Chapter 1
Clint woke up early the following morning, arm curled around his wife's waist and one of her legs thrown across him. 'My wife,' he thought to himself. They'd been together for some time now, but this felt different, more permanent, he guessed would be the correct term. Clint didn't think he could love her any deeper, but he'd never been happier to be so wrong. Clint tucked a strand of hair behind Mikayla's ear, hoping not to wake her. Her only response was to snuggle closer to him, still sleeping. While watching her sleep, he finalized the second part of his honeymoon plans. As he was plotting things out in his head, Mikayla woke from her slumber. "Good morning, babe."
Mikayla slowly opened her eyes. Her first view was of Clint's bright, sparkling blue eyes. "Morning, husband of mine." Mikayla rolled her head, stretching out her neck, then curled back into Clint, tucking her head in the crook of his neck.
Clint caressed her back, enjoying their quiet time together. However, glancing over at the clock, he realized they needed to get up and around to make their flight on time. "Rise and shine, wife. We've got a honeymoon to start."
Mikayla nodded, then sat up, stretched, and yawned as she swung her legs onto the floor. "Do I get to know where we're headed, other than Europe and Asia?"
Clint stood and walked around the bed, meeting Mikayla on her side, and wrapped his arms around her waist. "What? You don't trust me?"
"Of course, I trust you. I need to know what to pack or not to pack." Mikayla smirked.
"Hmm, you could bring an empty suitcase for appearances' sake. You without clothes is a tempting thought."
Mikayla ran her hands across his chest and then around his shoulders. "Not as tempting as you, Clint." The two kissed. Once they broke apart for air, Mikayla said, "I'll just pack a little of everything."
"Sounds like a plan. We can always buy clothes when we're there."
"It's still too good to be true. We did get married yesterday, didn't we?"
"Yes, ma'am."
Mikayla shook her head. "Still hard to believe. I look back over everything that's happened, and it's a miracle that we made it." She choked up, thinking back over the events of the past year.
"Hey, Mikayla, look at me." Clint rubbed his thumbs along her cheekbones, wiping away tears. "We made it. Focus on that. We're here now."
Mikayla leaned into her husband. "We did, and you were always with me, my light at the end of the very dark tunnels."
"I promised to catch you whenever you fell." Clint lifted her chin so she would focus on his eyes. "I'm not going to stop doing that just because we're married, got it?"
"I got it," Mikayla smiled, then wrapped her arms around Clint. "God, I love you."
"Love you, too, babe." Clint kissed her temple. "Now, let's get packed and grab some breakfast before we head to the airport."
"We're not taking a Quinjet?"
Clint chuckled. "Nope. For some reason, Fury thinks we should only use them for business purposes. Stark's jet would be too obvious, so we're traveling like normal people, but at least it's first-class."
"That makes sense."
"Agents?" Friday said. "I'm to advise you that Miss Randall and Captain Rogers packed your bags last night. Miss Randall said she wanted to make sure you would have time to enjoy your sexcapade before departing for your honeymoon."
Mikayla blushed, shaking her head while chuckling. "That sounds like Misty. Thanks, Friday."
"You're most welcome, Agent Mikayla. I hope you and Agent Barton have a wonderfully relaxing honeymoon. You both deserve it."
"Thanks, Friday," Clint said. "I'm sure we will." He turned toward Mikayla. "Well, that saves us some time. I've got some ideas on how to spend the extra time." He wiggled his eyebrows.
"We've got a whole uninterrupted honeymoon for that."
"Good point. Fine, then. Let's get ready for breakfast."
A short time later, the couple appeared in the kitchen. "Morning, Mr. and Mrs. Barton," Steve said, handing each of them a plate with pancakes, bacon, and fruit. In response, Clint nodded, and Mikayla smiled.
"My friends," Thor came up behind them and draped his arms over their shoulders, "it is good to see you this morning. The ceremony last night was very moving. I am happy to have had a small part in it."
"We were, too, Thor," Mikayla said. "Thank you, everyone, for being there and helping it be so memorable."
"It was our pleasure, Lady Mikayla. It did us all good to see you carefree and happy."
Mikayla blushed. "It's always good to be with family." She returned to eating her breakfast. The group carried on various conversations until Friday announced Happy was there to pick up Clint and Mikayla for the drive to the airport.
