Dedicated to Kyla, who sadly can't see me today as I have to work an 8 hour shift. BUT I'm keeping the weekend open for her so we can have crazy escapades.
CHAPTER THIRTY
Sharon walked into the kitchen the next morning with a cranky expression on her face, glaring at Clint who had woken up her up by making noise cooking breakfast.
"Just so we're clear, I do not wake up before eleven for anything or anyone. If I do get woken up, the thing that woke me up gets destroyed, completely obliterated," She said while walking over to the fridge to get some juice, "But I'll let it go this time because you didn't know."
Clint looked over at the wall clock, "It's ten forty-five, Shar."
"I don't care, don't wake me up before eleven!" She growled, feeling ornery and off-kilter with Clint there. She hadn't gotten a lot of sleep the night before knowing Clint was in the next room. Thoughts kept her up all night as she wondered how to approach the situation and if maybe there was another way to avoid the talk; but every idea came to a dead end.
"Duly noted, how do you like your eggs?" Clint asked, turning back to the stove.
"Poached with toast please," Sharon said as she walked over to the table and sat.
"Want some coffee?"
"God no, I can't drink the stuff," Sharon said with a wave of her hand, "I'm energetic enough as is, imagine what coffee will do to me. No I only keep the stuff around for Angel."
"Angel stays here often?"
Sharon nodded, "Why do you think I have the extra room? That's Angel's room."
"I thought you said it was a guest room," Clint said, feeling confused.
"Angel is a guest, the only one who ever comes here. The only one who is ever invited here," She said while giving Clint a pointed look. Clint only smirked and chuckled.
"You invited me last night,"
"Because you gave me no choice," Sharon growled.
"I would have been happy to stay in my tent, you didn't have to invite me to stay in Angel's room."
Sharon knew he had her there. She couldn't be angry at his staying in Angel's room. Fact was that she wasn't angry, but uncomfortable and confused. Clint finished putting together Sharon's plate and brought it to her and sat in the chair opposite her to watch her eat.
"It's a great place, you put a lot of heart into it," Clint said as he looked around, "I like all the little touches, mind giving me a tour when you're done?"
Sharon gave him another pointed look, "You already took the liberty of doing that yourself, why take another?"
"Because I want to hear your thoughts and stories on the place," Clint said, Sharon's mouth stopped chewing for a moment as she thought over that statement. It seemed harmless and they didn't have anything better to do; plus it would put off having that talk till later.
"Fine, I'm done anyways," She said as she stood. But Clint beat her to the sink and stole her dishes from her hands.
"Let me do this while you go get dressed," He said as he turned to fill up the sink.
Sharon smiled, "By all means, feel free to do all my dishes. I hate that job,"
She went to her room and put on some jeans and a t-shirt along with her favorite converse. She liked being comfortable and she wasn't really trying to impress Clint, so she put her hair up in a messy pony tail and went out to the living room.
Clint walked in and immediately went over to the various pictures sitting on her bookshelves. There were several of Sharon and Angel in various goofy poses and a few of people Clint didn't recognize. What impressed him the most were the nature shots of landscapes and various wildlife, "Did you take all these?"
"Most of them," Sharon said, "The one's of Angel and I were taken by friends."
"I meant the nature photos, they're really beautiful,"
Sharon blushed, "It's just a hobby, Angel is the real artist. She can draw and paint like no other. You should see her with a photoshop program, she will put anyone to shame on there."
"I'd say that you could give her a run for her money," Clint said as he looked at more of the photos, "Where did you take all these?"
"Mostly around here," Sharon said as she wandered over and picked up a photo, "This one was taken in Paris, you ever been?"
"Many times, but mostly on SHIELD work," Clint said as he looked at the photo, "That's really fantastic Shar."
It was a photo of the Eiffel tower taken at night, it was in black and white with little lights glittering all over the towering structure, "I was lucky to get this shot, you know that point in the night where they light up the tower with the twinkling lights? We were on a river cruise when it happened and I had my camera out in seconds. It was really breathtaking."
"It looks like it," Clint said, Sharon looked to see him staring at her. She blushed again and turned to put the photo back on the shelf.
Clint smiled as she blushed, the look of dedication and passion on her face as she talked about that photo had taken his breath away. It was something she obviously loved to do, so he grabbed on to that fact to use to his advantage, "What kind of camera do you use?"
"Just a digital I've had for a few years, nothing fancy. I keep meaning to get a nicer camera but I don't know much about professional photography to choose the right camera."
Clint tucked that new fact away in his head to use later, glad he brought his computer to do some research later when he would be alone.
*.*.*.*.*.
"For god sake Steve, just get in the damn bed!" Angel yelled as Steve stubbornly laid a blanket on the floor with a pillow and laid down on it.
"I'm fine on the floor Angel," Steve said. Angel let out a huff of breath and sat up and stared at him.
"I'm not going to jump in your sleep and ruin your precious virtue. We've cuddled on your bed before!"
"Yes but we've never slept in one together, I always carried you back to your room when you fell asleep. Now we're already in your room so I'm going to be a gentleman and sleep on the floor."
"Last I checked, dogs sleep on the floor. Handsome boyfriends sleep on the bed with their girlfriend. I'll even make a pillow barrier for you!"
