This is my story that I have came up with for Budapest- I have done a little research on the actual place and that is what I have come up with. So no flames- this is a fanfiction after all :) First chapter will be introducing the story and situation. Excuse any OOC for now- Natasha is still at the point where she doesn't want anything to do with Clint, and boy is that hard to write. Drop a review and enjoy.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters =/ Sad, I know.
Natasha sighed as she lounged on the couch, her legs hanging over the arm rest. She carefully balanced the tube of red nail polish on her toned stomach, slowly pulling the tiny brush across the nail of her pinky finger. The TV was on in the background, the news reporters rambling on and on about the worlds problems. The washer and dryer added more noise to the mix, the sounds blending together in one relaxing sound. Days like this made Natasha feel almost normal...Until she remembered she was suspended from duty.
She carefully dipped the tiny brush in the polish before dragging it across another nail, applying an even coat before moving onto the next. The house was spotless, thanks to Fury temporarily banning her from duty. She had been trapped inside for nearly a week now, unable to go on any missions or leave her base housing. She had spent her time cleaning, watching old movies, drawing, and pampering herself- anything than thinking about what she had actually done. She didn't regret her actions and hoped Fury would learn a lesson from this whole mess.
Natasha let out an irritated huff as her phone began vibrating against her side and she gingerly tapped the answer button before putting it on speaker. "What do you want Fury?" She asked in surly tone, examining her hand to make sure she didn't smear any polish.
"Your suspension has been lifted, Agent Romanoff."
"And why is that? I had another week to relax," she tried to keep an annoyed tone, but she was relieved to be able to get back to work. She hated sitting around all day.
"Something has come up in the middle east and unfortunately we need another agent who excels in your area of expertise."
"Ah, so we are only letting me out of the dog house long enough to save someones ass?"
"Lose the tone Romanoff. You wouldn't be in the dog house if you could keep your temper under control."
"Oh, please," she rolled her eyes, screwing the cap on the nail polish. "You don't trust me, that is why I am here in the first place."
"No, you are there because you decided to punch your squad leader in the face! Then you defied a direct order and went in alone."
"Only because the idiot made a call that would have killed us all. And I have told you, I work alone. I do not play well with others," she rolled into a sitting position, sitting the polish on the table and bringing the phone to her ear.
"I don't care if he decided to make you all jump off a cliff- assault is assault. You are lucky you were only suspended. As for not playing well with others...you are going to have to get over that. There will be times when you are required to work on a team. You skills as an agent are incredible, now it is time to work on your people skills."
"I do not need people skills," she muttered. "Can we get back to the mission? I don't feel like discussing my few flaws."
"Sarcasm will get you no where."
"But it is more fun that way," she said in a surly tone, pulling her hair behind her shoulder.
"Enough. We have a situation in Budapest."
"What kind of situation?"
"As you know, there have been a lot of uprisings in the area lately and we deployed a large military force to aid the government against the rising rebels. Well, two nights ago our entire based was wiped out by an explosion and only a few men lived. The rebels have taken over the Buda Castle and several other key buildings in the area. We need to take out their leaders in order to scatter them."
"Sounds easy enough," she shrugged.
"Each leader is inside a key building. There is the Buda Castle, The Parliament Building, Saint Stephen's Basilica, and Greshman Palace."
"Only four targets?"
"There is more- we also need to recover several nuclear weapons that have been stored somewhere in the Buda Castle. Each area is heavily armed and the city has rebels all throughout it. It is a very dangerous situation and we need the best we can get."
"I am flattered," she smirked, standing up and stretching. "When do I leave?"
"We will have a flight ready for you and your partner this afternoon."
"Wait, what partner?" She narrowed her eyes.
"You said you don't play well with others- you'd better learn quick. This is to big of a mission for one person."
"I do not want to have to baby sit some idiot like Sanders," she growled.
"You won't have to! This is a season agent and a trusted friend. You will learn to at least pretend to get along and work together."
"Fine," she snapped, not pleased with the situation. "Who is my partner?"
"You'll find out once you arrive. Good luck."
Natasha huffed as she ended the call, grinding her teeth together as she grabbed her bag and headed towards her room. It was bad enough Fury still didn't trust her, but now he was sticking her with some other fool? She had to hand it to the man- he knew how to get under her skin. With a sigh she began packing the essentials, not pleased at all. It was going to be one hell of a mission.
. . . . .
Clint let out a long yawn as he blinked the sleep away, casting a quick glance at his watch. Their flight left in half an hour and he had yet to see anyone else enter the airport. Fury had refused to tell him who he would be working with, but it didn't bug him too much- that was just Fury being Fury. He prefered to work solo, but he could work with a team if need be. That was part of the job.
