Author's Note :

Hey there, I have a test next week but here I am writing this. I am so screwed lol. Hope you enjoy this chapter!

-Twitchzx


They went at each other aiming to kill. What started out as a civil sparring session consisting of clean punches and kicks had somehow turned into a full-fledged brawl. Clint wasn't one who'd choose to fight dirty, but with Natasha? It left him no choice. She was the epitome of sneaky, jabbing and kicking her way through Clint's defenses. She was fast while he was strong, but they were evenly matched in terms of skills.

He managed to grapple her into a choke-hold, forcing her to submit. However she twisted her upper body and elbowed him in the ribs, causing him to stumble backwards. She charged, expecting the fight to end within seconds, but she damn, he was agile. One second he was trying to get to his feet, the next - he was behind her, tackling her to the ground. He pinned her wrists to the mat and locked them there with his iron-grip. Natasha squirmed a little but she knew it was futile when she was trapped under the combined strength of his upper body. See Natasha? You shouldn't have underestimated him she chided herself.

"Let me go."

Clint immediately released her, holding his hand out wordlessly. Chivalrous bastard. But she took it anyway.

Clint flopped onto the bench and reached for the mini-fridge beside him. He extracted two bottles of gatorade (the blue ones) and tossed one at her silhouette. She caught it effortlessly. He chuckled.

"What? Thought I couldn't catch that?"

"I guessed you could, but I wanted to know."

She nodded in agreement, seeing was believing.

A comfortable silence lapsed between the two assassins, both deep in thought.

Natasha wanted to ask what was the real reason behind him taking her in. And no, she obviously doesn't believe the excuse of 'your skills are of better use here than out there' or 'you can save the world instead of harming it'. Given - those are small factors of her recruitment, but she wanted to know the main reason for his actions on that night. What could possibly be the trigger?

On the other bench, Clint was brooding over how the mission in Budapest was going to turn out. The twisting feeling in his gut is never a good sign. He just hoped the mission will turn out well. Besides the target of course.

Before either of them knew it, tendrils of light started to creep through the floor-to-ceiling windows, basking them in a soft morning glow. Natasha took in the sight of her partner - eyebags (must be from sleepless nights), cut knuckles (probably from cutting 'em when trying to muffle his own screaming), bloodshot eyes (did he drink ?). Man. He was in bad shape.
Wait. Why was she caring about him again? She should be feeling indifferent. Natasha has already accepted the fact that she was a SHIELD agent, and she kind of liked it here. It was nothing like the Red Room. For once, she was contented - the closest she had ever been to happiness even, since that incident. So she couldn't afford to care for the archer. Care leads to interest and that eventually leads to love. And Love will only destroy her.

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TO BE CONTINUED


A/N :

I know this was really short but hey, it's better than nothing amirite. I've written the rough plotline for what's going down in Budapest. There's gonna be loads of action and I can't wait to write it!

Feel free to PM me if you have any suggestions / ideas for IKYL, I'll be more than happy to hear them.

Also, do leave a review if you enjoyed this chap!

Till then, stay rad yall.

Next Chapter: Budapest-bound.