Prompt: Soft

From: avengers-tables .livejournal under 50-word prompt (yes, I do intent to use all 50 words)

Pairings: Clint/Darcy

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It always amazed him how soft she was.

Clint lay in bed silently, eyes watching Darcy as she slept beside him. Her chest rose and fell in a steady rhythm, slightly shifting his hand where it rested at her waist. His fingers slid across her bare hip, stroking at the skin there. He did this some nights when he couldn't sleep: watch her and marvel at this amazing woman who had so readily accepted him into her bed. Into her life.

Their time apart, between when he'd gone back to S.H.I.E.L.D and she'd gone back to school, had made him realize how amazing it was to have her in his life in general. Sure, he'd missed the sex. It was hard not to when your girlfriend rocked a body like Darcy's. But he'd also missed laughing with her over random bits of conversation or laying in the sand and staring up at the stars. She was the light in his life, in a way that she'd never actually know.

Like how she'd never know that he had automatically sought her out when he woke up in medical a month ago after falling out of a tree during an op and sustaining a bad concussion. Or how she'd never know that when he had nightmares that sent him flying awake in the dead of night, he could close his eyes and imagine her own soft blue ones to calm himself. Imagine her body pressed against his, warm and inviting. Her fingers tracing through his hair in soft strokes. She soothed his mind and body. Her fingers could return warmth to his soul when he was at his worst, buried so far into his head it was hard for anyone to pull him out.

She was his light, his safety net.

"Clint?" murmured Darcy, drawing his attention to her. Her eyes blinked at him sleepily. "What's wrong?"

Clint gave her a soft smile and leaned over to kiss her. Her lips pressed back against his, soothing his mind in a way nothing else could. "I love you, Darcy."

"Mmm," hummed Darcy, body pressing closer to his: soft curves against hard muscle. God, how he loved her curves. "Love you, too. Doesn't answer my question though."

He chuckled lightly and kissed her throat. "Nothing's wrong. Promise."

She shot him her 'I know your lying' look that made him wonder how she could possibly know so much. Seriously, it was freaky sometimes how she seemed to know what he was thinking. "Try again buddy, I know that wasn't the full truth."

Clint grunted and wrapped both arms around her, rolling them so she was resting on top of him. Her weight was a pleasant press against his body, not confining like it should have been but reassuring that she was safe and with him. "Nothing's wrong. I was just thinking."

Darcy chuckled a little and slid around so she could rest her chin on top of one hand on his chest and slide the other into his hair. "About?"

"You," admitted Clint. "How important you are to me. Your presence in my life. God Darce, I love you."

"I love you too," returned Darcy with a smile, moving so she was straddling him and supporting her weight on her arms and legs. "I'm not going to leave you either. Don't worry."

Clint felt his eyes widen, blinking up at her in shock. He hadn't even realized that had been part of his thoughts before she said anything. Seriously, how did she do that?

She didn't say anything more, just kissed him softly, reassuringly. A gentle press of her lips to his. He held her there for a moment, enjoying the simple touch before pressing harder against her lips and rolling them so she was on her back under him.

"Swear you won't leave?" asked Clint as he buried his face in the crook of her shoulder and neck.

He felt her breath hitch a little, her body stiffening like it sometimes did when he said things like that. She never told him why and he never pushed. Her family life was her own business, and she'd offered little in the way of information on the topic. He accepted this and made it a point not to ask. At times like this though, he wished he knew more. Still, she never pressed him on the topic, so he did the same favor for her.

"I promise I won't leave without a fight," replied Darcy. He noted the escape route she slipped in, a contingency point that took into account the unthinkable. She hadn't done that before, and it offered another clue to her past while adding a multitude of questions to his already long list.

"Deal," muttered Clint, dropping the topic at that point in favor of kissing her senseless. Yeah, he was curious but Darcy clearly wasn't ready to talk and Clint could think of a lot more constructive things they could be doing right then.

Talking could wait.