AN: I'm not sure whether to keep going with this, I'm enjoying writing it but it doesn't seem to be generating a lot of interest.

But I'd like to thank the people who have followed this as it gives me a bit of hope!

Clint returned to the safe house to drop his kit bag off. Rather than taking the bulky camera he was using earlier he swapped it for a smaller one that was built into his sun glasses. He wasn't concerned about looking like a douche wearing sun glasses at night. If anything it would help him fit in. Clint glanced at his reflection before nodding in satisfaction. He wore ripped jeans that loosely clung to his hips with a baggy hoody. It was thick enough that it would keep the cold at bay. Clint had weapons concealed but unfortunately he'd have to leave his bow at the safe house. He gave it a look of longing before setting off.

The party was still in full swing when Clint arrived and no one looked at him twice as he entered the lot. The bodyguards seemed as drunk and high as the people partying. The women dressed scantily despite the cold helped distract the guards as well. He mingled enough to not stand out but not enough for anyone to remember him. What he really needed was to get inside. There were two larger than necessary guards at the door and they looked stone cold sober. Nikolay and the other important people would be inside. He doubted he could just stroll up to the door and flash a smile at them. He needed a distraction.

Clint took a moment to study the groups of people before deciding on a course of action. Three women were standing close together laughing and talking. There were two men standing on one side of them but with their backs turned. Further away but watching occasionally was a larger group. Clint wasn't sure what the connection was but he knew the larger group had a high interest in the women. A possible relationship somewhere.

He made a start for the two men. Clint weaved and dodged his way through the crowd. Never touching anyone or drawing any attention. As he past the two men standing close behind the women Clint stumbled and his sun glasses fell off his head at their feet. He made an attempt to pick them up but staggered and missed altogether. Clint squinted in concentration and tried again. Another failed attempt and he stood up with a lurch.

Both men moved to help him out. Clint waited until one of them was bent down before stumbling again. His hip slamming into the bent over man and knocking him backwards. Clint swiped his glasses up and slipped away before anyone really noticed his interference. The man he knocked fell into the women and drinks were split. They screeched their displeasure and the larger group of men came over to see what had happened. Clint heard the dull thud of a fist hitting flesh. He smirked.

There was enough commotion that the two bull like men moved away from the door in case they need to quite literally through someone out. Clint sneaked past them and inside with a satisfied grin.

Clint went to the bar without looking around. He was a higher risk of standing out in here so he'd have to be careful. He remained at the bar for a while. Clint needed an opportunity to move around the floor. That opportunity finally came from a young woman who caught his gaze. She gave him a flirty smile and Clint returned it. He ordered her a drink and another for himself and walked over to her with confidence. She was pretty enough with long blonde hair and striking green eyes but he didn't think he'd ever be attracted to another woman again after Natalia.

"You are beautiful." Clint said with put on admiration. This time he remembered to switch Russian. She smiled up at him pleased.

"My name is Eleonora." Eleonora accepted the drink from Clint with another smile.

"Luka. Why are you all alone?" Clint queried, looking around as if he was looking for the people she was with. But really he was just scoping the area. Clint finally spotted Nikolay. The man was seated on a raised section. It was closed off with rope and heavily guarded. Natalia was there, sitting demurely by Nikolay's side. Under the guise of Nadine she still looked nervous and out of her element. Nikolay was paying special attention to her. Clint couldn't believe that was the Black Widow. He shook his head slightly and looked back to Eleonora.

"My friend met someone." Eleonora sighed with annoyance.

"Would you mind if I kept you company until she came back?" Clint smiled.

"Of course not! You're not with anyone?"

"No, they left. But I do not mind when it has given me the chance to meet you."

It wasn't long before Natalia spotted him and he had to hold back a chuckle. The look in her eyes would be enough to make grown men weep. To him it was just entertaining. He was beginning to enjoy getting on her nerves. It would probably result in his death or at least him getting maimed but there was little she could do at the moment without blowing cover.

Clint took a few photos of Nikolay's table and the rest of the room but nothing was really standing out to him. He spent his time with Eleonora and supplying drinks to the young girl. In all honesty Clint was zoning out most of the time and had no idea what she was saying. A smile and a nod seemed to be enough for her.

Clint glanced back over to Nikolay's table to find the man gone. He swore internally and Natalia lifted an eyebrow at him. She was left with a few of Nikolay's men. The men were more focused on the other women than her and Natalia jerked her head slightly to the left. Clint followed the action and spotted a hallway. He gave a small nod in acknowledgement. Clint was sure Natalia would much rather be the one going down that hallway but if she tried to leave she'd be stopped by Nikolay's men.

"I apologise, I need to go to the bathroom." Clint cut off Eleonora mid sentence but she seemed that drunk it didn't even register. Clint passed her his drink and left without waiting for a response. He could feel Natalia's deep blue eyes following him and he liked the feeling. He'd caught the Widow's attention and it was exhilarating.

