A searing pain in my side caused me to squeeze my eyes shut, my breath slowing. Even then I struggled against my bonds, blurs in front of my eyes.

Screaming echoed throughout the small enclosure and I winced at the sudden sound. Then I froze. "Tasha," I muttered. That was her scream.

I struggled even harder. "Tasha," I screamed. "Tash-"

A low laugh came to my ears, and I suddenly couldn't talk. "Clinton," the voice said. "How I've missed you. Did you miss me?"

I snarled. "Loki."

The figure moved from the shadows, revealing the god with an odd expression on his face. "Indeed, young archer. But now I have leverage." He motioned a hand.

Natasha appeared as if in a mist. I looked her over carefully; she was bloodied and bruised, but nothing seemed permanent. The rage was only fueled. "Let her go!"

Loki drew closer to my partner and reached out a long finger, stroking her cheek. Natasha flinched. "Stop it," she said. Her voice was not herself; it sounded weak and pitiful.

Without warning a knife appeared out of nowhere and Loki stabbed it into her stomach. She cried out in pain and her invisible bonds released her. She crumpled to the ground and lay there, still.

My eyes widened. "No," I whispered. "No!"

Loki laughed. "I have taken what is greatest from you; what will you do now? You are helpless." The god began to circle. I struggled against his chains. It suddenly felt ten times tighter as Loki clicked his tongue. "Oh archer, when will you ever learn? I always win."

I stared at Natasha's limp and lifeless body, and a wave of pain hit me. My vision turned red. "No… she's not dead! She can't be killed!"

Loki shook his head. "So naïve. If only you had stayed under my control… she would still be alive. She wouldn't have died because of you, just like so many others…"

My heart burned.

I shot up, sweating and fear rushing through me. Without a second thought I thought I threw off the heavy comforter and bolted out of my room, leaving the door ajar behind me.

The hallway was dark and there were many doors, but my destination was the one at the end of them all. I reached it and grasped the metal handle, throwing it open.

I was greeted with a soft breeze, fluttering the white curtains. I rushed to her beside but she didn't awake. For a moment I stood there, watching her sleep.

My heart rate grew back to normal and I nearly collapsed in relief. Not dead. She's alive.

There was a faint rustling and her green eyes flew open. She sat up in surprise, confusion coming over her face. "Clint? What are you doing in here?"

I just stared at her. I never thought I'd see those green eyes again… "I… nightmare… you died."

Natasha gently grabbed my wrist and pulled me into a sitting position on her bed. Then she moved her hand up my arm and to my cheek, gently brushing it with her thumb. "It's okay, Clint," she said gently. "I'm right here. Nightmares are nightmares. They aren't real."

I nodded, but my eyes never left hers. There was silence for a moment, then she lifted up the covers. "Come on."

I slid in next to her, capturing her small body in my arms. She was surprisingly cool, but her touch sent fire to me. My head dropped against the black pillows and she pulled the blanket over us, her back to me.

I held on tight, afraid I was going to lose her.

When I woke, pale sunlight streamed, even through my eyelids. I cracked them open and my breathing became even as I adjusted to waking up.

I tilted my head so I could see the sleeping redhead by my side. We were pressed up against eachother in a similar position to last night, but our hands were intertwined, her pale skin peeking out against my slightly darker skin.

She stirred and I froze, afraid she would wake up and ruin the moment. When her body loosened again I breathed out a sigh of relief.

My arms tightened around her waist and pulled her closer to me. Our hands were now on the same pillow, the top of her head tucked into the crook of my neck. It was peaceful.

I started to rub my thumb over our intertwined hands. "Tasha," I said quietly so she wouldn't wake. "In my dream… you died. Loki killed you and I couldn't do a damn thing about it.

"I was so scared… it made me realize something. You are the best thing that's ever happened to me. You keep me alive, you're the reason I wake up every morning. I couldn't stand to lose you. Ever. I need to promise something." I listened for her soft breathing, then continued.

