The Lone Wolf (Clint Barton)

Chapter 48: Rest

Jackie POV:

Grabbing a frozen bag of peas out of the freezer, I handed them to Clint, watching as he put them on the back of his neck. Kate had gone to walk the dog, which left us to alone. Taking a drink of water, I continued to study his movements, checking for injuries he might have failed to mention and for clues about what exactly his connection as Ronin was to the Tracksuit Mafia. There was something he wasn't telling me, and I was fine with that, but if it would be something useful for me to know, I needed that information.

Clint sighed before placing the bag of peas down, turning to face me. 'Why are you looking at me like that?' He signed.

'What do you mean?' I signed back, setting my glass down to free both hands. 'Am I not allowed to look at my husband?'

'You're studying me, not just looking. Why?'

'I don't know what you're talking about.'

'You know exactly what I'm talking about.'

'Fine.' I ran a hand through my now untangled and loose hair before continuing. 'I'm looking for any injuries you might have decided to not share.'

'I tell you everything.' Clint frowned.

"Not everything." I mumbled, knowing that he wouldn't be able to hear me. 'I know.' I signed, coming to lean my head on his shoulder. Tracing the arm tattoo that he had gotten way-back-when, I pressed a kiss to his shoulder. Clint let out a breath, resting his head against mine. Our sweet moment was interrupted by Kate entering the apartment, having returned from walking the golden retriever she had saved.

Soon, they were off to get Clint's hearing aid fixed while I went to one of our favorite diners, getting a table for three. It didn't take very long for them to return, hearing aid in hand and ready to work. Although, Clint did take it out once Kate started really talking about...well, just about everything, while I just tuned her out and focused on eating. I didn't have supper or lunch yesterday, so this meal was welcomed. Plus, I didn't know when my next one would be.

"Look, I know this may sound weird, but I've dreamed of this for as long as I can remember." Kate's 'confession' brought me back into the conversation, finishing off my plate. "My dad was fearless. And his whole life was about helping people. When I put that suit on, I thought, 'This is it. This is the moment I become who I'm supposed to be.'"

"I remember the day I thought the same thing." Clint spoke, his mind clearly traveling back to our younger days at SHIELD. "You know, it's, uh...it comes with a price."

"What does?" Kate asked innocently.

"This life you wanna live." Clint answered. "To really help people. I mean, try to help people, anyway. Comes with a lot of sacrifices. And some things you'll lose...forever."

"Well, there's also things you gain, like trick arrows and a cool costume." Kate retaliated with while I sighed and shook my head. Clint simply laid his head on the table in slight defeat, just about ready to leave the young girl to the wolves. "Speaking of which. I've been thinking about your branding issue. You need a more recognizable costume."

"Uh, you realize that my job for the last, well, about 40 years was to be not recognizable, right?" Clint asked.

"Well, you've officially failed at that." Kate hummed before flipping over the paper she was drawing on and showing it to us. "Picture this...in purple."

"Oh, wow." Clint said sarcastically.

"What's that on the weirdos head?" I spoke up, holding back laughter at the drawing she had done.