Prompt: rain

Pairing: Clint/Darcy

Not for the first time, Clint cursed the desert. Especially the weather. Yeah, he hated the hotter than Hades temperatures that normally plagued the dry landscape and under any other circumstances he would have gladly accepted the rain currently falling. Unfortunately, the sudden storm had decided to open up at the worst possible time: right in the middle of his make-up date with Darcy. A picnic makeup date.

This just wasn't his week.

Beside him, Darcy pulled her coat higher over her head, staring out at the rain with an unreadable expression. Her eyes scanned the surrounding area quickly for any signs of something. Possibly Thor if he had to guess.

Without much though, he reached for her hand and tugged her back towards the car they'd brought out, leaving the food where it was. Thankfully, they'd opted to take his truck rental rather than her Jeep. The lack of top would be a problem tonight. The rain pounded against the cab's roof as they took shelter inside, Darcy panting slightly from their brief run.

"Shit, I'm sorry about this Darcy," apologized Clint immediately, his blue eyes turning to her sadly. "I didn't even think to check if there was any chance of rain tonight."

"There wasn't," replied Darcy as she dropped her coat at her feet, eyes still scanning the area wearily. "I'm more worried about a flash flood with this kind of rainfall. The soil around here doesn't handle large amounts of water well."

Shit, he hadn't even considered that. Without much thought, he stuck his keys in the ignition and turned on the car. The industrial strength headlights, curtsey of S.H.I.E.L.D. standard vehicle requirements, lit up the area in front of the car like the sun. "Stay in the truck, I'm gonna grab out stuff."

"I'll help," offered Darcy, hand already heading for the door handle.

Clint lay a hand on her shoulder, drawing her attention back to him. "I don't want you to get wet, Darcy. At least, no more than you already are."

Laughing, she leaned over and kissed his cheek. "That's sweet, Clint. But a little water never hurt anyone. Now, lets grab our stuff and get to higher ground. Just in case."

She didn't wait for a response as she jumped from the cab of the vehicle and darted towards where their dinner was still sitting in the bag Clint had packed it in. He followed her quickly out of the car, grabbing the blanket as she grabbed for the bags. One of his arms wrapped around her as he shoved the soaked material under his free arm, leading her back to the truck at a run. He could just hear her laughter over the roar of the down-pour, the beautiful sound raising his spirits.

They were both soaked by the time they reached the car, both diving into the cab with their prizes. Darcy was still laughing as she set the food in the back, making Clint smile as he tossed the blanket back there as well. Hands free, he flipped on the heat while stripping off his jacket.

He ignored the way his shirt was soaked, turning to look at Darcy instead. "Is the heat up high enough?"

"More than," assured Darcy as she peeled her jacket off and tossed it in the back as well. Strands of brown hair were stuck to her face when she turned back toward him. The smile plastered to her face was radiant. "It's been too long since I did that."

"What, ran through the rain during a failed date?" asked Clint curiously, his hand reaching up to push a few strands of hair off her cheek.

Her smile softened as she reached out with one hand to slide her fingers through his hair. "More like ran through a rainstorm at all. And this date isn't a failure."

"We didn't get to finish our date yet again," pointed out Clint. "I'm pretty sure that counts as a failure."

"Who said the date was over?" whispered Darcy, her hand sliding down his neck softly. "Head back to the lab. I have an idea."

"Whatever the lady wants," replied Clint, throwing the car into gear. If she wanted to keep going, he sure as hell wasn't going to argue.

They pulled into the parking space in front of the lab half an hour later, rain still pouring down around them. Darcy has already started gathering stuff in the back seat before Clint can even turn off the car. He watches curiously as she grabs the bags of food and tosses his jacket at him.

"Not that I'd complain about seeing you half-naked, but I'm not sure how comfortable you'd be sitting in the middle of the lab that way," explained Darcy as she pulled on her own jacket and gathered the bags in her arms. "Ready to run?"

"As soon as you give me something to carry," insisted Clint, hands reaching out to take one of the two bags she'd grabbed.

"Whatever makes you feel better," shrugged Darcy before she pushed open the truck's door and jumped back into the downpour.

Clint followed her out a second later, locking the car as they both run towards the door to the lab. She's already got the door open when he gets there, holding the glass open for him to run in. Reaching her, he grabs the door and motions for her to enter first, much to her annoyance. She shoots him a look of 'I can do it too' before dodging inside, apparently deciding it's not worth getting soaked to have this conversation. Clint's hot on her heels.

Once inside, she heads into the middle of the lab and drops the food off before heading to a door just off the lab. She disappears inside for a moment and Clint can hear the wind howl as what he can only assume is a door is opened then shut again quickly. Darcy reappears a second later, more soaked than before. "Alright, it looks like Jane is either out in this taking readings or asleep. I'm hoping it's the later because the former probably isn't safe."

"Do you need to go check?" asked Clint, concern furrowing his brow. Of course, Foster has a detail that's supposed to follow he no matter where she goes, so he's not too worried. If she gets in trouble, they'll help her out.

Darcy pauses for a moment, eyes looking out the glass at the back of the lab before she shakes her head. "Nah, she's in her trailer. I can see the outline of the van from here."

Clint suspects that's a lie, given he can barely make out their improvised storm-chaser van from where he's standing, but he's not gonna argue either. He's more interested in what Darcy's idea was. "So what's your plan?"

Grinning, Darcy walked to a closet in the kitchen and pulled out two towels and a large blanket. "Well, if we can't have a picnic in the desert, we might as well have one in the lab. I'd say my trailer/room thing, but there's no where near enough space." Coming back over, she handed him the two towels and unfolded the blanket on the lab floor. "What do you think?"

"I think that sounds like fun," admitted Clint with a grin as he ran the towel through his hair and shed his jacket. The cooler air of the lab hit him then, or rather hit his sopping wet shirt. Well, that wasn't going to be comfortable. "Hey, Darce? Will you be exceptionally uncomfortable if I get rid of this wet shirt?"

Darcy shook her head calmly, beginning to lay out their dinner again for attempt two. "You have to be kidding, right?"

Clint held up his hands quickly, offering her a sheepish smile. "Just making sure. Don't wanna send the girl running by stripping here."

Rolling her eyes, she returned his smile easily. "Trust me, I'm not gonna run. I might jump you, but I won't run."

Mentally, he weighed that idea for a moment before shrugging and peeling the wet fabric from his skin. "Eh, I can handle that."

"I'd hope so," muttered Darcy, smile still in place as she finished laying out the food and stood. "Alright, I'll be back in a minute. A dry shirt sounds like a good idea and I think I've got one tucked away somewhere."

"You could always go without," pointed out Clint, perverted smirk curling his lips. He was careful to keep his words light, of course. Scaring her away or getting slapped were both on his 'not today' to-do list. "I wouldn't mind."

Smirking, Darcy shrugged and just pulled the fabric over her head. "If you're sure you don't mind."

Mentally, he added a few for digits to his mental 'awesomeness level' counter. He knew if he'd been bluffing, she would have just called him on it. And in some ways he was. Seriously, what girl just kind of casually took off their soaking-wet shirt? Especially when the guy was obviously joking? Not that he was going to complain of course. Definitely no complaints on his end. "Nope, don't mind at all. It evens the playing field."

"Yep," agreed Darcy as she gathered up both shirts and hung them over the back of the dining chairs. Returning to the blanket, she grabbed a piece of fruit from one of the many containers. "You know, I think this is better anyway."

Both of Clint's eyebrows rose in surprise. "How do you figure?"

"Easy," replied Darcy with a smirk. "Everything's more fun, when you do it in the rain."