"Hey." Natasha called softly with a light knock at the door.

Clint's large, tired blue eyes looked up at her. "Hey."

She offered a weak smile, letting herself in and closing the door behind her. "No roommate," she noticed.

Clint nodded. "That was Stark."

"I'm not surprised," She said simply. "How are you feeling?"

He patted the bed next to him and she moved to sit beside him. "I'm alright. I'll be back in a day or two."

Her smile widened. "You just had major surgery, Clint."

He shrugged. "So I'll be back in a week then."

She rolled her eyes. "Well, your attitude's certainly back."

He grinned, reaching for her hand. "See, I knew you would bring me home, just like you said you would."

She shook her head. "I…. um, Tony… he did all this," she said, gesturing with her other hand around the room.

"Yeah, I heard. I guess he is everything you said," Clint said evenly, propping himself up. "Stark's actually having me moved from this facility. He says it'd be better for me to recover at home now."

"Really?" Natasha raised an eyebrow. "Did you tell him that's what you wanted?"

"I'm not sure," He replied with a slight frown. "I guess I probably hinted at that when I was out of it."

She nodded. "That's Tony."

"Look, Tasha… I know you care for him."

She sighed. "Not this again."

"You have to tell him."

"Clint, I can't just…."

"After all this? If you really have any sort of real feelings for him, then you have to tell him the truth. Before this goes any further."

"And how far do you trust Tony Stark with classified S.H.I.E.L.D. information?" She challenged.

Clint shrugged. "I'm not the one that's sleeping with him. It's not my conscience. But still…. he will find out. It's probably in your best interest to tell him before he finds out on his own."

"I'll think about it."

"Come on, Tash. You have to be fair to him," he said, gazing at her with steady eyes. "If he genuinely cares about you, and Tasha…. I think he does, then he'll come around. After all, who knows more about retribution and redemption than Tony Stark?"

XXXXX

Natasha slowly made her way to waiting area, taking a deep breath as she entered the room.

Tony looked up when she was right in front of him, a sleepy expression on his face. "How is he?"

"Awake." She managed a small smile for his benefit. "He's going to be fine."

He smiled wide. "Good, I'm glad."

"Tony. Let's go for a walk."

"Alright." He stood up, offering his arm.

She slipped her arm through his, holding on tight as they moved through the automatic door.

"Where would you like to go, darling?" He asked once they were outside.

"I was hoping we could talk," she began.

"That's never a good sign," he said cautiously.

She shook her head. "You might want to sit down."

"I think I'll stand," He said, straightening his posture defensively.

"I just…. I have to tell you something, and I think it's going to be hard for you to hear," she said quietly, her eyes pleading.

His shoulders relaxed slightly. "What is it? Are you going to tell me that you really are fifty years older than me? Because, honestly, I think I can be okay with that. As long as there's cosmetic options to keep me looking as pretty as you."

She smiled weakly. "That might be a conversation for another time."

He nodded. "What, then? Come on, you can tell me anything."

"Do you know the story of how I ended up at S.H.I.E.L.D.?"

"Sure, everyone does. Barton was sent to kill you, but he pardoned you and brought you in instead, blah blah blah." He gave a little laugh. "Though, honestly, from what I've seen, I'm not entirely convinced that you couldn't have taken him."

"But you don't know what mission I was on when he was sent to kill me," she said without cracking a smile.

"Uh, I admit that I may have skimmed over that part of your file," he said nonchalantly.

"That information wasn't in the file. It's been erased from all S.H.I.E.L.D. records and not even Maria Hill has the security clearance to be in the know."

"Okay… you don't have to tell me this if it's going to get you in trouble. I don't have to know everything about you to trust you," he said. "Although, your secret will be safe with me, I can assure you."

"You do have to know this, so you can make an informed decision."

"About you? I already made my decision, and after last night…. "

"Tony."

"What?" He asked, placing his hands on his hips. " Natasha, I've heard all the stories and I've read your file and honestly, after seeing some of that stuff, I don't think there's anything you can possibly say right now that's going to surprise me."

She took a deep breath, her eyes trained steadily on his. "I was sent to kill you."

"Except that," he said, with widened, but otherwise unmoving eyes.