A/N: This story is completely different to the Marvel Cinematic Universe as it is set when Clint offers Natasha to join Shield. This story is about how she meets Grant Ward along the way to becoming the world's most famous and dangerous assassin. I do not own the characters, I only use them for any fanfiction stories I may write. Please enjoy! :3

~20 years ago, Budapest~

Natasha sensed his presence before seeing his face. His bow aimed towards her face. Natasha turned slowly and stared into the eyes of Clint Barton. She had one hand on her gun, ready to shoot if necessary. He stared back at her and never took his eyes off her. He didn't want to let her get past him,
"Natalia," he whispers, using her Russian name and looks her up and down quickly. She was smaller than him; but not by much. It wouldn't matter to her once she got moving. "We can talk. There are people who could help you… out of this Stockholm syndrome. You don't owe them anything Natalia. As much as you believe that they are helping you."
Natasha didn't show any emotion towards him. She didn't reply. He had a feeling he'd struck a nerve, but he couldn't exactly tell. It was almost as if she was a robot. Then out of nowhere, his bow disappeared from his grasp and her fist came into contact with his stomach causing him to keel over. While he was distracted, Natasha brought up her right knee, slamming it with a great deal of force, into his face. By the time he looked at her again, blood was dripping from his nose and she was smirking in a sick sort of way.
"You can tell your boss I decline." She spoke to him in a thick Russian accent, venom dripping from her words as she watched him struggle to get to his feet. She just found it amusing, watching him struggle. He was one of the greatest Shield's best agents. Or so she'd heard. Yet here he was barely able to take her down. She had to admit, she thought he'd be hotter; better looking at least. Those were the last words he heard before his vision went black. And he never saw her again.

