here's the next chapter like promised! this is all beginning to build up to the end of this story (which will have a sequel, don't worry!)

i hope you enjoy! gonna have some action coming up soon :)

thank you for your reviews, i love to know what you think about the chapters! hope you enjoy this one xx

Clint woke up when the car stopped moving. He was slouched against the door, legs spread out over the backseat and Lucky curled on his chest. Natasha was in the front with her feet up on the dash, and turned around in her seat to smile at him softly as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

He had slept for most of their flight, and all of the drive from the airport into Waverly. Lucky had too, but he attributed that to the fact that it was the puppy's first time flying, whereas Clint was just exhausted after sitting on the ground all night; in the end, moving Natasha had seemed counterintuitive, and so they had stayed there until she had groggily woke up in the morning.

She didn't remember the nightmare, or what had caused her to give herself a nosebleed, and Clint was almost grateful that whatever had upset her so much hadn't lingered. He had told her everything, though, watching the fear on her face as she realised that she hadn't been in control of her body. She seemed to be doing okay though, all things considered.

"Here," Natasha said. She unbuckled her seatbelt and glanced out the windshield, eyes narrowed. "I think is same as before."

Clint took stock of his surroundings and couldn't help but agree. The main street looked exactly the same as the last time he had been there, and if he squinted far enough up the road he could see his father's old butchers. The windows were boarded over, he could tell even from a distance.

"Dunno what I expected," Chase said, opening the car door. "Your stories made it seem so…"

"Horrible?" Clint guessed. He got out of the car with Lucky and stretched, then draped his arm over Natasha's shoulders so he could pull her into his side and press a kiss to her temple. "How you feeling?"

She rolled her eyes and stepped away from him, not one for PDA. "Fine."

"Whatever you say," Clint sighed, but he wasn't going to push it. He snagged Lucky's leash before he could wander out onto the road, letting the puppy sniff around on the grass. They had considered leaving Lucky behind, but weren't really sure if they would be heading back to La Conner or not. Clint wasn't keen on asking strangers to watch him, either. They didn't want to draw unwanted attention to themselves.

Natasha turned and left, heading into the storage facility so she could grab the bag they had left there last time. Clint watched her go, not convinced she was telling the truth only because he didn't feel fine himself. Being back in Waverly was easy, but he felt like it shouldn't be.

Chase shut the driver's door and leant against the side of the car, regarding him. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine," Clint shrugged. "I'm gonna go see my old house."

"That a good idea?" Chase asked.

"Well, if I was seeing a therapist they might say it would bring closure or something, right?"

Chase laughed. "Whatever. You need me to drive you there?"

"Nah, s'all good," Clint said, waving him off. "You do whatever you were planning on doing. There's this café, Ed's, down the road here. We'll meet you there."

Lucky whined, watching people across the road go in and out of stores. Clint bent down to scratch behind his ears, chuckling as the dog rolled onto his back so he could get belly scratches instead. Clint was proud of how well Lucky had travelled; he had been in the car with them a few times, but flying was new and he hadn't seem nonplussed to be loaded away from them on the plane.

Natasha returned with a duffel bag swung over her shoulder, and she offloaded it to Chase as soon as she was close enough. "Is done."

"Great," Clint said, passing her Lucky's leash. "I just have to get one thing."

He went into the duffel bag, rummaging around the Harry Potter books and Yulia to find his mum's old camera. There was still a little film left, and he thought it might be nice to get it developed once it was used up. The photos would either be good or bad, but there was no way of knowing unless he at least tried.

They said goodbye to Chase and started the walk to the dirt road in silence. Clint felt real fear bubble in his stomach as they reached the paddocks and picked their way through the long grass. Clint didn't know what to expect, and a part of him was worried they would bump into Barney. They let Lucky off the leash, watching him bound ahead of them in excitement.

"What you are wanting to find?" Natasha asked. She walked steadily beside him, the only giveaway that she was nervous being the way she twisted her fingers together. Her cheeks were red and tender, the left one slightly discoloured from her assault against herself the previous night.

"I don't know," Clint admitted, glancing at her. For a second she looked like she had all those years ago, a little girl with a halo of red hair and eyes that sparked with mischief, but then he blinked and she was the Natasha of now, older and more world-weary. "Guess I just wanted to see."

Natasha didn't say anything else, and Clint was content to walk along the road without saying anything either. It was a strange feeling, being there now. If things had been normal they would be graduating this year; he briefly wondered what Natasha would have worn to prom, if he would have been brave enough to ask her. If they hadn't been brought together the way that they had, would they even be friends?

