AN: Sorry this took so long. School started so I've literally had no time to write. I've been trying to update quickly, but now that I have homework and such I'm not sure how often I'll be able to do so. Please bear with me, though! Thanks to everyone who has reviewed this, BTW. You guys are awesome and super nice!
Accidentally On Purpose-Chapter 3-We Meet Again
5 months later…
Natalia took a sip of her drink and smiled flirtatiously at her target when he glanced at her from across the room. He smiled back before returning his attention to the conversation he was currently engaged in, but he continued to peek at her out of the corner of his eye. She quickly polished off her drink and smoothed out her dress, preparing to make her move as soon as he approached her.
This man was the leader of a major drug ring in Russia, and Natalia had been hired by a rival group to dispose of him. They were offering her a great deal of money for this job, so she couldn't screw it up. There could be no complications.
"Miss." A waiter came up to her and took her empty glass before handing her another drink. A vodka martini.
"I didn't ask for this." She said, feeling a strange sense of déjà vu.
"A man asked me to bring it to you. Free of charge." The waiter explained.
"Which man?" Natalia wondered, glancing around the room.
"He was over there." He gestured to the far right side of the room before turning on his heel and disappearing into the crowd.
She scanned the area of the ballroom the waiter had pointed to in search of any familiar faces when she suddenly felt someone's arm wrap around her waist from behind.
"Miss me?" He whispered in her ear.
Natalia spun around in surprise and found his face inches from hers.
"You." She breathed.
"Me." Clint smirked at her reaction.
"What the hell are you doing here?"
"I'm working." He said bluntly.
"Here to kill me again?" She asked.
"What? You think the world revolves around you?" He shook his head.
"Well, if you're not here for me, then why are you here?"
"Want to dance?" Clint suddenly asked.
"What? No!" Natalia said as he grabbed her hand.
"Let's dance." He insisted, dragging her onto the dance floor and wrapping his arm around her waist.
"What do you think you're doing?" She asked through clenched teeth as she glanced at her target, who was now paying her no attention at all.
"You want to know why I'm here?" He said as they swayed to the music. "Look over my left shoulder."
She did as he said.
"There's a group of men."
"Black suit, red tie." Clint gave her a description of one of the men's attire. "His name is Dimitri Elkin. He's in charge of a massive heroine operation that's been causing some problems for my organization. They sent me to take him out."
Natalia stared at the man that he had just described and laughed.
"I think you're mistaken." She informed him. "That man is my target. An up-and-coming group of dealers hired me to kill him so they wouldn't have any competition."
"Are you telling me that we were both sent after the same guy?" He asked.
"No, I'm telling you to stay out of my way." She warned.
Suddenly, Clint yanked her forward so that their bodies were pressed together and he leaned in so that his lips were right next to her ear.
"Listen, sweetheart, I don't really feel like arguing with you, so let me tell you how this is going to go. I'm going to do what I came here to do so I don't lose my job, and if you end up in getting in the middle of things, I swear to God, I will not hesitate to kill you." He whispered
"Or, you could just back off and let me do my thing." Natalia said calmly, shoving him away from her.
"I could…but I don't think I'm going to." Clint smirked, earning a cold glare from the petite Russian assassin.
"If I allow you to my job for me, and my employers find out, then I won't get paid." She said, annoyance evident in her tone.
"Uh, I don't care." He shrugged.
"You're an asshole." Natalia growled.
"C'mon, I can't be that bad."
She opened her mouth to respond but froze when she noticed Elkin exiting the room.
"Shit!" She quietly exclaimed before leaving Clint behind and racing after him. She ran out the side door of the ballroom and found herself in an extensive hallway. Glancing back and forth, she finally laid eyes on the man she had been sent to kill and casually began trailing him.
About five minutes into her pursuit, Natalia suddenly heard someone following her.
"Are you serious?" She said through clenched teeth as Clint caught up to her and began walking alongside her.
"You didn't think I was just going to give up because you got a head start, did you?" He said with a cocky smile.
"I should end you right now." She seethed.
"I'd like to see you try, princess."
Suddenly, Elkin turned down an adjoining hallway up ahead.
"Ugh! You know what? I don't have time for this. I have a drug lord to kill." Natalia said in frustration as they neared the turn.
"Are you going to kill him before or after he helps you unzip your dress?" Clint wondered as he followed her around the corner, slamming right into her when she suddenly stopped in her tracks. She was knocked forward from the impact and fell into the arms of their target.
