It happens every so often that Natasha's mind suddenly turns to her best friend. Just like now. She just finished running and is sitting on her couch catching her breath and drinking water.
As she thinks of Clint she realises they haven't called each other for a couple of weeks. Suddenly she misses him. Not that she'll ever say it out loud but she does. Not every day, not every week but sometimes she just misses him. The way he can make her smile. His ability to make her open up to him like no one has ever been able to.
Without trying to think too much about her next actions, she reaches for her phone.
'What?' he answers after a couple of rings.
'Jeez, Clint. That's not a good way to say hello', she throws back at him. Suddenly feeling like she shouldn't have called.
'I'm sick, Tash. Give me a break', he does indeed sound very congested and hoarse.
'What's wrong?' she feels a little better knowing she's not the cause of his bad mood.
'Flu has been going around the house', Clints sneezes loudly into the phone, 'first the kids, now me'.
'What about Laura?'
'Still doing fine, little bit of sniffles and a headache', he says before the call is interrupted by a nasty coughing fit. Natasha smiles a little. Clint and being sick don't mix. At all. She saw proof of that a couple of years ago when he caught a cold during one of their assignments. She thinks she finally found proof that the man flu does actually exists.
'I'm sure you'll live', Natasha teases him a little.
'You don't know that', he retorts. Natasha laughs a little at that, 'God, don't laugh, Nat. I feel bad enough as it is'.
'I'm sorry. I was just teasing you'. Another round of coughing can be heard on the phone.
'So what about you? How are you?' he asks when he catches his breath.
'Okay, I guess', she replies softly with a shrug.
'That's convincing', there's instantly a hint of worry in his voice.
'It's nothing, Clint. Just quiet around here', she moves to sit on her knees, her feet tucked underneath her.
'So you miss me', now he's the one who's teasing. Except he's not wrong. It scares her how much she needs Clint in her life. How much she started depending on him to always be there.
'You wish', she throws back at him. Not knowing if she's actually successful. He laughs a little. However the laughing sets off another heavy round of coughs. She has to admit it sounds pretty nasty.
'So how are you really?' Clint asks after he's done. His voice sounds even raspier now than it did five minutes ago.
'I just told you I'm okay'.
'It wasn't very convincing, Nat', he croaks. She keeps quiet for a minute or so. And he lets her. He knows she's still there.
'I do miss you', she admits softly, 'I miss Laura, I miss the kids. I just miss… home'.
'You can always come over, Nat', he answers just as softly. There's a sense of pride in him knowing he gave her the one thing she lacked her whole life: a home. A safe haven she can always turn to.
'Thanks, I know', she smiles. She wants to say something else but a loud sneeze causes her to remove her phone from her phone temporarily. 'Not as long as that flu is going around, though'.
'Wouldn't recommend it', Clints answers with a loud sniff.
'Hey, honey? How are you feeling?' Natasha can hear Laura ask in the background, 'is that, Nat?'
'Yeah, here. I have to clean my nose', she hears some shuffling around.
'He's being overly dramatic, isn't he?' is the first thing Laura says as she comes on the phone. This makes Natasha laugh. Laura's voice sounds just as bad as Clint's yet she's still up and around taking care of the family.
'He kind of is', Natasha laugs.
'I heard that!' she can hear Clint yell in the background. This makes her laugh again. Man, she misses him and his family.
'Men…', Laura sighs.
'How are you feeling?' Natasha asks.
'About as good as you can feel with a bad headache and a cold', Laura coughs a few times, 'but I'll manage. When are you coming to visit? The kids keep asking about their auntie Nat'. As always it brings a smile to Natasha's face. And it makes her miss the family even more.
'Soon, I promise', she says softly, 'that flu has to be gone, though'.
'Can't wait to see you. I'm gonna give you back to Clint. Bye, Nat'.
'See you soon', Natasha answers.
'So you girls ganged up on me, huh?' Clint says
'We both know how you act when you're sick', she throws back at him, 'I'll let you get some rest, okay?'
'About earlier, Nat', he softly says, 'don't ever hesitate to come over. Or to call if you feel a little lonely. I'm always here'. It makes her strangely teary eyed as he says this. Because even with his sick, raspy voice he makes it incredibly convincing and meaningful. Everytime he says things like this she's starting to believe him little by little. And knowing that they chose her as their family makes it even more special.
'Thank you', she whispers and she's sure he can hear the emotion in her voice, 'get better soon, okay?'
'See you, Nat', he croaks before he's coughing again.
'Bye', she whispers before hanging up. Natasha keeps looking at her phone for a while. Thinking over the things he said to her. She can't wait to go home.