He acknowledged her presence but kept training, so Natasha sat down in the middle of the staircase to watch him.  She usually loved watching him train; she had never met anyone else even close to as adept with the bow and arrow, and it was a thing of beauty to watch such skill at work.  He made it look effortless and moved with such grace that she could get lost just watching his serene face and the dance of muscles under his skin.

But not today.

She winced visibly at the miss and the awful sound it made that signaled a ruined arrowhead, but that was nothing compared to the words that followed.  She knew he was upset and finally letting it out, knew he was talking about the baby, but there was a part of her that wondered if he meant them as well.  Maybe it was all too much, and if he couldn’t look at her the same after this then could they really stay together?

She wanted to ask him, could taste the question on her tongue, but suddenly he exploded, all the pain and anger coming out violently, and she could only watch him, helplessly.  What could she say or do to make any of this better?  How could she make him understand?  She felt her heart aching, felt herself teetering on that edge again.  She couldn’t fall, she just couldn’t, but she couldn’t leave him to fall on his own either.  But she could give him a way out if he wanted it.

“You don’t have to do this, Clint,” she said after he had stopped kicking things.  Getting to her feet she descended the stairs and stood at the bottom, her arms wrapped instinctively around her stomach.  “I can take care of it on my own.  You can stay here, or go home, and I’ll find you when it’s over.”  It was a genuine offer; if it was too much for him she could do it herself, she could be strong for the both of them.  If he didn’t want to be involved he didn’t have to, and then when they saw each other again they could figure out whether it was better to ‘call the whole thing off’.