"It would certainly count as workout. Arm muscles and balance training and all..."
Clint's voice indicated that he was half asleep already and it took him less than a minute to slip into rest. That evening had been more exhausting than he first had realized. It definitely had ended better than expected though, with Natasha's small warm body nestled against his bare chest, the soothing slow rhythm of her breathing that guided him into relaxation, the beloved smell of her hair following into vivid but for once harmless dreams.
He was back in the circus and for some reason there seemed to have come only children to watch this night. He didn't mind at all. Children always loved his trick arrows while the grown ups didn't deem them spectacular enough. Not perfect enough at artistry to really shine along the professionals, he just had his little show with the explosions, the fruits, the horses... A little upside down shooting here and there and balancing over everyone's head while hitting a target from afar. Not the best act of the evening maybe, but the younger ones loved it.
Their little faces beamed with excitement, their enthusiastic cheers even made it up to the circus tent where he had just made his first step onto the high wire. Faintly in the distance a baby was disturbed by all the noise and cried quietly.
He ignored it all and made his way to the middle of the line without faltering. He better didn't. The ringmaster didn't believe in things like safety nets. And no one had ever needed one. Clint had no choice but functioning if he wanted to be part of the show, he had always known that. A small trickle of sweat threatened to blur his sight when he raised his bow to make the final shot. He blinked it away impatiently and lowered his head for a moment to get rid of it.
When he looked up, he saw Barney standing on the other side of the line. Which was... strange to say the least, Barney was up next, he should be down there, preparing his show... Clint raised his eyebrows in confusion. Barney just smiled coldly and gave the wire a hard kick. Just in time before Clint remember that Barney couldn't be here at all, that he wasn't here anymore either, that they weren't young boys anymore and that last time he had stood on a high wire, someone had cut it under his feet while Barney had been watching happily.
He remembered all that when the wire already slipped from underneath him, just like the arrow from his hands, and he fell, fell, fell, long enough to see that his weapon had found its target right in Barney's chest, and then...
Clint startled awake to the break of dawn outside, as it always happened in dreams that included falling, thankful that he had turned on his back again sometime at night. Natasha needed sleep more than him right now. His cheeks were dry and his throat only rough from thirst that he could easily calm with the prepared water bottle on the night stand. Not bad, not compared to the last nights. In the beginning, it had been a very nice dream, actually. The rest... was old stories, long done with.
He found with surprise that he missed the feeling of his bow in his hands, actually. Maybe he would work on the new arrow type a little tonight. Something to busy his body and mind and shift his focus from too much thinking about crap back to business. Yep, that sounded pretty reasonable.
He put the bottle back after another long sip and laid back down with a quiet sigh to turn his head to Natasha. Again it didn't fail to amaze him, the beautiful red light playing with her hair at this hour of the day. Maybe for that, waking up early actually paid off.
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Clint's voice indicated that he was half asleep already and it took him less than a minute to slip into rest. That evening had been more exhausting than he first had realized. It definitely had ended better than expected though, with Natasha's small warm body nestled against his bare chest, the soothing slow rhythm of her breathing that guided him into relaxation, the beloved smell of her hair following into vivid but for once harmless dreams.
He was back in the circus and for some reason there seemed to have come only children to watch this night. He didn't mind at all. Children always loved his trick arrows while the grown ups didn't deem them spectacular enough. Not perfect enough at artistry to really shine along the professionals, he just had his little show with the explosions, the fruits, the horses... A little upside down shooting here and there and balancing over everyone's head while hitting a target from afar. Not the best act of the evening maybe, but the younger ones loved it.
Their little faces beamed with excitement, their enthusiastic cheers even made it up to the circus tent where he had just made his first step onto the high wire. Faintly in the distance a baby was disturbed by all the noise and cried quietly.
He ignored it all and made his way to the middle of the line without faltering. He better didn't. The ringmaster didn't believe in things like safety nets. And no one had ever needed one. Clint had no choice but functioning if he wanted to be part of the show, he had always known that. A small trickle of sweat threatened to blur his sight when he raised his bow to make the final shot. He blinked it away impatiently and lowered his head for a moment to get rid of it.
When he looked up, he saw Barney standing on the other side of the line. Which was... strange to say the least, Barney was up next, he should be down there, preparing his show... Clint raised his eyebrows in confusion. Barney just smiled coldly and gave the wire a hard kick. Just in time before Clint remember that Barney couldn't be here at all, that he wasn't here anymore either, that they weren't young boys anymore and that last time he had stood on a high wire, someone had cut it under his feet while Barney had been watching happily.
He remembered all that when the wire already slipped from underneath him, just like the arrow from his hands, and he fell, fell, fell, long enough to see that his weapon had found its target right in Barney's chest, and then...
Clint startled awake to the break of dawn outside, as it always happened in dreams that included falling, thankful that he had turned on his back again sometime at night. Natasha needed sleep more than him right now. His cheeks were dry and his throat only rough from thirst that he could easily calm with the prepared water bottle on the night stand. Not bad, not compared to the last nights. In the beginning, it had been a very nice dream, actually. The rest... was old stories, long done with.
He found with surprise that he missed the feeling of his bow in his hands, actually. Maybe he would work on the new arrow type a little tonight. Something to busy his body and mind and shift his focus from too much thinking about crap back to business. Yep, that sounded pretty reasonable.
He put the bottle back after another long sip and laid back down with a quiet sigh to turn his head to Natasha. Again it didn't fail to amaze him, the beautiful red light playing with her hair at this hour of the day. Maybe for that, waking up early actually paid off.