A Fool's Dance

Chapter One

Clint pulled himself up on the bar, holding his chin above it for a few seconds before lowering himself back down. Again he pulled himself up and held his chin above the horizontal bar before lowering himself. There was a tap on his leg as he pulled himself up. He glanced down to see Tony miming for him to take his headphones out. Clint let go with one hand and yanked his headphones free and then returned his hand back to the bar, keeping himself up.

"You heard the news?" Tony asked him.

Clint shook his head, shifting his grip on the bar to keep himself up.

"Natasha and Steve are bringing Bucky here to stay."

Clint froze, not even letting out his breath as he stared down at Tony. Without a word, he dropped down to the floor and blinked at the billionaire a few times.

"They're what?" he demanded.

Tony took a step back at the harsh look on Clint's face.

"They're brining him here to stay. He's going to be a part of the team."

Clint remained silent and still, shoulders barely moving as he breathed. He blinked again at Tony and his left hand clenched into a fist as his eyes burned with thinly concealed rage.

"The same man that nearly killed them? That destroyed S.H.I.E.L.D.? That man?"

Tony nodded hesitantly and Clint took a deep breath, face going blank as if he had flicked a switch in his brain.

"When are they going to be here?"

"Should be any minute now."

Clint nodded and pushed past Tony, grabbing his towel off the bench as he headed for the door. He yanked his sweat soaked shirt off and tossed it over his shoulder as he stepped into the elevator.

"Take me to my floor, Jarvis," Clint ordered as he wiped his face clear of sweat.

The elevator started moving and Clint ran the towel across the back of his neck to collect the sweat from there too. As soon as the door slid open, Clint stepped off and headed for his closet. He tossed his shirt into the dirty clothes pile by the bathroom door and grabbed a clean one off one of his hangers.

"Sir, your presence is requested on the common floor," Jarvis informed him.

"Noted. I'll be down in a minute."

Clint pulled the shirt on quickly and moved over to his bedside table. He slid his knife Natasha had given him into his back pocket and started for the elevator doors. They started moving as soon as the door was closed and Clint waited impatiently for them to open again.

He could hear Tony and Steve arguing about something in the living room as he stepped off and Clint pulled his knife out of his back pocket, following the sound of their voices.

"Clint's here. Good," Steve said when he saw Clint, "Natasha, bring him out."

As soon as the dark haired man was in sight, Clint lunged forward.