Not just another dude with a bow

For once, Barney had shown a tiny bit of consideration and given Clint a heads up that he was coming to visit this weekend. Clint wasn't exactly nervous about seeing his brother, but he wasn't quite sure how Barney was going to act around Lexi. He was trying to have faith that it would all be all right, but he might have also been cleaning the kitchen a little more than normal to try to look like he had everything together.

Clint knew he wasn't particularly book smart, but he was good with his hands (not dirty). He'd built shelters out of nothing, taken apart mechanical structures in foreign languages... and yet, he was being thwarted by a freaking crib. He'd offered to build it while Kitty set up other parts of the nursery, since it seemed more suited for his skills, but now there were extra screws and pieces that didn't look like the picture, and at least one side was definitely backwards.

"Isn't there a thing where new parents keep the baby with them in the bed so the baby bonds with them? Maybe we should consider that," he said.

It had officially been two years since Clint and Kitty had gotten married, and it was hard for Clint to believe Kitty hadn't come to her senses yet. They'd originally had plans to go somewhere nice on the mainland before all the snow hit, but considering the storm, staying in seemed like a much safer option. Plus, it had given them an excuse to stay in bed where the fireplace had ended up, which Clint didn't mind at all.

Clint didn't stir much as he woke up, and just wrapped his arm around Kitty under the covers. If his hand ended up on her stomach, well, that was probably going to happen a lot for the next few months, so she'd better get used to it. "Good morning," he said quietly, squinting a little at the window. "Either I didn't get enough sleep, or the snow is suggesting we go ice skating."

[For the sexy wife oh god how has it been two years?!]

Over the last few days, Clint had gotten into a pretty steady routine: wake up, snuggle lion!Kitty, feed the dogs, feed Kitty, take the dogs for their walk, check his email, break out into a fit of Hydra-related swearing, go for some target practice to fend off Hydra-related anger, come home, shower, and snuggle Kitty some more.

He'd gotten through all the steps already, so now he was sitting with Kitty curled up on his lap, watching the news and debating if he wanted to take a chance and look at his email again.

[Open!]

Like most Monday mornings, Clint woke up to the sound of Lucky and Rook moving around, and began debating with himself about whether or not to get up right away, or wait until they started barking.

Then, the events of the weekend came rushing to his mind, and Clint's first move was to run his hand over his head to make sure his hair wasn't... whatever his 15 year-old self had decided on. He sat up and looked around, hoping Kitty was all right. It had made sense to come back to the house after Tony's party, since no one else seemed to be occupying it. It had also made sense for them to sleep separately which was how, Clint supposed, he'd ended up on the couch.

With a sigh, Clint got up and started getting food ready for the dogs, and coffee ready for himself. Maybe, once Kitty got up and remembered things too, she'd be willing to pretend this weekend hadn't happened.

[For the wife!]

By now, the unfamiliar feeling that Clint was feeling as he woke up was... actually kind of familiar. Clearly, he'd been on the island for too long. Still, just to check, he shifted a little in bed, ran his hand down the front of his chest, and groaned.

"Kitty? Fandom's being stupid again," he whined. It was probably a little mean to wake her up, but she could return the favor whenever this crap happened to her next.

[For the sleeping partner!]

If Clint needed a sign that Black Cat's bad luck mojo had worn off of him, it was that the first portal he'd taken from New York had brought him right to Fandom last night. He'd tried to sneak into the house without waking Kitty up, but that had been a completely futile effort, and she'd made all sorts of noises when she saw what a walking bruise he looked like. He'd tried "It looks worse than it feels," and "Nothing's broken, it not a big deal," but ultimately "I don't want to talk about it right now," had won, and he'd been able to get some sleep. Not good sleep, but enough sleep that he didn't feel like total crap when the squirrels had shown up to make him do the radio broadcast.

Now Clint was two cups of coffee into the day, and was ready to do something productive. That meant finally tackling the annoying squeaky stair going up to the second floor. Clint wasn't exactly an expert in home repair, but... he needed something to do and he needed it to be useful, and this was useful. If Clint had a therapist, they'd probably have a field day with what he was getting up to.

[Open for calls or visits!]

Neither Clint nor Kitty had made any big plans for today besides "wake up," "eat food," and "walk the dogs somewhere," so Clint was perfectly happy to not move for a while after he woke up. It was nice to have quiet time curled up with Kitty--at least until there was a banging noise on the door, which sent Rook flying off to investigate. Lucky just picked his head up and sniffed, and Clint groaned, wrapping himself tighter around Kitty. Maybe if she didn't hear anything, he could pretend there was no reason to get out of the bed.

[For the lady and their guest!]

So, the great thing about Clint and Kitty's birthdays being so close together was that they could spread the celebration out for multiple days. Clint had finally reached the point of being used to having his birthday celebrated at all, so having extra time with Kitty was like an awesome bonus. Tonight, birthday celebrating meant hanging out on his couch with many boxes of Chinese takeout, while Lucky and Rook hid next to the couch and waited for Clint to have a chopstick malfunction.

"I was thinking, you should definitely stay over tonight," he said, poking at a piece of broccoli to capture it. "It would be cruel of me to send you home in the cold, don't you think?"

[For Kitty!]

Typically, Clint got up at a decent hour on Sundays to try to get things done, but that wasn't going to happen today. Today, he was celebrating the end of the ghost weirdness waking up and not moving. He had Kitty in his bed, Lucky and Rook resting somewhere nearby, and there were no less than four bandages on his body. All was right with the world, and there was no reason to change that quickly.

[For Kitty!]