Now Romanoff!
Soon enough, they'll merge, I'll let y'all know when!
Disclaimer: Nope. Still no owenership to me.
He was tired, she could see that, she knew her partner better than anyone. So, around 2am she stood up from the chair she was in the past 3 days.
She smiled at his confused face and ruffled his hair like she did when he did something childish. "Get some sleep Clint. I'll come back with tablets at 5 for you."
She didn't wait for a reply, knowing it'd be him insisting he didn't need the sleep and felt fine and so totally didn't look like bus ran over him twenty seven times in a row.
She left the door slightly ajar so whoever was in the common room at whatever time could hear him, though she did also have Jarvis with a sound feed from his room into a comms constantly in her ear.
She was a worrier, so what?
She wasn't worried so much for him, but for the others. She'd trust her partner no problem, it's everyone else she didn't trust so much. What happens if Loki escapes and goes for him? What if one of them was taken by the god again and they get to Clint without her even realising? She was listening to his room for them, not him.
"Any change, Cap?" She asked with slight amusement, he was looking out that window for the past two hours. Clint always did the same, she didn't see the fascination in it!
"They finally moved that wall about a half hour ago. I could've done it for them!" He was pouting, Romanoff found it pretty amusing. She pulled up an armchair beside his, not ready to go to bed just yet.
"I thought Tony put a tv in your room? Why not watch that?"
"I don't understand half the shows that are on. I mean, who are these Kardashians? And why are so many teenagers moms?" He looked to her with genuine confused eyes, and she couldn't hide the smirk.
"No one knows, not just you Rogers. Try M*A*S*H. That may be a little more up your street."
He nodded and looked back out the window, she guessed he wasn't going to go looking for it now!
"We guessed he was awake, since you haven't been wandering in and out tonight." She was enjoying the silence, why did he have to break it?
She just nodded.
"He ok?"
Another nod. She never was much of a conversationalist. Only with Barton, and even that was sometimes minimal.
"Confused. Sore. The usual after mission list."
"Mentally, Natasha." He corrected, his eyes still on her.
She didn't know. She really didn't. They've been partners for so long, usually Clint opened up about everything, this time though he was choosing to hide whatever was at him so she wouldn't know.
"He doesn't want me to know. So I don't know."
Steve nodded, deciding to drop it. He stood. "Come spar."
She grinned, that was the best thing he's said tonight!
She landed with a soft 'thump' on the training mats, and she just had to lay there for a while to catch her breath.
Steve, supersoldier and all, was even kneeling over a little to catch his breath.
Neither were hurt, it was just sparring after all, just tired. They had started at 2:30, it was now 4:15am. Though neither really ever slept at night so it was fine!
"Best 61 out of 120..?" He breathed out, and she gave a breathless laugh.
Jumping up, she steadied herself. "Bring it, cap!"
That familiar thump of a mat had her buzzing!
She watched from the door way as he placed arrow after arrow into dummies hearts, going over, gathering them, and starting again. She felt nervous, and she had no clue why.
Her first few days at SHIELD she managed to avoid him like the plague. Mainly because this was his first day back after recovery.
He's going to kill me..
The thought was enough to make her turn around and leave, not wanting to get attacked. But she didn't, she couldn't, she had apparently been assigned his handler aswell because the one who introduced himself as Phil was standing in the training room watching the archer.
She sighed. Time to get it over with.
"Ah! Glad you could make it this early! Sorry, Clint only does early mornings!" Coulson said happily when Natasha walked into the room, and she just nodded.
The archer, Clint?, was obviously told she was here and they'd be working together, because he tensed completely. Not from fear, she could tell. The shaking of his shoulders was a sign of anger.
"How's the shoulder, Hawk Boy?"
"-Eye." He corrected through a growl, sending another arrow fiercely through a dummy once more. That answered it for her, and she was amazed.
It had only been two months since she put a bullet in that shoulder, how could he have so much strength back already? He'd be an interesting one to work with.
"It's fine."
"I can see that." She replied through a bored tone. He may be interesting, but something told her he'd be an annoying one too.
Phil cleared his throat awkwardly, gaining both agent's attentions. "Natasha Romanoff, Clint Barton. Barton, Romanoff."
He sighed, even that annoyed her. He finally turned to face her, and holy shit he looked like hell! Black bags under his eyes, thin cheeks, muscles were still there though, the sleeveless leather vest made sure she could see that. And the white bandage still wrapped around his chest and shoulder. Woooops.
He held his hand out to her and she shook it. They were rough. An archer for years then.
"Armour on. On the mats in ten." Coulson said, about to walk away before Clint spoke up.
"She doesn't need armour." He was staring at her, but she didn't back down. She sent him a slightly amused smirk. "Neither do I. You go home, Coulson."
