Clint and Natasha had been sent on a mission in Italy. The mission was a success until the KGB finally caught up to their red-headed defect. To save Clint's life, Natasha surrendered. Clint, confused and angry at the sudden turn of events and the loss of the love of his life, turns to Tony Stark to help him rescue Natasha from enemy lines. This story picks up after Natasha is rescued, and Clint is determined to get to the bottom of what exactly is going on.
"I couldn't tell you," she whispered softly to the man who was sitting across from her at a small wooden table, just one of the many pieces of high end furniture that adorned the Stark Tower. It was a safe place to talk, and that was all that mattered. "You weren't supposed to come after me, anyway. Stark was supposed to make sure—"
"Oh come off it Natasha," Clint interrupted, shaking his head at the red haired woman. "Like I would ever just let someone take you like that and leave you. Like I could just walk away from…from everything that we've been together…I-I mean been through together…" he added, stumbling on his words. That was when people said what their truly meant.
Put in her place, the spy was silent again. She was sore and battered, but nonetheless beautiful than the last moment Clint had seen her. There was something about the curve of her lips that begged danger to any who touched them, but for Clint it was a danger that was worth the world. They started to move again, and Clint immediately perked, even if he wanted to pretend like he didn't care what she had to say.
"It's all this attention from the Avengers. They found me because of it. And if they didn't take me they were going to kill you. How could I let that happen, Clint?" she asked, trying to sound tough and cold, but it wasn't working as well as it normally did. The underlying emotion in her voice was betraying her in the form of a soft quiver.
"Look, I don't know why they are after you in the first place, but we could have gotten through it together, Nat. We could have fought the KGB; you me, all of us. We're a team!" he said, loudly only because he was in a strange emotional state. He wanted to shake her and hold her close at the same time.
Natasha just shook her head. "You don't get it, Clint. It's not about the Avengers, alright? I can't put all those people in danger, too…" she said, closing her eyes for a minute and then letting out a deep sigh. He didn't get it, but it was because she wasn't telling him the whole truth. It was time. The time she never had wanted to come. Tears suddenly started to fall from her eyes, tears she was desperately trying to hold back but now…well…what was the point now?
Oh God, I made her cry was all Clint could think at first, immediately regretting that he had raised his voice even a little bit to his angel in black. "Nat I'm sorry I'm sorry please, shhh…" he said, reaching over and taking one of her hands. He'd seen her cry before. She was human, after all, but there was something about it that struck him in the gut when it happened that never fazed him with anyone else.
"Clint just….just shut up and listen alright?" she said, taking a moment to get a deep breath and wipe her tears away with the sleeve of the soft black shirt she was wearing, one of Pepper's the woman had let her borrow after washing away the filth of her captivity. She didn't let go of Clint's hand, though. She was going to need the support for this one.
"When we first met, you knew that I was a KGB agent. When I turned up that day at SHIELD years later, you thought that I had somehow been let go by them. I remember the way you were smiling at me and I…I just knew that I couldn't tell you the truth. Ever. Until now…until you absolutely had to hear it," she said, pausing and seeing that Clint was just blankly staring at her. "No no…I'm not a spy. I mean I am, but I don't work for them. Clint…that day they convinced you to go to America...didn't you think that was odd? They were getting rid of you, so you wouldn't be in the way when they shot me," she said, barely getting the words out of her mouth before he interjected.
"Shot you?! What?! Natasha you told me…you told me they let you go…" he said, now suddenly realizing how silly of a thing that was to believe. This was a government agency, not some normal 9-5.
When Clint stopped, she nodded softly. "They shot me. Four times, in the back. They left me for dead, but when I woke up I was in a hospital with the help of SHIELD...luckily they had been keeping track of me. They had to nurse me completely back to health. They told me I was lucky I was still alive and able to get better. They had to hide my identity. It took some time. But when I was ready, I was ready to start again, only on their side. "
Clint shook his head. "Wait now I really don't get it. If you were one of their best agents, why would they want to kill you?"
Here it was coming. The truth. She smiled softly through her teary gaze. "Because I was going to leave. I was going to run. Because…I…" she said, suddenly finding that this was even more difficult than she thought it was going to be. Don't stop now, Tasha, she said to herself. Just a few more words. He deserved to know. "Because I fell in love with this silly, amazing guy who refused to take no for an answer," she said, her voice just above a whisper. "And I had this little fairy tale in my mind that maybe, just maybe, I could not be a spy and we could just live a normal life together. But…Russia doesn't like when you tell them you don't want to kill for them anymore."
