Collecting Complications

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The bed is warm when Clint wakes up, a pleasant body heat next to him making the covers warm and comfortable and it takes a moment for him to realize it isn’t Steve.  Apparently, Bucky has the same sort of super soldier space heater thing going on as Steve and Clint looks over at him now as he starts to wake up fully. The other man is still asleep, looks like he is sound asleep and Clint is  tempted to try to go back to sleep as well but he needs to go to the bathroom so very carefully moves out of the bed, doesn’t want to wake him since he is actually getting some sleep.

He is tempted to climb back into bed but doesn’t feel like he’ll be able to get back to sleep so Clint heads to the kitchen instead.   Since he is awake any ways, it is coffee time and it may not be a bad idea to make some breakfast for the two of them. He gets the coffee pot going and starts some breakfast and it is all ready when Bucky walks into the kitchen, hair a mess but the circles under his eyes a little less and Clint smiles at him as he puts a plate on the table.

“Thanks  by the way, for last night, for understanding.”

He says this and Bucky looks at him for just a moment before he speaks.

“Consider it more sniper bonding time.”

That makes Clint grin a bit.

“We will be best sniper bros before you know it, we should get t-shirts or maybe I could get Nick to knit us sweaters.”

Bucky just wrinkles up his nose a bit as he sits down.

“T-shirt over sweaters, sweaters can be itchy.”

“But sweaters are comfier.”

The rest of breakfast is spent debating which would be better sniper club attire and then they clean up. The rest of the day passes quickly enough, a quick lunch and then dinner and when it is bedtime, Clint almost tells Bucky he can sleep like they did last night but he doesn’t want to push it so they go their own way to bed. 

The next two days go much the same, spending time with Bucky most of the day, even convincing him to go to the apartment’s gym with him once , but at night they go their separate ways and Clint really hates how cold the bed feels. He also hates the next morning how he can see the circles under Bucky’s eyes darkening back to how it was before, hates that he is pretty sure Bucky is back to getting no sleep again.  He ends up getting distracted from what to do about that when there is a call from Steve in the afternoon.

“Hey, I missed your voice.”

It is the first thing Steve says after Clint picks up and says hello. Clint can’t help but smile  right now, a grin that Bucky stares at for a moment before turning his attention back to the TV.

“I missed your voice too. Is this a good call or bad call?”

He has to ask, is pretty sure that it isn’t  going to be bad but that doesn’t mean it is good. There is a bit of a sigh from Steve’s end, one that sounds a little tired and Clint has a feeling that it is an in-between call.

“We have to extend the mission for a bit longer,  there is more here than we first thought. Everybody is ok but  we are going to be here long. I’m sorry.”

He says this as if he can control how long a mission take and Clint just reassures him that things are ok here.

“Not your fault, take the time you need. Bucky and I doing fine besides the fact he doesn’t appreciate a comfy sweater. You want to talk to him if he wants to?”

He looks over at Bucky now, makes sure that it is ok to give him the phone and Bucky gives a short nod as Steve says yes please. He hands the phone to Bucky now, tries not to eavesdrop on their conversation. Soon, enough  the phone is handed back to Clint and Nat is on now.

“I still expect those fancy waffles when I get back, extra whipped cream and caramel. This mission is becoming a bit of a pain. “

She says this and Clint can hear the annoyance in her voice.

“I’m sure it is still better than Chicago and I will give you all the fancy waffles when you get back. Can you talk for long?”

He asks, missing them both and just wanting to talk to her a little longer. He holds back a sigh of disappointment when she answers.

“No, we can’t, got to meet up with Sam and Fury soon.  Wanted you to hear about the extension this way, not over a message. I’m going to hand you back to your boyfriend so you two can be mushy.”

He gives her a good bye right after she says that and then Steve is back on the line.

“We need to head out but I wanted to say I love you and that I’m glad that you and Bucky are doing ok.”

“Love you too. Bucky and I will be fine.”

