Set in the aftermath of the Snap. A little moment between master assassins. Established relationship.
There are moments in life, moments that hold the power to shatter our entire world. Moments that really only last a second or two, but they feel like hours. In the right (or wrong) circumstances, a moment can be stretched out for an eternity. Clint Barton had found himself living in one such moment.
As the first dial tone of the call played out, all he could do was hope that it picked up, and think of everything he should've done.
He should've been there.
He should've never taken the current job in the first place.
He should've, he should've, he should've.
He had been on a mission when it all started. Deep cover and bare minimum contact with the outside world. But once he caught wind of another invasion, he had dropped everything and started towards Wakanda. He had been in the middle of boarding a plane when it happened, when everything changed in an instant.
One moment, it was all normal; the next, people were screaming, cars were crashing, and planes were falling out of the sky. Even the damn pilot had turned to dust. It didn't take long to figure out that it was a worldwide cataclysm. Phone alerts were going off like crazy and the news was already reporting. A state of emergency had been declared.
Millions...no, billions of people were gone, vanished in the blink of an eye. Clint didn't consider himself a detective, but he could put two-and-two together; whatever had happened had something to do with what went down in Wakanda. Which brought him to where he was now, on the first ring of his SHIELD Communicator hoping...praying, that she would pick up.
The first ring passed without answer and Clint suddenly felt nauseous. His breath hitched and a wave of fear washed over him. She always picked up. The second tone started and his brain was already jumping to the worst scenarios.
What if she was injured?
What if she was dead?
What if she was dust?
The worst part was, he didn't fully understand what had happened, why it had happened. He didn't know if it was a weapon, or an infinity stone, or a 7-foot-tall muppet. He just didn't know, and that scared him more than anything. Scratch that, it was a close second. Losing her to this whole mess scared him more than anything.
He was halfway through the second tone now, his heart jackhammering in his chest. It seemed to stretch on forever, his mind frantically trying to piece together what had transpired.
Then all at once, it stopped.
The ring was abruptly cut off, and replaced with the sound of movement on the other end.
"Hey," a quiet voice filled his ears.
Clint released the breath he had been holding, briefly closing his eyes. She was there. Her voice sounded exhausted and horse, but she was alive and breathing and not a pile of dust. Suddenly, there were tears of relief in his eyes and he wanted to scream the words 'thank you' over and over again.
"Tasha," Clint breathed out, his voice raw.
"I'm here," she replied, her tone steadier this time.
Suddenly, nothing else seemed to matter anymore. It didn't matter that they were in the middle of a worldwide crisis, it didn't matter that he was going to have to fly his own plane.
So long as he had her, he knew everything was going to be okay.
Everything was a mess, a mess in the truest sense of the word.
The land around them held the scars of warfare and the ground was littered with bodies, some were human and others were not. Thousands had died, and those who hadn't been killed in the battle had been turned to ash after the snap.
It didn't take them long to figure out that it wasn't a contained event. The entire country, the entire world, and perhaps even the entire universe had suffered from the effects of their failure. They had lost.
All this weighed heavy on Natasha's mind as the remaining Avengers collected their dead and made their way back to the city. But there was something else too, a horrible thought that had crept into her mind, refusing to be quieted. A growing sense of anxiety and dread pressed against her thoughts until it was all she could think about. She tried to focus on the problems and the people that demanded her immediate attention, but it became increasingly difficult. Therefore, as soon as she could, she slipped away and found a quiet spot among the winding halls.
Natasha clutched the battered communicator in her hands, drawing in a fortifying breath. Her thoughts were a mess and her fears began to run rampant. A part of her tried to tell her that even if he didn't answer it might not mean...
It could just be that he was in too deep to have any sort of outside communication. But still, her thoughts remained persistent, and she couldn't seem to shake the worry that he might be gone. She didn't know what she would do if he was, how she would handle it. She didn't know if she could.
Suddenly, Natasha was jarred from her thoughts by the buzz of her communicator flickering to life. The screen displayed a number rather than a name, a number she had memorized long ago.
She let out a shaky breath, relief seeming to flood her entire being. She simply stared at it for a moment, trying to assure herself that it was alright, that he was alive. On the second buzz she answered, putting it up to her ear.
"Hey," she spoke, her voice not quite sounding like her own.
"Tasha," he whispered, his tone laced with relief and emotion.
"I'm here," Natasha assured, knowing he had probably called for the same reasons she had intended to. They were partners after all.
"Are you alright," Clint questioned, hints of worry in his demeanor.
"I'm as alright as I can be," Natasha replied truthfully. "But I'm not seriously injured and I'm not ash, if that's what your asking," she added.
"That's good," Clint said, more to assure himself than anything. "That's good," he repeated."
There was a beat of silence between them, but not an uncomfortable one. It was them both taking a moment to process, to simply listen to the other breathe, and know they were alright. Natasha closed her eyes and listened, a bit of tension slowly ebbing from her shoulders.
"Look, Nat," Clint eventually spoke up, "I'm on my way. I'll be there as quickly as I can."
"I'll be here," she nodded, knowing he couldn't see her.
Natasha took only a second to consider what she was about to say next, to calculate it. It was a foreign thing to her, a rarity. But she had just survived the end of the universe, she figured she could do this.
"I love you," Natasha spoke in a low, soft tone.
There was another moment of silence over the line. Not because it was a revelation, he had known for a long time. But because she had said it so openly and easily.
"I love you too, Nat," Clint soon replied, his tone full of warmth.
Natasha smiled the smallest of smiles, despite the fact that the world was crumbling around her.
"I'll see you soon," Clint reassured, a few muffles sounds and voices in the background.
"See you soon," she echoed.
The world suddenly felt as if it had regained some sense of balance. She had him, even if she didn't have anyone else, even if the entire universe was dust. She had him.