Chapter 2:

I woke up wrapped in Clint's arms. Snuggling into his bare chest, I sighed in relief. It hadn't been real. None of it had been real. I was safe. He was safe. We were all fine.

"Wha's wrong?" Clint asks sleepily. The man could sleep all day without waking up. But if he sensed something was wrong with me, it broke him out of his mini hibernation.

"Just a bad dream, go back to sleep." I say, running a hand through his hair.

He groans, sitting up. "Natasha." he says in a warning voice.

"Fine," I sigh. "It wasn't the usual stuff. It was different this time."

"Different how?" he asks, worried now. He was used to me having nightmares about the Red Room. Over the years, they had gotten better. Now if I had a nightmare about something else, it scared him.

"What if the Winter Soldier had hit something else instead of my shoulder. I could've killed our child by being out in the field."

"You didn't know you were pregnant, Tasha." Clint runs his hand up and down my arm.

I shook my head. "I should've seen the signs. Even Star-Spangled-Man-With-A-Plan saw the signs. He joked that I might be pregnant when he caught me throwing up while we were at Sam Wilson's house."

Clint froze at this. Despite the fact that he was my husband and the only man I would ever allow to be with me this intimately, he still felt insecure at times in our relationship. For another man- Captain America especially- to figure out that his wife was pregnant before him made these insecurities flare up.

"You usually hide when you're sick," Clint says speaking from memory. Throughout the years whenever I came down with something, I tried to hide it from him as best as I could. I didn't want to be babied over something that would be over in a few days. "Why was he close enough to figure it out?"

"Don't you dare start getting defensive with me, Hawkeye. I was exhausted. The first few bites of food I had for the first time that day wanted their way up immediately. I ran out of the kitchen. I think maybe that was a bit suspicious." I crossed my arms over my chest. "Rogers followed me to make sure I was all right."

"Well isn't he thoughtful," Clint said through clinched teeth.

Turning to him, I kissed his tightly pressed lips. "I didn't like having him that close. Part of me was too exposed."

He relaxed a bit, nuzzling my head. "As long as you two didn't kiss, I'm fine with it."

For a fraction of a second I froze. Quickly trying to cover it up, I relaxed again in his arms. It was too late though. Clint pulled away from me, getting out of bed. When I reached out for his arm, he yanked it from my grasp.

"What the hell, Natasha?" he asks. I could see it in his eyes that he was betrayed by the fact that I had kissed a man old enough to be my grandfather.

"We were surrounded. Public place. A team of Hydra agents had been sent after us. One was headed up the escalator as we were heading down. Public displays of affection make people uncomfortable, so I used that to our advantage. I took charge. Rogers had no part in this idea."

"Did he kiss back?"

"What?"

"It's a simple question, Natasha. Did. He. Kiss. Back?"

Looking into Clint's eyes, I answered. "No. He didn't. Quite frankly I think he was too surprised by the whole thing."

Clint rubbed his temples, groaning. "Not only did that bastard figure out my wife was pregnant before I did. He also kissed my pregnant wife."

"It was either kiss or be caught, Clinton." I said, using his full name. "It's not like I actually wanted to kiss him."

"Why not? Most of the world does. He's handsome and charming. Not counting the years that he spent frozen, he's closer to you in age. Not as screwed up as most people. Someone who isn't deaf without hearing aids."

I sigh, pulling my knees to my chest. "Even after all this time you still don't get it do you? I don't care how many years older than me you are. Which for the record, seven isn't a lot. We've been over this, you being deaf doesn't change anything. You are the one that I will only want to be with, ever. You're stuck with me, whether you like it or not."

Clint comes back over to the bed, pulling me into his arms. "I just can't help it. There are all these stories on the internet pairing you off with all these different men. A good amount of them pair you with Captain Freakin' America. Even the media thinks that you're a couple."

"Been reading these stories, have you?" I teased, trying to lighten the mood.

He gives me a quick glare. "Thor, Stark, Banner, and even Loki have been paired with you on the internet."

I cringe in disgust. "None of those would ever happen."

"A part of me knows that. Another part thinks that maybe it could happen. You deserve the best, Tasha." he sighs, resting his head into the crook of my shoulder.

"And I have the best," I assure him. "Now tell me, where there any stories of us."

"A few."

Lifting his head up with my hands, I forced him to look at me. "What kinds of kinky shit did you read about us on the internet?"

He smirked, breaking out of his mood. A hand moves my leg to where I am now straddling him. "It would be better if I showed you."

"But before we get to the fun part, I just need you to know that I love you. There isn't anyone else out there for me." I tell him.

"I love you, too." Clint kisses me, stopping any conversation from that point on.