22:29 27-AUG-09, RED ROOM ACADEMY

As soon as he heard a splash, Clint rushed over to Natasha. He enveloped her in his arms, almost squeezing her. After a moment, Natasha returned the hug, burrowing her face into her partner's shoulder.

"For a moment I thought I lost you, Tasha," Clint muttered.

"I know you'd always try to find me," she replied, her voice muffled from Clint's shirt.

Instead of answering, he lifted her chin up with his finger and pressed his lips against hers. The kiss was long and sweet, not desperate and not rushed. As they stood near the edge of the roof, with the moonlight shining down on them like a spotlight and the breeze ruffling their hair, Natasha knew she was safe for now.

With Clint, she was safe.

.

03:46 28-AUG-09, SHIELD HELLICARRIER

Nick Fury's good eye was glaring at the two assassins. The two could feel the intensity from his eye, and also from the eye patch.

They'd called Coulson and he had picked them up by helicopter. They switched to a quinjet and flew to where the Helicarrier was situated in the sky. Natasha's leg had been tended to by medical; thankfully they had tended to the leg before it needed to be amputated. The ride had been a quiet one, Coulson still angry with the two assassins for running off without telling him where they were going.

Once they landed on the Helicarrier, they were directly escorted to Director Fury who was waiting for them with a poker face. The moment they sat down at the conference table, he told them, quietly, to tell him exactly what had happened.

They told him everything, leaving out their little make out sessions. When they were done, Fury sat, his chin resting against his clasped fingers. He seemed pensive, but finally stood up, towering over the assassins.

"So Alexi Shoshtakov is dead?" he asked.

"Yes."

He nodded. "And what of Barnes?"

"No sign of him," Coulson piped up from the doorway. He had been standing there for the entire time they'd recounted their mission.

Fury nodded again. With a swish of his long black coat, he proceeded out the room, brushing by Coulson.

He paused, looking over his shoulder at his two best agents. "I want a mission report in two days from both of you. Understand?"

Clint and Natasha sighed with relief. They thought that he might still kick them out of SHIELD.

"Yes, sir," they chorused.

Fury left, and Coulson went up to the agents. "Welcome back."

"It's good to be back," Clint replied. "Northern Russia is damn cold."

Natasha rolled her eyes. "I was there for almost all my life, so don't complain, Barton."

"Well I'm from Iowa," he said, as if that concluded his argument.

Coulson cleared his throat. "I must remind you two that you are, in fact, SHIELD agents, and therefore will still be given missions."

The two assassins looked at him wearily. He noted how tired they looked, with dark bags under their eyes and an overall aura of exhaustion.

He looked apologetically at them. "You get 12 hours to rest. You're then to report to me so I can give you your mission."

"Yes, sir," they said again, smiling at their handler.

"Now go to sleep, Romanoff and Barton. You have a long week ahead of you."

.

11:50 28-AUG-09, SHIELD HELLICARRIER

Natasha jolted awake at the sound of someone opening her bunker door. Not to her surprise, it was Clint. He looked just as worn-out as she felt as he shuffled over to her bed.

"Sorry to wake you," he muttered apologetically.

She gingerly moved her wounded leg so that he could sit, still holding the thin blanket around her waist. It was a habit, always sleeping with a blanket. She supposed it was almost like a last defense against anything that would try to attack her at night. Foolish and childish thinking, she knew that, but she couldn't break the habit.

"I was just thinking-"

"That can't be good," Natasha said, smirking.

"Seriously, Nat." He pulled his sock-covered feet onto the bed, crossing his legs. "I was thinking about what we talked about at the airport in London."

She sighed. She hadn't forgotten about it, as much as she would have liked to. They'd talked about their relationship and she'd said that they'd talk about it after their mission was over. She mentally smacked herself about it.

"Where do you want our relationship to go?" she asked, that being the safest way for her without her having to admit any feelings.

He thought for a second. "I really do care for you. I know you know that." Clint ran his hands through his hair, chuckling breathily. "I do want to take our relationship to the- er- next level. I mean, we don't have to call it that, but-"

Natasha cut him off by leaning over and kissing him. Her hands were on either side of his face; she felt the stubble along his jaw line. When they broke apart, she smiled.

"Okay," she agreed.

"Okay."

.

12:37 28-AUG-09, SHIELD HELICARRIER

As they walked down the hallway of the Helicarrier, they didn't hold hands, as much as they wanted to. They wanted to keep their relationship under wraps, knowing that it could potentially affect their missions if anyone knew. Instead, they bumped shoulders occasionally, or brushed their fingers against each other.

Natasha knew that it was risky business, being in a romantic relationship with her mission partner. Other agents had been sacked for compromising a mission, trying to save their beloved. That was the last thing that she wanted to happen, lest she lose the title of the cold-hearted Black Widow.

The few minutes they had just spent in her room, just holding each other, made Natasha wonder if she could still be the Black Widow with love in her heart. She glanced over at Clint, whose blue-grey eyes she'd come to love, were already looking at her.

They reached the control room where the giant panel of glass looked out into the blue skies and white clouds. Coulson was already there, reviewing some notes in a folder he'd been handed. When he heard their footsteps, he looked up at the assassins who were already dressed in their SHIELD gear.

"You still have three hours of rest," he said.

"We realize that," Natasha replied, "but I think this should be a sort of apology for going rogue."

Coulson gave her a small smile. "How's the leg?"

The redhead shrugged. "Bearable."

"Then here is your next mission." Coulson handed her a folder. "I'm sorry to say that it is a solo assignment." Clint was ready to protest when Coulson held up a hand. "It isn't a dangerous mission. Agent Romanoff is only required to observe a certain billionaire."

Natasha opened the folder and scanned the page. "Anthony Stark, owner of Stark Industries." She smirked. "Well this should be fun."

"This is the beginning of Phase 1, Agent Romanoff." Clint glanced over his shoulder to make sure no one else was within hearing range. "Iron Man is needed for the Avengers, and you are to write a character profile for him. You will be situated in Los Angeles under the name of Natalie Rushman. I hear Pepper Potts had been appointed CEO of Stark Industries, and she's looking for an assistant."

"What about me, sir?" Clint asked. Coulson handed him a folder as well. "Budapest. So I'll be in Hungary while Nat's in sunny California."

"I hear it's pretty nice there this time of year," Coulson replied. "You will be situated there for a month, Agent Barton. There is a suspected big drug-trafficking business happening underground. You and Agent Birch are to be partners for this mission."

"What the hell?" Natasha blurted out. A few agents at the computers glanced up at her.

"I think that you two would be better suited to be apart for a few weeks after the whole rogue-mission fiasco."

She clucked her tongue, feigning disappointment. "You're cruel, Coulson."

"Your planes leave at 1600 hours."

They were dismissed, and they set off out of the control room. Almost subconsciously, they walked to the flight deck where the wind could cover their voices. Natasha took Clint's hand, despite the few SHIELD agents who were on the deck.

"I'll visit you in Budapest," she murmured, leaning against his shoulder.

"I'm not going there on a vacation, Tasha. For all I know, I could be in the middle of taking out a mob when you step off of your plane."

"I'll be by your side then. I'll fight with you. You know we can beat anyone who tries to kill us."

"We're only human," he reminded her.

She shook her head. "No, we're just a spider and a bird."

.

A/N: C'est la fin de l'histoire! I can't believe The Spider and the Bird is finished. Thank you to all my readers and reviewers, you've all been very supportive :) There probably won't be a sequel to this because there are already a lot of stories about them in Budapest. Anyway, I'll probably be starting another Avengers story sometime this month. If you're interested, check it out when it's published!

Au revoir! JM