Oh boy, fair warning, Clint and Natasha get thrown through the ringer during this chapter so brace yourselves. Therefore, I present to you, chapter 14.
Natasha wasn't 100 percent sure her mother was having an affair with Victor Von Doom, but she was pretty convinced. Her father had returned home the following weekend solo, but came equipped with another gift from Mr. Von Doom. Natasha eyed the package as if it were a bomb about to detonate. Her father had told her that she better open it so he could tell her mother how much Natasha liked the gift when he returned to the city.
Natasha wasn't sure if her father was going to do anything about the affair because she was pretty sure he knew too. There was no way to ignore her mother's absence the weekends Mr. Romanoff came home alone. The fact that Mr. Von Doom kept sending Natasha gifts was a dead giveaway of the affair as well.
The weekend her father came home by himself, Natasha suggested they go see a movie. She couldn't remember the last time she had gone to see a movie with her parents, or if she had ever gone to see a movie with her parents. Either way, she had hoped getting her father out of the house would ease the tension.
Mr. Romanoff was polite enough to let Natasha choose the movie. She had been waiting to go see The Hunger Games with Clint so he could critique Katniss Everdeen's archery skills but Natasha thought her father would enjoy it so they bought tickets to see the film. At least it would keep both of them occupied and their minds off of the current situation for a good two and a half hours.
Once the movie was over, Mr. Romanoff decided to treat Natasha to lunch and they stopped by a quaint restaurant on Main Street. Throughout her entire childhood, Natasha and her father had never had father-daughter time together, so this experience was new for both of them and Natasha had to admit that she liked it.
They were halfway through eating their food when Mr. Romanoff decided to strike up a conversation with Natasha. It was a nice and calm one. Mr. Romanoff asked Natasha how she was doing in school and if she was enjoying her job. Natasha politely responded but had a hard time deciding if she should ask about his job. She decided to kind of beat around the bush and asked how he liked being in the city practically all the time and how he liked having a Starbucks at every corner.
Without her mother around, Natasha realized that her father was actually a good person. For her entire life, her memories of her parents consisted of both of them arguing. There is not one good memory of just one of them by themselves. It seemed as though her mother brought out the worst in Mr. Romanoff, but with the supposed affair happening, he was a calm, gentle, and polite person, and he apparently had no problem splurging for his only child.
They had finished their meal, and were waiting for their waitress to come back around when Mr. Romanoff had decided to ask more questions about Natasha's life, specifically about Clint.
"How's Clint, Natasha?" Mr. Romanoff asked.
Natasha grew still. Clint and her father hadn't seen each other since their altercation over dinner back in October. Even though her father had approved of Clint "having guts," she still worried that her father hated him.
"Ummm, he's good, I guess…" she trailed off as she poked the lemon in her glass of water with her straw.
"Is he still treating you well?" he asked. It wasn't threatening; in fact, he said it quite calmly, as if he was actually concerned.
"Yeah, he's great," Natasha said.
"I know you guys practically spend all of your time together so I'm sorry for keeping you from him today," her father said, almost as if he seemed defeated.
"Oh no, Dad. This is great! This is fun!" Natasha said, and she meant it.
"That's good, Natasha," her father said, still sounding defeated.
They sat in silence for a couple minutes, only breaking the silence when the waitress stopped by the table to ask if they would like dessert. They politely declined and the waitress handed them the bill. Her father sat there staring it for some time and she wondered if he had enough money to cover it. When he pulled out a couple bills and slipped them into the black leather folder, Natasha let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding in.
The car ride home was a quiet one. The only sound was the faint noise of the radio station her father had playing for his ride to and from the city. Natasha wondered if she should bring up the topic of her mother's supposed affair with Mr. Von Doom. She knew it would be a touchy subject for her father – it was certainly one for her – but she was willing to take the risk.
"Dad?" she called from the passenger seat. Her father grunted in response.
"What's going to happen with you and mom?" she asked.
"I don't know, Natasha," he said calmly.
"You don't have to talk about it, but I know what's going on," she said.
"I know you do," her father said. "You've known since the day your mother brought home that gift from Tiffany's. I could see it in your face."
