Hey ya'll, and welcome to the first chapter of "My Aim is True"! This is a Clint Barton/OC story, and I hope you like it! Now, for those of you who haven't read my stories before, I'm going to warn you, there will be mention of some original characters in this story, I'm going to try not to put too many references to the previous stories in this, but, like I said, it takes place in the same universe as my stories "Which Me Do You Like?" "Ever Present Past" and "Heart of Gold", and those characters don't come into the story for a little while.
For those of you who have read my previous stories, welcome back, I hope you enjoy this one, and this story is starting out about a year before the events of "Which Me Do You Like" So, about... Six months before the events of the Avengers.
I'll tell you how much time goes by when it comes to that, but in the mean time, please enjoy the first chapter to "My Aim is True".
Disclaimer: I don't own Marvel. If I did I wouldn't be... Okay, I totally would still be writing fanfiction, but I'd also be making sure I was on the set for every Marvel movie. As of such, I do not, therefor I am not. It saddens me greatly.
Sometimes, when you're deep undercover, you need a break. You need to be able to sit down and have a moment to yourself, not to think about your mission or to strategize, or plan, no, just to sit down, and clear your mind.
For the most part Clint Barton didn't have those days, but on this particularly muggy night in the middle of a nowhere town in Ireland, he needed a night in air conditioning and a cold drink. There was only one bar and when he walked inside he realized he wasn't the only one with that idea. He paid for his drink and brought it to an empty table, he listened to the people chattering, most of them were already drunk, though someone soon stood up and announced that tonight was the night for the pub challenge.
He scoffed to himself softly before someone bumped into the back of his chair, making him spill beer down the front of his shirt. He sighed before setting his drink down on the table and turned around. He was met with a pair of wide blue eyes staring at him in shock.
"I am so, so sorry." the young girl who had bumped into him when she was sitting down apologized in a not quite as accented voice as he expected. "That was totally my fault." She was American, he could gather that much, though why she was in Ireland, he couldn't tell by just looking at her at this odd angle.
"It's fine, it's just a little beer." he said with a shrug and she bit her bottom lip in a way that made him think she probably wasn't even aware of the fact that she was doing it.
"You're sure?" she asked and he nodded.
"Yeah, accidents happen." he nodded and the girl's eyes relaxed. He took the opportunity to look her over quickly. She looked around twenty three or twenty four, she had shoulder length red hair, but not a bright obnoxious red, more of a deep, dark red with wispy bangs across her forehead, she was fair skinned, a small, slightly turned up nose, and she had a sweet smile present across her lips.
"Well that accent makes me homesick." she said with a grin and he smiled lightly. "Where are you from?" she asked, and then quickly added "If you don't mind me asking."
"All over really." he said with a shrug, and noticed she was sitting alone. He picked up his drink and moved to the chair across from her. "Easier to see you this way." he said and she smiled, a small dimple sinking in her left cheek, he smiled gently seeing it and sipped his beer. "Where are you from?"
"California." she said with a nod. "Santa Barbara area- But uh, I'm out here visiting family for the summer."
"Ah that's nice. I'm just out here for work." he said as she sipped her drink.
"Here ya are Maggie," one of the waiters said as he set down a dish in front of the girl. "Ah, is this man botherin you?"
"No Colin, he's not bothering me." she said as she shook her head. The gangly dark haired young man shot Clint a glare before walking away.
"I don't think your boyfriend likes me." Clint said as he watched 'Colin' walk away.
"Colin is so not my boyfriend." she laughed.
"Well he'd like to be." Clint said and she blushed lightly. "Ah, I see you're aware of that."
"He's a nice guy, but he's not really my type." she said as she poked around at her plate of French fries- or, chips. "Want one?" she pushed the plate to him and he shrugged before he took one and popped it in his mouth.
"Thanks." he said and she smiled.
"Maggie, who's your partner?" a voice asked and the two of them looked up at an older man holding a clipboard and a microphone.
