bakerstreet | The Domestic Meme

The Domestic Meme

RULES!
❧ Leave a comment with your character's name, fandom, and any preferences you have.
❧ When replying, RNG for a number between 1 and 15. The number corresponds to the scenario that you will play out in whatever way you want to.
❧ Go from there!

THE LIST!
01] baby
Suddenly, there's a new addition to your family! Are you expecting? Adopting? Struggling to find the perfect name for your child? Or maybe you're up at a ridiculous hour in the morning because they're crying like crazy.

02] just married
Congratulations! You and your loved (?) one are about to start a whole new life together! It's time for the honeymoon...

03] house hunting
Are you seeking out an apartment? A dream house? Or just any old place, as long as you're with your other? Make sure to weigh your options very carefully...

04] household chores
It's time to clean/cook/garden/take care of something! Do you work together, or does one of you hide until everything is done?

05] shopping
Whether it's for furniture, groceries, or something in between, shopping is something that everybody must do at some point in time! What varies is if they like it or not.

06] family vacation
WE'RE OFF TO DIDNEY WOOOOOOOOORL or wherever
... well, as long as the kids are happy, right...? You may not be happy (or maybe you are), but it's mainly about ~family bonding~.

07] romantic retreat
It's you and your loved one's anniversary, and you decide it's time to take some time off and take them somewhere nice, where you only have each other.

08] comfort
Is somebody sick in bed? Or perhaps they just had a bad day? Sometimes, a good breakfast in bed or a home-cooked meal can really lift the spirits! Or perhaps you want to try medicine, or laughter, or something else?

09] pet
Suddenly, you have another addition to the family! Is it a puppy? A kitty? A fierce dragon? Whatever it is, make sure to give it a name and to take good care of it!

10] holiday
Happy birthday/New Years/Christmas/Valentine's Day/whatever! It's a very special day that only comes once a year, so make it count!

11] argument
Oh, no, who left the stove on... Or maybe it's about why they were out late last night? Either way, there is a lot of tension today, and one of you may or may not be sleeping on the couch tonight.

12] making up
It's time to make amends for that fight/divorce/whatever you had before! After all, you love each other... right?

13] surprise, surprise
You are feeling rather loving tonight, so you want to remind the other person how much you cherish and appreciate them... if it's by something cute and adorable or hot and sexy is completely up to you.

14] proposal
~~SHUT UP THIS TOTALLY FITS~~ You've been with your other for what feels like forever, and finally you want to tie the knot with them. Will you go down on one knee before them, or get a little creative?

15] other
I know I'm forgetting like a bajillion and one different things here, so this is the option for that!

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”it's always me making an effort.”

Those words hurt more than any others he could have possibly chose, and the worst part was that they hurt so much because she knew they were true. As much as she needed him and cared about him, their relationship only truly worked because Clint made it work. He was the one that made all the sacrifices, who put his own wants aside, and unfortunately Natasha was only now waking up to this fact.

Turning her face away she squeezed her eyes closed and hugged her legs tighter. How could she have been so blind? Was her fear and uncertainty really that great she had allowed herself to look past everything he did for her, everything he gave up for her? He really did deserve better than her, someone who could be open and who was willing to give him every bit of her, everything she had.

Her head snapped around when he rose from the bed and she felt a quick tinge of panic. Hearing he was disappointed was another blow. Anger she would have preferred, she could have dealt with; disappointment ran much deeper. But what did any of it matter if he walked out? He was just going to leave, this was going to be it; the last time they talk in four months and it would be words that hurt each other. These weren’t the memories she wanted to take with her, but what had she really expected? How could she have been so stupid?

“Clint, please,” her voice cracked at the plea, her mask finally coming apart. Throwing off the covers she crawled across the bed and grabbed for his hand. “Please don’t leave it like this.”

He turned slowly at the tone of her voice, jesus if her words hadn't come out like that he'd have kept walking, but it froze him in his tracks, her fingers gripping his and jesus he didn't know what to do. Part of him wanted to crawl back to her, but that's all he ever did, tried to make her happy. The other part of him wanted to go find a solitary corner somewhere just to think, head onto the roof to take in the sights and work out just what the fuck he was going to do.

