Clintasha Shorts

Retirement

Natasha was always one who took death quite well. But in this instance, this situation she was the complete opposite. She has moved bodies before. She has taken bodies crushed from fallen buildings. But she had never done one so young and innocent.

The young child – no older than 5 years old – was a victim of what was described by everyone as an alien attack at the center of New York. Natasha had been sent into the building after it was evacuated by Steve, checking if there were any leftovers or survivors when the building of the small kindergarten collapsed. The Avengers run into the building to recover as she was in there a while, but she was perfectly fine. Unharmed and alive. Steve and Clint find her huddled in a corner. There was dust and small bits of rocks in her hair and her eyes were red. However, they weren't red from the thick air. They were red from tears. She's whispering to the small little girl that was lying in her arms. She had been too afraid when everyone started to run, and Natasha had found her seeking refuge under her teacher's desk. The building had come down at the wrong moment and the little was crushed under the desk. Natasha had pulled her out and she was holding her, whispering that she was safe and that her mother was here, and she would be fine. Though the pool of blood surrounding her told a different story.

By the time Clint gets to her and see's her on the ground with the girl's body cradled in her arms, the small child had stopped breathing but looked at peace despite the blood and bruising that had settled around. Natasha was holding the girl close, not bothering about hiding the thick flow of tears that were leaving her eyes and rolling down her cheeks, leaving clean streaks in the blood and dust on her face. Clint falls to the ground before her and tries to take the girl from around her but Natasha resists, telling him that she needs to wait until the girl's mother had arrived. Natasha was silent after that and the Avengers were shocked when Clint sits next to her and says they would wait together for the girl's mother, putting his arm around her.

It was almost an hour and a half before the building was secured and safe enough to bring the girl's body out. Clint takes off his outer jacket and wraps the child in it. Natasha gets up and says that she would carry her out. Once they come out, there is chaos when a young woman in the crowd who was already crying, screams hysterically like her entire world has ended as she takes her still daughter's body from Natasha's shaking arms. Natasha stands there after that. She didn't know what to do. She was lost, just standing there waiting to be directed by someone. Clint turns around to her and puts his warm hands on her small face. She is snapped out of her thoughts and she places her small hands around his wrists.

There have been moments where the team has wondered if they were more than they were letting on. But this was the greatest display of something more than a simple work partnership and friendship.

"Natasha, look at me." his instruction was firm. She slowly looks up to meet his gaze and lets out a large sob, throwing her head into his shoulder. "Hey, it's ok. You did what you could."

"But she died..." she choked out.

"And there was nothing you could do," Clint tells her. "You stayed with her, you held her, you made her feel safe."

"But Clint she died," Natasha stressed died. "I should have gotten there fas-"

"Nat-" he starts but she cuts him off.

"Clint...she told me her name was Cassidy." she sobbed, there was an expression on her face that looked like she just murdered her own child. "Her name Clint...Cassidy..."

Clint turns to where he is met with the still crying woman holding her still daughter and he gives Natasha a squeeze, realizing what she was stressing.

"Ok then. We are going home," he says in a firm voice.