6317/Changeling: Change in Direction

Changeling: Change in Direction
Date of Scene:	30 January 2019
Location:	Unknown
Synopsis:	Clint and Skye talk about the past present and future and make some plans.
Cast of Characters:	Hawkeye (Barton), Quake
Tinyplot:	Changeling

---

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
The world had turned on its head lately. Firstly Skye had powers, most of the world had been a sleep for a bit., Logan had dropped off the grid (okay that was semi-normal) both Cal and Karl had eluded SHIELD for months and most recently Clint was considering a career change.

"So, what I'm saying is that the Avengers don't really need me right now," Clint says as he draws his bow back and fires. He hits the bullseye. "They've got Tony, Thor, Carol and that king guy from Africa, I'm feeling a little bit like a joke. Especially when all the stuff we've been dealing with has been all astral planes and magic sleeps."

He fires another arrow, splitting the first.

"But here, at SHIELD, for a lack of a better world I can be somebody. Nobody shoots like me, not even Bucky, and we only deal with mildly insane situations, not pants crappingly insane ones. I know I was half out the door when we met, but, I don't know, watching you find your place here helped me find mine here as well. It's not the same as the Avengers, but it feels like home, y'know?"

He looked to Skye, shooting another arrow down range, thucking into the target next to the other two. "Don't think it'll be forever, I mean once an Avenger always an Avenger, but for now. Maybe I could even help May, instead of being a pain in her ass," he looks to be pondering it as he grabs another arrow and stops short of firing it. "What do you think?"

Quake has posed:
"Half out the door?" Skye tilts her head at Clint, lips pursing into an amused smirk. "I seem to recall someone telling me not to make him choose between the two. I think that half out the door came sometime after you moved in."

Mind you, Clint hadn't left after their first date. They weren't officially living together, but somehow one or the other was at the other's place continually until she'd pointed out this was all a bunch of moot semantics as to whether or not they were actually living together. Of course they'd had to have a fight over that first...

"Hey, did we ever settle those bets? You know, where you had to move in with me if I won, and all the others?" She recalled a single fantastic (and unexpectedly so) shot that had won that bet - which is where the fight had begun: what she'd asked for. But that was then..

For now, she's content to let him fire one arrow after another, aware that he needed this, the motion helping him think. The roteness grounding him while he argued the points of his decision to himself, not her. She might be his partner in life (and often at SHIELD as well), but she knew full well he wouldn't thank her for making his decisions for him.

"May grumbles an awful lot about picking up the slack for Fury. I think she likes you. She might let you be her right hand man."

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
"Half out the door with SHIELD I mean," Clint says taking his next shot. It lands on the other side of his first. "Unless that's what you meant."

It had been true about their living situation, it was less that he moved in as he just didn't go home. I mean, why would he? One one hand, awesome girlfriend, on the other lonely apartment. It hadn't even been a tough choice. Hell it wasn't even a choice, he just did it and really didn't realize it until Skye had pointed it out.

"Well I think the moving in one was settled," Clint says with a snort, before he lowers his bow and scatches his chin. "What were the other ones?" he was drawing a blank right now because there had been a lot of bets over the year and change they'd been together. It was yet another of their languages, the way they challenged each other and kept things interesting, hell, it didn't even matter who won. It was all about the fun of the contest.

"And true, besides, I am a level seven, I've got the clearance for it," he says about helping May out. He takes another shot, landing close to the bullseye. "Though do I want to give Coulson the satisfaction of becoming a company man?" he asks as if that would really hold Clint back. He liked to tease Coulson like he liked to tease everyone but he really did respect the man.

Quake has posed:
"Gotcha," Skye grins. "Yeah. You were thinking of reasons to leave, or stay, or something, weren't you?" Because as much as he'd said don't make him choose, she'd said the same. The pair agreeing that their work lives were not their private life and nary the two should meet or affect the other.. until they kind of did - but they'd still never asked the other to give up thier careers.

"You think the moving in one is settled?" So much grinning. "You still have a lease on that place, don't you? Or did that finally come up?"

Like him, she couldn't remember the others. Life had gotten so complicated in the interim all those in jokes and little bets had gone by the wayside. Which leaves her frowning and looking ever so serious, "You know something? We haven't just hung out and joked around in forever. I can't even remember the last silly bet we had."