"I didn't want to take it, Dad. I swear. I didn't want to take the others either," she said.
"I know Natasha," he said. For a man whose wife was cheating on him, he was incredibly calm, which kind of scared Natasha.
"Are you guys going to get a divorce?" she asked. "You don't have to answer that if you don't want to."
Her father let out a sigh. "Probably."
This scared Natasha. If her parents divorced, she wasn't sure what was going to happen. Her mother would surely want custody of her and then she would have to move to New York City and go to some snooty private school that mom's boy-toy would most likely pay for. If her parents divorced, who knew if she would see her father again. It would suck on so many levels since they had just started getting along.
Worst of all, if her parents divorced, her and Clint might get separated. No, not might, they would get separated. Even if her father was to get custody of her, there was no guaranteeing that he would stay in town. Her father understood how much Clint meant to her, but financial problems could pose a problem for him and cause him to move.
She had to say something. If she didn't, she wasn't sure what would happen if she didn't voice her opinion.
"You have to fight for me, Dad," she said. "You have to fight for me. Please, if this happens, don't let Mom get custody of me."
"Natasha - ," he started but she interrupted.
"No. Out of the both of you, you understand me the best. I'm sorry it took 16 years for me to realize that but you do.
"But most importantly, you like Clint. Mom has shit for brains so she can't decipher a genuinely nice person from a total blackmailer, and Clint just so happens to be one of those genuinely nice people. You know he's a good person. You know he treats me well and with respect. If I have to leave and lose him, I'm not only losing someone I love, I'm losing my best friend.
"So, please Dad. Fight for me, because I know that you know what's best for me," she said, trying to choke back tears. Saying all of those things about losing Clint brought her to the verge of her breaking point. It was taking all of her strength to keep herself from breaking down and crying right now.
"I can't guarantee I'll win, but I promise I'll try my very hardest to fight for you. I'll try to fight for you and Clint," her father said, and with that he slowed the car down, pulled over to the shoulder, and did a U-turn in the middle of the road. Natasha wasn't wondering where her father was going because all she cared about was holding herself together. Her arms were clenched across her stomach, almost as if she was trying to keep herself from falling apart.
She didn't realize they were in Clint's driveway until her father had spoken.
"What I can guarantee you right now is all the time between now and whenever we decide to divorce one another. So go Natasha," her father ordered, nodding towards Clint's house. She struggled to open the car door but when she did, she stumbled out, slammed the door, and then sprinted to the front door of Clint's house. She slammed her fist up against the door several times until Clint answered.
Clint took in the sight of her and instantly knew something was wrong. She was shaking uncontrollably and it looked like tears were going to start spilling any second. He was about to ask what was wrong when she started to go into hysterics.
"I love you!" she shouted incoherently. "I love you! I love you! I love you! I need to say it because I don't know how much time we have and I need you to know that I love you."
By this time, Natasha was in complete hysterics. The tears were spilling and she was practically hyperventilating.
"Nat, what is going on?"
"My parents are probably getting a divorce. It's going to happen. I know it," she said hysterically. "I don't know what's going to happen. I asked my dad to fight for me because I can't leave. I won't leave. I don't want to leave.
"And I don't want to leave you. I love you too much to leave you," she wailed. "And I'm not just saying this as your girlfriend I'm saying this as your best friend. So I don't know how much time we have together. We could have the rest of our lives, or we could have a couple months, maybe weeks. I don't know, but I couldn't tell you all of this without letting you know that I love you and I don't want to lose you!"
Natasha was about the collapse on the porch but Clint caught her and scooped her up bridal-style and carried her into the house. This killed Clint. Of all the people to be treated like dirt, Natasha didn't deserve it. Out of both of her parents, Clint had expected her mother to be more caring and understanding but he was wrong since her father seemed to be the one fighting for her. From the way Natasha made things out to be, Mr. Romanoff had no chance in the custody battle since he would be going up against Mrs. Romanoff's new lover but he was still going to fight for Natasha, and apparently Clint. Mr. Romanoff apparently had a soft spot for Clint.
