Note: I'm not sure when I will be able to update again because school is trying to kill me. But I promise that I am working on this. Thanks for reading.
Once a month the hospital would receive a large package filled with letters. None of them were ever addressed to Natasha, but her parents were gone so she never expected to get any. She loved handing them out to the patients though. They were always so happy to hear news from their friends and family. After she finished her shift she walked over to see if Betty had received anything. She stopped suddenly when she saw Betty shaking while she was holding a letter.
"Betty!" Natasha said when she got closer. "Betty what is it? What's wrong?"
Betty looked at her with tears in her eyes. "It's…it's Bruce. He's not doing well. He's having trouble controlling his anger…and it's been getting worse." She stopped talking and tried to wipe her eyes.
"I'm so sorry Betty." Natasha said and pulled her friend into a tight hug. Betty wrapped her arms around Natasha and cried into her shoulder.
"I should have never joined the war." Betty cried. "I should have just stayed with him. He needs me and I abandoned him."
"I know that things look bad." Natasha said. "And I know that he needs you. But these men need you too. And I'm sure that Bruce would never say that you abandoned him. He would say that you went to fight, that you went to protect other men so they have the chance of coming back home."
Betty wiped her eyes again, looking better than before. "Thanks Natasha. You always know what to say."
"It's fine. You've just had a long day. I'm sure you'll feel much better tomorrow."
The war had taken its toll on all of them. "But it has to end soon" Natasha thought. "I don't know how much more we can take."
It was probably the first day Natasha didn't want to go to work. Going to work meant she had to go home and that meant she couldn't spend the whole night with Clint, and she was really looking forward to that. But he was a gentleman and she needed to go home so their night ended. It wasn't all bad though. He was kind enough to walk her back to her apartment and kissed her deeply before he left. She walked back into her room and it felt like her head was spinning. She spent the rest of the night thinking about his kisses and much she wanted to kiss him again.
The next day wasn't particularly eventful. The most exciting thing that had happened was when Betty felt the baby kick and Bruce was beaming. But things started to change at the end of the day. Natasha realized that Bruce had been in his office with a patient for a very long time and she was starting to get worried. She walked over to the room when the door suddenly opened and she was standing face to face with Mr. Pierce. He glared at her for a moment before walked out of the building. Bruce was still in his office but his hands were on the wall and he was shaking violently. Natasha rushed over to him asking him what was wrong.
"GET BETTY!" he practically growled at her. Betty must have heard him because she ran into the room and grabbed her husband, forcing him to look at her.
"Natasha get out of here!" Betty shouted and Natasha nearly ran out of the room she was so scared. What had Pierce said to him? What would happen if Betty couldn't calm him down? There was no way she would be able to stop him. But he seemed to respond to Betty's words and he pulled her into him and hugged her tightly. Natasha slowly walked back into the room while Betty was whispering to him. "It's okay. You're okay. You didn't hurt anyone. Nothing bad happened." She said softly.
"What happened? What did Mr. Pierce say?" Natasha asked quietly.
"He was saying terrible things about you." Bruce said. "He said that you were just some communist and that you couldn't be trusted. Then he told me that I had to fire you to protect this town. And when I refused he started to threaten me and Betty. And I just got angry."
Natasha was furious. This man had been saying terrible things about her and he's never even spoken to her before. And now he was threatening her friends. She needed to clear her head. She needed a drink. She waited until they had closed the office building before she stormed over to Thor's. She sat down at the bar and drank her vodka, trying to calm herself down when she heard someone talking to her.
"What's a pretty girl like you doing in a place like this?" She turned her head and saw Clint smiling at her with a beer in his hands.
"Are you drunk Clint?" she asked smiling back at him.
"Yes ma'am." He slurred.
She spent the next hour talking to him. And she had to admit that he was pretty adorable when he was drunk. He always seemed to know how to make her feel better. Even when all he did was make her laugh. It was more than enough. But she needed to go home and so she paid her bill and was getting ready to leave when she saw Clint stumble.
"Do you think you can make it home?" she asked.
"I'll be fine" he said right before he nearly fell over. Natasha sighed and held out her hand.
"Come on, I don't want you passing out in the middle of the street."
She nearly dragged him up to her apartment and was thankful that Mr. Coulson didn't say anything when they walked in. He fell on the bed and then rolled over so he could look up at her. He looked sad all of a sudden. Like he just remembered a bad memory.
"You know I never got the chance to thank you." Clint said softly.
"For dragging you up two flights of stairs?" Natasha teased. "Well, you're welcome."
"No. For saving my life." He said. Natasha was struck by the sudden intimacy as he grabbed her hand and pressed his lips to her palm. "I thought I was dead out there and that you were some kind of angel or something."
"Go to sleep Clint." She whispered as she ran her hands through his hair.
"Will you stay with me?" he asked. "I don't wanna be alone."
"Of course I will." She said and leaned down and kissed him gently. She helped in out of his clothes so he was in his undershirt and boxers. Then she changed into a nightdress before she climbed into the bed with him. The bed was a little small, but neither of them really cared. Clint just grabbed her and pulled her into his arms, letting out a shaky breath.
"Clint are you alright?" Natasha asked.
"I am now." He replied. They both fell asleep soon after that.