Clint groans, hearing the knocks at the door. "I just sat down." He mumbles as he walks to get the door. Lucky follows him, eager to see who's on the other side.
"Good evening." Steve says with a soft smile.
"Hey, Cap. Thought you'd be Kate." Clint says. He opens the door wider. "Come on in."
Steve enters, glancing around the apartment. "I'm not sure what I was expecting your apartment to look like, but it wasn't this."
"Thanks. I think?" Clint says, closing the door. He shoves his hands into his pockets, rocking back and forth on his heels. "So? What's the mission?" He asks.
Steve turns around, shaking his head. "Oh. There's no mission. Just wanted to chat."
Clint arches his eyebrow. "I do something wrong?"
Steve flusters over his words. "No. No. Not chat like that. Um, hang out? Is that what's it's called or?"
Clint chuckles, walking over to the couch. "Yeah. You can hang out with me and Lucky. We like the company." He says, gently rubbing Lucky's head. He wags his tail in excitement.
"Thanks." He sighs with a smile. He sits on the couch, glancing around the apartment. Again, this wasn't exactly what he was expecting, but it was nice. It was comfortable. It felt like a home.
"So, what brings you to Brooklyn?" Clint asks, opening a box of pizza. He offers Steve a slice, but he declines, shaking his head.
"I just got an apartment around here." He says. Clint hums in surprise as he shoves a slice into his mouth. "Well, Brooklyn is my home and that tower was starting to get a bit overwhelming."
"Yeah. They should just keep that place as an office." Clint says.
"No kidding. Living in there makes it feel like work never ends." Steve chuckles, ruffling out his hair.
Clint nods his head, understanding. But he's still lost on what was currently happening. Cap just showed up out of the blue without a mission and in his casual grandpa clothes. "I'm sorry, but I'm a little confused." He says, getting Steve's attention off of Lucky. "What brings you to my apartment exactly? Like, isn't there a billion other places you'd rather be than here?"
Steve shrugs his shoulders. He wasn't exactly sure himself. "Just wanted to see a friend." He says.
Clint digs around in his pocket. "Would you mind saying that again? Kate won't believe you said that to me if I don't have a video of it." He says, making Steve chuckle.
"You and Kate." He says, shaking his head. "You two cause a lot of trouble for yourselves."
Clint shrugs his shoulders. "Hey, you guys wouldn't know what to do with yourselves if you didn't have any Hawkeyes around." He smirks.
A painfully awkward silence fills the air. Steve and Clint have about as much in common as a tomato and a microwave. Their conversation feels forced and they hardly talk to each besides on a work only basis.
"So, when'd you get a dog?" Steve asks, petting Lucky again. He had always liked dogs, but had never considered getting one for himself. He would never be around to take care of it. There was always something for Captain America to do somewhere.
"Long story." Clint shrugs. "But in a quick version, found him hurt and took him in. Ain't that right, pizza dog?" He asks, tossing a slice to the barking dog.
Steve chuckles, leaning back into the couch. "So this what you do when you're not working? Just, hanging out?"
"Well, there's a bit more to than that. I got a building to take care of." He says. Steve tilts his head, confused. "Well, I bought this building from a bunch of Russian dudes. Now I gotta take care of the people here."
"Must be nice to have a normal life outside of Hawkeye." Steve smiles, slightly jealous.
"Don't you have a life outside of Captain America?"
"You called me Cap when you opened the door. I think that should answer your question." Steve chuckles, looking at his hands. As popular as he was in the news and social media, Steve actually wasn't the best at making friends. Growing up, he only had Bucky. Sure, he's made a few acquaintances being involved with the Avengers, but nothing more than that.
Clint looked down. As much as he complained about being the only Avenger without superpowers or a super suit, he had failed to see the upside. He can actually have a normal life outside of work.
He stands up, gesturing for Steve to follow him.
"Where are we going?" Steve asks, timidly following Clint and Lucky out of the apartment.
"You'll see." Clint smiles as they head up the stairs. He opens the door to the rooftop. As they walk out, Clint is greeted by everyone. Once their eyes fall on Steve, their tone changes.
"Captain America?"
"Is that really him?"
"Clint, you didn't tell me you brought one of your work buddies."
"It's so nice to finally meet you, Capt--"
"Steve." Clint cuts off. Everyone is quiet, watching Clint slap his arm around Steve's shoulders. "He's one us. Our Brooklyn Brother." He smiles.
