Worth It

Twenty Five

"Good morning!" I yelled to the group in the common room.

"What's got you so chipper?" Dad asks.

"I'm just in a good mood. Ophelia and I are going on a picnic today and ever since I stopped getting nightmares, I've been sleeping better than ever."

"I'm glad." He ruffles my hair as he walks behind me.

"Good morning, Clint." I say as he walks in. He ignores me. "Good morning!" I say louder. "Is he ignoring me?" I ask the group.

"He took out his hearing aids." Nat replies, taking a bite of her toast.

"Ohhhhh." I throw a pillow at his head and sign 'good morning'.

'Why did you throw a pillow at me?' He signs back.

'To get your attention.'

"You know sign language?" Nat asks.

"Yeah, there was a kid in one of my foster homes who was deaf. I learned sign language so I could talk to her."

"That's cool."

"I'm pretty cool." I smile.

I finish my breakfast and head upstairs to shower and get ready before Ophelia gets here.

"You look nice." Loki says as I leave my room.

"Thanks! I have a date today."

"You seem more energetic than usual."

"Well, no nightmares means more sleep." I grin and notice a subtle smile on his face. "What? Did you do something?"

"No, why would you think that?"

"Because you smiled. Did you do something with my nightmares?"

"I have no clue what you're talking about." He tries to brush me off.

"You did! What did you do?" He sighs before answering.

"Neither of us deserved the things that happened to us. If I can't help myself, I want to help you." That was the first time he acknowledged that he was a victim. I pulled him into a hug and he stiffened before relaxing and hugging me back.

"I appreciate the help but this is something I have to work through myself. Taking the easy way out isn't my thing."

"I understand. Have fun on your date." He says pulling away.

"I will."

I grabbed the packed basket and headed downstairs and outside to see Ophelia leaning against her new car.

"Hey sweet cheeks." She smirked and opened the passenger door for me.

"Shut up." I chuckled, stepping in the car.

It was a short drive to the park and once we got there, Ophelia unfolded the blanket and I unpacked the basket. Much to my pleasure, there were no paparazzi to be seen.

We ate and laughed and talked. At one point a young girl came and asked for a picture and I was happy to oblige.

"So turns out dating an avenger really bumps you up the social ladder."

"Is that why you're dating me?" I joked. "Just for me to help with your popularity." I feigned offense.

"As rats," she played along. "You figured me out."

"It's ok, I dint mind." I smiled at her.

When we finished our food, we packed everything away and just lay on the blanket and watched birds fly by.

"Do you ever think about everything that had to happen to greet us to this point?" I asked unprompted.

"Yeah," she responded. "I think it's interesting that even all the bad things were necessary to get us to this exact moment."

"In that case," I rolled onto my side and looked at her. "Maybe it was all worth it." She looked at me. "Years of trauma just to sit here in the park and have a picnic with my girlfriend."

"Maybe."

"I love you so much, you know that right?"

"I think you remind me every day." She smiles.

"That's because I don't ever want you to forget."

"I promise I won't."

"Good." I kissed her.

"I want to marry you someday." She said.

"Are you proposing to me right now? Because as much as I love you, you should probably graduate high school first." I said with a smirk.

"No," she answered. "I'm just letting you know. One day, I will marry you."

"I'm looking forward to it."