I've had a couple crazy long work days so if I'm slow on posting that's why. I hope you're all enjoying it!
Dedicated to Kyla, who almost made me laugh till I threw up yesterday when I read her latest chapter out loud as if it was a bad 50's sitcom.
CHAPTER TWENTYTWO
It was a familiar feeling when Sharon lifted her heavy eyelids and saw she was in the same room as she was the last time she had a power build up. She was groggy but she was happy to tell that there weren't any restraints on her this time.
She turned her head and was surprised to see Clint in a chair right beside the bed, sleeping while still in his uniform in the battle. He looked exhausted, he hadn't shaved: there was the starting of some serious facial hair that Sharon thought looked a little sexy. She felt her chest squeeze at the sight, she was beyond touched that he was there watching over her.
A door opened that moment and Angel walked in, looking clean and put together. Angel gasped when she saw Sharon's eyes open and rushed over to the bed.
"Shhh," Sharon said, indicating to the sleeping Clint and not wanting to disturb him. Angel gave her a shaky smile and hugged her close, holding on to her best friend tightly as she held back tears of joy.
"We were scared you weren't going to recover this time." She whispered as some tears escaped. Sharon was still weak but she was able to hold Angel a moment, rubbing her back to comfort her worried friend. They stayed like that a few moments before Angel pulled back and stroked Sharon's hair lovingly.
"You've been out for almost a week." She said. Sharon's eyes widened as that information sunk in. Angel nodded at Sharon's bewildered expression.
"Sharon have you been holding back on telling us everything about your power?" Angel asked quietly, watching how Sharon's face turned red and she suddenly looked away.
"There are things that I can do that even frighten me…" Sharon said silently, looking pained for a moment as she fought the memories from her earlier life she had blocked out. Angel knew that look well and decided to drop the subject even though she felt sad that her friend was in such pain and she couldn't help her because she didn't know how.
"Well I should probably get stinky out of here. He's refused to leave the room since you were brought in. I'm not even sure if he left to use the restroom…" Angel said with a face, not wanting to imagine that picture.
She walked over to Clint's chair and kicked the leg hard so the chair jolted. Clint sat up quickly and looked around for danger.
"What! What's wrong?" He asked.
"Many things… your general unsanitary being is near the top of that list…" Angel said, backing up a few feet dramatically as if to escape some terrible odor, "Your sleeping beauty is awake." She said gently as she indicated towards the bed.
Clint looked over at Sharon who had laid back on the pillows, she smiled softly at him, "Hey Hawk," She said, her voice still slightly hoarse and groggy. Clint stood and walked over to her bedside, gripping the railing tightly as if he was scared to touch her as he gazed at her intensely, the emotion in his eyes was intense and full. Sharon looked away and blushed as he kept looking at her.
Angel awkwardly cleared her throat, "I'm just going to give you two a minute…" She said before exiting the room.
The room was deafeningly silent aside from the beeping of the monitors surrounding her bed. Sharon bit her lip and looked up at Clint who was still watching her intensely.
"So…" She said awkwardly, not entirely sure what to do.
"I hate seeing you in this bed." Clint said silently, his grip on the bed railing made his knuckles white as he restrained himself from reaching out to hold her close to him.
"You mean… you were there the last time?" Sharon asked, trying to remember if Clint ever stopped in to see her the last time but she couldn't recall.
Clint nodded, "I was the one to catch you when you passed out, I brought you here and was kicked out. Angel then came and stayed, so I watched whenever she wasn't looking or was asleep."
Sharon had a hard time swallowing as her mouth went dry and her throat got tight. She had no idea Clint had been there. The kiss they'd shared was still fresh in her mind, and she couldn't get it out of her head.
"You know… if you grip that railing any tighter you might snap it off." She said.
Clint loosened his grip a little, "I need to hold on to something so I don't touch you," He said while looking away, his face growing a little red, "I don't want to hurt you after all that energy buildup you absorbed."
Sharon's heart stopped as he mentioned her absorption. Sharon had known for a while that Clint was aware of her as a mutant, but she wasn't ready to talk about it with him. It was her goal to avoid the subject for as long as possible until she had to find an alternative means of escaping that conversation.
"I think it'll be fine now," She said quietly, looking up into his eyes, "to touch me that is."
Clint looked her in the eyes while he slowly brought a hand up to lightly rest on her cheek. Sharon closed her eyes and leaned into his touch, the tingle that ran down her spine felt delicious and wonderful. It flowed throughout her system and made her entire body feel warm.
Clint brought his face down and pressed his cheek to hers, closing his own eyes and he breathed in her scent. She smelled delicate, like lilacs; it was beautiful and intoxicating to him. He nuzzled his face into her neck as she did the same to his.
Sharon inhaled Clint, finding the bitter smell of metal and dirt on him more comforting than expected. He needs a shower, one that I wouldn't mind joining in on… her dirty mind thought, Sharon rolled her eyes at her own perviness.
She opened her eyes at that point and saw Angel watching them in the window. Angel made eye contact with Sharon and gave two thumbs up. Sharon's eyes widened as she raised a hand to wave at Angel to leave. Angel was too excited for her friend and picked up a small piece of paper she had and wrote something on it in sharpie before holding it up.
