The abrasive sterile hospital smell assaulted his nose before he was even completely awake. The window to his left was letting in entirely too much overly cheerful daylight. The pain hit him then and it was only by strength of will that he kept from groaning aloud.
He felt someone slip his hearing aide in.
"Упрямый осел."
He chuckled and regretted it immediately. He began to catalog his injuries. Concussion/ possible skull fracture, broken left clavicle, two bruised ribs on the same side, fractured left thigh, and sprained left ankle. He sighed; at least all of the damage was on the same side this time.
He cracked an eye open. She sat in the chair beside him. She wasn't touching him though. She gazed out the window, her body language stiff and unforgiving. She was perfectly capable of being neutral in her body language. This was the equivalent of her yelling at him.
"Tasha…" he pleaded, his voice still rough from sleep.
"Не начинайте."
"I had to…" he tried again.
She finally looked at him, and god help him, he wished he hadn't pushed her. She was sharp and angry. "You can't keep doing this."
"Tasha, I had to. There were kids on that bus."
She stood up sharply and crossed over to the window. She stared out the window with her arms crossed. She was quiet for a long time. Her right hand drifted up to touch the tiny necklace. "Do you remember those pictures Fury had me pose for?"
He grinned stupidly. "Yeah, those were great." That had been a thoroughly enjoyable mission until she had threatened to kill him for staring too long.
"Fury is sending me to work for Stark Industries undercover. Stark's a loose cannon, with a preference for redheads. I'm going alone. I don't know how long I'll be gone. I need you to stay safe."
"Tasha…" but there was nothing left to say really. She had made her feelings clear before. She had difficulty allowing herself to care for people and far too often, he put his life on the line. He swallowed hard. "You know I'll always care about you, right?"
She nodded. He stared at her for a long time, everything was falling apart, but there was really not a damn thing he could do about it. She turned to him with a tiny sad smile. She walked over, leaned down, and pressed a light kiss to his temple. The sun glinted on the tiny silver arrow charm. "Goodbye Clint." She whispered.
In Budapest, they were partners.
In Budapest, they were lovers.
In Budapest, they fought alongside one another, had each other's backs.
In Budapest, he had risked his life to save a civilian and almost died.
In Budapest, she asked him not to do that again.
In Budapest, he'd promised not to take those kinds of risks anymore.
In Budapest, he'd lied and she believed him.
They weren't in Budapest anymore.
The Russian came from Google translate... I hope it's correct.
Упрямый осел- Stubborn ass.
Не начинайте - Don't start.