Authors Note: ( Rated for Swearing, semi graphic smut, and some long awaited sweet moments) Read and Review Please!
Ch. 14
"'I was a little girl
Alone in my little world
Who dreamed of a little home for me.
I played pretend between the trees,
And fed my houseguests bark and leaves,
And laughed in my pretty bed of green. How could I have known?"
Priscilla Ahn- Dream
What was he supposed to do, how could he tell her he couldn't fight what he couldn't see. Clint was at a loss as he stood on the disturbed soil near one of the rune markers. The devil was always in the details and this devil was right in his backyard. The sun was beginning to rise and he shouldered the ax he'd carried up the small hill. Once he had determined Loki was not inside the estate any longer, at least he hoped the bastard wasn't. He had set about finding something, anything he thought he could break apart the markers with. They were circular rough cut stone carvings with the familiar Celtic designs etched on their surface. About the size of a soccer ball, five in total at conflicting points of the property. It ironically formed a fist. Five fingers stretching their power over them. Clint could feel the pressure of that grip and he didn't like it.
Raising it up he felt the heft of the ax in his hands and he rotated it a few times. This was as good of an idea as any. He didn't want to admit he was grasping at straws. But what else could they do? This choice could very well cut off the enchantments to the estate but that didn't concern Clint as much as he thought it might have a few days ago. Before he knew Loki was using the runes as his own personal back door. He could handle finding meat for the winter months they'd kept up a good stock pile. The kitchen was full of jarred vegetables and fruits. Soon the snows would come in heavy and thick. Blocking any passage by boat in the waters and any travel along the island would cumbersome if not non-existent.
It would be a long time before Thor could return, and if Loki wanted to start a war then he was going to make it as hard as possible for him to navigate on their playing field. He wasn't going to lie down and die. It troubled him to think no one in the kingdom had realized the trickster was able to do what he had been doing for seemingly months now. If this was the trouble Loki could cause without his magic, it pained him to think of the chaos he could start with it fully restored.
This development couldn't have come at a worse, and yet sadly better time. He wondered just how long Loki had been spying on them, on Khaleesi without anyone knowing. It troubled him to think just how much the god knew of their lives, personal attachment was a hazardous thing at the best of times. His life as an S.H.I.E.L.D agent and beyond had taught him this all too well. You didn't need a gun, or a blade to threaten someone. To twist them in ways they never knew they could bend. Raising the ax above his head Clint narrowed his gaze and brought the ax down in one swift motion. No one was going to twist his love for her; he wasn't anyone's puppet, not anymore. The ax connected in one solid swing lodging in the center of the stone. He dislodged the ax head and raised it again bringing it down with a loud grunting strike. It crumbled in three large chunks at this and he didn't stop until it was completely broken off the pedestal. That fucker was officially cut off. One down, four to go.
Clint had come to the conclusion long ago that he would do his best to never lie to Khaleesi, she deserved better and he wasn't going to treat her with indifference to what was happening around them. So when he returned to the house, he sat down beside her on the bed the blankets wrapped around her only her small face and her elegant fingers clutching the edges were visible. Any other time he would have commented how cute she looked. They would have time for compliments later.
Eyes puffy from crying he took a calloused thumb and rubbed the moisture away from her cheek. She sniffed loudly and no one said anything for a long time until she finally broke the silence. "I thought he was you…he was touching my neck…my face before…before he. I should have known better I shouldn't have been so stupid." Until now Clint hadn't thought she may blame herself. He frowned at her, forcing her chin up to meet his eyes. "Hey, don't you say that. You couldn't have known that would happen. It shouldn't be your responsibility to know. None of us knew he was here, I should have known if anyone. I've dealt with Loki before…I'm not going to lie to you Khaleesi, we need to be prepared for what he may do. He's pissed off thinks I'm impeding on his territory he's very accustomed to getting what he wants, any way he wants. I've destroyed his little back door to us but I don't think it will stop him from eventually finding us again…" He had tried to keep his voice level and even. But he could see a degree of fear begin to creep into her eyes.
Khaleesi let his words slowly seep in and digest in her heart, she supposed up until now she had allowed herself to be naïve, to grow comfortable in their life and ignore the possible dangers that lurked in the shadows. When she had prayed to the gods to deliver her a fate worth living, she had thought there was no price heavy enough, no pound of flesh she wouldn't pay. Perhaps the gods thought it humorous to play games with her. For they were collecting their debt now and she felt a sense of urgency to its song she would not yield to them, she would pay her debt on her own terms. The consequences be damned. She let the blanket drop around her shoulders onto the bed and she wrapped her arms around Clint's neck her hand touching the back of his head.