"You've kinda made your own bed here Tasha." His features did soften as he gripped her hand in his. "I'm lost on this one, I just need to take a break, get some air, think things through." He nodded, kneeling slowly at the foot of the bed, eyes locked on her but hazy, he couldn't decide if he wanted to focus on her or see through her, just because he really didn't know what to do or what else he could say.

Her voice though, god, he hadn't heard her voice break like that for years and the last time it had it had fallen from the lips of a girl he was about to kill.

"Natasha I.." love you "I need to get some air." He nodded, leaning to press lips quickly to her forehead before he was moving. He had to get out, the air was suffocating him and jesus he couldn't stand being in the same room as her and hiding from the fact he couldn't manage to spit out what he actually meant.

His words were harsh at first but his expression softened and he squeezed her hand so she let herself hope. She tried to be understanding, he just needed space to think, but she couldn’t help the sinking feeling in her stomach that if she let him walk out of here tonight he wouldn’t be back.

When he knelt before her she gripped his hand desperately, thinking that maybe he would stay, maybe she could convince him to stay, but she could see it in his eyes, that he was having a hard time even to look at her right now. No, she couldn’t convince him to stay, she wouldn’t, because that would involve one of two things: she would either have to use the skills she swore she would never use on him, or she would have lay her heart completely open. The first she would not do, the second she couldn’t, not without time to reflect herself.

“Clint...” she spoke his name quietly, her eyes closing tightly as he pressed his lips to her forehead. She wanted to throw her arms around him, to pull him close and kiss away all his pain but he was already moving away and she felt frozen, leaden. She couldn’t move, couldn’t speak, couldn’t even watch him leave. Only when he was gone did she eventually force herself to crawl back into the bed, pull the covers over her and bury her face in the pillow he had vacated. It still smelled like him so she drew it close to her, wrapping her arms around it and just breathing him in.

So it was longer then the ten minutes he thought he needed. 30 minutes of roaming around the roof, staring out at the sky and freezing his ass off. But he still returned, still ended up on her floor wandering back towards her bedroom and shedding his shirt along the way.

It hadn't helped him clear his head or think, he couldn't stop it, he couldn't stop her from going so he just had to accept it. It's why he watched her for a few seconds before sitting on the edge of her bed, scrubbing a hand over his face.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have.." Apologising as usual but honestly? He didn't want to end things like this, not with four months ahead of them. He understood why she hadn't told him, but understanding her reasons didn't help. If the roles were reversed he'd have told her, it would have hurt him but he'd have mentioned it and made sure that the last couple of days together were enough to keep him satisfied.

Thirty minutes felt like hours to Natasha and she had started to truly fear that he wasn’t coming back, that he wouldn’t be there to see her off tomorrow and that the last image she would have of him for the next four months was that of his back, shoulders sagging, as he walked out on her.

It would serve her right, she had made a real mess of everything. She hadn’t thought through how this would really effect him, had only been thinking of herself. She should have told him the moment she found out, should have given him the same time she had had to come to grips with it. Even that hadn’t been enough time for her, so what did she expect from him? She had used him so poorly and all he had ever done was be there for her whenever she needed him, and cared more about her than anyone else ever had.

She lay silently in the room, her breathing uneven, but she didn’t cry; the Black Widow didn’t cry, even when her heart was aching. After what felt like hours she heard the soft sound of the elevator stopping on her floor, unaware she had been listening so closely, but she didn’t dare hope, not until she heard him pad into the room, not until she felt the bed shift slightly under his weight.

Slowly pushing herself up to sit, she set the pillow aside and watched him a moment, unsure what to do. Would he pull away if she touched him? She had to risk it. Crawling out from beneath the covers she moved to sit behind him, just watching his back, the subtle movements when he breathed.

“Don’t apologise,” she said, hating herself a little more that he felt the need to apologise when it had all been her fault. “You were right about everything. I should have told you, but I... I made a mess of everything.” She leaned forward enough so that her forehead rested between his shoulder blades, her whole body tense as she waited for him to pull away.

He reached around, finding her leg and drawing his fingers along her skin. Clint would forget about it, he had to because if he didn't he was afraid of how this would end. They were partners even before they ventured down this path, he couldn't put that on the line even if his head was telling him he was flogging a dead horse, his heart well, she'd stolen that a long time ago.

