Private Hours
The mission had been a success but it hadn't gone off without a hitch and Clint was bleeding badly at the moment, shrapnel sticking through his calf at an odd and ugly angle.
Natasha finished with her opponent and ran to him as soon as she was able to, heart hammering with concern and adrenalin. "Clint!" She shouted.
"I- I'm fine." He said but he didn't look good, the metal in his leg was one thing but there was too much blood for just that and she turned him over slightly to check with little regard for his reaction.
He hissed and grunted but it didn't matter. A bit of pain was acceptable because when she looked she saw more sticking out of his back. He was laying on it.
There had been an explosion and she tensed, remembering it as sirens filled the air. The police were arriving and they needed to disappear before it was too late. This wasn't the kind of work that needed press and police reports written about it. This wasn't the kind of work they needed being seen at.
Getting him back to the safe house was her priority now.
She hauled him up, working on moving him without causing too much pain. She had to get him somewhere safe before the shock set in. He was already starting to shake.
They had a car parked around the block and she managed to get him into it with surprising ease, just as the police arrived to check the scene.
"Easy Clint, you'll be alright." She muttered as she deposited him in the passenger seat. He was starting to turn pale. She needed to get him taken care of as soon as she could and she still had to get out of the city for that.
He made a soft groaning sound. "I know, Nat." He mumbled but his voice was getting thick and uneven.
She swung into the drivers seat and started up the engine, breaking a few traffic laws as she reversed and sped down the street. She could worry about those later. If any cameras snagged her plates the ticket would go to SHIELD anyway.
The breakneck speed she was attempting wasn't possible to maintain in a city with so many stop lights and she quickly grew frustrated as Clint's head dropped onto his chest and lulled there drunkenly.
"Damn it Barton stay with me." she muttered.
"I'm here." He slurred, voice coming out as a whine more than anything else. He sounded like he was nearly out of it.
"Keep it that way, we're nearly out of the city. We'll be back at the safe house in just a few minutes." She glanced over and knew that the upholstery was shot. He was bleeding everywhere.
"Safe house." He croaked, repeating her words.
"That's right, almost there."
They finally broke out of the city, commuters honking as she ignored safety and law in an attempt to save the man currently bleeding all over her car.
"Nat?" He asked.
"Yeah?"
"I'm here." He repeated again.
"Yeah you are." She muttered, worry growing as she turned down a road and blasted towards the safe house. She was almost there. They weren't too far out of the city, just far enough to give them some privacy while they lay low.
She was nearly there.
Very nearly and Clint was still conscious, head bumping on his chest.
She came to a grinding stop outside of the safe house, break pads protesting as she stamped down on the pedal and tossed her hair back. "Alright Clint, we made it." she said. "Let's get you inside."
"Ah mmm." He mumbled with half closed eyes.
Right, she hurried around the side of the car and helped him out. Carried him more than anything else. HIs feet weren't under him and he was breathing hard.
"Nat. . ." He slugged out quietly.
"I got you, we're almost inside."
She fumbled with the lock, unevenly trying to hold him up and manage a key. He was heavy against her now, body sagging as he struggled to stay conscious. She appreciated his effort. He was strong. He would be okay.
"Easy, we're almost inside." She whispered, getting the door open.
He made a noncommittal sound and his head lulled on his shoulders pathetically. Good, he was still holding it together and she hustled him in and to the couch where she quickly dumped him and went for the first aid kit.
She knew how to do this, she'd had years of training and field experience. Clint would be alright but she had come to care for him and his distress was her distress now. His pain hurt her.
She knelt and cut away his clothing until she could get to his wounds and remove the shrapnel. It was meatball work, gore and pain and even with a dose of pain killers he twisted weakly against her hands.
"Easy Clint." she whispered. "I'm almost done. It's not so bad."
"Nat. . ." He mumbled, loopy from pain and drugs. "Get it off me."
She glanced at him, stitching his back now. She still had his leg to work on but the shrapnel was gone from his back and that would help. It was probably the best thing she could do.
"It's out of your back. You'll sleep better." She almost wished he would go sleep. Now that she had the situation under control it wasn't so important he stay awake. She could keep an eye on him here.
She sighed and took a moment to touch his face. "I'm almost done."
That wasn't true. She still had his leg to work on but the strange tenderness that had crept into her heart when she was with him forced compassion out of her. Funny how he had unlocked all of this in her.
No, that wasn't right. It hadn't been locked away. He had given her the opportunity to show compassion, the opportunity to be someone who could be compassionate. Who could be everything she had been taught not to be. . .
He made a small noise, slowly slipping into unconsciousness as the drugs and the pain finally over took him.
She finished her work on his back more quickly after that, finding the work easier when she didn't have to worry about his pain and she moved on to his leg, looking down to see flesh less mangled than she'd expected. That was good.
When she had him stitched and bandaged she went and showered off. She hadn't even bothered to look in a mirror yet and as she stood in front of the one in the bathroom the woman who looked back at her looked absolutely filthy. She had matted blood in her hair.
