"Nat?" Clint asked, his voice filled with pain, pressing his comms with a shaky hand. "Tasha?"
"Clint, what happened?" She asked, looking down at the balcony he had just been on the last time she looked.
"I got hit." He said. "And I fell."
Natasha looked over the edge of the balcony and looked at the ground. She saw something squirming around a pile of debris. "Shit Barton."
"I'm fine." He promised, attempting to move his leg.
Natasha spotted his bow on the balcony under her. "Does your grappling hook on your arrows still work?" She asked quietly.
"It should." Clint said. "Wait, why?"
She climbed onto the ledge of the balcony and held on for dear life, dropping down so her fingers were the only thing keeping here alive at that moment.
"Nat, what are you doing?" Clint asked.
She let go of the ledge and dropped onto the balcony underneath her. "Clint, how do I do this?" She asked, picking up the bow.
"Pull out an arrow, knock it, pull back with all your strength and then let it go." Clint said.
Natasha nodded and did what he had said and started to pull it back.
"Clint." She groaned as she felt her shoulder pop.
He couldn't help but smile about the thought that Natasha was using his bow. "You got it?" He asked.
"Fuck!" She groaned as her fingers slipped and the bow snapped back and knocked her in the head.
"Tash?" He asked.
"Goddamnit!" She shouted, throwing the bow down in anger. She pressed her hand up to the cut on her head which blood was now gushing out of.
"You okay?" He asked.
"Right as fucking rain." She growled with a scowl on her face. "No you douche, I'm not." She peered over the balcony at him.
He shrugged. "You'll be okay." Clint said.
She heard a sound all too familiar and all too haunting behind her and she started to tremble. "Clint." She said, her voice cracking, her
breathing hitched.
"Tasha?" Clint tried to sit up. "What's wrong?" He had never heard her this scared, about anything.
She felt the heat behind her and she tried to keep tears from falling. "They, they..."
"They what Natasha?" Clint asked.
"They started a fire." She said, whimpering slightly.
"What?" Clint asked.
"The building's on fire Barton." She said. She wiped tears from her eyes.
Clint searched around for something, anything for her to get down from there.
"Tasha, there's a fire escape two balconies down." Clint said. "I can try to get up there, but I think I busted my leg on the fall." He said pressing his hand to his shoulder.
She heard a stomach-churning cracking sound and she pressed her back to the balcony. "Go." She said.
"What?" Clint asked.
"Go. Move." She said. "It's gon-"
"Tasha?" He asked, trying to stand up.
The building started to fall down in a huge pile, causing Clint's heart to race.
"Natasha?" Clint asked loudly, coughing from the dust. He heard an all too familiar groan and started to attempt to walk to her, which was more like he was dragging his leg behind him like a dead weight. "Tasha?" He asked again.
"C.. Cl... Clin... Clint..." He heard next to him from under rubble.
He moved some and saw the familiar red hair he loved so much. "Tash."
She stared up at him, her chin quivering.
He sat down and started picking rubble off of her body becuase his leg couldn't take all the pressure he had on it.
"It hurts Clint." She said, working hard to keep her eyes open.
"It's gonna hurt. It's gonna hurt alot. But I'm not leaving you." He said.
"Everyone dies, Clint." Natasha said, her breathing heavy.
"Yeah, they do. But you're not dying today." He said quietly.
"When you get back, give my plants to Maria. She knows how to take care of them." She said.
"Don't." He said. "Don't."
"And no re-homing Chaska-Chaya." Natasha coughed. "She only likes me and you. And I know you don't like cats but you should have thought about that before you bought her for me."
"Don't say that Natasha." Clint shook his head.
She looked up at him, a small smile on her blood red lips. "Tell Seraphine I love her when you get home." She started coughing and
blood started coming out of her mouth.
"The guys'll be here soon." Clint said.
"No they won't." She shook her head. "Comms is down. They don't know what happened."
"They'll be here. Just keep breathing. Keep awake." He said.
She moved her hand from her side and he saw what she was trying to hide from him.
"Tasha?" He asked.
"Budapest got me." She smirked at him. "I would have thought it'd be Moscow. Or Hanoi or Jordan. Or even New York. But not innocent Budapest."
"It hasn't gotten you." Clint shook his head. "We're gonna be okay."
She gripped the arrow that was in her stomach tightly, not wanting to start crying.
"What are the three things you want right now?" He asked.
"My favorite book." She coughed.
"Which one?"
"All of them." She shivered. "Our baby girl."
"And?" He asked.
"To be wrapped up in your arms as you banish my nightmares and destroy my enemies." She said. "For you to promise me helpful nothing's. To tell me everything will be alright."
He started stroking her hair lightly, laying a kiss to her head. "It will be alright Tasha."
"I'm dying Clint." She said painfully. "It's not gonna be okay."
"Hey." He rubbed blood from her head. "It will be. And you are not dying. I hate to break it to you, but you're not."
She laughed drily, more blood pouring out of her mouth.
"Guess what." He said quietly.
"Hmm?" She asked quietly.
"I love you." He said, kissing her blood red lips.
"You've only ever said that phrase in Budapest." She said, a smile on her lips.
"Fine." He huffed. "When we get to America, I'll tell you I love you. Any city we stop in, I'll tell you I love you. You just have to keep
your eyes open."
She let out a shuddering breath. "I love you too." She breathed out, green eyes closing.