We reached the end of this fanfiction. I want to take the chance to thank everyone, who stayed with me until the end, wrote some reviews, added my story to their favorite list and followed the story. I really appreciate it that you guys liked my version.
And now for the last time: enjoy the chapter :D
I don't own anything. The characters belong to Marvel.
"She wakes up."
Exhausted, Natasha blinked a few times until she was able to recognize Clint, who was sitting beside her. He pressed a cold towel on her temple, which felt good. Natasha felt like she was burning up.
"Hey, sleeping beauty. How are you doing?"
"Stop the jokes, Clint. Can't you see that she is feeling terrible?"
"I'm sorry, honey."
Natasha wanted to tell them to stop worrying about her, but there were no words coming out of her mouth. Her voice sounded like a crow, so she quickly shut up again.
"I'll bring you a glass of water," Laura said.
Slowly, Natasha took in the rest of the room. She was lying on the couch in the living room. Clint must have carried her inside after she had blacked out again. Laura returned with the water, and suddenly, the redhead noticed how thirsty she was. She emptied the glass faster than usual, while Clint reminded her to take it slowly.
"Easy, Nat. There is no need to rush."
"What happened?" Her voice didn't sound like her, but at least it was back. "What did I miss?"
"You lost consciousness, and I had to carry you inside. When you started to move from one side to the other, I knew that you had another one of these nightmares."
"It was never like this before."
"What did you see?"
"Do you remember the trap I was talking about before this happened?"
"Of course."
"Well, this was the sequel, where I was tied up and talked to the weapons dealer."
"Trap? Tied up? Weapons dealer?" Laura looked confused. "What the hell are you dreaming about?"
Natasha looked at Clint, who understood what she wanted him to do. The Black Widow wasn't good with explanations and she didn't know what the archer had told his wife about her terrible past.
"Honey, I told you that Nat had a rough past, right?"
"You did."
"And that she had to… do… things that weren't right."
Natasha let out a quiet laugh, but her best friend ignored her. It wasn't easy to explain the situation and Laura looked already annoyed.
"Clint, I'm not a child. We talked about Nat's past when she published her files after SHIELD'S fall-down. There is no need to play soft."
"Alright, well the nightmares are memories from her time when she was still working for the Russian and killing people. This trap she is talking about, was many years ago when I was in Russia as well to kill her."
"But you decided differently."
"I did, and Fury wasn't happy about it, at first. I nearly lost my head because of this decision."
Natasha raised her eyebrows in surprise. It had been no secret that no one at SHIELD had liked Clint's decision to recruit a dangerous killer, but he had never told her that Fury had almost fired him.
"You never told me that you almost got fired," Natasha said.
"Fury was angry, but he knew that he needed me. He would have never fired me," Clint answered and shrugged with his shoulders. "Not a big deal."
Natasha took a pillow and hit her best friend with it. Shocked, Clint covered his head from her attacks.
"You're an idiot!"
"Thank you, Nat," Laura agreed with the redhead, while Clint was shocked by her words.
"Thank you?! You thank her for hitting me with a pillow and calling me an idiot?!"
"Yes, this way, I don't have to do it."
"I regret the day, you two met each other."
"You are such a poor boy." Laura shook her head, then she left the two friends alone.
"Don't you want to hear the rest of my explanation?"
"I think I pass. I already know enough. Nat got trapped, and this weapons dealer tortured her. Did I miss anything?"
She didn't wait for an answer, and Clint and Natasha didn't give one. They didn't want Laura to be angry with them. Finally, Clint turned to his best friend again.
"Could you please put the pillow aside?"
"Depends."
"On what?"
"Are there more things I need to know about, which you didn't tell me?"
"How about I tell you what happened this day you are dreaming about, but this time you will see it from my perspective?"
Natasha thought about it, then she nodded and put the pillow behind her head. She had never heard how this day had been for Clint and was eager to hear about it.
"Well, I had the order to kill you for days. The high bosses of SHIELD had decided that it was too dangerous to let you walk, so I was supposed to put an arrow in your head. But since we met on this roof top – where you almost killed my stupid partner – I had a strange feeling to execute the order. So I stall. Every day I was following you, but I never made the shot. Fury and Coulson were angry, and I knew that I had to make a decision or they would send someone else. On this day when you followed this weapons dealer, I'd known about the trap. It helps to sit on roof tops. This way, you are able to listen to conversations you're not supposed to hear."
