study_in_scarlet | Dancing in the Dark (for farmboyhawk)

"That's not a question of want, red."

Clint chuckled against her ear and bit her earlobe softly but made no move to let go off her yet. Of course it would have been nice, he always loved it when Natasha was touching him. But she shouldn't think she had to, when she wasn't feeling well.

"Or, you know, you can just sit and watch the show. I know you hate it when I worry too much."

He felt his cheeks flush a little and sighed, shrugging so she could feel it.

"Kick me or something if it gets too much. It's just... You have to deal with this crap every morning already, and maybe it helps you more taking it easy until your stomach is better. We can do this here as often as you like, okay? I just want to do whatever I can to help you."

She appreciated his honesty, and she appreciated that he worried about her; she had never really had anyone care enough about her before to worry, but he was right in that it got on her nerves eventually. It was nice to have someone worry, but she hated being treated as fragile, especially when he knew how strong she was.

Turning in his arms again, she wrapped her own around his neck and kissed him softly. She had to give him a little leeway here, because while he worried, she also knew it was a feeling of helplessness that was making it worse. It was her body, she was the one who had to go through all these changes, all the pain and sickness and everything that went with it while he could do little more than watch. He couldn’t take any of it away, couldn’t really make it better, but he wanted to help, needed to be useful, and she had to allow him that.

“Thank you,” she murmured against his lips, slowly opening her eyes to peer up at him. “It helps just having you here, not having to do it alone.”

"Always."

Clint cupped her neck to pull her in for another light, loving kiss after a short breath of relief. At least she hadn't ripped his balls off. It would be a fine line to balance in the next months, between trying to provide what she needed and keep his distance. But as long as they kept talking to each other, honestly, they would handle it.

As good as it felt standing under the warm spray and let it wash away what was left of soreness in his muscles, they should at least try and save a little water, especially when they were going to the beach later anyway.

Forgoing further discussion, Clint reached for his own bottle of shower gel, opened the lid with trained, skilled movements of two fingers and held it out to Natasha then with a smile.

"Offer still standing?"

Communication really was the key, and while it had been a long, hard road getting there, they were finally in a place where they could talk through practically anything. That would be very important over the coming months.

When he held the bottle out to her Natasha smiled softly at him. As much as he worried he was trying to let her decide what was too much for her, and she had to give him credit for that. Taking the bottle, she poured a little of the gel into her hands and lathered them. Wrapping her arms around him she worked the lather over his back first before taking a step back to get his front. She was quick, efficient, using no more time, touch, not pressure than required. As tempting as it was to linger on certain body parts it wouldn’t be fair to start something now that she didn’t intend to finish, so she behaved, keeping the shower not quite clinical but wasting no time either.

“Now what do you say to some breakfast?” she said, reaching behind him to turn off the water. It seemed almost silly to get clean before getting covered in sand and sunscreen again, but it felt nice. And maybe they could avoid the sunscreen today. Spend some time at a covered café, maybe check the library for some informative books, and then head to the beach in the evening once it was cooler and not as crowded.

Breakfast sounded better than Clint had expected after days of not being hungry at all. His stomach gave the answer before he could, and he rolled his eyes at it with a chuckle.

"Sounds like a good idea apparently."

He pulled Natasha close for another kiss and murmured a thanks but let go off her quickly then. Her damp, flushed body all pressed into his after she had just touched him so thoroughly, that would only have brought up naughty thoughts, and there wasn't room for those right now. He reached past the curtain for towels for both of them and quickly dried off before getting back in the pants from before.

"Well, that is if Liho hasn't empty the fridge", he added with a mock-frown. "By now I wouldn't put it past her. See if you got a hold of her, red? She's got a few more days of pills before her."

The way that Clint’s stomach seemed to have a mind of its own capable of communication never ceased to amuse Natasha. Chuckling against his lips she returned the kiss before letting him out to get them towels. As much as she would love to stay in the tub with him all day there were other things they needed to do, like eat.

Drying off and wrapping the towel around herself, Natasha took her hair down out of the messy bun she had put it in earlier and brushed it out before working it into a quick braid. “She does seem to be a smart one,” she said as she opened the bathroom door.