"Barton, I ca-"
"No, he's right. We'll be fine." Natasha agreed, being the first to turn around and go tape up. "I will, at least."
Coulson sighed in defeat and nodded, not wanting the two toughest agents on his bad side she figured.
She looked back over at the two as she taped her hands and wrists up, Coulson looked like he was giving an earful to that Clint guy, but the archer was just staring at her. He obviously wasn't that good an agent if he held grudges so easily.
"You're here to train him up again. Get him fighting ready. Don't break him." Coulson basically demanded as he passed Romanoff, leaving before she could give what would have been a smart remark answer.
She watched him as he carefully packed away his bow into a case, she can't recall a time she saw an archer take such care with his equipment. He went over to the mat then, watching as she walked over to join him.
"So what's this then? Some macho 'I need to beat the girl who left me for dead' thing?"
No answer. Just those grey eyes staring her out of it.
He didn't even make a move. Just stood with his bad arm held protectively to his chest.
"Are we training or what?"
"Why?" He finally said, and she raised an eyebrow.
"Because you've been out for two months and need my help."
"Why did you shoot me? After I saved you from certain death? After I patched you up, saved your life, offered you an out, why?" He spat out at her, his voice just higher than a whisper so it came out pretty rough.
She sighed. She rather fighting than talking, so she went for him.
A kick to the stomach sent him doubling over, but before she could bring the knee to his face he rolled away and went to sweep her legs.
Too simple to avoid, she simply jumped back and landed in a crouch.
In an instant, she was on his neck, spinning him over with her legs and onto the mat. When they landed, she was onto of him, knees pinning either arm out. The way they were stretched completely out was hurting his injured shoulder, she could tell by the way he tried hide a wince.
"You were too easy." She whispered, her usual passive face on as he squirmed to get free. She didn't care, she just increased the pressure on his arms which made him actually wince this time, even got a sound.
"Like now. You can't show emotion, can't let the enemy know what gets you. You poured your heart out that day, I know enough about you to get to you."
"You know nothing." He growled, staring up into her eyes with new found fire. Too bad there was no moving her in the state he was in.
"Hawkeye. Clint Barton. You have a bad wrist, no doubt a break from youth the way it's set. Your eyes tell that you have trouble sleeping, obvious demons. You don't like orders, you were fine with them for a while but something switched and you now hate them. You favour the bow. When startled, you kick up with your right foot to get into shooting position. You're too soft. You let a target live, let her shoot you, let her leave you for dead just for sentiments."
He was startled, surprised. She could see the wheels in his head turning to comprehend what she said.
"So you read my file."
"Like I have that degree of clearance. I'm lucky they trust me enough to let me in the building." She scoffed, twisting his arm a little more as punishment for getting them in this situation. "I know all that from the one encounter we had. You wear everything on your sleeve and that has to stop if we're going to be working with eachother."
She got up, casual as anything, not a hair out of place, leaving him once again on the floor in pain. He asked why, he wanted this, so she really didn't feel bad.
At her bag now, she untaped her wrists and packed everything away. "Be here 5am tomorrow. Eat some red meat tonight. I'll get you fit again."
She left the gym. No more frazzled than when she entered.
"Agent Romanoff?" She froze mid punch, Steve looking rather confused since the voice of JARVIS was coming from her comms, not the room. "Agent Barton is up and trying to access the roof."
"Is he now?" She said with an amused smile, making Rogers really confused. She held up a finger to him signalling to give her a moment before walking over to grab a drink of water. "He say why?"
"He wants some air, ma'am." She chuckled, sure he does.
"Let him go Jarvis. Just make sure he's back in his room for 5 please."
"Of course." It went quiet then, and she shook her head in amusement. She turned to Steve as she took a swig from her water bottle, pointing to her ear so he'd cop it was comms and not her going mad.
"I knew he wouldn't stay still. Wanna come spy on him with me?"
He nodded, and she threw him a towel to wipe down.
"I gotta say cap," She started as the walked towards the elevator, a towel in her hand to wipe down her face. "Pretty agile for an old timer."
"Hey, watch it. I'm not that old." He laughed, and she shrugged. "It's the good thing about being frozen, I feel perfectly fine."
"Physically?" She asked, knowing from his psychs that he was struggling. She was going to be working with him soon, Fury told her that weeks ago, so she'd have to get to know him.
"Physically." He nodded, leaving it at that. It answered the question for her though without actually answering it.
They got up to the roof and Steve was about to exit, when she placed an arm infront of his chest to stop him.
"Just stay back, he'll hear us if we move. Don't want to scare him." she whispered, though she raised an eyebrow when she noticed him reach in and take out his hearing aids.
"What was that?" Steve whispered and she shook her head.
"It's ok now, he can't hear a thing." She said normally, stepping out and going over to sit against a railing, out of Barton's immediate and peripheral vision range.
