Chapter 9

"Are you okay?"

Clark turned, and offered Natasha a smile but shook his head.

"I don't know. I just tortured a man and shot him in the head, and I don't feel the least bit guilty. In fact, I enjoyed it! It felt like justice for what he was planning to do to you."

"And you're worried that you don't feel guilty. You're afraid that you're losing your humanity."

"Ironic coming from an alien I know, but yes. What happens if I wake up one day and I don't even recognize myself anymore?"

"That's not going to happen. And do you know why?" She asked, and he shook his head.

"First off because you didn't torture or kill him for the sake of it. You did it to protect me. Secondly because I intend to keep reminding you just how good a man you are for as long as you'll let me."

"What are you saying Natasha?" Clark asked softly, all thought of his guilt now gone. The two stared into each others eyes, completely forgetting the fact that they were on a plane or that there was a flight attendant back in business class that could come in at any moment. First class had it's privileges, but there was still a chance. However, in that moment two of the best agents SHIELD would ever produce lost focus. Because in that moment there was no SHIELD, no Clairvoyant, no meteor freaks...There were no walls between them. Instead, it was just Clark Kent and Natasha Romanoff standing on the edge of a proverbial cliff. Now all that remained was to see if they would jump.

"I'm saying that I have no intention of leaving you ever. I'm saying that I can't imagine my life without you in it. I love you Clark."

For a moment Clark just looked into her eyes, unable to speak as he realized just what he was seeing. He knew that he saw a Natasha Romanoff that was vastly different from the Black Widow persona that she showed the rest of the world, and even different from the one she showed to Barton or Colson. They saw Natasha, but it was still a vastly different Natasha from what he saw. However, as he looked at her now he knew that he was seeing the Natasha that she never showed anyone, the Natasha that stayed behind impenetrable defenses, the Natasha that had pieced together her shattered soul after the worst kind of betrayal. In that moment he couldn't imagine loving her more.

"I love you too Natasha, and I am so sorry that I waited so long to tell you. I just didn't-"

"Didn't want me to feel pressured to say it back?" She asked, and he nodded.

"Thank you. I can't begin to tell you how much that means to me."

He just smiled before leaning in and kissing her, telling her without words that he already knew.

"So, what is this advantage you think we have over Ward?"

"One word. Skye."

"Skye the computer hacker that you two turned?"

"Well it was more Ward and Colson, but yeah."

"So what are you suggesting? That we put a gun to her head and make him talk?"

"Nothing so cold, although the threat of her being killed in front of him isn't entirely off the table. However, I think we just need for him to make a choice. Skye or the Clairvoyant?"

"So what, you're going to appeal to Ward's sense of morality when it comes to Skye?"

"No, I am going to look him in the eye and tell him I know. I know that he loves her, and that he has a choice to make. He can either help us bring down the Clairvoyant and in the process possibly have something with the woman he loves or he can watch as I shoot her in the head after telling her exactly what kind of a man he is. The last thing he will ever see will be the look of betrayal on her face."

"You're hedging an awful lot on a hunch."

"Just have a little faith. Besides, if he says no we can always kill him later."

"Well there is that." She replied with a laugh.

"I just called Fury, but I didn't tell him about Ward."

"Okay. Colson said we're supposed to have a mission in a couple days so if you wanted to find some reason to unexpectedly show up..."

"I'll just say we have to go over some new intel on the Clairvoyant, which is true and then we can deal with Ward. Then once the mission's over we can find something to do."

"What do you mean when the mission's over?" Clark asked, and she smiled.

"Clark, regardless of whether or not you take a transfer, you're my partner. I hope Colson managed to survive with you gone because I don't intend to go on assignment unless you have my back. If I do, then it's only because there's no other choice."

"Even if you don't see me, I'll always have your back. I'll be there before you can blink." He said and she smiled for a moment before a single tear ran down her cheek.

"Are you okay?" He asked, but she shook her head.

"I was just thinking about Budapest. If you hadn't gotten there..." Her voice trailed off and she suddenly buried her face into his neck. He wrapped his arms around her, silently cursing Fury. She should never have been in that situation in the first place.

"I did though, and I will always be there. But please don't sell yourself short, you could've gotten out of there any time you wanted."

"No I couldn't have."

