Prompt: Tree (part 2)

Pairing: Clint Barton aka Hawkeye x OFC (Alyssa) / Fandom: Marvel

Alyssa saw Clint getting closer to the house, dragging a pine tree behind him. She could see he was starting to feel tired, but if she was to point that out to him, he would just say that it was a good exercise and that he wasn't that tired. The closer he got to the house, the bigger her smile would get.

Clint had began cutting up a tree for Christmas the moment she had told him that that was something her grandfather used to do. They've been together for three years and that would be the third one they would spend together. Neither of them had any family left, so they started spending Christmas together from the get go.

Alyssa loved Clint with all her heart. In the beginning, it was trying. Never knowing when he would be around or when she was going to see him. His work didn't leave much space for a committed relationship, but they both were willing to work for it. She wasn't going to give up on him, the same way he wasn't going to give up on her. Now, looking at him at the base of the front porch steps, she was beyond sure they had made the right decision.

Clint climbed the steps and wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close, kissing her deeply. He tasted like salt and pine tree, a weird but nice combination. Pulling away from the kiss, they both just stood there, their foreheads touching each other's and just enjoying the warmth of their bodies. Alyssa had her arms around his neck, her hands playing with his hair, not wanting to let go.

Eventually, they pulled away and Clint went back down the steps, picking up the tree and dragging it to the side of the house in order to cut and trim the tree. Alyssa followed him, still on the porch, and just stood there watch him at work. Clint took care of the tree as quickly as he could and once the tree was just as he wanted, he took it inside and placed it in the support that Alyssa had made that was placed in the front room.

The house was filled with a mix of smells, two of them overpowering all the others and being the most identifiable by Clint: the smell of fresh baked cookies and the smell of pine tree. He knew Alyssa had been making cookies even before he got to the house, she always did, it was her side of the tradition.

Looking over at the couch, he saw the box that held all of the decorations they had made over the last three years, as well as those that were gifted to them by their friends. Kissing her quickly, he went upstairs and changed into clean clothes. They had work to do.

Alyssa took that moment to go and get a plate with some cookies and two glasses of milk. Walking back into the front room, she saw Clint already there and looking through the box. Decorating the tree always brought out the inner child in both of them and she loved the way Clint's eyes would light up and the way that he would smile just like a child.

Clint took the tinsel, the ribbons and the lights out and placed them on the couch, by the box. Alyssa grabbed the lights and started wrapping them around the tree. This way it would pop against the colors of the tinsel. Clint grabbed the plug and started untangling it so he could, once she was done, plug it in. Alyssa was quick with the lights, she knew exactly how she wanted them, so it didn't take long for her to be finish.

Clint got up from under the tree and walked to the couch, grabbing some tinsel and handing it to her, taking some himself. Between the two of them, the tree was looking really good and they still had the ornaments to put up. Grabbing two ornaments each, they began putting them up.

The entire time they were decorating the tree, Clint had been telling her jokes or funny stories about the Avengers. Alyssa felt like she had known them all of her life, even though she had never met any of them in person, aside from Natasha.

Soon, the tree was done and they took a step back to admire their work. The lights were on and it looked like little stars embedded in the branches. The only thing missing was their topper. The previous year, while attempting to put the tree topper, Clint had dropped it and it broke. Alyssa had made plans to replace it and make a new one, but she just never got around to do it and now their tree didn't have a topper.

Alyssa could tell that Clint felt like it was missing something. Looking around, she spotted a left-over piece of ribbon and had an idea. Kissing him, she excused herself and took the ribbon with her. Locking herself in the bathroom, she made a beautiful bow out of it. "It will have to do until I make a new one.", she thought.

Returning to Clint's side, she showed him the bow she had made and gave him a smile. Clint took a look at the bow and knew why she had made it. He always thought that a tree without a topper wasn't a tree, that's why it was so important to him. Pulling her into his arms, Clint kissed her and thanked her for making a new topper so quickly.

He picked her up by her legs and lifted her high enough so she could place the topper. Bringing her back down once she had done it, Clint pulled her close and kissed her deeply. He felt her arms wrap around his neck and pulling him more into her, so he did the same. There wasn't an inch of space between them, their bodies glued to each other, only breaking the kiss for the need to breath.

"This is going to be another great Christmas.", Clint thought, a smile on his lips, while losing himself in her eyes.