Clint is a nurse working on Christmas Eve and Bucky is his patient.
Clint sighed as he heard his name over the intercom. He was needed in the waiting room.
He downed what was left of his shitty, vending machine coffee before making his way down the hall.
He was into the last couple hours of the second half of a double shift on Christmas Eve and he was about ready to kill the next idiot who came through the door with some stupid alcohol-related injury. He'd already had to change once from being thrown upon.
He pushed through the double doors to find a couple of guys sat there, one holding some wadded up material to his head whilst the other filled out paperwork and fussed over his companion. Well, this was going to be fun.
"Right guys, someone wanna fill me in?"
The pair glanced up at him. The blonde with worry whilst his injured friend seemed unimpressed and bored.
"The idiot got into a fight." Blondie huffed.
"For the last time Steve-"
"Oh give it a rest Buck." Clint pursed his lips unsure whether to laugh at them or bang his head against a wall.
He took the clipboard and turned to head back through to one of the empty consulting rooms. "Right follow me."
Clint quickly scanned over the form Steve had filled in before setting it down out of the way. "So... James." He began indicating for him to sit on the bed. "Bucky." The brunette corrected but sat down anyway.
"Should I be worried about the other guy coming through?" Clint grinned as he peeled the wad, of what he was pretty sure was a shirt, away from his head. Luckily it wasn't too bad.
Steve gave a light laugh but Bucky only huffed. "It wasn't like that." He huffed. "How was it then?" Clint asked, pressing the cloth back to the wound. "You're gonna need stitches." He added before going to grab supplies.
"I'm pretty sure his knuckle's bust too," Steve called only irritating Bucky. "My knuckle's fine." He argued.
"Bucky it shouldn't be that swollen."
"I'll check it once you're not bleeding," Clint told them, sitting on the stool between Bucky's legs.
He cleaned up the wound before starting to stitch it up. "I was saving our friend." He finally sighed.
"I'd hardly call it saving." Steve butted in.
"Well someone had to put the guy in his place." Bucky snapped.
"Says the guy sat having his head stitched up."
Bucky scowled in annoyance but thankfully didn't try to move to set it upon his friend. "Yeah well, he's not gonna be going around calling people faggots any time soon." He spat bitterly and suddenly things were making a lot more sense.
"How's your friend?" Clint asked instead.
"A bit shaken up last time we saw him. He's with a friend though, she's supposed to be keeping us posted." Bucky frowned.
"You're a terrible boyfriend by the way Stevie, I hope you know that." Steve sighed in annoyance. "What, because I wouldn't punch the guy? He was wasted, he wasn't worth it. I totally had it under control." Bucky rolled his eyes. "Yeah sure, you did."
Clint finished up with the stitches before turning to his hand, which was in fact pretty damn swollen. "So you got into a fight with a drunk guy who was being a homophobic asshat towards your friend who is his boyfriend?" Clint asked checking he was following right. Bucky just hummed in confirmation.
"You think I'm an idiot?" He asked after a moment's silence. Clint laughed. "Nope. I feel like it probably should be you I'm dealing with." He said indicating towards Steve who blushed slightly. "But you're certainly the most worthy person I've treated today."
At that Bucky gave him a crooked grin. "Yeah?" Clint nodded.
"Yup. Christmas Eve is 90% people who've had too much to drink and their body can't handle it or drunk people who have done something stupid and injured themselves in the process. So."
Bucky nodded as Clint turned his attention fully to Bucky's knuckle. He hissed a couple of times as Clint moved it around and felt about. "Okay, I'm gonna have to X-ray but I'm pretty sure it's fractured." Bucky huffed slightly.
"Anywhere else I need to be checking?" He asked looking between the pair. "Well, his ribs are pretty bruised..." Bucky gritted his teeth and Clint raised an eyebrow. He huffed.
"Just because you wanna see me shirtless." He muttered but grudgingly unzipped his hoodie to reveal his bare torso. Clint had been right about it being a shirt to soak up the blood.
'Pretty bruised' was an understatement. His ribs were littered in almost black bruises that were starting to swell.
Bucky gave him a sheepish grin. "See? Nothing to worry about." Clint gave him an unimpressed look before gently feeling around. Even the lightest of touches hurt the man. "Right, X-ray now." Bucky huffed but didn't argue.
They headed down to the X-ray room and Steve was forced to wait outside, much to his annoyance.
"So how'd you get into nursing?" Bucky asked as Clint set up the machine. "Well, I've always wanted to help people... and it was a pretty great reason to escape the circus."
He could feel Bucky's gaze on him. "You're kidding?" He looked up to find Bucky watching him with raised eyebrows. "The amazing Hawkeye." He said with a salute making Bucky chuckle before hissing in pain. "Right let's assess the damage."
Turned out his knuckle was indeed fractured and he'd cracked three ribs. "We'll get you wrapped up and some pain killers." He muttered, scribbling a quick note. "Then you're free to go."
"What time you getting off?" He asked and Clint raised an eyebrow.
"Five thirty." Bucky was grinning slightly.
"So if I hang around for a while I can take you to breakfast when you're done?" Clint laughed slightly.
"Nope. I have to go home and sleep after this because I start again in twelve hours and you need to rest."
Bucky pouted slightly. "Well, when are you off next?" Clint had to think about it a minute, it was always busy around the Christmas season. "Tuesday." Bucky grinned again.
"Great, I'll pick you up at six."