"Allow us to take your bags downstairs," Thor said. "That will allow you time to bid farewell." Thor, Steve, and Bucky went to the Bartons' suite and took their bags to the car without waiting for a response.
"Thanks for packing for us," Mikayla said, hugging Misty. "Thanks for yesterday, too. I wouldn't have made it through without you."
"You got it, M. Now, go enjoy your month-long honeymoon. You deserve it."
As the two best friends were saying goodbye, Clint had a similar conversation with Nat. "Your job, Mr. Barton, is to give your wife the time of her life. Our job is to keep you safe. I'll do my best to keep Tony from hacking satellites because you know he will."
Clint shook his head. "I know. That's the only part of this trip that concerns me. With as many enemies as I've made, combined with the few that Mikayla's made, that's an awful lot of people who might be gunning for us."
"Hey," Natasha said, laying a hand on his arm, "enjoy yourself. Try to be vigilant and not hyper-vigilant. Do your best to let yourself relax. You deserve to be happy, Clint. After everything you've been through, let yourself enjoy this time away."
Clint knew somehow Nat would have their back. "I will. Thanks for everything, Tasha." Natasha patted his arm as he grabbed Mikayla's hand, and they went down to the car and left for the airport.
"I hope nothing happens to them," Misty said, wrapping her arm around Sam's waist. "If there is a couple out there who could get in trouble on their honeymoon, it would be them."
After Clint and Mikayla arrived at the airport and passed through security (Mikayla would ask Clint later how his weapons passed through), they made themselves comfortable in their seats. She remembered Clint had booked them in first class, giving them more room to themselves and perfect vantage points. While the couple waited for the plane to take off, a steward passed by, offering snacks and beverages.
"Could we get a couple of glasses of champagne, please? We're celebrating our anniversary." Clint politely asked the steward.
"Of course, Mr. Brandt. I'll be back shortly with those. Happy anniversary."
"Thank you," Clint quickly glanced at the man's nametag, "Adam."
"My pleasure." The man left the couple and walked to the kitchen area.
"I was so preoccupied I didn't even notice what names we were using," Mikayla said. "I'll do better."
Clint kissed her. "I know. Remember, I've been doing this a lot longer than you. It took me some time to get there, too. Keep in mind how you handled it when you took off to DC. You fully adapted to working as Maddie Wheeler, even adding an accent. You also were Scarlett, Jeremy's fiancée, at once time." Before saying anything else, Adam returned, carrying a tray with two champagne flutes. "Thanks again, Adam." The man nodded and left the couple alone.
Mikayla took one of the flutes from him and took a sip. "You were saying about Maddie."
Clint smiled. "I took the liberty of researching Maddie Wheeler. The Trixie Belden series, right?"
"You figured it out!" Mikayla chuckled. "Yep, that was one of the book series I read as a kid. I was always into mysteries, but Nancy Drew was too feminine for me. I could relate to Trixie. She lived on a farm, away from the other kids in her class. She eventually rode horses and was a tomboy, not the most feminine girl. If I'd had brothers, she would've been me. Well, and if I would've had curly blonde hair."
"Well, I think you're perfect." Clint leaned over, kissed the tip of her nose, and then paused again as the crew made their pre-flight announcements. He returned to the conversation after the plane was in the air. "During the next leg of our honeymoon, we can be Martin and Diana Belden."
"Damn, you did do your research, didn't you?" Mikayla shook her head, wondering how her fiancé, no, husband, could still surprise her. "Now that I think of it, you would've made a good Mart Belden. He was a smart ass."
"I resemble that remark, Mrs. Brandt." Clint took her hand and linked their fingers.
"As you should, Mr. Brandt." Mikayla smiled, looking up at him, then leaning her head on his shoulder. "I just realized something. I still have no idea where we're going. You've distracted me every time our destination has been mentioned."
Clint smirked. "Damn, you noticed." He chuckled. "We're going to Reykjavik, Iceland."
Mikayla tried to hold back her surprise but couldn't keep her face neutral. "Wow! That was out of the blue and wasn't on my list of honeymoon destinations. I'm guessing you've been there before."
Clint tapped his lips and pointed down. Mikayla followed his finger and noticed he was now signing. She had a puzzled look on her face, so Clint slowed down and spelled out, 'it's easier to talk like this when we don't know who or what's around. I wanted you to see the northern lights. I've got a safehouse there that no one knows about except Nat. Just follow my lead when we get there.' He went on to explain he'd have the taxi drop them off a few blocks away from the house, reminding her that's why they were traveling lightly and could buy anything they'd had to leave behind.
