Fangirling
The first time Clint comes home after Loki and the invasion of New York, the others welcome him back like nothing’s changed. Of course, it’s not the first apocalypse they’ve lived through. Or even the first time one of them was almost on the wrong side of it.
He spends most of the evening telling them all about the Avengers. Tony makes comments about Natasha he only gets away with because she likes him. The twins wonder if they could take on Thor. Faith wonders if she could take on the Hulk. Oz thinks Stark is cool. Jo might be special forces, but subtle she is not.
“I saw the footage,” Jo says when she finds him alone in the kitchen. “That was some impressive fighting.”
Clint grunts noncommittally.
“So, what was it like fighting with... everyone?” Jo asks, leaning against the counter and not quite meeting Clint’s gaze. Clint carefully hides his smile, remembering that somewhere in her closet with all the ballet shoes and leotards there had been Captain America pyjamas.
“Well, I’ve fought with Natasha before. We’ve always worked well together. Thor and Stark were an interesting experience. Big on the diving into the thick of things. And Hulk, well he’s not big on tactics, but he sure can cut a swathe,” Clint says, deliberately keeping the information he knows she wants from her.
“And Captain America?” Jo asks even though she knows he’s toying with her, a faint blush on her cheeks that she would stridently deny if he mentioned it. Clint carefully hides a smile as he pulls her into a one-armed hug and ruffles her neat hair. She pushes him away from her with only a little effort.
“He lives up to his reputation,” Clint says. Because Natasha had trusted him but she’s biased and they owe each other too much. Steve hadn’t needed to trust him, had had no reason to, but he’d given him that chance. It meant everything to Clint to have the chance to undo some of the damage he’d done.
“Really?” Jo asks. Clint nods, letting her see his expression and the serious set to his features, because just about everyone in the family has been let down by someone they trusted, by a role model, and he gets that this means more than just a crush she had when she was a teenager.
“Yeah,” Clint tells her softly, lightly knocking her shoulder. “Next time I see him, I’ll ask if he can sign your Captain America underwear,” he says as he turns to walk out, grinning as he goes. He instinctively ducks the spoon she throws at his head.