It's been quite a while since I last posted in this series. Let's fix that shall we? :D For those who didn't read the last chapter (Or couldn't), a quick update: Natasha was kidnapped, and then she got stuck in the chair they used on The Winter Soldier in Captain America 2. Then Maria and Clint found her. Now then!
________________________________________
Clint wasn't one to typically flip his shit. In fact, before Natasha came along, he was a pretty mellow, carefree sort of guy. And then Natasha came, and suddenly his world was flipped upside down. But it was good. It made him accountable, gave him a reason to give half a shit about anything. She NEEDED him and, in a strange way, he kind of needed her.
And then her fucking doctor suggested she go for a run OUTSIDE of the SHIELD base. Phil had made sure the poor doctor was properly taken care of, and that they would be finding her a new shrink once they got Tasha back. IF they got Tasha back.
They did end up finding her, but not before whatever the hell-chair-of-doom got it's claws on her. Or rather her skull. There were burn marks on her head, parts of her curls were singed off, and she was currently unconscious in the SHIELD med-bay. She had been for going on two days. Someone was sitting there, around the clock. Well, sort of. Maria had tried, but somewhere between Natasha disappearing and someone finding her whereabouts, Maria had come to the conclusion that she kind of had an amorous thing for Natasha. This resulted in a lot of tears until Phil- God bless the man- had convinced her to stay home, and get some rest and clear her mind. So, Naturally, that left the two of them to be with Natasha. Clint usually took the night shifts, so that Phil could stay with her and get work done during the days.
It was currently three in the morning, and Clint was in a bit of a coffee haze when he heard, in perfect Russian, "I know you."
He looked up, and sure enough, her eyes were open, and she was staring straight at him. He could have kissed her, if not for the fact that his instincts were telling him something was very wrong. "I don't speak Russian," He responded, hoping that he hadn't botched that bit of Russian and she still knew English.
"Oh," She answered, this time in English. "....What am I doing here?"
"....It's complicated," He said. "What do you remember?"
".....I was trying to take down a target, but this man... he was following me. I think he wanted to kill me," She answered slowly.
Okay, that he could work with. "Well, I'm here to tell you he didn't want to kill you," Clint said, standing up. Natasha flinched, and Clint knew what that meant. "Easy Red. I'm not going to hurt you."
"That's what they all say," She muttered. "What makes you different?"
Clint smirked, grabbing Pinkie Bear from the chair, handing it to Natasha. "Cuz I got you this. You may not remember it, but I did."
Natasha stared at the toy blankly. It was too pink and fuzzy for her to ever want it. And yet.... As soon as she touched it, that say came back to her: Food, shopping, something about being eternally ageless.
"Anything?" Clint asked. Her hands trembled and she nodded.
"We... went to the shopping center. You bought me things and didn't ask me to get you off to thank you."
"Good," Clint beamed. "Do you remember who I am?"
She shook her head. "I'm sorry."
"It's okay. You kind of went through hell." He shrugged. "I guess I should get Phil..."
"To do what?" There was that hesitant, nervous girl he had come to love like his sister.
"Relax. I'm your.... handler. He's my Fiance."
"You are gay?"
Clint smirked. "You could say that."
Turns out that what had happened was a bit of mental re-calibration. It didn't affect much, just what she had been through since she came to SHIELD. Not too bad, if he did say so. But that meant that they were back at square one. She was probably still dealing with PTSD, and all it's nasty side effects, and Fury was going to want to get his grubby hands on her and turn her into his own personal weapon. No way in HELL was Clint going to let that happen.
"We need to take her home," He finally said to Phil, once Natasha was asleep.
"Clint, she is home," He said, clearly not getting it.
"No Phil, HOME home. Like to your old place, or somewhere we'll all fit. I don't want Fury twisting her mind," He elaborated.
"Still don't trust him, do you Barton?" Phil sighed.
"I trust very few people Sir," Clint said, slipping into his professional (At least, as professional as he got) mode. "You're one of them. And I trust her, but she doesn't trust herself yet. We need to give her a safe place to find herself."
Phil smiled at him. "Now you're thinking like a handler. I'll talk to Agent Hill. She can probably come up with something."
* * * *
Turns out Maria was very good at coming up with things. She offered her own apartment to the three of them, on the premise that nothing was broken. So, the day Natasha was discharged, they took her back to their new (temporary) home. Phil was lining up shrinks to screen for Natasha, who to be honest was still very out of it. She was eating and drinking okay, but naturally her sleep habits weren't much better than before.
The first night was the worst. Every few hours she would wake up screaming, dripping in sweat, the bed soaked. She sobbed as Clint tried to help her, the same fears as before emerging. It took Maria showing up to get things settled, and then there was evening hot cocoa.
