A/N: Hey guys… I cannot begin to thank you enough for your reviews! Keep them coming. Also wanted to let you guys know that we're going to intricate each story like we've done so far. Hope you like it… Before I forget, warning… Slight smut on this chapter…
It had been over a week since her encounter with him. She couldn't just go and tell Cassidy or Ellie all about it, and how much she wanted to tell them, but it was best for her and for Clint that nobody knew about what they got themselves into, even if it was one time.
The whole time she had been at work that week she would pay even more attention to her surroundings. She would make sure her hair was coiffed enough and that her suit was impeccable, because she knew there was a slight chance he was watching her. She even managed to sneak down to the training area on Thursday night, but he didn't make an appearance. But that next Friday was a different story; no, she had not seen him at all, but when she came back from her coffee break late in the afternoon, she was greeted by a small white cardboard box in her desk. Jessie turned around on her heels and looked for the culprit, but the floor was half empty and the other half was pouring over their computers on some work assignment.
Jessie sat down on her chair and she ran her fingers through the small box and examined it, wondering what it contained and who the hell left it there. She pulled the corners of the lid and opened the box to find a black, glossy cell phone. The sudden vibration of the phone startled Jessie and the box nearly fell from her hands. She looked at the screen where the message incoming call kept blinking at her, once, twice. She pressed the incoming button and held it next to her ear.
"Why are you so jumpy?" The unknown voice asked her. She swallowed hard, thinking she might be hallucinating (it's not him, it isn't…)
"Who is this?"
"Come on. I said I was going to keep an eye on you. Am I that forgettable?"
If this is what it feels to have your heart skip a beat, then Jessie was sure it just skipped like a hundred of them.
"No. Of course you aren't. I just…" What can she say, that she has thought about him every second of the last few days? That he had been lurking her dreams, finishing what they weren't able to continue.
He laughed, very amused at her reaction. It made Jessie shiver from head to toe.
"By the way, I like how you let your hair down. It makes you look even better." She unconsciously touched her hair but it was set up in a high ponytail. "Wait. I'm not… Well, not today."
"As I said before, I haven't set my sight off you. Jessica Chase, Scorpio, 27, youngest out of five daughters…"
"Did you call me to creep me out or do you really want something, Agent Barton?"
"I told you to call me Clint. But, I have to admit, I like how that rolls out of your mouth, Jessie."
She was sure she heard him smirk when she didn't answer. As exasperated he made her, she kinda liked it. "So, Clint. Why do I have a new cell phone?"
"I want to play a game with you"
"I am not very fond of games, Ag… Clint" she was starting to bite her finger, anxiously.
"Well, this you might like. It's like a scavenger hunt of some sort. Starting with the picture I left in this phone. Follow it and see where it leads."
"And why would I want to do that?"
"Come on, Jess" (oh God, he called me Jess.) "You're no fun. And stop biting your nail, it's a nasty habit."
She looked down at her hand and placed it on her lap. He was doing it again, he was watching her and she had no idea where he was. It was frustrating but alluring in some way. "Ok, fine. I'll play your game. And how do I know what to do next?"
"I'll let you know. Now, get your pretty little butt out off the chair and go get ready."
"You need to stop being so bossy, Clint."
"You need to start living a little, Jess." She started to move around on her chair as she thought about Clint's suggestion. She was never the one to go out and explore when she was little, she liked to sit down and read classic tales. She was not the kind to go out on adventures. But somehow, even if they had known each other not that much (well, he apparently had investigated me, so I guess he does now me a little) she knew she could trust him.
"Ok. Should I start now, because I think I might need to go home and change if you are...?"
"Open the bottom drawer to your left." She looked down at the desk and opened the drawer with her foot. A black duffle bag with the S.H.I.E.L.D logo, which hadn't been there several minutes ago, was half way opened.
"I am not going to wear a leather jumpsuit, Clint"
He sighed "well, as much as I would love to see you in one of those, it's not a jumpsuit, Jessica. I had Cassidy drop this off for you at your request."
She gasped, how the hell did he tell Cassie about this? He gave her a shaky laugh, reading her mind. "Relax. You just left her a note to do that favor for you. Now" he could hear him clap his hands "chop, chop, Jess. We got a long night ahead of us."
Then the line went dead. She placed the phone on her desk and took out the duffle bag and her purse. She grabbed her own phone and started to text Cassie and Ellie: "Will be out tonight. Don't wait up."
After changing into more comfortable clothes and leaving the duffle bag back in her desk she headed down and out of the STARK tower. She took a deep breath "ok, let's see what you have planned" she though as she opened her phone; she browsed through the pictures folder and found the picture of the New York Public Library and she started to make way to her first destination.
