Disclaimer: I own nothing

That one guy – sitting in Laura's tree…

Laura opened her door with a sigh, dropped her bag and keys to the ground, kicked the door shut with her foot, and closed her eyes for one long moment.

Nursing school was a lot more manageable when it had just been homework – three weeks into practicals, and Laura hurt everywhere.

But it was worth it: she left work each day with her body screaming in pain and every other part of her counting down the seconds until they could return to the sterile building.

Laura let the fatigue settle in her bones, her eyes closed, standing in the foyer of her little apartment, and then she shook herself and started to move to her bedroom, or the bathroom specifically.

In her single-minded focus she didn't even turn on the light, skipping that step and rushing right towards stripping off her dirty scrubs.

That was, embarrassingly enough, when she saw him, her top halfway over her head and revealing far more than she preferred.

But really, it wasn't HER fault – how was she supposed to know that she'd be coming home from work to find a strange man perched on a tree branch right outside her window?

The man seemed equally as surprised as she was, and later Laura would laugh about the fact that they were frozen in nearly identical positions.

Both laura and this strange man were upright, their shirts half raised to reveal the skin of their stomachs, and in laura's case, a hint of light blue lace. Their eyes were locked, Laura's brown onto the mans startling blue, unblinking in their surprise.

They both seemed to shake off the surprise at the same time, and the man's mouth quirked up on one side, his skin crinkling at the corner of his eyes, displaying his amusement.

Laura shrieked, shoved her top back down and rushed to her room, slamming the door behind her and leaning against it, as if the man would attempt to enter at any moment.

Her chest heaved in surprise as she recalled what the man's raised shirt had revealed.

A wound, deep and bleeding, thin and curved and resembling a stab injury," her mind supplied. The man had held thread and needle, and looked as if he were attempting to stitch himself back together.

Part of Laura wanted to call the cops. Another part of her wanted to forget the man, leave him and his injury in the tree while she washed her day off of her. But the biggest part of Laura knew she wouldn't settle until she'd done what she could.

Sighing and internally arguing with herself, she slowly opened her door and stepped into her living room, half hoping the man had disappeared.

No – he was still there, seated now and leaning against the trunk of the tree.

He spared her a quick glance and a sheepish smile before turning back to his injury, where one shaky hand was attempting to insert the needle into his skin.

Forgetting the danger with the evidence of the man's weakness, Laura approached the window quickly and slowly slid it open.

He raised his head and watched her approach with a raised eyebrow, staying silent as he waited for her to speak.

She opened her mouth only to find her throat dry, and so she paused to clear it. When she spoke, it was more timidly than she'd wanted – but at least she hadn't lost her nerve. "Do you want some help?"

At her offer, the man grinned brightly and handed over the needle and thread.

Laura took them surprised at how quickly the man climbed through her window and hopped onto her couch, settling in and laying so his injury was within easy reach.

"I thought you'd never ask," he said cheekily, and Laura furrowed her eyebrow, realizing that he very well might have just played her – but she was surprised to find that she didn't really mind.

She moved forward to start stitching his wound together, amused at how her night was going so far – not worried in the slightest.

The man was strange, that was for sure, but he was injured, and he seemed harmless.

And this was what Laura did – she helped people.

First comes love

That first night, Laura had stitched the man up in minutes and he'd smiled, thanked her, and slipped out her window, climbing down the tree quickly and disappearing into the night, and Laura didn't expect to see him again.

Except, a few nights later, he was back, with a new injury (fractured wrist) and another sheepish smile for Laura. She sighed, let him in, and took out his stitches after setting his wrist for him. Just like before, he simply thanked her and left, and Laura thought it all a bit weird before forgetting about it altogether.

At least until the next time he returned.

Soon enough, his appearances began to become a regular thing, every few days or so, that bright smile would flash at her from outside her window and he'd sheepishly show off a new injury. Laura would sigh and smile, and then let him in and patch him up as best she knew how, and after a few months of this, they began to talk.

Laura found out his name – hawkeye – and his occupation – assassin – and Laura told him about school and about her part time job as a nanny. He was different than all the other men Laura knew – because he knew how to listen. His story was all lies of course, but with every insightful question and laugh at just the right spot, Laura found herself getting caught up with the man she knew nothing about. Except; she knew that he liked to climb trees, that whatever he spent his time doing caused him injury, that he was a good listener – that he had a nice smile. That, as months past and the meetings continued, maybe, was all Laura needed to maybe fall in love.

It was nearly eight months to the day they'd first met, and Laura had come home to find him, for the first time, injury free, waiting at her window and wearing for the first time something other than the sleeveless, leather, purple and black – thing - he usually wore.

Instead he was wearing a pale blue v-neck and dark jeans, and Laura smiled and moved to open the window.

"No injury today?" She asked, and he shrugged, his smile suddenly turning nervous.

"I'm not here to see the doctor today," He admitted, and Laura's eyebrows raised in surprise. "I'm actually ah – wondering if Laura might like to have dinner with me?"

Laura leaned back in surprise. That wasn't what she'd expected – and it was certainly the oddest way she'd been asked out on a date – but what did she have to lose? She smiled and nodded, and he beamed.

"Great!" Laura heard a ding from behind her, and as she turned to find the source of the noise, he was climbing inside and hurrying to the oven, where he removed a grilled chicken breast that smelled divine."

"Dinner's ready!" He chirped, plating the chicken and setting it in a spot on her table obviously reserved for just that purpose, as the rest of Laura's tiny kitchen table housed two plates, cutlery set out, cloth napkins Laura hadn't even known she owned, glasses half-filled with wine, and one daisy in a vase.

Laura looked in surprise at the man who hovered nervously by the table, smile hesitant, and she laughed.

It was weird, and a little questionable - But sweet. And he was cute.

So she took a seat and let him push her chair in and smiled helplessly at the man as he sat across from her.

What kind of woman went on a date with a man when she didn't even know his name?

The same woman, Laura mused, that fell in love with the guy who sat in trees.

Cute...

Review/Follow/Favorite?

~CLC~