Mockingbird can't you see, little girl's got a hold on me (For swissarmybow)

[ofafeather]

A third date was something unheard of in the life of Barbara Morse ever since she joined SHIELD. She’d had a boyfriend in college, but that fizzled out once she started working on secret government projects and had to essentially sneak around behind his back. That was years ago, now, and she’d just gotten used to the fact that work came first, and the life of a SHIELD agent was probably going to be a lonely one. After all, if she couldn’t ever get past date number two, there wasn’t much hope for her.

At least, until Agent Barton decided that a third date would be a good idea. Or maybe it was her idea. She wasn’t entirely sure. It was a little confusing, in a lot of ways, but so were the first and second dates, which were really just a continuation of each other that they decided to split into two for whatever reason. It seemed like a good idea at the time.

That’s why she was standing in front of her closet, trying to decide what exactly would be the best thing to wear on a date to a shooting range. Clint had sent her a text asking her to meet him at the range at 19:00. That was half an hour away, and she still had nothing.

But finally, with fifteen minutes to spare, she picked out some skinny jeans and a tight top (cute, without sacrificing movement), and rushed out the door to meet him there. If she’d arrived any later, she would have been late. It was only by pure luck that she wasn’t.

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[ofafeather]

Of course she was the best student he'd ever had. She was a quick learner, after all. And she could do this with him. It was a win-win situation.

She put her free hand on his neck, and kept kissing him. Because it was something she'd been waiting to do for a while now. The archery lesson would still be there when they were finished.

[swissarmybow]

He had no honest idea why they were doing this, but they'd been attracted to one another since she first knocked him off a crate. That much he was sure of. What he wasn't sure of was why he was so intent on not stopping anytime soon. Sarcasm and lone wolf status be damned. He was going to keep kissing this woman until she stopped him.

That hand on his neck was electric, and he had both hands on her cheeks in short order.

[ofafeather]

Bobbi didn't want to stop. She really, really didn't want to stop. She'd been wanting to do this since she first punched him, and now that she got the chance, she really didn't want to stop. For some reason, she was just drawn to him and she didn't know why. But she knew that this felt weirdly right.

Unfortunately for the two of them, after a few minutes, she really had to breathe, and that meant stopping. But that didn't mean letting go of him.

[swissarmybow]

Mildly confused, but more intrigued, he slid one hand back into her hair, and slipped the other arm down around her waist. Whatever the reasoning he was using to justify this...

No, screw it. He was a grown man, and she was a gorgeous woman, and she could beat the hell out of him on any given day.

He was content. Very. Not so much when she pulled away, but they both needed to catch their breath.

"Okay."

[ofafeather]

"You know, Sport, if you keep that up, I'm not going to learn how to shoot anything." She laughed a little as she tried to catch her breath, but didn't pull away any further than she absolutely needed to.

[swissarmybow]

"I thought you knew how to use a gun, Agent Morse." Birdie. Could he get away with calling her that? After a moment, he withdrew the hand at the back of her head, smoothing her hair back down from where he'd rumpled it slightly. He kept his lower hand in place, slipping it around to her lower back.

[ofafeather]

"I'm amazing with a gun, Agent Barton." She moved her hand from his neck to his shoulder, smirking a little bit. "But this is new territory entirely."

[swissarmybow]

New territory. He'll second that assessment.

"What else are you good at, Birdie?"

[ofafeather]

"Lots of things. If I was going to list them, we'd be here forever." There's another smirk there. And it's not entirely a lie, she really is good at a lot of things, but she has a feeling that those aren't the things he's asking about.

"I'm pretty sure you've already experienced some of what I'm good at." Both in the ass kicking department and in non-ass kicking.

[swissarmybow]

"Jury's still out on some of it." But he grinned, and he kept his voice low, resisting the temptation to stroke her back gently. It wasn't proper to make any kind of truly intimate gesture, it wasn't like they were dating, and he actually slowly pulled his hand away altogether.

"So, you want to learn how to shoot the right way, now? Now that that's out of your system."

[ofafeather]

She raises an eyebrow at him when he pulls away. Down to business, then. She could respect that, even thought that definitely wasn't out of her system.

"All right, Agent Barton. Teach away."

[swissarmybow]

If he had anything to do with it, there would be at least one more round of that. First, though, he had to show off.

"Same stance, Agent Morse. If you can't do that much, I can't teach you."