Clint's house came into view and his stomach flip-flopped unpleasantly. Natasha reached out and squeezed his hand, letting him entwine their fingers for support. They moved slowly now, as though they were stuck in mud, and Lucky yapped at them to catch him. The sun was warm on Clint's head and everything smelt exactly the way it used to. The only difference with the house was the foreclosure sign on the lawn.

"Looks like Barney left too," Clint said softly. He hadn't really expected his brother to stick around, but was still surprised to realise that the house hadn't sold yet.

"The steps…" Natasha began, walking over until she was right in front of them. Clint waited to see if she would climb them but she just stood at the bottom, staring at the front door. "I remember."

"Huh," Clint said, leaning against the railing. "They don't look as big as they used to."

When he was a kid the stairs seemed to go on forever. They had felt huge even when he was older, and could remember how long it felt like he was falling down them the night his parents died. Lucky climbed up clumsily, going right up to the front door and sniffing around and then looking back at them to see if they would follow. When they didn't he jumped down, following his nose around the side of the house instead.

Natasha hesitantly took a step forward, then sat down when she was a couple of stairs up. She grinned at him softly, head cocked to the side and hair falling in waves over her shoulder. Clint almost felt like crying when he realised just how far they had come from the first time they had sat on the stairs together. It felt like a lifetime ago.

"Stay there," he said, reaching into his pocket for the camera. Natasha rolled her eyes, but her smile was sweet as he took the photo. He had never loved anyone as much as he loved her.

"Now is you," Natasha said, dusting off her jeans and jumping off the stairs. She took the camera from him, poking her tongue out as she shoved him closer to the house. "Okay, bird brain. Smile."

At the sound of Natasha's voice, Lucky came tearing back to them, tongue lolling out of his mouth. He jumped around Clint's legs for a moment, then settled by his side, his one eye focused entirely on Natasha. Clint didn't want to sit on the stairs, so he stood a little awkwardly with his hand on Lucky's head, trying not to look like he was in pain. From the look on Natasha's face he wasn't doing a very good job, but she snapped the picture anyway.

"Right," Clint said gruffly, clearing his throat. "Guess that's all there is to see, then."

Natasha shielded her eyes from the sun and glanced down the road towards her old house. He wasn't about to suggest going down there, and he was more than a little relieved when she finally turned away. He saw the tension in her shoulders and wrapped her into a hug, resting his chin atop her head.

"We're okay," he told her. "We got out of here."

"He can't hurt me," Natasha said. "Not again."

"Not anymore," Clint agreed. "No one can."

"I am sorry about your mother," Natasha murmured. "I like her. Even at end, when she is not happy. I like her."

Clint felt his throat tighten with emotion and nodded. "Yea. I liked her too."

By the time they made it back to the café, Clint was emotionally exhausted. They had taken one last photo of themselves at the house, Natasha tucked into his side as he held the camera out in front of them, and now it was late afternoon and he was starving.

Chase wasn't there yet, so they tied Lucky by the door and went inside to order some muffins and a couple of coffees. Natasha chose a booth close to the door where she could see Lucky, waiting while Clint went to the bathroom, and it was when he was coming back to the table that he saw them.

At first he didn't recognise the two girls walking through the front door, but then one of them smiled and waved so enthusiastically that it was impossible not to remember.

"Laura?" he asked incredulously as they quickly came towards him. "Rachel, I… What are you guys doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing," Laura gushed, pulling him into a tight hug. "Oh my god, Clint. It's been ages."

"Nearly two years," Clint confirmed, smiling. "Wow. How are you guys?"

"Oh, you know, just stressed about finals," Rachel said. "There's a lot of pressure. I'm trying to ignore it."

"We're drowning ourselves in coffee," Laura said seriously. "We're starting our cram early."

"Right," Clint laughed, running a hand through his hair. "Wow. This is so unexpected."

"Did you really think you wouldn't see us if you came back?" Laura teased. "Or were you trying to avoid us?"

"No, never," Clint said truthfully. "I just… I didn't even think. Life has been so crazy and…"

He trailed off, not sure what he could possibly say to describe what they had been doing for the last couple of years. Whilst Laura and Rachel had been preparing to graduate, Clint had been shot and Natasha had discovered a plethora of triggers buried deep in her psyche. It wasn't exactly something he could compare, or ever tell them about.

"Is that Natalia?" Rachel asked, pointing over Clint's shoulder to where Natasha still sat. "Oh my god. It is."