It was almost near dusk as she arrived at the Library. There were people sitting in the steps drinking coffee, girls talking loudly amongst themselves and business men on their cell phones, but yet, no sight of the archer. She felt her phone vibrate on her purse and saw an unread text message: find the book The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood and buy it. She started replying quickly "Very cute, Clint. What next?" She scanned through the book salesmen around the block, trying to analyze who would be the safest bet, then, another text message "Do it and I'll tell you. I see you fidgeting there and doing no effort in finding it." She closed the phone and sighed, what the hell did she get herself into.
It took Jessie a while to find it, since only one stand had one copy left which, mysteriously enough had been saved up to sell it today. She got the old worn out copy of the book and examined the binding with her fingers and opened it to browse through it, the smell of mustiness and a hint of vanilla tickling her nose, in a nice way. She found a handwritten note in the middle of the book "this book belongs to a very angst man sitting in a bench at Bryant Park; return it to him, if you will."
She took a deep breath and ran her fingers through her hair "how the hell am I going to find a guy in there? It's filled with people!" Her phone buzzed, Jessie took it out and opened the text message "don't worry. It will be easy to spot him." He kept doing that, like he was reading her mind and it was starting to freak her out a bit.
Jessie started walking towards the park and scanned over the lot of people to find the mysterious angsty man she had to give the book to. She ran over every people sitting on the benches along the edges of the park and saw one sitting by himself, dressed in an awful clown costume and smoking a cigarette, which, she was sure he was not allowed to do there. "Interesting choice, Clint."
She walked up to the man and held her purse close to her. "So, I am supposed to give this to you" and handed him the book. The burly man stood up and flicked the cigarette on the ground, stamping it with his foot. "Yeah, pretty girl." He scanned her over from head to toe, which made her take a step back (next time I see Clint, I'll kill him.) "Ah, so… You have to give me something back, or?" The guy winked at her while he licked his lips; he started to look inside a bag he had next to him. She stared tapping her foot anxiously at him; he pulled out a white envelope and handed it to her. "So, what are you doing later, beautiful?" She smiled shyly and walked away from him as fast as she could.
Jessie got out the phone and sent a message "You are dead, Hawkeye. DEAD!" Seconds later it vibrated on her hand "that had to be the funniest things I've ever seen, Jess. Still laughing right now. Anyways, opened it yet?" She had the white envelope between her fingers and took it up to her eyes, examining it. She opened the envelope and found a small, printed out, gift card with a pretty blue eyed doll "Dear Jessica, You have received an FAO Schwarz® eGift Card from: The Most Handsome, Skillful Man You Have Ever Met."
She stood in front of the toy store and took a deep breath as she walked in; the card had now prompted her to go and buy herself any toy she wanted ($10, really?) Jessie walked in and gasped in amazement, she always wanted to come in but since she had arrived in New York, from Minnesota, barely two years ago and started working at S.H.I.E.L.D., she hadn't had the time to really explore the city, specially this store. It has been like a childhood dream of hers (wait, did he… No he couldn't have. It's not even.)
Rows and rows of toys: dolls, cars, legos and video games. It was kind of overwhelming for Jess, she wanted to pick them up and take them home with her; besides, everything looked incredibly expensive. Just as she was playing around with the keys on a small wooden piano, she felt her phone vibrate. "I know you are probably having fun. But it's kinda late and I am bored." She smiled at his message and texted back "You know you were risking me staying here all night, Clint. And I might just think I could." Seconds later she got a response "Seriously, just meet me now. I want to see you. Just one more clue left." She blushed and smiled at the screen, it was just hard to believe a guy like him will give her the time of day.
It took her about five more minutes to choose the toy and she was sure Clint would probably have a laugh. She handed the cashier, Madison, according to her name tag, the gift card and waited for her to process it, she saw the writing on the card and looked back at Jessie and smiled "Quite a catch you got yourself there"she said as she placed the toy inside a red plastic bag. "Well, we'll see about that. There isn't… Anything there yet" she mumbled, the cashier handed Jessie the bag and she started walking to the door. "Miss, you need to take this too" Madison said from behind the counter. The woman was tapping her fingers against the register as she waited for Jess to turn around. Jessie looked puzzled at the woman "wait, what?" The cashier handed her a ticket and Jess looked at her, trying to ask a question Madison started to answer "they told me to give this to you. Don't know who it was, just doing as I was told."