~Present Day, USA~
Natasha, or Natalia as she was better known, had been enjoying the last 20 years of peace, and running from Shield. Not that she minded. It was what she did best. She had forgotten the archer who'd tried to recruit her. She rarely ever thought of him; only when she truly doubted herself and her line of work. But that hadn't happened in a long time. Almost 5 years ago. Would they really have given her another opportunity? Of course they wouldn't. It was Shield. Natasha pushed her thoughts back to the mission and let a grin grace her lips softly. She loved being on missions. The freedom was her favourite. Right now, she was trekking through the forest quiet as always. She never made a sound, if she could help it. She was on a mission from Hydra that seemed easy enough. Sneak into a Shield base and steal the Intel they had. Simple… Right? She thought so. A rustling in the bushes near to her caught her attention. She would've jumped if she didn't control her actions. The bushes shook a little and a groan came from its direction. Natasha frowned. Bushes didn't groan. She gripped the gun on the side of her leg and moved towards the bush, starting up her widow's poison. She counted to 3 in her head before jumping through the bush and knocking the figure and herself to the ground. Her brows furrowed together as she looked down upon the black haired man. Natasha sat up slowly as she watched him carefully. He seemed to be in a state of shock that rendered him speechless as he stared up at her. She watched his neck and a small smirk graced her lips as she watched him gulp. She knew he was terrified. She could feel it in the air between them and in the way he looked at her. Like he was scared she would've mauled him to pieces. Instead, she decided to have a little fun with him.
"Who are you?" Her lips curled back into a grin as she traced her finger down his chest slowly. He looked from her finger to her eyes, mouth gaping open.
"I… uh…" He kept his eyes on hers as he fumbled for the right words. If he could just stop staring at her and get the words out then he would've actually had a chance of explaining. He couldn't take his eyes away from her as he felt her hand starting to go lower. He grabbed it before she had a chance to put it where she desired. "My name is Grant Ward… Honestly Natalia, don't you remember me? We met at the dance a few years ago?" He gasped for breath as she stopped her hand movements on his chest. She frowned as she tried to remember what dance he meant and she slowly shook her head,
"nope, can't help you there. Why the hell are you following me?" She narrowed her eyes and slowly moved from his lap, to kneeling down by his side looking at him dangerously. She was enjoying this game; just pure teasing. But that was what her game was all about. Teasing and pleasuring until they finally gave up. Sometimes she had to take it far. To the bedroom if she had to. But that was only if she had to. And right now she had no bedroom and nowhere to go. She leaned up and looked over the bush at the Shield building. She glanced at him as she sat back down. "Answer the damn question. It would be appreciated you know." Ward looked at her for a few seconds before replying,
"I was assigned to you, by Hydra. To keep you in check," she kept her poker face before raising an eyebrow and going to say something. His finger pressed to her lips before she could however. "Don't even ask, because I don't have the answer for you." She pulled his finger away and shook her head, turning to face the building.
"Alright, but mess this up. And I'll mess up your face." She gave him a smirk before moving from the bush and towards the facility slowly. Ward pushed himself up and scrambled after her quickly, not wanting her to mess up his face. Natasha glanced back at him before grinning. "Now, all we gotta do is break into there, grab the Intel and get out. We'll have about 5 minutes. It should be easy, right? Right." Natasha confirmed herself and nodded. "I need you to keep the hallway clear. Kill anyone. Anyone." She repeated and smiled at him. He found himself nodding to her and keeping quiet. It wasn't like him. To keep quiet but so far he couldn't help it. His eyes were locked on her. The beauty that didn't even remember him. That was a hit to the heart. He pushed the thoughts from his head as she snuck to the door quietly. She pressed a finger to her lips and signalled for him to come to her. He nodded and scurried across to the door quickly, standing by her side quietly.
"You know, as the gentleman I shouldn't even be letting you do this," he raised his eyebrows as she shot him a glare. "What? I'm just saying Romanoff." He muttered and let her pull open the door. As soon as there was enough space for him to fit through, he did. The first guard he met with was a plump man in his 40s, who clearly spent too much time at his desk. As they fought, Natasha ran in ahead, taking care of the other guards. She almost used up all of her poison. She groaned and mentally kicked herself as she ran towards the control, starting the 5 minute countdown on her phone. She let Ward take care of the first guard he was struggling with until she slid him the pepper spray that he automatically sprayed into the guard's eyes and knocked him out, following Natasha quickly. As soon as she reached the room, she made a beeline for the computer, jamming in the hard drive and typing quickly to get the files saved down before her 5 minutes were up. She let out a sigh as she leaned against the desk and waited, watching as the percentage grew with each passing minute. Outside she could hear Ward dealing with the guards and smirked to herself. He could take care of it alright. He didn't need her head. It gave her a few moments to think in peace. She bit down on her lip and tried to think back to when he meant. 'The dance a few years ago' it was starting to irritate her. Why couldn't she remember? All she knew was Hydra. Hydra this. Hydra that. She shook her head and pushed away the thought. She'd figure it out sooner or later. That's what she did. Natasha let out a sigh, ready to take the hard drive and go. She glanced towards the screen. '75%'. Ward hadn't moved in a while and that was starting to worry her. She couldn't leave this post… but what if he was in trouble? She rolled her eyes at the thought and shook her head. No. She didn't get feelings like that.
'Get your shit together Natasha. He's a tool. He supposed to be used. And the disposed of. Get over it.' She thought to herself and nodded, looking back at the screen. '80%' she was starting to get even more worried after not hearing anything from Ward for a while now. It scared her to think that something had happened to him. She couldn't even describe the feelings she was having. It was a new experience and quite frankly, she wanted to quit right there and then. But instead she had to face him. With the hard drive still downloading, she had a hand on her gun as she made her way to the door and pulled it open quietly. She glanced at the bodies of Shield agents, checking on the hard drive and walking a little out, looking for Ward before she noticed him, leaned up against the wall. She took his arm gently and pulled him towards the doors quickly, his unconscious weight almost being too much for her. She glanced around for any agents before dragging him inside completely and shut the door behind her.
"Oh come on…" She groaned and shook him as the hard drive reached 95%. She let out a breath. "Hey! Ward! Come on… We gotta… We gotta get moving!" Terror washed over her face before she wiped it from her completely but the panic in her voice stayed. She barely even knew the guy yet she cared for his wellbeing. He finally opened his eyes and she let out a sigh of relief. "Idiot!" She hit him up the back of the head. She jumped up as the hard drive hit 100% and nodded. "Let's go." She checked her phone and gripped his arm, yanking him to his feet. "We've got 30 seconds before they're onto us." Natasha gripped his arm since he was still slightly dazed. She let out a sigh and started to run down the corridor, slipping the hard drive into her pocket. She didn't know what to think. What would Hydra think? They obviously wouldn't allow it. Why was she even thinking like that? She had to stop. She was confusing herself. Now if they could just make it to the door… A bleeping noise alerted Natasha to her phone and she pulled it up quickly, groaning gently. Now they had the issue of having no more time. The alarms started to go off in the building, a loud wailing noise that seemed to wake up Ward from his state of dizziness. He gripped her arm tightly and pulled them behind a wall while Shield agents ran past. She looked up at him, shocked to see he was helping her but she didn't say anything and nodded. She looked around the wall and pulled him along quickly, walking towards the door as she looked around for any guards. She put her hand on the handle and pushed. Locked. It was locked.
'Great,' she thought and looked at Ward. He seemed to be thinking the same thing. She could hear boots coming from the corridor and looked at him, starting to panic. She pushed on the door, willing it to move but it never did. She let a groan escape her lips as she tried to push the door open, hard this time and every time after that. Ward let her attempt it without question until the boots were too close and he grabbed her hand, pulling her into his body and concealing them from sight. Once the boots were gone, he gripped the handle, pushing it down with all his strength. The lock finally gave way and he almost fell through the door. Natasha almost laughed at him. She might have if they weren't in such a difficult situation. He almost dragged her down the steps towards the forest. Gunshots began to ring out behind them as the agents tried to slow them down. Natasha slowed a little as a bullet caught the back of her leg and she had to grip Ward's arm to support her.