[ofafeather]

Bobbi assumes the position--the right way this time, because apparently that did manage to sink in. And so did the right way to hold the bow, because she does that right, too. She really is a quick learner.

"Tell me, Agent Barton. Do you think I'm teachable?"

[swissarmybow]

"I'd say so."

He turned all business, explaining the finer points and parts of the bow, why it works, and how to best screw up with it. It gave him an excuse to stay closer to her, an excuse to touch her arms, but hopefully not to distract her. But she finally reached a satisfactory stance and seemed to grasp the concepts well enough.

Well enough not to injure an innocent bystander, at least.

"Now's the fun part."

[ofafeather]

He'd managed to do a good job of not distracting her too much. Everything he said sank in, at least, and she'd be able to do everything again later. And she couldn't help but think that he was a little extra attractive when he was all business.

"The fun part, huh?" She knew what that meant. The actual shooting things part. She was pretty excited for it, actually. There was just something about shooting things, no matter what she was shooting, that was still exciting, even though it was something she did nearly every day. And her excitement probably showed, too.

[swissarmybow]

"The best part."

Exchanging a knowing smile with her, he pulled an arrow from his quiver. One of his custom arrows. He wouldn't let just anyone use them--they were each worth a normal week's pay--but he trusted her to be smart enough not to screw it up.

"If you don't hit the target, there's going to be a problem."

He carefully showed her how to put the arrow in place, demonstrated the pull a few times, gently but firmly correcting her errors right off the bat. He wanted her to get the first shot, and do it right.

Finally, she was ready, and he took a few steps back.

"Last chance for questions."

[ofafeather]

She thought for a second before she answered. "I don't have any. You're a good teacher, Agent Barton." She grinned. Aiming wasn't too different from any other kind of weapon that she didn't think she'd have a problem hitting the target. Luckily for her, considering the value of the arrow.

She took a deep breath, and carefully aimed the bow. And another deep breath as she let the arrow loose.

It wasn't a bullseye, but it was somewhere in between the outer rings and the center. It took her a moment, but when she realized, she let out an excited noise, then turned back to Barton.

"See? Told you you're a good teacher."

[swissarmybow]

"I saw your wrist shake."

He simply handed her another arrow. Attempt two, Morse. He wanted to see it get just a little closer.

[ofafeather]

Still grinning, she took the arrow, nocked it, and aimed again. She remembered what he told her about adjusting her aim, and tried it, making sure she was steady this time. Another deep breath, and she let the arrow go. She'd made it closer this time. Still not center, but closer.

"Well?"

[swissarmybow]

"Good."

And, if she looked closely enough, she might have seen him looking just a teeny bit impressed. Or pleased. Something like that, something inscrutable.

Were it anyone else, he'd be showing them up at that moment. But it's Bobbi Morse, and he really, really wanted to stay on her good side.

Really.

So he offered her another arrow.

[ofafeather]

This time, when she shoots, she almost gets gets a bullseye. It's just barely off of the mark. Apparently Clint really is a good teacher, if she's already doing that well. That, and the fact that she always hits her mark with a gun probably helps. Aiming is aiming, no matter what.

"Better?"

[swissarmybow]

"Good enough."

He gestured for her to lower the bow, walking over to retrieve his precious arrows. She'd done a hell of a job for just picking the thing up, and he'd have to make sure to tell her that later.

Maybe over a drink. Or dinner. Or just... talking.

"I usually use my recurve, but the compound is a nice break. It's more in the way you use it. You've heard about my arrows." And he twisted the tip off of one as he walked over to her. "Interchangeable tips."

[ofafeather]

"I have heard about your arrows." She laughs, because it's cute, for lack of a better word, to hear him talk about archery. It's something he's passionate about, and it shows. She puts the bow down on the shelf in front of her, and watches him come back. "They're very nice."

She may or may not have been referring to the arrows that last time.

[swissarmybow]

He hoped she was talking about the arrows. He liked the arrows, dammit. They were sexy. Of course, he'd ignore the laughter altogether.

"I've lost count of the things Fury and I have come up with for these." Waving one in front of his face, between them, he gave her a very serious look. "Not conventional, but I'm good at what I do."

[ofafeather]

"I've noticed." And she has. "You managed to shoot me, didn't you Sport? Not many people can say that." It was true, too. She was impressed by him the first time he shot at her and managed to hit her, even if it was a graze. Of hourse, he never missed, so it wasn't too surprising once she figured out who he was.