A/N: it's snowing here in New England and I'm sitting here writing with Home by Michael Buble playing in my ears as I stare out into the evening. I dearly wish I had my own Clint to go take a walk in the snow with me. :/ alas, I do not. So, instead I will write a little dream I wish would come true for myself in the form of this chapter. Enjoy!
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Another High School Love Story
Chapter 13
The rest of the dance was rather uneventful. Bobbi resigned herself to glaring at Natasha and her friends from across the room. Natasha danced with Clint for most of the evening. At one point, the girls decided to put on a show for their guys, dancing lewdly up against each other. As it got later, everyone, naturally, acted crazier. Tony started a grind line that consisted of at least twenty people, because who wouldn't want to grind themselves against random friends and strangers alike? Natasha sat that song out, laughing at her friends as they joined the line.
Clint didn't let her out of his sight for the rest of the night. Her didn't trust that Bobbi would keep away, but also he just liked being near his girlfriend.
It was getting close to the end of the dance when Tony came up and said something in Clint's ear. He smirked at Tony. Natasha raised a questioning eyebrow as Clint walked over to her. He didn't answered he unspoken question, but offered her a hand.
"Dance with me?" he asked. She smiled and accepted his handed. He turned towards the DJ table and signaled something at the man running the booth. Natasha noted that Tony had appeared there just after talking to Clint.
"What's going on?" Natasha asked as he led her onto the floor. Her questioned was answered as a new song came on. Home by Micheal Buble. It was their song.
Tasha looked up at Clint who was watching her intently. She held her carefully, lovingly. They started swaying to the music, a little more intricately than a simple teenage dance. Clint held one of her hands in his and his other rested on her waist, with hers on his shoulder. He led her through a simple waltz-like dance. He spun her gently and dipped her. When he righter her again, he kissed her sweetly.
"And I'm surrounded by
A million people I
Still feel alone
And let me go home
Oh, I miss you, you know," Clint sang into her ear. She rested her head on his chest and closed her eyes. As the song ended, she leaned up to kiss him.
"I love you," she whispered. She realized that they had drawn a crowd and a spotlight had been shining on them. Everyone was clapping. Pepper was holding tightly to Tony, she was wiping at the tears that had gathered in her eyes. Darcy was smiling at Bruce who was holding her hand.
Natasha blushed at the attention as Clint pulled her off the dance floor, out of the spotlight. He knew she wasn't a fan of the attention, even though he and Tony had set the whole thing up. He wanted her to have a moment to shine, a moment where everyone could see her how he saw her. Beautiful and graceful and perfect.
After the music picked up in tempo again, the group of six decided they were ready for the dance to be over. There was only about a half an hour left of the dance anyway and plenty of people had already left.
They all climbed into Tony's Stretch Hummer. The girls removed their shoes and the guys removed their ties. Natasha cuddled up on Clint's lap and he stroked her hair. He gently pulled the crown free from her curls and placed it on the seat next them.
"Hey, do you guys want to come to my vacation house in Aspen? I can have the jet ready to take us in a couple of hours and we can spend the weekend there," Tony offered. Since his father was a billionaire, Tony's family had houses all over the world. They had spent summers at his Aspen home, which was more like a luxury resort, for vacations.
"Sounds like fun," Bruce said as Darcy nodded.
"What about you two? You guys wanna come?" Tony asked Natasha and Clint.
Tasha was so tired she didn't even answer. Her head rested against Clint shoulder, her eyes were closed. She looked for all the world asleep. Clint knew better. He knew she was as alert as she always was whenever there were other people around.
"Naw, we're good. Just gonna spend the weekend at Nat's house," Clint answered. He knew Natasha wouldn't really care if they went to Aspen or not, but he didn't feel like going anywhere. She would gladly let him choose, especially if that meant she didn't have to wake up right now.
