Sorry I'm late :/ This chapter is slightly dark, but next chapter there'll be extra fluff :D On a slightly different note, if there's anybody good at covers for fanfics, I'd be thrilled if you'd PM me, 'cuz I really want one for this one! Thanks as always to AlisonAPD and Moriarty-assbutt for their lovely reviews and my wonderful Beta, thefrozencherryblossom!

Chapter Nine

"What do you mean, you can't find him?" Natasha hissed, well on her way to becoming hysterical. Steve flinched at her tone.

"Just that, Nat. We can't reach him, we can't track him… He's just vanished."

She stopped for a moment, running a hand through her hair, before gathering up her skirts to catch up with Steve's fast march.

"We all have trackers; he'd have to cut open his arm to get it out." She said mechanically, wondering why nobody had thought of this.

"His trail stopped here." Tony said with a grimace from one of the large indoor fountains. He indicated towards the pool, where she saw several earpieces and communicators in the water. She walked around to the other side and gasped at the metal chip floating in a puddle of red. She raised her hand to her mouth and let out a muffled scream.

Bruce took off his glasses – as sure sign of concentration - and started asking questions, before turning back to Natasha.

"Look you know Clint better than anyone, and we all knows he's been a little… off lately. But has anything happened… any incident that would have set off a trigger, anything that would have driven him to wanting to run basically." He said in a voice so calm that she wanted to hit him.

She glanced at Loki sending him a thousand messages in the one look. Do you know this is our fault? Do you know where's he gone? Did you know this was going to happen?

She turned back to Bruce and tried to hold back tears as she whispered "No."

Leaning on the railing she watched the twirling figures in black and white move across the floor underneath. She let out the long-held in sobs. Natasha Romanoff rarely ever cried. But God knew that when she did, it would be over Clint Barton.

"Natasha, you mustn't worry." Loki said softly from beside her.

"He's gone missing, it's my fault, and don't you dare say it isn't. Of course I'm going to worry." She sighed.

"He's been my brother, my rock all these years, and the one time he needs my help… I do what I'm best at and run away." She stopped suddenly.

"This isn't anything to do with you is it" She said anger flashing through her eyes. Loki gulped. Well, he was in this deep, he might as well keep digging.

"I swore to you, Clint was fine, just suffering from some survivor's guilt. This is probably all this is, hiding from the people he thinks he ruined."

He took her hand in his. "He'll be fine love, you'll see." Natasha smiled gently when her communicator came alive with static.

"Whose… Tony? Where are you?"

"Nat, come to the roof." He said, his voice getting louder and softer with each gust of wind.

"Have you found -" but Tony, cut her joy short with his urgent tone.

"Just get to the roof now!".

"Yes, sir!" Natasha called automatically at his commanding manner, and immediately started moving towards the elevator, never letting go of Loki's hand.

She stepped out of the lift, and was almost knocked over by the strength of the wind. A storm is coming she thought to herself grimly, before she even registered the scene before her.

"Barton, you don't want to do this…" Thor boomed his voice carrying over the gale.

"Just come back and we can talk!" Bruce shouted finishing Thor's sentence. Natasha's heart leaped with joy and then felt thirty feet into her stomach when she saw what was happening. Steve, Bruce and Thor had formed a small semi-circle, each shouting and yelling words of comfort. Tony was suited up a hovering over the side of the building, arms out stretched as if to catch something… or someone. Because Clint, her Clint, was balancing on the edge of the low wall, knees bent, as if her were about to jump. A piercing scream filled the air. Natasha willed for it to stop before she realised it was her.

She ran towards the wall not knowing if she was going to pull him back or jump with him. Thor grabbed her, holding her by her arms, as she struggled in his grasp.

"Clint, please, come back", she cried "I'm sorry, so sorry…"

Thor gestured towards Loki. "Get her out of here".

He immediately pulled her into his chest, stroking her hair, but she pushed him away swiftly.

Clint turned back to look at her, his eyes stormier than the sky above them. He softened at her reddened, tear-stained face, but didn't move an inch. He mouthed an apology before preparing himself again. Everybody leaped forward a couple of feet, but it was Loki's cry of "Stop!" that caught their attention.

"Barton this is madness! Yes, all the pain would go, all the voices in your head, all the dreams, but how much pain would you leave behind? Not only for your team, your country, the people whose lives you saved, but for her?" He shouted over the wind, pointing at Natasha who was huddled into Steve.

"What would she do without you? She can hardly function now, without your mind intact, how will she cope without you all together?"

Clint turned away, his face full of thought.

"You can't face the idea of her leaving you, but this is cowardly, I should know, I've done the same. I took you because I thought you had heart. They, your team, chose you for the same reason. Don't prove them wrong." He finished. Natasha watched in awe as Clint relaxed his shoulders and climbed down from the wall. She jumped out of Steve's arms, and ran to Clint, wrapping her arms around his neck like, and sobbing like she'd never cried before.

"Hey." She called softly, glancing around the room until she found him on his couch reading.

"Hey." He repeated with a small smile, standing up to greet her.

"Clint's sleeping. They're monitoring him, but I think he's good now. He's better." She said with a grin.

"I'm glad."

She moved towards him. "He's better thanks to you. I didn't know you had it in you. I told you, that you could change."

She laughed but stopped when he remained serious.

"Natasha, I'd be lying if I said I didn't do it for you."

Her breath caught in her throat as he threw her a rueful smile.

"Loki…"

"No, I mean it." He sighed. "I cannot fix on the hour, or the spot, or the look, or the words, which laid the foundation. It is too long ago. I was in the middle before I knew it had begun."

She blushed. "Don't you quote Pride and Prejudice."

He laughed. "As you wish."

And with that she crushed her lips to his. He responded quickly moving his hands from her waist up into her hair, then cupping the back of her neck. She moved away, resting her head on his chest, still locked in his embrace.

At first Loki didn't recognise the emotion he was feeling then swiftly realised it must be happiness, something he hadn't felt for years. He knew he'd have to tell her the truth eventually. But surely he deserved a little happiness?