Ch. 9
I could get used to this, Natasha thought as she slowly woke from another dreamless sleep. The warmth radiating from Clint's body and the way his arm remained wrapped around her waist even in sleep made her feel as if they had done this for years. She wouldn't mind doing this for years. For a few minutes she allowed herself to imagine a life apart from the spy game; one that didn't involve moving from place to place, living mission to mission. In training, the Russian government made it incredibly clear that there was only one way to retire from being an assassin. At SHIELD, there was an end to the job that wasn't death, though she honestly hadn't considered it for herself. The Black Widow, living a quiet life with a white picket fence? It was laughable.
Except here she was, sharing a pillow with Clint like nothing could be more natural. If Natasha did choose a new life, she wanted him to be in it. She propped herself up on her elbow to get a better view of his face, so peaceful in sleep that it almost didn't seem like him. He wasn't strategizing or looking for a tactical advantage, cracking a joke or taking aim for a kill. He just was.
For the first time, she wanted to kiss him. She had always found him attractive, but in a distant way that didn't effect her behavior. Their flirtatious banter, the vulnerability after a mission- that was her way of showing affection. Physical intimacy didn't constitute a close relationship to her; at least it never had before. A kiss was just a hook to reel in a target. Sex was a tool to sell a cover identity. The idea of kissing Clint for the sheer pleasure it would afford was a completely new concept to Natasha, but she liked the way it sounded.
Her lips were only an inch from his when she stopped herself. It was a dangerous game she was playing, letting her imagination run wild. Bad enough that they were compromised and emotionally involved with each other. She shouldn't entertain the idea of opening another door; another way for her enemies to hurt her. Plus, that would make Tony right, which just wasn't acceptable. With a sigh she pulled back and forced herself out of the cocoon of warmth they had created and made her way into the bathroom to take a shower.
Once he was certain Nat was gone, Clint opened his eyes. He had never put so much effort into pretending he was asleep than in the past few minutes. His whole body felt like it was on fire; just sleeping in the same bed as his beautiful partner set his nerves on end. But to feel her hover over him, her breath sweeping over his lips, just out of reach? It was a good thing she was in the bathroom, because he wasn't going to be able to stand another second if she had stayed. It interested him that she came so close to kissing him, but decided against it. He was the rational thinker, denying what he so deeply desired for the sake of the greater good. Natasha wasn't like that- if she wanted it, she took it.
Perhaps Natasha would always be a mystery, but one thing Clint knew was that he needed to talk to her. The lines were blurring between them and he wanted to keep it that way. He had always wanted that with someone, but she was the first woman who fit into his life. She was the fire to his ice. A woman who could beat him in a fight and watch his back in any situation. Was there anything else he could hope for?
But today they had a mission. There would always be a mission. Clint didn't know if there was a reality in which he could have everything he wanted; it seemed like a stretch even in his own mind. He felt himself losing his nerve now that Nat's body was no longer pressed against his own. Pushing his face into a pillow he let out a groan; even trained assassins have girl trouble. After the mission, he promised himself, he would find the time to figure this out. One thing he knew for sure, though, was that after two nights spent in the same bed as Natasha, he'd never want to sleep without her again.
Dressing quickly in combat gear, Clint left the room to get in an hour of training before their brief with Fury. This was his routine whenever he had the opportunity to prepare for a mission. He loved spending some time pushing his body to the limit, feeling the rush of adrenaline and burn of muscles. He didn't bother practicing archery- there was no point. But gearing up for the physical toll of a mission was always worth it. Especially because at some point, Nat would show up and try to kick his ass.
Today it happened while he was practicing mixed martial arts on one of the many weighted dummies. That shift in the light, a faint smell of her hair; he dropped and rolled just as she spun to land a kick to his back. As usual, he was barely able to keep one step ahead of her. Obstacles in the room that he had to avoid, she used as hurdles to launch herself at him. It was only a matter of time before confrontation became unavoidable and he wanted it to be to his tactical advantage. Just out of reach, he rolled into a wrestling ring. Nothing to climb on, slip under, or dodge behind- this would definitely not be Natasha's location of choice.
