Love Is For Children ~Hawkeye & Black Widow (Part One & Two)

The Ending

 The ending of anything is always hard.

Whether that is the ending of a television series, a book or any kind of relationship, there will always be an element of sadness. The wonderful adventure and memories that have been shared will become a thing of the past, with no hope of flourishing again, or any indication of what happens next. When a relationship ends, whether that is a friendship or something more, someone usually gets hurt.

Clint was hurt.

Natasha was hurt.

It had been three days since they had both arrived back in New York and Natasha had stuck to her word and was now living across town in her own apartment. Before Natasha was living with him, Clint adored the silence and isolation he had because of how easy he could clear his mind and relax, but now he hated it. He hated waking up in an apartment alone, he hated making one cup of coffee and one egg, he hated having no one next to him to laugh at old episodes of Friends, he hated being without her.

Clint was never fond of heart break, and had always done his best to avoid. In his previous relationships he'd occasionally suffered the wrath of heart break but as he got older and the demands of being agent got harder, he knew how to stay clear from it. No matter how many times Clint played it over and over again in his head, never once did Clint see this coming. He never expected to be broken hearted over Natasha, because Natasha was always his wing man, best friend, councillor and partner in crime. Clint hated the silence since she'd left.

Natasha was no better. Natasha had always felt a sense of security at Clint's place, and comfort in knowing she had someone to go home to. When she picked up the majority of her things and went back to her apartment, she cried in the shower for hours. Natasha longed for the memories to come back, she ached to feel familiar with the love story she and Clint had created before she was taken away. Natasha punched the bathroom wall as she sobbed, cursing at HYDRA for taking away her chance at happiness and for sticking her in such a mess.

Silence was virtue for agents because it allowed them to focus and clear their heads, but Natasha wasn't too fond of the sudden silence and stillness in her apartment. She was finding it hard to wake up in the morning, walk in to the living room and not hear Clint swearing because he'd burnt his finger on the hob. Natasha also wasn't fond of how cold she felt lately, because Clint's apartment was always so warm and inviting but her apartment was sterile white and cold, and she hated it.

Natasha didn't feel as though she could ever work alongside Clint again in fear she'd let her emotions get the better of her focus and jeopardize the mission, so the only logical thing she could do was to get a 'Partner Replacement' form from Hill. By the third night in her own apartment Natasha had stopped crying and had instead turned the frustration into working out and signing the replacement form. Clint hadn't cried since they were back in the car in England, all that remained was a hollow like feeling in his heart and apartment where Natasha used to be.

The two of them hadn't spoken a single word to each other since Natasha left his apartment, and the silence was almost suffocating. Clint lay on the couch with a glass of orange juice, deciding to give up alcohol for the time being so his liver could recover while his heart just seemed beaten. Clint was beginning to fall asleep at just after 11pm when a vibration and alert sound rang out from his jean pocket. Clint debated whether to leave it till the morning to read but sighed and took out his phone anyway. His heart almost dropped into his stomach when he read the caller I.D of the text.