Fighting Next To You ~ A Clintasha FanFiction

Part Six

"I'm going to 'work' tomorrow." Barton tells me as we lie down to sleep.

"Oh." I say timidly, I'm not looking forward to spending the whole day home alone.

"One of S.H.I.E.L.D's targets are working in New Jersey's main bank in security, I'm going out there tomorrow to investigate them." Barton turns off the bedside lamp.

"What am I meant to do?" I ask quietly.

"Brett Smith's wife doesn't work either; she should be at home tomorrow.  Invite her round, get some information. I bugged the house too so I can hear what's going on as well."
Both of us yawn, and before I know it I'm asleep.

            I wake up to the smell of bacon and fried mushrooms. I turn over and see that Barton isn't in the bed. Is he cooking breakfast? Floppily I pull on my slippers and a dressing gown and tiptoe down the stairs, following the scent of bacon. "Morning Tasha! I made breakfast!" Barton says, pulling a chair out for me. I sit down and pour some tea into my mug.

"When are you leaving?" I ask, as Barton puts a plate in front of me.

"Ten minutes. I'll probably be home at five o'clock by the way."

I smile, I'm dreading cooking dinner.

The bacon is perfect. It's not too crispy, but not too soft. Just right. The tea is brewed perfectly. It's not too strong, but not too weak. He's pulling out all the stops this morning!

"What's your plan then?" Barton questions as he pours some tea into a thermos for work.

"Invite Smith's wife over, get information." I say shortly.

"Don't make it too obvious." Barton warns.

"Barton, I've been doing this for nearly all my life, I don't need extra tuition."

Barton laughs. He stands up and puts our plates in the dishwasher. "Have a good day." He says kissing me on the forehead again.

I smile and say "Don't work too hard."

Just before he leaves he says, "And Tasha? Don't call me Barton. My name is Clint. That's C-L-I-N-T. Bye!" The door shuts behind him, and I laugh inwardly before heading up the stairs to go and get changed.

:*:*:*:*:*:

            What do house wives wear? Hastily, I pull on a floral print dress with a V-neck and a wrap front, and some black lace up wedges. Do I look like a house wife? Probably not. I do my hair and put a little makeup on before finding the telephone. Barton- I mean Clint added the Smith's house phone to our contacts. I dial in their number and wait for someone to pick up the phone. "Hello?" A woman says, she has a sweet voice and doesn't sound like she's married to an A.I.M. worker.

"Good morning, I'm Kayley Johnson, my husband and I moved in yesterday to number 6. We found your number in the house's address book."

"Oh, yes, I thought someone had moved in! I'm Taylor, my husband Brett and I have been living here at number 12 for a couple of years now. What do you need?"

"I was wondering if you wanted to come round for coffee. I haven't got a job, and my husband Linus is a banker, so I've no one to talk to!"

"I would love to come over! I don't work either; it's far too stressful..."

"Wonderful! You can come over whenever you're ready!" I say, hoping she doesn't come for a good couple of hours.

"Well, I've got to walk the dog first, how does two o'clock sound to you?"

"Perfect, see you then!"

"Goodbye!" Taylor says, and she hangs up the phone.

:*:*:*:*:*:

            Clint bought some cookies yesterday. I shove them on a baking tray and slide them into the oven. I'll make it look like I baked them. I've got two hours until Taylor comes over, what should I do? I give the alibi a quick read once more so I know exactly who Kayley and Linus are, and then make some pink lemonade. As I'm making the lemonade, I notice that the house doesn't have any homely features. There are loads of photo frames that are empty! I put the lemonade into the fridge and look through my phone, trying to find any pictures of Clint and me.

After scrolling through my camera roll for a couple of minutes I find one that we took after Fury gave me a job. We're both smiling and looking into each other's eyes. That was probably the last photo we took together. I print it out on photo paper and put it into the nicest frame there is, and I set it proudly on the coffee table.

I put my rings on and make sure the flowers look nice in the vase. The house is spotless. There's no dust or dirt, the windows are clear and clean and the bathroom is also spotless. I put some fridge magnets on the fridge and stick a shopping list onto the fridge. I go round the whole house and look for any finishing touches I could make.

Suddenly, the doorbell rings. It's two o'clock.