"And when you saw me in that alley…"
"I had to stop you…"
Clint cursed when he saw that the Black Widow was following her target. She couldn't know about the trap, the guy had set up for her. What should he do? Fury and Coulson expected of him to kill the woman, but he couldn't do it. But he also couldn't go down there to warn her. He was a spy, and the bad guys weren't supposed to see him. Cursing, he pulled out an arrow and pointed it at the head of the Black Widow. It would be over soon. One shot, and it would be over. His job would be done, she wouldn't walk into a trap, and he could fly home to his family. Then why was he hesitating?
`You definitely need a new partner. He is nothing compared to you.´
Her words from months ago were stuck in his head. He had searched for the perfect partner for years, but no one was ever a match to him. He had trained newbies, and every one of them had disappointed him. And then this woman – Natalia Romanova – appeared in front of him, and suddenly, he felt like he had found his match. Her fighting skills were able to compete with his own. She was clever and funny… but she was his enemy.
She was getting closer to the corner, and the arrow left his bow. It passed her and then stuck in the wall. Immediately, Clint had her attention. Her green eyes found him, and he saw the surprise in them. She hadn't expected him to be there. Did she know that he had been sent to kill her? It didn't matter. He needed to give her a sign that this was a trap. Yelling wasn't an option, just like going down to her. What else could he do?
`Well, try it with shaking your head. Everyone knows what this means.´
Sadly, she looked even more confused. This wasn't working. She took another step forward and he shook his head again. Then she took a step back and Clint realized that she had understood him, so he nodded. Now, she just had to turn around, and he had to find a new excuse for Coulson, why she was still breathing. The archer relaxed just when the stubborn redhead ran forward.
`Why?!´ Clint thought angry. `I'm trying to help you, stupid woman!´
Since she was concentrated on getting away from him without an arrow in her back, she didn't notice the trap. Helpless, Clint had to watch how the men encircled her and beaten her up. He wanted to shoot them, but he couldn't risk it to be seen. When the Black Widow was unconscious, they tied her up, put a bag over her head and carried her inside the building. Clint activated his earwig and spoke through gritted teeth.
"This is Hawkeye. Beta, are you there?"
It took a few seconds until Coulson's voice answered. "Beta here. How is your status?"
"My target ran into a trap. She got captured."
"Enemies or friends?"
"Enemies to both of us."
"Will she make it out of there alive?"
"I don't know. It's possible that she won't."
Coulson turned silent, while he thought about Clint's words. This wasn't how they had planned the mission.
"Return to the base."
"Repeat that?!"
"The mission is over, Hawkeye. Return to the base."
"Beta…"
"I don't know what it is about this woman that you start to ignore orders, but you will obey to this one! Forget her and come back! Do you copy?"
Clint gritted his teeth harder. His whole body was fighting against the order. He couldn't leave her to die when he was able to help her!
"Hawkeye, do you…?!"
Clint crashed his earwig before Coulson could finish the question. Screw SHIELD, screw Fury and Coulson, and screw the stupid orders. He would save this woman, no matter what.
When the night has fallen over Russia, Clint made his move. He wore his black clothes, but this time he had no SHIELD symbols on him. In case someone saw him, he didn't want to alarm anyone by showing that he was playing for the good guys. His bow was hanging over his shoulder, ready to be used if Clint would have resistance on his way. The archer used every shadow he could find to hide, but he noticed that it was unnecessary to be so careful. The bad guys didn't expect a rescue mission. After all, the famous Black Widow was known to work alone. Who would come to rescue that woman?
`Well, apparently, I'm this guy. Let's hope that Fury isn't going to kill me when I'm back.´
Clint moved inside, but there was no one there. The corridors were empty, and there was no sound. Where was the weapons dealer, and where was the redhead? He couldn't imagine that she was already dead. The woman was too stubborn to die that quick. But at least, he didn't hear any screams. This was a good sign… right?
The SHIELD agent reached stairs, which went either up or down. Since he couldn't believe that they would keep her in the upper floors, Clint decided to go down. It was silent, then suddenly a door opened, and one of the bad guys was standing in front of Clint. The archer's fingers were itching, but he couldn't shoot an arrow from this distance. The other guy was too close. The man said something in Russian, and Clint could only imagine that he was asking who he was – his Russian was pretty bad.
`Act quick, Barton, or he will alarm his friends.´
One punch to the throat and his opponent was gasping for air. Another one to the head and he was out. Clint pulled him back to the room, which he had just exited and left him there. Now he was running out of time. This guy wasn't sleeping forever, and he hadn't even found the Black Widow by now! Clint decided that he had to stop to sneak around in the building. He had to be faster now, if he wanted to get out of there alive.
