asthehawkflies | [#000] Appointments

Thank you, dearest. Expect a tapping on your window.

[The feed cuts out and a few minutes later, there Saori is. She's floating in the breeze outside his window, tapping on it with a finger, still dressed in a nightgown.]

Clint?

I'm not going anywhere.

[He drags on a pair of sweatpants and waits, opening the winder when he hears the tapping.]

Saori, hey. Come on up.

[Saori dips her head and floats in, gown trailing behind her, her feet coming to rest on the floor with a soft thump.]

Thank you.

[Gently, careful of his injury, she embraces him]

I'm sorry to be a burden.

[He steps aside to let her in and as gentle as she is, he still winces when she hugs him, more out of anticipation than any real pain. He wraps his arms around her carefully.]

You're not. You're always welcome here.

[Reflexively, she channels Nala, pouring every ounce of healing power she can into him. Magic she can do, if he can comfort her with words.]

Thank you. I...appreciate that. More than I can say, dearest.

[Standing on tiptoes, she kisses him gently and then takes a step back, not wanting to strain his rib more. She pushes him back towards the bed with considerable strength, wanting him to at least sit. Then she hops onto it herself, sitting cross legged to look at him.]

I know that it's late. But I...just. After that mission. I could not sleep. I keep having nightmares. And fantasies that become nightmares. I just...need to be with someone tonight.

[Someone strong. Because she feels so weak now.]

[He gasps a little bit as the healing magic flows through him, easing the pain a little, helping the healing process along.]

Thanks, Saori.

[He smiles when she kisses him, tired but pleased and lets her push him to sit down on the bed facing her.]

I told you, it's fine. I keep odd hours at the best of times.

I can understand that. Nightmares, I mean. Having someone around, it helps, sometimes.

[She nods, accepting it finally]

It's because of the mission I was on. It was...cruel. I can't think of another word for it.

[Saori takes a long, slow breath.]

It was supposed to be...just manual labor. The kind of work I'd do at home, delivering packages and parcels and things. I like my job. So I volunteered.

Yeah, the Malnosso have a way with cruelty and twisting things around.

[He's had enough experience of that recently. He listens silently to what she says, and nods.]

Sounds straightforward. I don't trust it one bit.

It...was what they said it was.

[Her head shakes once]

But we were attacked. By the Third Party. The General. Only...more than that. A group of Third Party attacked all of us, the enemy included, and sealed us in dreams. Trapping us. [She quivers, legs pulling up to hug against her chest.] In our nightmares, and fantasies.

[He frowns a little at that. Straightforward missions had a habit, in his experience, of going to hell. Often through carelessness. Had the Malnosso underestimated their opponents?]

Oh Christ...

[It sounds insane, but after the things he's seen here, after the nightmares that he's had normally, he can imagine a little of how horrific that is.

He reaches out when she curls up, brushing a strand of hair out of her face, fingers lingering against her skin.]

You don't have to give me the whole gory details if you don't want, Saori. But if it helps, you can.

[That light touch draws a faint smile, a little huff of laughter. She reaches up a hand to his arm, finger sliding down it.]

I...my nightmare was nothing. An impossibility. Something I know in my heart cannot happen. A demon taking my locket.

[She doesn't care if he learns about the locket. Not him, not really. She trusts him as much as she does Yuuna, now. Saori slides closer, though, and makes to lie down against him, if he'll have her.]

But the fantasy. That was cruel. Something I've always wanted...and taken away before my very eyes. By my own hand.

[He smiles back at the touch and he's glad that he can be there for her. When she moves to lie against him, he shifts so that he's leaning against the wall next to the bed, a better position to support her.]

Locket? Somehow I don't think we're talking about just a piece of jewelery here.

[He lets out a slow breath at her admission though, hand going to stroke her hair.]

They're bastards. If I could... there wouldn't be enough left of them to bury.

[She's very very grateful, pressing herself close to him, careful of his injuries. He's her rock right now.

One hand reaches into her gown and takes out a silver locket, inlaid with a mirror. The pendant he'd given her, and a small charm from the child Loki are set next to it on the fine chain. Along with a simple golden band, several kanji engraved into it.]

This. This is my soul. A piece of it, anyway. Without this...I am powerless. If I am separated from it for too long, I lose more than that.

[She gives him a rueful look]

I...had to kill someone. The monster took the face of someone very, very dear to my heart. And...I was human. Truly human.

[He peers down at the locket curiously, and it warms something inside him to see the pendant there next to it.]

...definitely more than jewelery.

[Master of understatement that he is.

He turns serious when he hears about that, and hugs her close to him]

I'm so sorry sweetheart. No-one should have to go through that. Killing someone close to them.