"I'm never going to leave you. Never, not in a million years. Even when we both grow old and die, I'm never going to leave you."

I jumped slightly when a small chuckle ran through the body of the person inside me. "I don't think we're going to live to be old. Not with our profession."

I cursed, causing Natasha to laugh again. I was silently punishing myself for not paying closer attention to her. I knew her breathing patterns, so why didn't I pay attention? Idiot!

She gently moved away from me and flipped over so our faces were inches apart, her breath mingling with mine. "Clint," she started, but when I moved my hand to tuck a scarlet curl out of her face, she paused.

I moved my hand to another curl and pulled it, gently of course. "Don't ever cut your hair."

A brief chuckle sent a light brush of air across my face and I took a deep breath, trying to control every thought that was running through my head. Ever instinct demanded that I should kiss her now, but I resisted to the best of my ability. That would ruin our partnership.

A light blush started creeping up her neck and onto her cheek, something that shocked me out of my thoughts. "Hey," I teased. "Is the famous Black Widow… blushing?"

A sharp pain in my abdomen answered my question. I groaned and rolled off the bed- on purpose, of course- and landed hard on the floor, sending a shock wave through the floor that I was sure was heard throughout Stark tower.

I blinked to get the fuzziness creeping along the edge of my vision, only to see a smiling face leaning over the edge of the bed. For emphasis, I made a noise at the back of my throat. "You're evil, you know that?"

A flicker of mischief was in her eyes, but it was gone as soon as it appeared. "I try my best. Now, I'm starving." She slid down to the floor, placing her knees on my shoulders. Her vibrant hair spilled down like a curtain, covering her face to all but me.

I could barely breath, only stared. Her green eyes held no mischief, but I was sure she was playing some kind of game. The hint of a smile came on the corners of her lips.

The moment was running by my stomach growling, and I cursed while she laughed. "Well, isn't someone hungry?"

She reached a hand out and ran it through my dirty-blond hair, over and over. After a few strokes she stopped and rested her hand on the top of my head.

Green eyes met blue, and there was a moment of silence before she leaned her head down and I brought mine up a bit, so our foreheads touched. I propped myself up on one elbow and brought my rough hand up, placing it on her cheek.

It was moments like these that I wished lasted forever. However, the smell of smoke reached me, and by the look on Natasha's face, she had smelled it too.

Within a flash both of us were up- luckily we were dressed moderately, me in pajama pants and a faded, white shirt, her in a black tank top and long sweatpants- and running towards the smell. Most people would have run away, but we sure as hell weren't most people.

I skidded to a halt and felt Natasha do the same behind me. Then she slipped around me and we both stared at the scene in front of us.

Tony was at the stove, desperately trying to put of a flickering fire. Steve was nearby, being smart and grabbing the fire extinguisher near the fridge, but by the look on his face, he didn't know how to use it. Bruce was just sitting on an armchair, reading the newspaper with the calmest expression that I had seen in a while.

I fought the urge to laugh and glanced over at Natasha, who was doing to same. Tony caught sight of us and glared. "Are you going to help, or not?"

Just then the sprinklers went off.

Natasha yelped and my mouth parted to warn the rest of the gang, but everyone was already drenched. I grabbed Natasha, wrapped my hands around her lower back and pulled us away into the hallway, where there were fewer sprinklers. She put her head to my chest and I let of a sigh of relief.

The water continued coming down, but my only focus was the woman clinging to my front. Her hands were on the collar of my shirt and we were both still dripping wet, but her body was burning. I reached up a hand and brushed a curl out of her face, brushing my fingers against her forehead.

Her chin had tilted up and she watching me carefully, her fingers still clutching my collar. If the rest of the Avengers saw us, I thought, they would defiantly think something was going on between us. I smirked. "When do you think Tony will have the sense to ask Jarvis to turn off the sprinklers?"

The smell of smoke had faded by now, but the quirk of a smile came to Natasha's lips. "I'll give it ten minutes."

"Deal," I said, and we waited there until- ten minutes later- Tony yelled for Jarvis.