"Well, if I'm very lucky, she'll do it after." He laughed, holding Natalia around the waist.
Clint reached out and grabbed her arm, yanking her out of the man's grasp.
"Sorry buddy, she's with me." He informed him with sudden protectiveness.
"Oh, well in that case…" The drug lord snapped his fingers.
Natalia spun around just in time to see a large man grab Clint and press a white cloth to his face before another man did the same to her. She gasped in surprise and struggled against his grip, growing weaker and weaker as the chloroform began to take effect until she finally succumbed to unconsciousness.
When Clint opened his eyes he was in complete darkness. There were sturdy ropes binding his arms and legs together and a strip of duct tape covering his mouth. He began pulling against his restraints when he suddenly heard another voice.
"Don't bother trying to escape." She said. "The ropes are too tight, and we wouldn't be able to get out until we stop."
Clint tried to respond to her but his words were blocked by the tape in front of his mouth.
"Oh, right." Natalia muttered, reaching out and ripping off his duct tape.
"Ow!" He exclaimed.
She scoffed.
"Grow a pair."
"Wait, how did you do that? Aren't your hands tied too?" He asked in confusion.
"Yeah, but the morons tied them in the front instead of the back. They must be under the misconception that you're more dangerous than me."
"Really? You honestly thing you're more dangerous than me?" Clint laughed. "That's hilarious."
"Seriously? That's what you're focused on right now? Barton, we're in the trunk of a fucking car!" Natalia yelled at him.
"Oh. Is that where we are?" He said, just now realizing that they were indeed moving.
"Yes, now shut up while I come up with a plan." She ordered.
"Hate to break it to you sweetheart, but you're not the boss of me."
"How old are you, twelve?"
"No, but I sure as hell ain't dumb enough to trust a plan that you came up with." He snorted.
"For the love of God, shut up!" She exclaimed.
"Make me." He said childishly.
"Gladly." Natalia reached out and placed the duct tape back over his mouth.
"Mmmmmmm!"
"What's that?" She chuckled. "Sorry, I couldn't hear you through that tape over your mouth."
Just then, the car came to a screeching halt.
"Shit!" She muttered, rushing to think of how they could get out of this alive. "Okay, Barton, listen to me. When they open the trunk, pretend you're still unconscious."
"Mmm?" Clint made a questioning sound.
"Just do it!" Natalia ordered before placing a strip of duct tape over her own mouth and allowing her body to go limp.
Hesitantly, he followed suit, closing his eyes and relaxing all his muscles. He didn't trust her, and he sure as hell didn't trust whatever plan she'd come up with, but it was too late for him to think of anything else.
Soon after the car had stopped, they heard the sounds of doors slamming and footsteps nearing the rear of the car.
"Hey, boss? What do you want to do with the two in the trunk?" A man asked in Russian.
"Bring them inside. I have a few questions I'd like to ask them." Elkin replied.
A few moments later, the trunk opened and two men lifted them out of the car.
Neither of them dared to move as they were carried towards a large warehouse-like building. Only when they were tossed onto the cold, concrete floor did Clint open his eyes.
"Wake them." Elkin suddenly ordered.
The sound of heavy footsteps moving towards them caused him to glance at Natalia nervously. They locked eyes for just a moment before she was yanked off the floor and out of Clint's line of sight. He heard the sound of the duct tape being ripped from her mouth followed by a loud smack.
"Well, well, well. Look who we have here." Elkin chuckled. "If it isn't the Black Widow herself."
"Is this really how you treat a girl on the first date?" Natalia asked with convincing innocence. "Because, so far, I'm not impressed."
"Well luckily I'm not aiming to impress you." He sneered.
"Too bad." She sighed. "We could have done this the fun way."
The sudden sound of Elkin's hand striking Natalia's face echoed through the warehouse.
"Stop talking and tell me why you're here." He ordered.
"Can't a girl go to a party simply because she wants to have a good time?"
"Yes, any normal girl can go to a party for that reason; however you are not a normal girl." Elkin explained. "You're an assassin for hire, a treacherous snake."
"Well, you definitely do your homework." Natalia muttered.
"I'm going to ask you again: Why are you here?" He growled.
"I already told you." She said in irritation.
"Fine. If you won't tell us anything then maybe your boyfriend will." Elkin snapped his fingers. "Bring him."
Suddenly, someone grabbed Clint's arms and dragged him over to where they were holding Natalia. They dropped him on the floor and kicked him hard in the gut before yanking him to his feet and standing him up next to Natalia.