'Stupid karma' she thought to herself and groaned a little. They were almost at the jet and the sound of Shield agents started to grow louder. Natasha was slowing them down considerably. She let out a breath before she felt her feet being swept from under her, landing in Ward's arms as she hurried along quickly, bypassing the jet. Her brows furrowed and she looked back towards the jet then at Ward, being rendered speechless herself.
He noticed her quiet and smirked. To him, it was the greatest thing ever; to see the Black Widow speechless in his arms. It made him almost forget the mission they were on and he had to look around to clarify where he was.
'Right,' he thought and glanced around the woods. Surely there was a willow tree somewhere… Or some bushes again. The sound of boots hitting the ground filled his ears again and he started to think. They couldn't stay under the willow tree forever; surely they'd find them at first glance. He finally came to his senses and noticed that Natasha looked at him with an annoyed expression as though she'd be saying his name for a while now. He nodded slightly as she pointed to the tree.
"Just for now…" She whispered to him and he carried her there quickly, setting her down next to the trunk. He sat next to her and they both sat there quietly, waiting for the agents to pass. Natasha was nursing her leg and cursing in Russia to herself. She hadn't meant to get shot. But it was just one bullet, it's not like it was going to affect her forever. She tore off a bit of her shirt and tied it around the wound. It wouldn't make sense to yank it now out, when they had perfectly capable people back at base. She didn't want to consult Ward on how they were going to get back; he was already pacing back and forth quietly. She wanted to tell him to sit down, but she didn't. She just watched him quietly, the pain in her leg starting to take over her mind. Natasha didn't want to admit it to him; not when all she knew was how to be strong. It frustrated her to no end. And there she was again, questioning her work. She tried to stop herself and failed miserably. She never wanted to think about that moment again; the day she was offered the chance to start over. She wondered what would've happened if she took the chance. Would she have been one of those agents who were after her now? Would she be part of a team? Maybe she'd have friends. Something she craved since everyone was terrified of her in Hydra; being their best agent and all. Natasha shook her head and glanced at Ward. He didn't seem to be moving as much now; instead he was leaned up against the tree trunk next to her, just looking down at her quietly. They both were out of breath but alive. That had to count for something.
Ward glanced down at Natasha, noting the position she sat in; the way her knees were drawn to her chest. Her lips parted slightly with little huffy breaths coming from between them, indicating she was slightly cold. He immediately took off his coat and knelt down next to her, wrapping it around her shoulders before climbing to his feet again. Natasha gave him a shocked expression, after not quite expecting the gesture. It was a nice one. She had to give him that. It warmed her up a little as she looked around with a calm expression; as always. It was quiet, almost too quiet. She lifted herself to her feet using Ward's arm as a sort of crutch for her.
"We gonna check it out?" He looked down at her and almost whispered. She gave him a nod and sighed gently.
"Look… Ward… I don't mean to sound, well… Morbid…" She started and folded her arms slowly. "If we just so happen to get caught, you do not give anything away. Do you understand?" He nodded curtly and smiled.
"And how do we get out of there?" He asked her quietly. She thought over it for a few minutes before nodding slowly.
"Right… We play along. Join them, if we get the chance. Just don't jump at it… You've gotta play into it." Ward nodded, giving her the signal that he understood. "And when we meet again, we'll fight our way out of them. But we can't just let Hydra down… They'll kill us. They have to get this Intel… Otherwise it's our lives." Again, he nodded and let out a sigh of compliance.
"Yes ma'am," he joked and held around her waist tightly, walking towards the edge of the willow tree's branches. He looked out before nodding. He held her around the waist, walking towards the clearing where he knew she parked the jet. Natasha gripped the black haired man tightly, like her life depended on it; which it kind of did. They couldn't see any strangers. 'That's strange' Natasha thought to herself. 'You'd think with 2 Hydra agents running around they'd at least be some soldiers out looking for us.' Not that she minded; it gave them a chance to escape. And they took that chance. Ward opened up the door and looked around the jet before nodding to her; indicating that no one was inside. At least he couldn't see anyone. He gripped around her waist and pulled her up into the jet. She gave him a glare.
"I can take care of myself Ward. I can walk."
"Romanoff, you're wounded… You need…" She pushed away from his body; ignoring his words, stumbling a little before regaining her balance by gripping his arm. She looked at him like she dared him to say something. He stayed silent and gave her that 'I hate to say it but I told you so' look. She pointedly continued ignoring and directed herself to the pilot's chair. Ward followed her without question and sat in the co-pilot's chair; just watching her carefully, to pick out any injuries other than her leg. When he couldn't find any, he turned properly in his chair and started to hum quietly. Natasha looked over at him several times, wondering how the hell he could be humming at a time like this. But she didn't. Instead she listened and could faintly hear the words of 'Carry on Wayward Son' a song she knew but had never had the chance to listen to.
They flew for a few more minutes before she looked at him again. "Hey… Ward… I think… Uh…" They regarded each other quietly before she spoke up again. "Could you… um… help with um… bandaging my leg up…" He looked at her quietly for a few minutes before getting up and dashing to get the medical kit. He brought it to her and knelt down ear to the chair. She pressed the 'autopilot' button and swung her chair around to face him. She smiled sheepishly at him and held out her leg. He looked at her wound then up at her.
"You know I'll have to cut this off, don't you?"
She gave a quick nod and sighed a little. "Okay…" She mumbled softly and he began to cut the fabric around the bullet wound. His fingers traced over her skin and he felt the goose bumps rise up on her skin. He didn't say anything and kept his hand where it was, assessing the damage before starting to bandage it up,
"do you need some painkillers?" he asked her quietly. She shook her head, not wanting to cancel out the pain. "Well, you should probably fit some sleep in while you can Romanoff. It's going to be a long flight." She opened her mouth to object and Ward shook her head, not taking 'no' for an answer. "Doctor's orders Romanoff." She gave him a glare and got up slowly, walking to the bunks slowly. She didn't want to rest; she barely knew him or trusted him. Still, she passed out as soon as her head hit the pillow. Ward watched her quietly before he turned back around to the controls. He could only watch as the clouds passed them by. It seemed too blank without her by his side. He pushed the thoughts from his mind. He was just there to make sure she didn't drift from the organisation. He couldn't think of her that way. It wasn't right at all. Besides, it wasn't like she'd just like him just like that. He was starting to drift too far from his initial mission, glancing back to where she lay with a soft smile. She loved so cute like that. 'Stop it Ward!' He snapped at himself internally. He was a specialist and his feelings were getting in the way of his judgement. He looked out of the window, too wrapped up in his own thoughts to hear the soft movements of the Shield agents coming up behind him. He went to grab the headphones, pulling them over his ears and watching the clouds go back as he tried to push the thoughts of Natasha from his head. It was hard of course. She was just too damn- 'Shut up!' He snapped at himself once more and let out a loud sigh. No matter how much he tried, the woman would not leave his thoughts. It's like she knew he wanted her out so she stayed. With his thoughts on the clouds and her and Natasha asleep, the agents had the upper hand. Before Ward could even notice the threat, his mouth and nose covered with a cloth containing chloroform. He struggled for a few moments, to warn Natasha. To fight them off. He couldn't help but think that it was his fault. He had been the reckless one and allowed them to sneak on board. How did they even get on board? His struggles carried on for a few more minutes before he passed out. Two agents secured his feet together and handcuffed his hands over a railing. They leaned him up against the wall as the others moved to Natasha who was still sleeping, who knew nothing about the situation. They inched closer and then pushed the cloth over her mouth. The moment it touched her face, her eyes flew open groggily. She let out a soft groan and began to kick at the agents as she lifted herself from the table. She fought against the hands that pushed her back down. She bared her teeth and fought harder until the cloth was pressed over her mouth and nose, causing her to inhale it and pass out on the bed. It all faded to black and she knew no more.

