A/N: I don't normally write angst but my emotional upheaval the last few days made me come up with this particular idea. Now I may currently love Steve/Natasha, but I feel that Clint's character is more suitable for this.
Note that this is not related to my previous stories.
Disclaimer: do not belong to me.
Love, Save The Empty
He felt the coolness of the sheet even before his half-asleep brain fully registered his surrounding. A soft exhale escaped his lips as he opened his eyes, slowly taking everything in. The room was bathed in early morning light. Silence filled the air around it.
His head turned toward the vacant space on the bed and for a moment, he thought that perhaps it had all been a dream. But there was still a faint trace of her smell that lingered, enveloping him with memories of last night.
It took only one step, they had let their guards down. To be vulnerable, compromised. To let go completely. She said love was for children whereas he didn't believe in one. People like them weren't born to love, or be loved. Yet here he was, coming to realize that he had fallen deeply for her.
What love was supposed to feel, he had no clue. All he knew was the way his chest painfully tightened this very moment, as images of her beautiful face again flashed before his eyes, might be as close to love as he'd ever known.
Slowly he sat up, glancing at his bedside table to check the time. That was when he noticed it. A small note left in her handwriting.
Classified undercover mission. See you in a year.
He held the message in his hand, the words replaying over and over in his head as his eyes stared off into the distance. His brooding face by turns a mixture of confusion, anger, hurt, and finally, understanding.
As time came and flew, so were the days in his hollow life. He went on missions and returned, brought back cuts and bruises as well as a few bullet wounds every now and then. In spite of everything, he pulled through. Physical injuries he could handle, they healed in time. If only he could say the same about his heart.
Next thing he knew a year had passed. Still, there was no news of her. He tried not to read too much into it. But a week went by, and then two. Then again this was a deep undercover mission, he told himself not to worry.
On the eighteenth day, he walked into SHIELD headquarter and came face to face with Maria Hill. She handed him a mission report- hers. He skimmed through the file until his eyes landed on the words that were printed in bold red:
Romanoff, Natasha
Status: MISSING IN ACTION
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