Clint and Mikayla say thanks, Katie, for the congratulations! I hope you all are enjoying this as much as I am writing it. Thanks to everyone who's taken a gander at it and are sticking with me through the journey of Clint/Mikayla. And, yes, I paid homage to Sex and the City with the proposal. I even have the GIF for it. I always figured Clint was such a badass he would be tender yet sarcastic in his off-hours. Now, how will our couple follow up on their engagement? Please read and find out!
He wrapped an arm around her waist and whispered, "Ditto." They held each other for several minutes, then Clint broke the hold. "We've got reservations. I was hoping you'd say yes, otherwise it would've been a very awkward dinner." He clasped her hand and they went down to the lobby. "I have a car waiting, James Monroe."
The clerk (unfortunately not the same one from when they checked in, Mikayla thought ruefully) looked at the computer and found the information. "Yes, Mr. Monroe, I found it." He handed Clint a set of keys. "Enjoy your evening."
"Thank you, Martin, we will." The clerk directed him to where the car was parked. They got in and he started driving. He noticed Mikayla was still staring at her hand. "It's still there, not going to fall off."
She laid her hand on the center console. "I know. I think I'm still in shock. You surprised me, Clint. Did you have this trip planned the entire time?"
"A spy never reveals all his secrets. I will tell you it pays to be affiliated with SHIELD and to have friends with connections. The only thing I'll say is, no, the trip was not planned." He reached down and held her hand. "We're here." He parked in front of a small fine dining restaurant. They exited the car and entered the establishment. "Reservation for 2 for Barton." Mikayla looked at him. "Owned by a former SHIELD agent, already know my name so don't have to use an alias."
The maitre'd looked at his list. "Yes, right this way, Mr. Barton and Miss Fitzgerald. I take it this means she said yes?"
They said in unison, "She said yes." Clint looked at Mikayla and had never seen her look more peaceful. She truly was his angel, his saving grace. He didn't say anything earlier, but he'd felt the same way she did, resigned to singleness. That was to be expected due to the life he'd led. Attachments can cause you to lose focus, they can be used against you, but he did what he did best. With laser focus, he considered everything and knew there was no way he was going to let this miracle woman out of his life if she'd have him.
Mikayla eventually noticed Clint looking at her and she beamed. She couldn't think of a time in her life when she'd been happier. Mikayla Barton, she rattled the name around in her head to get used to it. She wondered if he'd done the gentlemanly thing and asked Fury first. Knowing his dislike of authority, he probably didn't. Even if he did and Nick said no, she knew he'd go through with it just to spite Fury, which caused her to softly chuckle. They arrived at their table and sat down. "I'll bring the champagne to allow you to look over the menu. Please don't hesitate to ask if you need anything." They thanked him and he walked away. Clint noticed her eyes shifting from the menu to her hand and back.
"Babe, did you want an appetizer?" She mumbled something he couldn't understand. "Mikayla?"
"I'm going to be Mikayla Barton," she said a little clearer.
He smiled. The way the name rolled off her tongue, the way it sounded in her voice, his name had never sounded so beautiful, so…right, coming from someone else. Usually, when someone else said it, he was in trouble, or joking with Nat, or talking with one of his teammates. There was one piece of the puzzle missing, however. His friend and mentor, her uncle, Phil Coulson. Clint hoped he would approve of him marrying his niece. He'd like to think he would. The two of them had gotten off to a rough start. Clint, who refused to believe authority meant anything but to be disobeyed at every opportunity versus Phil, who knew leadership and rules were established to keep order. Eventually, they met somewhere in the middle. Clint learned to listen to him sometimes and Phil learned to look the other way on occasion. He looked again at his girlfriend, no, fiancée, and realized she did resemble the Coulson side of her family. The waiter reappeared with water and a bottle of champagne. He poured some into flutes and left the bottle chilling at the table. "Have we decided on an appetizer?"
"Mikayla, which appetizer did you want?"
She finally looked up from the menu and her hand. "Oh, uh, sorry. I'll have the lobster tacos, thank you."
"I'll have the same. Are you ready to order?"
She nodded. "I'll have the salmon, please, with a side of asparagus."
"And for you, sir?"
"KC Strip, medium rare, also with asparagus. If you could also bring us each a serving of lobster bisque."
"Certainly, Mr. Barton." He took the menus from them and left to turn in the order.
"I have a fiancé," Mikayla murmured.
"Yes, you do. Um, we do need to talk."
A panic-stricken look crossed her face. "You're not breaking it off already, are you?"
"No way, Mikayla! I was just going to say it may be a long engagement. It's been too long in between missions, and I have a feeling we're going to be hit by them. Fury won't make an exception for me just because I'm engaged to Coulson's niece."
She breathed a sigh of relief and sank back into her chair. "That's fine. We've rushed everything else in our relationship, I don't mind this one taking some time. Since I'd given up hope of ever getting married, I have no idea how to start planning a wedding, so that will take time." She shook her head and looked at him with a goofy grin. "Did you know I got engaged today?"
He laughed. "I seem to remember being there when it happened. Your fiancé is the luckiest guy in the world."
"No luckier than me, Clint." The grin turned into one of her alluring smiles. "Thank you."
"For what?" Clint took a drink of champagne.
"For making my dreams come true, dreams that I didn't even know I had, that I wasn't sure would ever happen I'd buried them so far down."