Jessica walked outside and held the red bag in her hand as she read the ticket "West Midtown Ferry to Exchange Place. One way. 7pm" Where the hell was he sending her? She checked her wrist watch, realizing she has about less than 30 minutes if she wants to get there in time. It's a good thing she is in good shape, she might make a run for it.
"Well, enough time to spare" Jess took a deep breath as she walked to the front of the ferry. Night was already setting on the New York skyline and it was a beautiful sight. She leaned against one of the rails and relaxed; the warm breeze calming her flushed face. She took a deep breath and smelled… "Wait, I know that smell." She looked to her left with the corner of her eye and saw two familiar faces laughing and talking excitedly. She took out her own phone and dialed.
The tone rang once, twice. "Cassidy Ryan here, wait. Hey Jess"
"Where are you right now?"
Her friend hesitated for a second "I'm. Ah, I'm going out to dinner with Ellie."
Jessie laughed softly, she's hiding it. But knowing the whole story about Agent Coulson, it made incredible sense.
"Aha. Sure, have fun then. Say hi to Agent Coulson for me then." The line fell silent for a second.
"Wait, how did you?"
"Look to your far right" Jessica waved her hand softly at Cassidy and gave her a wink.
Cassidy blushed and turned away "We'll talk later. Anyway, you are far from home as well. Where are you going?"
"As you said, we'll talk later" she whispered to the phone and hung up and walked to the other side of the runway. I might as well give the cute couple some privacy.
She hugged her jacket tightly as she walked into the strange neighborhood and waited for Clint to call her.
Clouds started to slowly creep up in the sky and a chilly wind made her shiver just a bit. She sat on a bench near a bus stop and took Clint's phone out. She toyed with it for a while thinking maybe it would make time go faster but every second that passed seemed like an eternity to her.
"Maybe I should try and call…" she opened the phone and her finger hovered over the dial button "No, just, I shouldn't. That would seem a little too desperate" she thought and closed the phone shut. But it seems that he was reading her mind (again) as the phone vibrated on her hand.
"Had fun tonight?"
" Well, if you consider fun as running all around Manhattan and being stranded without a clue of where I am, then yeah, I guess" Clint laughed, clearly amused.
The line went quiet for a couple of second and all Jess could hear was Clint's heavy breathing and it sure made her blush.
"Clint?"
"Um, yeah?"
"What am I doing here?"
"Oh, right" he muttered. "Look to your right"
"Alright" Jess turned around and saw a line of office buildings lining through the edge of the river. "Now what?"
"Little impatient, are we? Can't wait to see me, I can tell" his voice was basically a growl now and she could swear her skin started to crawl. She bit her lip and just waited for him to continue.
"That last building. Meet me at the roof."
"Agent Barton, are you making me break into a building? That's breaking the law, you know."
He laughed and continued, his voice still low "the question is, Agent Chase, are you willing to do it?" And the line went dead.
It took Jessica about 5 minutes to pick the lock in the back door of the worn out building, 30 flights of stairs (couldn't choose a lower story building, couldn't you?) and almost kicking the roof's main door off in order to get in. But Barton wasn't there; she walked over the edge of the building, dropped down her things and held her breath, never in her life had she had the chance to see the Manhattan skyline like so: the lights in all the buildings and how it made it look so beautiful, as artificial as it might be and she leaned into the edge of the building and just marveled at the view.
She could hear steps coming up behind her and she tensed up, her heart started beating fast and she slowly took out the small knife she hid in one of her pocket jackets and turned around to face the stranger.
"Whoa, there, Jess. You are far too jumpy" Clint held his hands up, one hand holding a bottle.
She was sure her heart didn't stop beating fast when she saw him "You fucking scared me, Barton" she replied as she put her knife back.
He laughed softly and started to uncap the bottle in his hands. "How about a drink? Maybe help you relax a little" he handed the bottle to her, never taking his gaze off her and she took a nervous step forward and took the bottle in her hand, and she was sure his fingers brushed up to hers. She took one long gulp and scrunched her face, she hated whiskey and this particular one, wasn't any better. Clint laughed at the gesture "can't take whiskey, little girl?" and he gave her a defiant stare and she just raised her eyebrow and said "bottoms up, Clint" and took a deeper gulp of the amber drink.
She handed him the bottle and faced the skyline again "Do you come here often?"
He walked up and stood right next to her, his arm brushing against her "I try to escape Tony and Phil sometimes. And this" he extended his arms out to the city "is where I come to." She looked at him and could see that sense of freedom when he was up high, like it was his realm, like his comfort zone. A small smile formed in his lips and laughed.
"Why are you staring at me, Jess?" he broke her thoughts.
