“I’m sure he’s glad you think so,” Clint says out of the corner of his mouth, before he can stop himself. Sure, many people appreciated the stars-and-stripes, but Barton had never really seen the appeal. Even though the Avengers are public, he doubts he’ll ever escape the shadows entirely. It’s just not in his nature.
But that aside, when he lets that line slip he has to turn back to Peggy again with another wide-eyed, almost apologetic look. “Ma’am.”
At the girls he just smiles, a bit less tentatively than before. It’s abundantly clear, to him at least, that they are more than cut out to take up their parents’ jobs. He’d talked about that once, to Natasha—if I ever have kids, I’m keeping them the hell away from SHIELD—but the bright symbolism of Steve’s role, and even the quieter, stealthier spin of Peggy’s was something far removed from his own life.
“Well,” Clint says after a moment. “You know the most important thing for heroes-in-training is to get to bed on time, right?”
no subject
But that aside, when he lets that line slip he has to turn back to Peggy again with another wide-eyed, almost apologetic look. “Ma’am.”
At the girls he just smiles, a bit less tentatively than before. It’s abundantly clear, to him at least, that they are more than cut out to take up their parents’ jobs. He’d talked about that once, to Natasha—if I ever have kids, I’m keeping them the hell away from SHIELD—but the bright symbolism of Steve’s role, and even the quieter, stealthier spin of Peggy’s was something far removed from his own life.
“Well,” Clint says after a moment. “You know the most important thing for heroes-in-training is to get to bed on time, right?”