"Anything I can do to keep that smile on your face, I vow to do."
"Same here, because you have such a gorgeous smile, though," she grinned, "I have to say, I've grown accustomed to your smirks." He happily responded to that with a smirk. She chuckled. "Who would ever think a smirk could be so blasted attractive and sexy? Not me, but it's one of the many things I love and adore about you." She shook her head. "I swore in my head I wasn't going to become one of those sappy women, but then the ring appeared on my hand, and I don't know how to be anything else."
"It'll pass once the newness wears off. And, if it doesn't, I'll still love you." The waiter returned with their appetizers and their bisques.
Trying to get out of her sappy mood, Mikayla took a bite of a taco and asked, "So, now that SHIELD has fallen, how will you find out about missions? Nick, I'm guessing?"
He nodded. "He's always had connections no one knew about. Plus, watching the news will give us ideas for hotspots that might need our help. Covertly, of course." He ate some of the bisque.
"So, have you been here before?"
"No. It was on our list in case we ever had to wine and dine a mark. I'd always wanted to try it, so I thought it would be appropriate for a couple who are starting and wanting to make new memories of their own." He refilled their champagne flutes and took a sip.
"Are you saying you're tired of the house already?"
"No, I enjoy our time at the house. I just thought we needed to be somewhere where ghosts weren't. You've done enough fighting the last 24 hours, what with your apartment being bombed, putting Nick in his place, and our argument. I wanted to take you somewhere that didn't require any fighting or struggling."
"You do live up to your codename. You notice things that I'm not even aware of."
"Told you when we first met, you'd figure that out." The waiter brought their entrees and took their empty saucers and bowls away. The couple began eating their dinner and were silent for several minutes. "How's your meal?"
"Delicious. Yours?"
"Pretty good." He sat back and watched her as she ate. One of the things he loved to do is watch her in normal situations, whether it was housework when they were at the farm or talking to his teammates while they were at the tower. She didn't put on airs and seemingly got along with everyone and was confident in all situations. Mikayla wasn't one of those dainty eaters, she enjoyed her food. To him, she was real, and after dealing with superheroes, real was something sorely lacking in his life.
She felt him gazing at her. "Everything OK? Did I suddenly gain a second nose or have something stuck between my teeth?"
"Nope, just admiring your beauty and your genuineness."
She blushed. "Thanks, Clint." He made her stomach flutter when he said things like that. Clint didn't make a big production of things. She shouldn't have been surprised he chose to propose to her away from everyone else. He didn't like drawing attention to himself. It was one of the things they had in common, they each hated being the center of attention. Mikayla assumed it had to do with his job. That would be the last thing a spy or an assassin would want, to be noticed. She figured they had to blend in with their surroundings. She remembered Nick telling her she'd make a good spy, which meant a lot coming from the spymaster himself. She knew he didn't hand out compliments often. "Do you ever taste what you eat? Or do you just swallow everything whole? Though, I'm sure you're used to having to eat in a hurry."
"I've been doing that as long as I can remember. Growing up, the quicker I ate meant the less time I'd have to spend in my dad's presence if he were sober enough to be at the table. Later, when I was in the circus it was every person for themselves. You had to be quick because if you weren't, you wouldn't get any food."
She continued eating her salmon and asparagus. She assumed he was enjoying his steak. She got full about halfway through the meal, still a little leery about upsetting her stomach. Mikayla thought about what he said. He never talked much about his childhood, just letting a few snippets through here and there. She compared her upbringing to what she knew about his. Being an only child, she never had to worry about competing with a sibling, or even a close friend. Living out in the country, she didn't have easy access to her classmates, but her parents were always willing to drive her wherever she needed to go. That way she was able to socialize with her friends. Of course, that ended when they died, and she was taken in by her uncle. She was enrolled in a local school where many of the kids with parents who worked for the government attended. Having not grown up with them, she felt like an outsider, so she poured herself into her studies, graduating with honors and getting a scholarship to NYU.
"Feeling okay, Mikayla?"
She nodded. "I am, just don't want a repeat of earlier."
"Understand that. We'll take the rest of it back to the hotel. Just wanted to make sure you were okay."
"I just got engaged to you, I'm more than okay, Clint." She beamed.
'God, I love that smile,' he thought to himself. 'It still throws me she said yes, or that she even agreed to go out with me. I told myself for so long I didn't deserve to be happy. That is one thing I'm glad I was wrong about.' The waiter appeared. Clint asked for a container so Mikayla could take the rest of her dinner home. "I'll get it packaged up for you, sir." The waiter took the plates and returned a short time later carrying a container. He was followed by a woman carrying a saucer with a large slice of cake on it.
"Good evening. I'm Isabel, the manager. I wanted to thank you for selecting our restaurant to celebrate your happy occasion. On behalf of our establishment, let me offer our congratulations and this." She placed the saucer on the table between the couple and handed them each a fork. "Many happy returns and the dessert is on the house." The waiter and Isabel left the table.
"Well, I guess I can find room for a couple of bites," Mikayla joked as she cut a bite off with her fork. She moaned as the moist cake hit her lips. "That is the best cake I've ever had, and I'm not even much of a chocolate fan. If it all tasted like that, I could start, though." Clint took a bite and agreed with her. They were able to finish the dessert and he paid for the meal. "This night can't get any better."