Lost in the seas of forgotten memories
Chapter 2 – Ready to go home
"Are you sure she's ready to leave doc?" Clint asked hesitantly. The doctor sighed.
"There's nothing more we can do for her here Barton. She will be completely physically sound in a week and you know Agents who are held back for long periods of time get a little…." He paused as they both heard something crash into the wall in the room next to them, followed by an angry growl of frustration. They both winced.
"I see your point Doc, but what if she's not ready to meet our team?" He asked worriedly.
"She needs to go back to her normal environment Barton – even if she doesn't remember what normal is anymore." The doctor said with a sigh.
"What happens if she doesn't get her memories back?" Clint said as he stared down at his mission report – he really didn't want to submit this.
"She can likely still continue to be an agent at SHIELD because she still remembers at least 7 years of working here. The question is when we will send her on a mission again. Right now she's a liability because she is missing key information. They're going to make it your job to bring her up to speed." He said handing him a chart.
"She's on 60 day probation."
"Oh she's not going to like that." Clint said warily.
"It's procedure - she's not supposed to."
"Oh, I didn't mean the ban on missions part."
10 minutes later.
"PROBATION?" She shouted. He winced – the Natasha from 3 years ago had a really short temper. He forgot.
"SHIELD honestly has no tact! I go on a mission, come back with my memory messed up and they thank me with the words of probation?" She asked in disbelief. He shrugged.
"It's just protocol." He said placidly.
"It's insulting."
"It's also important." He stressed. She looked up at him warily.
"So I have 60 days to catch up on everything I missed and prove that I'm not a liability, right?" She asked cautiously.
"Basically."
"Liar. That doesn't need 60 days. There's something you're not telling me. I can't feel it." She said suspiciously. He sighed.
"There are a few major things that have changed since Budapest." He said apprehensively. She placed her head in her hand and raised an eyebrow at him.
"Such as?"
"The world was attacked by aliens from another galaxy back in 2012." He said. She continued to look at him steadily.
"So? I've read reports of that happening before – it's not actually as unusual as we'd like to think." She said uninterestedly.
"O…kay? We've been relocated to New York semi-permanently." He tired another angle. She shrugged.
"Doesn't matter where we are – depends on what we're doing there." She said simply.
"We live there." He said point blank. That got her attention.
"Why would we live there? I thought we stayed on the helicarrier during off time?" She asked, finally starting to feel like they were getting somewhere. He watched her uneasily.
"Like I said, things are a little different now." He said slowly. She stared at him blankly.
"Who are the people who tried to visit me last week?" She asked. He shifted hesitantly – bingo.
"They're the Avengers team."
"They're the superhero melting pot program Fury was talking about right?" She asked curiously. He nodded slowly.
"Do you know who Tony Stark is?" He asked suddenly.
"The billionaire playboy?" She asked dryly.
"He prefers Genius Billionaire Playboy Philanthropist." He replied just as dryly.
"He sounds like a ripe jackass."
"Yup. That's exactly what you thought 3 years ago." He said with a snort.
"What's your point Barton?" She asked while she continued to ignore his wince – what is up with that?
"He's Iron Man." He said blankly. She froze.
"WHAT?" She asked in shock. He nodded.
"Yeah we were all shocked when we found out. The only superhero in the world to give away his secret identity – let alone during a press conference. Everyone knows." He explained. She still continued to stare at him when the connection finally clicked.
"No." She said in horror. He nodded gravely.
"He would never pass the requirements set for the program! His personality itself would be reason enough!" She insisted. He nodded again.
"Saving the world several times changes priorities." He said with a shrug. She took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of her nose.
"Okay. Okay. I can deal with Stark being Iron Man. If he saved the world like you said I can even deal with him being a part the team I was going to be assigned to recruit. But what I don't understand – is why they were there to see me after my accident?" She asked slowly. He gulped.
"We were doing the mission with them Natasha." He said quietly. Her face went blank.
"What are you talking about? We never do missions with other teams – let alone superheroes. We're spies Barton – not national icons." She said puzzled. He took a deep breath and dived right in.
"We are part of the Avengers Natasha." There. He said it. Now why does he feel like that was the biggest mistake he made all day?
She stopped moving altogether.
"Natasha…?" He asked warily.
"You're joking."
"No…I'm not." He said slowly.
"I would never join a team – let alone a crazy one like that."
"Fighting alongside each other in life threatening situations with the fate of the world resting on your shoulders is a fantastic bonding experience." He said dryly. She gave him an unimpressed look.
"Are you serious?" She asked incredulously. He nodded. She groaned and fell back onto the bed that had been driving her crazy over the past few days.
"Next thing you're going to tell me I'm best friends with one of them." She said in disbelief. He deliberately wasn't looking at her. Her mouth fell open.
"You're kidding me." She said in shock. He shook his head.
"Am I married to?" She asked.
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves here." He said hastily. We were not ready for that piece of information.
"It's just everything that I never thought would happen to me seem like it happened in the last 3 years of my life." She said with a sigh.
"You'll get through this Natasha – I'll be there every step of the way." he said reassuringly. She glanced at him funnily.
"What?" He said noticing her weird look.
"Why are you being so nice to me?" She asked tentatively. Now it has his turn to look shocked.
"Why wouldn't I be nice to you – I'm you partner." He said baffled.