With that, Clint says his good byes and soon enough Steve is hanging up the phone.  He was looking forward to them coming back  and now it is going to take longer  but there isn’t much that can be done.  He just turns and gives Bucky a bit of a shy grin.

“Guess it is just the two of us a little longer. Think you can put up with me for a bit longer?”

Bucky looks at him for a moment before giving a nod.

“I can put up with you, just hope they are back soon.”

He says this so honestly and Clint scoots a bit closer now and speaks quietly.

“I hope so too. We will just have to amuse ourselves for a bit. Anything you want for dinner?”

He asks, knows that they are running low on things and so if Bucky wants something special they can order it or go and get the ingredients for it.  Bucky thinks about a moment before answering.

“I keep hearing about fancy waffles, that might be good. What are in those?”

“Anything you want, fancy waffles are just the term we use for topping them with fruit and stuff. Nat likes hers with caramel, bananas, and an ungodly amount of whipped cream.  I like mine with apple pie filling  or with strawberries. One of those sound good?”

He asks now and there is another moment of Bucky thinking and then he answers .

“Apple pie, that sounds good. Would we need to get the stuff for it?”

There is just a hint of tension in his voice and Clint answers the question softly.

“Yea, do you think you feel up to a trip to the store?”

There is a long pause and Clint is hoping he isn’t pushing anything right now. After just a moment, Bucky answers.

“I think I can if we get some bacon as well.”

Clint gives him a grin now.

“Of course, bacon is one of the best sides to go with waffles.  Let’s see what we already have and  make a list that way we don’t have to make more than one trips. My record is having to go back to the store 4 times for one meal and I don’t want to break it right now.”

“Four times? How did you manage that?”

Bucky asks and Clint knows that this is an embarrassing story but really  it isn’t the worst one he could tell so he starts telling it as they walk into the kitchen and look over what they need, as they start the small  walk to the near by store.  It is a story that involves birds and fire and slipping on blueberries and Bucky is laughing at it quite a bit, seems relaxed as they enter the store and are around so many people. It is worth sharing this if it makes   Bucky laugh like that.

“Nat still won’t let me make lasagna without supervision. “

Clint says this, finishes up the story and Bucky looks at him in curiosity.

“Why did you have blueberries if you were making lasagna?”

 “Some one had left some next to the tomatoes, I grabbed them by accident, was in a hurry, didn’t look at them. That was the part Nat gives me the most crap about too. You want scrambled eggs with this as well?”

He asks and Bucky gives a short nod.  They do their shopping and Bucky holds up well but Clint can see the tension start to seep  into his body and he wraps up the trip as quick as he can. He remembers after Loki, how he didn’t like being around too many people, how exhausting it would be, and he is sure that Bucky feels the same way.  They walk back to the apartment and Clint can see the tension ease out of Bucky when they get back in the apartment.  He still looks a bit worn out but he helps Clint with the waffles, they get covered in flour and the kitchen is a mess when it is over, but the waffles are good.   

They eat too much and watch movies on the couch that night. It is a pretty relaxing night, watching movies Bucky had never heard of but are familiar with Clint who has them practically memorized. He tells Bucky all of his favorite parts, tells him about making Steve and Natasha  watch these movies, tells Bucky about their favorite parts and Bucky adds to the conversation when he can, though sometimes he gets quiet and just focuses on the movies, totally engrossed in a way that tells Clint he is enjoying it.  It is one of those times when Clint starts to feel really sleepy, when he can’t quite keep his eyes open, so he doesn’t , shuts them instead. He drifts off and doesn’t wake up again till he is placed in his bed.

Bucky had picked him up and carried him to the bed room,   was placing him down in his bed. He had been careful to put Clint on the side of the bed  where the covers are already pulled back and  now is getting ready to pull the covers over him. Clint grabs his metal hand as he does so, opens his eyes and looks at him  even though he is  about ready to fall back asleep.

“You should lay down too, we didn’t squish each other the other night and you need the sleep.”

