A/N: Yes, I've finally found some more time to write the next chapter. This week has been brutal. I get one day off and then I start another 14 day round of working. I'm meeting myself going backwards these days. Never mind, it'd be a terrible thing to be bored, right? ;)

Now, this chapter. I must confess I'm rather nervous about it. I have two elements to this story that concern me, and this is the first of them. I'm not sure what you're going to make of this, but these next two chapters have felt like pushing molasses up a hill on a sunny day to write. I think it's in part because it's a bit of a change of mood and there is no real comedy in these next two chapters. This is more exposition on the Natasha/Clint relationship which I hope will ring true for the characters.

Anyways, the die is cast with these chapters and all I can do is run with it now. So, see what you make of it and I'll definitely have an update tomorrow because I split this chapter because it was getting ridiculously long. Again, refer to the molasses comment. .

Here we go...

Chapter Seventeen

The taxi pulled up in front of the Plaza Hotel where Justin Hammer was meant to be residing and Natasha reached for the door handle to get out.

Clint put out a hand and stalled her. "Wait." He looked over to the front seat and addressed the driver. "Can you give us a minute?"

The man met his gaze in the mirror. "What?"

Clint made a motion with his finger for him to get out of the taxi. "Can you give us a moment?"

"You want me to get out of the cab?" the other man asked in disbelief.

"Yeah," said Clint, "take the keys and keep the meter running if you're worried."

"Clint, what are you doing?" Natasha asked, giving him a confused look.

Clint's attention was still on the driver. "Do you mind?"

The guy hesitated and then shrugged, obviously deciding it was all money in the bank to him. He climbed out and left Natasha and Clint alone in the cab.

Clint turned to face the woman who was looking at him warily now. "So," he said conversationally, "are you going to tell me what's up with you or what?" Clint saw Natasha tense and that confirmed for him that he wasn't imagining the sudden cooling of the relationship between them. "I'm serious, Natasha," he said firmly and jerked his head towards the front of the cab, "meter is running, so time to start talking."

Her expression didn't change. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"You've been acting weird for days now," said Clint. "All of a sudden you don't want me going on missions with you when we've been on countless ones before. Fury recruited us together, we've come up through the ranks together and now you're acting like I'm a stranger, or worse, the enemy and I want to know what is going on with you?"

"We can talk about this later," said Natasha tightly, "right now we have-"

"Right now we have to sort this out," said Clint determinedly. "This whole angst between us all of a sudden is a liability to us both. I've given you some time to snap out of it and you haven't, so now I think I deserve an explanation."

He watched her lips tighten. "Deserve?"

"Yes, deserve," said Clint without hesitation. "You can play the ice princess routine with anyone else but me, Natasha. I know you and this isn't us." He paused, a realisation dawning on him. "And that's why you're suddenly resenting our history, isn't it?" he quizzed her. "You're keeping a secret and you don't want anyone to know what it is and you're worried I'll figure it out." Clint sat back in his seat, surprised at himself for not working it out sooner. "Now it all starts to make sense." He turned in his seat and looked at her intently. "So, fess up, what is this deep dark secret that you're keeping from me?" He nudged her leg. "Come on, it can't be that bad, not after all we've been through." Clint could see how tightly Natasha was holding her body and he was determined to put her at ease. "I promise you I'm not going to be shocked."

There was a long pause where Natasha was obviously weighing things up. When she finally spoke, it was the last thing Clint had expected. "I've got a brain tumour." Natasha kept her profile stoically staring straight ahead as she said the words, her voice devoid of emotion.

Clint felt the air rush from his lungs in a stunned breath even as his brain struggled to comprehend her words. "Wh-what?"

"I've got a brain tumour," she repeated woodenly. "I was having a little blurred vision in my left eye and when I had a check up, they found a mass in my brain. It's pressing on my optic nerve and as it grows it's going to cause me to go blind."

