Author's Note: Hi guys! This is my first fanfic in the MCU. It took me a lot of courage to post this, considering that it has been almost a year since I wrote this. Anyway, I hope you guys will like it! Reviews are highly appreciated.
Also, I want to meet fellow Romanogers fans! *cries* So feel free to leave me a message so we can share our feels over the greatest OTP that ever existed.
Disclaimer: The Avengers and its characters are properties of Marvel and Disney Studios.
When Clint told Fury he sees better from a distance, he wasn't being arrogant. He was just being honest. The archer prides himself of this skill as it proved to be handy in his field of work. Whether following the trail of a high profile syndicate or shooting arrows at aliens from outer space, he has no problem completing his mission while hidden a few meters away or perched on top of a building. To put it simply, no target can ever evade Hawkeye's keen and watchful eyes, even if from a far.
Neither does the subtle gestures and timid glances of the super soldier and the red headed spy, apparently.
It first caught his attention back when they were fighting against Loki and his army of Chitauri in New York. Amidst shooting a string of arrows from the top of a skyscraper, he didn't miss the stunt that the Black Widow pulled with the help of Captain America. As he watched Steve look up at Natasha in sudden awe after hoisting her up in the air with his shield, Clint smirked and shook his head.
He may have been just recovering from Loki's mind control at the time, but he was absolutely sure that those two reckless idiots will have something coming their way sooner or later.
The second time he noticed, it was after the fall of SHIELD and the mess Steve and Natasha got themselves into in DC. He rushed to the hospital the moment he found out what happened at the Potomac. No visitors were allowed in the Intensive Care Unit where Steve was fighting for his life, but no hospital staff can refuse a worried yet fuming Avenger either. So he took huge strides towards the direction a cowering nurse gave him, his heart heavy as he expected the worst. He couldn't help it, it's Steve and Natasha, the two crazy idiots he happen to call his friends.
Whatever meticulously chosen profanities Clint was about to spew at the two for risking their lives just like that immediately left his system and stopped him mid-stride when he saw the scene before him.
The door to Steve's hospital room was halfway open, enough for Clint to see the beaten soldier laid on the bed, seemingly showing no signs of life save for his uneven, labored breaths and the beeping sound of the heart monitor. Seated on a chair beside his bed was no doubt Natasha. She must have snuck her way in his room by scaring off an intern. Her tired eyes laid intently on the soldier, unwilling to avert her gaze. A stray tear stained her cheek, which she quickly wiped with the back of her hand, but to no avail because the tears kept streaming down. She was too tired and too distraught to hold anything in anymore. So she wept, her shoulders shaking.
This made Clint worry for the Russian spy. In the years they were partners, he had seen what lies underneath the Black Widow persona. They trusted each other enough to knock down the barriers and let their guards down. He has seen the ex-Soviet spy cry a few times, often about the nightmares of her past or the rare occasions in which even she couldn't tolerate a certain amount of physical pain. She also cried when she thought Nick Fury was dead. Yet, even in those times she would only let a few tears escape, and would regain her stoic composure immediately after.
That time, however, it was different.
Never did she cry like that before.
Never, until then.
For Steve.
There is no doubt in Clint's mind that his best friend, the infamous Black Widow, ex-Soviet spy and assassin, is cable of feeling. Underneath her masks made resilient over the years of violence, she is still human, deserving of love and happiness which she can give in return. He brought this up to her once, which was a bad idea, considering that all it took was a flare and a threatening nail file (She makes sure he remembers that she knows twenty ways to kill a person using it) for him to shut up.
As he stood there in the hospital hallway watching Natasha hold Steve's hand, Clint couldn't help but smile and let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding. He felt relieved. He thought that perhaps it takes a super soldier, the man whose beliefs are nothing but good and pure, to make Natasha realize what she truly deserves.
It's almost a year after the incident in DC. With SHIELD gone, the Avengers made it their responsibility to carry on with their duty to protect and save the world. The once Stark Tower was turned into the Avengers Tower, serving as their headquarters as well as their home. Bruce was the first to move in, as Tony promised he has the best lab facilities for the scientist. Thor visits when he's traveling in between realms, often bearing gifts of Asgardian mead per Tony's request which Pepper vehemently disapproves of. Clint stays in the Tower only when he's needed for a mission or when his presence is required in debriefings or in training new recruits. Steve followed suit, after months of tracking down the Winter Soldier who didn't want to be found.
And then, there's Natasha. After leaving DC, she went on to create new covers for herself. They all thought it wouldn't take her long before she returns, but days turned to weeks and weeks turned to months and there was still no sign of the spy. Her absence in the team grew palpable and started affecting all of them. Although if the number of wrecked punching bags in the gym they had to dispose every week is any indication, Clint could easily point out who was taking it the hardest.
Then one day, she just appeared from the Tower's elevator as though she never left. She casually strode towards the living room with a smirk, and for a second the Avengers fell silent in disbelief and relief upon the return of their teammate. Clint was the first to react; jumping from the railing he was perched on to reach for Natasha.
"About damn time you show up." He muttered as he gave her a hug.
Natasha rolled her eyes and smiled. "I missed you too, Barton."
She broke from his hug, which gave Clint the chance to really look at her. Wherever she went on those times she was gone and whatever she did there, it served her well. She was a far cry from the mess that she was back in DC, Clint thought. But before she could tell her this though, Tony made a dash towards Natasha.
"Why are you back so soon, Red? You didn't even give me the chance to realize that this freaky boy band is missing one member." The billionaire said with a fake disdain on his face.
Bruce joined in. "Don't listen to him, Natasha. He had JARVIS looking for you everywhere."
"Not everywhere, apparently." Natasha smirked at Tony who stuck his tongue out in response. Gone for months yet she still continues to outsmart the AI, much to his annoyance.
"I am pleased with your return, Lady Natasha!" Thor's booming voice can be suddenly heard as he appeared from the kitchen, a box of Pop Tarts in his hand, his Mjölnir on the other. "Perhaps a Tart of Pop to celebrate this joyous occasion?"
"Thor must have really missed you if he's willing to share his Pop Tarts."
All of them looked across to where Steve was, arms crossed on his chest as he leaned on the glass railing. He was smiling a smile Clint noticed he never saw from the Captain before. Yup, definitely Star Spangled head over fucking heels, he thought. Gone is the despondent expression on his face, and is replaced instead with a look that is something else entirely. Relief. Admiration. Longing.
"How about you, though?" Natasha raised a perfectly arched eyebrow, a playful smirk tugging at the corner of her lips as she approached him. "Did you miss me?"
Steve gave her a boyish grin and shrugged. "Not so much." He teased.
Natasha suddenly laughed. Laughed. "You're still a terrible liar."
Tony, Bruce and Thor furrowed their eyebrows in confusion. "Did I miss something? Since when did Capsicle become the world's funniest comedian that he was able to make the Black Widow laugh?" Tony whispered, eyes wide in disbelief. Bruce and Thor shrugged.
It's the third time he noticed, and Clint can only smirk and shake his head as he looked at the soldier and the spy who were obviously sharing an inside joke. Months spent apart yet whatever it was that they had in DC, whatever it was that Clint saw between the two from a distance, still remained intact.
Clueless idiots.