Worth (Sequel to Games of Deception)

Chapter 8 - Secret

-Clint-

I found Jacqueline later that night on the roof. A skylight in the attic opened up onto it. It was something we'd discovered earlier in the day, and it provided quite the view.

And gave me all the information we'd needed about our location. A long dirt trail through one side of the woods likely lead out to a road, meaning that there was probably some small town a few miles out. Aside from that, we were unreachable. It was unlikely that anyone would ever even go looking for a house all the way out here. For now, we were safe. She was safe.

"What's on your mind?" I asked. I gently lowered myself onto the shingled roof next to her after checking to make sure it was stable.

"A lot of things," she answered, her focus still in her thoughts. Her gaze was tilted up to the sky, a similar one to the night we'd arrived. "Waiting for this guy to fall from the sky again and fall in love with me..."

I leaned my head back and groaned, much to her amusement. "If you love Thor so damn much why don't you just-"

"I'm joking, calm down."

"Yeah, whatever. Sure you are. I mean, I just don't get how-"

"Clint," she punched me in the arm. "Stop it."

I leaned away from her, rubbing my arm but smiling back at her. "Fine."

She laughed, then again looked to the sky overhead. "These stars are something."

"Yeah, I missed views like this." I replied, looking up as well. "Reminds me of where I grew up."

"You know, you've never really told me about that."

I shrugged. " I lived in this small town in Iowa. On a farm, kind of like this one but bigger."

"So does that mean you guys were like, rich?"

I exhaled a laugh. "No, it means we worked our assess off to get stuff done around the place."

Jacqueline laughed lightly. "I guess I don't know much about life outside the city. Never really had the chance to figure it out."

"Well, you know how I'd get lost all the damn time when we were driving through Manhattan, so."

"Good point."

I felt her eyes on me now, and I looked back at her. I wanted to take in every second I had here with her, the way she looked under the night sky. The sound of her voice.

"Do you ever think about them?" she asked. She was suddenly more serious, more careful. I knew what she'd meant by the question, but hadn't been expecting it. My parents.

I looked down at our hands, now connected, trying to process an answer. "Sometimes. Sometimes I wonder where I'd be right now if they were still here."

"I'm going to guess...not with SHIELD."

"Probably not." I looked up to her again, her eyes studying me carefully.

It wasn't a topic I minded discussing, just one we'd never really talked about that often. I'd at some point told Jacqueline about the accident my parents had been in when I was just a kid, but we'd never really brought it up again until that moment. It was just something I didn't really think about anymore...I'd gotten pretty good at forgetting things like that. Before Jacqueline had come along, all that mattered to me was the mission. And things like that would only get in the way. Jacqueline did something to me that made me more...human. For better or worse, hell if I knew. But she made me forget to care.

"But, I don't think I would have liked that so much. I mean, maybe I wouldn't have known the difference then, but knowing what I know now, I think it's a good thing I'm here."