Regardless, she wasn't about to back down from a sparring match. He had barely gotten a read on her when she was on him, kicking out his knees and attempting to lock her legs over his neck. He almost laughed; Nat loved that move because it always caught her enemies off guard. He used her uneven distribution of weight to spin her across the floor, where she crouched to spring again. He anticipated her flying kick and blocked her foot, landing a blow between her shoulder blades that lurched her into the ropes.
Clint felt smug for nearly a second before Nat came back with a vengeance. As he prepared to parry her offensive attack, she surprised him by flipping over his head and wrapping her arms and legs around him. As she put him in a choke hold he knew he was beat. This was the point in a real fight that he usually waited for Nat to shoot his enemy in the head. Instead, he tapped her forearm to signal his defeat. She eased up but remained on his back, resting her chin on his shoulder. Even without seeing her, Clint could tell she had that smug grin on her face.
"Good morning to you too," he said, making his way to the edge of the ring with her.
"Just had to be sure you were fit for duty, Agent Barton. I've got your back."
Clint shook his head, "I think you've made that incredibly clear, Agent Romanoff. Also, not your best joke ever."
Natasha laughed as she leaped lightly to the ground, not bothering to answer. She led the way to the weapons department, where their tools of choice were kept in working condition between missions. As Clint strapped bracers to his wrists and his quiver to his back, she loaded up on ammunition and holsters for the variety of guns she carried. Technically this was a recon mission with a minimal threat level, but both agents had been in enough sticky situations to know that they should be fully armed regardless of the anticipated danger level.
Fury met them in the same room where they had debriefed from the Loki mission. It didn't escape Natasha's eye that there was a newly patched hole in the wall, but when she looked to Clint with a raised eyebrow he studiously ignored her gaze, looking at Fury like there was nothing that could matter more than the file he was flipping through.
"Right. Agents, today is a bag and tag mission. Barton, you'll lead one team through the interior of the damage zone. I want you to personally assess each building for damages and follow your tracking device. Dr. Banner has designed these to specifically target the gamma signals of the alien tech. Anything you find, put a tracker on and my teams on the ground will do the clean up. Romanoff, you will take a second team along the outer rim of the damage zone. We've already had several foreign agents attempt to secure pieces of alien weaponry; it is imperative that nothing makes it into the hands of our enemies. Both Captain Rogers and Mr. Stark have volunteered to assist in today's mission-'
"I want Rogers!" Natasha and Clint called simultaneously.
Fury couldn't help but smile, "Agent Barton, you'll need Iron Man on your team to get a birds eye view of some of these buildings. Romanoff, Rogers is with you. I've asked him to leave the suit at home- the media is already in a frenzy over the Avengers. I don't need him flashing Red, White, and Blue at the cameras. Questions?"
"Just one, sir," Natasha said. "What is my protocol if I do find alien tech in someone's possession?"
"You take it back. I'd tell you the specific guidelines about how much force you're permitted to use, but I know you'll just ignore me anyway. Dismissed."
Fury turned and left the room, managing to hold back his chuckle until he was out of earshot. Sure, Romanoff and Barton were two of the biggest pains in his ass, but working with them kept him young. As long as they were under his command, he knew SHIELD's influence in the government would remain strong.
It had only been a few hours and Clint was ready to call it a day. Walking from one building to the next, following the signal of the alien technology, placing trackers on every last bit of crap from outer space- it was worse than taking a day off. The only break in the monotony was listening to Nat and her team recovering stolen pieces. Not ten minutes ago they all got a good laugh when Natasha had to try to negotiate with a self proclaimed UFO expert who was convinced that these were the aliens that had abducted him. To her credit, she didn't knock him out until he tried to run with the armor he had grabbed off the street.
"Hawkeye, do you copy?" Nat wasn't scheduled to check in for 20 more minutes. Clint knew she was either bored or had a problem.
"Copy. What's your status Black Widow?"
"I copy too. Not that anyone cares." Stark's communication privileges had been revoked nearly an hour earlier for pulling a prank that nearly created a total evacuation. He was feeling a little left out.
