Undercover

2. the First Fair pt 1

Clint's POV

I had done a lot of strange things undercover, seen more, and heard of even weirder things. But I'd never gone to a Renaissance fair.

And this wasn't even strange. If I could, I'd wear my bow all the time. And yet this feels entirely wrong. Maybe it's because it's not really my bow. Sure, it's a pretty nice one, but I needed to blend in, and that meant using a different bow. I'd only gotten an hour to get used to it, but hopefully, I could get some practice shooting in before it actually mattered.

"You new?" I turn, and it's another guy with a bow.

I wiggle a hand, "kinda. I've been shooting for a few years, but I've never been to an event like this before."

He grins. "Well, do you want me to show you around? I have to admit, I'm not the best with a bow, but I've been coming my whole life."

"Your parents?" I ask.

He nods, "Yeah. They got married at one. It was this whole thing; they talked to the organizers and made it part of the event."

"Is that legal?" I knew plenty of people were happy in unofficial or illegal marriages, but an official ceremony mattered. When I'd married Laura, we'd done everything to hide it, but when I really needed to focus on something other than my current situation, I could remind myself that she loved me enough to not only share children but to tie herself to me legally. If things did go wrong (when I messed up too bad or pushed her too far), she wouldn't be able to just disappear into the night. We were connected, and it meant I'd at least get an explanation for why she was leaving.

"Actually, yes. The witnesses were easy to get; practically everyone volunteered. Then they had to find someone who could legally marry them. After that, it was just a quick trip to grab the paperwork and fill it out, so all they had to do at the wedding was sign."

I blink. "That seems easier than I expected."

He shrugs. "Well, if you think waiting in line for two hours only to realize you forgot your birth certificate and having to wait another two hours because you got sent to the back of the line easy, I suppose it was."

"I take it back," I say with a wince. "Hey, what's your name anyways?"

"Jeremy. What about you?"

"Robin."

"What, like Robin Hood?" He laughs.

I moan, covering my face with my hands. "Please don't. My mom actually named me after her favorite bird, but then I got interested in archery..."

Thankfully Jeremy lets me take the out when I trail off. "Are you here with anyone?"

"Not really. I didn't have anyone to come with, you know? Or I suppose you wouldn't; sounds like the problem was finding some space."

He laughs, "You have no idea. One time I tried to take a girl to this annual tournament. All the different groups met up. The gamemaster had different rules every year; she spent the entire year coming up with the next year's event. This year it was pretty straightforward. Did you see the DnD movie?"

"Of course. I couldn't get opening night tickets, but I managed to get in early the next morning." It was only a baby lie. Our cover had been blown, so Nat and I had gone to the movies to try and hide out for a couple of hours. Coulson was only three hours out, but that was more than enough time to find us. I hadn't really watched the movie, but I caught a few snippets. I'd taken Laura to see it that first weekend after I'd gotten to the farm.

"Well, my parents thought it would be a great date idea and didn't realize I might want to go either. It took me three days to find a time that worked that still had tickets."