She pressed herself close to him and he could feel the heat of her body even through his shirt. Her bare breasts against his chest and as if in silent agreement he pulled her lower body towards him lifting her up by her hips allowing her to wrap her legs around his waist in one quick motion. She kissed him slow and long with a measured breath. When she pulled back they kept their foreheads resting against the other lips parted. Then she did something that made him come undone. She darted the tip of her tongue against his lower lip, quick and hot. He gave a low moan, hand desperate to pull to her closer.
He found their roles reversed, she urged him to lift his arms up peeling his shirt up and over his head. He welcomed her fiery demeanor his little dove wanted control. He would give her whatever she wanted. There was a desperate sort of sense to their touches, a needy sense of strength in their kisses; he could understand her craving for ownership. She was proving a point to him. He was the only man who would make her feel like this. Quiver and writhe with desire like this. His hands on the sides of her face he could feel the heat of her skin, jaw and cheek bones beneath his fingers.
Pushing him back onto the bed her hip dug into his belt buckle thought she ignored the discomfort, because it wasn't there for long and soon time meant nothing and all the world fell away in a primal haze of skin and teeth. Clint would give her anything she asked, if she wanted the sun and the moon and the stars he would find a way. If Loki wanted to watch them burn, he would have to burn them together. As they lay there hours later Clint could feel her cool lips kiss his eyelids, willing sleep to find him. He pulled her tighter into his arms. He would not lie down and die. Not when he had a love like this.
The winter this season was not so harsh and unchanging as it had seemed before, despite the feet of heavy snow and crisp cold air. Khaleesi sank down to her knees in the snow, bundled up in several layers of clothing, her cheeks flush with color, laughter like bells in the air as she struggled to pull herself up. Clint reached over and pulled her up by one arm with ease. She had convinced him to get up before the sun rose to look for their Christmas tree, the snow untouched and sparkling despite the lack of moonlight. It was surreal looking and he felt strangely excited to be the first to disturb the landscape.
He helped her along the more steady areas and it wasn't long before they found a suitable tree, eager to get inside Clint cut it down and he drug the tree along the top of the snow the trip back seeming to take less time than it took for them to find the tree in the first place. This year the decorations were of a higher caliber then the first. Khaleesi had made miniature wooden carvings out of driftwood and oak. Little versions of humming birds and fish, a dragon fly. It had taken her many weeks most of the spring. Clint had even made one this year; it had been a long time since he attempted to make something like this. He'd decided on a dire wolf, It was semi crude looking but he never pretended to be a great artist. He had presented it to her with a grin. Khaleesi had a tendency to humor him through many things but this time she had the decency to laugh with good nature when he had handed it to her exclaiming it was by far his greatest work.
He helped her hang the ornaments on the higher branches and let her work on the lower half of the tree. They had already had dinner had their special dinner having kept it rather simple. Clint had had deer and roasted potatoes that Khaleesi had made. She however had stuck to a simpler plate of greens and strawberries that she ate in a slow manner that stained her lips and fingers in a way that made Clint hold her gaze and interrupt their meal by stealing kisses from her. When he offered her a bite from his plate which she normally never declined she shook her head claiming the taste of meat made her stomach turn. He had frowned at this but gave it little thought. She was entitled to change her mind.
The following night when it came time to exchange gifts she had proudly presented his to him, it was quite a bit larger than his gift last year, and heavier. He pretended to shake it as if any noise it produced would divulge to him its contents. He was surprised to find a quite handsome winter jacket it must have taken her all year to make it. Soft pale wool lined the garment and the outside was thick and warm. It certainly wasn't his Columbian brand snow jacket but he liked this one much more. It would allow him to move more quietly because of its fabric. He was happy to find it had a hood.
He tried it on for her and he found it fit perfectly he never knew how she got it so perfectly every time she made him clothing. But he was grateful for it. He sat back down on the floor with her beside the fire carefully removing his new jacket and folding it back into its wrappings for safe keeping. He pointed towards the tree and said "You didn't see your present did you?" She looked up at the base of the tree seeing nothing. She twisted in her sitting place and still could see nothing. "I don't see any package Clint…" He smiled now at her words. "You gotta look closer Khali." She got up now scanning the tree carefully with her lavender eyes. It took her a few seconds but she finally found it. A small hand carved wooden box made of oak. She plucked it out of the branches it was nestled in and settled back down on the floor beside Clint. She simply stared at it for a time until Clint spoke "Go ahead Khali open it." She nodded finally and opened it slowly.
Lying inside the box was a small silver band adorned with a single shimmering purple stone. She felt her heart clench and didn't know what to do. He reached out and took both her hands in his the box still in hers. "Khali…do you understand what the ring is, what it means." She met his gaze and swallowed the lump forming in her throat. "Yes…yes I do." His smile grew and he took the box from her and the ring out of the box. "Is this something you'd want?" She returned his smile now nodding her head. "Very much so, more then you could imagine." He placed the ring on her finger as she spoke and he leaned in giving her a long and possessive kiss. "Good because He can't have you…Not now."