Laura squealed, and it was loud enough for Natasha to glance over sharply. Her expression softened just slightly as she noticed them, and then she stood fluidly and made her way over to them with the bag of muffins and coffees. Clint noticed the exact moment Laura saw the bruise on Natasha's face, and he suddenly remembered that they had left Waverly looking much like they did now.

"Hello," Natasha said cautiously, handing Clint his coffee. "Is nice to see you."

Laura didn't try to hug Natasha this time, maybe sensing that things had changed too much. "I can't believe the two of you are still together."

Rachel coughed, elbowing Laura in the side, but Clint just laughed. "She can't get rid of me that easily."

"How have you been?" Rachel asked. "What are you guys even doing here?"

"We stop for coffee," Natasha said carefully. "And for stupid dog to go outside."

"That's your puppy out there?" Rachel gushed, grabbing Clint's arm. "I love him. I've literally never seen a cuter dog in my life."

"He's adorable," Laura agreed, then looked at Clint seriously. "I was worried about you guys, to be honest. We both were. It's nice to see that you're doing okay."

Clint opened his mouth to reply when Chase suddenly poked his head through the door, pushing his sunglasses down his nose to properly survey the scene before him. "You guys good?"

"Fine," Clint responded. "Just ran into some old friends."

Rachel and Laura smiled, but Chase was focused on Natasha. "You got a minute, Red?"

Natasha raised an eyebrow. "What is wrong?"

"Nothing," Chase said nonchalantly, but Clint could tell he was trying to act cool. "Just found some old friends, too."

Clint felt his blood go cold, suddenly worried that they had been followed all the way out to Iowa. Chase's smile was tight, but he didn't seem to be panicking, and when Clint looked out the window he could only see Lucky, looking miserable at being left out.

Natasha nodded once, then turned to Clint. "Okay. Maybe we go?"

"Right," Clint said. He smiled sadly at Laura and Rachel, who both looked a little disappointed. "Wish we could've had a real catch-up."

"Here," Rachel said, reaching into her handbag for a pen and paper. She quickly wrote something down, then pressed it into Clint's palm. "You can always call us. Or text us. Or send us a letter, I guess. I'm going to Wartburg College."

"Sounds good," Clint said. He gave them both a hug, a little sad to leave them so soon but more worried about what Chase could have possibly found out. "Good luck on your finals."

He followed Natasha out of the café, retrieving Lucky and letting the dog jump into the car before him. Laura and Rachel watched them, gushing over Lucky through the window, and he waved as they pulled out of the parking lot. It was only once they were on their way out of Waverly and the puppy was asleep again that Clint felt it was safe to speak.

"What's going on?"

Chase tapped his fingers against the wheel, then quickly glanced at Natasha in the passenger seat beside him. "I accidentally stumbled across something. A Red Room operation in Virginia."

"How you find that?" Natasha asked.

"I've been snooping around, okay," Chase admitted. "Ever since you tried to kill me. The second time, not the first."

"First time is not count," Natasha muttered sullenly. "I am drugged."

"Anyway," Chase continued. "While you guys were reminiscing the past or whatever, I was at the library using their ancient computers to follow a lead."

"And?" Clint prompted, hating where this was going. He felt nervous, and suddenly couldn't finish his muffin.

"I think they want to replicate the Super Soldier serum," Chase said carefully. "There was a girl at Culver University. She was trying to access old files by some guy named Banner. He was… unsuccessful, but on the right track."

"Super Soldier?" Clint said incredulously. "What does that even mean?"

"Like Captain America," Natasha said, shrugging at the look on Clint's face. "We learn of him. He is real."

"Yea, he was absolutely a real dude," Chase gushed. "He beat up so many Nazis. Then he crashed his ship into the ice or whatever, and they haven't found him since. But still. Guy used to be 95 pounds before they pumped him full of that serum. He was 240 when he went into the ice."

"You know lots," Natasha remarked. "You have crush?"

"What girl?" Clint interrupted them, even though he thought he would already know.

"I barely got her photo from security footage," Chase warned. "She's good. Natasha-level good."

"They were all trained the same," Clint said slowly, as if on autopilot. "Where's the photo?"

Natasha was already looking through the glove compartment, obviously coming to the same conclusion that Clint had. She pulled a large photograph out, and the sound she made upon seeing it was completely feral. She twisted in her seat to thrust the glossy image at him, and he forced himself to look at it.

Clint felt his heart sink as his fear was confirmed, because even though the photo was blurry it was impossible not to recognise the blonde hair and round face. The girl in the photo was Yelena.