“Liho, where are you, little one,” she called, glancing around the room. Silence was never a good thing when dealing with a pet, and the living room appeared to be deserted. “You check the kitchen and I’ll try the bedroom,” she said, heading in that direction. They might have to start closing all the doors if they were going to give the kitten free reign over the house, otherwise she would soon think she owned the place and end up curled up in the middle of their bed with the sheets balled up around her...

Clint didn't find anything in the kitchen- except for something that should have been there and wasn't. They had left the two pieces of pizza from yesterday on a counter with a plastic lid over it, to keep away whatever made it through the insect net. Not only did Liho get really good with climbing stuff, she apparently had pulled that damn lid off all by herself. It looked like she had dragged away one of the pieces, if the faint layer of crumbs and grease on the floor was any indication. At least that made it an easy trail to follow. Clint was so impressed with little one's stealing abilities that he couldn't even really be mad.

He joined Natasha in the bedroom with his hands in his hips and shook his head with a grin, pointing under the bed.

"She learns. Not sure we should be happy with what she learns, but she definitely takes after us."

Natasha raised her eyebrow at Clint when he joined her in the bedroom and pointed under the bed. It was then she noticed the trail that led in that direction.

“We may have to try to teach her the things we actually want her to learn to combat that mischievous nature,” Natasha said, shaking her head though one corner of her lips twitched upwards slightly. “Otherwise she might not be cut out to be a house cat for even a few minutes at a time.”

Grabbing a pair of shorts and a shirt, she dropped her towel and changed quickly, trying to decide the best course of action here. The fact that Liho was hiding probably indicated that the kitten knew she had dome something wrong, so they couldn’t just grab her without being attacked, they would need to lure her out. “I guess we should be scolding her for these things.”

"Don't know how good I am with that. My famous glares somehow don't work with her."

Clint was still grinning but tried to become serious now, concentrate on the problem at hand, even if it was just a small one. Personally he preferred it if little one stole a little food from time to time and got a little more fat on her body rather than destroying things, but somehow she had to learn manners anyway. He wasn't really much in a mood to let himself get scratched open again, though.

"Maybe we should just get started with breakfast", he sighed. "She'll probably come out all by herself when she smells my pancakes. I've been told, they're hard to resist."

“Famous glares?” Natasha repeated, raising her eyebrow at him as if she didn’t believe he could be imposing for a second. Of course she had seen his ‘scary side’ before, but after the emotional rollercoaster of the past few days she was determined to keep the mood light and fun for the rest of the day.

Tapping her lips as she considered Clint’s suggestion, she eventually nodded. “I can vouch for that,” she said. Maybe they hadn’t done a lot of cooking together but on nights when she actually did stay over Clint had always made her wonderful breakfasts. “She seems to be a bottomless pit, so that should definitely be enough to coax her out.”

"I'll put my 'I love the cook'-apron back on then."

Clint winked at hear and headed back to the kitchen. The rest of pizza had to go to the trash, sadly, but he would make sure they would do this soon again.

Cooking pancakes was something he could do in his sleep, so he allowed his mind to wander a bit, humming some old Sting-tune quietly while he was working. Natasha seemed to have recovered from her morning sickness faster than yesterday and he was very thankful for that. Maybe they could find some kind of balance in all this sooner than he had feared.

Tomorrow they should pay another visit to the market to refill their supplies - and he was absolutely not thinking about getting a litter box for Liho - and as long as the weather was still that warm, they should get to the beach as often as possible. Especially after his encounters here years ago, Clint knew too well about the healing sensation of the ocean breeze while the sun warmed your face. They needed every small massage for they soul they could get right now, before things would become either really ugly or their lives would be turned upside down.

Without much surprise he heard the quiet scratching of claws behind him after a while which obviously meant, Liho had smelled sugar, chocolate and warm milk and was trying to re-climb that chair to jump on the counter. He pretended to not realize for the moment to not scare her off and rather kept an eye out for Natasha to intervene. He rather not wanted the furball anywhere near a hot plate.

After Clint left the room Natasha crouched down and peered under the bed. In the shadows she could only see a pair of yellow eyes staring back. “You just enjoy your breakfast and we’ll go do the same,” she said, having no doubt that the kitten would do just that before coming out in hopes of enjoying theirs with them as well.

