"So, that puts Laura first, Lucky second, me third and that means you're..." She makes a vague gesture with her hand. "Fourth place for you? It's a hard call, you're neck-to-neck with Lila." It spoke for itself, how joking marked Kate's mood improvement. Because, unlike Matt, being broody for long is not her style. Specially not when she is so genuinelly happy to have Clint there with them.
Not completely broody anyway. Certainly not on the surface.
Kate's smile became softer, more genuine and relaxed as she closed her eyes, tipping her head as she leaned into Clint's touch. It was such a sweet gesture. Simple and yet it felt meaningful. The sort of tenderness she had missed.
"I'm okay," she says, ignoring the nasty bruises on her face that beg to differ. Right now, their hearts were so heavy that the real load was in the way they carried them.
God, is it really okay to speak? It should be. This is a private moment between her and Clint, why shouldn't she speak her mind?
"But, it's like..." Trying to find the words and, most importantly, know if she'll regret about saying them outloud, Kate stares at her own lap. At the way her fist has closed around the blanket. "I can't go back home yet. And Matt lost his place, he lost everything. We've been pretty much on the run every night, pretending things are normal during daytime. Barely sleeping and recovering."
Matt had covered for her so many times. Putting excuses for her to rest a little longer, convincing their hosts to distract her in some way as he left to do patrol earlier. Always granting her those extra five minutes of rest.
"It's tough. I know you know, because I know you've been through worse." With the Avengers or SHIELD. Clint sure had his rough patches. Times in which he stayed low, hiding, on the run. "So I know you know the importance of having a good partner. I have that in Matt."
Kate's gaze met Clint's.
"So yeah, I know he is not fine."
Is he listening?
"It's like we all expect him to carry the weight of the city on his back, because he'll do it. He is doing it. And I worry about him. Because I know he can take it." Even if it ruins his life.
"I just really, really wish he could have..." She trails off, frowning lightly as she tried to find the words. What? A normal life? Matt's tried that and for a while, she lost him. Is that the cost? Losing him again at the cost of Matt having a good, normal life? If Fisk had not returned, maybe that's what would have happened. He would be living a nice, normal life. Still helping others by finding justice in court, coming back home to a loving girlfriend. Getting a dog of his own. The white picket fence. Starting the family he's always wanted.
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Not completely broody anyway. Certainly not on the surface.
Kate's smile became softer, more genuine and relaxed as she closed her eyes, tipping her head as she leaned into Clint's touch. It was such a sweet gesture. Simple and yet it felt meaningful. The sort of tenderness she had missed.
"I'm okay," she says, ignoring the nasty bruises on her face that beg to differ. Right now, their hearts were so heavy that the real load was in the way they carried them.
God, is it really okay to speak? It should be. This is a private moment between her and Clint, why shouldn't she speak her mind?
"But, it's like..." Trying to find the words and, most importantly, know if she'll regret about saying them outloud, Kate stares at her own lap. At the way her fist has closed around the blanket. "I can't go back home yet. And Matt lost his place, he lost everything. We've been pretty much on the run every night, pretending things are normal during daytime. Barely sleeping and recovering."
Matt had covered for her so many times. Putting excuses for her to rest a little longer, convincing their hosts to distract her in some way as he left to do patrol earlier. Always granting her those extra five minutes of rest.
"It's tough. I know you know, because I know you've been through worse." With the Avengers or SHIELD. Clint sure had his rough patches. Times in which he stayed low, hiding, on the run. "So I know you know the importance of having a good partner. I have that in Matt."
Kate's gaze met Clint's.
"So yeah, I know he is not fine."
Is he listening?
"It's like we all expect him to carry the weight of the city on his back, because he'll do it. He is doing it. And I worry about him. Because I know he can take it." Even if it ruins his life.
"I just really, really wish he could have..." She trails off, frowning lightly as she tried to find the words. What? A normal life? Matt's tried that and for a while, she lost him. Is that the cost? Losing him again at the cost of Matt having a good, normal life? If Fisk had not returned, maybe that's what would have happened. He would be living a nice, normal life. Still helping others by finding justice in court, coming back home to a loving girlfriend. Getting a dog of his own. The white picket fence. Starting the family he's always wanted.
And Kate might have never heard of him again.
"I just want him to be happy."