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Clint walked into the communal area of the tower to be greeted by a huge vase of flowers on the counter. His breath started to come quickly the moment he spotted them as his eyes began to sting…
***
They were on a mission in Provence, France, one of the nicest places that they had ever been. Not cold and horrible like Russia, or too warm like Africa. Just a beautiful place where the sun was shining and a soft breeze was blowing through his hair.
The mission had ended earlier on in the day and for once, they didn’t have to rush away from the enemy or for another assignment. They actually had the chance to enjoy the rest of their day in the lovely French countryside.
Clint was stood on the edge of a bright sunflower field. He had never seen anything so yellow in his life, it was a bit surreal. Even so, it was breathtaking.
It hadn’t been a difficult couple of days, much easier than many others that Clint had experienced, and so he still felt wide awake by the time the sun was beginning to set.
Clint stepped from the border of the field into the sea of yellow petals that were facing the direction of the slowly setting sun. The heads of the flowers came to about his shoulders and so he couldn’t see much other than the darkening sky and an infinitely long stretch of yellow. The air felt so fresh, much different to the exhaust fumes of the city. He felt free.
His eyes shut automatically as a ray of sun dazzled him through the space between the forest of flowers. The sun was warm on his face and the nearby flowers tickled his cheeks as they swayed.
“Clint?” Phil whispered into Clint’s ear as he came through a barrier of sunflowers to stand behind him. “What are you doing out here?” Phil asked.
“Nothing, just thinking” Clint whispered back. He felt that if he spoke in anything above a quiet murmur he would spoil that magic of this place. This was the calmest he had ever felt.
“About what?”
“Everything, anything. It’s just so nice to be somewhere where we don’t have to worry or panic about anything really…” Clint trailed off. It wasn’t that he didn’t like his job, it was definitely better than the alternative, but he certainly didn’t like the lack of time to just relax.
“You’re right, it is pretty beautiful.” Phil agreed. They just stood there for a while in silence as the sun crept lower in the sky.
“I’ve never been to France before.” Clint admitted after a few minutes of silence.
“It’s a nice country, their food’s a bit strange but…” Clint breathed a laugh as Phil joked. Or at least Clint hoped that he was joking, they hadn’t really had much of a chance to eat anything traditional.
“Maybe one day we could come back, for a holiday. If S.H.I.E.L.D. ever allow us enough time off…” He trailed off hopefully. Clint hummed contentedly.
“Yeah, that’d be nice.” He said eventually. He’d never been on a real holiday. The only things he’d ever experienced as a child were day trips that were the opposite of enjoyable.
The sun began to fall below the horizon as the sky blazed an orange glow. Clint stepped back marginally so that his back was pressed against Phil’s hard chest. Clint felt more than heard Phil’s breath hitch in his throat. A small smile played at his lips.
Clint slowly turned around so that he was facing Phil. Chest to chest, toe to toe. It had gotten dark since the sun dipped and he could barely make out Phil’s expression. The only thing on his face truly visible were his eyes which shone happily as they bore into Clint’s.
It was difficult for Clint to remember the last time that they had both been completely alone without any interruptions from work. His heart was thudding erratically in his chest with that thought. Totally alone.
“Is this okay?” Clint murmured hesitantly. He didn’t want to move away, but he would be willing to do anything if that was what Phil wanted.
Instead of responding, Phil inched closer, if that was even possible, and leant in. His lips touched Clint’s delicately, nothing more than a brush. Even so, Clint felt as though the sun had risen once again and had lit up the sky. Clint claimed his lips once again for another kiss, deeper this time, pushing ever so slightly trying to allow all the emotions in him flow from him into Phil.
Then he broke the kiss and turned back around, his back pressed comfortable against Phil as he watched the last of the sun fall into more fields of yellow. Phil leant his chin on Clint’s shoulder and wound his arms carefully around Clint’s waist. They stood there, a comfortable silence once again claiming them as they stood, drowning in flowers…
***
“Hey, Clint, are you okay?” Steve asked, his eyes full of concern. At times like this Clint couldn’t even look at him, it made him remember too much.
“Yeah,” he breathed. “Just, sunflowers.”