Ororo was forcing herself to remain calm. Sitting in the institute's yoga studio, she tried to meditate and center herself. It wasn't working. Every time she closed her eyes the burning anger came back and it was all she could do to stop herself from blowing the roof off. She needed to calm down. The door opened and someone sat next to her. When the calloused hand slid in hers she gripped it tight.

"Clint, you shouldn't be here." Her voice was wavering.

"Of course I should." He retorted. "I wouldn't be living up to my world's best boyfriend t shirt if I wasn't here." He ran a finger over the back of her hand. "Tell me what you need."

Ororo looked at the ever darkening clouds outside. Bottling up her emotions made her feel as if she was holding up the skies and truthfully, she was.

"I need to let go." She said. Clint nodded.

"I know just the place." He stood, tugging her hand. "Come on. I have quinjet ready."

"Clint I..." She looked around. "I can't just leave. Not now."

"Ororo you can't keep pushing this down." Clint said. "Because you'll explode and while the others need you, you're no help to them if you're not taking care of yourself. Sometimes it's okay to put yourself first." He swallowed. "In this case I'd say it's downright necessary."

She relented allowing him to lead her to the jet. The pressure of holding back the rains was weighing on her and while she usually preferred real flight to being in a plane, she gratefully collapsed in the jet.

"The storm's following you." Clint said about an hour into the flight. It wasn't a question or accusation. It was just a fact. Ororo nodded.

"I summoned it with my..." She groaned as she felt the anger of the elements. Like the pain she kept hidden, they were howling at her to let them out. Clint gave her an encouraging smile.

"Almost there, Ro." He said. "I promise. It'll be alright."

After an interminable length of time, the jet touched down in an empty field. Clint opened the door and she practically ran out. Standing in the center of the field, she hesitated.

"There's no one for miles." Clint said, coming to stand next to her. "Let go "

She looked at him gratefully. "You should take cover."

"And miss this?" Clint's signature teasing smirk was in place. "Not on your life."

"Clint." She warned.

"I trust you, Ro." He said. "Now let go."

Ororo looked up at the sky and did just that. The pain that had been inside her since the death of the professor. The wrenching loss of Jean. The heavy burden of leading the X-Men that now fell onto her shoulders. She cried and her tears became rain. She screamed and her rage turned to wind. She sobbed and her cries became the thunder 's roar. She fed the storm and gave it all her hurt and anger and sorrow until there was nothing left to give. Through all of it Clint stood silently by her side. She fell to her knees, letting out dry heaving sobs as she clutched her chest. He knelt next to her in the wet grass, pulling her close.

He didn't give her false assurances that everything was going to be okay. He didn't attempt to get her to talk. He just waited until she was ready.

"I needed that." She finally croaked when she was capable of talking once more.

He nodded. She looked up at him. "You're disturbingly quiet."

"Well. I just realized that I'm dating a goddess." He looked at her without a trace of fear or judgment. "How do you feel?"

"Like I need to sleep." She replied. It had been a long time since she'd last let herself freely use her powers in that way and she felt a bit faint.

"I got you." Clint murmured. Her eye lids became heavy and she had the slight sensation of being carried before she slipped into unconsciousness.

The next morning she woke in an unfamiliar bed. She frowned and sat up, putting a hand to her head. That level of power expenditure did not come without its price. Clint had changed her into one of his shirts and boxers. She walked down the stairs. The house she was in was a pleasant farm house. Clint was in the kitchen, burning something.

He smiled when he caught sight of her. "I was hoping to surprise you with breakfast in bed."

She slid into a chair across from him. "With your cooking skills I'll be lucky to have that breakfast next week." She grinned as he sniffed and turned his back on her, scraping burnt eggs into the trash. Glancing out the window he said. "What's the weather going to be like today?"

Ororo leaned on her hand. "Mostly gray." She said. "But nothing as bad as last night."

Clint handed her a pot of tea with a mug. He hated her "leaf water" but ever since they'd begun dating he always kept his cabinet full of different varieties.

She smiled up at him and took his hand, putting it on her shoulder. "You are earning that world's best boyfriend t shirt." She commented.

"Oh I know." Now that he was sure she wasn't holding back a biblical storm, he was becoming more playful.

"Even if you bought it yourself." She said. He leaned down, brushing his lips against her ear.

"I've got matching sweat pants that say property of the goddess across my ass." He walked forward and did a little shimmy before walking over to the freezer. "Toaster waffles?"

"Sounds good." She moved the cup of tea around before asking. "Where are we?"

"This is my farm. I bought it after I joined the avengers and Tony gave me access to his credit card. Fixing it up helps me relax." He put two waffles in the toaster. "Kate's watching Lucky this weekend, so you have me all to yourself." He wagged his eyebrows.

"Kate's always watching Lucky." Ororo said, thinking of Clint's young protege. "At this point he's more her dog than yours."

Clint winced and took a sip of coffee. "You may be on to something there." He mumbled.

A silence fell and along with it, the reminder of why the trip had been necessary.

"I want to show you something." He said. Leading her up the stairs he took her past the bedroom she'd woken up in towards a door at the end of the hall. Pushing it open, he motioned for her to go through first.

The room had been turned into a meditation studio. It had large windows, which didn't fit the design of the house, so Clint must have installed them specially for her. The floor was smooth and covered with a comfortable carpet. There was a bookshelf with some of her favorites and others she recognized as titles she'd mentioned she should get around to reading.

"Clint." She said, turning to look at him. He shoved his hands in his pockets.

"I want this to be your place too." He explained. "And now that you're the badass headmistress of the institute and leader of the Xmen, you'll definitely need a sanctuary." He held up a key. "This is the key to the house. Fly in any time."

Ororo was touched by his gesture. "You are a rare man, Clint Barton."

He smiled and stepped into the room. "You know they'd be proud of you if they could see you."

Ororo nodded. "That does not make it easier." She took the key from his hand. "I cannot even begin to tell you how much this means."

"You can start by letting yourself relax once in a while." Clint said.