Clint sat on the couch with Natasha in his arms and he let her cry it all out. He knew there was nothing he could say to make this better at the moment. The only way to make this right was to hold her and let her cry it all out.
It took her about an hour to calm down. Her chest was still heaving with sobs and a couple tears still trickled down her face, but for the most part, she was calm and could probably coherently talk to Clint. He adjusted her so that she was sitting in his lap but still in his arms. She rested her head against his shoulder from tiredness and heaved another sob.
"I'm a little insulted that you thought I wouldn't fight for you too," Clint said as she let out a small laugh.
"Oh, and by the way, I love you too," he said with a smile. It was the first time they had said it. They both knew that they loved one another, but they had never actually said it directly to each other. It sucked that it had to be said under unfortunate circumstances.
"I'm actually a little mad that you said it first," he said, getting her to laugh once again.
They stayed like that for several hours. Not once did they talk, they just sat there on the couch in complete silence with Natasha's head resting on his shoulder. Clint's parents returned home at one point and were shocked to find Clint and Natasha in such an awkward position on the couch. His parents were about to protest when Clint stopped them.
"Now is really not the time," he said icily. He watched as his parents retreated from the living room and turned his head to check on Natasha. She was fast asleep; all of that crying had really worn her out. He scooped her up once again and carried her up the stairs to his bedroom. He placed her in his bed and, not caring about his parents' opinions, crawled into bed next to her.
Clint had learned over time that Natasha was a light sleeper at times so he wasn't surprised that when he got in bed with her, she rolled over and was wide awake. Her eyes were red and swollen, but other than that, she looked okay on the outside. It was the inside that Clint was concerned about.
"You'll really fight for me?" she asked eagerly.
"I'm still really insulted that you don't think I will," he said with chuckle. "Yes Nat, I will fight for you because I love you. You're not going to leave me that easily."
Natasha inched closer to Clint and she snuggled into his chest. She felt a lot safer when she felt his arm wrap around her back like usual. It was almost as if all of her problems melted away when she was in his arms.
Mr. Romanoff filed for divorce two weeks before Natasha's sophomore year ended, citing fraud and that he wanted sole custody of Natasha. He had come home that weekend to tell Natasha but quickly returned to the city to search for a lawyer. If he was going to fight for Natasha, he was going to need a pretty damn good lawyer.
Mrs. Romanoff retaliated a couple days later by filing for divorce as well, citing the same exact thing. Mrs. Romanoff clearly had no idea what the word "fraud" meant in this situation, but she still cited that she wanted sole custody of Natasha. Natasha knew this was going to get ugly, and she was mentally and emotionally preparing herself for the worst.
The custody hearing was scheduled a week following Natasha's last day of school. When the school was dismissed on that day, Natasha didn't want to believe that she may only have a week left with Clint. When she met him in the student parking lot after school, she broke down and cried. She didn't want it to end. Not now, and not this soon.
When Mr. and Mrs. Romanoff returned to town separately the week before the hearing, Mr. Romanoff decided it was best to let Natasha have her time with Clint. Mr. Romanoff wasn't very confident of the outcome of the custody battle but he still constantly reassured Natasha that he would do everything he could to keep her.
Natasha didn't return home at all that week. Instead, she stayed at Clint's house and she always crawled into bed with him at night, not caring one bit that his parents and Barney – home from his first year of college – were in the house. All she wanted and all she needed were to be in Clint's arms because she didn't know how much longer they had together.
The day of the custody hearing came quicker than expected. When Natasha woke up that day, she didn't want to open her eyes because she didn't want to face what the day had in store for her. Clint had promised Natasha he would go to the hearing to support her and her father, but he thought it was best that she went to the court house with her father. Clint dropped her off at her house and gave her a long, passionate kiss before telling her he'd meet her there.
Natasha got ready in a haze. She didn't really want to put in much of an effort but she did anyways, slipping on a black shift dress and a pair of sandals. She made sure her hair was curled to perfection and her makeup was flawless. Maybe she could bat her eyelashes a couple times at the judge to sway his decision.
