Comic booking it

[from_a_distance]

Clint was not one to frequent comic shops. In fact, he usually stayed as far away from them as possible--not because, like the other Avengers, he was afraid he might be recognized, but because he was pretty certain he wouldn't be, and that got a little old after a while.

But Coulson had been moping because he couldn't get in to get his Captain America comics for a couple months, and Clint didn't like to see Coulson moping, so he decided to stop by and pick them up for the agent. He'd probably just drop them on his desk when Coulson wasn't around, but at least he knew it would make the man smile.

Comments

[from_a_distance]

As they pull past all of Tony's (really quite impressive) cars, JARVIS' voice comes over the PA system saying, "Welcome home, Agent Barton."

Clint is pretty sure he will never get used to that, but he answers, "Thanks, JARVIS. This is Blaine Anderson. He's staying for the weekend."

He pulls into his parking spot as JARVIS says, "Good afternoon, Master Anderson. I hope you'll enjoy your stay."

[mediumdrip]

"Hello?" Blaine said, looking around. "Where are you?"

[from_a_distance]

"That is a difficult question to accurately answer, Master Anderson."

Clint grins at him. "JARVIS is sort of like the butler here, but he's an AI. Do you know what that means?"

[mediumdrip]

Blaine thinks for a moment. "Artificial Intelligence?"

[from_a_distance]

"Yep," Clint says with a nod as he gets out of the car and moves to get the door for Blaine.

"If you need anything while you're here, you can ask JARVIS. Or if you get lost or you're in trouble or something, and he can find me."

He's fairly confident Avengers Tower will not be attacked this weekend, but it's really hard to plan for those things.

[mediumdrip]

"Okay..." Blaine was starting to feel a little nervous, but the excitement overpowered that. He gets out of the car and grabs his bag before moving to follow Clint. "Will you show me around?"

[from_a_distance]

"Yeah, of course," Clint said, offering Blaine his hand again. "Let's drop your stuff off and then see if we can find Coulson and do a quick tour."

[mediumdrip]

Blaine took his head. "Coulson is your friend?"

[from_a_distance]

"Yep. He should be upstairs unless he had to go in to work."

[mediumdrip]

"Do you like him?"

[from_a_distance]

"Of course. He's a friend."

[mediumdrip]

"No, I don't mean like that. Do you like like him?"

[from_a_distance]

"Oh."

Well, there is pretty much no way he is answering that question to this kid.

"He's a good friend," Clint says, shrugging. "You'll like him."

[mediumdrip]

"You said you liked boys, right? Is there a boy you like like that?"

[from_a_distance]

"Yeah, there is," Clint admits, hitting the button for the elevator. "But he doesn't like me back."

[mediumdrip]

Blaine frowned at that. "How come? I think you're great."

[from_a_distance]

"Well, thanks kid." He smiles at Blaine and steps into the elevator, pressing the button for his floor.

"The thing is...sometimes just because somebody likes you doesn't mean they like you like that."

[mediumdrip]

"Have you asked him if he does?" Blaine asks as he follows Clint into the elevator.

[from_a_distance]

"No. I couldn't."

He...really does not need to be having this conversation with an eight-year old.

[mediumdrip]

Blaine looked at him for a moment. "Aren't you the one that keeps wanting me to tell you how I feel?"

[from_a_distance]

"Because you know I'm not going to hate you for it."

[mediumdrip]

"And you think your friend will hate you?"

[from_a_distance]

"No, I don't think he'll hate me, but...I have to work with him, and it might be weird."

[mediumdrip]

"Okay..." Blaine said in that tone of voice where it was clear that he wasn't sure he believed Clint.

[from_a_distance]

"Am I gonna sound like a jerk if I say you'll understand when you're older?"