Thank you so much to everyone who has read, followed, favorited, and reviewed this story. It really means a lot that you guys take time to do that. I don't want to disappoint by taking too long to post but I also don't want to post something that's less than perfect.

So this chapter is short and kind of feels like an interlude but where I'm going with this is that Clint and Natasha need to clear their heads and heal from the situation they've been in. Then they can get back to fighting and go after the big bad.

BUT...as a big thanks to all those who reviewed and followed this story...I posted a companion piece about the Siberia mission. It's called...waaaiiiit for it..Siberia. (Sorry, I'm bad at titles) Big warning - it contains adult content. Its actually all adult content. But it has a happy ending. So I hope you check it out.

He must have fallen asleep on the couch because the next thing he knew Clint woke with a start to Natasha shaking him. He frantically searched under the pillow for his gun before he remembered where he was.

She had a pair of running shoes in one hand and she held them up, giving him a questioning look. He nodded, wiping the sleep away from his face and getting up to go to the bathroom. His toothbrush and toothpaste were unpacked and set up alongside hers in one corner of the small counter. It all felt so domestic and Clint braced his hands on the sides of the sink, taking a deep breath and looking at himself in the mirror. He looked ragged and tired, with dark shadows under his eyes. He turned to the side and inspected the area where the guard had punched him, his lip was swollen and purple with a small scabbed area where the knuckles had connected but overall he was intact.

Clint took several deep, steadying breaths and splashed water on his face to drive the sleep away and then brushed his teeth before joining Natasha in the living room. He dug around through his duffel finding a pair of shorts and his own tennis shoes and after replacing his jeans with the shorts he looked over to Natasha and then to the door. She nodded and stood up, walking to meet him at the door.

They ran for several miles, through trees and undergrowth, matching each other pace for pace before finally slowing down as they reached the edge of the forest and stood on a small embankment overlooking the main road into the small town. Both of them were bent over breathing hard and Clint wished he'd remembered to bring some water. The weather was cool enough that they weren't' in danger of overheating but his throat was tight and dry and they still had to run back.

"We should go into town later and buy a few things," he said to Natasha once he caught his breath.

"Mmhm" she nodded, staring off into the distance. It was a nice view actually, rolling hills leading up to mountains in the distance. If they were different people in a different life they might have taken a vacation to hike up those mountains, touting themselves as adrenaline junkies and impressing their friends with their rugged sense of adventure.

They both stood there for a while, staring out into the countryside before Natasha broke the silence.

"Remember that mission in Siberia, where I had to infiltrate that ring of arms dealers and figure out how they were trading weapons with Iran?"

Clint rolled his eyes, "How could I forget it? Six weeks freezing my ass off and watching those sleazebags drool over you."

"That was a really dangerous mission."

"Aren't they all?"

She shook her head, "That one especially." She licked her lips before continuing, "I never told you but being back in Russia, I had several close calls with people I knew from before…from the red room."

"Nat," he said, turning to her, "Why didn't you tell me?"

She looked down at her hands, "Because, they were just that, close calls. No one ever got near enough to recognize me. They never even engaged me or the men I was with, but they were around." Her head lifted and she looked out at the valley again, "But that's not my point…my point is that I was terrified with the prospect of facing my past, of going back to that life I had before you…but knowing you were there, somewhere, in the distance, watching me, it made me feel incredibly safe."

Safe.

He made her feel safe. That word felt so strange to him now, as alien as the forces they had been fighting the past couple of months.

"Do I still make you feel that way?" He asked, choking a bit on his words, he wasn't sure if he'd wanted to ask that question out loud, or even worse, if he wanted to know the answer.

She turned her head to him and held his eyes in a firm gaze, "You know that you do."

He plopped down onto the dirt, the weight of past couple of days bearing down on him. She joined him, leaning into him and pulling her knees up to her chest.

"Loki's still out there, "he said, "We're really not safe, not even here. We're just hiding out."

"No, I know. And I want to find him, and make him pay, in every way imaginable. Don't you?" He nodded fiercely, "But I can't yet, I don't feel like myself right now."

"Yeah, I know what you mean."

She turned to face him, shifting her knees under her and placing her hands on his legs, "When we go back, when we go after him, are we doing it with SHIELD? Can we do it with SHIELD?"

He hesitated with his answer, he wasn't sure he could answer that question. Part of him was saying, Fuck SHIELD, fuck it all. He and Natasha could go after Loki together, to avenge their own personal injustice. But he didn't know how easy it would be to turn his back on something that had been his life for so many years. He thought about Coulson for the first time in a long time, severing his link with SHIELD would mean severing his last link with the man who had been like a brother for so many years.

"I don't know." He finally said. She nodded, agreeing with him and stood up.

"Are you ready to go back?" It took him a second to realize she meant the cabin. He nodded, getting up and brushing the dirt off his shorts. She took off in a slow jog and he followed her, their conversation running through his mind as they sprinted back towards the cabin.

I promise there will be more meat in the next chapter! Thanks again for taking time to read this.