"I still feel like I have my own international man of mystery, and I love it." Mikayla kissed him and squeezed his hand. "How long is the flight?"
"Around five hours, so not very long. If you want to take a short nap, go ahead, and I'll wake you up when we start to land." Mikayla nodded and laid her head on Clint's shoulder.
About five hours later, Mikayla felt someone shaking her. She opened her eyes and blinked. "Hmm?"
"Wake up, June. Our plane's about to touch down."
It took Mikayla a minute. "Mmm, okay, William. Waking up now." Mikayla raised her arms above her head, stretching as much as she could. "Did I miss anything?"
"Nah, we did a few loop-de-loops like we were in a two-seater, but other than that, nothing happened," Clint smirked again.
Mikayla slapped his shoulder. "Ha, ha. I'm sure I would've woken up for that." She refastened her seatbelt to prepare for the landing. Once the stairs were released, Clint took their bags from the overhead compartments, grabbed Mikayla's hand, then led her down the steps.
Adam greeted them as they exited the plane, handing Mikayla a box with a ribbon tied around it. "Thank you for flying with us, and again, happy anniversary. Consider this our present to you."
The couple politely nodded, then exited the plane. Clint took the present and tossed it into a trash can as soon as they were in the airport. "Never open something from someone you don't know unless it's a mission." Before Mikayla could question him about it, he continued explaining. "It could've been a harmless gift, or it could be a tracking device. Better safe than sorry." Mikayla nodded, realizing she had so much more to learn about this part of her life as a SHIELD agent. She spent the journey to Clint's safehouse paying close attention to her surroundings, memorizing the twists and turns Clint took to get them there. Clint led her down a residential street to a small, aquamarine gingerbread house. Upon arriving, he held his eye to the peephole, then hearing a click, he opened the door. Immediately, he put the bags on the ground, picked Mikayla up, and carried her over the threshold. "Welcome to our home for the next couple of weeks, Mikayla Barton."
"Thank you, o husband of mine." They kissed as Clint put her back down, and she stood. When she was back on her feet, Mikayla looked around. It was an open-concept house with more accessible lines of sight, she figured. There was a fireplace with a space for a TV above it. The kitchen was small but updated with granite countertops and stainless-steel appliances. There was a small glass-topped round dining room table with four chairs. Clint pointed her toward the rest of the house, which she toured while he checked the security system. The house had two bedrooms, a master bath, and a hall bath. At the back of the house was a small patio. "It's cute, serviceable. I can see why you would use it for a safe house," Mikayla said as they went back into the living room and sat on the couch. "You own it?"
"Yeah," Clint answered, his hand draped over the back of the couch, softly running his fingers through her hair. "I was on a long-term mission here, it happened to be available, so I grabbed it. Tasha asked where I'd planned to take you for our honeymoon, then arranged to stock the house. I'll have to pull out the TV and hang it, but that's all, except for this." Clint stood, holding out his hand. Mikayla took it, and he led her to a door next to the portable-sized washer/dryer combination. Punching in a code, he opened the door, flipped on a light switch, and led her down a short flight of stairs. "Remember, looks can be deceiving." Clint walked over to a workbench. Above it was a board with various tools attached to it. Clint took a screwdriver and flipped it to where the handle was facing up. As he placed it back into the bracket, the wall slid, and Mikayla saw a small hidden arsenal. "The code to get down here is 3824." Mikayla approached the area and saw several rifles, even more revolvers, some pistols, and even a couple of bows and quivers. "This was the other reason I'm fond of this place. There was a miscalculation when whoever built the house left this void, making it easy to turn it into something useful. Now, step over here, please." Clint pulled her over to another work cabinet. He opened the door, and there was a scanning recording device. "I'll need to get your retinas scanned into the system. Nat and I are the only ones who are loaded right now." Clint positioned her in front of the scanner, had her look straight ahead, and the scanner captured each of her retinas. "We're good. Ready to head upstairs?"
Mikayla turned around, took in everything she'd seen, then looked at Clint and smirked. "Yeah, but I think I've discovered something."
"Oh?"
"I think I've got a sexy spy kink."
Clint's eyes widened. "Let's go explore that then, shall we?"
"We shall."