"Oh, no Frank, I don't think he wants-"
"You like the pub challenge?" Clint asked and she grinned as she nodded.
"It's kind of dorky, but I love it." she shrugged, then quickly informed him: "You don't have to play."
"Maggie it's team night, I'm afraid I can't let you play alone." the older man said and Clint shrugged.
"I'll play." he said and she looked at him with an appreciative smile.
"Alright I need a name young man."
"Clint." he said shortly and the older man put a bell down on top of their table.
"Have you ever played before?" she asked and he shook his head.
"Sorry, you don't have the best partner." he shrugged.
"It's okay, it's just general knowledge stuff." she shrugged.
"You play often?" he asked and she shook her head.
"Well, a couple of times, but I've never won." she sighed. "It's almost always this couple, Mr. and Mrs. Boyle, they always get me on the questions about different countries; they used to travel like crazy." she said and the corners of his mouth rose in a small smile.
"What do you win?"
"Free drinks and this engraved glass, which I know is silly, but I thought it would be cool to have as a souvenir." she explained as Frank, the Quizmaster placed the engraved cup down on the podium he was standing at.
"Alright everyone," Frank said into the microphone "We've got some good teams by the looks of it tonight, along with our reigning champions, Sylvia and Ian Boyle, and our resident American team, Maggie and her lad, Clint." he winked at them and Maggie blushed.
"I'm sorry, he likes to tease me about being American." she said and he shook his head.
"Why?" he asked.
"Because the Americans don't win at Pub challenge." she said and he raised an eyebrow before leaning forward slightly, and touching her hand.
"How would you like to win that cup tonight?" he asked and she smiled, her eyes sparkling with hope.
"First question," Frank said and they both looked towards the podium. "In the film 'The Sound of Music', what was the name of the eldest Von Trapp child?" There was a quick bell sound and Frank pointed to the woman who looked to be in her mid to late 40's, who wore a quite smug expression on her face.
"Liesl." she said loudly, her eyes landing on Maggie who pursed her lips lightly.
"I take it that's Mrs. Boyle?" Clint muttered to Maggie and she nodded.
"Next question; what is the capital city of Peru?" Clint's hand was on the bell before the Boyle's had a chance to register the question.
"Lima." he announced and Maggie looked at him, he smiled and she let out a small giggle.
"How did you know that?" she asked and he looked at the Boyles' who were glaring lightly at the younger American couple.
"I travel a lot." he said and looked back at Maggie.
As the rounds went on the questions grew harder. Maggie had a knack for music and arts questions he noticed, while he was good with geography and some history questions. Soon it was a bitter challenge between the two Americans and the Boyles' over who would win.
"I think we've got this." Clint said to Maggie who giggled lightly.
"You don't say?" she asked and he nodded, happy that he had decided to leave the safe house for a few hours.
"Are you having fun?" Clint asked Maggie who nodded her sparkling blue eyes full of mirth.
"Are you?" she asked and he smiled lightly as he nodded. Frank had taken a few minutes to count the score and the two of them were waiting for their drinks to come over. "You didn't have to play the game." she said and he shrugged.
"What else was I going to do tonight?" he asked and she smiled before she reached out and lightly brushed the spot on his light colored shirt. He looked down and then back at her.
"I have something that can get that out at home." she informed him, her cheeks turning a light shade of pink, but her blue eyes looking up to meet his grey ones.
"You don't say." he said, reaching up to brush her hand with his.
"Sure, uh, you'd have to soak it for a little bit, but the stain will come out."
"What will we do while it's soaking?" he asked lowly, making her eyes snap to his. She smiled, leaned in and was about to say something when Frank stood up to the podium and tapped the microphone.
