2012 – The Avengers
Before The Events on the Movies…
"So you're telling me," Natasha started, laughter evident in her voice "that Braxton tried to go up against the literal God of Thunder and got his ass handed to him?"
Laughing as he poured them each another shot of the vodka Natasha had brought over to his bunk when he had returned from New Mexico. "Well to his credit he didn't know who he was going up against when he started it."
Knocking back their respective shots, Natasha settled back into the couch whilst Clint got up and moved across to his desk where a tablet lay. Picking it up and moving back towards the couch he scrolled through pages and files looking for one in particular.
"Since every inches of that base was monitored by cameras I managed to find this on one of the servers before we packed up base and sent it to myself before Coulson noticed." Turning the screen around so it was facing Natasha, Clint hit play and the events that occurred the night of Thor's attempts at retrieving Mjolnir started to play out. Still watching the screen she poured them each another drink and slid one across the table to Clint who took it gratefully and knocked it back.
When the video got to the part where Thor had finished knocking Braxton unconscious and made his way to the centre of the open area and failed at pulling the hammer from the dirt the clip ended and Natasha was laughing, tears glistening in her eyes.
"Oh he is never going to hear the end of this," she cackled rewinding it again. As she played it for the 4th time a knock rang throughout Clint's room and he stood to answer it. Reaching the door and putting his hand to the bio-scanner to the right side the door slid open to reveal Coulson standing just outside.
"Hey Coulson, come on in." Clint said beckoning their handler inside the room. Coulson smiled and moved through the door way, Natasha still watching the clip of Braxton and Thor looked up at the sound of footsteps.
"Let me guess," Coulson started looking at the tears of laughter starting to run down Natasha's pale skin, "Clint got you the footage of what happened to Agent Braxton?" smirking Natasha laid down the tablet on the table in front of her and sat up straighter.
"Now what would give you that idea sir?" she asked with a quirk of her eyebrow, the smirk growing on her lips.
Coulson reached over and picked up the tablet they'd been watching the video on and hit play. It picked up just as Thor pushed another agent over the railing of the compound they had set up for this mission. Smiling he shut off the tablet and sat down facing his agents. "Maybe this experience will have knocked him down a peg, or six."
"See Coulson, this is why you are our favourite." Clint said kicking his feet up onto the table in front of him
"I'm glad you think so, because you're favourite handler is here with new assignments for you both." Pulling two manila folders out of his suit jacket and placing them in front of his agents. Looking at each other and then glancing at Phil they picked up the folders and started flipping through them. After a couples minutes of silence Clint breaks it, "I thought you said we were done with solo missions for a while."
"And I thought you said sending me back to Russia after I got shot by The Winter Soldier a few years ago would be too dangerous, especially if he had recognized me and reported my siting back to—" she trailed off looking up from the folder in her hands. Clint placed his own on top of hers and laced their fingers together.
"I know," he said apologetically "but unfortunately the only other agent with Russian speaking agent with level 8 clearance who would be fluent enough is in on a deep cover op right now and won't be back in time." Natasha looked back to her folder, "I don't have a choice do I?" she muttered.
"Of course you do!" Clint snapped gripping her hand tighter, "you always have a choice, this isn't the Red Room, no one can make you do anything you don't feel you're ready for, not even Fury." Natasha was silent for a moment before flipping to one of the pages in her folder, reading the list that was typed up in front of her she sighed and passed the list over to her partner before looking back at Coulson. "How old?" was all she asked. "Mainly, all under the age of 13." Came Coulson's reply. Clint shoulders slummed already knowing that despite her earlier hesitations there was nothing that was going to stop Natasha from taking this mission now, not with children being involved in the Russian General's 'business dealings'.
"Why can't I go with her on this one, you know it'd be safer for her if I was there watching her six?" Clint demanded tossing his own folder down. "This is just another glorified babysitting job, another weird ass object and another bunch of scientists looking at it day in a day out with no idea as to what it does, anyone could do that, so why the hell am I being put on it?"
Coulson didn't answer, he just stood and made his way to the door before turning back to his agents still sitting on the couch. "You have 2 days, both of you before you depart." With that he held him palm up to the scanner and the door slid open and he walked out.
"This is bullshit!" Clint exclaimed.
"Clint sit down." Natasha said, having already accepted what she was going to have to deal with in the coming weeks.
"No!" he snapped again, "why does Fury keep separating us? That's all that he seems to be doing these days, we used to be STRIKE Team Delta, the team with the best results, no extraction plans needed, the crowing jewel of SHIELD." He started pacing the length of the room, Natasha looking on.
"Clint, sit down" she repeated, looking imploringly at him as she held out her hand. Sighing he stopped and took it as he sat back down on the cushions turning to face her. She pulled one of her legs up under her so she could face him fully. "You know why he's doing this," she said stroking her thumb over the back of his hand, not quite meeting his eyes. "it's what he's been worried about since I joined SHIELD, he thinks by separating us I'll begin to start developing loyalties to people other than you and Coulson."
"But you do already! Hill and May, hell you've even started training with Sharon the past few months and you seem to get along great, so why does Fury keep thinking you're gonna run the moment I drop or decide enough enough and leave? Not like that's gonna happen anytime soon, we both know there isn't anything else out there that would make me wanna leave SHIELD, let alone you."
"But that's the thing isn't it? If you did leave whether of your own volition or not I don't know if I could stick around here." She said quietly finally meeting his eyes.
They stared at each other for a few minutes, just watching each other. Clint raised his hand to her cheek and they leaned forward, foreheads touching, eyes closed.
"I'm going to be fine." Natasha whispered. They stayed like that for a few more minutes, before Clint pulls her in for a hug.
"I know, I know."