Laurie & Clint | Sunday Morning (backdated)

[x-hawkeye.livejournal.com]

Laurie runs into Clint and challenges him to an archery match.


Laurie muttered to herself as she sent an e-mail off and then placed her phone in her pocket. She'd been so close to what she thought might be a breakthrough only to find that the power source was too bulky for the design aesthetic she was going for.

It wasn't that she couldn't redesign but weight was an issue. She needed both functional and lightweight in her new arm.

She looked up in time to notice Clint passing by with a bow in one hand and a phone in the other.

"Mr Barton, wait up."

Clint paused and turned, the motion almost automatic. It'd been a couple years since he TA'd at MIT, but answering to 'Mr. Barton' had become ingrained in him. He was more used to that than 'Dr. Barton,' oddly enough. "Hello?" He said, knowing he didn't know this woman and wondering how she knew him. There was always the possibility that she was friends with one of his exes, which could lead to an awkward conversation, but then why would she have instigated it in the first place?

"Laurie Collins," Laurie said, holding out her hand with a smile that was only a little strained at the edges. "Resident medical resident - although not officially - and all around woman of excellent taste and demeanor."

She didn't say that seeing him was like seeing a ghost, and a particularly weird one at that considering the boy she'd known and trained had not only turned into a man but a hot one at that. Surely there was some universal law being broken by that.

"Nice to meet you," Clint said, shaking her hand briefly before taking his own back and quirking a brow. "It seems you know who I am, though, so I guess introductions are going to be a little lopsided. What can I do for you?"

"This would be the perfect time for a quote from President Kennedy, you know." Laurie noted, eyeing Frankenberry cat Clint speculatively. "Just how good a shot are you with that?"

Quirking a smile, Clint said, "Good enough." He'd noticed her prosthetic, but he knew several people with prostheses and that didn't stop them from doing whatever they wanted. So he was interested despite himself. "Why?"

"Well, it just so happens that I have this new arm here that I was going to test out with a bow, and since I see you are familiar with said art, you might want to come along and practice with me?"

He could say no, she knew that. This was not the Clint she'd known, and she was certainly no longer his teacher - or even his friend in this incarnation. But what was life if not a series of chances you took on the people around you?

"You were into archery before the prosthetic?" Clint asked, taking a closer look at it. He'd seen archers who used a pressure-release triggered by their lips when they drew back, he was interested in whether or not she was using the same method. And he was also interested in her bow. His own was pretty modified, as was his quiver, but that wasn't necessarily readily apparent unless you were extremely familiar with the tech.

"Before, yes. I used to teach a few of the students here, as well as my own training." Laurie looked down at the prosthetic she was currently wearing, it had been a gift from Doug while they worked on her permanent solution. "I keep my bow in my room, so I'll need to go get it. If you wanted to meet me at the range, we could have a friendly competition?"

Clint wasn't sure about a competition, but he didn't say no right away. "You've got a modified bow? I'd be interested in seeing that - I've a friend who uses one, but there are different methods for triggering the release of the arrow, y'know?" He didn't know if she'd been doing a lot of practicing since she lost the arm or not - the way she carried herself seemed to indicate she'd lost it recently. Clint tried - and mostly succeeded - to not read too much into her microexpressions. "I'd be happy to meet you down at the range. Assuming you can tell me where it is. I was getting ready to go on an epic adventure of wondrous discovery. Or, y'know, a walk. To find it."

"One made specifically for me, although I may have to modify it again, or have a completely new one made possibly,"

Laurie gestured for him to give her his phone and she quickly transferred a map across via Bluetooth. She'd made herself a little map when she first arrived at the mansion years back and it had seemingly changed when the universes were all smooshed together.

She handed him back his phone.

"There, that should help you around a bit, you'll probably want to edit the map keys though, I tend to have a unique system of labeling."

Clint quirked a smile. "Thanks. I'm sure I'll be able to figure out your labeling system. It can't be any more difficult than applied plasma physics, so." He glanced at his phone, then said, "I'm gonna see what I can make of this. I'll meet you there."