Natasha:
Nat woke up in her second home in the arms of the most important person in her life. Suddenly everything that happened last night came back to her. Her body felt sick at the thoughts of all the blood and death they witnessed. She pressed her body closer to Clint's hoping it would make the images go away. She thought about something different what Clint said last night and how she said it back. She knew he was only pretending to be asleep but she didn't mind, less awkwardness for her. She took in his smell which was woody, like the little wooded area behind their houses, and just warm. He suddenly moved and barely opened his eyes to look at her.
"Thank god this part wasn't a dream," he smiled and barely whispered. She smiled and allowed him to hold her tighter. She usually wasn't in to all the cheesiness of a relationship when it came to people but Clint was the only acceptation. "What time is it?" he mumbled and yawned. Nat pulled out her phone and checked it and was shocked by how late they had slept in.
"Almost 1." She said. Usually by now she would be doing her workout routine already had breakfast and would be close to lunch but she didn't care today, she just wanted to enjoy her life since it was almost snatched from here not even 24 hours ago.
"God we need to get up," Clint propped himself up on one arm over Natasha, he stretched and then looked down at her. "Then again nothing important happens on Sunday." And he flopped down beside her. She let out a little laugh and took off her small jacket since it was getting a little too warm for her in the room. She still had on only her sports bra but didn't care until she caught Clint staring at her chest.
"Oh stop you've seen me in a bra before, heck I've walked through your house with nothing but a towel on before." She laughed a little.
"Yeah," he signed with a smile. "But considering we're dating now it's different." He placed his hand on her back and pulled her into a kiss. She shuttered a bit by the coldness of his fingers but they warmed up quickly. She slowly raised his shirt off and threw it beside the bed. Nat was vibrating with energy. Their make-out session got better and more aggressive as the minutes passed. After about 10 minutes they were suddenly interrupted by Barney racing down the stairs.
"Hey so you guys- JESUS CLINT WHAT THE HELL?" Barney screamed and covered his eyes over dramatically. "I have witnessed the innocence lost by my baby brother." He cried sarcastically.
"Barney for the love of Christ get out of here!" Clint yelled and threw a pillow at him. Barney laughed and ran up the stairs before the pillow could hit him. They continued to hear the roaring laughter of him upstairs and the occasional gasp for breathe.
"I hate him," Clint tried to hide his smile.
"You know you don't." Nat smiled while lying on the bed. "But I should get going I have to work at the gym and help then get home sadly."
"I don't want you going back there," Clint pouted. Nat felt a warm feeling that Clint was looking out for her, not that he didn't before but he was right, there was something different between them- a good different.
"I have to; it's my sad excuse for a home. Plus I think my dad is off later today so I want to see him." Nat sighed. She would much rather stay here with Clint and just waste the day away with each other but she knew she had to get her day started. She had to work from 2-11 then go home and attempt to do her homework.
"But Naattt…" Clint complained.
"But I have to," Nat slipped off the bed and pulled a small bag that she kept extra cloths in for when she over here. She slipped a black shirt and some running shorts and a worn sweatshirt. "Bye," she said as she scampered up the stairs.
"Adios," she heard Clint reply from the basement. She nodded at Barney as she went out the door and he winked at her; she rolled her eyes and walked out the door. She couldn't help but having a smile on her face as she walked in the gym.
After a full day of training, help coaching, monitoring games, and getting nasty looks from Q, Nat was finally on her way home when she reached into her pocket and realized she had left her phone at Clint's house. I'll just get it tomorrow. She thought. She knew Clint would just give it back to her tomorrow. She climbed her tree just as usual to get into her room and yanked on the window- locked. "Dammit" she mumbled. Her dad must have locked it; he was sweet but causing her way to much trouble. She jumped to the tree and made her way around the front of her house to get in, sadly her mom was home. She slowly opened the door and tried to run upstairs but not before running into her mom, literally.
She hit her in the back and fell down while her mom stumbled but caught herself on the stairway.
"Natasha I swear if that's you I will kill you," her mom turned around.