"It's okay, we're okay" He was glad she couldn't see his face, his eyes were shut too tight he was seeing stars but he kept his body loose, not wanting to make the rest of the night go anymore south than it already had. But still, he pulled away slowly to stand, shucking his jeans down his legs and moving back to her bed, back between the sheets. "Come on, you need some sleep otherwise It'll be a long day tomorrow." His heart wasn't in the words, but still he put on a brave face and managed a smile that didn't look forced.

Natasha let out a sigh of relief at his touch, turning her face to rest her cheek against his back. It was okay, they were okay; she repeated the words silently to herself. They were lies, of course, but she would take them for now. They weren’t okay, she knew that, but she had how that they would be.

She sat back when he stood up, watching as he discarded his jeans and slid back between the sheets. His voice was dull, his smile lacking, but she didn’t hesitate to climb in beside him again and pull the covers up over them. Maybe she was pushing it, pushing him, but she curled up against his side, just needing to feel him next to her. Draping an arm over him she couldn’t keep herself from placing a soft kiss on his chest. She knew he was right, knew she should sleep, but she didn’t want to waste this time together sleeping. She could sleep on the plane.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

As soon as she climbed next to him he wrapped an arm around her, eager to get back the warmth they'd lost earlier, when all this began.

She thanked him and he had to stop himself from sighing, instead he pulled her closer, breathing her in, wrapped up in her smell and pretended he was happy. "We're alright, just come back in one piece okay? That's the only thing I want from you."

He clung onto her, jesus if he lost her, if she didn't come back what would he do? Sure they'd been apart from each other before but this? This was so different and he couldn't help but think about what life would be like without her. Cold, miserable and certainly not worth sticking around for.

She wanted to say more, wanted him to know how grateful she was he had come back, how grateful she was for him, but all that mattered for a moment was that he returned her embrace and she let herself sink into him.

“I will,” she agreed to his request. It was a promise she knew she shouldn’t make, one she couldn’t possibly know if she could keep or not, but she sure as hell planned on coming back to him, and she was more determined than ever to do just that.

Nuzzling her face against his chest she kissed him again. Holding him tighter she draped one leg over his and pressed herself closer as he clung to her. “I will always come back to you.”

He smiled slowly, stroking a hand up her back, dancing fingers along her spine, memorising everything because four months was a long time to be away from each other, from someone you saw everyday. He wouldn't just miss this, but their vocal conversations and the silent ones, the way she smiled, her teasing, her sarcastic digs. Everything.

Her last words warmed him slightly, but it was still a far cry from any declaration of love. But what did he expect? Maybe for her to realise how crazy he was about her. "Good, because I don't know what I'd do without you."

He leaned down, catching her lips softly, snuggling back into the pillows and pulling her back on top of him just like their earlier position. "Now sleep time."

Clint’s words made her heart skip but she didn’t get chance to reply, whether to assure him he would never have to find out or to return the sentiment before he was kissing her and pulling her back on top of him like a human blanket. She didn’t protest; she had wanted to be as close to him as possible and she couldn’t get much closer than this.

Settling against him Natasha pillowed her head right over his heart and let herself relax. The emotional roller coaster had exhausted her and she only hummed in response when he said it was time to sleep.

How had she become so lucky? All the horrible things she had done in her life, so many that she wasn’t sure there were enough years left to make up for them all, what had she possibly done to deserve him? She didn’t know what she would do without him either, that point had been driven home when Loki had taken him from her. For those few long, agonizing days her thoughts had been consumed only by thoughts of Clint and of getting him back. He had never strayed far from her mind, even with everything else going on around her. It was then that she had realised how much he meant to her, but it was only now she was realising what it truly meant to give herself completely to someone else. She knew he had done that for her, but there was a part of her that was still holding back.

The fact that she would have to work on that were the last thoughts to pass through her mind before she drifted off to sleep.

Lucky would have been a word to describe himself. She was beautiful and could have had any man dropping to her knees and kissing the ground she walked on. But here they were with Natasha on his chest. Maybe he should just be thankful that she wanted him in this capacity instead of pushing her and feeling sorry for himself.

He felt her breathing slow, watched her as she fell asleep and half smiled. No he was lucky and he just had to keep reminding himself of that, plus if he kept pushing she always had that option of finding someone who didn't want anything more than this casual, secretive deal.

He sighed softly, tried to push it all out his mind and after ten minutes of watching her breath he followed suit and didn't move until morning when he woke up with a full bladder and Natasha still perched on top of him.