TELL CLINT DON'T BE A FOOL AND WRAP HIS TOOL
Sharon's eye twitched as she read the sign. Angel laughed maniacally and left the room just as Clint lifted his head when he felt Sharon grow tense.
"Everything okay? Your eye is twitching." Clint asked looking concerned. Sharon waved him away.
"I'm still a little tired. I think I'm going to sleep a bit," She said, settling back against her pillows.
Clint stood up and made as if to sit in his chair again, "What do you think you're doing?" Sharon said, "As sexy as that outfit is and I like the stubble, you need a shower."
Clint looked down as his disheveled clothes and chuckled, "yeah… I've been putting that off for a while."
"I don't want to see you till you're in fresh clothing," Sharon said, chuckling as he rolled his eyes and walked back over to her.
"Alright, but I'll be back later," He said before kissing her forehead and leaving the room.
Sharon laid against her pillows with a sigh, the moment they'd just had was more than anything she'd ever shared with any other guy before. The kiss on the forehead made her heart lurch.
She'd never been in a real relationship before, normally with guys she stayed with them for about two-three weeks before leaving them. She openly admitted that she let guys use her just as she would use them. It was an arrangement that never bothered her and kept her physically satisfied.
Sharon had a feeling that Clint wasn't going to go for that kind of relationship. The kiss on the forehead told her he was looking for more than that, and Sharon definitely felt like the wrong person for that job.
She sighed again as she pushed her hair out of her face and closed her eyes, deciding she was going to figure it out in her head later after she recovered.
*.*.*.*.*.
Angel skipped down the corridor and hummed happily to herself. Not only was Sharon finally awake, but when Angel left they were having a very tender moment. Angel saw a look on Sharon's face that she had never seen before and Angel knew exactly what it was: Love. Her friend was falling hard for Clint Barton, and it made Angel ecstatic.
She skipped to Steve's quarters and enthusiastically knocked and waited for him to answer while she bounced in place. When he finally opened she launched herself at him and hugged him tight around the neck.
"Whoa there!" Steve said with a chuckle, "What's all this?"
"Sharon's awake!" Angel said as she squeezed Steve tight before letting go, "And she and Clint are finally getting their heads out of their asses and having a moment."
Steve smiled at Angel's perkiness, "That's great, looks like she's going to be alright."
"It's even better than alright! Her and Clint will be together and she'll finally have someone! I've been waiting for this to happen forever! I'm so happy she's finally letting someone besides me get close to her!"
Angel was beside herself with happiness for Sharon. Steve's smile grew and his chest tightened as he watched Angel glow with happiness. He let out a chuckle and placed his hands on her waist to stop her from bouncing off the walls.
"Careful before you hurt yourself there."
"I'm too excited to be careful! Everything is turning out right! The world is safe, Sharon is awake and alive, she's letting someone get close, and you and I have figured things out!" She raised herself up and kissed him, "I'm so glad we finally talked the other day."
A couple days ago Angel had been out of her mind with worry for Sharon, it had been over three days and she still hadn't woken up even after doctors cleared her for visitors. Angel had been having a rather large moment of panic when Steve found her in her quarters.
"She's not waking up!" Angel cried as she paced back and forth in the room. Steve stood in the doorway and felt his heart break as he watched tears stream down Angel's face.
"She's still recovering Ang, it's going to take time."
"what if she never wakes up? What if I lose her?"
"We'll deal with that when the time comes."
"I can't lose her Steve!" Angel sobbed, sitting on the bed and crying into her hands, "What am I going to do without her?"
Steve quickly walked over and sat on the bed, gathering Angel in his arms and setting her on his lap. He held her has her body shook with sobs and she soaked his shirt with her tears. She continued to cry for a good twenty minutes before she started to calm down and go quiet.
"Whatever happens, I promise you that I will be there to support you and hold your hand every step of the way. You will never be alone," He whispered, kissing the top of her head and holding her close.
Angel sniffled and looked up at him, "Do you really mean that?"
"Of course I do," Steve said, feeling sad that she didn't, "Angel what I told you before was the truth, I love you."
Angel's eyes filled with tears and Steve started to panic, "Please don't cry baby, you're breaking my heart here."
"I'm sorry, it's just that I thought you hated me." Angel said.
"I'm sorry you felt that way. I was confused and shocked by the information. For a moment I was in doubt, and then when you manipulated me to let you go after you attacked Barton, I realized that you were completely genuine to me the whole time. I understand if you can't forgive me…" Steve said sadly.
"I love you too Steve," Angel blurted out, Steve looked at her with shock, "I do, I really do."
"You have no idea how good it feels to hear that."
Steve smiled at the memory and looked down at Angel who still on cloud nine, "Are you going to tell Sharon soon?"
"Just as soon as she's done with her moment with Clint," Angel said, "Which gives me plenty of time to do this."
She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him long and deep. He smiled into it and dipped her back and held her close while she giggled in his arms. It was the best moment he'd had ever since waking up from his coma.
Next chapter coming soon!