"So, uh, what happened in Budapest?" Tony asked shoving a handful of fries in his mouth. Natasha and Clint looked up and over to Tony confused. "You do realize we could hear everything you said over comms right?" He tapped his ear.
"Yeah, I got that when you started wailing Thunderstruck after Thor brought the lightening." Clint snorted.
"Is that what that was?" Steve asked tiredly. "I thought a cat was dying somewhere." Tony glared and tossed a wadded up napkin down the table at him.
"I found it very enjoyable actually," Thor smiled over at Tony who clapped him on the back. "It's an honor that the Man of Iron would compose a song praising my strength in battle."
"Oh uh, buddy I didn't—" Tony started and Bruce shook his head with a soft smile, the hint of laughter on his lips basically saying, Just let him have it. "Yeah sure no problem." Tony smiled and Thor took another bite of his shawarma. "So Budapest, what happened?" Tony turned back to Clint and Natasha.
When it became obvious that more than just Tony seemed interested in the answer, and they probably weren't going to get away with the usual, If I told you, I'd have to kill you, Clint sighed. He looked around the table, unused to having so many inquiring eyes focused on him and hating being put on the spot.
"No wait let me guess, you perched in a tree somewhere and shot your little arrows as Natasha ran around in tight black leather beating up random people." Tony smirked.
"That is actually quite accurate," Natasha said with a smile and everyone laughed.
"She died," Clint said cutting through the laughter and looking anywhere but at Natasha. "That's what happened in Budapest. She died." He shoved his chair away from the table and walked out of the restaurant.
"Well that brought down the mood considerably." Tony said leaning back in his chair.
"You're an ass," Natasha glared at Tony as she pushed back her own chair and walked out after Clint.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
"Is that really how you remember Budapest?" Natasha asked when she finally caught up with him on a transport plane back to the Helicarrier.
"That's what happened," Clint said softly, still not looking at her.
"Then you are right," Natasha said leaning back in her seat. "You and I remember Budapest very differently."
"How do you remember it?" Clint asked, finally chancing a glance at her.
Natasha smiled and closed her eyes.
"I'm going to need an extraction. I should have company in about two minutes." Natasha said into her earpiece as the elevator doors opened and the two unconscious guards slumped out and into the hallway. She stepped over them and headed toward the large double doors.
"Location?" came Barton's reply, less than five seconds after her request was made.
"70th floor, Northwest side," Natasha said pulling out her gun and shooting the lock off the door before pushing her way in the office.
"On my way," Barton said.
She went to work, sliding the drive in to the USB port on the monitor and checking to make sure the program was doing what it was supposed to do when the second elevator dinged down the hall signaling the arrival of the rest of the guards.
"ETA?" Natasha asked into the empty room as she pulled her other gun from its holster and headed for the door.
"Forty-five seconds," Barton replied, his tone slightly breathless as if he were running.
"I'm holding you to that," Natasha said as she peered through the crack in the door and counted, five against one. She'd had worse odds before.
She took a deep breath and stood up, standing in the open doorway and letting off a couple warning rounds before turning and running. With both guns held steady she emptied her clips into the back window and it shattered, glass raining down onto the street below. She dropped the guns to the ground and pulled the flash drive from the monitor as she jumped up onto the desk in one smooth motion.
The first round slammed into her shoulder but she didn't let it slow her down, launching herself off the edge of the desk just as the second and third round tore through her back. Her fingers clenched around the flash drive as she dove through the window and for a second she was weightless.
She could hear Clint curse in her ear but she didn't panic. Not even when she felt something slam into her from the side and suddenly she wasn't falling anymore. Strong arms tightened around and the sound of metal sliding against metal replaced the empty whosh of air in her ears.
He whole body jerked painfully as Clint's feet slid across the ground, slowing their momentum. She felt him un hook the harness from the zip line before shifting her in his arms as he took off for the safe house. He called ahead to make sure medical would be on hand when they got there before turning his annoyance on her.
"That was the stupidest thing I've ever seen in my life. Are you insane?"
She opened her eyes and looked up at him, confused as to why he was so annoyed. They'd gotten the data and they'd gotten away, maybe not clean but still.
"What possibly possessed you to jump out of a 70 story window?" he growled at her.
"I knew you'd be there to catch me," Natasha said simply before passing out.
When she'd woken up three days later they told her she flat lined twice in the OR.
"That was only our second mission together, remember?" Natasha said and Clint grunted. "And yet I didn't even think before jumping out that window."
"Because you're insane," Clint offered.
"Because I trusted you," Natasha said. "I'd never had someone watching my back before. I never had someone that I could count on. And yet I jumped out of that window and you caught me. Because not catching me wasn't an option."
He got it now, what she'd meant earlier. Until Tash came along he'd never had someone he trusted enough to watch his back. And now he had a team full of people and he had no doubt that if he were to jump someone would be there to catch him. Even Tony as painful as that was to admit.
Clint looked over at Natasha and smiled shaking his head as he bumped her shoulder with his own. "You're such a sap."
"Shut up," she glared at him.