Despite his promise not to be shocked, Clint was struggling to deal with this news. "What-when-can they take it out?"

"I've found one doctor who is willing to consider the surgery but it's high risk," she said quietly. "There is a good chance I could wake up from the surgery and be a quadriplegic, if I wake up at all."

Clint's shoulders sagged at this devastating news. He needed for this not to be true. "Have you gotten a second opinion?"

"Everyone I've talked to pretty much agrees this sucks," Natasha deadpanned.

"Why didn't you tell me you were going through this?" he asked in distress. "How long have you known for?"

"They told me three days ago. I was in the doctor's office getting the news when the praying mantises attacked."

"And you came on the mission anyway?" he asked in disbelief.

"I'm an Avenger," she said simply, "it's my job."

Clint was reeling from the news and tried to imagine the kind of internal fortitude it must have taken to go on a mission after learning such potentially life altering news. "You should have told me, Natasha. No one should have to go through this kind of thing alone."

Natasha turned to face him, the emotion finally back in her big, green eyes which were suddenly too bright. "All I have is this job, Clint, and if I can't do this job then I don't know what I'll do. This kind of work doesn't have a plan B to it, you commit everything to it and you don't look back, that's how it goes. I need to know that people know they can rely on me to do my job properly. If I don't have the trust of the rest of the Avengers and Fury, then what the hell do I have? Nothing, that's what."

"You have me," said Clint sincerely. He took her hand. "Look, we're not like the rest of the team, we're not weird or insane, we're normal."

Natasha arched an eyebrow.

Clint's lips quirked. "Relatively speaking, of course. We're a team, you and I, a proven one and we'll get through this together."

"I couldn't handle becoming a burden to anyone," she said unevenly. "What use is a supposed super hero who can't see?"

Clint shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe we can ask Daredevil next time we bump into him."

Natasha closed her eyes. "I'm no Daredevil."

"You'll have the surgery and everything will be fine," he said firmly, not even wanting to consider the alternative.

"And if I'm not fine?" she said harshly. "Maybe it's better to go down swinging and do what I know how to do for as long as I can rather than risk losing it all prematurely?"

Clint frowned. "Are you telling me you're seriously not considering having the operation?"

Her face clouded over. "I don't know," she said unevenly. "I haven't made up my mind yet."

Fear clawed at Clint's stomach that he might be facing losing her. "And you don't have to do it right now. You've got time, haven't you?"

"My specialist says it's a relatively slow growing tumour," said Natasha quietly. "I have time."

That was all Clint needed to hear. "Good, then we can talk about it later. Let's just get this job done and we'll sit down and talk about it properly."

Natasha gave him a very serious look. "Do you still want me doing this with you, now that you know?"

Clint could see how hard that question was for her to ask. "I made a big deal about our history earlier for a good reason," said Clint without hesitation. "History tells me you've always got my back and I hope it tells you the same thing," said Clint firmly. "I know you'll tell me when you don't think you're up to something, Natasha. I trust your judgement."

Clint watched the relief flood her face. "I don't want anyone else to know, Clint," she said urgently. "This has to remain between us. If Fury finds out he'll bench me and if this is going to be my last few weeks as a useful member of the Avengers, I don't want to waste it."

Not having Natasha around was a tough thought for Clint to get his head around, but he made sure not to show it. He gave a lopsided smile. "I've got your back, kiddo, just like always."

Natasha swallowed hard and let Clint see a brief moment of vulnerability as her expression registered gratitude but then it was gone as the cool mask of the Black Widow slid into place and she gave him a determined look. "So, full frontal attack with Hammer?"

It felt like a relief to talk about the mission after the emotion of the last few minutes. Clint could see Natasha needed it as much as he did. "I'm not against putting the fear of God into the guy."

Natasha smiled a cool smile, a look of mischief in her eyes. "Looks like we have a plan."

A/N: Thoughts, observations, comments, people? A bit of a curve ball, I know.