Mention of Coulson gets a snort. "Hey, what you and Coulson do when I'm not around is not my business. I'm Fury's girl, remember?" She doesn't point out that she's got a wad o clearance past her level by virtue of reasons, because there was a difference between what she had, and what he had when push came to shove, even if it was only in terms of who got to boss who around, and not in actual access to things.

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
"Yeah, was worried about the shady stuff," Clint said stepping out of the way so Skye could shoot if she wanted. "What I'd been asked to do before," he says. "They haven't asked though, not for awhile, and maybe if I'm helping May, we can avoid that stuff in the future."

It was a vain hope, SHIELD still had to deal with some unfortunate realities, and always would, but he could maybe do some good? He wasn't sure.

He blows out another snort, "Ended the lease about the time we moved to Greenwich," he says. "They just haven't rented the place out yet." Which was odd in this market but then it might have something to do with it's rep as the place where the guy who pissed off those Russian gangsters lived. But what did he know? It wasn't like he was a real estate agent. "Really should ask if Katie needs a place."

"Yeah," Clint says, Skye was right he couldn't remember the last time they'd just hung out as a couple. The world had just been too craxy, too many dangers. "No clue what the last one was either," he admits. "Though I bet we could figure out what the next one is," he suggests with a grin.

"Mostly watch old movies and talk about old times," Clint says about him and Coulson. "Anyhow, might talk to May and see what she's willing to put up with. How about you? You're a free woman now, able to roam the world, what's next for you?"

Quake has posed:
Skye easily steps up and assumes a stance to fire off some arrows of her own. "We're still SHIELD, Clint. The shady stuff isn't going to go away. But I think someone like you will help keep it better? Make sense?" Skye had a lot more flexible view on the matter than Clint did, but then again, she'd arrived at SHIELD having been someone working under the radar and unlawfully for the cause of good at the time.

Her shots were visibly off. Like not miss the batt off, but, not the clean shoots she'd been making before she'd gotten messed up in that Inhuman change stuff. She was totally back to several stages in her prowess ago and it leaves her frowning silently.

"Kate's the friend of yours, right? What, is she needing a place?" Skye hasn't moved or drawn new arrows yet, still frowning at the target. "The neighbourhood isn't too bad if you can take care of yourself. I'd say go for it if it's less than what she's paying now. Or she's looking. Speaking of which, we need to get the Greenich place cleared." Even if she was well aware that had been purposefully slowed down to match her progress with her newfound powers. Sort of a 'welp, you can't go back yet, the place isn't safe' that wasn't a 'we're afraid you're going to shake the entire neighbourhood to pieces' kind of not safe.

"Me? I don't know. I've been cleared for light field operations. Not sure if I'm fully on the roster yet or not." She and May needed a sitdown to discuss matters. "Still working on the other matter."

That being the Benefactor - so far they were at a stalemate. He hadn't made any new moves, and they still hadn't found a way to contain or fully protect themselves against him, while the threat of him loosing the crystal matter on the populace still loomed. In short, they really needed her father.

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
"True, SHIELD is always going to be SHIELD, but if I can help," Clint says, letting the thought trail off. "Yeah, I'll go talk to May about it," he decides coming to a decision.

Clint notes the shots were off, but leaves Skye to decide how she was going to fix it, he trusted her skills and knew if she wanted his imput she'd ask. Though that didn't stop him from teasing, "Since we're walking down memory lane, if you want me to pretend to fix your stance so I can flirt with you, let me know."

"That's her," Clint confirms. "She helped me out with the problems down there, so she can handle herself, I'll give her a call and pitch it to her, probably should call her and apologize anyhow, sort of let May sweat her a bit about some SHIELD gear she'd borrowed from me."

"And yeah, we should talk to May about the Greenwich place, get back home."

The other matter though loomed larged over that move, too many crazy people knew where they lived, but Clint wasn't going to let them chase them out of their home. "Yeah, we need to get some fresh leads on those guys. Maybe May will let me head that up."

Quake has posed:
Skye is still frowning over her shots, but the flirting offer gets a half-smirk. "Oh? Think you remember how to flirt?" It's not a no. "I don't know what's off. I'm doing everything the same. It's not been that long since I've practised."

Fine, she hasn't since she was kidnapped for one reason or another, but even so, that gap in time shouldn't be producing this much failure. At least she doesn't think so, Clint's the expert, though.