She grimaced and showered as quickly as she could.
She was confident in her medical skills but there was no accounting for the human heart. She cared about Clint now and reason had very little to do with that. She was worried about him and there was no changing that now.
She finished showering and dressed quickly, going and checking on him in the living room. He was still asleep, face only slightly less pale now that she had gotten his wounds taken care of.
She looked down and felt a kind of softness she had only recently encountered creep into her heart and she briefly touched his forehead, hand gentle as she checked his temperature and assured herself he was alright.
They'd both had worse injuries. The shrapnel hadn't been in too deep, just deep enough to cause blood loss but he looked vulnerable here. Like the man he was, not the SHIELD agent who could do anything.
Take away the Kevlar and the weapons and you had only a naked human.
She waited then for him to wake up and found herself wondering when she had become so tender towards him. He was important to her now in a way that few people had ever been. She wanted to protect him and while that might have started out of gratitude for the new life he'd helped her into, she didn't have any doubts that it also came out of genuine feelings now.
Clint's chest was rising and falling gently however and a little more color had returned to his face.
She checked his forehead again and decided that he was doing okay. There was no spike in temperature and he wasn't exceptionally clammy.
When he did finally open his eyes she heard him yawn.
She had been nearly dozing herself in the armchair across from him when she heard him shift and open his mouth.
"A-aah." he yawned, cracking an eye.
"How are you feeling?" She asked, looking him over. The sun had very nearly disappeared outside and the room was cast in shadow.
He shifted slightly and then made a face. "I've felt better." He said. "My leg. . ."
"Your back was worse. Your leg was clean."
He nodded, face contorted unpleasantly for a moment. "Feels like someone took a cheese grater to me."
She allowed a small smile. "Hm. You looked like it too."
"You patch me up?"
"Who else?"
He smiled slightly in the growing dark. "Dumb question, thanks."
"Do you think you can move to the bed?" She asked.
He tried to shrug and then stopped, pain flashing across his face before he forced himself up and looked at her. "Only if you help me. My leg is a bit sore still."
She came around and offered her shoulder to him and together they made their way around the corner and back to his room.
They'd been sharing a room but they wouldn't tonight. There was no practicality in that and they were too well trained to give in to their own desires so easily. Rest was the best thing they could do at the moment.
They were quiet then as they got him settled and she made to go and turn on the lights but found his hand stopping her.
"I don't need 'em on." He said, squeezing her hand lightly before letting go. "Thanks though, Nat."
She helped him under the covers, noting each wince with a kind of care she might not have once had.
"I already feel better." He lied.
She sniffed a little. "You have a good nurse."
"Ooh, I like nurses." His voice didn't have the humor he'd hoped for but just the same she smiled and pulled the covers up.
"Of course you do."
He sighed and sank back. "I mean it, Nat. I do feel better."
Her smile was more real this time. "Just keep taking it easy. We don't have to move for another five days if we don't want to."
"Vacation."
She brushed his hair back and his eyes closed for a second. "You're still doped up."
"Yeah."
He smiled and she snorted. "You enjoy that." She said.
"I will. . ."
She'd done her work but she stayed by him, talking quietly and holding his hand. He would be okay. She knew that but it was a tender moment. She didn't want to leave him.
"You make the report back to SHIELD?" He asked after a while.
"Not yet."
"Ha, make 'em wait."
She smiled softly but knew she needed to do it. There were rules for a reason and reports had to be submitted on time.
She stayed with him a while more before going and making her report and making dinner. He would need to eat and she did too. She listened to the news for a while while she cooked and heard the same detached stories as ever. Told by news anchors a million miles away behind a desk.
People like her and people like Clint knew parts of the little secrets that never came reported.
They could die for the things they knew.
She looked down and sighed. Today had gone alright and when the meal was done she went in and ate with Clint who was sitting up in bed stiffly.
She sighed and smiled. "How are you feeling?"
He shrugged with his good shoulder. "A little more clear. Back hurts though."
She nodded and handed him his plate. "Well, eat this and we can see about some more pain killers if you want."
He dug in quickly, telling her that some of his energy had returned. It was good to see and she smiled into her meal at the thought.
It was peaceful after a mission sometimes. The adrenalin died down and an odd limbo like existence hung in the air for a few days. These were their days though. No mission, no travel. No anything really except for them.
This was their time.
They talked aimlessly and joked in some parody of a normal life and enjoyed the peace that came so rarely.
She checked his bandages after they ate and found all was well. She'd done a good job.
"Everything holding up?" He asked as she finished.
"Looks like it, you'll be fine in a few days."
They settled back, the kitchen was stocked and the house quiet, the mission completed and he was healing up. She appreciated any time they could take like this and planned to be there for him until he was able to leave.
Clint was her truest friend and he had given her so much more than a new life. The least she could do was be there for him.
She smiled to herself and readied for a few days of playing nurse. It was nothing she couldn't handle.
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