Authors note :Okay, my inbox has never received so many alerts from you guys! I believe i promised you guys another chapter for good reviews. Also, thanks to my friend Sebastian for the helicopter idea.
The helicopter shook violently as lightning light up the sky ahead of him. Clint tightly clasped Natasha's limp hand. Whoever hit her hit her hard. He didn't know how long she had been blacked out before he had gone to find her. A simple 'Find and retrieve' mission had gone so wrong.
He gently stroked her cheek; she still showed no sign of waking up. He felt weird; something had gone wrong in his stomach. Hawkeye had never felt more worried in his life. He was glad the back of the copter was only big enough for him and Natasha. Surely the pilots couldn't hear him.
"Nat… Natasha. This is all wrong. I should have been there for you. I could have stopped this." A tear fell from his face as he looked at his unconscious partner. Clint knew that's what they were, partners. He wanted more though. He would never admit it. To her, to himself, to anyone, but he was in love with Natasha Romanov. The kill he had been sent to kill had turned into something so much more than another target.
He felt a loose grip tighten around his fingers and Natasha's eyes opened. "Wher- ow my head." She complained he speech slow and he gaze dazed.
"Oh god, you're all right." Clint sighed quickly whipping the tears from his face.
"Of course I am. Are you?" His partner asked, always so much more concerned about others.
"I am now." He said his voice croaking as he struggled to hold back tears.
The helicopter shook again, "Clint what's wrong?" Tasha asked again.
He couldn't stop the tears anymore; he squeezed her hand and shook his head. "I'm okay now. I swear." He gazed softly down on her face and wiped his face. He had to be strong for her. She was confused but she probably had lost a lot of blood as well. They doctors said she would be okay and he could tell that now. He leaned down and gently brushed his lips to hers, "Go back to bed." He whispered softly and she closed her eyes. Then another big round of thunder struck.
Clint sat straight up in bed, the thunder in his dreams bringing him crashing back to reality. Sunlight was barely peeking through the window; he rubbed his eyes and glanced at his bedside clock. 6:23 in the morning. He figured that gave him five maybe six hours of sleep. He crawled out of bed and took a shower and then laid back down on his bed. He didn't want to face the group, well, Natasha. He was pretty sure she didn't even remember the kiss. She had lost a lot of blood and was barely awake. Even if she had remember she hadn't said anything about it. It had been almost nine months since they had worked plenty of missions together since then. Nothing had changed; Natasha still seemed focus on the case at hand and only the case.
Clint sighed and got out of bed. Again. He exited the room and went down to the kitchen where Pepper was sitting alone at the counter reading the paper.
"Hey." He grunted his voice still filled with sleep.
"Good morning." Pepper smiled, looking up from her paper.
Clint rummaged through the cabinets looking for something small to eat. He found a box of 8granola bars and pulled one out. He ripped open the plastic and turned around, seeing Peppers eyes returning quickly to her paper. "What?" He asked leaning against the counter, taking a bite of the breakfast bar.
Pepper shook her head, "Nothing." She answered behind the paper. That's one thing Clint liked about Pepper Pots, her boyfriend may be a complete jerk but at least she had the respect to stay out of his business.
The assassin finished quickly and went back up to his room before anyone else saw him. Barton didn't know exactly what he was avoiding but he didn't want to face it yet. He wandered aimlessly around the tower for a long time in till he made his way onto the roof. The cool October air helped clear his mind. Hawkeye sat down dangling his feet off the edge of the skyscraper were he stayed perched for hours. Watching the city move beneath him and thinking about that night that everything had gone so wrong.
The sun had begun to set when Clint heard another person open the door to the roof; he turned quickly and was relieved that it was Steve and not Natasha or Tony. Steve joined him on the ledge but said nothing for a long while.
"You can't avoid her forever." The Captain stated.
Clint looked at his feet, "I know." He paused, "What happened, I mean after I left, what did she do?"
"Her face went blank and she left almost right after you did. I saw her later knocking on your door. You have to face her sooner or later." Steve said standing up. Cap toughed his shoulder gently and left. Clint put his head in his hands and sighed before getting up and heading back down to his room.