Nothing, not even AoU can take my Clintasha love away from me. That's why I finally decided to write for them! My muse is talking to me...

Disclaimer: If I had owned anything, Clint and Natasha would be in a relationship already. Geez.

He was always concerned when it came to her.

He was always concerned when they were on field and he wasn't by her side. He was always concerned when she was on a mission all by herself. He was concerned when she'd return to the S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters bleeding. He was always and always concerned about her. He knew she could take good care of herself, god he knew it very well. Yet, he just couldn't get himself to relax, knowing she was out there in danger without him. Since the first day they met, it had always been like this.

At first, it was like an instinct for him to protect her. As if he was protecting a child, or a little vulnurable girl who was in fact far from being vulnurable. But in time, this protectiveness changed its shape. He no longer saw her as a girl, quite the opposite, she was a femme fatale, a seductress. She would flirt her way with guys in missions and under that beautiful smile of hers lay a big dangerous assassin. Her one and only genuine smile was only known by him. That made him feel special. He knew he wasn't protecting a child anymore. He was fighting beside a very powerful woman.

He never denied his secret feelings for her. Deep down inside, he knew he was very fond of her. So very fond that it made him put a few missions in danger when he saw her getting hit by a bullet, or collapsing to the ground because of an impact. He'd been yelled by both Fury and Coulson because of this, way too many times to count. He always defended himself, yelled back, tried to explain to them that he couldn't help it. At last, Coulson gave up and shut his mouth every single time he wanted to say something bad to Clint Barton—or rather, Hawkeye.

One time after a mission, Natasha was heavily injured on her leg and Clint brought her to the special hospital in the S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters just in time. They removed him from the operation room and it had been really difficult. He was pretty stubborn about staying and doctors couldn't have allowed that to happen. So he watched everything from the outside, looking through the window at the red haired woman lying on the operation table.

That's when Fury came and stood by his side, watching what was going on in there. They stood there silently for a couple of minutes before Clint said in a low whisper: "I could've protected her. This is my fault."

"You cannot always protect her, Agent Barton. She is a grown woman, just let her be." Fury said back.

But Clint stubbornly shook his head, absolutely not agreeing with the man in charge. "I can't." Was his only reply.

"Is this love, Agent Barton?" Fury asked the same question he had asked Natasha a few months ago. He assumed the answer would be similar to hers but he asked nonetheless.

Interesting thing was, Clint didn't give him an answer. Fury expected him to deny it, or say that it had nothing to do with love. He actually expected anything but silence from him. His silence was a confirmation and they both knew that. Yet, Clint just stood there with his arms folded on his chest, his jaw thicking with what Fury guessed to be frustration. Obviously the question made him feel uncomfortable and Fury knew he wasn't wanted there anymore. So he left him there all alone with his thoughts and guilt.

"Is this love, Agent Romanoff?"

"I don't even know how love feels. How am I supposed to answer that?"

Clint stopped watching the operation from the window when he saw they were giving her electroshock to the heart. Her heart stopped for a while and they were trying to save her with all they had. Black Widow was one of their greatest assets in S.H.I.E.L.D. and they couldn't afford losing her.

He kept his head down, looking at the marbel floor with a blank expresion. She couldn't die on him, no, she had no right to do that. They always returned back to each other, at the end of every mission, every operation, every danger, everything... but not being able to do anything was suffocating. So he did the only thing that first came to his mind; went up to Fury to said only two things.

"If she dies, I'll walk away. Don't ever look for me again or send agents after me. I will make sure they fail." He said with all seriousness he had. Then his eyes softened a little bit at the thought of Natasha surviving and continued. "But if she lives, inform me immediately."

And with that he disappared into the dark night of the city without waiting for an answer from him. Clint didn't need to hear what the man in charge had to say when he knew there was no chance Clint Barton would change his mind.

Nick Fury knew that very well.

After four hours—which seemed like ages to Clint—they finally called him. Like always, he expected anything from that phone call. But he wasn't a pessimist like Natasha. So he picked up the phone and prayed to God for the best.

"She is okay." Was the only thing they told him before hanging up. One sentence was all he needed anyway. Not even a sentence actually, just three words to make him hold onto life once again. He was so used to having her around him. They were a team, they were partners... maybe something even more, although they never admitted that. There were a few times where he wanted to quit S.H.I.E.L.D. once and for all but never did because Natasha was there for him every now and then. He couldn't abandon her and he never would. It was like she was his other half. Of course he could still do his job without her, he could still function, but with her he was better. With her, he was complete.

He stared at the phone for a few minutes and exhaled the breath which he had been holding for God knew how long. He held the phone to his chest, closed his eyes and said a low thank you, to the now slowly clearing sky.

So what do you guys think? I hope you enjoy it and if you enjoyed it, please leave a review or favourite the story!

Chapter 2 will be up in two days.

Stay tuned xoxo