Joining Clint in the kitchen, Natasha seated herself on one side of the counter, making sure to stay out of his way. She thought of offering to help but she had done enough standing for a while and just needed to sit, and she knew Clint would only wave her off to do just that if he had any inkling that she was pushing herself. Besides, he really did make amazing pancakes and she would probably only screw it up if she got involved.

When their little guest finally made an appearance Natasha kept still but just hummed softly. She didn’t want to grab Liho and risk getting scratched but didn’t want to scare her away either, so she made no sudden movements, just let the kitten know she was there, and try to seem as inviting as possible as she reached her hand down and wiggled her fingers.

Clint didn't think he would get tired anytime soon of how Natasha looked when she was spending time with little one. Her cheeks had their color back, that much he could see from the corner of his eyes easily, and with her hair in that certain style, her body just a little more rounded than usual... He had never seen her that young looking, and - except for these days of pain and fear - certainly not that relaxed.

He wondered if she was aware just how loving and affectionate she smiled down at their little visitor. For a moment he could see it clearly with his inner eye, how she held a small little bundle of human in her arms instead, how happy she would be... Though the scare that thought brought had let off a little, he didn't dwell in that picture too long. Looking forward to things that weren't completely certain was too dangerous.

But he did feel very much like kissing that soft rosy shine of her skin and her lips right now. He didn't want to disturb her or startle the kitten, so he just waited and went on getting their food done.

Reservation seemed to be the right way. Soon enough Liho angled for Natasha's hand playfully and purred a little, forgotten the plan of jumping on the counter for the moment. It was more and more clear that little one had taken a deep liking to her temporary owner.

With a probably completely dumb smile on his lips, Clint got the first of their pancakes out on a plate and decorated it with a little extra chocolate for Natasha to enjoy before starting on the second. He gave Liho two seconds before she would try to join him on the counter after all.

Natasha was so focused on trying not to scare Liho off that she didn’t even notice Clint watching her. He was being very inconspicuous about it but usually she could tell anyhow, but not today.

When Liho finally came around and brushed along Natasha’s outstretched fingers, Natasha’s smile brightened. Sliding carefully off the counter, she somehow managed to angle it that she could continue to rub the kitten with one foot while leaning over to give Clint a quick peck on the cheek as she took the plate. Instead of moving to the table she settled cross legged on the floor, her plate held high so the kitten couldn’t get into it.

“I bet you’ve never had pancakes,” she said as Liho climbed up onto her knee and batted at the plate. “You don’t know what you’re missing. Clint makes the best I’ve ever had.” Cutting off a bit she popped it into her mouth before breaking a small crumb off with her fingers and holding it down for Liho.

"Well, at least she likes my cooking. That's a start, right?"

Clint watched the kitten lick off her treat of Natasha's finger with a chuckle. Her unusual choice of seating had confused for a moment, but it was definitely a good idea in terms of bonding further with little one. If Natasha could keep her plate out of reach, that was. Watching the two of them eat certainly got him more hungry, and he might or not steal a few drops of that chocolate sauce while his pancake was cooking.

Finally he could join the rest of his little gang on the floor though, plate and fork in one hand and the pill he had gotten out the kitty bag in the meantime in the other.

"Maybe we should try it with chocolate today?", he mused, rolling the small white thing between his fingers.

He wasn't looking forward to be the evil stepparent again who only came with the bad stuff whenever he touched little one, but he just wasn't comfortable with the idea of her scratching Natasha. His hand still hurt from the one fine cut he hadn't bothered to disinfect last time. Of course it was ridiculous, they had both been far worse hurt, but given Natasha's condition right now... He just didn't want to take any risks.

“Clearly she has good taste,” Natasha said, taking up her fork again and cutting off another bite for herself. Whenever Liho tried to reach for the plate she moved it away or tapped the kitten’s paw, but if Liho sat and didn’t try to steal any she was rewarded with a bit of pancake in an effort to teach the little thing some manners.

Smiling warmly at Clint when he joined them on the floor, not once questioning her choice of seating, Natasha nodded at the suggestion. “Do you want to eat first then take care of it?” She would be done her own food before him for once, only because she’d had a considerable head start, and she was considering if she could slip the pill to Liho without the kitten even noticing having been doing so through breakfast so far. “Or I could give it a try.”