"It seems we have a tie." he said and everyone groaned softly. "So we're going to have one tie breaker question, for the win." he announced. "Between our reigning champions, The Boyles' and our surprising newcomers, Maggie and Clint." he said as he looked at the clipboard. "So, the tie breaking question, this is a history one you four. First one to ring in gets to answer, but if you guess wrong, the other team gets a chance to answer. We ready?" he looked at the Boyles' and then to Clint and Maggie, who nodded, he positioned his hand near the bell, and waited for Frank to ask the question. "In this year, Sylvia Plath committed suicide in London, the Beatles released their first album, and John F. Kennedy gave his 'Ich bin ein Berliner' speech in West Berlin." he said and looked at the teams, Mrs. Boyle hit the bell instantly making Maggie groan softly, resting her forehead in her hands.
"1964!" Mrs. Boyle said smugly and Maggie's head shot up.
"That is the wrong answer." Frank said shaking his head.
"No, no, no, Meet the Beatles was released in 1964!" Mrs. Boyle protested as she jumped up.
"I know the answer!" Maggie cried slamming her hand on the bell.
"Let's hear it Maggie." Frank said looking at her.
"Contrary to popular belief and the slightly misleading name of Meet the Beatles, by the time the album had come out Sylvia Plath had been dead for eleven months, and the fact that JFK had been dead for two months, the first Beatles album was titled Please Please Me and was released March 22, 1963." she said and Clint looked up at her, slightly impressed before he looked to Frank who nodded.
"That's the right answer." Frank said and Maggie grinned like she had just won the lottery. She bit her bottom lip before extending her hand to Mrs. Boyle in an act that Clint couldn't help but wonder at. Mrs. Boyle ignored the gesture and turned around rolling her eyes making Frank sigh at her.
"Oh come on now lass, no hard feelings!" he chastised her, but handed the coveted engraved cup to Maggie who practically pranced back over to their table. Clint stood up and she threw her arms around him, he caught her and let her hug him tightly for a moment before she pulled back, still grinning.
"Well, let's see it." he said and she handed him the engraved glass. He took it and ran his thumb over the glass before looking at her. "Congratulations."
"I couldn't have done it without you." she said and he shrugged.
"I'm sure you could have found someone." he said casually and she shook her head.
"Nope, there's no one like you." she said and he smiled lightly. "Come on, have another drink with me." she said as she waved over a waitress. Clint smiled, her happiness was contagious, and as he sat down he pulled his chair closer to hers, slinging an arm around the back of her chair. When she looked at him, her blue eyes danced with joy and he felt himself drawn to the look, deciding somewhere in the back of his mind that it was the only look he ever wanted to see on her face.
Clint walked her home about an hour later, the two of them walked, somehow without him realizing it, hand in hand, her still holding the engraved glass like it was the golden idol.
"How long are you in Ireland?" she asked and he shrugged.
"As long as it takes to do my job." he answered.
"Ooh cryptic." she teased with a grin. "What is it you do, Mr. Clint?" she asked, before adding a teasing "If that is your real name." she giggled, faking an English accent and wrinkling her nose in this very adorable way when she did.
"That's my name," he nodded with a small chuckle. "As for my real job, well, if I told you my job, I'd have to kill you." he said seriously making her look at him for a moment before breaking out in a grin.
"You had me there for a second." she laughed and he smiled.
"I could tell." he said with a grin. "No, I uh, I'm a land surveyor, I was sent to Ireland to survey the land, and try to convince the land owners to sell some of it."
"Sell it to who?"
"The company I work for, we manufacture and test outdoor goods." he shrugged, using the cover he and Natasha were using.
"Outdoor goods? What like survival stuff?" she asked and he nodded.
"Yeah, that's part of the job. I also test some of the survival stuff, they send me in the woods for a few days, I use the products, let them know how it works..." he said. "Why, do you know about that kind of stuff?" he asked and she nodded.
"Oh sure, my dad taught me about all kinds of that stuff." she said with a shrug.
"Your dad?"
"Yeah, Vernon." she nodded.