He says this and Bucky shakes his head just a bit and moves his wrist out of Clint’s fingers.
“Squishing you isn’t what I’m worried about.  Have a good rest, I’m going to stay up for a bit longer.”

Clint wants to argue but his eyes are already sliding shut again, he will deal with Bucky not getting sleep in the morning.

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Clint  is not surprised the next morning when he wakes up and Bucky is on the couch, dark circles around his eyes, hair a bit of a mess but not the messy way you expect after sleep. There is a half drank cup of coffee in front of Bucky and Clint is pretty sure he didn’t sleep at all last night. He gets his own cup of coffee and sits down  next to him, takes a few sips and thinks about what he wants to say. He breaks the silence after a moment.

“Thanks  for carrying me to bed last night. Did you get any sleep last night?”

He doesn’t mean to ask the question quite so bluntly but it comes out before Clint really thinks about it too much.  There is just a moment  of pause before  Bucky shakes his head a bit.

“No, not really but I’ll be fine.”

Those words are similar to some that Clint had said after Loki, when he couldn’t sleep without blue clouding his eyes, and he knew wasn’t fine and he is pretty sure Bucky isn’t fine either.

“When was the last time you slept?”

He asks this question now, waits for an answer and Bucky just sort of shrugs after a moment.

“I can go a long time without sleep, this hasn’t been that long in comparison with some others.”

It isn’t an answer and Clint repeats the question now.

“Tell me the truth, when was the last time you slept , really slept? Was it the night I had the nightmare?”

There is another pause but after a moment Bucky gives a quick jerky nod.

“Why didn’t you lay down with me last night then if that helped you sleep before? ”

Clint asks, curiosity in his voice and Bucky looks at him for a long time before he answers.

“I don’t want  to mess up how things are right now.”

His answer is honest but Clint isn’t sure exactly what it means and he thinks maybe he needs more coffee. He takes another drink of his coffee and then tries to make sense of what Bucky is saying.

“Mess things up how? No one is going to care that we shared a bed. If it helps you sleep , no one is going to say anything about you sharing a bed with me. We all have our nightmares.”

Clint is telling the truth, knows that they all have their issues and he sees no reason why Bucky shouldn’t get sleep when he can.  Bucky speaks after just a moment and when he does, there is a little shake to his voice.

“My nightmares sometimes lead to me lashing out, screaming and not sure where I am. I’m not sure what I could do to you when I’m like that. That night I laid with you and Steve, I didn’t sleep so it wasn’t an issue but the other night I did and there wasn’t a nightmare but there is no promise that I wouldn’t have one in the future. I could hurt you.”

Those last words are said and Clint can hear a bit of fear in them and he can’t help but move a bit closer to Bucky now, wants to reassure him somehow.

“Possibly but I’m not exactly helpless.  If there is a nightmare, we’ll handle it. I won’t let you just toss me around or something.”

Bucky shakes his head a bit at this.

“I don’t think you would have much of the choice in the tossing, it isn’t safe.”

He really does think he may hurt Clint if he has a nightmare and Clint gets it, gets the feeling but he also knows that he needs to get some sleep every once in a while so he decides to be a little stubborn now.

“I can handle some bruises if it happens, can handle myself.”

Buck still doesn’t quite look convinced and he gets up off the couch now, heads to the kitchen and Clint follows him, comes up with an idea as he does.

“How about I prove it? We’ll eat breakfast, do what we need to do, and then this afternoon you and I can go to the gym, spar a little if I manage to knock you down once, then you come to bed with me tonight, try to sleep. Deal?”

There is a long pause as Bucky thinks about this and then turns to Clint with his answer.

“Knock me down three times and I’ll feel better about it. Deal?”

He holds out his metal hand and Clint gives a nod, shakes his hand.  It is going to be a little harder to get him down for three but Clint is willing to play dirty if he has to so he should be able to make this work. He just has to hope that he doesn’t end up too sore or regretting this whole thing later. Right now, he just gets started working on some breakfast and tries not to think about the fact that he just agreed to spar with one of the most dangerous people on the planet.