~A few hours later~
Time: 22:09
Location: Shield headquarters
Co-ordinates: [Classified]
Room: Ward's cell

Ward opened his eyes, dazed and confused. He frowned and looked around quietly, making sure to take everything in. His head hurt like he was hung over and that didn't happen often. But he hoped it would've happened instead of this. He had failed his mission. To keep her in check. Surely they'd make her doubt her work now… Then again, she was the legendary Black Widow. Who knew what the hell she could do. Ward pushed himself into a sitting position and looked around with a word. It was so… white. Plain and boring. 'Just like Shield' he thought and sighed a little. Then he begun to panic. Natasha. What were they going to do to her?
He kept his facial expressions in check but inside he was breaking down. They couldn't hurt her… Or could they? Surely they didn't know what ticked her off… What made her snap? How could they… He took a deep breath and started to calm himself down. If anything, they'd offer him a place within them… Just like Nat had said. He remembered her words clearly. 'We play along. Join them, if we get the chance. Just don't jump at it… You've gotta play into it.' He could hear her voice in his head and he nodded to himself, leaning forward on his knees and gripped his hands together quietly. She'd be fine. She always was. Or so he'd heard. He had yet to see it for himself. Natasha, herself, was a mysterious one. He loved the way she was so complex. Always so logical yet sarcastic. He just- He had to stop. He had never really thought of anyone else like that… He didn't like it. He wasn't supposed to display his emotions.
The door opened up, distracting him from his thoughts. He noticed the middle-aged man glance at him before shutting the door nervously. Obviously he hadn't been expecting Ward to be awake yet. He stopped where a seat and tablet sat. He took the seat and observed Ward carefully, Ward doing the same to him. It put so much tension in the room that Ward thought he could've literally cut through it with a knife. It took another few minutes for the man to speak up.
"We weren't expecting you to be awake. The chemicals usually knock someone your size, out for at least a few more hours." Ward hummed in reply and didn't move his gaze from the man. "I know mostly everything about you Agent Ward. There's nowhere for you to run now." He offered a friendly smile and shrugged. "With your skills, we'd like to offer you a place among us."