The next ten minutes felt like hours, but finally, he found the room he was looking for. It was a big one with only one lamp in it, so he almost didn't see the poor woman, who was hanging from the ceiling. After a quick check for unwanted guests, he closed the door behind him and moved to her. Anger raged through his veins when he saw what they had done to her. Additionally, to the two gunshot wounds she had received outside, they had cut her several times. A puddle of blood had formed on the ground. He couldn't see her face since her hair was hanging wet in her face.
"Widow," the archer whispered. No reaction. "Natalia!"
He pushed her hair out of her face, and suddenly, her eyes flickered open. The light was gone, as well as her power.
"You." Her voice was only a whisper. Clint assumed that it had been a while since she drank something.
"Hold on."
"What are you doing here?"
"What does it look like? I'm saving you."
"He will kill you."
"We will be gone by then."
"You're crazy, arrow man."
Clint smiled at her words. Although she was hanging from the ceiling and had lost a lot of blood, this woman still hasn't lost her sharp tongue.
"It's Clint, Clint Barton."
"Well, Clint Barton, are you planning to get us out of here or do you wanna chat?"
"I'm searching for the key," Clint said and moved to the table.
"He took it with him. You have to find another way to open this thing around my legs."
"Any ideas?"
"Do you have a hairpin?"
"Wait a second." Clint moved with his hands through his short hair, then he showed her his empty hands. "Sorry, no hairpin."
"Hilarious."
Clint took a knife from the table. He saw her flinch when he returned, but he kneeled slowly to show her that he wouldn't hurt her. It took him a while to open the lock and to cut the ropes before he was able to stand up again. At the same time, a scream echoed through the corridors. They must have found the unconscious man or he was awake now.
"Listen, I will put my arms around you to get you off this hook."
"Just get it over with. They don't wait until you found a solution."
"I just didn't want you to freak out if I do it without saying anything," Clint explained, while he carefully put his arms around her bleeding body. "I'm not interested in getting kicked."
The redhead hissed in pain when he lifted her to free her hands from the hook. At the same moment when she fell over his shoulder, the door busted open and the weapons dealer appeared with a gun in his hand.
"Shit!"
Clint had seen a second door on the other side of the room, so this was his new exit point. He couldn't fight the bad guys, while a bleeding woman was lying over his shoulder. Sadly, the weapons dealer fired his gun at them, while he was following them. Clint felt how the Black Widow did something with his belt, but he couldn't ask her what it was. Then he heard different gunshots shooting at the bad guys and immediately, he knew what she had done. The woman had his gun! Clint cursed himself for not being more careful. It was dangerous to give the Black Widow a weapon! At least, she was keeping their followers from coming closer. He entered an empty room on one of the upper floors, put her down on her feet and quickly, bared the door. In the next second, he heard how the men tried to get in, but his barricade held. Breathlessly he turned to the Black Widow, only to look into his gun, which was pointed at his head. She was sitting on the ground because her feet didn't carry her anymore.
"Easy, Natalia. I'm here to help you, remember?"
"Why?"
"Why did I do it?"
"Yes. I don't have friends, and I know that SHIELD wants to kill me. So why are you here, Clint Barton? If you think that I will believe you that you never had the order to kill me, then…"
"The order still stands. Actually, my bosses told me to come back to base, and let you die in here."
"You disobeyed them? Why?" The redhead was confused. She didn't know this guy, but he was willing to risk his life for her. "These guys will kill you when they get the chance. Your bosses won't be happy about your actions. Why do you risk everything for a woman you don't even know except that she is a cold-blooded killer?!"
Clint moved closer to the hurt woman, and the gun in her hands was shaking.
"Stop! Don't move!"
But Clint wasn't good at listening. Besides, he had this strange feeling in his gut, which told him that she wouldn't shoot him. She was confused, but she wouldn't shoot. He kneeled in front of her, then he took the gun out of her hands, gently.
"Why aren't you afraid?" Her big green eyes were shocked by his actions. Everyone else would have run for his life.
"You impress me, Natalia Romanova. You are a strong woman and one hell of a fighter. But you serve the wrong people. People, who don't care about you. I think you could do some good for this world. SHIELD could be glad if he had someone like you."
"SHIELD hates me."
"They don't know you."
"You don't know me either."
"I know enough." Gently, Clint put a strand of her hair behind her ear, then he removed the rope from her wrists. "Listen, I can't force you to come with me. It is your decision. You can go back to your old life, or you try to change it. But if you should decide to come with me to SHIELD, I will promise you that no one is going to torture or hurt you. I will be by your side, and help you through this."