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It is early afternoon now, sunlight pouring in through the gym windows and they  are both in comfortable clothes and warmed up. They are the only ones down here and this is going to be the first time that he has sparred with Bucky and Clint feels a mix of excitement and nervousness spread through him.

“You sure you want to do this? I won’t hold back that much.”

Bucky says this now, just a hint of warning in his voice and Clint just gives a grin that he hopes doesn’t give away any of his worry that he may have bite off more than he can chew.

“I won’t hold back either.”

He says this and immediately launches into an attack, a quick tackle that surprises  Bucky just enough to get him off his feet. It was maybe a bit of a sneak attack but it worked and he gives another grin as Bucky looks up at him before getting back up. 

“That’s one.”

Clint says this and Bucky just shakes his head a bit as he starts his own attack.  Clint has sparred against many people over the years and he compares Bucky to what he knows as he dodges him and tries to get in his own hits.   He is enhanced like Steve but not quite as strong or as quick but he recovers from hits a lot like Steve does, probably has similar stamina. He would be wiping the floor with Clint right now if Clint hadn’t already had experience sparring with Steve.  He uses much more brute force than Nat but he occasionally pulls out a move that Clint recognizes from having it used against him before by a smaller opponent .

“You taught Natasha that one, didn’t you?”

He asks when Bucky manages to flip him down and Bucky gives a quick a nod.

“Yep. She was a fast learner.”

If Bucky is going to use Natasha’s tricks against him, then Clint can as well and he twists now, grabs ahold of Bucky and pulls in a way Nat has shown him before and  gets him on the ground again.

“She’s a pretty good teacher too. That is two by the way.”

Bucky just gets right back up and manages a hit on Clint, thankfully with the flesh hand and everything is back on.

“You’re doing better at this than I thought you would.”

Bucky says this as he dodges another one of Clint’s hits and Clint raises a brow at him.

“Did you think I would suck?”
He asks, used to people underestimating him so he isn’t going to get upset by it.

“Not that, just know you’re a sniper figured distance would be more your thing.”

He says this and he isn’t even that breathless and they have been doing this for a while. It makes Clint feel a little old that he has to catch a breath and dodge before he speaks again.

“It is but sometimes I don’t always get to keep my distance. I’m sure you know how that is.”

Bucky just gives a nod and increases his attack. Clint was right about the stamina, he isn’t slowing down but Clint definitely is and it is getting harder to avoid his attacks and make his own. Bucky even manages to catch him in the ribs with the metal hand and that is going to be at least a bruise, maybe a crack as well.   This sucks but Clint isn’t going to give up till he has to.  It doesn’t stop him from ending up on the ground, arms pinned down by Bucky’s legs .

“If someone walked in right now, they may get the wrong idea about what we are doing down here.”

Clint jokes as he tries to squirm out of the hold but he can’t quite manage it and Bucky just looks down at him now.

“I think we should stop now. I already know I hurt your ribs, don’t want to hurt you anymore than that. I appreciate you trying to help though.”

His voice sounds just a little resigned, like he is giving up on the idea of moving past the nightmares and Clint can’t let that happen. He does the only thing he can think of to do and that is to resort to playground tactics. When all else fails, pull hair or bite . Bucky’s hair is too fair and his arms are pinned but Bucky’s thighs are right near Clint’s mouth and it is all too easy to sink teeth  there.

“What the fuck?”

Bucky practically shouts as  he  moves off of Clint to stop the biting probably more out of instinct than anything else. Clint takes advantage and  tackles him, basically switching their position and his ribs hurt and he is going to be so sore later but he still can’t help the grin that graces his face now.

“That’s three. Guess we can be bed buddies now if you want to,I’m not going to push anything.”

Bucky  takes  Clint’s offered hand when Clint gets up now and he is  smiling a bit.

