Folly Beach, South Carolina - Wednesday

[so_hawkward]

With the island being all gross and weird, and with everything Kitty had been through recently, Clint had jumped at the chance to get out of town, and was using work as an excuse. Specifically, he was checking up on one of the safehouses he had through SHIELD that just so happened to be in a warm state within walking distance of a beach. He'd

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[throughaphase]

Kitty came out of the house with a couple towels and drinks for her and Clint, one of which she offered him when she got to him.

"If the dogs start playing in the water, I might die of cute," she said. "Just warning you."

[so_hawkward]

"If you could try to avoid dying so I don't have to deal with that paperwork, I'd really appreciate it," Clint said, taking the drink. "I think right now, they're trying to figure out why the water keeps leaving and coming back."

[throughaphase]

"Paperwork? You romantic," she said, taking a seat. "Obviously the ocean is playing with them."

[so_hawkward]

"I'd miss you too," Clint insisted. "Do you like the place well enough?"

[throughaphase]

"This was the best idea. Why have we not been coming here all the time?"

So that would be a yes.

[so_hawkward]

"Well, it's supposed to be for emergencies, and not girlfriend-impressing, but I figured no one's going to notice this time," Clint said, scooting closer to Kitty. "It's always nice to get away with you."

[throughaphase]

"Right back atcha," Kitty smiled, reaching for his hand. "And not just because I get you all to myself with no responsibilities to get in the way. ...Though that is most of the reason."

[so_hawkward]

"You have me all to yourself whenever you want, for the record," Clint said, reaching to rub Kitty's shoulder. "Although the lack of people bugging you for stuff is nice too. I thought my life was stressful, but you kind of beat me."

[throughaphase]

"I hold out hope that someday it'll calm down," Kitty told him. "I mean, that day might be when I'm too old and creaky to put on spandex anymore, but still."

[so_hawkward]

"Believe me when I say, you may be in your 70s and I bet you'll still be able to rock the spandex," Clint said with a solemn nod. "I hope things calm down long before then though."

[throughaphase]

"I really hope so. A normal life would be nice," Kitty said wistfully. "We could go on vacation all the time and not come back to any crises. We could raise the dogs without drama..."

[so_hawkward]

Clint laughed. "Oh yeah, right up until Lexi shows up, and then there'll be a whole other set of drama," he said. "Do you think you could actually be satisfied with a normal, mundane life?"

[throughaphase]

Aww, she still liked hearing things like "when."

"I think so," she said, but did give it some thought. "I kind of figure someone or another would drag me into something once in a while to give me my adventure fix, but normal's been my goal for a long time. I'd love to not have to worry about all the stuff I have to worry about. What about you? Think you could settle down like that?"

[so_hawkward]

Clint settled back in his chair and thought about it before shrugging. "I don't know. I mean, I do what I do because I can't hear about this stuff on the news and not do something, you know? You have to deal with a lot of crap because of who you are, but it's more of a choice for me. I think settling down would be... kind of like what I'm doing now, where I help when I'm needed but kind of stay out of the way when I'm not."

[throughaphase]

"That doesn't sound bad. Though I'm definitely imagining a lot of 'No, you saved the world last time, I'll handle it this time and you make sure Lexi gets to school,'" Kitty admitted.

[so_hawkward]

"My first thought was that Lexi would be walking herself to school. Do you think we'd be those parents that would take her to school? She'd probably be safer that way." Don't mind Clint as he worried about the safety of a child they might not even have.