"So, tell us lover boy," Elkin said as he ripped the tape off of his mouth. "What's our dear little Natalia up to?"
"Not sure," Clint said with a pained smirk. "I don't really keep track of her hobbies."
"Ah, you're a funny one, aren't you?" Elkin observed before punching him square in the nose. "Sadly I've never been one for humor."
"Really? But you seem like such a funny guy…" Clint laughed, ignoring the pain that was emanating from his nose.
"Clearly you're not going to be of any use." Elkin decided as he glanced at his men. "Kill him."
"Oh Dimitri, you're a complete idiot." Natalia suddenly spoke up.
"Quiet. I'll be with you in a moment." He said without even looking at her.
"No, really, you're a moron." She said again, this time with a small laugh.
Elkin gritted his teeth in anger.
"And why is it that you think this?"
"Because my hands and feet have been untied for the past five minutes and you didn't even notice." Natalia told him before kneeing the man nearest to her in the groin and shoving him into the man that was holding her in her place.
As soon as she was free, she knocked Elkin to the ground and kicked the legs out from under the man that was holding Clint. Natalia suddenly pulled out a knife and quickly began to saw away at the ropes that were restraining him.
"Jesus you're good!" He exclaimed as he tossed the rope aside.
"I know." She replied bluntly. "Now shut it, we've got work to do."
Before Clint could respond, two of the men Natalia had knocked over grabbed him and began trying to wrestle him to the ground. In retaliation, he forcefully elbowed one of them in the face and punched the other on the head, causing them both to go reeling backwards until they fell over with a heavy thud.
Smirking, he spun around in search of his partner-in-crime and found her throwing punches at Elkin. Clint watched in admiration as Natalia easily beat the crap out of the drug lord before smoothly sweeping his legs out from under him.
"Really?" She said in disappointment as she stood over him with her knife in hand. "That's it?"
"Have mercy." Elkin pleaded.
"Sorry." Natalia said with false sincerity. "I don't roll that way."
"Good. Because neither do I." He replied, grunting as he lifted his leg and kicked her forcefully in the stomach.
She fell onto her back and hit her head hard on the concrete floor, causing her knife to fly out of her hand and go sliding towards Clint.
As Elkin got up and began making his way towards and unconscious Natalia, Clint instinctively ran forward and grabbed her knife. He then rushed at Elkin, shoving him away from her in the nick of and plunging the knife deep into his stomach.
"You sure have a way with women." Clint muttered before allowing Elkin to fall to the ground and bleed to death. He then knelt down next to Natalia and took her face in his hands, shaking her gently. "C'mon, sweetheart, wake up."
When she finally opened her eyes, Clint couldn't help but feel a wave of relief pass over him.
"Have a nice nap?" He asked teasingly.
"Shut up." Natalia groaned as she began to sit up. She glanced around the room until her gaze landed upon Elkin's body, which still had her knife sticking out of it. "You killed him."
"Oh, yeah. Sorry, but I did it to save your life." He explained as he helped her to her feet. "You're welcome."
"Whatever." She sighed. "Let's just go. I'm exhausted."
"Really? You're not pissed that I did your job for you?" Clint asked in shock.
"I'm too tired to care." Natalia shook her head. "Let's just leave."
"Whatever you say princess." He smirked as he wrapped an arm around her waist to keep her steady as they walked towards the exit of the warehouse.
"Get off, I can walk." She insisted, shoving him away from her. "And stop calling me princess, and sweetheart, and whatever other stupid nicknames you've come up with."
He threw his hands up innocently and watched as she attempted to walk on her own, smirking when he had to catch her because she nearly fell over again.
"You alright? You hit your head pretty hard." Clint reminded her.
"I'm fine." She insisted.
"No you're not." He said definitively before scooping her legs out from under her and carrying her towards the exit.
"What the fuck! Put me down!" Natalia exclaimed, trying to wriggle out of his arms.
"Relax, will ya? I'm doing you a favor." He rolled his eyes. "You should learn to be more appreciative."
"I'd rather you kill me." She muttered.
Clint tensed at that last remark. He had completely forgotten that S.H.I.E.L.D. still wanted her dead, and that they wanted him to kill her. If he was being completely honest with himself, he had actually started to like her…
"Barton?" Natalia whispered, noticing the sudden change in his mood. "What's wrong?"
Without responding, he carried her out of the warehouse and towards one of the cars that was parked just outside. He set her down on her feet next to a black SUV and opened the passenger door.
"Get in." He ordered.