Clint about fell out of his chair. Was she talking about him? He gave her a little look asking for clarification. When she gave a nod, he stared with his mouth open at her. "Whoa whoa whoa, wait. You…you're telling me that you fell in love with me and that you were going to run away knowing that I'd blindly follow you, then Russia got pissed off about it and tried to kill you before you could tell me, then KBG agents who wanted me out of the way but not dead because I wasn't special enough to need killing convinced me that I needed to go to America because you no longer had any interest in me, making me think that you just didn't care when really you were dying," he said.
"Yeah, that's…that's pretty much what I just said, except I had a little more emotion involved," she said, suddenly looking at him like he should be more respectful of her newly expressed love.
"Well sorry Nat it just seems like it's all out of a movie or something! …and I'm slightly offended they didn't think me worthy of killing," Clint responded in his defense, as if both of them being shot together would have somehow been more romantic and therefore a more desirable outcome; but that was just his heartstrings being foolish.
"In case you didn't notice, Clint, we don't really live normal people lives!" she said with a soft scowl. This wasn't what he was supposed to be doing, she thought. He was supposed to be so overjoyed with the fact that she loved him he that he was rendered unable to move. "And they didn't not kill you because you weren't special. They left you alive because they wanted me to know that you were free to be with someone else. They wanted me to die thinking that. That was my punishment for betrayal. Death wasn't harsh enough."
There was silence between them as they stared each other down. Then after a moment, Clint grinned.
"What is so funny?" she asked in surprise.
"Well here's the part now, right? The part where you tell me that we can never be together, because it's too dangerous, and blah blah blah. Right?" Clint said as he raised his brow at her.
"Well….well yeah, actually. That's the plan. Glad you understand…" she said, looking confused at Clint's behavior. "Well I thought you'd be a little more heart broken here!" she added, feeling the need to be defensive. She finally pulled down the steel beams that reinforced her emotional wall and now he was being silly?
Clint started to laugh. Natasha looked downright pissed off now, but he spoke before she could say anything. "Natasha…" he said, leaning over the table and gently cupping her face with one hand. "There is no force of nature or man on this planet that can tell me that I can't love you. I've taken lives. I've looked into alien territory. I've almost died countless times. But when they took you from me, I knew only one thing – I had to get my girl back. So you can run, and you can tell me no, and you can shoot me down. But you're my girl, and I'll never love another like I love you," he said, his brown eyes staring at her now with such conviction that there was no way the man could be telling any part of a lie. And she wasn't moving away this time. She was listening. "Nat…everything in my life…everything is what it is because you're at my side. And nothing, not the Russian government, not some KGB agents, not even you, Nat…nothing can take that from me. So…no, I'm not heart broken. Because you told me what I've wanted to hear from your lips from day one…" he said, suddenly breaking into that smile that belonged to him and him only. "I'm the luckiest man on this planet."
That smile and those eyes almost blocked out his words. Whatever he had to say he could have said with a look, but Natasha knew that talking was more Clint's style. Not hers. And he was the only man who had ever respected it. Her eyes glistened back at him, the tears clearing away now as she felt lightness on her shoulders and in her heart that she hadn't felt since before she met him. The secret was out, and now she knew that it never really had to be a secret; for it is impossible to stop such a force as a man in love. "Yeah…well…you are the luckiest man alive," she whispered, her lips forming a smile, letting Clint not only touch her face but softly trace fingers through a stray lock of her hair.
Clint winked at her. That was their little private gesture, the one that meant nothing to one person and everything to another. It meant that everything was settled, and that they were on the same terms. Their love was mutual and it was mutually known. "Well…I think I'm ready for another assignment, how about you?"
Natasha nodded firmly now, then gave the other man a little smirk. "Anywhere but Italy…"
Clint smirked right back. "Deal."
"Hey…" Natasha said suddenly enough to make Clint stop his effort to stand from the table and look at her with a raised brow. "Thanks…for waiting for me," she added softly, with sincerity in her voice; sincerity that broke Clint back down into that handsome smile as he replied. "Always."