Wow! Thanks to all who have viewed and are following this story. Other than papers for school, I've never really put anything I've written out there.
It might be awhile for a new update, I'm working as hard as I can and I have an idea of how the big fight is going to play out, but I know its going to take me awhile to get the quality I want out of it.
So, in the meantime, I was thinking of posting another companion piece about the Brazil mission that led to the elopement and the tattoos, tell me what you guys think? It would be pure fluff, I'll keep it clean this time.
Once they returned Clint rummaged through the kitchen for something to eat and put some water to boil for coffee. He came across some trail mix he had bought the night before, he would have preferred some fresh fruit and yogurt as a post run breakfast but this would have to do. He grabbed a couple of water bottles from the fridge and sat at the small table with Natasha.
Natasha picked at the trail mix and drained her coffee then went off to take a shower. Clint took his coffee outside and sat on the small wooden porch, taking in the stillness of the forest. He wondered if they could spend forever in a place like this, people did it sometimes, didn't they? Got lost off the beaten path and disappeared from the rest of the world. In the back of his mind he knew it would never work for them, they weren't the type of people who could just sit back and do nothing.
They went into the lone grocery store in the small town that afternoon. It was the type of trip that only required a solo effort but Clint wasn't ready to leave Natasha alone for any period of time. The two walked the aisles together, pausing to throw the staples into their cart. Natasha was fresh faced with her hair pulled back in a ponytail, a few tendrils hanging around her face. Her checks were slightly pink from the chill in the air and Clint couldn't stop thinking about how beautiful she looked. He noticed some of the men and stock boys do double takes when they saw her and knew they were thinking the same thing he was.
She wasn't alone in getting looks, Clint almost caused one of the young female store workers to knock over the stack of cans she was working on when he asked where the spaghetti sauce was.
Clint scanned the headlines of the newspaper and magazines for any unusual news stories but there was nothing about alien invasions or destruction to major cities. No pictures of either one of them either, not that there had been much. Most of the news outlets focused on the bigger names like Iron Man and Captain America.
The town was small and new people wouldn't be missed, especially a couple like Clint and Natasha. No one seemed to recognize them as members of the Avengers but the fact they were both very athletic and good looking, as well a new-comers to the sleepy town was peaking the curiosity of some of the townsfolk. The checker who rang up their groceries didn't hesitate to point this out.
"You two sure are a striking couple, here on vacation?" Her tone was kind but Clint could detect the nosiness in her voice. He also saw her eyes flick down to their hands, most likely noticing the absence of wedding rings.
"Yes ma'am," he said, turning on the charm. "We're from DC, looking to get away from the bustle."
"Planning a long stay?" She pressed on, motioning to their groceries.
"Maybe," Clint answered with an expression that stated he was not going to reveal anymore.
"Well," she said, handing him the receipt, "I hope you enjoy your time here."
The rest of their day was spent in silence. Clint tinkered around the cabin, pulling sheets off of furniture and airing out some of the rooms and Natasha read a paperback she'd picked up at the grocery store. He was comfortable in the silence with her but there were also so many things he wanted to talk about. However, he didn't want to push her.
The next few days went by pretty much the same, with Clint and Natasha going into town each day for supplies and to scan the newspapers for any headlines that meant they needed to get back to reality but other than the usual Stark-centric stories, everything was quiet.
They slept together every night, Natasha curled up into him, holding her close, relishing in the comfort he felt having her near.
Clint walked into the bathroom the next morning and splashed water onto his face to help wake up and then blindly reached for the hand towel near the sink to dry off. He dragged the towel down his face and then opened his eyes to stare at his reflection in the mirror. His face still looked haggard, shadows forming in the hollows of his cheek bones and under his eyes, eyes that were a bright shocking shade of blue, artificially glowing. Clint stared in horror his face in his mirror, and then he saw a movement behind him reflecting behind him. It was Loki, in his full Asgardian uniform, staring back at him and grinning. Clint started screaming.
He woke with a start, sitting up in the bed and clawing at the sheets, feeling someone try to grab his arms and fighting them off.
"Clint! It was a nightmare." Natasha's voice broke through his haze. "Wake up!"
He dropped his arms and opened his eyes, Natasha's concerned face coming into this vision, his breathing heavy. He passed a hand over his face and leaned back onto the pillow, digging the heels of his hand hard over his eyes, trying to scrub out the remnants of the nightmare.
"Fuck," he said, sitting up again and swinging his legs over the bed, shoulders hunched as the buried his face in his hands and tried to calm his breathing down. He felt a soft hand on his shoulder.
"Do I even need to ask what it was about?" Natasha asked quietly. Clint shook his head, "It was just a dream Clint."
He got up and started pacing the room, a nervous energy passing through him and making his body feel tingly, there was no way he was going to get back to sleep.
"I know it was just a dream, but it felt so real. My eyes, they weren't mine. And he was right there, in the corner of this exact bathroom." He motioned over to the room.
