When he arrives, he is glad to see that he is alone. Bruce is probably playing in his lab, and Thor could be anywhere. He may have gone back to Asgard to escape Natasha and Clint's wrath if the potion doesn't work.
He changes into his loose work-out clothes, then uses almost every machine in the room. Then, he practices shooting his bow. Tony made a simulation room for Natasha and Clint so that they can be challenged instead of having them master throwing knives at stationary dummies. He begins the simulation, putting it on the hardest level. It has been too easy for him for months. He walks into the separate simulation room, and raises his bow. He already knows what is going to happen, but he really does it for how fast he can do it. The first simulated man carries a machine gun trained on Clint. He releases an arrow, and it hits him in the eye. He falls quietly, allowing Clint to continue using the element of surprise. He shoots the next man to his right, then turns around and shoots a man to his left. He then turns around and shoots the last man directly behind him. JARVIS announces that Clint was 3.78 seconds faster. With a smirk, Clint leaves the simulation room.
He changes back into his regular clothes, and puts away his bow and arrows carefully. A long buzz from Clint's Stark phone alerts him of someone calling him, and he smiles when Natasha's name appears on the caller ID.
"Hey Tasha, what's up?" He asks cheerfully into the phone.
"For dinner, do you want to eat at the tower or at home?" She responds.
"How about I pick up some things at the store and we can cook up something at home. Tony and Pepper were drunk, so dinner here might just be Pop Tarts." Clint says, and he smiles as Natasha laughs.
"Ok then, get whatever you want."
"Ok, I'll see you in a bit."
"Alright. I love you."
"I love you too Tasha." Clint is still smiling a little when she hangs up.
He grabs his bags and walks to the small store on the corner of the block, buys the things they need for dinner, then walks home.
Natasha is sitting on the couch, her feet stretched across it and a somewhat new case file in her hand. Clint puts the groceries on the counter and his bags on the ground by the door, then walks up behind her.
"Hey, Tasha. Whatcha reading?" Clint asks, beginning to rub her tense shoulders.
"Just a case from last week, nothing important." She replies, putting her head back so that she can look up at Clint.
"Tash, you have to leave work at work and not bring it home, ok? This is the one place where we get to be ourselves, and I would hate to ruin it with things like old cases." He says gently and stops rubbing her shoulders, then takes the file from her and throws it across the room. In the process, papers fall out and go everywhere. "I'll pick that up later." He says, and Tasha laughs.
"Ok fine. No more bringing work home with me. I promise." She says, putting a hand over Clint's hand while he resumes rubbing her shoulders.
"Thank you." He says, leaning in for a kiss, even though Tasha is upside down.
After a few moments of kissing, Clint pulls away.
"So," he says, "You hungry?"
"Yeah, I'm starving." She says, getting up off the couch and walking toward the groceries on the counter. "What did you get?"
"I got pasta, Alfredo sauce, chicken, and broccoli." He says, following Tasha.
"Mmmm looks good." She says, taking out the ingredients and putting them on the counter. As they cook, they don't talk. It is more of a dance watching them cook. Until Clint walks up behind Natasha and wraps his arms around her. She smiles a bit, and he kisses her neck. She puts down the whisk she was holding and leans her head back on his shoulder, putting her hands over his. He gives her a hickey on the side of her neck, and she let's out a little moan when he stops. The sizzle of the chicken wakes them from their trance.
"Shut that off, will you." She says, and Clint reaches behind him to turn off the griddle, then he turns off the pots on the stove.
"There. Now we can get back to this." He says, flipping Tasha around so that he can kiss her. She smiles as he kisses her, and she puts her hands on his chest. As they kiss, her hands find the hem of Clint's shirt. She slips her hands underneath his shirt to feel his hard muscles. Clint moves his hands to the hem of his shirt and stops kissing Tasha for a second so that he can pull it over his head. She smiles and kisses him again as he throws the shirt to the floor. He slides his hands down her back as she tangles her fingers in his hair. When his hands reach her thighs, Clint picks her up and carries Tasha to their bedroom. On the way they knock into things, mostly because Clint refuses to open his eyes and stop kissing her. Tasha laughs and they bump up against the doorframe of their bedroom, and Clint presses her against it, pinning her. The feel of his body pressing against hers makes her want there to be nothing but skin between them. There is a pause in their kissing as Tasha lifts her shirt over her head and lets it float to the ground, as Clint stands waiting, wanting, his eyes still closed and mouth slightly open in anticipation of what is to come. As quickly as it came, the silence is gone and they are kissing again, not mad desire and wanting for one another, but somewhat slow, passionate, loving kisses, each one saying I love you in a different way. And then Clint is carrying her to the bed again, gently laying her down under the safety of the covers.
When Natasha had worked for the KGB, this was the part when she would slit her mark's throat and be gone in an instant. But now, this was a time to relax with the one person in the world that she loves and trusts. The first time they had sex, she had lain awake for hours after. She was still new at this part. The cuddling, loving embraces, small talk before they both fell asleep from exhaustion. The first time, she didn't know what to do with herself. So she had simply lain there, as stiff as a board, wondering how Clint could be so relaxed, to to the point of which he was starting to fall asleep. He tried to get closer to her, to wrap his arms around her. But she just laid there, not responding to Clint's touch. At first he was confused, but before he said anything, he remembered that this was the time that the Black Widow struck. So instead instead of saying anything, he simply laced his fingers with hers and fell asleep. He didn't let go until morning. Now, she knew what to do. It was almost a second nature now. She turned around softly in his arms, pressing herself to him. He laced his fingers with hers, just like he did the first night they had sex. And for once, Natasha found herself happy and safe and loved as she fell asleep in Clint's arms.
