Clintasha – When they first met
I’m sorry but I had to
He had her in his sights. The Black Widow was fast and smart as hell but for once he had the timing on his side.
She was running through the bottom floor of the darkened building. He had just gotten settled up in the rafters with his bow ready. When she appeared and that was too bad for her.
He had been tracking the Widow for months. His orders were to kill not to capture. He may not have liked the orders but things got hairy when you started picking and choosing what commands to follow.
So he grabbed an arrow from his quiver and sighted down the shaft, the point following the slim figure slipping through the shadows.
In the moment he let the arrow fly he felt a twinge somewhere in his chest. A niggling sensation that had been there all along and sprang to the fore as the arrow leapt from the string.
He hit his mark but she had been fast enough to avoid getting his through the chest. He saw the point get buried in her abdomen and with a soft strangled sound he watched the figure crumple in half.
She was limping towards cover, her eyes darting around looking for the source of the attack and the possible follow up.
She must have known it was him. This wasn’t the first time he had tried to catch her. It was the first time he had succeeded. He watched feeling tension in his stomach as she tried to blend with the dark and quiet her breathing.
He flicked on his radio to inform his waiting superior “I’ve got her Coulson.”
It only took him a few moments to hop over the banister and climb two floors in a way that shouldn’t be recommended. His knees were going to hate him in the morning but he was at ground level and he saw she had dropped her gun. It was left sitting out in the open. Of course that did not mean she was unarmed.
He knew where she was and he stood for a moment, undecided.
Finally he grabbed his bow and let his clatter to the ground. This might be a bad play but he had always survived by his instincts. He didn’t want to stop now.
He raised his hands in the air and approached. Up close he could hear her soft unsteady gasps.
His eyes adjusted so he could make out the figure awkwardly leaning against a pillar. He kept his hands in the air as he knelt in front of her.
“The way I see it, you’ve got two options here. You can agree to come with me or I let you walk…and I don’t know how far you’ll get. Those are shitty options but thats all you’ve got right now.” He stated this in a matter-of-factly tone and watched her eyes which he could just make out in the faint light. They flicked to him and away, probably looking for an exit.
“Why did you shoot me if you were planning to let me walk?” Her voice was softer than he would have expected.
“I wasn’t"
There was a rough twitch at the corner of her lips. Something between a smirk and a smile. Her eyes glittered.
"And if I come with you?” she asked and he shrugged,
“I can’t promise much but I will get you fixed up at least.” she nodded but didn’t look at him,
“Why?”
Again he shrugged. Again she smirked.
“I’m Clint by the way,” he told her as he continued to examine the arrow shaft, trying to gauge the damage he had done.
“Natasha,” she murmured. A quick glance at her face showed something like mild bemusement.
“Well let’s get you fixed up Natasha,” he said, “And you owe me big for this.” Now it was her turn to laugh.
“I owe you?” she demanded.
"Yup, big time.”