Chapter Text
Clint POV
“Sir Barton you have to wake up,'' a charming robotic voice said.
"Thank you, Jarvis''.
Clint was particularly annoyed today. Yesterday's mission was brutal, his body felt like a hundred elephants were overrunning him yesterday. Even sitting in his bed was torture. He wasn’t ready to leave his room yet, but unfortunately Tony had scheduled a stupid meeting at 9 am. Slowly he moved away from the bed and stood before his mirror.
Oh fuck, his body is covered in bruises, yet again. Clint winced as he touched the massive bruise that swept down his left side. He looked and felt like shit. Falling off a building will do that though. He's just lucky he didn't land on his quiver.
After entering the bathroom he found some clothes to wear, brushed his teeth and splashed some ice cold water on his face to wake himself up.
Today he hates everything. Clint’s almost out the door when Jarvis reminds him to take his keycard.
“Thank you Jarvis!”he calls.
The hallway was empty when he left his quarters, just across are Nat’s. Clint smiled at the thought. Tony made sure that they could live near each other if nightmares occurred.
He arrived at the elevator. The doors opened themselves. Damn Stark! He thinks to himself. This automatisation is still too new to him. Of course Jarvis was everywhere, so he would know where Clint had to go.
Leaving the elevator in their communal kitchen, Clint saw something that would make his day better. There it is, the love of his life, a full can of coffee just whispering his name. Taking a sip felt like soup for his soul.
"Clint! How are you doing?” A soft voice approached him.
“Hey Bruce, could always be better, honestly I‘m getting too old to fall from skyscrapers, you? Enjoyed your day off?”
“Yeah, it was good, had an amazing time in the lab. Listen, the parachute offer still stands.”
“Yeah yeah yeah´, Clint laughs.
Arriving in the meeting room everyone is already there. Clint plants himself next to Nat. How the hell can she look that beautiful after the day they had yesterday?
The seven rings broke into the Sanctum Sanctorum, stole Doctor Strange’s damn magic book. Tony did send Nat, Steve, himself and Clint out to get it back. These warriors were no joke. He remembered one of them letting Nat fly against the Wall from his point.
It doesn't even looked like she was bruised. Her red hair is beautifully put together in a perfect braid. She wears a white tank top, black cargo pants and some sneakers. What a sight.
Tony catches Clint looking at Nat and smiles a little.
“Listen Team, yesterday was very successful, Strange is grateful for the return of his little magic book.”
“I still don‘t understand why we had to retreat it instead of his wizards.” Steve complained.
“Anyway, I have great News, Strange, Bruce, Fury and I will meet up tomorrow so you Knuckleheads have gained a free day.”
“Listen, I don't want to be rude, but what was the reason for a meeting at 9 am just to tell us that we have a day off?” asked Nat. Clint watched her, she had her killer sight on, he was just waiting for her to jump Tony.
She is so absolutely beautiful, he thinks. His mind is drifting off.
After the invasion of Loki, Tony has offered him and Nat a home in the Avengers Tower, which gives them a sense of normalcy. They gained a sort of family routine, which allowed them to step back for a second and thrive in calmness.
Their lives have been living on the edge constantly, so stepping back, feeling feelings, were kinda out the window. Living at Shield was no longer an option.
After the Loki event Clint and Nat became the circus clowns that were hauled all the time by other agents, so he was grateful that Fury allowed them with Tony’s request to move into Avengers Tower.
He grew up in the circus and he swore to himself that he would never be a performer for other people again.
But where calmness comes in, the thoughts grow louder. It has been 8 months since they moved. He had more time to really look at Nat. They knew each other for so long, knew every quirk, skill, move of each other, but for the first time he was really seeing her. Seeing her in a domestic setting has deepened his feelings.
She is deathly and undeniably sexy on missions but seeing her with a calm aura was ravishing and breathtaking.
He had desired Nat for a while. When Loki had taken over his mind, he had a lot of time to think. Between the agony of being trapped instead within his own mind while he body committed unspeakable acts his thoughts of her gave him a glimmer of hope. A brief respite from Loki’s torture. A sip of coffee.
It was only after, after Loki, after New York and the Chitauri that he realized that she meant so much more to him than what he actually wanted to admit.
The way she looked at him in Medbay after taking him back to her. He had never seen her so worried before. Grateful that he was alive but absolutely petrified. They had so many missions with a lot of bad guys, but Loki was another level. Clint and Nat never had to deal with magic and aliens. Shield didn’t train them for this.
The most beautiful woman in the world. He wishes she could love him. But his wish is just that, a wish. It’s out of the question that she would ever return his feelings. Her focus on keeping it professional, runs deep and her self preservation walls are tall. He considered himself already lucky that she considers him as her best friend and that she trusts him with her life. Going further seemed out of question.
“Hey!” Nat poked him in the side, releasing him from his daydream. “Are you alright, sweetheart?” she asked. He looks around, noticing that everyone else had already left the room.
“Yeah, just a bit wrecked, business as usual.”. Clint smiles lightly.
“Go to med bay and ask for some painkillers and I don’t want to repeat myself.You took a huge fall I’m damn grateful you didn’t break every bone in your body!”
“Yes sir, right away” he laughs.
“If you call me sir one more time I will push you down the building myself”, she urged jokely.
Rolling his eyes he stood up slowly, careful to not let Nat see how much pain the action caused him. Pity is not something he can’t bear right now, especially not from her. “Meet up for a sparring session later?” He suggests, nonchalantly.
“We will see how you are doing after your visit to Medbay”, she smiles. That absolutely breathtaking little smile.
“Copy that, see you later, hotshot.” he winks at her with a well trained confidence pretend. Out of her sight, he shakes his head. Who are you man? You’re not a coward, he thinks of himself.
Arriving at the medbay, the medical staff took care of him immediately. He smiled at them but stayed quiet. He flinched when the doctor inserted a needle. “Don’t worry, it's just for the pain. Injections work faster”, the doctor said.
“Yeah no worries, I just don’t like needles”, Clint replies.
“Okay we are done here, I would advise you to go into your quarters and rest. The Injection will start working in about 30 minutes, so you better be seated by then.”
"Copy that, Doc and thank you!”
“That’s what Stark pays us to do!”
“Yeah yeah yeah”, Clint giggles.
Arriving at his quarters, he used the remaining 10 minutes before the injection would hit, to get his place in order. Oh fuck, he almost forgot about the sparring session. “Jarvis, can you call Nat for me please?”
“Of course, sir!”
“Hey honey, how is my wreck doing?”, Nat responds jokily. There was absolutely nothing funny about this though. His heart skipped a beat, just from hearing her voice. Keep it together idiot, he urged himself.
“Yeah well it seems like we have to reschedule our session. The doc ordered me to rest.”
“Well then your ass is better listening to the doc then. Take a nap arrow guy, I’ll pay you a visit later to see how you are doing. Sleep well honey”, she almost sings.
Yeah well she is definitely not making it easier to keep himself together. His heart is heavy. But that’s a problem for another day. He takes a quick shower, puts a tracksuit on and lays down in his bed.
Fuck is that comfortable. Laying down is so the natural state of being human, he decides. “Jarvis, please close the blinds and engage ‘Do not disturb’ mode!”
“Absolutely, sir, anything else I can do for you?”
“Nah not necessary, I'll just take a nap”
“Of course, sir’
The silence is heaven, the dark comforting, and his bed is as soft as clouds. He hopes he will not have a nightmare today, he thinks as last thought.
About a second later he was out cold.