Steve flushes, not used to being introduced as such. Being so famous, you would never guess for him to be shy. It's easy to hide under his cowl, which he wasn't currently wearing.
"We're glad you could join us, Steve." Aimee says, stepping forward and holding out her hand.
"Thank you." He says, taking her hand. Everyone slowly introduces themselves, giving him his space. Gradually, he's seen as one of them. Not some big celebrity or superhero. Just a normal guy with a normal name and a normal life.
Just as Steve.
"Liking the view?" Clint asks, joining Steve beside the edge of the roof. The orange sun was setting between the Brooklyn buildings, casting large shadows below. A few streetlights were flickering on.
"It sure is something." Steve says, turning around and leaning against the edge. He lets out a sigh, watching the people who have accepted him for himself. They're laughing and eating hotdogs, which were just getting off the grill.
"For you." A little girl says, running over to Steve and Clint. She holds out two hotdogs.
"Thank you." Clint says as they take them from her hands. She skips back over to her mother, who gently runs her hand through her hair.
"You really have it made, Clint." Steve says.
"Yeah. I do." Clint says, nodding his head. He shoves the rest of his hotdog into his mouth and rubs his hands on his pants. "I wanna show you something." He mumbles.
They walk over to a few guys flicking nickels at a few empty bottles. "Ever try this?" Clint asks.
"What is it?"
"You just take a nickel and flick at the empty bottles and try to break them." Clint shrugs. He lays on the ground beside the men trying. He quickly snaps his wrist, sending the nickel flying. It smashes through one of the bottles, shattering it to a million pieces.
"Show off." One of the men scoffs.
"Here, Steve. You try." One of them says, scooting over and making room for their new friend. Steve lays on the ground, trying to get a good aim. He attempts to copy Clint, but misses the bottle.
"Ooo. Guess Captain America isn't so great at everything." They tease, making him laugh and shake his head.
"Trust me. This isn't the only thing I can't do." He laughs, trying again.
"Then what are you good at? Besides punching bad guys and throwing frisbees." Clint asks, breaking another bottle.
Steve tilts his head in thought as he flicks another nickel. "I don't know." He says, missing.
"Oh, come on. Don't believe that for a second." A man pipes up.
"Well, I guess I did go to art school." Steve shrugs, missing again.
"Art school?" Clint chuckles.
"It was a long time ago. Like, before the war, long time ago." Steve says, missing yet again. He begins to grow frustrated, flicking the next one a bit harder and missing. He curses under his breath, trying again.
"Oh. So back when everyone could get into art school." Clint says.
"Exactly." Steve says, finally breaking a bottle. He happily chuckles, rising to his feet. "Better end on a good one." He says, rubbing the dirt off of his jeans.
"Yeah. Good idea." Clint says, breaking the last bottle. He rises to his feet, also wiping off the dirt on his pants.
"I better get going. Thanks for letting me crash your party." Steve says, holding out his hand.
"You're welcome back anytime, Steve." Clint says, shaking his hand.
xxx
A few days later, Clint was sorting through his mail. "Bill. Bill. Bill." He mumbles, tossing them to Lucky, who was trailing behind him. He nips at the floating papers as they scoop past him.
"Hmm. This is different." Clint says, sitting at his table. He takes a sip from his coffee pot then opens the letter. He lets out a chuckle, shaking his head. He holds up the paper, getting a good look at it.
It's a drawing from a few nights ago. The orange sun is on the horizon between the buildings. A group of guys are laying on the ground flicking nickels. Some people are gathered around the grill eating hotdogs. Off in the corner is him petting Lucky. Clint can't help but notice how wide the smiles are on everyone's faces. Happy doesn't seem to be the right word to describe it. Maybe joyous.
Of course, attached is some long note, but Clint doesn't have time to read it. He grabs some tape from the drawer and quickly tapes the drawing onto the wall in the living room. He stands back, admiring it from afar.
He chuckles, shaking his head as he rubs Lucky's head. "Brooklyn Bro."
~~~~~~~~~~
So I just finished reading a few Hawkeye comics are they're amazing! I totally recommend them. Clint and Kate and Lucky are so much fun to read and so hard to put down. In the series, Clint is from Brooklyn and I was like, hmmmmmm ya know who else is from Brooklyn? Cap! I thought they'd make great Brooklyn Bros.