"Here is nice," Skye sighs. "But I miss home. I miss our place. Here's just where our stuff is with us." A look over to Clint. "Finding my dad, you mean? I'm half tempted to send out some feelers saying I'll be at such and such a spot on such and such a day and see if he shows up."

Which isn't, as it happens, too horrible an idea. It just might work.

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
"Vagely," Clint says as though he had to think about it. He walks over to stand behind Skye, his front to her back, a hand on her hip. "How am I doing?" he asks, laughter in his voice as he leans in to whisper in her ear.

Though her question has him answering more soberly, even if he doesn't step away. "It's in your head, you've been through a lot, it makes a difference to your state of mind, all I can recommend is just relax and keep shooting, let yourself get used to shooting as the new you. It'll come. Had to do the same after Castiel healed me. Though in my case the changes were physical. All the same though, something's different, and your shooting hasn't caught up to those changes yet."

"Yeah, it's good, it's convenient as hell, but I love our place, it's home," Clint says of their current digs and the ones they left behind.

"Not the worst idea, I mean it's not like you don't have a card to play if there's trouble now." He doubted Cal could stand up against a full blast of Skye's powers. "If you're game we could pitch the op to May."

Quake has posed:
Skye leans into tht hand, and his chest, biting at her lower lip as she whispers in her ear. "I don't know, might have to have a few more examples..."

She's grinning ear to ear until he gets to the bit about the changes were all physical with him, and she stiffens. "Uh.. Hotshot? My DNA, it's all been rewritten. I kinda am not the person I was. I mean, it is physical. Maybe that's it. Maybe something about me is different.." And several things come to mind at once. Her eharing. The vibrations. The gloves she had to wear near constantly (which, as it happens, weren't too far off archer's vambraces and in and of themselves shouldn't be too much of a problem to adjust for if she hadn't already).

"I could," she nods of her father. "Maybe that Madripoor place he was going to meet me at the first time? He'd know where it was."

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
Clint chuckles shifting a little closer to Skye as he does, "You sure you want to go there? I mean I am pretty sure they montior these rooms," he jokes, not backing away from her in the slightest. He missed this too, oh, they flirted while everything was going on but there had been a weigfht over them that had made it different than it was now.

Though that stiffening wakes him up to how much had changed. "True, guess it's pretty much the same thing, plus with all the added mental stuff," he says, shifting his grip into a gentle hug for a moment. "Either way though the perscription is the same, relax into your practice, don't worry about the shots, just focus on the feeling," he says.

"Madripoor would work, he'd certainly feel safe, from what that Neon Dragon told us, that used to be his old stomping grounds."

Quake has posed:
"Relax he says," Skye mutters, leaning back into him. "How's a girl supposed to relax when some guy has his arms wrapped about her while pretending to help her find her stance and sight her shot?"

None of which he's doing other than pressing up against her and otherwise making it impossible to sight a shot right this second.

His words draw a smile to her lips. "Remember the elevator? Trying to leave the helicarrier?" They'd discussed whether or not it bothered them that there were cameras there, and while coming up with a resounding 'probably not' they'd also figured it wasn't worth the chewing out from Fury. "Think if we'd just gone for it and screwed then that we'd ever have become friends?"

Or a couple.

When he agrees with her about Madripoor, Skye nods. "Yeah. I was thinking that myself. And maybe nobody would get hurt then. Maybe he and I could have a talk and he'd.. I don't know. Maybe he'd listen and help us." He had, after all, wanted this for his daughter. And loved her in his own strange, warped way.

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
"What?" Clint asks, shifting closer. "Is some of this distracting you?" his voice is pitch perfect innocence.

Clint chuckles at the memory. Yeah, the thought of them there hadn't really fazed him and truthfully the cameras here didn't either, though he wasn't exactly ripping Skye's clothes off right now either.

"First instinct, no," Clint says, about if they'd just jumped each other instead of dancing around until Nat had given them that final push. "But I've learned not to underestimate us, we seem to find a way to make things work against whatever crazy odds life throws at us. Though, that said, even if we would have been friends or been a couple, I am still glad we missed the stink eye Fury would have given us for doing it on his brand new Helicarrier."

He chuckles at the thought.