She hesitated momentarily before obediently climbing in and closing the door.
"Do you have the keys?" She asked him when he got into the driver's seat next to her.
"No." He replied.
"Do you know how to hotwire a car?"
"No, I'm a fucking agent of the US government and I don't know how to hotwire a fucking car." Clit said sarcastically.
"Okay, sorry." She mumbled in irritation as he leaned over and began hotwiring the car.
Once the car had started, Clint put the wires back in their place and pulled away from the warehouse.
"Where are we going?" Natalia asked softly.
"Back to the hotel." He replied.
"Are you staying there?"
"Yeah. You?"
"Yes." She mumbled.
"Okay, what's wrong?" He asked.
"Nothing." She whispered.
"Are you mad that I killed Elkin and now you think you won't get paid? Because I honestly doubt whoever hired you will find out."
"No." Natalia said with a hint of surprise. "No, I'm not mad about that."
"Then what is it?"
"It's you." She admitted. "You're pissed at me."
"Really? That's why you're upset?" He laughed. "Natalia, I'm not pissed at you."
"Yes you are." She said knowingly.
"Am not." Clint told her again. "You haven't done anything wrong."
"Then why are you acting like someone just cut off your testicles?"
"I'm not!" He exclaimed.
"Whatever." Natalia sighed, unconvinced.
They fell into an uncomfortable silence until they reached the hotel where Clint parked their newly obtained SUV and climbed out of the car. He walked around to the passenger side to help Natalia, but he found that she had already let herself out and was standing steadily on her own.
"I'm fine." She assured him as he stared at her wearily.
"Kay." He shrugged, still giving her concerned glances as they made their way to the entrance of the hotel and entered the lobby. From there they went straight to the elevators and waited for one to arrive before stepping inside and pressing the buttons for their floors.
"Which floor are you on?" Clint asked as he pressed the 8 button.
"I'm on the eighth floor." Natalia replied.
"Me too." He told her once the elevator started moving.
"What a coincidence."
"Mhm."
A few minutes later, the doors opened and both assassins stepped out and began walking towards their rooms. They reached Clint's room first.
"Well, I guess this is it." She sighed tiredly as he unlocked the door. "Bye."
"Wait." He reached out and grabbed her arm. "Do you want to come in for a while, maybe have a drink?"
"What kind of drink?"
"Vodka."
"Sure." Natalia smiled and followed him inside. She plopped down on the edge of his bed and watched him pour some expensive looking vodka into two plastic cups. "Your employers allow you to drink on missions?"
"Honestly, they don't care what I do. As long as I get the job done or have a really good excuse for not getting it done." He explained, handing her a drink before taking a sip of his own.
"They must really trust you." She assumed after swallowing her entire drink in one swig.
"I'm just good at what I do." Clint shrugged, pouring more vodka into her cup.
Natalia shot him a grateful smile before downing her second drink.
"That's a pretty nasty bruise you've got there." He observed, nodding to her right temple.
"Oh, it's nothing." She shook her head as she probed the darkened area of skin, her nose scrunching up in pain.
"Let me get you some ice." He insisted, lifting the lid off of his ice bucket and placing a handful of ice in a washcloth.
"It's okay, it doesn't really hurt that much." Natalia protested.
"Here, let me." Clint gently brushed a strand of her flame colored hair away from her face before pressing the ice against the purple bruise.
A painful gasp escaped her lips when the pressure was applied to her head.
"Sorry." He whispered.
"It's okay." She replied. "Thank you."
"Don't worry about it."
"I meant, thank you for earlier. With Elkin. He could have killed me, but you stopped him."
"You're welcome." Clint smiled, surprised by her gratefulness.
"And thank you for the drink as well." She continued. "But I think I should probably go."
"Already?" He said in disappointment. "I mean, you could stay a while longer if you'd like."
"If you insist." Natalia shrugged before grabbing the collar of his shirt and pulling him towards her. She crushed her lips against his and leaned back onto the bed, dragging him with her so that he was on top of her. Clint, who was caught off guard by her sneak attack, recovered quickly and ran his hands up her torso until they found the zipper on her dress while she clawed away at his jacket. Soon enough, her dress had been tossed onto the floor, followed by his jacket and the rest of their clothes until they were both completely naked.
"I should bring vodka on missions more often…" Clint thought to himself before pressing himself into Natalia and allowing the immense pleasure to overwhelm him.
Sorry again that this took so long. I hope you still enjoyed it! Please review and tell me what you thought! I find your feedback extremely helpful!