"You are a strange man."
"Yeah, probably. So, I will ask you: do you want to leave the Red Room?"
"Yes." It was only a whisper, and Clint saw that she was shocked by her own answer.
"Good. Do you want to come with me?"
This time, she hesitated. It was one thing to have the wish to change your life, but it was a hard step to actually do it. Clint didn't push her. He knew that this would be the wrong way. Instead, he just stared in her eyes and hoped that she would see the truth in them.
"What if they don't want me? What if they want to kill me after all?"
"Then I will get you out of there."
"You would fight against your bosses? Your colleagues?"
"If I give someone a promise, I keep it. I won't allow them to hurt you. Even if it means that I have to go rogue. But I know my bosses. They bark, but they don't bite. They will be angry with me – I won't lie to you – but if you truly mean it to change your life, they will take you in."
Something big was crashing against the door. They were running out of time. Clint stood up and put his gun back in its holster. Then he reached his hand out to the redhead.
"Your decision. Are you coming with me?"
She watched his hand when the second crash was heard. Then she laid her hand in his' and allowed him to pull her to her feet. Clint smiled at her.
"Let's get out of here."
A third crash rattled the door and almost pushed it out of the frame. The barricade wouldn't survive a fourth crash. Quickly, Clint was searching for a way out of the room, but it looked like the door was the only entrance and exit. They were surrounded by concrete walls and big windows. Both the archer and the Black Widow realized at the same time that the windows were their only chance. Clint threw a last desperate look at the door, then he ran to the other side, pulling the woman with him. When the bad guys broke the door with the fourth crash, they jumped and the sound of shattered glass was surrounding them. The glass cut in Clint's skin, but no sound came over his lips. Beneath them laid the river and the two fugitives dived in. The water was ice cold, although they had already spring outside. Clint was clutching the hand of the redhead, who seemed not to care about the cold.
`Well, she is Russian. She is used to the cold.´
The river carried them away from the building and out of the town. When they reached green meadows, Clint tried to swim to the riverside. Natalia was also trying, but it was obvious that she was losing her strength. Being shot and tortured took its toll on her. Breathlessly, Clint pulled them out of the water and then just lied down on the grass. This wasn't how he had thought this mission would go.
"What do we do now?"
The redhead was lying beside him, also breathing heavily. She looked better, now that the water had washed off the blood, but her wounds were still open. It wouldn't take long until her body was covered in blood again.
"We find my motorcycle, drive to a private airport, where my jet waits, and then they bring us back to SHIELD."
"And where is your motorcycle?"
"Depends on where we are right now. As soon as I'm back in the city, I can find it."
"Then let's move. They will be after us in no time."
"Easy, redhead. I'm freezing."
"This is Russia. What did you expect? Warm beaches? Don't be such a baby."
"You're a pain in the ass. Do you know that?"
"You offered to take me to your boss. Now you have to live with it."
"… and then we flew back to SHIELD and I had to deal with Fury. It was a hard fight, but obviously I won it."
"I was surprised that no one actually wanted to arrest me."
"Everyone was afraid of the famous Black Widow. They knew they were no competition against you."
"I was in pain. I had two gunshot wounds and multiple cuts on my body."
"And you want to tell me that you couldn't fight when you are in pain?"
Natasha opened her mouth, then she thought about his words and finally gave up. She would never be in too much pain to fight off enemies.
"Smartass," she said, but was smiling at her partner.
"I'm trying my best." Clint copied her smile, but then he turned serious again. "What do you think? Will my part of the story help you with your nightmares?"
"I don't know, Clint. We will see tomorrow, if it works or if it starts with the next story."
Clint sat down on the couch beside her and put his arm around her, so she was able to lean her head on his chest.
"Then we will fight the next story as well. And the one afterwards, and the one after, and…"
"I get it, Barton. You will be there and help me."
"I just wanted to make sure you understand, Romanoff. You are a smart woman, but sometimes you need a kick in your ass. You're not fighting alone anymore. You have friends and a family, and we care about you. Allow us to help you."
The two friends turned silent, while they were enjoying the comfort of having each other. Since this day they had met on the roof top, their lives had been intertwined. They had fought against each other as well as they had fought as partners against their enemies and with their friends as heroes. They had their good times and their bad times, but the good ones always triumphed. Their life was and had been complicated, and both Avengers wouldn't want to change it for one second.
Author note: Aaaaand we are done :)
Maybe you guys want to share some final thoughts with me (or maybe you have some suggestions/improvements for me), so leave a final review, if you like. Have a great Christmas time.