Natasha didn't reply, she just sat on the corner of the bed with her knees to her chest, her arms enveloping her legs.
"What happened to us, to you, that wasn't a dream," Clint went on, "Is was worse than a nightmare. When we were down there, in that cell, after Loki knocked us out with that gas again and I woke up in a separate room, did he do anything to you, while we were separated?"
She shook her head.
"That whole time, my worst fear, it wasn't about myself getting hurt or killed, it was about Loki taking control of my mind and making me hurt you again or going through on his promise and having me kill you."
He was referring to the conversation that had occurred between Natasha and Loki on the Hellicarrier while he was still under Loki's mind control, a conversation he had watched over and over for an entire day until she dragged him out and had the footage destroyed.
She was silent so Clint walked into the kitchen to get drink of water for his constricted throat. He heard Natasha walk up behind him and he turned and saw her, wearing his blue sweatshirt and nothing else, her porcelain legs standing out white against the darkness.
"I don't want to lie to you Clint, so I have to tell you, I was terrified of that too." He looked up sharply from his water glass as she said this, "When I woke up alone in the cell and heard the footsteps of someone approaching I was terrified it was going to be you, with those eyes, just like when I saw you on that catwalk, and you lunged at me and I just knew it wasn't you."
He put his water glass down, wanting to go to her, but waiting until she finished.
"Then when they dragged me out of there, I was just waiting…waiting to be brought before you, or before something that looked like you but wasn't you. So Loki's threat could come true…because as much as my behavior that day was part of a manipulation, his words still shattered me."
Natasha pulled out on of the chairs from the small round table and sat down, one leg folded under her, and Clint sat down next to her.
"We're never going to get away from this, are we?" He asked.
She shook her head, then looked at him, "I don't know. Everything feels so uncertain now. I guess its like you said before, if you put an arrow in Loki's eye, I think both of us would sleep better."
He nodded in agreement, "Are you ready…to go after him? To get some closure from this?"
"Not yet. But I think I will be soon." She gave him a small smile. He took her hand and turned it over, rubbing his finger over her tattoo.
"I love you, so much, and I want a family with you. I don't know if that's what you want but if you do, I would give it all up, SHIELD, the Avengers, everything, just to make you happy."
"Clint…" she said quietly.
"Does that scare you?"
"What? Your devotion?"
He laughed softly, "Yeah, I guess. All of that?"
"Maybe, but," she grabbed his left hand and entwined her fingers through his, pressing their ring fingers and tattoos together. Her eyes flicked up to meet his, "I'm good at overcoming my fears."
They both slept in the next morning, rising to a fully lit bedroom and a very chilly morning.
"Run?" she asked him, stretching her arms up in the air and arching her back in a way that made it hard for Clint to focus on what she was saying.
He nodded.
The air was crisp as they ran, this time going the opposite direction from the road and running into the forest. Natasha was pacing Clint at first but he noticed she was slowly pulling ahead of him, first slowing down to join him and then inching further in front of him and staying there. He increased his pace to match hers but every time he reached her side she went faster until he finally understood what was going on.
She was racing him.
Suddenly her pace increased dramatically and she shot out in front of him, she was always the faster one, and he struggled to keep up, finally losing her in the trees. He pushed himself to increase his speed and ran, with his lungs burning, until he came to a clearing with a small pond in the middle of it. Natasha was standing, looking into the water, her back to him. He stopped and leaned forward, hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath.
"Nat?" he said, between gulps of air, "What are you doing?" She turned around at the sound of his voice and suddenly, with the speed of cat, she was on him. Her lips smashed against his so hard their teeth knocked together and he couldn't keep his balance, falling backward onto the ground, his arms wrapped around her waist, pressing her to him.
He was still short of breath from the run but he wasn't going to let a simple thing like breathing stand in the way of having her so close, her hands clutching at his shirt, mouth crushing against his. He entangled his free hand through her hair, and then flipped them, so he was on top, pushing their bodies together, feeling the heat that ran between them.
The need to breath finally overcame him and he broke the kiss to gulp for air, Natasha, didn't break her stride, moving her lips down to his neck and his collarbone, causing him to growl slightly.
He kissed down her neck and savored her taste, her sweat mingled with a lingering sweetness. His hand left her waist and circled around to the hem of her shorts, fingers slipping slightly under the waistband as he looked up at her meeting her eyes in question. She gave a small nod and his lips crashed down on hers again.
They made love in the middle of the forest that day, slow and sweet, with no lingering anger or resentment. Neither one of them going for a power play, but instead responding to the other's caresses and breaths until both were left shuddering in bliss.
They lay panting on the grassy floor of the forest, the chilled air causing them to shiver as it combined with the thin layer of sweat on their bodies.
"I fucking love you, " Clint finally exclaimed, causing Natasha to dissolve into peals of laughter at his outburst. Clint thought it sounded like heaven.
"Ditto," she whispered into his ear. They both stood up and pulled their clothes back on. "Race you back?" She was off before he could answer her.