Maybe he could subtly roll her off? Escape from under her and return to her warmth when he'd finished sorting his problem. He tried, slowly moving her limbs and carfully rolling them until she was next to him with one of his arms trapped under her. Well done Clint. Congratulations.

She hadn’t meant to fall asleep. She had wanted to stay awake and memorise the sound of his breathing, the rhythm of his heartbeat, but it was these exact things that had lulled her into such a state of tranquility it had been impossible to resist. She slept soundly for several hours until she felt herself being jostled, her body being moved around without her doing the moving.

Morning. Never had that word been so detestable than it was right now. With morning brought separation and she just wasn’t ready to let him go, not yet. Wrapping her arms around him, she nuzzled her face in his chest.

“Not morning yet,” she mumbled, trying to cling to the remnants of sleep a little longer, her mind not quite alert yet. Nobody else had ever had the privilege of seeing her this way, and if Clint even thought of telling anyone she acted like this he would regret it tremendously.

Precious. He could almost call her precious in the morning. Nobody would believe him even if he told, and he was quite happy keeping this side of her all to himself. But he really did need to to the bathroom, even though she was currently tangled back around him like twine.

"Sweetheart, I gotta pee" He mumbled, voice hazy with the last slithers of sleep. Clint smiled lazily, stroking a hand through her hair before no, he really needed to move before something very bad happened. He managed to roll her away from him, escape her arms and stmble from her bed, scratching the back of his head, he did lean down to press a kiss in her hair though.

"I'll be back, keep that spot warm." And off he headed to relieve himself, all that wine really did him no good.

The words reached her ears and Natasha barely held back a laugh. It was tempting to curl around him tighter just to see how frantic he would get but she decided that might be a very bad idea, not that she helped him get free either. “Hurry back,” she murmured, even letting him get away with calling her ‘sweetheart’ without mention.

Sprawling out on her stomach in the centre of the bed she tried to keep herself from checking the clock, tried to slip back to a lazy half sleep but now Clint had inadvertently planted a seed in her mind and despite her ridiculously good bladder now she had to go too.

Grumbling to herself she pushed out of bed and winced as she took that first step. Christ, she was sore and walking certainly wasn’t helping. Limping over to the bathroom she leaned against the doorframe in her alltogether and waited for him to open the door.

That was better, so much better now he didn't have that damn pressure, yeah too much information maybe. He took a moment, scrubbing his hands, drying them slowly, taking a look at himself in her mirror and sighing.

Luckily he didn't jump as he opened the door and found himself face to face with Natasha, jesus she was like a shadow. "You vacated the nest, now it's gonna be all cold." He smirked, moving out of the way because she'd obviously got up with the same problem he had. Hey, everyone had to go right.

Moving back to the bed, boxers slung too low on his hips as he yawned and climbed back between the sheets, back to the cooling spot in the middle of the bed.

She smiled at him when he opened the door to find her standing right on the other side of it. He didn’t jump, she had to give him credit for that, and she noted that he seemed a lot more chipper this morning, a fact that she was entirely grateful for.

“Well, then you better get back in there and warm it up,” Natasha replied, giving his ass a swat as he passed her before closing the door behind her. Once she had finished her business, which included brushing away her morning breath, she stood staring at her reflection for a moment in the bathroom mirror. This afternoon she would no longer be Natasha Romanoff. For the next four months the face staring back at her would belong to Nadia Richardson, secretary for one Jack Fields, money launderer extraordinaire who had his hand in so many pots he could blow the lid of several big businesses.

Frowning at her reflection, Natasha closed her eyes and took a deep breath before pushing away from the sink and heading back out to the bedroom, a smile on her face by the time she opened the door. “I get to spend the day walking funny because of you,” she accused with mock seriousness as she crawled back into bed beside Clint.

He smirked at her as he passed by. Was this fixed? No. It was far from being fixed as he was still cracking under his smiles, but his determination to make things 'normal' won over.

Four months.

Clint sighed, turning his attention back to her as she entered the room and lent up on his elbows to watch the way she walked. "Yeah, see the thing about that is, I'm not sorry, in fact it's like you're channelling a penguin."

