They were in Mexico, somewhere warm for once. Hot actually now that Natasha thought about it. Damn hot weather. Damn Mexico. She closed her eyes and leaned back against the cool tile of the roof, Mexico.
Her thoughts wandered to the last time she had been here. Before SHIELD, before Clint, before any of this. She had been thirteen years old, given a mission to seduce and execute the leader of a Mexican mob that had foolishly decided to try a hit on a Red Room base operating out of the Calderas. It had been a hell mission, at the time she had thought she would die out here. The mission had been successfully completed, a win in the eyes of the Red Room, though Natasha had escaped barely with her life. She could fight better than anyone in the program at thirteen, but she still had limits, her body was still thirteen, and no thirteen year old -master assassin or not- would have escaped twenty five men unscathed. She had stayed in the desert floor for five days, bleeding and slowly starving to death before the Red Room decided it was enough and brought her back in. Five whole days of-
"Nat?" A warm hand rested on her shoulder and Natasha sat up, turning to face her partner. "Hey." She replied quietly. "What are you thinking about?" Clint murmured softly as he lowered himself to sit next to her, his stormy eyes calm and at peace. A cool breeze whispered through the otherwise still night air and for a few moments Natasha didn't answer. "The last time I was here," she said abruptly, breaking the silence and shifting to cross her legs, locking her elbows and leaning back on her palms. "The last time I was here was before SHIELD and you, it was a seduce and kill mission. I barely made it out alive. Sat out here for five days before they came and brought me back in." She could feel Clint's body stiffen at the mention of the Red Room.
"You're not alone this time Nat." Clint slid an arm around her shoulders and she allowed herself to be pulled into his embrace. "You'll never be alone again. I promise." Natasha smiled tiredly, "don't make promises you can't keep Barton." She could feel Clint's steady gaze as he studied her. "I don't." He replied simply. Natasha turned her green gaze to the sky, lost in thought for a few moments before switching her green eyes to Clint's face.
"Neither do I."
Clint smiled, a real smile that light up his eyes and made him seem younger and almost more carefree. Natasha leaned her head against his shoulder and felt his strong arm wrap around her waist in return. Then he tugged her down and they were lying on the tiled roof, Clint's arm around her torso, Natasha's head resting on his chest, her arm draped across his stomach. On her bare skin Clint traced promises with his fingers. She sighed contentedly, and tipped her head back to see the sky. Silence fell and the sounds of the night hummed all around them. Natasha sighed again.
"What're you thinking?" Clint bent his head to whisper in her ear, his breath hot and tickling and her body involuntarily gave a shiver. She kept her gaze on the sky, sharp green eyes following the trails of long forgotten stars. "We're free here," she whispered,her raspy voice echoing through the silent desert air. Clint sighed, his arms tightening around her body as he pressed a gentle kiss to the top of her head. "Its beautiful" he replied. Then he chuckled and Natasha threw him a questioning glance.
"You know, if you aren't careful, I'm going to think you've gone soft on me." She punched him in the arm, rolling her eyes in exasperation. His words tingled through her. Gone soft, she sighed, maybe he was right. "That's not a bad thing though is it?"
She felt Clint immediately shake his head, "no Tash, that's not bad at all."
They settled into a comfortable silence, Natasha leaning back against Clint, his body pressed against her so close they were almost one. Natasha tipped her head back, her gaze settling on the stars. Clint's lips grazed her cheek softly and she laced her fingers with his, shifting so she sat curled in his lap. The silence stretched on for minutes, blanketing the two assassins in peaceful quiet. "Look at that," Natasha said softly, her raspy voice sending pleasant chills up Clint's spine, "look at that." She raised a hand and pointed to the inky sky stretching above them dotted with more stars than Clint had ever seen in his whole life.
Natasha turned in his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck, capturing his lips with her own. It was slow, and passionate, and heartbreakingly tender, it was all the words she could not say, and all the words she could. Clint's fingers tangled in her hair and he smiled against her lips. They gazed into each others eyes, the stars reflected in their pupils,their love reflected in their irises. Clint kissed her gently "A sky of diamonds just for us." She smiled softly, "just for us."