"If I could beat Hydra than I think I can defeat a pillow if I wanted to get to you," Steve said with a chuckle.
"Well maybe I want you to get to me…" Angel said with a wiggle of her eyebrows. Steve sighed and sat up to look at Angel.
"I told you, I want to wait."
"I know, I heard you. I just want to be close to you is all." Angel said with a pout.
"I want that too-"
"GREAT! Problem solved! Get in bed." Angel said as she threw back the covers to make room. Steve let out a laugh and stood; he walked over to the bed where Angel waited in anticipation. Much to her disappointment, he reached over to the covers and drew them over her. He tucked her in tightly so she couldn't move and sat beside her.
"Okay, this isn't fair," Angel said, glaring adorably at Steve who couldn't wipe off the amused grin on his face.
"Well I need you to pay attention," He said, getting serious, "I love you, and I want to do this right. I can't do that when your inches away and I wake up in the morning with…"
Steve stopped and blushed. Angel was confused for a moment before a light bulb went off in her head, "Morning wood?" She asked.
Angel burst into a fit of giggles as she watched Steve's face grow even redder, "You didn't have to put it so crudely. I wake up and all I can think about is you and how you would feel next to me, and it… sets me off."
Angel should have felt embarrassed, but she felt a huge sense of pride well up in her chest as a huge shit-eating smile spreads on her face, "You want me?"
Steve nodded, "Badly. I know you're eager to have sex, but I want to do the right thing and wait. And sleeping in this bed with you tonight will have dire circumstances in the morning that we'll both regret."
Angel sighed and looked up at him, "I hate that I find it sexy when you're being all moral. But it's why I love you so much."
Steve smiled and leaned down to kiss Angel, lingering for a moment before pulling back, "I love you Angela Stark, and I'm determined to do right by you. Even if you're determined to thwart my gentlemanly plan."
Angel giggled, "And thwart I shall do."
*.*.*.*.*.
Clint and Sharon spent the day wandering the property, Clint listening and occasionally asking questions as Sharon told stories. He smiled every time her face lit up with a new story to tell or a fun fact about the place. It was obvious to him that she put her heart and soul into the place, it was her piece of heaven and the more she shared it with him, the more he felt privileged to be there with her.
"-and then Angel decides to be funny and hide in my closet and jump out at me in a ghost face costume and scare the shit out of me. That was the first time I made a serious attempt at using the tunnel." She said with a laugh, Clint smiled at the twinkle in Sharon's eyes as she described yet another escapade.
"Sounds like you scare easily,"
"Not really, Angel just knows how to make me jump. To make me freak out more, she managed to run to the entrances of the tunnel with just enough time to scare me again as I came out. I just about killed her with a roundhouse kick to the head."
Clint laughed out loud at that picture, "If it scares you so much, why do you watch those movies? I've never seen them but they seem pretty tame to me."
"The Scream movies are classics!" Sharon exclaimed, "They count for the number two spot on my list of favorite films!"
"But they're horror movies, you said you hate horror."
"Scream is self-mocking horror. It's more funny than it is scary. I'll show them to you so you get the idea."
"I don't know… I don't want you freaking out on me."
"oh shut up!" Sharon said as she smacked his arm. Clint laughed as Sharon shook her head and rolled her eyes, "I'm not that wimpy, I just have a low tolerance for scary things."
"Says the woman who went up against a demi-god."
Sharon didn't respond to that one, choosing instead to pick up a stick and peel at the bark on it. Clint stopped to look at Sharon, "It was impressive you know."
Sharon shrugged, wishing to stay off the topic of that incident, "I did what I had to do."
"You know, you sound pretty demeaning for a girl who always complains about being underestimated."
Sharon smiled, "I'm a girl, I'm naturally conflicting in my thinking and make hypocritical statements all the time."
Clint chuckled, "Yeah well, I think you're pretty damn powerful when you want to be."
"Yes well, at that point in time I wasn't powerful because I wanted to be," Sharon said with a note of disdain, feelings of anger welling up inside her a bit, "It was forced on me."
Clint nodded, "Did it hurt?"
Sharon sighed, "I wouldn't say it hurt, so much that it was crippling. Having all that power vibrating inside and pulsing through my skin with no way of escaping. I couldn't move in the dome much less barely breathe."
Clint watched her as her emotions rapidly crossed her face, he reached out and touched her arm, "It's unfair that someone would do that to you."
"It was rape," Sharon said matter of factly. Clint stepped back with a look of shock on his face. Sharon continued, "Not sexual rape, he didn't force himself on me. He forced the power on me, forcing me to absorb it and hold it in until it crippled me."
"That's not rape Sharon," Clint said, turning her to face him, "That's using you, which is just as bad as rape."
"Whatever," Sharon said with a shrug. Clint looked at her and assessed her, but she seemed to not care.
"I won't use you Shar,"
Sharon snorted and broke away, walking back to her cabin, "I'm going to take a bath."
Clint stood where he was as he watched Sharon walked away. He'd hit a touchy subject, but he knew that that would happen. He was happy that she had been so open with him up until that point. I just have to find a way to approach the subject without her freezing me out…
Feedback is always appreciated!
Alasiel