It Only Takes a Second

- LVI -

"Lucy, want to go eat?" Harry asked, watching as Lucy's ears perked up and her tail began wagging faster and faster. Extending a hand, Harry scratched her head affectionately.

"That's what I thought," he chuckled. "Clint picked you up some food earlier while he was out, we'll just go get it from his room."

Harry made his way down the hallway and lifted his hand to knock on the door when, from the other side, he heard Clint's mutterings.

"God dammit... where the fuck... just my luck... be late!"

Noting that the door was partially cracked, Harry pushed it all the way open and entered.

"Clint? What's going on?" Harry asked, but Clint didn't respond. His back was turned to the door as he rummaged through a laundry basket, tossing clothes all over the floor.

"Clint?" Harry asked again, frowning deeply as the archer ignored him once more. He couldn't think of anything he'd done that would have upset the man, but he knew from experience that sometimes, people were upset for the smallest reasons, or even for no reason at all.

"Can I help you find something?" Harry offered, hoping to break Clint's silent treatment towards him.

From by his side, Lucy took a few trotting steps towards Clint. In a flash, Clint spun around and unsheathed his knife, holding it out and ready to fight.

Harry's breath caught in his throat as he watched the archer's eyes flash dangerously, before landing on him. Despite Clint's gaze softening apologetically almost immediately after spotting Harry, the teen could feel the panic building inside of him.

"Harry, look, I'm- I'm sorry..." Clint spoke, his voice loud. Too loud.

Lucy hurried back to Harry's side, pressing her cool nose against his palm as a signal to ground himself.

"It's okay, I'm sorry to scare you. I just came in to get Lucy's dog food, and... I'm sorry," Harry apologized, trying to keep his breathing even. If Clint was upset with him, he didn't want to experience a panic attack.

"I'm sorry about that," Clint motioned to the sheath on his side where he had safely returned the knife. "You scared me... I bet you were just coming in for Lucy's dog food, weren't you?"

Harry's frown deepened. Hadn't he just said that? Clint was speaking, but his voice was still too loud and his syllables were too sharp with over-annunciation.

"Clint what's going on? Are you okay?" He questioned, growing more concerned. The Avenger wasn't acting as though he were mad at Harry, but something was still up.

Clint's eyes narrowed for a moment as he looked at Harry intensely, but Harry noticed that it wasn't he eyes that he was looking at.

"Clint... could you turn around for me, please?"

Clint remained standing where he was, shoulders slumping in defeat.

Shaking, hoping that he didn't mess it up, Harry raised his hands and performed a motion that he hadn't in so many years.

What happened?

He signed, catching Clint's attention.

The archer looked at him in surprise, not expecting to see the sign language. It was British Sign Language, slightly different than ASL, but he still knew a bit from his time overseas.

"I... I lost my hearing aids. I went to take a shower, and took them out, and I don't know where they went," he admitted.

Hold on. Harry signed.

"Accio" he murmured, grinning when a moment later, the hearing aids appeared in his hand.

Clint let out a sigh, extending his hand and accepting them back from Harry. Quickly, he put them back on and turned them on, grinning when Stark's top-tier technology allowed him to hear the world around him once more.

"Thank you," he murmured, suddenly feeling self-conscious about what Harry had just witnessed. He didn't like showing weakness in front of the rest of the team, but showing weakness in front of someone who was used to seeing the fun-loving, care-free side of himself was somehow worse.

"You don't have to be shy about it," Harry told him, shifting back and forth on his feet nervously. Even though it had been a misunderstanding, it still took him by surprise to see how fast Clint had prepared to fight. Sometimes he forgot that the team- his family- could be dangerous. It was a different, more secure and reassuring type of dangerous than he was previously accustom to at both Hogwarts and the Dursley's, but dangerous all the same.

"Where did you learn to sign?" Clint questioned, taking a seat on the chest at the end of his bed.

"I went to primary school with a girl who was hard of hearing, but she didn't like to speak, so she communicated through signing. We would spend time together at recess, when I wasn't running from or being beat up by Dudley and his gang, because nobody wanted to be around us 'freaks.'"

For the first time, there was ferocity instead of fear blazing in Harry's eyes as he talked about his childhood, and Clint couldn't help but wonder if it was only because he was thinking about how his friend had been treated, rather than the treatment that had been inflicted upon himself.

"I didn't know if you would understand. I know you and Nat sign back and forth sometimes, but I don't know how different British and American sign language are. I only know a few terms, the basics in BSL, but nothing in ASL," Harry admitted.

"I know more ASL than I do BSL, but I know enough to get by when I'm on missions," Clint responded. "Thank you, again. I really am sorry I scared you. Are you alright?"

Harry let out a deep breath. "I... I want to say yes. But you did frighten me, and I might be a little stand-offish for a bit. But it's not your fault, it's just..."

"It's not everyday you have a knife pulled on you by a close friend," Clint nodded, understandingly. "I get it. I would be a bit freaked as well. I think your dad might kill me."

"He doesn't have to know."

Clint gave Harry a small smile. He knew that despite it being an accident, and understanding his circumstances, Tony would still be pissed to learn about the mishap.

"You're a good kid, Harry."

From Harry's feet, Lucy let out a small cry, which evoked laughter from both Clint and Harry. Clint stood up, and bent down to scratch behind her ears.

"And you're a good girl, Lucy. Now, how about we go get you some food?"

(A/N: Hey everyone! Sorry it's been so long since I've updated and that I'm giving you such a short chapter! Life is crazy, and it's midterms. Spring break is next week, but I've got a professor that's holding what will be an INSANELY difficult test the day we get back, so I'll probably spend the entire break studying my butt off. Things have been really chaotic recently, and I've barely had time to sleep, much less write. I hope you'll forgive me and accept this chapter of fluff between Harry and Clint (and Lucy, of course). Thanks so much for reading, and hopefully I'll be able to update at least one of my stories soon! As always, I hope you're still enjoying and stay safe everyone!)