A/N: This is the first oneshot in my "Compromised"series. The story was written shortly after the first Avenger movie, so none of the films or tvshows after that movie is taken into consideration.

My apologies for any grammar mistakes. English is not my first language.

All characters belong to Marvel

Hofburg Palace, Vienna, Austria. December 31. 2005

It was finally New-Year's Eve again and now she was going to the elegant Kaiser ball or Imperial Ball as it is called in English. She was here because of a rich politician named Konstantin Ivanovich. He was trading illegal weapons with a man named Boris. But Konstantin didn't pay him so Boris hired her to collect the payment or deal with him. She was a twenty-two year old Russian woman named Natalia Romanova. She was a true beauty, with her long curled red hair, green eyes, pouty lips and never-ending curves, and she had a smile that would drop any man to his knees. But that was all just a façade. Truly she was a cold blooded assassin and master spy. She was known as the Black Widow and was the best in her field.

This evening she went to the palace looking stunning, with her hair up and in a long olive green dress with a slit in the side that went all the way up to her thigh. The car drove up to the front stairs and a young man came down the stairs and opened the door for her. She walked up the stairs as her Chauffeur drove away. When she came up to the entrance a huge man stepped in front of her and blocked the door. "What's your name ma'am?" he asked. "Natasha Romanoff." She said. It wasn't a lie because that was one of the many names she was known under. She looked at him and bashed her eyelashes while she gave him a charming smile. "I'm sorry your name isn't on the list so you can't enter." Natalia opened her purse and pulled out an invitation and showed it to him. The guard looked at it and then over his shoulder as if he looked at someone. He turned towards her again. "I'm sorry ma'am but I can't let you in if you're not on the list" he said and oogled at her. She walked closer and gave him a seductive look. "Please Sir. I need to get in. My father is in there and I need to go to him." She said while batting her eyelashes once again and putting her hand on his arm. The guard looked at her and then again he looked over his shoulder. He shook his head. "I'm sorry but no" she backed away from him and turned on her heels.

She walked away from the front entrance, and found a place along the palace wall where she could stand and not be seen too much. She opened her purse and pulled out a thick silver bracelet with a stout spider on it. She pushed a little button and then the spider loosened and looked like a climbing hook. She pulled out the spider and there was a thin but strong wire between the bracelet and the spider. She threw the spider up against the wall and it grabbed the railing on a balcony. She put on the bracelet and put her shoes in the purse and held on to it while she started to climb. When she reached the balcony she released the hook and made it into a normal looking bracelet again. She put on her shoes and walked through the open window. It turned out to be a bathroom she had entered, which was perfect. She walked over to the mirror to fix her hair and make-up. Then she ran her hands over the dress to remove the wrinkles. When she was satisfied with her looks, she took her purse and left the room.

When she reached the ball room she quickly spotted her target and then started to mingle with people. When a waiter passed her, she took a glass of champagne from the silver plate he was carrying and took a sip of it. She stopped several times to talk to people who either complimented her or mistook her for someone else. Slowly she approached Konstantin without making it obvious that she was following him. Konstantin looked in her direction when she laughed at an old mans joke. She turned her head towards him and gave him a smile when their eyes met. He smiled back and walked towards her. Konstantin was an older man but still quite handsome. He was pretty average height and weight and not really muscular at all. He had dark gray hair and dark eyes. He wore a standard white shirt and black jacket. "Would you care for a dance miss?" he asked and offered her a hand. "Romanoff, but please just call me Natasha" she said and took his hand and he led them onto the dance floor. When they reached the dance floor he made her make a pirouette and then led her into standard dance position. She gently put her left hand on his shoulder and her other hand in his. He gently put his right hand around her waist. He pulled her close and started to lead her in a waltz. After one hour of dancing, his hand started to lower down her waist. She gently grabbed his hand and pulled it back in its place. "This is not the place for that kind of touching. But maybe you can show me a more private place in the palace" she said and gave him a smile. He gave her a kiss and she let him. Suddenly there was a man who tapped Konstantin's shoulder. They both turned and looked at the man, he was about the same height as Konstantin but pretty muscular. He was a very good-looking man with dark blonde hair and stormy blue eyes. She was looking him in the eyes and there was something about his eyes that fascinated her. It was like they looked through all of her masks and looked at her soul. It scared her. No one had ever looked at her like that. He smiled and looked at Konstantin. "Do you mind if I cut in?" he asked but didn't wait for an answer, he just took Natalia's hand and took position and she gave him a small smile as the next song started. She looked over at Konstantin "I'll be back soon, would you mind finding me a drink in the meantime?" she asked and gave him an apologizing smile. He smiled back and nodded and walked towards the bar.

