•••
I woke up the next morning to a warm arm wrapped around my waist. I grinned softly and looked up to see Clint sleeping, his face soft and peaceful. Taking the time to examine his features, i observed how his normally slightly furrowed brow was now smoothed out, free of the stress that usually caused it. A small smile pulled at his lips as he shifted in his sleep, bringing me closer to his chest. The action made me smile as I gently moved some stray hairs out of his face, my touch seemingly stirring him out of his sleep.
His eyes slowly opened, blinking a few times before settling on my face.
"Good morning" I chuckled, holding eye contact.
"Morning" he smiled, his morning voice deep and gravelly.
He placed a gentle kiss on my forehead as he pulled me into a proper hug. I giggled slightly, feeling like I had been engulfed into his embrace.
"Last night was amazing" I mumbled against his toned chest.
"You can say that again" he laughed, combing through my hair with his fingers.
"You should come home from assignments more often" I joked, earning a hum in response.
Clint kisses another kiss to the top of my head, before slowly releasing me from his hug.
"Where ya going sport?"
"To pee" he laughed, picking up his underwear from the floor and quickly slipping them on before reluctantly sliding out of bed.
"You know, there's nothing there I haven't seen already" I winked "so those aren't really necessary"
"Oh trust me, I know. Though I have the feeling if I didn't have these on I wouldn't be leaving this room for a little bit longer" he teased, before walking out of the room.
•••
I leant back into my pillows and sighed, a massive grin on my face. After a few moments of hyping myself up, I slipped out of bed and put on my dressing gown before leaving my room and heading for the kitchen.
"Do you think you'll be able to stay for breakfast?" I asked him as he came out of the bathroom, picking up his phone from his discarded jacked on the floor.
He sighed, looking at the multiple texts from work he had received, before searching for his earpiece on the sofa.
"Let's see if I can beg for a few extra hours" he said, putting the earpiece back into his ear.
Pressing down with his finger, he spoke, "can you get me Carson on the line"
A few seconds of silence went by and Clint shot me a look, making me laugh.
"Ah, yes. Hi - I was wondering if I could come in a few hours late?"
Another pause.
"Uhh - yes there is a reason - something came up at home" he said, shooting me another look as if asking for help.
I giggled quietly into my hand
"Yes I know I don't - well no not necessarily - fine Phil! I have a plumbing problem"
"No I don't need anyone to come fix it, I'm perfectly capable -"
"Carson, Seriously. Fine, just an hour. I'll be there at 10... yes sir"
Clint sighed dramatically, removing his finger from the earpiece.
"Plumbing problem?" I snorted, finally able to laugh aloud.
"What was I supposed to say? Oh hey boss, can I come in an hour late because there's this really cute girl who I really like and she-" he caught himself and stopped abruptly.
"Aww. I wanted to hear more about this girl you like" I teased, leaning towards him
"Don't you start" he warned, a joking spark in his eye.
"Okay, Okay" I laughed, my hands held up in surrender "that's the most I've heard you say about me is all"
"Yeah yeah" he said, waving me off.
I rolled my eyes at him, moving towards the fridge.
"What do you want for breakfast?" I asked "I can make real good eggs"
"Yes please ma'am"
I chuckled at that, taking out a few eggs and getting a frying pan from the drawer. With my limited chef skills, I managed to fry up some eggs in a pretty good time, placing them on top of some buttered toast.
"Ta da" I sang, passing him the plate.
"These look delicious" he grinned, immediately digging in to the food. I smiled and followed suit, sparing him glances every now and then.
"Just out of interest - what would you call this?" I asked as I shovelled some more egg into my mouth.
"Eggs on toast" he answered bluntly, his small smile giving away his joke.
"Hardy har"
"I don't know - what do you want it to be?"
"Well I was hoping it's going in the direction of a relationship" I answered truthfully, avoiding his gaze.
"Well that's obviously what I want too" he said, his tone slightly sad.
"Hey, what's wrong?"
"It's just - my job is demanding. I can be away for weeks at a time, and there's not a sure-fire guarantee that I'll always come back" he said quietly "my job isn't the friendliest either. I have some enemies - that I'm sure of. Is that something you really want to get involved with?"
I glanced at the clock and saw that he'd have to leave soon, making my furrow my brow in annoyance.
I sighed, and gently cupped his face so that he looked at me.
"I really like you Clint, I haven't liked anyone in a while. This is what we're gonna do. You're going to go to work and tonight you'll come back here and explain what the hell you do. I'm sorry but there is no way this is a security gig. Okay?"
He nodded, a small smile returning to his face.
"Thank you" he whispered, pressing a kiss to my cheek, before retrieving his clothes from my bedroom.