Shoutouts to Jo-Jo287 and Sailorraven34 for the reviews!
A/N Hi. Nothing to say. Enjoy.
The hangar is empty, except for one plane which Hill is leaning against. She gives me the coordinates of the safe house where Clint is most likely to be hiding out, and says that there should be a large patch of land to touch down next to it. I climb aboard the usual quinjet, a little sad to see all the S.H.I.E.L.D. signs painted out, and teach Eva the few controls she hopefully won't need; forwards, backwards, brake, radio, turn and eject seats. She grasps it easily and although it's only a few controls she does them pretty well.
Over the ocean, I set us in to autopilot mainly so can free my hands. Eva decides that flying no longer requires my full concentration an d takes the opportunity to ask me a load of quick fire questions that she hasn't gotten round to asking me yet. After answering most of them as truthfully as I can, Eva asks if she can ask two more. I reply with the smart arse answer of 'You just did,' and give my permission for her to ask two more.
"Why did you change your name to Natasha Romanoff?" That's her question? Hang on, I know what's coming next.
I reply, "So it seemed like I was becoming more Americanized. And because Natalia held so many bad memories." That actually is 100% true. Wow, I'm not telling anyone's lies.
"Can I change mine?" NO! I LOVE YOUR NAME! Please keep it!
"Eva is pretty American, but what to? Then I'll decide if you can." She'll convince me though. I know that she'll win me over eventually though.
"Anya Romanoff." She says without hesitation.
"But I thought I called you Anya and you liked me doing it?"
"That's why I want everyone else to do it too." Smart arse.
"To hell with it. I'll still call you Eva from time to time though. I'll do the papers, and get you're American citizenship done when we get back."
She smiles widely. "Thanks, Alia. Now, after I've met your boyfriend when am I going to meet Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, the Hulk and Hawkeye?"
"The guy in the cemetery was Cap. Last I heard Thor was living with his girlfriend in London, Hulk was in South America, Hawkeye you'll meet eventually and we'll probably crash at Starks place in New York after we pick up this agent."
"The agent who's your boyfriend. Okay. What's-" I cut her off. I know she's my sister and all, but one more question and I will attack her.
"No more questions please Ev-Anya. Talk about your life. Did you ever have a boyfriend?" She pauses for a couple of minutes, long enough for me to think that she's not answering at all. I'm lost in thought picking out shapes in the clouds, the one that looks like a turtle is particularly captivating, when she finally answers.
"Yes, yes I did." Past tense? That doesn't sound so good.
"What was he like?" I have an entitlement to be nosy after her questions.
That stupid starry look crosses her eyes. "He was perfect. Everything I ever dreamed of, bought me flowers, watched movies with me... I thought I loved him so much."
"Well what happened?"
"I told him I was leaving Russia and he told me that he was leaving me. Boys are backstabbers." Maybe I shouldn't have gone there.
We sit in silence pondering over our thoughts, staring at the thin layer of cloud beneath us. I hope the little of Germany I will see will be nice. Knowing Europe, and especially in April, it'll most likely be raining. I wonder about this boyfriend of hers. From the sounds of it, he broke her heart and it hasn't healed yet.
We land in Germany next to the safe house Hill was talking about. I lock Ev-Anya in the plane with a phone, a portable DVD player and a blanket, she says she can't read English but I think she just doesn't want to read a book. Kids these days. Venturing out by myself, I find the front door of the house and use the knock Clint and I always do on missions. Although I hear some kind of movement, the door doesn't open so I pull out a gun and kick it down. At the end of the corridor, Clint is mirroring my stance. We both drop our guns and I run to him, engaging in a passionate kiss. He's hurt, and that I can tell straight away. A bullet wound he's sewn up himself in the front of his thigh. "Why're you here, Tasha?" He whispers, carrying a crying me in his strong arms to the couch, "Why's there been radio silence from S.H.I.E.L.D. for six days? What's the matter? Why're you crying?"
"I'm so sorry, Clint, I'm so sorry... It's all my fault." All the emotions that I've had locked up inside of me for the last week come flushing out of my eyes in the forms of tears that could fill a river.
"Tasha, nothing's your fault. What happened?"
"S.H.I.E.L.D. No longer exists, Clint... Fury's got a grave next to Coulson that he's not even lying in. Cap almost died, I-I" I can't carry on. I can't tell him that the world now knows everything he's tried to hide, can I?
"Tash, it's fine, just tell me what you did..." I can see the shock on his face that S.H.I.E.L.D. is gone, and that Cap almost died. And Fury. They are like the two humans that can never die.
"Clint, I'm so sorry, I thought it was the only way. I d-didn't mean for this to happen... I released all of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s files on to the internet..." I break down sobbing as Clint takes my phone from my hand and opens the internet. It's already on his name.
After a few minutes he puts the phone down and says, "Tasha. It's not your fault. You did what you had to do. Everyone we care about is still alive, and by all this being online, everyone can see exactly how much pain we've had to endure. I love you, Tash, I love you so much."
"I love you too, Clint..." I whisper.
A/N So Clint's back. Thoughts?
Now excuse me while I go and make notes from 14 pages of an R.S textbook.