5 Times Natasha heard Clint sing and 1 Time she didn't.
The first time Natasha heard Clint sing was in the gym in the cellar of the original SHIELD base, the one that got blown to bits by Loki before the whole "aliens invade Manhattan" thing. She had taken to getting up at 3am to train, in order to avoid all the amateur agents. She knew Clint done the opposite, going training around 9am because god forbid Clint Barton might get up before 6 in the morning! The particular morning in question was a Sunday, and a huge storm was attacking the area. Many people had lost electricity, but thankfully SHIELD had managed to use their backup systems to keep everything running. As Natasha approached the gym, she noticed a faint humming noise, not dissimilar to the tune of Avicii. By the time she was standing behind the cross trainer, she knew it was Clint. He was rhythmically punching a bag, singing Hey Brother by Avicii. Natasha to the shadows, not wanting to interrupt. She was shocked at how good he was; she always presumed he was tone deaf or just simply couldn't sing at all. She listened for about a minute, content with just standing there, before coming forward into the light and turning on the cross trainer. Clint stopped suddenly and stared at her.
"I didn't know you were here" he spoke in his normal voice, and Natasha sensed a hint of embarrassment.
"You're very good you know, you should sing more often." She replied. He strolled over so he was standing next to her, undoing his knuckle wraps as he did so. She continued running on the machine, and Clint nodded nonchalantly. "What you doing in here this early?" Natasha changed the subject as it becoming obvious Clint wasn't going to expand upon his talent.
"Yeah, well, I couldn't sleep. Storm was keeping me up."
The second time was not long after the invasion at New York. Clint and Nat were still staying at Tony's tower, which had aptly been renamed to "Avengers" tower since the whole team were now living there. Thor was back in Asgard, dealing with Loki, and Tony, Bruce and Steve had gone out for a 'lad's night out' as Tony called it. Clint still hadn't fully recovered from the ordeal and had decided not to go and of course being a girl, Natasha wasn't invited. She could have gone if she wanted to and she knew this but she decided she would stay in and keep Clint company.
They were huddled on the sofa in the living room on the 6th floor, where the pair's main residency resided. Natasha wasn't entirely sure, but she thought Clint had chosen to watch The X-factor. Of course he would choose the trashiest show on TV to watch on their night together. She was lost in her own thoughts, head in Clint's lap, when he started singing. Some teenage girl was audition on TV with what Natasha recognised as "Drive By" by Train. But she couldn't hear the girl, all she could hear was Clint. She sat up and looked at him, shocked that he was singing voluntarily in front of her. He caught her eye and smirked. He was very good, and he knew it.
Three months on the farm away from civilisation had done both of them good. They had needed a break from the city, and when Clint suggested going to his farm in the middle of nowhere, Natasha had agreed without hesitation. The journey back was long and boring and after the first 7 hours in a non-awkward silence, Natasha leant over to turn on the radio in the expensive open-top sports car Tony had lent them. However, the only station that it would pick up this far outback was some cheesy blues one but she decided it was better than nothing. After a couple of songs she noticed Clint finger tapping in time to the tunes, and when "Down to the River" by Brown Bird started up he was singing at the top of his voice. The sound carried in the wind and Natasha decided she could listen to him sing every second of every day.
For once everybody was actually home at the Avengers Tower. And almost everybody was in the same room; well, really they were all in the open plan top floor, the only separate bit being the bathroom off the side. They were all waiting for Clint to join so they could play a game of poker (Tony had suggested strip poker but both Natasha and Steve refused). The team figured he was down in the gym, and were more than happy to wait for him to finish before starting; they were in no rush. However, this theory was proven wrong when Clint's strong singing voice silenced the conversation.
"He's in the bathroom isn't he?" Tony revelled, his mind rolling with pranks and jokes he could perform.
"Don't even think about it Tony." Steve chastised, knowing exactly what Tony was planning.
"But he's singing and everything Steve." Tony whined, not sounding dissimilar to a child.
"Shut it Stark." Natasha barked, trying to work out what song Clint was singing. Clint was evidently oblivious to the fact that the rest of his team were up on the top floor with him.
"Whoah Oh, Black Betty, Bambalam, Whoah Oh…" Clint's gruff but great voice echoed through the entire floor.
"Oh my god, he can sing some." Tony just couldn't keep quiet. He lept up from his position in front of the coffee table, before skidding towards to bathroom before anyone could stop him, in an attempt to throw the door wide and embarrass Clint the best he could. Fortunately for Clint, Natasha was a trained assassin and had Tony in an uncomfortably dangerous headlock before Tony even had the chance to get halfway there.
"Let him go." The situation reminded Steve too much of Bucky's little brothers arguing over something petty. "You're gonna hurt him Nat."
"If he doesn't promise to not tell Clint we heard him then I'll make sure of that." Natasha bent over so she could see Tony's reddening face.
"Okay, Okay I promise." Tony wheezed. "Let me go before I die."
"What's… er… Nat" Clint's normal voice sounded from behind the pair, and Natasha quickly let go of Tony, who stumbled breathlessly back to his spot by the table.