"Fury is really living up to his name for this one, Barton," She informed the man. "You better have a plan."
"I do," He said, though it wasn't 100% complete.
"Do you?" Phil asked with a deadpan.
"I do! Those idiots before wanted to turn her into a civilian, at most a replacement for Phil," He growled. "I see more than that in her. So I'm gonna take care of the girl MY way. She can be a field agent. If I take my time with her like you took with me Phil."
Both Phil and Maria's eyes widened. "Barton, you already had months of experience," Phil started.
"She has a whole childhood behind her Phil. She's broken, just like I was. She was tired of fighting and running, just like me. I look at her and I see myself. And I see potential."
Maria smiled warmly at him. "You know, I quite like it when you get all sappy Barton," She said, taking a sip of her cocoa. "I'll file the paperwork for you two to take some time off tomor- well, when I go in today. And, for the love of God, plan the wedding while you're off. Fury made a bet and I'd love to see him lose."
Phil chuckled, nodding. "We really do need to get it done, Clint."
"When we're good and ready," He muttered, jumping when Natasha screamed again.
"Good thing the walls are sound-proofed," Maria sighed. She stood, striding off to the bedroom.
"Clint?" It was Phil, his fiance, talking now. The man who knew that Hawkeye wasn't crazy when he brought the Black Widow in. The man who saw past the hurt and drama and show-boy attitude and saw potential in him. The man who taught him to write his name. "I'm proud of you." Clint beamed. For once, just once, he knew he hadn't fucked everything up. He knew that he had made the right choice, and for that, he was grateful.
* * * *
Turns out that, if given enough time and a therapist who DID actually care about her, Natasha was a lot better off. Which was why she was currently sparring with Clint on base, waiting for Maria and Phil to finish their meeting.
"Damnit! You gotta teach me how you always do that," Clint muttered, completely pinned to the ground.
"Oh, you'd like to know that, wouldn't you?" Natasha said, crawling off of him and offering her hand. Clint stuck his tongue out, grabbing it before attacking Natasha with tickles. She squealed, trying to run away before she heard someone enter the gym. The two of them looked up, seeing Maria Hill and Phil Coulson walk into the room, a file folder in their hands.
"Are you sure you're ready Natasha?" Maria asked nervously.
"Never been more sure about anything," She smirked, hugging the woman.
Phil kindly averted his gaze from them, handing Clint the mission file. "How do you two feel about Budapest?"
___________________________________________________
OOOOOOO AND THE PLOT THICKENS!!! xD I always knew it would end up there at some point. And what an interesting update THAT will be. ;D I told you things would get happier. Idk when the next update will be, but just give me some time, because I PROMISE It will not disappoint. :D
And then her fucking doctor suggested she go for a run OUTSIDE of the SHIELD base. Phil had made sure the poor doctor was properly taken care of, and that they would be finding her a new shrink once they got Tasha back. IF they got Tasha back.
They did end up finding her, but not before whatever the hell-chair-of-doom got it's claws on her. Or rather her skull. There were burn marks on her head, parts of her curls were singed off, and she was currently unconscious in the SHIELD med-bay. She had been for going on two days. Someone was sitting there, around the clock. Well, sort of. Maria had tried, but somewhere between Natasha disappearing and someone finding her whereabouts, Maria had come to the conclusion that she kind of had an amorous thing for Natasha. This resulted in a lot of tears until Phil- God bless the man- had convinced her to stay home, and get some rest and clear her mind. So, Naturally, that left the two of them to be with Natasha. Clint usually took the night shifts, so that Phil could stay with her and get work done during the days.
It was currently three in the morning, and Clint was in a bit of a coffee haze when he heard, in perfect Russian, "I know you."
He looked up, and sure enough, her eyes were open, and she was staring straight at him. He could have kissed her, if not for the fact that his instincts were telling him something was very wrong. "I don't speak Russian," He responded, hoping that he hadn't botched that bit of Russian and she still knew English.
"Oh," She answered, this time in English. "....What am I doing here?"
"....It's complicated," He said. "What do you remember?"
".....I was trying to take down a target, but this man... he was following me. I think he wanted to kill me," She answered slowly.
Okay, that he could work with. "Well, I'm here to tell you he didn't want to kill you," Clint said, standing up. Natasha flinched, and Clint knew what that meant. "Easy Red. I'm not going to hurt you."
"That's what they all say," She muttered. "What makes you different?"
Clint smirked, grabbing Pinkie Bear from the chair, handing it to Natasha. "Cuz I got you this. You may not remember it, but I did."
Natasha stared at the toy blankly. It was too pink and fuzzy for her to ever want it. And yet.... As soon as she touched it, that say came back to her: Food, shopping, something about being eternally ageless.
