A/N: This idea has been bugging me FOR DAYS, keeping me from typing ANYTHING else. So… I had very little choice but to get started. And here we are. (chuckles)

DISCLAIMER: Me… owns… nothing. Well, aside a pile of DVDs and a few figurines I'm ridiculously fond of.

WARNINGS: Language, violence, adult themes… (Sorry Steve, this may not be your cup of tea…) This is young Clint and Natasha, after all.

THIS IS A COLLECTION OF ONESHOTS, AND THEY WON'T NECESSARILY BE IN CHORONOLOGICAL ORDER. I'll do my best to keep you guys from getting confused, though. (smiles)

Sooo… Because I'm ridiculously 'cold feet' about this… Let's get started already! I REALLY hope that you'll enjoy the ride.

THIS TALE IS WHERE IT ALL BEGAN.

Strike Team Chaos

Vienna

The infamous Black Widow, officially Natalia Romanova, was a merciless, ice-cold murderer. A machine trained to perfection since she was a child. She'd long since stopped counting how many lives she'd ended. But no matter how much she would've preferred convincing the world otherwise she was just a human being. And on that bitterly cold, rainy day of late autumn she hadn't slept in almost three full days. She was so exhausted that she could barely see straight and ached all over. Four completed… assignments in a week and a half, three hand-to-hand fights and jumping out of a moving vehicle does that to a person. She would've wanted and needed a long nap. Too bad she had a job to do.

"You seem troubled."

Natalia fought the urge to roll her eyes. Instead she peered over her shoulder with the best fake-smile she could muster. "It's been a long day." She ran her hand down the man's thigh. Slowly, sensually. "Maybe you can help me with the tension."

The man was Aleksei Jahns. Arms dealer who, to his misfortune, succeeded in upsetting the wrong people. Which made those 'wrong people' hire her. He was strikingly good looking but probably hadn't been to a single fight in his life. Which made him easy to subdue. Practically harmless. The three bodyguards watching over them with far from trusting eyes were another matter altogether.

For her to be able to get the job done she needed to get him alone. And there was only one unpleasant way to do it. She was called Black Widow for a good reason.

Aleksei looked at her with a smirk that suggested she was close to accomplishing her goal. A greedy pair of brown eyes sized her up and down slowly. "Well." He snapped his fingers and in a heartbeat the guards disappeared. "What fool would say 'no' to a lady like you."

Natalia laughed and pressed herself closer to him. Her hand had already grabbed a knife. "I'm a lot of things, Aleksei. But I'm no lady." She was just about to seal the deal when…

"Daddy?" A little girl with big, bright eyes ran to the garden. How old was she? Five? Six? Her long, red hair was a mess. "I had a bad dream."

Aleksei clicked his tongue disapprovingly. "What have I told you about interrupting adults, Dora?" He scooped the child into his arms, anyway, and planted a kiss to the girl's hair.

Dora leaned her head gratefully against his shoulder. "Sorry, daddy." The child then noticed her and smiled shyly. "Hi."

Apparently Natalia wasn't quite as soulless as she'd imagined. Because there, at the sight of an innocent child, her hand stilled. She did something that she was never, ever supposed to do, under any circumstances. Something that cost those in her profession their lives. She hesitated. Couldn't bring herself to slaughter the man in front of his little girl. "Hi", was all she managed to utter. Unable to think past how much like her as a child Dora looked. And wondered if her eyes were ever quite so innocent.

In that moment Aleksei wasn't a monster, either. The man put his daughter back down with the gentleness of a parent. "I have a very important meeting. But I'll come and tuck you in soon, with some biscuits. How does that sound?"

Dora smiled like the sun itself and nodded eagerly. After a kiss to her daddy's cheek and a shy little wave at Natalia the child left. The assassin couldn't shake off the painful twist close to her abdomen, from where something she never even wanted was once stolen. Her mind taunted her with a brief mental imagine of what she'd never have. It was jarring how much Dora looked like the child she sometimes had unwanted dreams of.

Then, as quickly as she nearly lost control she regained it and reminded herself of what mattered at the moment.

At that very second one of Aleksei's bodyguards walked out. The look in the man's eyes was Natalia's first warning. The second came when the guard started whispering in her target's ear, head turned pointedly away from her. She tensed up, analyzing the situation.

Just a couple of hours earlier everything had been going according to her plan. She met Aleksei at a party and succeeded in manipulating him into taking her to his mansion. She knew that there was only so much time to spare before she'd get caught.

The look in Aleksei's eyes revealed that she'd crossed her time limit. She gritted her teeth to avoid groaning. Her hand tightened around the knife. Well, she did have a feeling that this was going to be a long night…

"Black Widow." Aleksei practically hissed out the name. "I knew that they'd send someone. The amount of money I stole…" The man licked his lips, his gaze nearly manic. "So… I was prepared. For anyone."