Within the hour, they were seated in the court room. Natasha was seated directly behind her dad behind the gate. When her mother and Mr. Von Doom walked in, Mrs. Romanoff tried to garner Natasha's attention but Natasha just looked straight ahead.
It was about five minutes before the hearing was going to begin and Clint still hadn't arrived. He had a habit of being late, especially in the mornings when they had to go to school, but she figured he would be on time for something as important as this. If he didn't get here before the hearing started, he wouldn't be able to get in; the doors would be locked and no one would be able to enter or leave.
Natasha felt like she was being stabbed in the chest when they closed the dark brown doors to the court room and locked them. Clint still wasn't here and she wasn't sure how to handle this without him. She put her head in her hands and took deep breaths to avoid being sick. She could feel her father's eyes on her but she just continued to look down and breathe deeply.
She didn't raise her head until she heard the judge walk in and call the court to order. Natasha had difficultly focusing on the hearing. It wasn't just Clint's absence that threw her off, it was the legal jargon. She was a pretty smart person but everything that came out of the judge's and lawyers' mouths sounded like gibberish.
Each time Mr. Von Doom's lawyer spoke – and she knew it was Mr. Von Doom's lawyer because she knew her mother wasn't smart enough to research lawyers by herself – she wanted to punch him in the face. The same went for Mr. Von Doom. He acted like since he was some big time CEO in New York City he could just walk in here and defend him and Natasha's mother.
Each side went back and forth, arguing until the judge would call order in the court. Natasha so desperately wanted to join in on the argument but she knew that if she said something she could jeopardize her father's case. Therefore, she just sat behind the gate with her arms folded across her chest.
By noon, a decision hadn't been reached and the judge called a lunch break. Relief flooded through Natasha's body as she heard the dark brown doors swing open. Not only was she hoping Clint was sitting outside but she felt like she was suffocating in the court room, and she needed some air.
When she walked out to the hallway, it was empty. Clint wasn't there and she felt a whole new emotion towards him: anger. Why he wasn't here she didn't know, but she was going to find out. She whipped out her phone and checked to see if there were any missed calls or text messages. None. She searched through her contacts and found his name, pressing her thumb to the screen to call his phone. She pressed the phone to her ear with a little more pressure than necessary and listened for him to answer the phone. Unfortunately, it went to voicemail after several rings.
"Clint Barton, I don't know where you are but the next time I see you, I am going to kill you," she hissed into the phone, and then hung up.
"Natasha?" she heard a voice from behind her. It wasn't Clint. Unfortunately it was her mother, and she whipped around to face her. Before her mother could get a word in, Natasha spoke.
"I don't know what you're trying to do but whatever it is, it needs to stop. If you win this case, I will never ever forgive you," she spat and turned on her heel to walk back into the court room. Suddenly she wasn't very hungry for lunch.
After a half hour lunch break, the case resumed. Mr. Romanoff had been taking a beating before the break, but he wasn't going to give up. He wasn't quitting, he was just getting started. Mr. Romanoff and his lawyer retaliated with great force.
Apparently this wasn't the only time Mrs. Romanoff had been suspected of being unfaithful. Mr. Romanoff even cited their move to town before Natasha started kindergarten as an outcome of another cheating scandal. This was news to Natasha, and it made her despise her vile mother even more.
By 2:00, her father and his lawyer had revealed every little secret they had about Mrs. Romanoff, and Natasha hoped that would be enough to sway the decision in her father's favor.
"Finally, we would like to hear from the child, Miss Natasha Romanoff," the judge announced.
Natasha was shocked. She thought only this sort of stuff happened in movies, and maybe they did. She hadn't been paying attention for the past couple of minutes so maybe she had dozed off and was currently dreaming this.
"Miss Romanoff, if you would please stand," the judge said politely. Natasha stood but didn't quite know what to say. What exactly did the judge want her to say? She could feel all eyes on her and this made her extremely nervous.
"What do you want me to say" she choked out.
"Please give your side of this case," the judge said.
Perfect, Natasha thought. My mom isn't going to know what hit her.