Clint focused back onto the task at hand but not before wiggling his behind before he went into the hallway. He could practically see the roll of Natalia's eyes.

The hallway was mostly empty except a couple making out against the wall. Clint spotted the entry for a toilet and filed away the information for a cover story if he got discovered. Clint tried to ensure a drunk air around him as he wandered down the hall. Soft voices reached his ears and Clint slowed down his walk, trying to keep his footsteps as quiet as possible. The voices were coming from behind a close steel door. Clint clucked his tongue in annoyance. There was no way he could just press his ear against it and hope for the best, he was out in the open.

A room next to the closed steel door caught his attention. Clint slipped inside and swept the room with his eyes. It was a security room, computer screens were set up and Clint was able to various rooms. He wondered why no one noticed his presence earlier but it looked like there were no cameras down in the tunnel. It made sense he supposed, if the place was raided and the footage checked then the tunnels would be found. The sound of jingling keys and footsteps hit his ears. Clint realised the guard must have stepped out for a moment. He looked around for a hiding place and spotted an air vent. Perfect. He'd just put the vent back in black as the guard re-entered the room and closed the door. Clint crawled along the air duct before finding himself directly above the room Nikolay was in.

Clint moved as close to the vent as he dared.

"I will be shipping the packages to you in two days. Can you handle that?" A male asked with little patience. Clint thought he sounded older than Nikolay.

"Don't doubt me. I've never fucked up." Nikolay growled out.

"Yet you keep getting raided." The man responded smoothly.

Clint figured the package was more weapons, gear and drugs from the police. What he needed to know was who the mystery man was. Clint pulled himself up to the vent and held his glasses in place as he peered down into the room. He scowled with frustration. Clint couldn't see either of the men.

Rather than just hanging around in the duct waiting for something else to happen Clint moved himself forward. He hated enclosed spaces and the less time he spent in here the better. After a wrong turn and almost getting stuck he finally found the vent leading to the toilets. Clint knocked the vent out and jumped down, landing in a crouch. He placed the vent back in place and left the bathroom casually.

The idea to just burst into the room pretending to look for a toilet crossed his mind but Clint didn't want to risk the possible questioning or Nikolay and the mysterious man to know his face. Another idea came to mind and he returned back to the main room. Eleonora was leaning against the wall right where Clint left her. As soon as she spotted him she tried to stand up and wave enthusiastically.

"Sorry I took so long."

"Oh it's fine!" Eleonora brushed off the apology. It seemed while he was gone she'd finished both her drink and his.

"Do you...want to come for a walk with me?" Clint looked towards the hallway.

Eleonora nodded far too quickly and lost her balance. Clint steadied her with an arm around her waist and helped her towards the hallway. The feeling of daggers in his back made him look over towards where Natalia was still sitting. Clint just sent a shit eating grin her way and kept walking.

Once they were in the hallway Clint directed Eleonora past the bathrooms and close to where the steel door was. Clint didn't need to lead her any more, she pushed her towards his and captured his lips. Clint returned the sloppy kiss trying to remember it was for the job. He didn't know how Natalia used her body so easily. This was bad enough. They remained lip locked but Clint firmly kept his mouth shut. He wasn't interested in her tongue down his throat. Clint had her pushed against the wall but at the sound of the steel door opening he changed angles. He grabbed her upper thighs and picked her up. Clint kissed down her neck allowing his head to turn towards the door. His sunglasses were still firmly in place and under the guise of fixing them he pressed down on the hidden button to take photos of the mystery man.

Clint was right about him been older than Nikolay. The man would have been in his sixties at least. Balding and rounded in the middle. He was dressed in an impeccable suit where as Nikolay was dressed casually. The two men looked around the hallway and Clint moved his lips back to Eleonora's mouth.

They moved up the hallway to what Clint assumed was a back exit. There was no need for him to stick around any longer so he broke the kiss and released the hold on Eleonroa. She looked confused. Clint muttered a sorry and left. Natalia's eyes locked onto him the second he walked back into the main room. Nikolay's men were advancing on her and she was keeping up the timid persona. He nodded once in her direction and kept going. But what he really wanted to do was stride up to her and pull her away from those sleazy vile men.

Clint held back a scowl. He was too focused on her. She was deadly, she was manipulative. Clint was being manipulated into what she wanted. He's certain of it but yet as looked back towards her one more time, she seemed almost disappointed that he was leaving.

Clint placed his glasses with the camera. He'd get the photos off the devices later. He felt like he had saliva covering his face. Clint grimaced and headed into the bathroom for a shower. The hot water helped warm his cold limbs up as well. He was in no hurry to get out and amused himself by humming out a tune. Clint hadn't brought spare clothes into the bathroom so he secured a towel around his waist and after rubbing his hair dry pushed open the door back into the main room. Clint hid his surprise at his guest.

"How did you get in?" Clint's safe house had extremely good locks.

"Oh please." Natalia scoffed.

"Those locks are unbreakable." Clint knew because he'd tried and even he couldn't get past them.