"Where's dad?" was the first thing that came out of her mouth. She just wanted her father home to help her.
"Went out with some friends like the lil selfish bastard that he is." She snarled.
"You shut up about me, you shut the hell up." Nat stood up and faced her mother; she could smell the alcohol that surrounded her mother like her own personal cloud.
"What did you say you little bitch?" Her mom pushed up against her. Nat could see the visible tangles in her dark red hair; her make-up was smeared making her look like the monster she really was inside.
"Shut up, the only reason you're still here is because dad is too nice to throw you out. You should show him a little respect." Nat didn't try to hide the apparent anger in her voice.
"What do you know about," she gulped with drunkenness. "Respect?"
"More than you will ever know," Nat said directly into her mother's face. A fight was coming, she could tell but she wasn't going to stop it. She was sick of this bitch; she wanted this sad excuse for a mother out of her life forever.
Her mother suddenly ran toward her and grabbed Nat's hair and pinned her against the wall with her face only inches from Nat's who could clearly see the yellow of her mother's teeth.
"Respect? You're the most ungrateful little bitch out there! Never staying here with us, always going with your friends. Hell you didn't even come home last night- I saw you walking with that despicable best friend of yours, you probably got knocked up you little slut. You are nothing!" Her mother screamed in her face. Her mom bashing on her she was used to, but bashing on Clint was another thing entirely. Nat couldn't hold back her rage; she pushed her mom off of her.
"I HATE YOU! You are the worst mother, you drunk! You don't deserve anything that you have, not me, not dad. You have cheated out dad out of the life that he deserved- you deserve to go to hell." Nat screamed back. Even she- Nat herself was cheated. She was cheated out of a mother; one that would brush her hair when she was a little girl, one that wouldn't yell at her when she had friends over and one that wouldn't hit her when she accidently knocked a plate over on the ground. Nat could feel the scars on her back from when her mother got too close to her with scissors and they cut her then her mother blaming her that it was her fault.
"You little bitch!" Her mother came out her with her fist that Nat easily blocked and bashed her head on the dry wall she crumpled and laid on the ground. Nat saw her chance and was about to run when she heard a breaking of glass, she turned around to only have something stabbed in her stomach. She looked and her mother was pushing a broken beer bottle into Nat's stomach. Nat couldn't scream, she could feel each individual point piercing her skin and driving itself deeper into her flesh. Her mother smiled and pulled the bottle back. Nat held her stomach and fell to her knees with her arms clinched around her stomach feeling the blood seeping and dampening her shirt. She could smell the mixture of blood and alcohol in the air and it sickened her even more. She finally did scream but was interrupted by her mom kicking her to the side and Nat falling on the ground.
"See how weak you are to me?" her mother spat in her direction. Her pain was interrupted by more as her mother took the bottle and ran it down her back causing gashes in her back. She pain was the worst Nat had ever felt, but not just physical but also mental. Being stabbed to death by your own mother? The person who should have cared for you the most, the one who should have stitched you up, that person was now killing Nat. "I want you to burn in hell too." Were the last words Nat remembered before her mom brought the bottle on her head knocking her out.
The next time Nat woke up she was in the back of her car covered in blankets and ropes, she could tell she was on the highway by the sound of cars speeding by. Her body came to and she felt the horrible pain shoot through her body like a bullet, actually a bullet would have been less painful. She could feel herself loosing blood fast- she could feel herself dying. Then went back into her unconsciousness.
Dragging- the next thing Nat remembered. She was being dragged over something hard and bumpy until she suddenly stopped. She heard her mother's voice mumbling and tried to say something herself but her throat was so dry she couldn't talk. She heard the moving of dirt and rocks and then she was moving again into what felt like a small hole and then it hit her. My mother is burying me alive. Then her body was done, it felt done. She had no more fight, she had no more will to get out, done. She felt the dirt pile up on her one shovel full at a time; her mother placed the rocks near her feet so she couldn't move them. "Not like I loved her." Her mom said to herself and then walked away. Nat half hoped that she would turn around and come back to get her, but the footsteps got quieter and quieter until they faded and a car engine started then drove away and Nat was alone. Silent tears rolling down her eyes, she said a silent prayer to anything that would listen.
