Nick Fury (seeswithboth) wrote in avengers_logs, @ 2019-01-11 08:49:00 |
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Entry tags: | -complete, clint barton, nick fury |
Who: Nick Fury and Clint Barton
What: Clint's moving out
When: Today
Rating: Green (maybe language?)
There was letting a man mourn, and there was letting a man drown. Nick, never the fondest person with feelings in the first place, had had enough. At least when Nat was around, there was a buffer between Clint and himself, someone who was able to deal with all those emotions and hard feelings. Now though, there was nothing, and all the stress baking in the world wasn't going to fix that.
After several meetings with various shadowy figures, all Nick wanted was some time to think to himself, and process the information. Not only was HAMMER growing in strength, but there were some mumblings about the Asgardians. Nick had naturally quelled any concerns, knowing full well that Loki and Thor were up to something. Really though, was it Nick's place to say anything? No, of course not. It was his job to calm down the powers that be, to ensure them that nothing was happening, and to protect those close to him. He had a few ideas on how to create a few red herrings and he needed time to mull it over.
Unfortunately, his home was not the haven it always was. Walking in, he wrinkled his nose distastefully. Was that the smell of alcohol? Probably. The last thing Nick wanted to deal with was a drunk Clint, so he hoped that wasn't the case. "Barton, you here?," he called out, tossing his keys into a bowl.
Clint was packing. Or he was drinking. Or he was drinking and packing. The order of operations wasn't entirely clear. The whiskey swirled in the glass while he shoved what few belongings he'd managed to accumulate since poofing into New York into a duffel bag. The multiple universes had poofed Natasha back out of this one and Clint staying here had been her idea. Without Nat, there seemed little point to staying under the watchful eyes of Nick Fury. Eye.
He had another drink, shoved a pair of briefs into the bag and called back. "Yeah. Not for much longer."
Nick walked into the spare room, an impassive look on his face as he judged the scene. Whiskey, ever present. Suitcase, half full. Clint, frenetic as ever. It wasn't hard to piece together the scene.
Well, Nick wasn't going to ask Clint to stay, even if he was worried about the other man, but it was a sink or swim world out there. "You have a plan, soldier? Or are you just walking until your nerve runs out?"
"Not a soldier," Clint pointed out. World might be easier if he was. Clint was a man of action and he needed a role. He'd been an agent, and Avenger, and a father. Now he seemed to be none of those. Just another schmuck on the street with too much time on his hands. "Anyways, who needs a plan?"
Oh fuck this. Enough was enough. "You were my soldier," Nick pointed out flatly. "Whatever you may think, wherever your fucking head is right now, you have always been one of my right-hand people. You and Nat, out there, doing the work that I couldn't do while I gave you everything to do it. Don't start talking to me about a plan when you know damn well you need to smarten up. You think you're the only one whose lost everything? Well newsflash: you're not. And the longer you sit here, wallowing in your own damn sorrows, the longer it's going to take you to get back to any semblance of normal."
If Nick was any other person, he would probably have included a few sentences there about 'support' and 'emotions' and 'we care about you' or some crap, but fuck that. He wasn't Pepper. He wasn't Nat. He wasn't Wanda. "Don't make decisions you can't take back."
There was no getting back to normal. There was getting back to doing a job maybe but there wasn't a normal. Clint's normal was in another universe.
He snorted. "I'm not quitting anything. I'm not walking away, I'm not turning off my phone, I'm not going off grid. I'm leaving because I'm too old to live with my former boss." Reenacting Three's Company with Fury made Clint uncomfortable for the start. Nat had wanted it though and going along was easier than arguing. Nat was gone now so there was no sense in staying.
It was a bullshit excuse. "Former boss? Last I checked, I had work for you. And damnit, Barton. Reality check -- this is fucking life now. Until you accept that, you're never going to start grieving. Moving on." His features softened slightly. "I'm not going to tell you how to feel. I'm not. I'm only telling you that time really does heal everything. You want your space? Take it. I'm sure Stark has room in that building he puts newbies."
Clint shoved a couple undershirts into his bag. "It's New York City. I don't need Stark to hand me a place a stay. I can find a place, I lived here long enough." Clint had spent his twenties stationed at the SHIELD base here. He'd met Laura while he was living here.
Fury saw a flash of himself in Clint. That stubborn, 'I don't need help' streak that took him decades to break though. Hell, he still had troubles with it now, so he understood what Clint was about. Didn't make it any easier. "Yeah, you did." He stood at the doorway, arms crossed in front of his chest, as he watched Clint pack. It wasn't until the younger man was done that Nick spoke up again. "That info you and Nat got me from Hong Kong? About the weapons drying up, and some devil boss? On the button. There's a lot of worrying movements happening right now, in Eastern Europe now, looks like they've given up on doing the weapons runs from ports, but focusing on trains now. Maybe even humans. We're not sure. You know though, if Hammer is back, so is HYDRA."
Clint stared at hm. "I have no idea what you're talking about." then the penny dropped "That wasn't me. Are you - Christ, you're trying to give a pep talk to the other Clint. The one here before me. He ain't here anymore and Nat's gone too. You're stuck with me."
Holy shit. He was. Nick prided himself on not letting anything faze him, stepping into the idea of parallel universes with ease and here, he'd completely botched it. Foot, meet mouth. "You're still Clint. Regardless if you're this Clint, or Clint 1032 or Clint with blue hair. The core parts that make you you don't change. And yes, you're right. I'll own up to that, I did just bring up past information, but it's still current and important. You're one of my best people, and I need you on the ground for this. Go to Sokovia. Take Wanda. Do some field work. Get your head back in the game."
Clint needed something to do. He needed something to do or he was going to dive into a bottle and he didn't want to be that. He'd seen it, felt it, lived it. He'd promised himself he wouldn't live his life the way his father had. Of course he wasn't always good at promises. He'd broken plenty of them.
"Fine. You can fill me in on he job later . I'm still getting another place."
Nick stepped away from the door, his arms open in front of him. "Go for it. You're an adult. Just come by for coffee sometime." This was the closet Fury would come to admitting he'd miss having Clint around.