Natalia turned her attention towards her new dance partner and gave him a sweet smile. He was surprisingly an extremely good dancer but so was she. "Well Sir what's your name if I might ask?" she asked and looked into his eyes again. "It doesn't matter who I am. The important part is that you are Natalia Romanova or Natasha Romanoff. You are also known as The Black Widow and I just saved your target, for now." He said and tightened his grip around her and pulled her a little closer. Natalia's body stiffened for a second and she looked at him but kept the smile on her face; in case anybody was looking. They kept dancing but a little closer than necessary, this way they could talk without anybody listening. "Who are you and what do you want?" she hissed as he turned her out and she did another pirouette. He smiled a cocky smile "How did you come in here? I paid a lot of money to make sure you didn't get past the guards; a window? " he asked and let out a little laugh. When she was pulled in again she stepped on his foot. "Oops" she said and gave him a deadly glare. "You didn't answer my questions" he smiled and looked into her eyes again. "Well my name is Clint Barton and I was sent here to kill you. But I have an offer for you instead" now she gave him a devilish smile. "Ahh; the famous Hawkeye. Well now you have me. Give it your best shot but I doubt that you would win." She said and tried to back away but he had her in a tight grip. He was a lot stronger than her. But if she could distract him for just a second then she would be able to get away. So there were two ways. She could slap him or kiss him. Both usually worked. Normally the slapping was the best way, but she could also kiss him and then slap him. Or just kiss him. When he started to talk again she broke out of her thoughts. "Well Miss Romanova, as I said before I have an offer for you instead. You could come and work for the agency that I work for. You don't have to work for the people you work for now. I have observed you for weeks now and it doesn't look like you are happy in this life. I know that you are tired of running; I can see it in your eyes. Everybody hunts you. You have a lot of enemies and no one will back you up or come for you if you are taken, and nobody would mourn if you died. For them you can be replaced. Where I work there is free dental and medical care, free food and a roof over your head. You will have a steady salary." She looked into his eyes and she saw no signs of either lie or truth. She didn't trust people but when she looked into his eyes she felt that maybe she could trust this man. "What if I say no?" she asked and his smile disappeared. "Then I would have to kill you" he said like it was the most normal thing to say. "Do you even have the authority to choose to spare me?" she said and didn't quite believe him. "Not really, but I see something in you. I see some of the same things in you as I did in myself before I changed path. And you have a lot of skills that could be valuable to S.H.I.E.L.D." He loosened his grip on her. Now she looked confused "What the hell is Shield? That is a stupid ass name for an agency. And if the rumors are true, then you use a bow and arrows. Do you guys have a middle age thing going on? You Americans are really weird. Just leave me alone" She said and broke out of his grip and walked away. She didn't get more than a few steps away before he grabbed her arm. She spun around, slapped him across his cheek, and ran. She ran past Konstantin who followed her.

When they left the room they ran down a hallway and came to a little staircase with no one in sight. She stopped and took a deep breath. Konstantin looked at her. "Are you okay Natasha? Did he hurt you?" Konstantin asked her and ran his hands over her shoulders. "Yes I'm fine, he didn't hurt me" she whispered and looked up at him and gave him a smile. He grabbed her and forced her against the wall at the top of the stairs and kissed her hard. She started to fight back just a little and pushed him away. "Please don't do that. I don't want you to touch me like that. If you do that I will have to hurt you" she said simply. He started to laugh and looked at her. "Stupid girl, do you really think that you could stop me?" he said and laughed again. She just raised an eyebrow and looked at him. He hit her in the head and grabbed her neck and started to strangle her. At the same time he kissed her and totally cut of her air supply. After some seconds he pulled away but without releasing her. She gasped for air and stepped him on his foot and then hit him hard in the head. He released her and looked at her. She started to cough. Even if you are a highly trained assassin you still can't fight to good if all your ways of breathing are cut off forcefully and quickly. She touched her cheek and nose where he hit her, she was bleeding. She wiped the blood away. Now Clint walked closer to them. Konstantin looked at Clint, who looked kind of pissed. "Haven't you ever learned that you can't hit a woman and definitely not force her like you just did? You should be ashamed of yourself." Clint said while he walked closer. Now Konstantin attacked Clint who easily avoided and when a punch finally hit Clint, he simply hit back with double force. Clint grabbed Konstantin around the neck. "Now apologize to the lady" he said, but Konstantin simply spat him in the face. "You are really stupid attacking and then spitting at an assassin. And then you also tried to force yourself on probably the most dangerous woman in the world; really stupid indeed." At that Konstantin's eyes widened. Natalia looked at him and gave a deadly smile. She walked over to them and looked at Konstantin. "Boris wants his payment; that or your head. Right now I vote for your head." She said and slapped him. Konstantin looked at her. "You are the Black Widow" he hissed and she nodded. He turned his head towards Clint. "Well you can go to hell and take the Russian whore with you. She is damaged goods" he said and spat at Natalia's feet. Clint let go of his throat and punched him in the face. When Konstantin stumbled back, Natalia grabbed him and kicked him in the groin. And when he bent down she kicked him again. He stumbled back and fell down the stairs and broke his neck.

They walked away and down another corridor. She stopped and turned towards him. "I didn't need your help back there" She said, and he nodded and simply said "I know" She gave him a little smirk. "Well, tell me about that shield of yours" She said with humour in her voice. He started to laugh. "It's not a real shield. S.H.I.E.L.D is an acronym for Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division." He said and she nodded. "Okay Hawkeye I will give it a shot" She smiled. The clock started to ring. They looked at each other. Natalia walked over to him and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. "Happy New Year" She whispered. Clint smiled "You too. May 2006 become a good year for a fresh start for you, Natasha" he said.

A/N: sequel now up