It could have been a side-effect from dying but her mind went through all the happiest times. The first time she won a kick-boxing match, meeting her group of friends at school and of course there was Clint. All the memories they had together- their first sleepover where they accidently burned the popcorn, going to his parents cabin in New Jersey, sneaking out at night and have one of their 'top secret' meetings. She remembered the first time they met- it was the first day of kindergarten like how most friendships start out. She came in looking her best and made acquaintances with a couple of the girls, but when recess came she could tell she wasn't like most of the girls.
"So what does everyone play at recess?" Nat had run up to a couple of girls she had sat with.
"Well we play hopscotch and jump rope, and the boys go over in the field and play army or whatever." A girl named Hannah answered.
"Oh that sounds fun, why don't we play?" Nat wanted so desperately wanted to play army and get dirty- she always had.
"Girls don't play that, didn't you know that?" Hannah gave her a disgusted look and went back talking with her friends. Nat felt hurt by the comment, she was always taught whatever boys could do girls could do to. She saw a small group of boys in the field acting like they were in a battle ground and Nat walked over.
"Can I play?" Nat said in a small weak voice. One boy just rolled his eyes and continued playing but another taller boy went up to her.
"You're a girl, you have to go and play with girls." He commanded her.
"No I don't," Nat fought back.
"Yes you do, those are the rules!" The boy pushed a little backwards.
"Hey Wyatt," A boy came running over. He had on a purple shirt and black pants; his hair was dirty blond and his big green eyes make him look like a rugged adventurer. (Nat knew what those looked like thanks to her dad letting her watch Indiana Jones). "She can play to, girls can do boy things just as easy as boys can do girl things." This boy defended Natasha.
"Fine…" Wyatt gave in. "But then she has to be on your team and it's Calvin and me." Wyatt set the terms.
"Deal," the boy grabbed Nat's arm and brought her over to his side. "I'm Clint Barton by the way." The boy finally introduced himself.
"Natasha Romanoff," She replied.
"How about just Nat?" Clint suggested. Nat shrugged in agreement and they played war.
Nat weakly smile at the memory of meeting her best friend. She also recalled the first time they ever said I love you, not in romantic way but just best friends. They were sitting in Nat's room doing homework when the even happened.
Nat sat on the floor with Clint as they tried to figure out Algebra 2 in their 8th grade year. Nat noticed Clint was a little twitchier than he usually was but she passed it off as him having his ADHD.
"Hey, Nat?" Clint asked while chewing on a pen.
"Mhm?" she lifted up her head. He was noticeably nervous, wringing his hands together and tapping his foot. "You ok?"
"It's just um… I love you Nat." He said quietly. She shot straight up with her eyes wide and her body tense. She had already started to develop feelings towards Clint and that little comment didn't help her at all.
"Clint, we've talked about this…" Nat started to say.
"No, not in that way- it's just, you're my best friend and I would take a bullet for you. I don't want anything to ever hurt you. That kind of love." Clint kept his head down the entire time he said it and looked up a little after. Nat just kept thinking over their relationship over the past 9 years.
"Well if it's that kind of you, then I love you too." She said back, her chest kept getting tighter and tighter during the silence. "So what you'd get for number 4?" she asked just get the awkwardness out of the room. After that day their bond seemed stronger and more understanding- the strongest Nat has ever felt with anyone, the bond that finally was too much for her to ignore.
Clint. His name kept running over and over in her head. You're going to leave him. He's going to blame himself for letting you go home. He will be nothing without you Voices clouded her head with words and predictions of what would happen to Clint when she died. THEN DON'T DIE The loudest voice screamed in her head and she knew it was right. She struggled with her feet and managed to get the rocks off of them.
Now it was just getting out of her bonds, finding out where she was on top of not letting herself die.