"Well, I just thought this was the first time my mother had cheated but according to my father it's not," Natasha said. "There were other times that I did not know about, and I'm not even mad I didn't know about them.
"Now, it makes me think that she's unfit to be a mother," she continued. "Who's to say that she won't drop Mr. Von Doom in a couple of months and come crawling back to my father or find some other rich CEO and try to seduce him. Can't have a minor being bounced around from step-father to step-father. It wouldn't be a very healthy environment or lifestyle.
"Which, come to think of it, all of the guys my mother cheated on my father with were filthy stinking rich. It wouldn't surprise me if my mother married my father because she thought she could dip into my grandparents' fortune and gain a little bit herself, but I guess that came as a little bit of a surprise when she married my dad."
Natasha paused and looked over at her mom, who was staring at Natasha with her mouth hanging open in shock.
"So, it just seems that my mother is a dumb fucking gold digging whore who was unfit to be a mother in the first place," Natasha said. "That's all. I'm done."
Natasha sat back down in her seat and folded her arms across her chest, a smirk beginning to spread across her face. Her mother was glaring at her now, as if Natasha had betrayed her.
Serves you right, you dumb bitch, Natasha thought.
Natasha turned her attention back to the judge who was reviewing everything from the hearing. Natasha's leg started to bounce up and down due to nervousness. She wanted the judge to stop delaying the decision and just tell her already.
The judge cleared his throat. "On this day, I grant Mr. Ivan Romanoff sole custody of Miss Natasha Alianovna Romanoff. Mrs. Vera Romanoff is to pay $500 in monthly child support, which will cover the costs of Miss Natasha Romanoff's health insurance and other necessary living expenses.
"This ruling cannot be revisited due to Miss Natasha Romanoff approaching adulthood in less than two years. This case is dismissed," the judge said as he banged the gavel and walked out of the court room.
Natasha jumped out of her seat and yelped with excitement. She rushed through the gate and hugged her dad, who hugged her back with as much excitement.
"You back stabbing bitch," Natasha heard her mother hiss from behind her. Natasha turned around and looked her mother right in the eye.
"Me? A back stabbing bitch? You've been stabbing our family in the back for years, whore," Natasha said icily. "And calling your daughter a back stabbing bitch is probably why you lost this case. I'm pretty sure that's a form of verbal abuse in a court of law."
Her mother sputtered, trying to form a defense to Natasha's statement but instead, turned and stomped out of the court room with Mr. Von Doom on her heels. Natasha turned around and hugged her father once more and shook his lawyer's hand and thanked him for all of his help.
Natasha was so excited that she forgot how angry she was at Clint for not showing up. Her hand instantly reached into the pocket of her dress and pulled out her phone to check for messages. None.
She excused herself from the court room and walked out into the deserted hallway and dialed his number once again. It rang twice before someone answered.
"Clint Barton, you are in so much trouble!" Natasha screeched into the phone.
"Natasha," Mrs. Barton said.
Mrs. Barton? Did I dial the wrong number? Natasha thought.
"Mrs. Barton, I'm so sorry. I must have dialed the wrong number," Natasha said.
"No, no, this is Clint's phone," Mrs. Barton said wearily. She sounded exhausted.
"Oh, why do you have his phone? Did he get in trouble or something?"
"No," Mrs. Barton said as she let out a sigh. "I don't know how to tell you this…"
"What's going on?" Natasha said. Now she was scared. Clint hadn't shown up at all for the court hearing and now his mother was acting all cryptic.
"We didn't want to tell you what with the court case going on - ," she said but Natasha interrupted her.
"What. Happened?" Natasha said through her clenched teeth.
Mrs. Barton let out another sigh and took deep a breath. "Natasha, Clint's been in an accident."
Oooooooh I'm such a horrible person! Cliffhanger! Please don't hate me. By the way, I have no idea how custody hearings work so if someone out there knows, please don't judge me for how Natasha's custody hearing played out. My parents got divorced when I was like 2 so I obviously would not know how they work haha.
As always, thank you for signing up for alerts, adding this to your favorites, and reviewing. Please review, and go easy on me. Like I said, please don't hate me haha.