Two months ago
"Where are you going exactly?"
Clint shook his head at her as he pulled a t-shirt over his head. "I told you, I don't know yet. I have to go to a briefing later for the rest of the details. And no, I don't think they would be happy if you came along too."
Natasha grumbled as she bent over to retrieve a pair of carelessly discarded socks. "We haven't worked a job together in weeks," she complained, yanking on the socks with a viciousness that suggested they had personally wronged her. As much as she tried to keep the outside world from spoiling the cheerful apartment they shared together, sometimes work frustrations spilled over. "Plus Fury refuses to tell me why he wants that data on that ship. This is so typical of SHIELD, and-"
"Hey, you're not actually worried about this op are you?" Clint drawled as he swung his legs around the bed and pulled her onto his lap. "Cap will be with you, he can handle everything else while you get the data. Piece of cake."
"That's just what I'm worried about," Natasha sighed as and folded her hands over his as Clint nuzzled her neck. It had been a wonderful couple of days, just the two of them relaxing after several successful missions. They had watched movies, played video games, and went on leisurely runs through the city and explored the back streets and vibrant communities that lay hidden from the public eye. Clint had even cooked her dinner one night, surprising her with the newfound culinary skill he had acquired on his last mission. It was over now though, the happy bubble popped by SHIELD's untimely mission planners. "Fury told me not to tell anyone about the data recovery, especially Steve. As far as he knows this is just a hostage recovery operation."
He was quiet for a moment. "He has his mission, you have yours. If they choose not to tell him about it, that's not your fault Nat. That's on them, not you."
Clint's voice was light in tone but she knew he spoke his words in all seriousness. She hated the thought of lying, even by omission, to one of the few people she had some measure of respect for. Steve was so damn honorable all the time, it was one of the things she admired about him. Everything was so clear-cut, black and white, right from wrong, and for some strange reason she craved his approval, as though respect from Captain America would assuage some of the guilt she felt as of late for her non-existent ethics. "Yes, but if he finds out he'll think I purposefully lied to him. And you know how he hates liars."
He chuckled. "Then he's in the wrong line of business. Oh, I almost forgot." Clint quickly kissed Natasha's forehead before sliding her off his lap and jumped up, crossing the room to rummage through one of the dresser drawers before withdrawing a rectangular box and offering it to Natasha as he sat down next to her. "I had this specially made."
Surprised, she looked at the proffered box with a quizzical expression before taking it. Clint seemed almost nervous as she opened the box, plucking up the delicate gold chain and studying the tiny arrow attached. The craftsmanship was incredible, the fletching and bindings on the arrow clearly visible and the chain felt smooth as satin as she ran it through her fingers.
Clint shifted uncomfortably. "I know you don't really wear much jewelry, not practical, I know, but I figured, hey, we haven't been on that many missions together recently and I have those sunglasses you got me, I mean this doesn't do anything else, it's just a necklace but -"
His babbling was cut off as Natasha pressed her lips to his. "I love it, Clint. Thank you. Can you get the clasp?"
"Yes, of course." Clint sounded relieved. Natasha gathered up her hair to the side and turned away, feeling the soft puff of Clint's breathing on the back of her neck, his fingers fumbling against her skin as he manipulated the small clasp. He exhaled and leaned back, a satisfied note in his voice. "I think I got it."
Letting her hair down, she got to her feet to look at her reflection in the mirror. The small arrow glinted just at the base of her neck, winking and shining in the morning light and a lump came to her throat. She didn't accept gifts that often, they made her uncomfortable and most were impractical, but she knew just how much her wearing the necklace must mean to him. She touched the gold arrow charm, her eyes meeting Clint's in the mirror.
He smiled.
Present Day
"We will find him Natasha. I promise you that."
Natasha didn't answer, preferring to stare out the window, her fingers lightly caressing the tiny gold arrow as Maria navigated through rush hour traffic. Contacting Clint was the first thing she tried to do once all SHIELD data went public, but he had disappeared without a trace. No one she had talked to could recall where he was sent, or what his mission was, and the more she asked, the more suspicious she became. It didn't make sense, how there was no records for Clint, no specific mission planner or support staff on call for him, and he would have told her if he was going into deep cover. Something wasn't right, and a twisting in her gut pointed toward HYDRA. Visions of HYDRA's tortuous interrogations and strange mind altering experiments from the forties kept crossing her mind and elevated her to a level of fear she had never felt before, even when Clint had fallen under Loki's influence. She had seen with her own eyes what Steve's best friend Bucky had become, how brutal and ruthless and bloodthirsty they had made a man who had been, according to Steve, kind and loyal and honorable, who even Steve looked up to.
Even so, she wasn't sure who she could trust. Steve was still in the hospital recuperating, and she wasn't sure what had happened with Tony, only that Pepper had forced him out of the public eye as of late. Thor was worlds away on Asgard, and Bruce needed peace and quiet, not more problems. With no other options, she turned to Agent Hill. She knew that she wouldn't have to explain herself to Maria, that the other woman would intuitively sense the strong bond she held with Clint and help her in any way she could.
She was right. Maria didn't even bat an eye when Natasha had asked for help, simply nodding and promising to look into it with what assets of SHIELD she still controlled. A single unexplained contract with a psychiatrist just outside of the city was all she could dig up on Clint's disappearance, and they had immediately set out to have a chat with the doctor, to see if he had any information that might help them.
"What the hell is that?"
Maria's confused voice jerked Natasha out of her musings in time to see the thick column of smoke rising in the air. They couldn't see much beyond the fire trucks and police cars blocking the road, but if she squinted she could just make out the small building at the end of the block.
"Jesus Natasha. I think that's Dr. Jacobs' office!"