"Suit yourself," Tony said. He wasn't offended by their answer. Truthfully, he had expected it. "Perhaps another time?" Tony offered. He would forever be offering them another place to go, a vacation wherever they wanted. Most people thought he threw his money and wealth around as a way to pay off his friends so they would stick around. Only their circle knew it was because he wanted to give them everything. They knew it was because he cared about them.
"Sure," Clint agreed. "Maybe we could have a New Year's retreat?" he suggested.
"Sounds like a plan," Tony smiled.
Tony had Clint and Natasha dropped off at Tasha's house. Steve was gone for the weekend and they had the house to themselves. Natasha had been asleep during the ride, sort of. He woke her up and they walked into the house. It was about midnight and the house was dark. Clint turned on the lights as they walked in the house.
Tasha was clearly exhausted. She had laid down on the couch as he put a kettle for tea on the stove to heat up. After a few minutes she was asleep again. Clint decided to skip the tea and turned off the kettle. He took his and Natasha's shoes and jackets upstairs and deposited them inside her door. He walked back downstairs to gather up his sleeping girlfriend. He carried her upstairs, much like he had last week.
He changed her out of her dress and into some pajamas. He had seen it all before and was still astounded by the beauty of her. He tucked her into the bed and changed into his own clothes. Clint wasn't tired, at all. He was didn't sleep much on a regular basis. Most of the time, he was worried for Natasha.
Most nights she had nightmare, so he would stay awake and help her get back to sleep. He was never able to fall asleep after though. He wanted to be sure he could be there for her if she needed him. He wanted to protect her from the demons of her past. He would lay in bed with her secure in his arms and think about how he wished he could always protect her.
He worried about his other friends and his family in these moments, too. He'd told Natasha once that he would occasionally have nightmares about his past or the horrors of what the future could bring, he had lied. Yes he had nightmares, but he had them more often than he led on. He had nightmares almost as often as Natasha herself. At least twice a week he would wake up in a cold sweat, scared out of his mind. Sometimes, he was even with Natasha when it happened. He was always careful not to wake her. He never made a big deal out of it. He preferred to contemplate in silence.
If Natasha found out, though, he would not hear the end of it. He knew she would be disappointed that he didn't trust her enough to tell her what was troubling him. He just wished she wouldn't see it like that. He trusted her so completely, it was dangerous.
Clint sat on the windowsill and watched the night outside. It had started snowing over the course of the hour he sat there. It was peaceful and calming. He wanted to go outside and take a walk in it. It would clear his head enough for him to sleep, but he couldn't leave Tasha here alone. She would need him if she had a nightmare.
"Go," a soft voice whispered from across the room. At first Clint thought she had said it in her sleep. When he turned he saw that she had been watching him. She was sitting up against the wall, he knees tucked up against her chest.
They watched each other for a moment. Clint thought about how she always knew exactly what he was thinking. She could see that his mind was racing with deep thoughts. She didn't know what the thoughts were, but they were enough to keep him from sleeping.
"Go, walk. I'll be fine. Just," she hesitated, "come back soon?"
He walked over and kissed her forehead. She settled back down under the blankets.
"I'll be back," he said. "I'll always came back." he answered her unvoiced fear. She was always afraid he would leave her. She never believed she was good enough to deserve him. He knew because he had the same fear. "Tasha, you are my home." he whispered against her lips.
"You belong here," she whispered. "You're mine home." he could tell she was fighting sleep so he kissed her temple and told her to sleep.
Later, when he came back from his walk, he climbed in bed beside her. He had thought about his fears and his dreams as he traveled through the snow. It was calming and enlightening. He felt better about his troubles and feel into an easy sleep beside the girl of his dreams.
A/N: Okay so this is me being a rambling idiot as it snows. It's a little angst-y. Sorry about that. It was meant to be complete fluff but I guess I'm just in a weird mood right now. But I seriously love snow and love walking in it. It's beautiful and peaceful! I think a lot and feel like Clint is the same way. Please leave me a review. I need feedback and I'm only getting it from a few people! Come on! The more reviews I get, the faster I update!