Bad Ideas 2: Worse Ideas
Disclaimer: I don't own Marvel. Look at AoU for confirmation
Worse Idea #1: Where My Ladies At?
Natasha lounged on one of the long leather couches in the tower's living area, the seating was set on a lower level than the rest of the room and gave her a great view of the rest of the room. She could hear Darcy Lewis chatting loudly to Wanda Maximoff at the bar about some reality show or another. Jane Foster was sitting on the edge of her armchair and with her laptop placed on the glass coffee table in front of her, the physicist typed away furiously.
Natasha gave a small smile as she returned her gaze to the guys playing darts. Tony had hung a board on a nearby pillar and many nights filled with darts tournaments had followed. Tonight, only Clint and Tony himself remained. In the days immediately after the purchase of the dartboard, the Avengers quickly realised that the odd were slightly tilted in Hawkeye's favour. Natasha reluctantly pulled herself up off of the cream couch to watch the end of the match. The person with the highest score would win and Clint was up next.
Clint was standing on the opposite side of the room beside the bar. Rhodey, Sam and Steve both stood opposite Clint on the other side of the bar. Tony was busy making cocktails and chatting to everyone near him as Clint readied himself. Natasha sat beside Darcy on a bar stool and leaned back on the ceramic worktop with her elbows holding her up. Darcy and Wanda both gave her a big welcome with she was careful to return.
Thud. Clint's first dart hit the triple twenty. Tony scowled.
"Come on! Seriously, Legolas!"
Clint shrugged exaggeratedly and everyone laughed. Suddenly, Wanda swivelled her stool to face Stark.
"Where's Pepper?" she asked. Darcy followed Wanda's swivel and slapped her palms down on the worktop.
"Yeah! Where are all the other ladies at?!" she demanded. Even Tony smirked at the brunette.
"She had a conference in Chicago this morning. She'll be back later tonight," he answered. Darcy looked to Sam for Hill's whereabouts, Wilson shrugged.
"Wilson! Where's your other BFF?!"
"Maria was busy," he answered as he sipped his beer. Darcy turned to Steve. It seemed only Wanda and Clint noticed Steve and Natasha's fleeting meeting of eyes- the archer paused halfway through reeling back his hand for his second shot to turn his attention to the current conversation. Tony clicked his fingers in front of Steve's blue eyes and Cap's attention was brought back to reality.
"Yo, blondie. Where's Sharon at?" Darcy said, irritated. Steve cleared his throat.
"Uh, busy." The answer was good enough for Darcy but Tony looked suspicious. In the end though, he let it go and turned to Clint.
Thud. Clint's second dart hit the triple twenty. Again, Tony scowled and, again, everyone laughed. Tony sipped his martini.
"What about you, Barton?" he asked. Clint took a slug of his own beer.
"What about me?" Clint asked innocently. He took up his position, ready to hit the triple twenty once more. Natasha reached over the bar for a drink as everyone else looked on, waiting for Clint to win the match.
"Where's your lady 'at'?" Tony inquired. Natasha's head snapped around to look at Clint as she heard was the clatter of a dart hitting the slate scoreboard. The others looked at Clint in shock. Barton turned on his heel and headed off toward the elevator, only to instead take the stairs that no doubt led to the roof.
Natasha glanced back at Steve, whose jaw had set tightly. He nodded stiffly at Natasha and she took off after her best friend. She had opened and closed the door leading to the stairwell and had her foot on the first step when something yanked back her elbow. She whirled around and saw Steve standing behind her, a pink stain no doubt from one of Tony's cocktails on his off-white shirt. She held his intense blue gaze until he spoke.
"I knew her too," was all he said. They bounded up the steps together, Natasha always one or two ahead of him. They ran up at least three flights of stairs until they met the heavy metal door that was slightly ajar.
Clint must have torn up the stairs because he was already leaning with her elbows on the wall on the edge. It was early December and there was a distinct chill in the air, but the only one that could have been affected the worst was Clint, who wore only a short sleeved T-shirt. Yet, he stood at the edge, unbothered by the low temperature. As Natasha stepped toward Clint, Steve made to follow her. However, she stopped him with her hand on his chest. She held up five fingers in response to the reluctant look on his face. Natasha turned her back to Steve and joined Clint by the wall.
Clint did not look at her and gazed onto the streets below while picking at the flaking paint of the wall.
"Look, Tony-"
Clint cut her off. "-Is and idiot. I know that already. Did you miss the whole murderous robot thing last summer?"
He glanced at her and was met by her stern, appraising look.
"Tony," she began, "doesn't know about you and Hennessy. None of them do." Natasha stopped and glanced down and back at Steve.
"About any of us… Nothing was on file. And the most anyone knows about her is that-"
Clint interrupted again and turned his whole body around to face her. His face was lined with sleepless nights, his eyes had dark rings under them. His voice cracked as he spoke
"That's just it! Isn't it! No one knows anything!" He pushed himself away from the wall. "No one knows a damn thing! Not where she is! Not what happened to her! Nothing!"
Clint kicked up and stomped on the gravel underfoot. Suddenly, he started to jump up and down, slamming the soles of his feet into the ground. Natasha stood by Steve and watched. She stopped Steve from interrupting him.
"Let him," she said. Steve looked down at her and gritted his teeth. Clint stopped at last and plopped down onto a forgotten garden chair, he looked completely drained and defeated. Natasha and Steve shared a look and Natasha knelt in front of Clint. She took his hands from where they gripped the edge of the seat. He looked at her, a hollow look in his eyes. Natasha swallowed but her best friend spoke first.
"I promised I'd find her… Natasha, I promised. But there's nowhere left to look." His voice was shaky as he went on. "Where is she, Tasha? What did we miss?"
"I don't know, Clint," she admitted. "But I need to make a call, or twenty." She got up and stood in front of Steve and pulled his shoulder down to her level.
"Get him back to his room, don't let the others see him like this. He doesn't need an audience," she whispered, pressing her lips to his ear. Steve nodded and crossed the roof to pull Clint up. She waited to hear the heavy sound of the metal door closing before pulling out her phone and dialling a number. Natasha rested her elbows on the wall lining the edge and looked up at the stars. She spotted a familiar constellation- Orion- and snapped her head back down as a voice came through the line.
"Hello?"
Natasha turned her back on the dazzling lights of the city.
"Hill. I need a number."
"What?" Maria answered. Natasha exhaled through gritted teeth.
"A number. I need one."
"Whose?"
Natasha gazed back over her shoulder at the city sprawled out before her.
"Coulson. Get me Coulson."
Hey there! Look at that! A sequel! As you can see, I have chosen to ignore certain aspects of AoU, simply because I have my own little universe and let's be honest here, that movie messed it up. I'll leave a list on my Bio in the coming days. But here it is Worse Ideas (Name subject to change…) I hope you guys show this one as much love as you did the last!
Before I leave, one last thing. Would anyone like a Christmas special for both this/Bad Ideas and Through the Bottom of a Glass? Leave your answers in the reviews or PM me.
Thanks for reading,
Have a great day/night/afternoon/etc…
Love ya! ;)
