After Midnight

The mission was undercover work. They were posing as a couple, moving in next door to one of the possible allies of the family on her tail. Sable and Clint were both feeling a little awkward in how they were to pose, but it was the best way to find the exact whereabouts in the city. Once they landed on ground, they were on their own, except for some wireless communications and Natasha had been placed on ground as well, more for emergency purposes, as Sable was new to this. A Helicarrier was a little hard to park for a few weeks.

Sable was a little nervous the night before the big day but for once she was feeling rested after what Clint had given her. She was in the training room for an hour before he finally came in. She put both hands on her hips and took a few breaths in, "Hey"

"You okay?" he asked moving closer away from the door. She nodded and sat down on the floor and he followed, "Just nervous I guess" she said.

"Understandable"

It was quiet for a moment before she responded, "Did you know I was 10 when my father started pulling me in on his jobs?" Clint shook his head, but never said a word, so she continued, "I wanted to a be a teacher. I never imagined that I would be here at 26. I thought I'd be in a small town in somewhere like...Massachusetts, teaching addition and subtraction to 6 years olds. But instead I'm...here. I'm running away, shooting guns, and--"

"Kicking ass?" he finished. A smile slowly grew on her lips and then she finally laughed, "Not how I would have said it, but I suppose you're right"

"So you're life isn't normal...who's really is?" he shrugged, "I never imagined I'd be shooting arrows, taking people out and--"

"Saving lives?" he raised an eyebrow and he let out a laugh this time, "Now you're finishing my sentences?" she shrugged and they both laughed again.

Her facial expression changed and she looked at him, "You did save my life Clint, and I suppose I'd rather be here than dead"

He nodded, "Well I'm glad you're here" he replied, "I'm glad you're okay"

She shook her head a little, "I'm scared" she said, "What if I get someone killed or--"

"I won't let that happen"

"You can't control what--" he placed his hand on top of hers and she stopped and looked up at him, "I won't let it happen" his tone was more defiant now, like he was prepared to do anything to keep me safe, "They won't touch you"

She looked down at his hand and realized she liked the feeling of his touch. Warm, strong but gentle. She pulled it away quickly and nodded, "I won't live with myself if I get you killed too Clint"

"Trust me, I've been through worse than this. I can handle this one"

She nodded, "I'm glad you're coming with me"

"We're going to kick ass" he said. She smiled in response and without warning she reached across and wrapped her arms around him. She was never one for showing this kind of emotion and neither was he, but he gave in and wrapped his arms around her in response. She really did like the feeling she got from his touch, "I'm sorry" she said pulling back, "It just felt right"

"It's fine...I understand"

It was quiet for a few moments before she spoke, "I should sleep...early morning"

"Agreed" he said standing up while she followed, "See you tomorrow"

Sable stared up at the dark ceiling as the time slowly ticked away. She was anxious, excited and terrified of what she was about to encounter. Yet more was keeping her up, something different this time, and it was Clint. She didn't understand what the feeling was that she got around him because she'd never felt it before. When did she ever have a lasting relationship with any one person other than her father? This is the longest she's been this close to one person, other than Natasha and the rest of the crew, but this feeling towards Clint was definitely different than the others.

She got a pang in the pit of her stomach at the sight of him, especially when he smiled, not that he did alot. She felt completely comfortable around him, able to tell him everything about her self, her past included. She'd do anything for him, especially if it meant saving his life. She wasn't going to lose someone else, not this time.

A mere 4 hours of sleep was all she got before the day began. They were both given their instructions, some extra costuming and anything else they might need. The house was in a small town just outside of Chicago, where they were last seen.

They boarded a helicopter and landed on a base outside the city where a car was rented out for them to take them to the house. The car ride was quiet as Sable ran everything through her head ten times over so there would be no mistake but she also knew that anything like this was very unpredictable.

It was a brick house with a short pathway up to the stairs which led onto the front porch. It was one level with two bedrooms and the kitchen and living room as one open space. There was a basement and a small attic. It was normal looking, as it should be for this type of mission.

They both stepped out of the car and looked at each other across the roof, "You're ready for this?" Clint asked shutting the driver's side door. Sable looked up at the house and then back at him, "As ready as I'm going to be"