[She picks it up gently, setting it down on top of his chest while she lays against him. A gesture of supreme trust, letting it even come into contact with another, though connected by the chain. It's pretty heavy, for it's size.]

It...I...Earth and Stars, Clint. I was so cold. I just...broke her neck. Like it was nothing. Like...some sort of monster.

[He blinks at the gesture, because after what she'd told him, it's such an important gesture. He can feel it's weight against his skin, heavier than you'd think to look at it.]

It wasn't her, Saori. It wasn't her and... and if that was how you had to escape... you aren't a monster, Saori.

[She'll just be nuzzling up against him now, one arm slipping very carefully underneath him so as not to upset any injuries.]

I...it just feels wrong. I love her. Yuuna. She's...even if it was just a monster stealing her face. I just feel wrong. I've never been that cold about killing someone before. You are right, as always though, dearest. It was just...so easy.

[Too easy. She'd cried, but the act should have been harder. And then there's the worry that her fantasy was...being human.

Her face screws up tiredly for a moment. She's trying to bring up the topic and can't decide how. So she just says what's on her mind, finally, blurting it out as roundaboutly as she can..]

Is it strange, to be a god's lover?

[He shifts a little to make it easier and listens intently, holding her close.]

You found out that it was a monster manipulating you, Saori. Using the person you love most to cause harm. I think it's enough to make anyone go a little cold.

I- I killed my brother. Back home. Broke down afterwards, but while I was taking the shot... there was nothing but me and the bow, and it was no harder than any other kill.

[He kisses her hair for a moment and frowns a little at the question.]

Uh... I can't say I've really thought about it much, honestly.

[She listens just as intently, giving him a troubled look. She'd known this, had some idea of what had happened. But the look in his eye, he seems so sad in his own way. A little lost and that troubles her. She doesn't like it when he has that look about him. But what he says just clicks. Makes too much sense.]

No, this was no more difficult than any other. But you are right. As always, you really are good at quelling my doubts. You always know just what to say. Somehow.

[Gently, she reaches up a hand to cup his cheek. Smiling at the answer, she considers. He hadn't thought much about it. Which meant it wasn't important. Which meant that he thought of her as she was, not as what she was. Inside, that had started a veritably hurricane of happy emotions. She could've dealt with it, if he'd said otherwise. But that answer was just perfect. Exactly what a capricious goddess would want to hear.]

You have no idea how happy it makes me to hear you say that.

[He gave a soft, slightly strained laugh at that, but his smile was warm when he looked at her.]

Oh, now I know you're flattering me. I've never been any good with words. I'm just a soldier.

[He leans into the touch, giving her time to think and he's not sure what he's said that would make her so happy, but he's glad for it.]

I'm not really one for gods or... or the supernatural, though life had gotten weird recently at home. But you're Saori. I don't see how much else matters.

[Her own look mirrored his, as warm as summer breeze]

I've often found the opposite. You are down to earth, and I am a fool with her head in the clouds. You say what I need to hear to pull me back to my senses, and tell me true. You've never led me astray when you could easily have done so, our little dalliances aside. To me, that's worth more than all the haiku ever written.

[She giggles, tousling his hair. She may or may not be trying to confuse him.]

You're right. I am Saori, Saori Kimura. The Daughter of Wind and Rain is a part of me, yes, but...I am also just Saori.

The world needs all kinds of people. I do what's necessary, even if it's dirty. Someone needs to dream of better things.

[It was that kind of person that he fought to keep safe in the end. He gave a warm laugh at that, ducking his head when she ruffles his hair.]

And I'm Hawkeye who never misses. And Agent Barton. And then sometimes I'm just Clint.

Clint, if you are going to start saying that again, maybe I'll just have to take extra care to dream more. I may be a fool with her head in the clouds, but I'm a fool who can rock the pillars of Heaven. Perhaps one day, you'll be able to be the dreamer too.

[She kisses him then, still smiling. And stupidly smitten.]

And...Hawkeye, you've certainly scored a clean shot on me. Agent Barton has too. But all three of you hit the mark. I couldn't ask for a sweeter someone to share my dreams with.

Maybe some day, hm? Would be nice.

[He kisses her back, still warm and happy that he seems to have helped, even if he's not entirely sure how.]

I'm just glad that you're feeling better, Saori. I hate seeing people I care for hurt.

[He probably wouldn't believe her if she told him.]

Someday, I'll make it happen.

[She props herself up on one elbow, trailing the silver locket around his chest with a finger]

And I hate seeing people I care for hurt too. Are your ribs well enough for me to stay the night? I want to take care of you, too. And if I'm here in the morning...well...it'll be easier to pamper you.

[Voice], Filtered 100%--Action

[Voice], Filtered 100%--Action

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]