"You're much…warmer." She said as she looked at him carefully.
"Is that a bad thing?"
"I don't know yet. We're not dead, so it must mean whatever change you went through didn't affect our missions." She reasoned. He snorted.
"Trust me; it was worse going into missions already carrying backbreaking stress. It's better when I'm laid back and not tensed." He said with a chuckle. She watched him warily.
"Why were you always stressed?" She asked curiously. He winced.
"I think that's enough questions – don't you? If we don't leave now we might miss our ride." He said getting up and grabbing their bags. She got up slowly and followed him out the door.
"Why are you so jumpy around me Barton?" She asked as they walked towards the hanger. He laughed nervously.
"What do you mean?"
"You're acting like you did back when we first met – like we're strangers." She said with a hint of sadness. He stopped walking.
"We're not strangers Natasha – we are just at two very different points in our lives right now. The Clint you knew has changed and right now I don't really know how to act around you without freaking you out. I don't want to force anything on you Natasha – so please, just bear with me for a little bit." He pleaded. She was still confused but she saw how desperate he was to drop the topic. She sighed and nodded.
"Why do you wince when I call you Barton?" she asked after a few moments of silence. He faltered slightly while walking – if she wasn't so in tune with him she might have missed it completely. It was comforting to know not everything had changed.
"We got passed the last names a few months after Budapest." He replied steadily. She looked away.
"I'm sorry I'm only comfortable calling you Barton right now." She said quietly. He nodded.
"Don't worry, I understand." He said as they walked into the hanger.
Several of the agents waved at them as they walked by. Clint nodded to them and Natasha walked by them nervously - she doesn't know any of her current relationships with any of the other agents. Her relationship with Barton is already so strained - everyone else was so much more daunting.
Someone suddenly grabbed her on the shoulder. "Hey Natasha-" He began, but she was so startled she reacted on instinct and threw the unsuspecting agent over her shoulder and onto his back. She had a knife shoved against his throat in seconds.
Everyone froze as they watched Natasha hover over the poor frightened man.
"Natasha! It's me Nathan!" He said anxiously. Natasha paused and tried to remember where she knew him from.
"The junior prodigy pilot?" She said in confusion. Clint slowly moved forward and took the knife out of her hand.
Nathan nodded vigorously. "Um…yeah! But I'm a full agent now. I've been flying you and the other Avengers to all your missions for the past 2 years?" He said hesitantly. She looked up at Clint for confirmation.
"He's telling the truth." He said reassuringly. She suddenly looked very sheepish and got off the poor boy before helping him to his feet.
"Gosh Nat. The last time you were that startled was at yours and Clint's an-" He noticed Clint making wild cut it out gestures behind Natasha. He looked confused until Clint mouthed 'amnesia!' His eyes widened and he looked back at the spy in question. She was looking at him expectantly. He opened and closed his mouth for a few moments before saying the first thing off the top of his head. "An…tarctica mission! You were very hypothermic and easily startled!" He said hastily. Clint silently sighed in relief behind her. She watched the young pilot warily before rolling her eyes.
"Well don't grab me from behind the next time you want to get my attention – I might not hesitant to decapitate you the second time." She said warningly before walking onto the jet. Clint and Nathan stood side by side and watched her fearfully.
"She's just as scary as she was when I first met her." Nathan said in horror. Clint nodded.
"You can say that again." He said as they slowly followed after her. Nathan went into the cockpit to start up the jet while Clint and Natasha put their bags away. He watched Natasha silently for a few moments until she suddenly turned to him.
"Why are you standing so close to me?" She asked looking up at him. He coughed into his hand awkwardly.
"Sorry." he said while taking a step back to give her a 3 feet circle of personal space. Were they really this distant 3 years ago?
"You acting funny again Barton." She said warily.
"I'm a funny guy."
"It's dangerous." She said firmly. He sighed.
"You said the words back to me, you know." He said getting straight to the point. She tensed.
"Life or death situation – doesn't count. Besides I didn't actually say it." She said elusively.
"You implied."
"You read my nonexistent implications wrong then."
"So you're saying you lied?" He asked.
"No. I'm saying you better drop this topic before I push you out of this plane." She said dangerously. He put his hands up in surrender.
"Whatever you say Partner." He said with a shrugged. Everything would happen in time.
"Ready for takeoff guys?" Nathan's voice came over the speaker. Clint and Natasha quickly buckled in.
"Where do we live in New York anyway?" She asked curiously. He paled – he forgot about that tiny detail.
"Um…don't freak out…but we kind of live as a team in Avengers Tower…formerly known as Stark Tower." He said cautiously.
Her face went blank for a moment. He cringed while he waited for the inevitable explosion.
"WE LIVE WITH THE NARCISSISTIC BASTARD?" She shrieked.
Ah. There went the hearing in his left ear.
Memories Memories Memories Memories Memories Memories Memories Memories
haha! What do you guys think? Poor Natasha hasn't even met the team yet! How many heart attacks do you think they can give her in a day? (but don't worry - Natasha is strong she'll figure out how to deal with them - she did it once before she can do it again :D)
btw yes, it does suck to be Clint right now - but you will swoon because he is trying so hard to be what Natasha needs right now and leave his feelings on the back burner to deal with later. Epic forgotten husband much?