With a sigh he stood up, stretching and popping his back before shouldering his bag. He glanced at the clock again before heading out to the plane; It wasn't his fault if the fool was late, he wouldn't have Fury crawling down his ass. He climbed the steps to the cabin, nodding towards the captain before pushing the curtain aside and entering the passenger area. It was set up much like a little office, complete with a kitchen, couch, and table.
Clint tossed his bag on the table and kept his back to the approaching person. "You are late."
"I am never late."
He raised an eyebrow, finding the voice to be female and slowly turned around. Natasha Romanoff once again stood in front of him, her arms crossed, lips pursed. Her red hair was pulled back, a gun holstered to each hip. Not much had changed since that night over a year ago, aside from her outift. She still appeared as cold and cunning as ever. "Well well well...Natasha Romanoff."
"Barton," she replied coolly, brushing past him and sitting her bag on the end of the couch. She hadn't seen him since he sparred her life and convinced her there was another way out of the personal hell she had gotten herself in to. Never before had she been lost for words, but none came to her at the moment so she sat down, pulling out a map of the city and spreading it out. "Have you been briefed?"
"Always straight to the point," he mused, sitting across from her. "Yes, I have been briefed."
"Good, so I won't have to try to explain. I've already done some research and I have a game plan."
"And who put you in charge?" He raised an eyebrow.
"I put myself in charge. Is that a problem?" She narrowed her eyes.
"Still sassy as ever," he chuckled slightly, pulling an arrow from the quiver that sat under the table and used it to point towards the Parliament Building. "If your majesty is open to suggestions, I was actually thinking this would be the best place to start."
"I think we should start at Stephan's Basilica. It is smaller."
"Which also means there will be more close quarter combat. Start easy then work out way up. We could hit the PB, then the SB and go from there. The castle and palace are going to be far more risky- there are far bigger and it will be easier to get separated."
"I for one can take care of myself."
"We are supposed to be a team."
"Only because Fury forced us into this, Barton. I know you like to work alone as well."
"Well, that isn't an option this time."
"Whatever," she frowned, crossing her arms. "So let's say we hit the Parliament Building first..what do you have in mind?"
"The most likely place the leader will be is in the meeting room- it will be easiest to set up a headquarters there. Now getting there could be a problem. There are plenty of open spaces for us, but that also means there will be more of a watch set up. I thought we could go in quietly through the back and work our way up, only taking down the necessary targets."
'Maybe he does have a clue,' Natasha thought to herself, thinking his plan over. "That actually sounds like it might work," she forced herself to say, the words tasting bitter. She didn't like following anyone's plan but her own and she sure as hell hated taking orders.
"It should. What do you have in mind for the SB?"
.
.
The next several hours flew by as the plane flew them closer to their destination and they discussed plans and strategies. The were going to touch down a safe distance from Budapest and enter the city by foot as discretely as possible. The last thing they needed was for the Rebels to suspect that something was up before they even got the mission started.
"So how has SHIELD been treating you?" Clint asked as he ran a his fingers over the black feathers on an arrow, trying to break the icy silence that had settled over them.
"Do you always try to make small talk?" She raised an eyebrow but kept her eyes shut as she leaned against the arm of the couch.
"No, not usually... But it is kind of my fault you are even here."
"You did the right thing," she shrugged, not willing to discuss how she felt about him sparring her. "I owe you one."
"I'll keep that in mind," he forced a chuckle.
"It is alright," she finally answered after a span of silence. "Fury doesn't really trust me...but who can blame him?"
"It just takes time. He didn't always trust me," Clint assured her. "I heard about you punching Sanders...he probably needed that. I hope you broke his nose."
"I did," her lips turned up slightly and Clint raised an eyebrow; that was the closet he had ever seen her to smiling.
"Good. I guess when we get to town we can try to find a hotel. Fury said to remain uncover and unknown for the first few days until we get accessed and planned out."
"I actually know of a good one," she opened her eyes with a sigh. "I've stayed there a few times."
"You'll be close to home, huh?"
"I do not have a home," she said coldly and the silence fell over them once more.
Clint gave up on talking, knowing she was done. The woman didn't share a whole lot and was still short and curt. That was fine with him. The only thing that bugged him was that he saw himself in her and for some reason that attracted him to her. He knew it was ridiculous, but he was still a guy, even if he was some kind of super spy. Not to mention she was drop dead gorgeous.
"We have landed," a voice said over the speakers. "Good luck Agents."
Clint sighed as he stood up, grabbing his bag and quiver, stepping out into the cool evening air. He took a deep breath as Natasha joined him and he scanned the horizon before taking his first step towards town. Their mission had begun, but how would it end?