Clint spared himself an immediate answer with a first bite of his pancake, which of course was still too hot and burned his tongue, but he kept eating anyway, just sucking in a short breath.

Ten minutes later and he was again in a situation where he had to be careful what to say. He knew he was only creating this problem himself and eventually he would find a balance with this whole worry thing. But especially in these two weeks now when even normal pregnancies often still were at stake, he rather had one eye too much on Natasha than getting careless.

If she got herself too worked up over him, it wouldn't be better for her, though. Oh well. He could always insist, she disinfected her hands if Liho didn't behave.

"Maybe she likes it more from you", he mumbled between two bites, showing no sign of the short inner struggle he had just had.

Natasha could sense Clint’s inner struggle, and she couldn’t exactly blame him. She had already been scratched once by Liho, something that she had failed to divulge to him not because she was deliberately hiding it but because it had been during their breakdown of communication, and she’d had so much else to think about that she’d completely forgotten the incident only minutes after it had happened.

She just had to remind herself that this wasn’t all about her. This was her body, her burden, but she hadn’t made it alone nor did she have to do this on her own. Clint was just as invested in this child as she was, and as much as he had worried about her in the past now he had both her and the baby to worry about. It must be driving him crazy.

She let him think it over and when he decided to let her try she gave him an appreciative look. He was trying; it was going to be a long few months but he was trying, and if for no other reason she had to give him the same.

“I won’t force her,” Natasha assured him, reaching out to take the pill. “I will try to coax her, and if that doesn’t work then she’s all yours.” Give and take, that’s what a true, functioning relationship was about.

Leaving just one tiny bite on her plate Natasha worked the pill into it and molded the pancake around it before swiping up a bit of chocolate sauce as well and holding it down for Liho to take just as she had all the other bites. Clint was better at being direct, but Natasha’s strength had always been in deception.

Clint temporarily forgot about the rest of his pancake, watching the scene with big eyes. Natasha had a really impressive way of handling their little ward. He should try and learn a little from her here.

Liho seemed completely unsuspicious about the little trick at first and ate the little dollop of food from Natasha's finger in no time. Only then she began to chew it harder and with more strain than the smaller bites before. Shortly it looked like she would just drop it.

Following pure instinct, Clint dipped his finger in the big splash of chocolate on his plate and held it out to little one, and that fortunately seemed enough of a temptation. Now she hurried to swallow and then started to lick his fingertip eagerly.

"Such a good girl."

Clint smiled at her and then at Natasha, shrugging a little. It was stupid, really... But it made him happy when they made progress, it really did.

Natasha felt a little guilty for tricking Liho like that, but it had to be done and it was easier on all of them this way than force feeding her the pill. For a moment it seemed like it would all be for naught, though, before Clint’s quick thinking saved it in the end. Watching the little kitten lick the chocolate from his finger, Natasha raised her eyes to his and returned his smile.

“Teamwork,” she said. She could see how pleased he was with the little bit of progress, and she certainly didn’t think it was stupid at all. Setting her plate aside she leaned forward to kiss him softly, tasting chocolate on his lips.

They always had been better together, after a bit of a rough patch in the beginning, of course. She had no doubt that they would get through this, that they would be okay, no matter what happened. “Finish up. Since you cooked I’ll clean.”

"Aye, Ma'am."

In all honesty, Clint already felt full after half a plate, a remaining sign of his body and soul reacting to the uncertain situation and all the changes they were facing. But he didn't want Natasha to worry, so he finished his helping, wisely keeping the plate out of reach now, no matter how cute Liho looked up at him, obviously waiting for more.

"You've had enough for now, furball", he mumbled over the last bite, but obviously he was still a big sap because once he was done, he reached out his hand again for Liho to lick the rest of sugar and chocolate off his fingertips.

"Definitely more than enough", he added with a grumble after he had handed that plate to Natasha as requested.

Getting to his feet, he lured the kitten next door so Natasha could work in peace. Liho came surprisingly easy when he ringed that little ball she liked between his fingertips.

"Yep, that's right. Workout time, Missy. Can't let you get too lazy. Still a rough world out there, you know."

