Welcome to some silly Hawkeye and Hawkeye adventures! This is a shorter chapter, and unfortunately I won't be writing the LARPing scene (due to multiple things, very sorry) but I think it's pretty fun all the same :) Enjoy!

Content Warnings: Pretty much just Kate's injury

Clint knows something's up with his young ward as soon as they start walking through the city, because not only is her gaze distant and smile bigger than normal, but she seems to completely forget that she's using a crutch to walk, and it gets tangled with the dogs' leashes more times than he can count.

"So."

Kate hums absentmindedly and continues on after unwinding herself from Lucky, not even looking at Clint.

"Yelena."

Her head whips towards him. He raises a knowing eyebrow.

"What about her?"

"How long has she actually been hanging out in your apartment?"

Kate is suddenly uncharacteristically silent, her lips pursed as she keeps her attention on either her crutch or the two dogs. "Like, uh... besides her taking care of me for the past week?"

"Yeah."

Her eyes squint up at the cloudy sky for a moment, as if doing calculations. Which really sin't too far off. Kate can't decide if she should reveal the true nature of Yelena's presence, or exactly how long that presence has been for.

"Uh... hard to say? I don't really remember. Not that long."

She is entirely unconvincing.

Clint opts not to respond, instead just humming his acknowledgement to her vague answer. Kate takes this as an end to their conversation, her focus going back to the akita and golden retriever around her feet.

——

Breathe in, breathe out.

Muscles loose, movement controlled. Stance steady and sure.

Watch. Aim. Breathe.

Let it fly.

Kate's arrow strikes dead center of the target, and within a heartbeat, she has another drawn, notched, and flying through the air. It perfectly splits the wooden shaft of the first arrow in half, and splinters fall to the ground in a sharp but clean burst. She lowers her bow with a triumphant smile, arms really starting to feel the couple of weeks she had gone without picking it up for more than an hour.

Clint claps from beside her, expression hard to decipher. "Okay, well, that was rad, but now I definitely know you're distracted."

She whips her head to him, brow furrowed. "Huh?" Distracted? Distracted? That was one of her best shots!

His face is deadpan. "You're usually never happy with shots like that- is this about Yelena?"

How the fuck did he do that?

Kate huffs and notches yet another arrow, changing her mind halfway through and grabbing three at a time. Keeping her gaze on Clint's, she fires them all at once and feels a glow in her chest at the three separate familiar thunks they each make as they hit their marks without her looking.

"Not distracted," she says.

He just shrugs, clearly not convinced in the slightest but willing to temporarily let it go.

Later, when Kate is able to convince Clint to run around the spacious, private archery range with her and do trick shots like they're on a mission, (albeit with very careful, limited movement, to her chagrin) she's able to lose herself in the adrenaline of being alongside an Avenger. But constantly, in the back of her mind, there's a pair of hooded hazel eyes staring back at her, and Kate knows the smile never fades from her lips.

——

Kate's thigh is throbbing painfully by the time she and Clint make it to Grills' place, and she regrets not bringing any more of the pain meds Clint had picked up for her the other day from a high-end pharmacy. They had worked like a charm, making it possible to ignore the creaking of her ribs and the aching in her thigh for almost the entire morning.

The smile on Grills' face eases some of her discomfort, and she lets herself sink into the familiarity of his homely apartment. Missy, Orville, Wendy, and several of the other LARPers are already stationed in various stages of preparation. There is an air of warmth and excitement surrounding her, and Kate lets herself sink into it happily.

"Clint may or may not have failed to mention that you were injured," was Missy's way of greeting her, flopping down onto the couch beside Kate.

The archer gave a sheepish smile. "Yeah, sorry about that. Don't know how much fun I'll really be today."

The smile that the woman gives her is nearly terrifying. "Oh don't you worry, we'll have plenty for you to do. Especially with those cute dogs of yours."

"Way to not be mysterious at all," Kate laughed awkwardly, her smile twitching at the corners of her mouth.

Missy just winked and patted her back, standing from the chair. "You don't even know yet, girl. You don't even know."

Did I ever say how much I adore them? They are my babies. All hail Katie Kate and GenderDad 🫡

Translations: none

Kate Bishop counter: 0

QOTD: Do you enjoy any form of role playing? I'm a DnD sucker myself

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