"Nothing, just playing a little game." Natasha turned to face Clint, who was half wrapped in a towel, beads of water sparkling over his bare chest, before turning back to Tony. "Isn't that right, Stark?" The bad intentions in Natasha tone made Tony squeak a little and nod lightly.
"'TASHA" Clint watched helplessly as the bomb blew Natasha several feet in the air, throwing her defenceless body into a wall before she landed painfully on the rubble-strewn ground. "Oh, God, please no, no, no, Tasha please be okay" Clint mumbled, panic-stricken as he made his way over to her still body. When he reached her, he knelt down, oblivious to the fighting that continued to occur around him. "Natasha is down, I need med here NOW." He called into his earpiece, checking Natasha's pulse as he did so. He breathed a small sigh of relief when he found it, beating weakly under his shaking fingers.
"What's your location?" He heard Steve calling down his comms unit.
"Er, erm… I think I'm about 4 blocks south of the main fight. Oh God, I don't know. Just track my comms unit and get med here. Please." Clint couldn't think straight as he fumbled to stop the blood running freely from several large gashes in Natasha; two on her stomach, and one on her head, the blood matting her beautiful fire-red hair. Clint always thought her red hair matched her personality; strong, fierce, and beautiful. But right now it was sodden with her own blood, the life leaking out of her like a broken tap.
"Tasha. Please, Natasha." Clint begged. He drew her limp head onto his lap, unsure how else to help, his mind mirroring the chaos of the fight around him. Natasha's eyelids fluttered open, and her vivid green eyes locked onto his brilliant blue ones. "Natasha. Oh my god Tasha. I love you so much. Don't leave me." Clint couldn't help but keep talking, afraid if he fell silent, so might she.
"Shh, Clint. Listen to me. I'm fine. I'm always fine. Just. Sing to me." Natasha's voice was all but a whisper and her eyes closes after the exertion of speaking just those few words.
"Clint, we've located you, just don-"Clint cut off Steve as he pulled out his earpiece, throwing it with angry force over his shoulder.
"Okay. Okay." Clint racked his brain for a song he knew meant something to Natasha.
"My house in Budapest, My-" His voice wavered a little, tears welling up and he swallowed hard against the lump in his throat, "my aching treasure chest, my golden grand piano, my beautiful Castillo." His voice soared above the fight surrounding the pair. A small smile played on Natasha pale lips, and Clint mirrored her, even though she couldn't see him. He didn't notice when the rest of the team appeared around them, simply carried on the song. "Oh, For you-oo you-oo, I'd leave it all." He felt Natasha's pulse flutter lightly under his fingers, before disappearing entirely. Steve stepped up to Clint.
"The med team need to take her Clint." He knew there was no chance of saving her, not with those injuries, but he had comply with orders.
"NO. NO DON'T TOUCH HER" Clint flipped out, holding tightly to her limp body, not daring to accept what just happened.
"Clint, let go." Steve knelt down next to Clint, one hand on his shoulder. "The sooner they take her, the better chance they have of saving her. " He didn't believe a word he was saying, but Clint slowly loosened his grip on her, falling weakly against a half-wrecked wall.
Bruce tied his thin, black tie for him as he stood in front of the floor length mirror. Clint didn't recognise the person staring back at him; heavy bags hung under his dull eyes, his skin dragging as if it didn't fit him anymore. Since Natasha had been announced dead a week ago he hadn't eaten a single meal, and barely slept more than 4 hours in total. Today was the day of her funeral- it was to be a small, sombre affair on the edge of the Danube River, Budapest. The team had flown out there last night in preparation for the scattering of Natasha's ashes. It would just be the 5 of them, Fury, Hill and Pepper.
"Clint. Clint. Clint." Bruce had been the most patient of them all, simply repeating Clint's name over and over until he finally heard him.
"Sorry." Clint mumbled, pulling himself out of his thoughts and back into the real world… a world without Natasha.
"It's fine. We need to go."
The river ran endlessly in the sunrise, the melody of colours rising over the horizon. The light caught on the fresh layer of snow that cover the city like a blanket, the powder glittering mesmerizingly. It had been winter too when Clint and Natasha were last here, the sun rising identically to how it was now, the river running with the same water, the snow covering the same buildings, Christmas lights sparkling in the same windows. Of course Natasha would have her funeral on Christmas day. Clint knew what song he wanted to sign; he knew if he tried to talk he would lose it, so he decided to sing instead.
"And this is how I see you." Winter song, by Sarah Mclachlan was their song, the first song they heard here in this very spot. "In the snow on Christmas morning" Silent tears ran down Clint's cheek a fast as the river behind him. "Love and Happiness surround you" He tried not to look at anybody else. He tried to imagine it was just him and his Tasha. "As you throw your arms up to sky, I keep this moment by and by" He remembered all the time's he had made Natasha laugh, her gem-green eyes crinkling like they did in the corners. "Oh, I miss you now, my love." He opened the jar he had been cradling carefully in his arms since the moment Bruce had given him it that morning. "Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas." The ashes caught in the winter wind as Clint shook it into the air. "Merry Christmas, my love" They swirled elegantly in the air, before blowing gently down-stream into the rising sun. "Bye Tasha"