Title: A Couple of Master Assassins
Rating: Gee, let me think for a second…
Summary: Glimpses of Hawkeye and Black Widow's relationship, as well as the moments that led them to each other.
Disclaimer: Marvel and Joss Whedon needn't fear – I don't own anything. Although, if Jeremy Renner was offering, I don't think I'd say no…
Author's Note: The sections in italics are in the past; a flashback, if you will.
Natasha awoke screaming.
She sat bolt upright, her body drenched in sweat, tremors making her body vibrate. Her eyes stared wildly into nothing, the images from her dream still imprinted firmly in her mind's eye.
An arm snaked up and around her shoulders, pulling her against a firm chest. A soothing voice murmured to her as the person pressed his lips to her ear.
"Nat; sshhh, Nat, it's okay."
While his attempts to soothe her were appreciated, Natasha needed more confirmation. She turned, her hands coming up to cup his face fiercely, gripping it and yanking it so that it was a mere breath in front of hers. Their noses brushed. Natasha babbled the entire time.
"Eyes… your eyes, Clint…"
He brought his hands up to cup her face, mirroring her actions, his hands rough but exceedingly gentle.
"I'm here, Nat. It's me."
Dark brown eyes stared into green-gray ones. Clint's eyes were the color of a sea in a storm or on a foggy day. Natasha searched desperately, but there was no hint of blue in those warm, strong depths.
Natasha completely broke down at that, sobbing into his shoulder as he held her. She didn't have to tell him what her dream was about; he could guess well enough.
Some people thought that time took away the nightmares. Those people were either idiots or liars. The nightmares never left. Some nights, she was burning in the inferno that was once a Russian hospital; other nights, she was staring into the face of a poor, dead girl, the daughter of a politician. Lately, it had been the cold, soulless eyes of Clint Barton, while Loki's sly laugh rang in her ears.
She didn't know what "intimate" ways Loki would have forced Clint to kill her, but she could guess. Judging by the screams and moans of imagined remorse and grief that Clint gave out when his nightmares hit, rape was definitely involved.
Demigod or not, if she ever ran across that bastard again she was going to…
"C'mere, Nat." Clint whispered. She let herself go limp, allowing him to maneuver her body so that she was sitting in his lap, her back pressed against his chest, her legs stretched out in front of her. He wrapped one arm around her chest, while the other snaked beneath her panties.
Sex was always the best method for a) clearing her mind and b) relaxing her.
Clint pressed his mouth to her ear again as her head tipped back to rest on his shoulder. His fingers began to work in her, finding her sweet spot almost immediately.
"Nat…" He breathed into her ear, the nickname more intimate than any pet name.
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
It was a simple job – set up the explosives, get the hell out of the way, and blow 'em sky-high. Then flee the country.
Oh, and report to Fury at some point. Preferably before Coulson was dispatched to find them in some dive bar, toasting their victory with cheap beer (for him) and vodka (cliché, but whatever).
But, like all plans, this one didn't pan out the way it had on paper.
No one could be blamed for what happened; it was a miscalculation by the explosives company, or a mistake made by Black Widow when she set it up. Maybe the wires were too hot, or the elements unstable. It didn't matter. What did matter was that it went off ten seconds too soon.
Ten seconds before she got behind the blast wall.
Hawkeye heard the blast, and felt a sickening thud against the wall. Instinct forced the name out, one that she'd only recently allowed him to use.
"Natasha!"
He sprinted around the safety barrier and skidded to a halt in front of her limp body. Her eyes were closed and her back was a mess of charred flesh. Her clothes and hair were stained with blood, and a few bits of metal were embedded in the backs of her legs, her ass, and her shoulders.
With a desperation that belied his years of training, he picked her up, cradling her head in the crook of his arm.
"Natasha…" He said hoarsely. There was no time – he had to get them out of there before the authorities arrived. "Wake up, please… Romanoff… Natasha…"
She didn't stir.
"Please…" He was pleading now. "Come back to me, Nat."
He lifted her up so that he could press his lips against her ear.
"Come back to me." He whispered. "Nat… come back, Nat…"
It was little more than a hoarse whisper, but her voice when she spoke was sweeter than any piece of music.
"I could live with that nickname."
Slowly, her eyes cracked open.
That was when he knew.
He loved Natasha Romanoff.
His Nat.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
"Let go, Nat." He whispered in her ear.
She was panting; her eyes open but unseeing, flashes of white heat dancing through her body. If he kept talking to her, his voice scratchy and heavy with arousal, she would be undone.
That appeared to be his goal.
"Let go, Nat; you're with me. I've got you. Just let go."
With a soundless cry that sent her body arching away from him, his arms the only thing keeping her from collapsing, she rode the waves of shocking heat. White, hot, rushing through her veins, overcoming her body, her every sense consumed.
She fell against his body, molding against him. Their skin slid and stuck together, fitting like the two puzzle pieces that finally match after hours of searching.
"I love you." He breathed, hot against her skin.
"Love… you…" She panted, still out of breath.
There was a time when any mention of the word would have made her flee – the city, the continent – him. There was a time when she would never have said it back, no matter how she felt. She wouldn't have even have allowed herself to think about such feelings.
But now she did.
And thus ends the first, quick little installment in this series! Each chapter will be a "slice of life", a peek into their relationship now that they're together, as well as the things that led them to this point. Some will be funny, some will have angst, and most will be undeniably sexy!