❝ In a mirror, darkly. ❞
• • •
Clint Barton. Spy, assassin, master archer. Caffeine addict. Hot mess. After the Battle of New York, Clint is forced to come to terms with the mind control Loki forced him into. The longer he's recovering, the cleare...
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CHAPTER FIFTEEN
As they reached the lobby of Avengers Tower, Tony and Steve exited the private elevator simultaneously. Both wore simple jeans, but where Tony's dark shirt displayed The Clash's logo in all its red glory covered by a shiny black leather jacket, Steve had opted for simple white shirt and brown coat.
"C'mon," Tony gestured to the door with his sunglasses in hand. "We're heading out." As Paige thanked Natasha for breakfast, he made small talk with the receptionist. Then he turned to Natasha. "Happy seemed a little perturbed when I talked to him today. He seems to think I'm keeping secrets from him?"
"Oh, well, I may have implied that," replied Natasha with a smile as she walked into the elevator. "Bye, Tony." The doors closed.
Tony snorted. Shaking his head with a small smirk, Steve gestured to the door. Paige, however, made no effort to hide her smirk and Tony didn't miss it. As they stood before the glass doors into the wide urban jungle, he slipped on his sunglasses and nodded.
The walk to the storefronts took a lot longer than to the coffee shop. They passed at least four blocks before coming upon Steve's store of choice. Paige watched him in amusement as his eyes lit up in excitement and he grinned. Tony just shook his head.
"Do either of you want anything," Steve asked as they stood by the door.
Paige paused. "I don't think I've read a book since like my second year of highschool," she sheepishly admitted. Downcasting her eyes, she turned to go with Tony.
"Now you can't just walk away having said that," Steve argued. "C'mon Tony, even you could find something in here. Coffee, if nothing else."
"You know he'd never forgive me if I tore you away from here," joked Tony. He nodded. "Fine. I think they wanted me in for a STEM day anyways. I can talk to the management about that."
The gold and green "BARNES AND NOBLE" sign that hung above the door contrasted with the pale pavement bricks of the building itself. Steve swung open one of the glass doors and they walked in quietly. Paige nearly laughed when on their octagonal display in the opening sat a picture book with a child Tony Stark drawing an Iron Man suit.
"Oh my goodness." Paige laughed, walking over to it. "This is amazing. Do you all have picture books now?" She picked it up and showed it to Tony. In a high pitched voice, she mocked, "Hi, I'm Tony Stark and I'm a Genius! Let me show you how to be a genius too!"
"Y'know, once you get your face on a picture book, then you can mock me." Tony rolled his eyes but a tiny smile pulled across his face. "C'mon. Let the ancient guy look around for a bit. I'm going to grab coffee. Want anything?"
She shrugged with a smile, putting her hands in her jean jacket pockets. Falling into step with him, she nodded. "I heard about this new frappuccino, a Mocha Cookie Crumble. Starbucks was always too expensive. If I managed to steal enough money for a Frappe, the money would be better served going towards new clothes or shoes."
