Hawkeye's Archery Practice Lesson
"Aaaghrr!" you groaned in frustration and slowly put the bow down as yet another of your arrows landed close to the edge of a target. "I'll never be good enough." you sighed.
"Nonsense!" Hawkeye scoffed and gave you a reassuring smile. "One day you're gonna be a great archer."
You looked at him with a doubtful expression on your face. "You think so?"
"I know it." he replied resolutely and made your heart flutter. He was growing very fond of you and so he had offered these practice lessons to get to spend more time with you and you, having a pretty big crush on him, had agreed with gratitude.
He then moved closer to you and took one more arrow from a quiver you wore on your back. "Here, let me help a little." he said and came to stand right behind you, helping you to attach the arrow to the bowstring and pushing your left foot more to a side with his own leg as to get you into the proper position.
But you, however, found his efforts rather futile because when you felt his body so close to yours, all your concentration was directed elsewhere. You had no idea where the target was because you closed your eyes and relished the moment, shivers running up and down your spine as his scent tickled your nose.
Suddenly, a swishing sound cut through the silence and you quickly opened your eyes to see the arrow disappear somewhere in a dark corner of the room. "Oops!" you chuckled but didn't dare to turn around and face your teacher for you felt quite embarrassed and the decent blush creeping up your cheeks.
Hawkeye didn't seem to be discouraged by your terrible performance, though. Quite the opposite. "I've got an idea." he told you with a mischievous smile and strode towards the target. There he spun around and urged you to try again.
"Are you insane? I might as well shoot you if you are going to stand there." you stared at him with disbelief, then shook your head slightly.
"Come on, you can do this. I trust you enough." he encouraged you.
And so you eventually took your stance and aimed.
"It's not just about the concentration, it's also about the feelings. You must feel the right moment to release the arrow. Think of a target you would not want to miss." Hawkeye talked to you with his calm and soothing voice.
You once again closed your eyes and when you felt the right moment, you released. In a second the black arrow pierced through a red spot in the middle of the target and conjured up a satisfied smile on your face.
Hawkeye whistled in appreciation and clapped his hands as he was walking back over to you. "See? That was a really nice shot." he praised your achievement. "May I ask what did you imagine as the target?"
"Your heart." You replied bluntly. "And I wanted to hit its very centre."
Your answer caught him off guard. "I'm not quite sure how to take this one."
"Take it as you wish." you tittered and turned on your heels, marching towards the door. "See you tomorrow." you uttered over your shoulder casually before disappearing from his sight.
Hawkeye gazed after you, already smiling like an idiot. He was definitely looking forward to your next lesson tomorrow.