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Some habits are hard to break, so when Maya signed ASL to him, he automatically answered that he didn't know much in English. He is still assessing the situation, seeing whether she was a threat. Maybe he wants to include Kate as much as the young archer wants him to include her, maybe he doesn't feel worthy to sign to someone who uses it as their primary language.
It pissed off the lady, and now Clint found himself without a working hearing aid, the fuzziness returned in front of someone who seemed to worship the ground he walked on.
He might not have been born silent like Maya, but he had his first hearing loss at five, the explosions that followed him around never helped, now he has to deal with minimal hearing left. Silence might not be birth right, but he'd come to know it's comforting grace well over the years.
So when he finally met her as Ronin, he didn't speak, only signed once she was pressed against the car. He saw the shock fall over Maya's face as he revealed himself, continuing to sign in the language he told her previously he wasn't good in.
Maya stared in shock as Ronin revealed himself to be Clint Barton all while continuing in ASL, it didn't look rusty, but each word was spaced in a way a secondary learner does. 'How?' She signed, staring up in shock.
Clint sighed, reverting to his rusty JSL hoping she understood and her lacky wouldn't. 'Took a lot of blunt force trauma at five, then explosions worsened it.'
Her eyes widened as the man swapped to JSL, her own was rusty with no one to practice with. But she understood it, even if she didn't know why someone went through that much trauma so young.
Clint changed back to ASL. 'Do you know what you are? What you were made to be?'
Maya stared at the man, knowing what he was meaning as she saw her sweat reflected off the blade. 'A weapon,' she answered. She looked up, starting the man in the eyes. 'Like you.'
'We're both living weapons,' Clint nodded. 'Broken and sharpened for a master. Pushed beyond pain, you do not think you can even feel anymore.'
'You do not know the pain I have, the pain you caused,' Maya said, baring her teeth.
'That your master keeps on the fire. I caused it, but it didn't fester because of me,' Clint signed. 'Lose your master, maybe you'll see the difference.' Clint didn't wait for a reply, he just grabbed his blade, pulling his mask back into place. Looking over at her again, he walked off, letting himself disappear into the shadows.
He knew he needed to explain further, about how they are the same; broken parts to one larger machine. But he didn't know how, how to explain they'd both been broken to weapons. He left it at that, unable to explain further, but knowing she got the message, right when he removed the mask.