From the corner of her eye Natalia noticed two more guards approaching her from behind. She was more than ready to tackle them when their colleague beside Aleksei pulled out a gun and pointed it at her.

Aleksei smirked. Relief shone in the criminal's wide, wild eyes. "End her."

Natalia twitched. It was enough to make the guard fire twice. She felt no impact, no pain, and frowned from confusion. Until there were two thuds. The guards behind her dropped like stones, each sporting a new hole in the middle of a forehead.

Aleksei's eyes were somehow able to widen further. The man swallowed thickly. It was incredible to see someone so merciless appear utterly terrified. "What…?"

To her shame and outrage Natalia hadn't noticed the second gun until it was fired. The criminal fought back fiercely, with fists, legs and grunted curses. Attempted to pull off the dart on his neck. But the guard's hold never once broke and quite soon the drug took effect. The two of them watched the arms dealer and murderer slump down, heavily unconscious but breathing.

Natalia's eyes narrowed while they took in the man she now considered her rival and opponent. Not exactly tall but very athletic. Heavily armed. Dangerous. "So they sent another one?"

"Not really", the other denied infuriatingly cheerily. Obviously aware of the fact that she was fluent in English. "It hasn't been just the criminals keeping an eye on him." He flashed a grin towards her. "Usually there are way too many people around him to provide an opening. Thanks, for giving me this opportunity."

Without hesitating for a beat Natalia had a gun trained on the stranger. "You just ruined my business. Give me one good reason not to shoot you."

"How about two?" He sounded so sure of himself that it made her want to punch him. Their eyes met before he focused on the still unconscious criminal. "You're not as coldblooded as people say, Natalia. That much became very clear to me today."

Natalia's jawline tightened painfully. The itch to pull the trigger was so fierce that it burned, but something inside her… "You said there were two reasons. Hurry up, before I lose my patience."

He looked at her in a knowing manner she detested instantly. "You're too curious. You won't off me until you know who I work for."

Natalia snorted. He was seriously playing with fire. And she hated the fact that he was right. How was she supposed to put him out before finding out who he was, how he knew her and who sent him. It was all professional curiosity, of course. And it was a sting to her pride that he was able to interfere with her business like this. "You assume a lot."

He chuckled. "I know. Bad habit." He then listened to something, which was when she noticed the tiny item behind his ear. "Target down. Let's wrap this up." In a couple of seconds his attention was back on her. "So… This has been a nice little bonding session. But I think we'll have to continue some other time." The stranger grabbed a hold of the criminal and by then they heard the sounds of an approaching aircraft. Moments later it was above them and a rope fell. The still conscious man was quick to wrap it securely around himself. One wave of a hand, one last insufferably bright grin, and the men were catapulted towards the sky. "See you later, Natalia."

Natalia refused to admit that she was impressed as she watched the black jet hovering above practically swallowing the men. She glared at the soon disappearing aircraft. Irritation and frustration bubbled in her veins like acid.

It wasn't bad enough that the smug bastard ruined her assignment. He also made her freeze a second time in one night. She was definitely going to make him pay for it. The next time they met she'd kill him.

Because something told her that this wasn't the last time she'd see that smirk.

Inside the aircraft Phil Coulson shook his head with a sigh as the men stumbled in, one gracefully, the other a still unconscious heap. He had to bite back a fond smile despite being almost sure that half of his hair had turned gray over the past three weeks. "Did you have fun?"

Clint Barton smirked. Visibly exhausted but in one piece. It was much better than Phil had dared to expect after a three weeks long undercover mission. "Yup", the younger man confirmed, popping the final letter. A calloused hand patted the top of Aleksei's head. "And you'll have fun with this one, too. He's got some pretty interesting tales to sing. I think he can lead us to at least three big crime bosses. Including Franks. There's a meeting we've gotta crash in…" The agent checked the time. "… eight hours. That's why I decided to call off this charade now, before he would've noticed something and warned Franks."

Well. It seemed that this mission was definitely a success. "Anderson, Wilkens, get Jahns settled. I think he and I will become best friends soon." Once the agents had obeyed and left he refocused on the younger man, who was stretching with a wince. "Who was the girl?"

Clint grinned. That look never promised anything good. "Trouble."

End of tale

A/N: I so have the 'Mission Impossible' theme playing in my head right now. (chuckles) Go Clint, taking down this slimeball and heading towards a bigger one! Poor Natasha, though. This had to sting her pride. Wonder how pleasant their next meeting will be…?

Soooo… Was this ANY good? Would you like to read more of these tales? PLEASE, do let me know! Hearing from you ALWAYS makes my day.

REQUESTS ARE VERY MUCH WELCOME!

In any case, THANK YOU so much for reading! Maybe I'll even see you again one day.

Take care!