"Since birth?" Captain asked as he joined her, his eyes on the still form of Clint Barton as he watched the New York streets below.
She shook her head, arms folded in a bored manner. She'd much rather be sparring than this. "About three years. Sonic arrow, one of his trick ones. We're lucky that's all he's left with to remind him."
He nodded in understanding, not really knowing how to talk to the agent beside him. She didn't really know how to talk to him either.
"Been partners long?"
"Five." She replied simply, and let the conversation drop.
It was about 5:20 when she realised Hawk wasn't going back to his room anytime soon, so she sighed and moved away from the railing. She'd have to be gently if he couldn't hear her.
Steve beat her to it though, because, she realised, he copped something she didn't, and he may have just saved Clint's life.
He had begun hyperventilating, something in his thoughts triggered a panic attack, and Steve ran over to catch him before he managed to fall from the roof top.
Natasha was kneeling by them in seconds, checking her partners temperature with a worried frown as Steve positioned the limp form in his arms.
"Let's get him inside. Banner can take a look and make sure he's ok." Steve suggested before Natasha had a chance, and she nodded.
She watched as the two men went towards the elevator, she bent down to pick up the jacket Clint had brought up but had taken off in the process and his aids.
Though she groaned when she saw they were smashed. He wasn't going to be happy about that at all!
"What d'ya think? You can fix anything right?" She asked Tony as he examined the broken hearing aids, a small concentrating frown playing on his lips.
She took a sip from the coffee she had in her hands, waiting for him to decide.
"I can usually, but there's nothing to work with here." He said quietly, then he grinned at Romanoff. "I'll make him better ones! His hearing will be amazing, you just wait and see! I'll even put comms in them so he doesn't have to wear separate ones."
"You do that." She said with a slight shake of her head. Men and their gadgets! "Any clue when you'll be done? He'll freak if he knows he can't hear. Rather put them in before he wakes."
"Not a chance. Normal ones would take me a few hours to make, these ones... Give me until about 10 tonight, 11 at the most." He replied, heading off down his lab for the day presumably.
She sighed and glanced at her watch, that was a whole 14 hours away. She just hoped he'd stay out until they were ready.
"Have you been to Fury yet?" Steve asked from across the table, a cup of coffee cradled in his hands aswell.
"No. Told him we were taking a few days. Honestly, don't think I want to talk to him for at least another week."
"Understandable." He chuckled, taking an apple from the basket on the table to take a bite out of.
Natasha eyed him curiously for a moment, taking every detail in. He was still wearing those god awful shirts and slacks. She sighed and ran a hand through her hair.
"You need to get with the times, Cap." He paused at her words, mid bite into an apple.
"And if I don't want to?"
She shrugged. "Can't force you. It's not the 40's anymore though, I reckon at least a new hair cut is due. Might make someone take an interest in you."
He flinched. She struck a nerve then. She used to always do this with Clint when he wouldn't open up, just ramble and see what would happen!
"So who was she?" She asked casually, as if she asked how the weather was.
"I don't want to talk about it." He replied quietly, standing up to leave in a huff.
They both paused from fear though when a pain filled scream echoes through the place.
Clint.
She ran, she shouldn't have, his room wasn't far away at all, but that scream always made the normally composed Natasha panic.
She frowned when she saw him doubled over in pain, clutching his ribs. He sat up too fast, she assumed.
She placed her hands on his shoulders to get his attention, knowing there was no chance he'd hear her. He has 20% left, sure, but that was useless with how long he's had those aids in.
"Breathe Clint." She said softly, hoping that even the shift of wind of her words would be enough to help.
She didn't let go of his shoulders, didn't let him feel alone, until he finally looked at her, panic stricken grey eyes meeting her own.
It ripped her heart a little.
She smiled at him, and ran a hand through his hair, waiting for him to calm. He needed to so his mid could understand the signs. And so she'd be able to relax enough to do them
"Tash..?" It was pretty slurred, sounded drunk, but that's what happens when someone can't hear them self speak.
She signed to him for the first time in a long time, she hoped the words were right!
"Relax. You're ok, you passed out on the roof, panic attack, so Steve carried you down. He stood on your aids."
He frowned a little, she figured he copped that meant they were broken.
She nodded and continued on, before he had the chance to panic about them like last time they broke. "Tony's making you new ones. Just wait until tonight, Hawk."
He nodded, so she took the chance to grip his shoulders gently and lie him back down.
She smiled when his eyes slipped closed, covering him in the blankets once more before placing a soft kiss on his forehead. "Sleep well." She whispered, turning then to see Tony and Steve in the doorway, both smirking.
"I don't think she'd ever smiled at us like that." Steve said, a slight chuckle in his voice.
"Well if that isn't love.." Tony began, but she cut him off.
"Go work on his aids you ass." She growled, her face once more passive as she left the room.
If that isn't love..