Author's Note: Another chapter for my readers! After this one, I might take a couple days to update because I am volunteering at my church's VBS and working evenings. Don't despair though, it's just for a week then quicker updates will resume once again. Enjoy :)
Disclaimer: I do not own Natasha, Clint, or in chapters wayyy in the future, the Avengers. What I do own are any charters that come out of that pretty little mind of mine :)
After putting their uniforms back on and having a quick bite to eat, they were ready to go.
"So, Nat, where do you wanna start first?"
There was so much she was curious about, where should they even start?
"I don't want a regular tour of the place, I want to see the places that really matter. The places that you go to relax and cool off. Those are the places I want to know about."
"Okay, then let's go."
He led her through the vast, dark hallways, always keeping to the shadows to avoid meeting anyone. He knew exactly where he would take her first; it had no real significance to him, but he knew that it would to her. They walked until they stopped seeing people, this area of the base was virtually deserted. There was a single door at the end of the corridor which they entered.
As Clint turned on the lights, Natasha gasped at what she saw. It was a ballet studio, equipped with a barre, hardwood floors, and a full length mirror. It might be in need of a little dusting, but it was in mint condition.
"This place was installed for when there were more Russians on the base than there were Americans. It's not used much anymore, but it's still here. I found it after I got in a fight with Agent Hill and needed somewhere to cool down. It was nice and quiet, and she couldn't find me."
Natasha smiled, so he didn't like Agent Hill much, either. That was a welcome relief.
"On to the next sight, Nat. Ready?"
As they made their way through the base in the shadows once again, Natasha was deep in thought. How had he known that ballet was her escape? Then the answer dawned on her, he had been watching her for months. He must have seen when she posed as a ballet dancer in one of Russia's big ballet companies. That had been a good job, she had gotten to do what she loved for a few months. A tap on her shoulder shook her out of her thoughts.
"This is the library, I come here a lot. Not many other agents do, but I find it nice here."
She looked around, there were books on shelves floor to ceiling. There were Russian titles, English titles, books in any language really.
"This is how I keep up with all my languages; reading them keeps my fluent."
"You must read a lot of Russian then, to be so fluent."
He smiled, he'd tell her that story later.
"Not really, not nearly as often as I should."
She frowned, then how did he keep his Russian so perfect? Maybe Clint was just a natural at Russian, though she found that difficult to believe.
"I have one more place I want to show you today, and then we need to have dinner. We can explore more if you want tomorrow."
Clint lead her through more hallways and up many flights of stairs to reach their final destination. He turned to her and said, "You're lucky it's summer."
What was that supposed to mean? Where was he taking her that mattered what season it was?
The door at the top of the steps opened, to reveal the roof. It wasn't like just any roof though, there was a garden on it. It was lush and beautiful, obviously someone had taken the time to take care of it. There was a small fountain making the beautiful sound of running water, and a little bench that could fit two, looking out over the ledge.
"This place is yours, isn't it?"
Clint shrugged, "No one goes up to this part of the roof, so I asked Director Fury if I could make myself a little place. I've been in Russia on and off for the past few years, tracking you each time; not that I knew it back then. You were just a shadow, a whispered name. Anyway, if you ever can't find me, look up here first."
Natasha nodded and sat down on the bench, from up here she had a bird's eye view. After a few minutes, she felt Clint sit next to her.
"You really are like a bird, aren't you? You like to be up high and see things from a distance and then swoop in when the time is right."
"I guess you could say that, ya. Up here is my vantage point, so to speak. I'm always up high, always watching."
"I have two questions."
"Well I have two answers, ask away."
"I need clothes."
"I thought about that one. I guess I could go out and get you some either today or tomorrow if you'd like."
That was a nice thought, but she really didn't want just any clothes. She wanted some from her old life. Well, not the clothes exactly, but some of the other things.
"Well, I was thinking...there are some things that I want from my old apartment and I was wondering if you could get them for me. I know Director Fury won't let me anywhere near my old place, so I'm not even going to ask to go myself."
"What exactly is it that you want?"
"There is a suitcase under the bed that is packed full of stuff. It's things I've salvaged over the years. Aleksandr's baby blanket, the cross necklace my sisters gave me, stuff like that. It also has just some normal clothes that I just take with me for the in between times, when I don't have a mission. It doesn't have any weapons, I promise, but feel free to search it when you get back if you must."
Fury would kill him if he found out that he was going to do this. He just wouldn't find out, Clint decided. No one would.
"Okay, I'll do it, but you can't tell anyone. I would get in big trouble if Fury or Agent Hill finds out. And, are there any weapons that we can have made for you?"
"Thanks, Clint," she smiled. "As for weapons, I'll draw you out the design while you're out. They are called Widow's Bites and Widow's Line, and are my own inventions. I'll explain them to you later."
"You are a smart girl, Nat. I'm looking forward to seeing this design of yours. And now, I'm ready to give the second answer when you are ready to give the second question."
She didn't know if she should ask this one, it might bring back some things that he didn't want to talk about. Barton had said that she could ask him anything, though, so why not this one?
"What happened to Agent Martin? What did Agent Hill do that was so bad?"
He knew that was coming, so he shouldn't be surprised, but he was. Tasha was a very observant girl, she must have picked that up in his yelling match with Maria earlier that day.
"Agent Grant Martin was one of the best of the best, and so was his wife Amy. They actually trained Maria and turned her into a top notch agent. Grant was sent on a mission in Madrid, and Maria was his handler. He got compromised and asked for an out because he knew that they way things were headed, innocent lives would be lost. Maria wouldn't give it to him, she told him to finish the job. The Spanish drug cartel found out who he was and used their connections to capture his wife and kids. They were tortured and eventually killed to make a statement. Grant ended up getting himself killed because he couldn't handle losing them all at once. It was Maria's fault and she knows it. I don't think she ever forgave herself for that mistake. It was a low blow to aim at her."
"But why was she his handler and not the other way around?"
"Maria thought that she wanted to be a handler instead of a field agent. Since Grant was a field agent, he said that he would be willing to be in Maria's charge. She had gone through all the extra training and everything. It was well established in her mind that a handler had control over her field agent, but if her charge feels uncomfortable, he gets pulled out of the field. She wanted so badly to do well on that mission, that she forgot everything else."
The suck up Agent Hill had made a mistake. A deadly one that had cost an entire family their lives. And here she was, convinced that Maria was one of those perfect people; never making a mistake. She still didn't like that woman, no matter what she had been through.
"Well, it's getting dark. Why don't we make some dinner and then I'll go get your suitcase, okay?"
"Sounds fine to me, Barton. Let's go."
As they made their way back to the apartment, many thoughts swirled through Natasha's head. Many of those thoughts were questions that she planned on bombarding Clint with during dinner. What she didn't realize was, that just as many questions swirled through his head as well. Many of which he wouldn't ask for quite some time.
Some questions were answered here, hope that enlightened you a little bit :) Thanks to HSky16 for the review, I shall try my best. Acrylate, did that answer your question sufficiently? Thank you for the reviews, favorites, and alerts. Please drop me a line and let me know what you think so far. Anything I can improve on? Anything you really liked?