"And yet here I am." Natalia slipped off the table with one fluid movement. As she moved into the light he noticed the bruises and bristled.

"I guess the better question would be why are you here?" Clint crossed his arms, he wanted to keep himself closed off.

"I told you I'd contact you. Imagine my surprise when your stupid ass comes wandering into Nikolay's."

"Hey, I saw an opportunity and I took it." Clint defended.

"The opportunity was the tunnel not the party." Natalia took a step forward. Clint remained rooted where he was.

"The one where you were stuck sitting on a chair like a good little girl?" Clint returned with, pleased with the glare from Natalia. She then turned her head slightly in a sign of annoyance. "I have enough to get them all locked away. I'll print the photos and drop them off at a station tomorrow."

"Don't you think it would be a good idea to find out who Nikolay's supplier is?" Natalia turned her head back to him. Clint felt the question wasn't a polite suggestion. Rather she was implying he was an idiot for not doing it already.

"I'm sure you're about to tell me why it's a good idea with your wonderful wit." Clint griped at her. He caught the slightest upturn of her lips but it was only for a second. Anyone without his sharp eyes would have missed it.

"Because Baranovsky Yakov Stanislavovich is the head of the detective department in Chelyabinsk." Natalia replied flatly. "Maybe if you spent less time sucking face and more time doing your job you'd know that."

"And there it is." Clint then did a double take. "What? Fuck."

"If you drop off the photos it'll land on his desk. It'll be destroyed and the items moved."

"You were stuck on a couch all night. How did you find this out?" Clint asked irritably. His night was spent in an air vent and as Natalia so eloquently put it – sucking face. He's certain kissing a washing machine would have been dryer.

"I have my ways." Natalia's tone of voice suggested that wasn't up for discussion. "I'm going to take a shower. Try and think up another plan perhaps?" She quirked an eyebrow at him before striding past and into the bathroom.

"Sure, make yourself at home." Clint muttered to himself.

Despite knowing he couldn't drop off the evidence now, Clint still printed out the photos. Natalia had been in the shower for at least thirty minutes and he was beginning to wonder if she'd left out the window and was wasting his hot water just to be spiteful. Just after he had that thought the running water stopped. So the Widow was still in his bathroom. Naked. Clint swallowed and tried to focus back on printing off photos and making plans.

Clint looked up at the sound of the bathroom door opening. Natalia had helped herself to his bathrobe. The starch white robe showed him just how red her skin was. He doubted she used any cold water in the shower. The bruises were still visible and he could them around her wrists, neck and lower legs. He remembered her thighs at Nikolay's. He'd hate to see them now. Clint briefly looked into her eyes. She looked raw. Kissing a washing machine and being stuck in an air duct no longer seemed bad in comparison to what she would have gone through tonight.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Clint offered. He wasn't sure why. He knew she wouldn't and it would make things awkward or earn him a knife through his neck.

"No." Natalia replied icily. Her eyes were dark and Clint knew he was walking on thin ice.

"Should we just put an arrow through Yakov then?" Clint asked, changing subjects before he discovered just how short Natalia's temper was.

"An arrow isn't exactly discrete Barton." Natalia rolled her eyes.

"I don't think gun fire is much more discrete Romanova." Clint grinned at her annoyance. Mostly he was just assuming she was annoyed. The skin wrinkled slightly around her eyes but it was nearly impossible to tell.

"I was thinking of something more along the lines of Nikolay killing Yakov." Natalia took a seat on the couch. Her ability to look like she belonged anywhere was astounding. But Clint felt she didn't just spend the last thirty minutes under hot water, most likely trying to scrub the feeling of men off her without being affected.

"And how do we do that?"

"We? You can stay out of it for a start. I don't need your help."Natalia said coldly.

"You're breaking my heart Nat." Clint placed his hand over his heart. Natalia glared at him for the nick name.

"Don't get familiar with me Barton."

"Then why are you here?" Clint asked coolly.

"I told you already." Natalia muttered defencelessly. It was the close thing to a human emotion he'd seen from her.

"No you didn't. You insulted me, told me you don't apparently want my help and stole my bathrobe." Clint crossed his arms.

"Forget it." Natalia stood up swiftly. Clint intercepted her before she reached the bathroom.

"No. Either you want my help or you don't. This is my job too so I'm not going to sit on the sidelines. If you want my assistance on your mark then you'll work together with me on this or I'm done." Clint said darkly. Natalia might fascinate him but he wasn't going to be a doormat to her.

"Fine." Natalia stepped around him and headed to the bathroom to get dressed then leave.

Clint let her go. It was better this way. Working with the Black Widow was stupid. He wasn't going to break his number one rule to always work alone because she tried to manipulate him. But as he sat alone in the safe house he couldn't help but think Natalia was here not for the job but seeking some sort of semblance of comfort and safety. He wouldn't feel guilty for her fleeing though. It's not his problem that she had stunted emotions and an attitude that would make the Arctic feel warm.