"He might, plus he might be the only person who can give us a better idea of what all this is," he means the change. "And why Karl hasn't made like a million of those crystals by now." He could have but if their theory was correct, he'd have unleashed them on the world by now. "It's worth a try. Getting a back up team into Madripoor would be hard, but we could set one up outside one of the doors elsewhere with some sat comms to you, we could rush in and get you out if there's a problem."

Quake has posed:
Skye grins, and then breaks into laughter, "I wonder who did christen the thing. I mean, you know someone had to do it." It hadn't been there. She was making no move to sway away from Clint either, but neither was she pushing things along. "Fury would have been furious. I'd probably still be on probation."

Of that, she had no doubt.

"Glad we went about it like we did. Even if we were probably the stupidest couple on the face of the planet for the longest time." Even May had had enough of the two of them dancing around one another.

Then Clint makes a point Skye hadn't thought of. "You know something? You're right. My dad is probably one of the few people I can ask about all this." This being what had happened to her. After all, it wasn't like she could ask Karl, now, could she? Well, she could, but it was probably ill-advised. "A back-up team.."

That one she's iffy on. She's sure she might not be allowed to go without one - unless she just didn't ask permission... And while Clint knew she had the idea, there was nothing stopping her from making it all happen before the offical setup date. Which, she supposed really was going to be the final nail in the coffin of lowjacking her, but in the end, Skye wasn't sure it still wasn't the way to go. Cal had listened to her. Without other around, she could keep him calm and talk sense to him, she was sure of it.

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
Clint laughs with her, "Good question," he says. "Bet Darcy knows," he says she was the queen of gossip as well as paper clips. "And yeah I'd probably be busted down to Level 6, I mean elevator nookie with an agent-in-training?"

He shakes his head, before chuckling. "Yeah, our way was much better even if we were total idiots for that long. It worked out alright."

"He is, I mean it sounds like he made the original crystals, so he must know how all of this works," he says of Cal. "Besides, even if the guy's in a cell, it'd be good to bring him out of the cold. He's been lost for a long time by the sound of it."

"Skye, you're not thinking of going without back up are you?" he asks when she lets that last sentence trail off.

Quake has posed:
"Ooooh, yeah. That's right. I was a nobody then. Oh, Clint Barton, you are such a bad man. Surprised I didn't find any little black tick marks on your record." Not that she'd gone trolling through his record, even though she could have. "Totally down to level 4 at least." She skips a couple levels for him.

Skye mmms as Clint asks of her 'going without backup', "Huh? No. Was just thinking about how to work it out. You're probably right. Our side of the corridor. Maybe an agent on that side in the saloon observing, but not making any moves. Keeping everyone else informed." Which wasn't a lie. She was totally going to set this up. And she'd started her pause thinking about that, even if she realized the least harm model was setting this up and making arrangements to meet him days before the setup. "Why?"

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
Clint laughs, "Hey you were the one asking what I liked in a girl and trying to figure out how to check off all the items on my list," he says. "You were totally trying to seduce the senior agent. So who's bad now?" he asks with a smile. "And you're right, at least level 4," he adds nodding sagely.

There's a look with narrowed eyes, "Uh-huh, but yeah, that's the best way to do it," Clint says. "I'd be the guy on the inside, but Cal knows what I look like, but I'll be right outside the door." There is a pause as he looks at her. "You're not going to do anything crazy are you?:" he asks her.

Quake has posed:
"Was not!" Skye lies. "Besides, they weren't going to demote me. They were still trying to convince me not to leave back then. And admit it, I check all the boxes." Adding, "And we all knew I don't do rules well."

She can't argue with her father knows what he looks like. "Yeah, you were on his shit list, so probably not best you're on the inside." Even if there are those mask thingies. "And a small team outside. We don't want to make him angry."

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
"Uh-huh," Clint says of her not trying to seduce him. Gripping her shoulders he turns her towards him and leans in for a kiss, "Good thing you didn't succeed," he lies of her seducing him. Sure they didn't hook up then and there, but it put the thought in his head, that was for damn sure.

As for the team. "Fine, we'll put someone good on the inside, maybe from one of the foreign teams, someone he won't know, and the small team outside is going to have knockout gas," he promises. Which seemed about the most likely way to take down Cal without calling in a drone strike.

Quake has posed:
"What were the things again?" The kiss is sighed into, Skye relaxing, bow held loosely at her side. So much for practising. "And I'll get on setting up the meet and the requests I"ll need."