She bit the inside of her cheek, trying to come up with a better answer than: you are just so fucking beautiful I can't help myself. "I was wondering, why did you have me run around New York? Is this your idea of a first date?"
He raised an eyebrow and looked back at her, his blue eyes sparkling a bit. "Well" he rubbed the back of his neck with his hand "the first part was basically for me, I loved seeing you squirm." He gave her a wide smile "and the last ones, that's basically for you. I knew you hadn't properly seen New York nor had the chance to go into that toy store."
Jessie smiled at him, so he actually sent her there just because of her, and, as creepy as he knows that much about her, she loved it. "Well" she put her hand on top of his, which rested lazily on top of the rail "thanks. For that" and squeezed it hard.
Lazy drops of water started to fall down slowly and they both looked up at the sky, dark clouds looming on top of them. And then the rain started to quickly increase by the second. Clint took her hand and started to drag her towards the main door but she froze on her spot. He looked back at her for a second, and the rain started to damp her hair. "So, I take you are a fan of pneumonia?" he yelled at her, the rain getting louder.
Jess walked over to Clint and took his face in her hands and kissed him. He placed one arm against her back and pushed her flush against him. Clint turned her around on the spot and walked her over against the wall next to the door and pinned her against it. He started to kiss up her neck hungrily as she tried to pick up his wet shirt and pull it off from him.
In one swift movement he took it off and threw it who knows where. Clint hooked his fingers on the collar of her jacket and started to take it off slowly, kissing every visible patch of skin on her shoulders and flushed chest. She started to breath heavily, consumed by the feeling of his warm lips, the cold drops of rain against her hot flesh.
"I wanted to do this for so long" he whispered in her ear, his breath tickling her skin and making her fingernails press down hard in his back. He made way back to her lips as she pushed her hips against his, making the friction unbearable. He lowered his hand and unbuttoned her jeans, his fingers taking off the layers of fabric from her.
He took her leg and hitched it up against his hip, making her giggle. He managed to work down the button and zipper of his jeans and looked straight into her eyes. "Just… Just do it" she whispered against his ear. The sheer sultriness of Jess' voice pushed him on edge as he let himself into her, making her bite his lip hard. He thrusted into her slowly, every push making her go over the edge.
"I know you can do better than that, Agent Barton" she smirked as she raised her eyebrow playfully. He took her other leg and prompted it against his waist and pushed her hard against the wall. He leaned his head against hers and whispered "you have no idea who you are messing with, little girl" and started to push himself harder and faster into her.
Jessie dug her fingernails in Clint's back as he pushed harder, the hard wall aching on her back, but right now, that did not matter. She pressed her hands against the low of his back, edging him on. His hands on her hips, pressing them against him with every thrust. She could feel herself at the edge, as he started to increase his pace. She pressed her head against the wall once her orgasm hit her, closing her eyes and screaming loudly. He slowed his pace and looked at Jess, watching her writhe and ride it out. She smiled and opened her eyes, looking at the lust blown eyes of the archer.
She bit her lip and tangled her fingers in his hair, kissing him hard and rolling her hips on him. He quickened his pace and gasped into her lips, coming seconds after. She pet his hair as he rested his forehead on her shoulder, letting him ride the orgasm out.
He pressed his forehead against hers and smiled. The rain had increased in the last few minutes (not that either of them noticed) and it soaked them completely. He kissed her softly and took her hand in his.
"Well, that was different" he whispered. She looked straight at her eyes and ran her fingers through his damp hair "good different or bad different?"
They both laughed at the question. Even if it had taken long enough, the wait was worth it. The gift card, the view on the roof top and the rain had made the moment even better than Jessie pictured (oh, right, the gift.)
She let him go and set her clothes straight and ran directly to where she had put her purse and the now ruined red bag. "What are you doing?" he turned around to face her, a puzzled look in his face.
Jessica opened the gift bag and took out the big toy box and walked back towards Clint. "I thought you might like this" and handed him the present, a silly grin forming in her face.
He took the box and laughed "really? A Captain America bobble head? No Hawkeye one?" He leaned to kiss her "I'll give this to Steve; he'll have a good laugh over it."
He hugged her as the rain started to pound even harder. "So, anything else I need to run out and find?" she said, pressed against his chest. He kissed the top of her head and she looked up at him.
"Let's just stay here for a while."
"Really? Are you a fan of pneumonia too, Clint?"
He smirked and took her hand and guided her back to the wall. He sat down and motioned her to sit down with him "That would keep me out of work for a couple of days and God knows I need to rest."
She sat next to him and rested her head on his shoulder. He carefully placed his arm around her frame and held her close. The only thing they needed right now was the rain and the Manhattan skyline.