Late the next morning, you woke alone. Sometime in the early hours of the morning, you and Clint had come together again before falling back asleep with his arm tossed over your waist and his legs tangled with yours. Slightly disoriented you pressed your face into your pillows for a moment, realizing that they still smelled faintly of him before you rolled over and sat on the edge of your bed.
You might have thought it was one insanely erotic and realistic dream if it wasn't for the ache between your legs and the marks left on your body from his fingers and mouth. Stretching your arms above your head, you stood and made your way into your bathroom to shower.
Steve had said there wouldn't be training today as everyone recovered from the mission. So, you took your time as you thought about the night before. You had taken a liking to Clint from the first. Attracted to him on every level. He flirted with you but it had always seemed like that casual kind of flirting you do when you don't really mean anything by it.
The one thing you never expected was to do what you had done. You also knew that you wanted to do it again, but first the two of you had to talk. Showered and dressed in some of your favorite comfort clothes you headed out to the main floor to scrounge up something to eat.
Walking out on the main floor, you saw Steve and Tony sitting at the table with several files spread open in front of them as they argued about something that seemed related to the inaccurate intel from the mission. Grabbing an apple and a cup of coffee you sat down at the table and listened for a moment before you gave up trying to follow the path of their arguement.
Nat came in wearing sweat soaked workout gear and grabbed a cup of coffee before she headed back out. As you finished a second cup of coffee you asked, "Hey, do you guys know where Clint is?"
Both of the men looked at you and Steve said, "He left this morning for his leave."
"Oh. Right. Any idea when he will be back." Steve shook his head as he returned to pouring over the file in front of him.
You had forgotten that Clint regularly took personal leave from the tower, usually staying away for a week or two before returning. He was the only one of the team that did it. You had asked him about it once and his answer had been that he had gotten used to taking leave after every serious mission while working as an agent for S.H.I.E.L.D. that it was an ingrained habit he couldn't switch.
Tony looked at you with a shrewd look in his eyes before he asked, "Why are you so curious about what Legolas is up to?"
You hoped to god the heat that you felt flooding your face wasn't showing as you said, "Just curious, I wanted to talk to him about something. I'll catch him when he returns. I'll see you guys later."
Standing, you took your cup to the sink and set it in before you headed back to your room. It looked like you would have to wait to have that discussion with him. Which was frustrating but there was nothing you could do about it.
Clint was gone a week and a half this time and thankfully you were smart enough not to try and hug him or something when he came walking in. Tony had been giving you a lot of weird looks lately and you wondered if perhaps he suspected something had happened between the two of you.
It was another day before you had a chance to be able to get Clint alone. You would have suspected he was intentionally avoiding you, but he was just as warm and friendly with you as he ever had been. It was late when you knocked softly on his door.
He answered quickly, his eyes unreadable as he looked at you before he stepped back and you stepped into his room. It was messy. There were clothes tossed around the floor, along with a random assortment of weapons. He had some kind of workbench shoved into one corner.
"What's up?" He asked as he shut the door again.
You licked your lips as watched him walk around you and take a seat on the stool by his work bench. Sighing a little, you pushed a hand through your hair and said, "I think we need to talk. About what happened."
His eyes searched your face for a long moment before he said, "I think it would be best if it doesn't happen again."
You blinked in surprise and couldn't deny the stab of hurt that rushed through you, "You do? Why? Was it something–"
Clint cut you off, "No. It wasn't anything you did. It's just, we work together. Our lives regularly depend on each other. Being romantically entangled, it will just cause unnecessary complications and risks."
You stood there for a long moment, studying his face. His words made sense, logically you knew that. And it wasn't like you hadn't already decided that before that night. You were quiet for so long you saw as concern flickered in his eyes and he asked, "Are you okay?"
Plastering a smile on your face to mask the pain, you said, "Of course, I get it. I agree. Let's just go back to the way things were before yeah?"
"Yeah." Clint agreed.
"Well, uh, I'm gonna head to bed. Night Clint."
You turned on your heel and fled his room, hearing as he said good night just before you closed his door. Clint was right. It was best that what happened didn't happen again. But it didn't stop you from feeling the clench in your heart and the tears pricking at your eyes as you entered your own room.