"Wait- Vernon- Vernon Nolan?" he asked and she nodded as she looked at him slightly surprised. "You're Margaret Nolan?"
"Yeah, did you read his book or something?" she asked with a small laugh.
"Yeah, yeah, when I was in college. We quote it back home at the home base in Iowa." he said quickly and she smiled.
"That's so cool. If we're lucky, maybe you'll still be around when he comes out. Daddy loves meeting his fans." she said with a grin.
"Maybe." he said thoughtfully to himself. "So how long have you been into outdoor survival?" he asked and she scoffed.
"Oh wow, I don't know." she grinned. "My whole life. Daddy taught me everything I need to know. Theoretically I could live in the woods for months." she nodded. "But I don't think I could, not really. I mean, sure I know a lot and everything, but I think I'd get lonely." she said decidedly. "But it's fun pretending. Like my friends out here, they do this really cool like three day scavenger hunt in the woods were we all team up, or we go alone into the woods for three days collecting everything on this massive list they write up, or we do the things on the list, and the last day we meet at these ruins and spend the night there before hiking out. I know it sounds totally lame, but it's really fun." she smiled and he shook his head.
"No, that sounds like a lot of fun." he said and she smiled.
"Well um," she nodded to a house. "This is me. I um, I had a lot of fun tonight." she said as she looked at him. While he wasn't extremely tall, she stood about an inch shorter than him, so it wasn't like she had to tilt her head far.
"So did I," he said as he stepped forward slightly, she leaned back against the wall and he put on hand against the wall, moving in close. She smiled as he leaned in, his lips brushed against hers, but stopped when they both heard someone behind him clear their throat.
"Uncle Seamus." she smiled at the man. "You're home early."
"I switched my shift tonight." he said and she nodded as he looked Clint over. "And who's this?" he asked. "Or did ya not think to get a name?" he asked, glaring at his young niece slightly.
"My name is Clint, Clint Francis." he said moving away from Maggie and extending his hand.
"Seamus Nolan." he said darkly before looking at Maggie. "Should ya not be gettin' to bed?" he asked and she nodded quickly.
"Good night Clint," she said looking at him apologetically. "I had a lot of fun tonight."
"So did I." he nodded to her and then looked back at Seamus Nolan. He nodded to the man before turning and walking away.
About ten minutes later Clint got back to the base where an antsy Natasha Romanoff was waiting.
"Where the hell have you been?" she demanded.
"I bumped into on Margaret Nolan tonight." he said with a nod. "I'm fine by the way."
"I can see you're fine." she replied, more interested in the other thing he had said. "What do you mean you bumped into Margaret Nolan- What did you say to her?"
"Well technically she ran into me." he sighed as he looked down at his shirt. "She was at the bar I went to, we talked, we played the pub trivia, and kicked some ass I might add, uh, and I walked her home." he nodded.
"So basically you went on a date." Natasha said and he shrugged.
"Call it what you want, she let it slip that her dad is coming out here in a few weeks."
"Did she say from here?" she asked, interested and he shook his head.
"No, no she didn't." he said and she sighed.
"How do you know she didn't just let that slip because she made you?" she asked and he shook his head.
"Nah, she thinks I'm just ol' Clint Francis, land surveyor for Adventure Gear based in Lewis Park, Iowa." he said with a nod.
"We can work with that." Natasha said thoughtfully. "When are you going to see her again?"
"I didn't get to ask, her uncle got home early and scared her inside." he sighed.
"But you know where she lives."
"Aren't I good?" he smiled to himself and Natasha rolled her eyes with a smile at her partner's cockiness. "We can work with this." he said and she nodded.
"Yes we can." she said.
I hope you guys enjoyed the first chapter, I promise the story will be a bit different once I get it going a bit further, but for the time being you get to see Clint acting like a normal guy, enjoying his time at the bar, flirting, until he realizes he's