Another Life
Then...
They spent that afternoon lounging together on the sofa. Last night her hair had been straight, but now it was drying following their shower he could see it was naturally curled. He lay behind her on the sofa while she dosed in his arms, twirling a ringlet around his finger.
At about five pm, the power to the whole building went out, cancelling their impromptu plans for movie night. Using the remainder of her phone battery, Natasha ordered them some Chinese food while Clint grabbed the last few beers from the fridge. Finding some old candles in a cupboard, Nat lit them before grabbing the blanket from her bed and settling in on the single sofa opposite Clint for another night together. It had never really been verbalised, but she didn't really want him to leave anytime soon, and it seemed he had decided to stay...
It wasn't long before Clint was placing down his empty food container and grabbing two fresh beers, handing one to her as she slipped her feet back into his lap. He grinned at her before making a suggestion, "Do you want to play twenty questions?"
Natasha leaned back against the arm of the sofa, taking a sip of her drink. She raised an eyebrow in a silent question, not at all sure what he was referring to.
Clint explained without her having to ask, "you ask a question, and I answer it. I ask a question, you answer it. It's a good way to get to know someone"
She didn't admit it, but she'd never purposely tried to get to know someone before. Maria had somehow ended up a long term fixture in her life, but that was about it.
"Sure" she shrugged, what could go wrong?..
He tipped his beer bottle towards her with a small grin, reminding her of the night before when they'd first met, drawing a smile onto her face. Natasha took it as an invite to go first so took a drink and began;
"What's your favourite colour?"
"Purple" he smiled, clearly entertained by her easy opening question and returning with a far more interesting one
"What's the best way to start your day?"
"Well this morning was a pretty good example" Natasha replied with a mischievous smirk, gaining one in return from Clint. "If you could live in a movie universe, which would you pick?" she asked back.
"Star Wars. Definitely. If you won a million dollars, what would you do with it?"
Natasha considered for a moment before answering "travel the world"
Clint smiled, imagining her for a moment dining in Italy, visiting museums in England, walking down a beach in The Seychelles... "That sounds nice" he agreed.
"Are you a dog person, or a cat person?" Natasha asked. "Definitely a dog person" Clint replied instantly, "I figured" she grinned.
"Okay... What's one thing you never want to do again" He emphases the last word and she laughs, taking a few moments to think.
"Budapest"
Clint waits for more information, but Natasha is not forthcoming. She's smiling though, an already familiar glint in her eye... He's sure that story will come at some point, just not today.
"What risks are worth taking?" Natasha asked, finishing up her dinner and reaching to put the empty container and chopsticks on the table.
"Flirting with a cute redhead certainly seems like it was worth it" she rolls her eyes, amused. He'd let her off with a similar trick though, so she couldn't exactly push for a less flirtatious answer.
They continued asking questions, way past the original planned twenty, sat by candle light.
It was Clint's final question, however, which called back Natasha's earlier thought; 'what could possibly go wrong?..'
"What do you want to achieve in the next twelve months?" he asked, putting down the last empty bottle of beer.
"Well, graduating would definitely be nice..." Natasha replied, half joking. She was due to finish with her exams next year, though there was no doubt in her mind she wouldn't graduate.
The look that appeared on his face felt like the world was ending...