"What are you talking about? Of course you-"

"I don't mean physically. I was...I was scared Clark. I may not have shown it, but I was terrified. I didn't say a word because I was making sure I was breathing. If those bastards had gotten their hands on me..."

Her voice trailed off, and Clark just held her, knowing that now wasn't the time to say anything.

"Back in Russia during my training they sent me on an operation and then blew my cover. Only that time no one came for me..." Her words trailed off and Clark just held her, telling her it would be okay. Inwardly he was seething, filled with a rage that he had never felt before, not even when he saw Ryan or Kyla die. He and Fury were going to have words, and the Director had best pray to God he didn't know about this or he would die slowly and painfully.

"So I'll see you in an hour?" Natasha asked, and Clark nodded. They were going to have dinner with the Kent's, Pete and Chloe at a restaurant in Metropolis. Of course, the others didn't know he was bringing Natasha but he figured there wasn't a better time to introduce his family to his girlfriend. Of course the Kent's had met Agent Romanoff but they hadn't met Natasha and all Chloe knew was what she saw in SHIELD's files while Pete hadn't met Natasha in any capacity.

"I love you." She said, and he smiled.

"I love you too. I'll see you in an hour." He said and then he sped away, coming to a stop a moment later.

"Excuse me, is Director Fury in? It's urgent that I speak with him" Clark asked, showing agent outside the Director's office his ID.

"Just a moment. Director, I have an agent Kent to see you, he says it's urgent."

"Go right in."

"Thank you." Clark replied, giving her a smile as he walked in.

However, once the door to the office shut behind him there was no trace of a smile. Instead he just glared at Fury before he spoke, his voice as cold as ice.

"Did you know?"

"Excuse me?"

"Did you know?! Did you know what they did to her?"

"I'm afraid you're going to have to be more specific."

"When you blew her cover to test me, you put Natasha through hell. She could barely breath because she was remembering what happened during her training with the Russians. So I will ask you one more time...did you know what the Russians did to her?!"

"No. I swear to you, I had no idea. I know you don't trust me, and I deserve that but if I had known I never would have put her through that. Promise me that you'll take care of her."

"I promise, but don't tell her I said anything."

"About what?" He asked, and Clark just nodded.

"You know, I was wrong...You do care about people."

"My grandfather worked in an elevator. He'd go home with a brown bag full of ones. On the way he'd say hi, people would say hi back. Time passed, walk home got harder. He'd say hi, they'd say keep on steppin. Every so often some punk with a switchblade would come up and tell him to open the bag. He showed em the bag full of ones...and a loaded twenty-two caliber. My grandfather cared about people, he just didn't trust em. Neither did I. Let me be clear...I am trusting you with the closest thing I have to a daughter. If you break her heart I will end you."

"I understand, and Nick...thank you."

"No, thank you Clark. Oh before I forget, did you find anything out?"

"We have to keep this very close to the vest. The Clairvoyant has more than a couple spies in SHIELD. I don't know how many and I don't know who, but we definitely have a leak." He said, and Fury nodded.

"You have a name, but you think they can be saved don't you?"

"Hypothetically if I did, what would you say?"

"Hypothetically? Good luck." He replied, and Clark nodded before walking out the door of the Director's office and racing back to the house where he threw on a shirt and jeans. He laughed as he looked in the mirror. It had been so long since he wore anything but a standard issue SHIELD uniform or a suit that he had forgotten what it was like to wear normal clothes.

"Good, I'm not under dressed."

Clark turned, seeing Natasha standing there in a black shirt, white jacket and blue jeans wearing a pair of brown boots.

"You look perfect."

"I figured I'd pick you up, then you could just drop me off. That way I didn't keep your car for too long."

"Our car." He said, making her raise an eyebrow in question.

"I have a rule that no one touches Tasha. But I think for the woman I love, and the person I named the car after I can make an exception." He said, and she smiled before walking over and kissing him.

"Thank you. Now I need to know...you went and talked to Fury didn't you?" She asked, and he nodded unable to meet her gaze. She had trusted him with her heart, with secret's that she never told anyone, and he went and told her boss. In less than an hour he had ruined the best relationship he had ever had.

"Thank you."

"What?" He asked, unable to believe that he had heard her correctly.

"Thank you for defending my honor. Thank you for caring enough, for loving me enough to demand answers."

"You deserve them. By the way, he told me that if I broke his daughter's heart he'd kill me."

