We got magic, good and bad...

who? Clint Barton; Ana Adams
when? Well before the Avengers assemble
what? a first encounter.

Finally, a break. Only two days between assignments, but hey, it was better than nothing, so Clint had settled in a small, moderately crappy hotel that wasn't too far off from the swing of things, appearing for all intents and purposes like your average backpacking traveller. His clothes matched that with how well-worn they were, and when he went out the next morning he carried nothing but his wallet and his shades.

The last few days had been decidedly too much hiding and too much killing people and Clint decided he needed distraction, but he was up too early, tension lingering in his muscles still. At least it was a nice morning, slightly chilly, prefacing a perhaps sunny, definitely warm day. So he strolled through the streets, finally lending a hand to the vendors at the farmer's market as he set up shop. Small talk. Normal people. Little things to root him in a world that wasn't full of secrets.

An hour later he'd bought a pound of cherries and had scaled a smaller building, setting up camp on top to eat. In his defense, at least he wasn't spitting cherry pits at passerbys. Just watching.

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It was Wednesday morning. That meant running.

Then again, Ana ran every other day but Wednesday was her favourite. Skirting through the streets, over roofs and taking a break when she hit the farmers market for breakfast. Best morning of the week in her opinion.

A block away from the market there was a park with benches, small walls, a perfect little playground for her. She criss crossed her way through it, losing herself in the movement, jumping and vaulting until she raced up a small sculpture to reach a low roof.

Not pausing, she took the high road towards the market.

Clint, meanwhile, had gotten fairly absorbed in his people-watching when higher up movement caught his eye. Someone running across the rooftops? That was odd, though, he supposed he couldn't exactly talk. He spared a thought to her being chased or followed, but there was no commotion, and nobody following, nor did she look over her shoulder. More likely, she was out on a jog.

He gave her a grin as she sped past him, though the way she was absorbed in her exercise, she probably didn't even see it.

She saw him, the man sitting on the roof, watching the crowd. He didn't look like any of the parkour crowd she knew in the city which was odd. Adjusting her course to get a closer look at him, she glimpsed the grin her flashed her way as she passed. It was a nice looking grin.

Well then... Ana darted around a roof access hatch looping her way back. Slowing down to a job she called out.

"So are you a tourist or new to the crowd?"

"Just a tourist," he answered, surprised that she came back around. "But I can try to keep up with you if you want." That is, if she wanted to continue her run and still felt interested enough.

He didn't usually have to run like this, but he ought to be in good enough shape for it, or so he figured.

Her head cocked to the side as she came to a stop, eyeing him with a speculative look.
"Fair enough." Her weight settled to the side as she looked down down at him with a smile of her own.

"Oh? and what makes you think I want you on my tail?"

"You came back." And really, didn't just say it all? He smiled up at her and, after a moment, rose, picking up the paper bag of cherries with his left.

"So what do you say?"

"Curiosity and all that." She said with a small smirk. After a moments consideration she shrugged.

"If you think you can keep up, you're welcome. Got a name?"

"We'll just have to see about that." It wasn't as if Clint rose to every challenge. Some were simply a little harder to resist than others.

"Clint. And you?" Tourists didn't have last names, after all. Neither did other chance encounters, and hey, she was pretty, with her blue eyes and that smirk with a touch of mischeif.

"That we will." She grinned at him. He certainly looked fit, moved with a relaxed confidence that came only with experience. Challenge or not, he could give her a run for her money.

"Ana. Pleasure." Her smile was at least genuine in it's warmth.

"Likewise," he said, tilting his head to the side. His smile gained an ironic edge, as did his tone. Not a lot of people were glad to meet him.

"Lead the way?" Fit or not, she was the one who knew her way around, here.

Her head tilted a little more before straightening. Attitude like that, he carried baggage or at least thought he did. With a nod she flashed him another smile and turned back the way she was going.

"Well come on, then." She said and started quickly building speed before sprinting for the edge of the of the building. She leapt off,landing on the other side of the gap in a smooth roll.

Well then. Barton jogged alongside her, letting her take the lead to focus on his footing, saw her take the leap confidently before he followed suit. His landing was quiet, practiced, rolling smoothly and getting back up without missing a step, and then on across this roof to whereever she was going.

She was certainly fit, doing this sort of thing on a seemingly regular basis. And looking the part.

Not a bad landing, she thought as she lead him through her usual circuit, vaultinng over air ducts, sliding under piping. She only changed course to pull away from the market, heading instead for a riskier path.

He seemed to be keeping up with no worries.

Was this the way she'd come? Hard to judge, Clint hadn't rightly been watching her the entire way, but it certainly wasn't easy. He downright needed his training for this, but it made him smile: for once, he needed it in a completely non-serious, non-combat situation. This was actually fun, and he had trouble not getting ahead of himself and keeping her pace.

This path always make her work. Those high leaps weren't easy and keeping the momentum up enough to keep pace was an art. It'd been a while since she ran with another, unfamiliar as he was, but it was fun.

Ana scrambled up narrow ledge and dropped down to the balcony below, heading down for street level. Hitting the asphalt, she started down the narrow alley.

"Tired yet?"

Clint laughed as he landed on the ground behind her, though he didn't have much breath to spare for it. "Getting there. You?"

She laughed and slowed to a walk, turning to watch him follow.

"Done for now. You did good, Clint. be proud."

He slowed down as well, but not before catching up to her, slightly out of breath. "Oh, I am," he assured, smiling.

"You do this every day?" It'd certainly go along with how fit she was.

Another laugh and she gently clapped a hand against his arm.

"Every second day, though I usually stop when I hit the square." Ana rubbed sweat from her brow and flexed her shoulders back. It felt good to push herself.

That made him laugh a bit, too. For a moment, his eyes were on her hand where she touched him, before he looked back at her face with the barest smirk.

"That explains it. You're good!" Said like he doesn't give compliments for just anything.

"So, where are we headed?"

She couldn't help but beam. Compliments were hard to come by and this one seemed to be genuine. Brushing stray strands of hair from her face, Ana ducked her head a little.

"I should be but thank you." Right then. Clearing her throat she shrugged.

"I was going to head back to the markets and get something to eat."

He liked her smile, he decided. "Hope you don't mind me tagging along," he answered, smiling himself, without elaborating why. Sure it'd be more convenient if they split up at the market. Given his day off though, it'd be nice to have some company, and if it was just for a cup of coffee.

We got magic, good and bad...

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