that she absolutely loved his beach house in Corpus Christi. What wasn't there to actually love about the damn place? He had everything, even a range down in his basement. She had been so in love with the idea that she had gone back day after day just so that she could practice, that was really how Barton and Teresa had become friends. Over their love for archery. "I still love that place" she said and pointed her finger at him before taking another sip of her coffee.
She could pretty much kiss Barton right now for having coffee on hand to make her one. That and lending her clothes because she was pretty sure that she would be sat shivering right now.
Stupid weather.
Teresa laughs when he teases her about the fact that he would have to get someone else to watch bad Netflix with. In honesty that was actually one of the best things about coming to New York. Rolling up at Barton's with pizza and beer and grinning as he opens the door before she made her way inside. Barton could never resist when she done that. She put her mug down when he asked if she had brought her bow. Teresa shook her head. "I was going too" she admitted. But she knew that Barton would let her borrow his anyway.
Of course she knew where his bow was. Teresa used it whenever she didn't bring her own bow. Which actually happened more times than she could count. Back in Mystic she would end up going into the woods at the back of the apartment block just so that she could practice but whenever she had a free few hours she would find herself making her way to his apartment so that they could hang out, which in her terms meant for her to use his targets to get strength back into her shoulder. The more she practised the more she would be able to use the bow and arrows more frequently.
Teresa moved off the stool and made her way over to the couch, grabbing the bow off the wall and smiling to herself. Graeme had taught her how to use a bow when she was seven and had picked it up straight away. He had told her that she was a natural and it was the very same thing that actually got her and her friends out of trouble when something bad happened in Mystic. It was archery that had really saved everything that she knew now. So a part of her wanted to be able to get back into it easily but it seemed to be a very hard thing to do.
She looked around and then saw that there was a quiver full of arrows over against the wall by the punch-bag. Good, just want she needed. Teresa grabbed it before putting it over her shoulder and making her way back a little away from the targets before she reached back and grabbed an arrow to notch it into place. This bit always made her nervous because of the fact that she didn't know just how well her shoulder was going to hold up.
Teresa just hoped that she would be able to actually hit the targets this time.
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Girls
Aug 22, 2015 19:06:19 GMT -7
Post by Ray on Aug 22, 2015 19:06:19 GMT -7
Barton lifts the coffee mug back to his lips and lets his blue eyes follow Teresa as she makes her way to retrieve his bow and quiver. Lucky reclaims his spot on the couch, head on his paws as he watches T, too. She takes her stance, but hesitates for a moment. He doesn't have to ask to know why. Even several months later, hell maybe its even been a year, her shoulder never really quite recovered from the accident. Archery is stressful on any injury, and she's worried about her aim and skill ever since.
Barton frowns.
He sets his mug down on the counter's surface and shifts around it, heading straight for where she's standing. He comes to a halt behind her, out of the way of her range of motion so he doesn't get an elbow to the face. "Remember, relax your shoulders." Barton instructs, gently pressing a palm on the injured, tensed one in particular. "Straighten your back." He presses his knuckles firmly against her spine between her shoulder blades. "Focus on your elbow when you draw back. Pretend there's a hook." He takes a step back away from her to let her take aim, knowing that she can do this if she doesn't psych herself out of it. He crosses his arms over his chest, and bites lightly at his thumbnail.
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Girls
Aug 22, 2015 19:24:14 GMT -7
Post by Snowglobe18 on Aug 22, 2015 19:24:14 GMT -7
Teresa can feel her heart pounding hard in her chest. She practised at home, or at least in the woods but she never got the target, putting an arrow through her text book had been a one off and now it's like she couldn't even do the simple things. Basically the accident had left her shoulder in such a mess that the doctors had told her that she would never use a bow again. Being told that news had made her world crash around her.
She had even wanted to avoid Barton but she knew that she couldn't have ignored him forever. So she had tried getting back up to her groove. But the more she had tried to hit one target, the more her arm ached afterwards to the point where she was knocking back so many painkillers a day that she was afraid of becoming addicted to the damn things but she knew she had to put up with the pain if she wanted to get back into archery.
So in the end she had come to Barton and made sure that she practised as much as she could. But sadly she wasn't getting anywhere close to how she had been. Maybe her luck was running out.
Teresa then became so much aware of the fact that Barton was standing behind her. She could pretty much feel him as if he was the other half of her. She felt his hands on her and it actually sent little sparks through her. She took a deep breath and relaxed her shoulders before then straightening her back. No matter how she focused on her arm when she draw back the damn thing kept shaking and she winced under her breath before she then let the arrow go.
She watched as the arrow sailed through the air but bounced off the target and landed on the floor. Teresa closed her eyes before shaking her head and sighing. She slowly opened her eyes back up and then pulled her lip in between her teeth. "I'm never going to get this" she muttered and glanced over at Barton.
The more it happened the more defeated she felt. This completely sucked, big time.
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Girls
Aug 22, 2015 20:10:37 GMT -7
Post by Ray on Aug 22, 2015 20:10:37 GMT -7
The arrow bounces uselessly, and Barton screws his mouth slightly to the side. It's been pretty much the same outcome since she first told him about the accident. It happens, he wants to say, like he's said a hundred times before. About two years into working for SHIELD, he took a bullet to his chest. It wasn't major, only a collapsed lung, but for about two weeks he lost feeling entirely in his right arm. An injury that made doing his job with a bow a little difficult. When feeling did come back, it came back painfully. Pins and needles constantly stabbing into his muscles, every tendon burning when he moved it, his bones aching. It took him two months, day and night, of practicing nonstop to finally get through it.
He knows she can do it. Knows it. But she keeps letting herself fall prey to the anticipation of failure.
Its one of the reasons he hates doctors. They're pessimistic as hell.
"You will." Barton murmurs, "Here." He steps forward once more. "Take your stance." He instructs, and focuses his blue eyes on her arms. "Draw." He continues. As soon as she has, he places one hand firmly on her injured shoulder, holding it steady. His other hand holds onto her elbow, keeping it straight and taunt. He can feel her arm shaking beneath his grip, but he only tightens his grip to keep her still. "Release." He tells her, once he's satisfied.
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