Clint held the ball right over Liho's head, just high enough so she had to stretch for it, and snatched it away from her paws a few times to keep her busy, then he rolled it in a corner, and little one followed like a bolt. If she was half as eager hunting mice, eventually she'd hopefully be able to survive without raiding their kitchen.

Really, there wasn’t much to cleaning up with the dishwasher there, but Natasha took her time rinsing dishes, wiping up any spilled flour, and putting all the ingredients back where they belonged. First, though, she made sure to fill the kettle and put it on to boil while she worked.

In the meantime Clint amused himself by playing with Liho, and Natasha was pleased to see that the kitten seemed to have forgiven him for the trip to the vet the other day. He had tried to play it off, but she knew he had been bothered by the idea of the kitten not liking him, and with everything else going on he could have used the comfort of a little extra love.

There was still room in the dishwasher so she didn’t start it up after it was loaded, and after wiping down the counters she moved to watch the two playing in the living room. “Would you like some tea?” she asked, not wanting to interrupt but the kettle had started whistling. She knew tea wasn’t really his thing, but she tried every once in a while nonetheless.

"Would be more solid than drinking water all the time, huh?"

Clint looked up, sighing under his breath, and threw that little fur mouse for Liho he had found in the sofa corner next.

Immediately the ball was forgotten and the kitten got in a brave fight against her little prey, rolling on the floor and more often chasing her own tail than the toy. He obviously didn't need to worry about workout for little one.

He should rather get his own lazy ass to do a few rounds of running, but sitting around and not moving was so much more convenient right now. He didn't need the fitness gurus over at headquarters to know, he was running low on energy. But he didn't really want to force his stomach, as long as it was obviously still coping with the idea that he could be a father soon. Maybe it wasn't such a bad idea, at least hoarding a little nutrition from drinks.

"Guess I'll give it a shot."

He smiled up at Natasha, a little embarrassed, and gave himself a push to at least get up and get that ball back from where Liho had dropped it, to work it between his fingertips again.

Immediately the kitten looked up, obviously torn if she should keep on killing her little prey or go back to the tingling and rolling fancy stuff. She ended up with the mouse hopelessly caught between her claws when she wanted to hurry over to him and fell on her side with little grace, just to immediately attack the mouse again with all four paws and her teeth.

Clint caught himself laughing, and that sound had become rare in the last days. He didn't want to admit it openly yet, but maybe that decision for little one had been a very good one after all.

“Well, I don’t know about ‘solid’, but it would offer more variety,” she replied. She had picked up several different kinds at the market to try, some of them herbal so without the caffeine they should be as good as drinking water.

Looking down at Liho as the kitten started attacking the little toy mouse, Natasha grinned broadly at the fairly spasmodic show. She had been worried about the little one that first day, seeing how tiny and weak she seemed, but a vet visit, some medication and some good food later and she certainly seemed to have gained some energy.

Turning her attention back to Clint when he spoke Natasha nodded and returned to the kitchen. Selecting the peppermint tea since it would be easiest on both their stomachs and a good alternative to water, she poured the boiling water over it to leave it to steep.

That was when she heard Clint laughing.

It was a sound that used to be so commonplace, and she hadn’t realised how much she had missed it the past few days until that moment. Leaving the tea momentarily forgotten, she peeked back out to find him laughing as Liho continued to viciously attack her toy.

Just seeing him so carefree in that moment she soon found herself laughing with him.

The sound of Natasha's laugh was always something to touch Clint's heart deeply, and especially when it had become rare, he soaked in every second, every nuance to memorize. He turned his head to her, still smiling widely and reached for her hand, pulling it close for a kiss, letting her know everything he didn't need to say, not all the time, not when they were just having a happy moment.

If Liho realized that their temporary owners were laughing at her still rather undeveloped hunting skills, she didn't seem to mind. She finally got her claws out of the rough toy fabric and got to her feet, her prey proudly in her little mouth, and carried it over to Natasha, looking up at her as if she expected some kind of praise. Which definitely topped the cute performance a second ago.

"You just wait, in no time she brings you real birds and rats", Clint chuckled.

Dancing in the Dark (for farmboyhawk)

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