Which would leave the timing all in her hands.

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
Clint relaxes into the kiss as well, letting himself enjoy the moment before he answers he question. "Things?" Clint asks at first before he catches up. "Oh the list, hmm what was it.... Bossy, competant, smart and tough, I think you were worried about how you were going to pull of smart, or maybe it was tough," he teases stepping back out of swatting range, or trying to at least.

Really it had been tough, but then as now he'd poked her with the joke about smart. Like Skye had to worry about that part of the list.

"And sure, but keep me in the loop okay?" he says about the plans.

Quake has posed:
"Tough," Skye admits, even though for comedic effect she should have said bossy. "You knew all these women who were so much better than I was. I guess I really was trying to pick you up, then. Which is funny, because I couldn't just tell you, not even when we were at that perogy place. Not even jokingly. Would have been so easy to ask if you didn't just want to leave the place."

Maybe not so easy with Nat as their chaperone and all, but still, easy. Heck, she could have just invited him in and to the bedroom when he'd shown up at her quarters.

Belatedly she realizes missed opportunity to swat. "Ugh. so bad. But what do you think about heading back to our quarters and discussing this further there?"

She'd get on setting up the encouter later.

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
"Different," Clint says honestly. "Not better. After all, you're the one I'm with," he says before nodding. "And you totally were, and hey, I /came/ to your quarters hoping to pick you up then spent the whole evening feezing until my ex pushed us at each other, we were both pretty hopeless, but I'm glad it worked out this way. Better story," he says kissing her briefly as he steps back into swatting range.

"And sounds like a plan," Clint says of heading back to their quarters to continue the discussion. "Way fewer cameras there," he teases.

Quake has posed:
Skye nods, biting her lower lip as she gives him a little grin and a shrug. "Not so worried I can't complete with them now. I mean, I've been out there. Maybe not so much as them, but I don't know. Is it cocky to think I'm not too bad?" She relents, "I mean, I'm not a Nat or a May, but I've got some chops, don't I?"

Skye extricates herself from Clint's embrace in order to tend to Merida, carefully unstringing her and putting her away. "Not so much less cameras," Skye informs, "as I've turned those ones off."

She might be joking about the cameras, but she had turned off any number of the usual devices that belonged to the residential quarters on the Trisk. The system read her room as getting them, when in fact, she did not. Of most note, and to she and Clint's joy, was the early morning pretend sunrise, complete with birdcall, now currently defunct for their stay in the Trisk. Because annoying. And hacker.. with all the permissions.

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
"You definitely have some chops," Clint says stepping back to unstring Reggie and get him put away. "And that was before you got powers. Remember, you escaped the Triskelion and shot me that one time," he jokes, there's no anger at being shot just a sort of perverse pride.

He's got the bow mostly put away before he turns back. "You're joking right? There really aren't cameras?" he asks, he knew it was always possible and beyond Fury and his paranoia there was their theory about Wade. "Really, there's no cameras, right?'

Quake has posed:
"I've escaped several times." And shot more than one agent. Which kind of gave Skye a rep on both counts. "You were so cute when I shot you. Fishmouthed and everything."

She did regret not letting him in sooner, but the guise had worked. Everyone believed it real for time enough for her to get settled undercover.

She's ready when he is to return to their rooms. "Huh? Cameras? Did I say there were cameras? I meant to say if there /were/ cameras they'd be being fed a continuous loop of something with just enough hacker magic thrown in that nobody will even suspect we're not behaving."

Of course there were no cameras. At least not in the quarters. The hallways, though..

Hawkeye (Barton) has posed:
"No doubt," Clint says about getting shot. "Still got to see how you look when you get hit," he says with a grin. "Bet it's funny."

The escape had been painful, feeling like Skye had betrayed him and SHIELD. It didn't last long though, he'd known her too well by then to believe she'd leave them.

Clint snorts. "Well as long as they're not working. Really would hate to give them a free show. Speaking of which, shall we?" he asks nodding to the door slinging his bow on his back next to his arrows.

Quake has posed:
"I got kidnapped?" Skye offers helpfully. Though he didn't get to see that. Adding quietly, "It was pretty terrible if it helps any."

All of it had been not so nice. She takes his hand, and leaning against him, lets him lead on home. They could finish this talk, amongst other things, later.