"Anything?" Clint asked. Her hands trembled and she nodded.
"We... went to the shopping center. You bought me things and didn't ask me to get you off to thank you."
"Good," Clint beamed. "Do you remember who I am?"
She shook her head. "I'm sorry."
"It's okay. You kind of went through hell." He shrugged. "I guess I should get Phil..."
"To do what?" There was that hesitant, nervous girl he had come to love like his sister.
"Relax. I'm your.... handler. He's my Fiance."
"You are gay?"
Clint smirked. "You could say that."
Turns out that what had happened was a bit of mental re-calibration. It didn't affect much, just what she had been through since she came to SHIELD. Not too bad, if he did say so. But that meant that they were back at square one. She was probably still dealing with PTSD, and all it's nasty side effects, and Fury was going to want to get his grubby hands on her and turn her into his own personal weapon. No way in HELL was Clint going to let that happen.
"We need to take her home," He finally said to Phil, once Natasha was asleep.
"Clint, she is home," He said, clearly not getting it.
"No Phil, HOME home. Like to your old place, or somewhere we'll all fit. I don't want Fury twisting her mind," He elaborated.
"Still don't trust him, do you Barton?" Phil sighed.
"I trust very few people Sir," Clint said, slipping into his professional (At least, as professional as he got) mode. "You're one of them. And I trust her, but she doesn't trust herself yet. We need to give her a safe place to find herself."
Phil smiled at him. "Now you're thinking like a handler. I'll talk to Agent Hill. She can probably come up with something."
* * * *
Turns out Maria was very good at coming up with things. She offered her own apartment to the three of them, on the premise that nothing was broken. So, the day Natasha was discharged, they took her back to their new (temporary) home. Phil was lining up shrinks to screen for Natasha, who to be honest was still very out of it. She was eating and drinking okay, but naturally her sleep habits weren't much better than before.
The first night was the worst. Every few hours she would wake up screaming, dripping in sweat, the bed soaked. She sobbed as Clint tried to help her, the same fears as before emerging. It took Maria showing up to get things settled, and then there was evening hot cocoa.
"Fury is really living up to his name for this one, Barton," She informed the man. "You better have a plan."
"I do," He said, though it wasn't 100% complete.
"Do you?" Phil asked with a deadpan.
"I do! Those idiots before wanted to turn her into a civilian, at most a replacement for Phil," He growled. "I see more than that in her. So I'm gonna take care of the girl MY way. She can be a field agent. If I take my time with her like you took with me Phil."
Both Phil and Maria's eyes widened. "Barton, you already had months of experience," Phil started.
"She has a whole childhood behind her Phil. She's broken, just like I was. She was tired of fighting and running, just like me. I look at her and I see myself. And I see potential."
Maria smiled warmly at him. "You know, I quite like it when you get all sappy Barton," She said, taking a sip of her cocoa. "I'll file the paperwork for you two to take some time off tomor- well, when I go in today. And, for the love of God, plan the wedding while you're off. Fury made a bet and I'd love to see him lose."
Phil chuckled, nodding. "We really do need to get it done, Clint."
"When we're good and ready," He muttered, jumping when Natasha screamed again.
"Good thing the walls are sound-proofed," Maria sighed. She stood, striding off to the bedroom.
"Clint?" It was Phil, his fiance, talking now. The man who knew that Hawkeye wasn't crazy when he brought the Black Widow in. The man who saw past the hurt and drama and show-boy attitude and saw potential in him. The man who taught him to write his name. "I'm proud of you." Clint beamed. For once, just once, he knew he hadn't fucked everything up. He knew that he had made the right choice, and for that, he was grateful.
* * * *
Turns out that, if given enough time and a therapist who DID actually care about her, Natasha was a lot better off. Which was why she was currently sparring with Clint on base, waiting for Maria and Phil to finish their meeting.
"Damnit! You gotta teach me how you always do that," Clint muttered, completely pinned to the ground.
"Oh, you'd like to know that, wouldn't you?" Natasha said, crawling off of him and offering her hand. Clint stuck his tongue out, grabbing it before attacking Natasha with tickles. She squealed, trying to run away before she heard someone enter the gym. The two of them looked up, seeing Maria Hill and Phil Coulson walk into the room, a file folder in their hands.
"Are you sure you're ready Natasha?" Maria asked nervously.
"Never been more sure about anything," She smirked, hugging the woman.
Phil kindly averted his gaze from them, handing Clint the mission file. "How do you two feel about Budapest?"
___________________________________________________
OOOOOOO AND THE PLOT THICKENS!!! xD I always knew it would end up there at some point. And what an interesting update THAT will be. ;D I told you things would get happier. Idk when the next update will be, but just give me some time, because I PROMISE It will not disappoint. :D
No comments:
Post a Comment