Rachel & Clint | Sunday Afternoon (backdated)

[x-hawkeye.livejournal.com]

Rachel and Clint run into one another in the kitchen and archery is discussed. Amongst other things. (Backdated - oh so very, very backdated.)


Clint had just finished up with Laurie at the archery range and now he was hungry. Walking into the kitchen, he laid his bow and quiver on the counter and opened the refrigerator so he could dig through all the leftovers in there to find something easy for a snack. He kind of felt like he could eat an entire cow, though, and still consider it a snack, so he wound up pulling several cartons and containers out. As he turned to sit them all on the counter, he saw a redhead walk into the room.

She froze mid-step and seemed to consider turning and walking right back out. But with a minute shake of her head, Rachel proceeded to retrieve a glass and fill it with water, gaze studiously trained on anywhere but Clint.

All things considered, she hadn’t known the Hawkeye from her ‘world’ all that well, even if the dude had taught her how to string a bow and fire it. At that time, they were just two soldiers entertaining themselves while they were off duty due to sustained injuries. She vaguely recalled there being several rumours about his undercover position being blown floating around camp, but in the name of professional disinterest (also known as keeping the fuck out of other people’s business), she had not let it bother her.

Seeing the younger version of that man in the mansion’s kitchen – with bows and arrows, no less – threatened to make her more sentimental about it than it should. So she downed the glass as quickly as she could and turned to rinse it out in the sink. Then promptly almost walked into him.

Clint's awareness of his surroundings kept them from actually colliding, but he turned toward the woman anyway, a half-smile on his face, and said, "Sorry. I'm kind of starving. Want some vegetarian dumplings? Or an eggroll or something? Y'know, before I eat it all?"

“You’re vegetarian?”

She sounded surprised because she was surprised at the thought of it. But then she cocked her head to the side and back pedalled a little. “I mean, it’s fine. Go for it. I don’t like eating so soon after a run.”

"Yeah," Clint said, nodding. "We went to this petting farm a while back and my best friend saw this baby sheep or goat or something and is like. Militantly vegetarian now. So she convinced me and our other best friend to be vegetarian, too. It's not so bad. Lorna's awesome about having vegetarian options and stuff. Just. Sometimes, I really want a burger that's made of meat." He shoved an entire dumpling into his mouth.

“Right,” Rachel nodded too, as though she understood. She had heard of soldiers being turned off of meat as well, but as far as she was concerned, food was food. It could taste good, or it could taste not so good, but it kept you sustained and nourished and that’s all that mattered. For the most part, of course. “That’s… great. I couldn’t imagine putting myself under those kinds of restrictions. Good job.”

Clint raised his eyebrows a little, half-laughing. "You sound super interested in my eating habits. Sorry for rambling. It's just what's on my mind now. If this was mid November I probably wouldn't be able to stop talking about midterms or something. I'm Clint. I don't think I've met you before."

"It's just..." Unexpected. She shrugged. "S'alright. I'm Rachel. I haven't been around much, is all."

"Well, it's nice to meet you," Clint said, smiling. "Where've you been? If you don't mind me asking, I mean."

“I’m from Muir. I was around for a bit last year, but then I left on a mission. Just got in last weekend. So…” Rachel waved her hand dismissively in the air. “It’s nice to meet you too. You’re a student here?”

"Yep," Clint said, smiling. "Since last year. It's pretty cool, all things considered. I'm taking some summer classes to get ahead so I can see about a Robotics class this year."

Very studious too. Rachel laughed to herself in dark amusement, then turned to get herself another glass of water and settle in at the table while she cooled off, dumping her mp3 on the table. “I can’t say I’m fond of studying, but I’m prepping for my GEDs now.” And if that went well, probably the SATs. “So I don’t think I’ll be seeing you in class or anything.”

She had to stop comparing him with the Hawkeye she knew. Well, considering the bow and arrows on the table, Essex got some things right. “You shoot?”

"I'm learning," Clint said, fingering the strap on his quiver before looking over toward her. "It's a lot of fun - Laurie says I'm doing well. Mr. Summers and Logan think it's got something to do with my mutation. Do you?"

“A little,” Rachel nodded slowly. She thought it was precisely because of his mutation, really. Or he would have ended up as a gunslinger instead. But he didn’t have to know that. “I met this really talented archer once – his arrows never missed a shot. So he taught me. And then we combined it with my powers training for some pretty spectacular explosive results that never missed its target.”

Clint grinned. "That's pretty awesome. What's your power, if you don't mind me asking?"

“TK, mostly,” she said with a small smile. “I specialise in, uh, blowing things up. And other less interesting things. But mostly that. My archer friend taught me how to play with explosives and whatnot too. I’d show you, but I think I may actually get in trouble for that.”

"My friend, Maddie, is telekinetic. I'm not sure she can blow things up - yet. I think she could manage it, if she really wanted to." Clint's grin widened. "I dunno - it could be part of training or something. To... show how all my courses are related to one another. See? Chemistry and powers training could totally interact in interesting, explosive ways."

“You’re a total nerd,” Rachel snorted, but with a cheerful enough smile that it wouldn’t be taken as anything other than playful ribbing. “There are a few ways a TK can blow things up, so it depends on what kind of TK and how much control Maddie has over her powers. Like, energy blasts with a trajectory from the user to the end point, or specific object destruction, or manipulating molecules to create combustion – which is bloody difficult, by the way.” Personally, Rachel would describe her own technique as ‘pushing too hard, too fast’, which pretty much covered all her bases.

“But, well. Your powers aren’t inherently destructive,” she said, adding belatedly: “right?”

Still grinning, Clint said, "Nah, just my eyesight. Logan and Mr. Summers think there might be some perception stuff as well? They've made me play pool - my aim's pretty good, apparently." He paused, head tilting to the side. "So... does that mean you'll teach me to play with explosives?"

She paused for a moment to consider it, then laughed and shrugged. “I would love to teach you how to play with explosives.” "Sweet!" Clint wasn't sure he'd actually expected to get her to say she'd teach him about explosives, but he was pretty psyched that she had. "Cool - when can we start?"

“When I make sure I won’t get into a shit ton of trouble for it?” She could ask David. Or Charles. Or, well, whoever, really. It seemed like the adults all knew who she was by now. And there was the quarry for blowing things up in. “I said I’d love to, not that I could. But I’m sure we could work something out.” Maybe.