Natasha burrows closer, eyes closed as she relaxes in to Clint’s hold. There’s no one else she would allow to do this for her, and it’s only seeing him without his barriers that have allowed her own to weaken. In the morning, she’ll be back, she promises herself. This is the part no one is supposed to see.
She shakes her head vehemently, knowing what he means when he says ‘come what may.’ They both know what’s coming for her, and she will not allow him to lay down his life for her. Shifting a little, she presses her mouth to the curve of his throat, head resting against his shoulder.
“I was always going to come back to you,” she admits, not looking up at him. “Not because you would protect me - although I know you will, even if I fight it - but…” She trails off, not wanting to go there quite yet. “You could come away with me. Before morning.” While she knows the answer, she can’t help but offer.
This second right now, makes both of them realize how vulnerable they are. How weak they can be, if they only let go for a second. He knows that they are both too strong for their own good. That they will never be weak in front of anyone else.
He holds her closer, calming even more now, biting his lip as he felt her lips pressed against his throat. The Hawk sighed softly, running his fingertips through the soft locks of hers, wanting to calm her down. Her words make him feel heavy with guilt, with sadness that he wouldn’t be able to help her out.
Maybe it finally was time to make a decision. He knew what she was running from, even if it was SHIELD itself, he knew that he had to protect her. He had to protect the only person he ever cared for more than anything else.
“Where do you need me to be?”, he asked softly, holding her closer, knowing that this was what she wanted.
“I can’t be without you, Natasha… I can’t..”
The touch of his fingers in his hair soothes her a little, and her fingers untense in his shirt - although she can’t bring herself to let go, not right now. She’s always found it soothing, although it makes her ever more aware of what she might yet lose.
At his answer, she looks up, eyes slightly wide with surprise. “You… you’d come, without knowing… leaving this behind?” She tries to stop herself from speaking - she has what she’d never imagined she would be allowed to - but there’s no way she’ll ever let Clint walk into something without knowing everything.
“It’s not like your past. We’d be constantly on the run, never stopping. Taking whatever jobs we can find and always, always looking behind. Once you… If you decide to come with me, that’s it. No one’s going to give me a second chance.”
The magnitude of what she’s asking him to do for her hits, and she curls closer once more - as though that can protect her from the leaden weight in her stomach. If she cares for him, she should never ask this of him. Yet at the same time, the idea of straying from his arms seems beyond her right now.
bannerandbarton reblogged this from inheritorofmemories and added:
Clint looks at her, he’s not that big of a mind, really, but he understands a lot. And so he understands what she’s...
inheritorofmemories reblogged this from bannerandbarton and added:
Natasha rests her hands on his chest, fingers twitching slightly with the need to make him understand - well, that and...