"Shut up, Stark," Natasha quickly replied. "Hawkeye, I'm about one super nerd away from testing out some of these weapons myself. We're spread a little thin at the moment, but I'm heading offshore to track down a signal coming from a ship in the harbor. If you have a few men to spare, send them to the Captain in Times Square. He's got his hands full with the Russians and I don't have an invite to that party."
Damn Russians. Being one of Natasha's primary infiltration sources, they had to be extremely careful that her face wasn't seen with the US government.
"Roger that Widow. Do you have any backup for your side trip? It could be dangerous. I can send Iron Man."
"That's a negative, you're not pawning him off on me that easily. There is no human life on the ship. In fact, it's dead in the water. I'll be there and back before Stark can work out a snide comeback. Widow out."
Clint sighed; she got to have all the fun. He'd even be happy to trade with Rogers and kick some Russian ass. In fact, since working with Natasha he got extra satisfaction from causing chaos in the Russian government as payback for all they put her through. Moving up the street to the source of the next signal, he caught a glimpse of Stark shooting off to another building. Despite his antics and constant chatter, he was dedicated. Clint and his team were the second wave- they moved through buildings that Tony had cleared for safety. He had nearly crushed twice already by unstable beams and debris. Without him on the team, they would have had many more precautions to take.
Clint was almost finished with the sweep of this building when Rogers' voice came over his com.
"Captain to Black Widow, do you copy?"
There was no reply. Rogers made a second attempt with nothing but silence on the other end. Nat had ignored her com before, but Clint had a bad feeling about this. If the ship was abandoned, there would be no reason for her to maintain radio silence.
"Does anyone have a read on Black Widow?" Clint tried to keep the urgency out of his voice. When he received several negatives from various agents, he instructed his team to continue without him and made his way out of the building. Stark was waiting for him at the entrance, already working with JARVIS to triangulate her tracking signal.
"I got nothing Hawkeye. I have her last known coordinates, but that was nearly 15 minutes ago. Both her tracker and her com are down. Can I offer you a ride?"
Clint nodded. He didn't like this one bit. Being dragged through the air by Iron Man wasn't his favorite way to get around, but he needed to get to that ship. He was stupid for not insisting she take backup. Anything could have been waiting for her; weapons, chemicals, hell, even robots. It didn't matter that there was no human life aboard, they both knew a hundred non-human things that could kill them. He needed a strategy, but his mind was becoming increasingly preoccupied by images of Nat, dead in every way he had seen in his dreams. Her com could be disabled or destroyed, but her agency tracker? Even when an agent died the tracker sent out a signal so the body could be found. Had she been blown up? Would there even be a body to find?
The ship came into view, dead in the water about half a mile from shore. There was no smoke or visible damage to the vessel, nothing to indicate danger upon approach. But Stark came to an abrupt stop about one hundred feet from the deck.
"Sorry Birdboy, but I think this is where I have to drop you off. JARVIS is detecting an electromagnetic field around the ship. My guess is that's why nothing electronic is sending out a signal. If I fly through, I think it'll shut down the suit, and I haven't added any floatation devices yet. Do you want to wait for backup?"
Knowing that he shouldn't make the same mistake as Nat, he hesitated. If their roles were reversed, he knew his partner wouldn't be able to wait a single minute before going to find him.
"No, drop me here. I'll swim in, locate Widow, and go up on deck. Once I'm in the water, go find the Captain, shut down the Russians, and get back here with him. If you don't see me on deck, don't send anyone in. After an hour, call Fury. He'll know what to do from there." Blow the ship out of the water is what he'll do, but Stark probably wouldn't take too kindly to his plan if he told him that. Instead, Iron Man gave him one final nod before lowering him into the icy water.
Hey guys! Our internet has been out all week, which has given me all kinds of motivation to write. Not only do you get a long chapter, but I've already started the next one! Of course your reviews will determine exactly how much time I spend this week writing the next chapter. I'm thinking their first kiss will be at her funeral... unless I'm convinced otherwise... Bwa-ha-ha!
