It had been four days. Every bone in Natasha Romanoff's body ached. Her hands where cold and slightly frost bitten. The cold frosty wind blew her hair to once side as she and Clinton Barton trudged through the snow. Clinton carried his bow in his hand, and his arrows in his quiver, on his back. His arms were exposed, due to his sleeveless outfit, he shivered in the Artic cold. He and Natasha had stopped for the night. Using a lighter that Natasha found in her belt, they started a fire and split the last of their rations between themselves.
"The last bit of food" Natasha said with a frown.
"Y...Y...yeah" Clinton replied.
"oh Clint, you're freezing" Natasha said, pushing herself closer to Clint, sharing her body warmth. "You poor thing" she continued to say.
"I..I..I'm fine" Clint managed to say.
"shhh!" Natasha said, holding a finger to Clint's mouth. "be quiet, as far as we know there may be limited oxygen at this altitude."
Clint nodded, and wrapped his arms around Natasha, forgetting his own predicament, his sole concern, getting Natasha back to New York City safe. The pair dozed off, making one of the worst decisions of their career.
Natasha woke in the morning, her red curls stuck togather with ice, her cheeks burned in the wind's cold chill.
"Clint..Clint" she asked. No reply.
"CLINT!" she yelled, grasping Clinton's shoulders in her hands, his skin was cold, and his pulse slow. "Hypothermia" Natasha said to herself, she peeled off her jacket, and put it around Clint. Using all her remaining stregnth, she lifted Clint so her was carrying him. She needed to get to the bottom of the mountian, and fast as she was starting to show signs of hypothermia herself. She slowly made her way down, the wind seemed colder, and it seemed to be fighting her, trying to keep her on the mountian to die in this frozen wasteland.
She collapsed onto the ground a few times, she thought of giving up, but then she thought of Tony, Steve, Bruce, Thor, Danny, and Kurono, her friends who would miss her dearly. That thought made her push herself to her limit, and make her way down the mountian. At the bottom, her own condition worseing, she could barley lift Clint. She pressed a button on her watch to call for help. "Hello, Agent Romanoff?" a voice said from her watch.
She collapsed before she could awnser, she layed face down in the snow, Clint laying on top of her.
Natasha woke up in the S.H.I.E.L.D hospital, she was attached to an IV, and could barley move. She looked over to see Clinton, worse than she, attached to an IV and a oxygen tank. Tears flooded Natasha's eyes, she quickly told Bruce that she was ok, and stumbled to her room to get changed. She came down and layed in the hospital bed with Clint, her hand on top of his, tears falling down her face.
Clint's eyes fluttered open.
"Natasha?" he asked.
With that, Natasha Romanoff's tears of sorrow became tears of joy.