Ward stared him down before shaking his head. "Hail fucking Hydra."

The man nodded and noted something down. "Noted. Literally. You'll want to rethink over your words Agent Ward. We don't offer this to many people. You're very lucky." Ward didn't say anything and soon enough, the man left Ward to his own thoughts.

~Scene Change~
Time: 22:09
Location: Shield headquarters
Co-ordinates: [Classified]
Room: Natasha's cell

Natasha opened her eyes slowly, raising a hand to her head to steady it as she felt like she was about to pass out again. She let a groan escape her lips and slowly pushed herself up. She hated the swimming feeling in her head. She had to blink several before she got her bearings. Her hand slipped to her leg and found the bullet wound that Shield must've bandaged up again for her. She frowned and couldn't understand why.
From day one, she was trained to believe that Shield was the enemy. That they wanted Hydra dead and gone… So why wasn't she dead and gone? She was tracing the wound, knowing she was forgetting something, but she just couldn't think what. She pushed down on the wound and let out a small gasp at the pain, the memory of being shot coming back to her. She frowned as she played the memory over and over in her head. She knew she was helped to the jet… The memory was hazy and her head pounded but still, she kept up the though process. It took her a few minutes before she remembered and her eyes widened in shock. Ward! She hadn't meant to forget him. 'Shit, shit, shit. Oh god… what were they doing to him? Oh crap…' She started to panic more. She was going to be in deep shit when they got back to Hydra. Whenever that would be. Her thoughts were interrupted by the door opening and her head snapped up, emotions masked and eyes already narrowed for whoever it might be. When a one-eyed man walked in, Natasha clenched her fists and sat up straighter. Of course she knew him. Nick Fury, her first assignment. She'd only managed to take out the eye by betraying him. Of course she'd meant to kill him but that just hadn't happened. She was too younger and inexperienced to complete the mission. It had earned her the worst punishment ever. But that memory was a story for another time. Fury regarded her with an expression of fake surprise but an air of coldness. She knew he was pissed for the entire eye thing. And she was pissed she couldn't kill him. She took a deep breath and forced a fake smile.
"Nick. It's been a rather long time. How's the eye?" The smile slowly turned to a smirk and he nodded with a slight smile, acting amused by her comment.
"We're not here to discuss that Agent Romanoff." She frowned slightly as she saw a figure shuffle in the darkness. He slowly moved into the light and Natasha's jaw dropped as she regarded him.

"I believe you know Agent Barton."