He grinned at her, rolling onto his side so he could face her now she was back. The bed was still lukewarm, so he settled back down. "What time?" The question was half asked because he didn't want to bring it up, but he was busy calculating the hours they had left of laying like this, fuck the hours he had left of just being with her.

Grabbing the pillow off of her side of the bed, Natasha hit Clint with it for his penguin comment. “Oh great, just what I always wanted to be.”

Sliding back into bed beside him, she tucked the pillow under her head and lay on her opposite side so they were face to face. Her eyes flickered slightly when he asked the time and she reluctantly raised her head to check the clock behind him. “Almost eight,” she replied, laying her head back down and bringing her eyes back to him. She would have to leave by eleven at the very latest to catch her ride to the base if she wanted to be there by noon.

Reaching her hand out she cupped his cheek, her thumb moving gently across his skin, and smiled softly. With his hair tousled and the dim morning light playing tricks with his blue eyes, she thought he might be the most beautiful man she had ever seen.

Clint laughed as she hit him, rolling his eyes slowly. "Yeah that was really mature Black Penguin." Okay weak attempt at a joke, but hey all his jokes were weak attempts.

"When do you go?" He asked softly, as if it was some kind of secret and really it seemed to be, at least on her part but after taking a time out he could understand her reasoning more. It wasn't for his benefit but that was the double edged blade with Natasha.

He smirked slowly at her hand, reaching to drape his own around her waist. "I vote we spend the next hour here, in this bed, making out like teenagers."

Just to prove how mature she really was, Natasha’s only response to the ‘Black Penguin’ joke was to stick her tongue out at Clint. Just because she was a deadly assassin who had seen and caused more pain and death than any one person should ever have to remember didn’t mean she didn’t have a playful side.

“Three hours,” she replied to the more serious words, her tone just as soft. Of course she would fly out later but the time between would be spent in transit and preparing for the mission. The three hours here were what mattered, the three hours with him.

Shifting closer to him so the tips of their noses just barely touched, she smiled a little wider. “I second that motion.”

"Three hours.." He mused, smiling softly albeit in a sad way. Clint wasn't even sure he could be there to watch her go, maybe he'd just find a nice perch and watch from the wings like he always did. Being too close to her would only make things worse.

His smile turned into a smirk at her words, the way her nose nearly touch his, so close he could smell her minty breath and realised that yeah, he hadn't brushed his teeth and hell his toothbrush was too far away. "My oral hygiene is out the window. I probably stink of garlic and onions..." It was said with almost a pout, but he still moved that extra bit closer to press lips to her jaw.

The sadness in his smile made her heart ache but she was grateful he didn’t say more, didn’t shut down or shut her out. He wanted to make as much of the time they had left as she did; the sad goodbyes could wait.

“Good thing I like garlic and onions...” she replied, closing her eyes at the kiss. With her hand still on his face she brought his lips to hers and kissed him soundly before abruptly pulling back and curling up her nose. “Oh no, baby, you have got to go fix that,” Natasha exclaimed, giving Clint a gentle push. She was mostly joking, of course; she was perfectly content to put up with a little bad breath just to keep him close.

Clint hummed a response, too busy trying to pull her closer and keep them joined at the lips, until she pulled away and he pouted slowly, her words and the fact she was pushing him made him laugh.

He'd have pretended to be more offended but he'd caught the term of endearment and clung to it. Maybe Natasha had a moment of madness, but he took that little word to heart and stowed it away with all the other little things she did that made him feel like their relationship maybe one day would change.

"Well it's gonna take me a long time to run back to my floor..." He was joking, sure it was a little, disgusting, but considering his immediate thoughts hadn't been to bring his toothbrush with him he was out of options. Pulling her closer only to lock lips with her again, hands slipping down her sides.

The pout was adorable but she preferred the laugh. Really, she preferred the sound of his laugh over almost anything else she had ever heard, not that she would be sentimental or romantic enough to admit that, possibly even to herself.

“True...” Natasha mused, but had little chance to say anything else before Clint was pulling her in for another kiss. This time she didn’t push him away, her hand sliding up his chest and down his arm. She swore he had the most perfectly muscled arms she had ever seen on a man in her life. They looked strong enough to do some major damage, something she knew to be fact, but she liked to think that only she truly knew how gentle they could be too.

“Okay,” she said when they finally came up for air. “You can stay.” To underline her point she kissed him again.

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