“I’ll see how I feel about it tonight. Can’t believe you resorted to biting.”

He is shaking his head now but Clint just grins more.

“Sometimes you have to return to  basics. Worked didn’t it ?”

Bucky  just shakes his head and keeps walking but it doesn’t dim Clint’s mood at all. Clint’s ribs hurt but now he has proven that he can take care of himself and that makes the ribs worth it. He doesn’t know if it will make the lecture that he is going to get from Nat about going toe to toe with the winter soldier worth it but he’ll worry about that later. Now, it is time to ice his ribs and figure out dinner, the rest can wait.

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Bucky does end up sharing the  bed with Clint that night but he doesn’t start out that way, comes in after Clint has already been in bed for a while.  He takes the same side that he did before, makes sure his metal arm is not near Clint and crawls under the covers, startles Clint just a bit.

“You can have  some covers but don’t hog them or I might kick.”

Clint murmurs this sleepy but he doesn’t really hear Bucky’s response, falls right back asleep, doesn’t wake up till the morning.  Bucky is already up but the dark circles are a little lighter so Clint just smiles and takes his offered cup of coffee.

“That is a lovely shade of purple, how are they feeling?”

He asks , is looking at Clint’s bruises across his ribs.  Clint takes a sip of his coffee than answers.

“They hurt but I have had worst. Should probably wait a few days before we go back at it. Anything you want to do today?”

They plan out their day and it is amazing how comfortable they have gotten with each other while the others have been gone. Clint just hopes Bucky can keep this amount of ease once everyone else is back.  For right now, they just hang out and  that night Bucky joins him in the bed again.

It is the next day when Clint gets a message from Natasha that makes him grin.

“Hey, that was from Nat, they finished the mission, should be back tomorrow. “

Clint shares this with Bucky as he types out a quick reply.

“Good,  should I stay in the guest room tonight then?”

Bucky asks and there is just a bit of hesitation  in his face and Clint gives him an answer.

“Only if you want to. Steve won’t mind, he knows I have trouble sleeping without somebody by me. He knows I fall asleep next to all sorts of people. Even fell asleep and ended up on Sam one night.  He makes a comfy pillow if you’re curious.”

He is babbling  a bit but it does make Bucky relax a bit so Clint considers it to be ok.

“I wasn’t wondering about that but I guess it is good to know. We should watch that movie you were telling me about today.”

They do what that movie and when Clint goes to bed, Bucky comes with him, settling on what Clint almost thinks of as his side and they both fall  asleep fairly quickly.   Clint only wakes up when he hears steps,knows someone is coming to the bedroom. He sits up and wonders if he should reach for his knife under the mattress or wake up Bucky but the knows those steps   so he waits. It is only a few moments after that, the door is opening and Steve is walking in, gives Clint a smile and when he sees Bucky in the bed, there is a bit of relief in his eyes.

“Thought you wouldn’t be back till tomorrow.”

Clint says this softly , careful not to wake Bucky and Steve just moves forward,  sits down on the bed next to Clint.

“We got back a bit earlier than planned, Natasha went to Sam’s, I wanted to come here. I’m surprised you were both asleep.  Nice sight to come home to .”

Steve says this, gestures to Bucky and Clint in the bed and Clint can feel his  cheeks heating up just a bit.

“Just sleeping, didn’t get up to more than that.  We did spar though, got some pretty bruises to show you.”

“I’ll kiss them better soon then.”

Steve says this, places a quick kiss against Clint’s lips. There is a bit of murmur coming from the other side of the  bed, something that sounds a bit like shut up and get some sleep and Steve pulls back.

“I’ll be right back.”

He whispers it now and Clint just gives a nod and settles back into bed, leaves room for Steve. It pushes him a bit closer to Bucky but he doesn’t scoot away, just lets Clint lay right next to him. Only a few minutes pass and then Steve is climbing into bed and Clint settles against his chest and closes his eyes. He falls back asleep surrounded by warmth and it isn’t a bad way to sleep at all.

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