Clint didn’t often talk about his childhood. It wasn’t that he hid it, and if she asked he would probably share, but it had been far from a pleasant time in his life and dredging up the memories wasn’t something he seemed particularly keen on. Every once in a while, though, he would broach the subject himself, and Natasha always listened with interest. She wanted to know everything about him, but it always meant so much more when he offered the information without prompting, trusting her with it because he wanted to, not because she did.
“Amidst all the bad memories there are always a few good ones, and those are the ones to hold onto,” she said, touching his knee lightly. She liked to picture it sometimes, Clint hard at work in a field, the sun shining on his tanned and sweat-slicked skin, his muscles rippling as he worked, an that look of peace on his face that she imagined he would have if all the rest of the world melted away. No S.H.I.E.L.D., no Loki, just the earth and the sun and the task at hand. Sometimes she thought he would be perfectly happy like that and wondered why he didn’t leave to pursue it.
Sometimes she was pretty sure it was her holding him back.
Finishing her ice cream, Natasha set the cup aside and stole a small taste of the third cup that remained between them, her expression betraying nothing that was running through her mind. If it was her, if he stayed to be with her, if that was the truth... would she do anything about it? Could she give up the adrenaline rush, give up everything she had ever known and was good at, to live a simple life? Could she do that for him?
“You may be right. I am beginning to think that nothing here tastes bad,” she said. “I’ll be so spoiled by the end of the week I may never want to leave.”
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Date: 2014-05-03 01:01 pm (UTC)From:“Amidst all the bad memories there are always a few good ones, and those are the ones to hold onto,” she said, touching his knee lightly. She liked to picture it sometimes, Clint hard at work in a field, the sun shining on his tanned and sweat-slicked skin, his muscles rippling as he worked, an that look of peace on his face that she imagined he would have if all the rest of the world melted away. No S.H.I.E.L.D., no Loki, just the earth and the sun and the task at hand. Sometimes she thought he would be perfectly happy like that and wondered why he didn’t leave to pursue it.
Sometimes she was pretty sure it was her holding him back.
Finishing her ice cream, Natasha set the cup aside and stole a small taste of the third cup that remained between them, her expression betraying nothing that was running through her mind. If it was her, if he stayed to be with her, if that was the truth... would she do anything about it? Could she give up the adrenaline rush, give up everything she had ever known and was good at, to live a simple life? Could she do that for him?
“You may be right. I am beginning to think that nothing here tastes bad,” she said. “I’ll be so spoiled by the end of the week I may never want to leave.”