Fighting The Past - Natasha Romanoff x Reader

Chapter Four

There were a few places in the compound that Natasha often retreated to when she needed some time alone. Today she was in the gun range, she found an odd comfort in the repetitiveness of firing at the targets. Loading a fresh clip into the gun, Natasha aimed and moved as she squeezed on the trigger. Years of forced training in the Red Room had made Nat proficient in handling a wide variety of firearms and the only other person on the team who was a better shot than her was Clint. 

Slamming another clip into the gun, Natasha squeezed on the trigger again, projecting all of her frustration into each of the shots as they collided with the exact same spot on the target. The gun clicked the clip empty again. Nat pulled off the ear protectors and tossed them onto the table where she had set out her guns and ammunition. 

On the edge of the table was her somewhat broken phone, she had taken it out of the desk draw in her room this morning and felt mixed emotions when the screen didn't display any more messages from Y/N. There had been a temptation to reply but Natasha had stopped herself, it would be exactly what Y/N wanted and she didn't want to give into them.

Sitting down, Nat began to dismantle and clean the guns on the table. A quick glance at the clock on the wall told her that she didn't have long until she would have to get ready for the Charity Gala later. Her mood hadn't improved from yesterday and she had considered more than once trying to find a way to get out of going, but the team would all be there and with someone looking to take her out they wouldn't want to let her out of their sight. 

The door to the range opened and Clint slipped inside, giving Nat a small wave as he walked over to her. 

"Thought this is where I'd find you" Clint said as he took a seat across from Nat. 

"Need me for something?" Nat asked as she reassembled the gun with expert speed. 

"Look I know you aren't the caring and sharing kind of person and I try to respect that but after yesterday I think you need someone to talk to" Clint said as he reached out and stopped Nat from cleaning the next gun, "This Komarova, is that who you went back for when we were in Budapest?"

Nat nodded slightly, now was probably the time to finally tell Clint what had happened all those years ago. 

**

Natasha watched as the explosion tore through the building. It was done, finally. Dreykov had been taken out, it didn't seem quite real. Knowing she couldn't stay in the area, Natasha followed the planned exit route that Clint had given her. 

'Natasha I'm waiting at our agree extraction point. The tracker in your car has gone off the route. What's going on? Are you being followed?' Clint's voice came through on the ear piece he had given to her earlier. 

"Clint I need you to get Shield to agree to bring in someone else with me. I should have told you earlier but I had to be sure you'd be true to your word first" Natasha replied as she took a sharp left. 

'Look I don't know if that's going to happen, it took a lot of convincing to get them to agree to help extract you Natasha. Who is this other person?' Clint replied concern in his voice. 

"They're important to me, I can't leave them behind like this. Please just try Clint, I'll meet you at the extraction point soon" Natasha replied as she put her foot down on the accelerator. 

Reaching the apartment complex, Nat put the car in a free space out front before rushing inside. The Red Room would be all over the explosion by now, which meant they would flood the city with other widows and agents to look for who was responsible. One of the first places they would come would be here.