"I don't see that happening anytime soon." She replied, kissing him softly before the two walked out to the car Clark opening the passenger side door for Natasha before walking around to the driver's side and getting in.

"So what's the cover story? I mean Pete dosen't know the first thing about me working for SHIELD."

"Do you trust him?"

"With my life. There's only been one guy I've trusted as much as I do Pete and he died."

"Ryan James." She said softly, and he nodded.

"Then we tell him the truth. A watered down version obviously, but enough to put him on his guard."

"Are you sure that's wise? I mean you can't be forced to give up what you don't know."

"You're right, but with the threat from the Clairvoyant we can't afford for Pete or Chloe to get captured and be used against you. The same thing goes for your parents...which is why we need to train them."

"Oh hell no! I told Fury they were out! They get to keep their lives!"

"That's what we would be making sure of! Use your head for a minute Clark. We know SHIELD is compromised, but until we know just how far the leak goes we can't risk showing our hand. That means we have to continue with business as usual. However, if someone working for the Clairvoyant suspects that we're onto them they will not hesitate to go after your family to get to you. Now I'm not suggesting they go through what you did and become agents, but they need to know enough so that if it comes down to it they can protect themselves."

"I wish this wasn't necessary." He said softly.

"I know, but we have to prepare for the worst case scenario." She replied, and he nodded his head in resignation. He may not like it, but Natasha was right.

"Clark Kent! Where the hell have you been man?" Pete asked as the two walked up to the table where his parents sat with Chloe.

"I've been busy."

"I can see that." He replied, and Clark and Natasha laughed.

"Pete, Chloe, Mom, dad, this is my girlfriend Natasha Romanoff. Natasha, this is my family."

"Nice to meet you all." She said, and they returned the greeting while Chloe shot him a knowing glance.

"So what's been going on while I've been in Metropolis?" Clark asked, and Pete groaned.

"Well the football team sucks without you. The new quarterback can't throw to save his life." Pete replied, making Natasha raise an eyebrow.

"You never mentioned you played football."

"You never asked." He shot back, and she just chuckled.

"So Natasha, what do you do?" Chloe asked, making Pete and Clark roll their eyes.

"Oh I think you already know the answer to that Chloe. You did find my file after all."

"Why do I get the feeling your girlfriend's not exactly the average person you meet in Metropolis Clark?"

"Because Pete, neither Natasha or I are exactly what you'd call average. Now remember what I told you about my gifts, how we have to keep them under wraps?" He asked, voice barely above a whisper, making Pete nod.

"This is another one of those things. Chloe did you tell Pete about what you found?" He asked, and the blond shook her head. She wouldn't talk about SHIELD without Clark's permission.

"Pete have you ever heard of SHIELD?"

"Just rumors...some secret government black ops group, with more authority than the CIA, FBI or DOD combined."

"Well they're not just rumors. Natasha and I are both Agents of SHIELD."

"You didn't go to some private school did you?"

"No, I spent three months getting my ass kicked by SHIELD's best." He said, making Natasha chuckle.

"You knew about this?" He asked Chloe and she nodded.

"It's classified intel. I shouldn't even be telling you what I am telling you, but you need to be on your guard."

"Why? What's going on Clark?"

"That's need to know. All you need to know is that aside from the people at this table, you can't trust anyone. Also, be ready to be up before dawn tomorrow."
"You're kidding me."

"Look at me Pete. Do I look like I'm kidding you?" Clark asked, and Pete shook his head. Clark had actually never looked more serious.

"You are going to hurt a lot over the next couple weeks, but it will pay off. Clark and I are going to teach you to defend yourselves so that if something happens, if it comes down to kill or be killed you won't freeze up and die."

"This isn't going to be a daily thing is it?" Chloe asked, and Clark laughed but shook his head.

"No Chloe, but you will learn to protect yourself." He said calmly.

"So, what's good here?" Natasha asked, setting the table roaring with laughter.

A/N: So a lot happened in this chapter, and I hope you all enjoyed it. I know my author;s notes are usually short, but I want to address something I know people are going to ask about and that is Natasha's character in this chapter. She is not becoming weak or anything like that. Instead, she is someone who has been betrayed her entire life and has spent her entire life alone and unloved. With those kinds of scars I can't imagine that they wouldn't have some sort of residual effect, and I was trying to address a few of those issues. Thanks for reading, and the next chapter will be up soon!