I Was Wrong
The sound of an arrow hitting a target made Bucky smile. He didn't have to look to know it was a bullseye and that Clint was showing off. He was supposed to be teaching a class, but he wasn't sure the kids learned anything from him. The kids were never going to be able to do trick shots like their teacher.
It did make archery look cool, though.
The corner of Natasha's mouth curved upwards, and she leaned to the side to look at Clint. "He just shot a bullseye though another arrow with his feet." She rolled her eyes; she was used to this sort of behavior from Clint.
"He's been practicing that for a week." He turned around to see Clint balancing on one hand with a bow held between his toes. He was the most ridiculous person Bucky had ever met. "You should see our walls." The kids were all staring up at Clint with wide eyes, jaws dropped.
He brought his cup of coffee up to his mouth. He loved this part of Clint's job. He knew Clint did as well; regardless of what he said, Clint was a performer. He lived for attention. He would wilt without it.
And when they were at the archery range, Clint wasn't starting a war with the tracksuit mafia around their apartment. That was a considerable improvement from the norm.
When he turned back around Natasha was smirking at him. "I was wrong." She told him as she crossed her arms over her chest. "I thought you would be bad for him, but you make him better."
"Because of the pills?" He'd always assumed she'd done a background check on him and drudged up all of his problems before she'd let him date her best friend. If there had been anything terrible in his background, he was sure he'd have ended up dead in a ditch somewhere in Bolivia. It was her way of showing love. He'd seen the arrow necklace. And then never told anyone about it under threat of grievous bodily injury.
"That didn't help." Her eyes flickered towards his arm. It made sense. Clint had his hangups. If he'd looked in at their relationship, he would have had concerns as well. She shrugged her shoulders. "You didn't seem right for him. But I was wrong."
"I love him." He drained his cup of coffee. It wasn't something they had said to each other, but Clint probably knew. They lived together. They didn't sleep with other people. Clint brought trinkets home when he got shipped out. Neither of them did well with the word love anyway. "I want to spend my life with him."
She pursed her lips and peered over his shoulder to look at Clint again. "He's got a dangerous job."
"He does."
The sound of an arrow hitting a target filled the air and Natasha smiled slightly. "That means you may not get to keep him for long."
Bucky inhaled deeply. She was trying to help in her way. It was something he had Clint had talked about though. Clint put himself in grave danger every time he went to work. Bucky was learning to be okay with it. "I know. Doesn't change how I feel though."