Natasha - "No one's ever been gentle with me."

This! I can feel something forming in the back of my head at that ;)

\o/

Awwwwww...

"Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind,
And therefore is winged Cupid painted blind."
- Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night's Dream

***

"Hold still."

"It hurts."

"I'm going to tell people, you know."

"That Hawkeye's unfortunate demise came at the hands of his partner?"

"That the Black Widow has a boo-boo face."

She gave him a pretty pout, then winced. "I want more sake."

"Haven't you had most of the bottle by now?"

"Only what you didn't drink." Natasha frowned. "I can still feel my fingertips." She pressed a hand to the bruise forming on her cheek. "And I can still feel this."

"The other guy looked worse though."

"They always do."

Clint chuckled, reaching up to cradle her jaw. He felt her tense.

"Am I hurting you?"

Her voice was unsteady. "No."

"Hold still then." He pressed the damp cloth to her bottom lip, dabbing away the blood and trying to relieve a bit of the swelling. He ignored the way her breath hitched and he sure as hell ignored the almost overpowering urge to pull her closer.

Off limits, Barton, a voice inside him said. We've been over this before.

Evac was still four hours away. It was the first joint mission they'd had in months and it had been over far too soon. At the moment it was 2 A.M. and they were holed up in a shoebox-sized apartment in Osaka with a dwindling supply of sake and an endless supply of cuts and bruises.

He focused on the line of her jaw, the bow at the top of her lips, and the slight asymmetrical line of her nose, and tried not the think about how she crinkled it when she smiled. He cleaned each cut and pressed the cold cloth to her cheek. When at last he pulled back, her eyes fluttered open in a kind of daze.

"Thank you," she said.

"For what?"

"No one's ever been gentle with me."

"Then they're idiots."

"Who?"

"Everyone."

She giggled.

"You're drunk."

"And you're handsome."

"Now I know you're drunk."

She giggled again.

"Clint..."

"Yes?"

"Why didn't you?"

"Why didn't I what?"

"Ever ask me out?"

"You're just all kinds of chatty tonight."

"It's been four years--"

"Four and a half."

"Now you're evading."

"I'm avoiding self-incrimination."

"Self-incrimination," she said solemnly then giggled some more.

"Maybe I'm shy."

She shrugged. "Maybe you're not interested. No reason you should be; I shouldn't have brought it up--"

He tilted her chin up until her eyes met his. "Maybe I'm shy," he repeated.

She leaned forward the tiniest bit. "Maybe I am too."

His thumb replacing the cloth, he traced delicate circles on her injured lower lip. "That's quite the predicament we're in."

"A conundrum," she agreed.

"I guess we're stuck."

"Two star-crossed souls..."

"So near and yet so far..."

"Unrequited..."

"Speak for yourself, sweetheart."

She laughed, collapsing against his shoulder. He held her there and tried not to think about just how unbelievably perfect this moment was; how unbelievably perfect she felt.

"Missed you," she murmured against his neck.

He pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "Missed you too."

She placed her hand over his heart. "Happy Valentine's Day, Clint."

"Happy Valentine's Day, Tasha."


Edited 2013-02-19 10:34 pm (UTC)

It's all your fault!

Promptathon bets FTW. And thank you. I'm pretty sure dialogue is my favorite-ist thing in the whole wide world. <3

Oh, drunk assassins (and sake. interesting choice). So much fun.

Thank you! I was inspired by your lovely Shakespeare from earlier today. :D

Oh, behold the freakin' cuteness! :D

Lol, yes, I got a bit carried away... ;)

Aww, shy and slightly drunk Clint and Nat are too cute for words!

Aww, thanks! :)

Fluff as a form of literary expression is highly underrated. :-)

(And I'm not even commenting on the whole cupid image ...)

**curtsies**

Anything I can do for the sake of good literature... ;)

So glad you enjoyed!

BANTERRRRRRR!!!!!!!! And he's shy!!!!!!!! This made me ridiculously happy. And the hand over heart part at the end? Swoon.

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED.

\o/

**flails around like a crazyperson**

(and dude, this song kind of gives me everything for this fic:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qcw-MIi8S_4)

\o/ This was everything I was hoping for and more! With the feels, banter, the bit of h/c, and the perfect ending -- thanks so much!

"I'm going to tell people, you know."

"That Hawkeye's unfortunate demise came at the hands of his partner?"

"That the Black Widow has a boo-boo face."

LOVED IT! <3

Oh God! Sentimental and funny and great dialogue. And drunken conversations rock! (Also, I fell asleep) *G*

This was just too cute for words, the banter was perfect and I love drunken assassins being cuddly ;)

This is so many levels of fabulous I am in love.

<3

UGH. WHAT. MAYBE I'M SHYYYY.

Natasha with insecurities about Clint having feelings for her is like, my favorite thing, everrrrr and this made my heart all flippy and wonderful!

FREAKING ADORABLE.

I adore this!