At Long Last (OC x Natasha Romanoff)

Chapter 18

Natasha's POV

The car ride back to the tower was filled with silence. I was trying to figure out how exactly I was going to get the information I needed. There was no way I was going to get it within the tower's walls. Not with Dr. Dumbass and Captain Paranoia around.

N: "Sir, can I make a request?"

F: "Romanoff, we are going to finish my little test. That's nonnegotiable."

N: "I know Sir. I was going to ask if we can have Clint go first?"

F: "Why Agent Barton?"

N: "We both know I won't be able to get the answers we need within the tower. Not with Steve and Banner being there. If the wolf is ok with Clint, I want to move her out of the tower, but to a location we would still have control."

F: "And you think Barton is going to go along with all of this?"

N: "I can be very convincing, Sir."

F: "Let's see how the rest of the team does before I say yes."

Arriving back at the tower, Fury and Natasha made their way down to the detention level. Not completely surprised to see Maria blocking the entrance to the level from Steve and Banner. Both men tried to convince the agent to let them in, to finish what needed to be done. Claiming that no one was going to find out, she let them in. Natasha, being done with both of the men, pulled her gun out, pointing it at the two men.

H: "What makes you so sure that no one is going to find out?"

B: "The only one that would really care is Natasha."

S: "Fury would only use it as another weapon. Hill, we have to do this before that thing get out and kills us."

B: "Natasha, is treating that animal like it's a small, harmless dog that she can keep as a pet. She doesn't understand how dangerous it actually is. Hill, look at it. You know we are right."

Hill didn't respond. Instead, she stood her ground and continued to silently block the door from two. Having seen Natasha and Fury, she wasn't stupid enough to defy orders. Not to mention, she didn't agree with the two men's opinion about the wolf. The sound of a gun being cocked drew the men's attention to Fury and Natasha.

F: "Agent Romanoff, consider your request granted, if all parties involved are ok with it, and you know whose opinion would really matter when discussing it."

S: "What request?"

N: "That's none of your business."

B: "When it comes to your safety, it is our business."

Banner's comment was the final straw. I narrowed her eyes at the men and with a slight head tilt, let out a warning shot that went just over the twos head.

N: "You should be more worried about your safety than mine. Teammates don't try to kill other teammates!"

F: "If she wanted you dead you would be. That was just a warning. Afterall, Romanoff never misses a shot. Now I suggest both you men leave before she puts a cap in both your asses." Steve and Bruce looked at each other and then back at Natasha before they left the level. "Agent Hill, is the wolf awake?"

H: "Yes, Sir. Woke up about five minutes before you came in."

F: "Good. Can you please locate Agent Barton and bring him down." With a head nod, she left to find the requested agent. "And don't let the others follow. We only need Barton. For your own sake, I hope this works."

Fury and Natasha stayed out of the view of the wolf until Hill and Clint came down.

C: "You needed me, Sir?"

F: "I want you to try and get close to the wolf. We need to confirm if it is truly aggressive or if it's only responsive to men. Steve fucked up this little test when he decided to hit the glass and triggered it to attack. You are going to approach alone and unarmed, and we will take this slow."

C: "Well Sir, I didn't think you hated me enough to try and kill me. Natasha, how are you ok with this? I thought I was your best friend."

N: "Cline we have to do this. If it gets out of hand. I will do what I need to, but you need to trust me on this. Have I ever done anything to cause you to question me and your safety?"

C: "Budapest..."

N: "Doesn't count. Now shut up and get your ass in there. I have your back." I turned his body towards the cell and gave him a small push.

Clint POV

I made my way to the cell. The wolf laid their head perked and watched my every move. I gave one last look back at Natasha and tried to think back to what I did for her to want me killed. Her and Fury had to have lost their damn minds, wanting me to go in there with no weapon. The only thing coming to mind was all the pranks that I have pulled on the two. I didn't think that a few harmless pranks would be enough to want me dead though. Well not until the time I put a box of plastic treasure, a plastic sword, a peg leg, and replaced Fury's desk with a pirate's ship in Fury's office came to mind. The thought made me laugh. Ok, so there may be a reason or two for all of this from both of them. Heavens knows I've done worse to Natasha.

Once I had calmed back down. I faced the wolf again and slowly reached for my bow that was strung over my back. I raised it up slowly with one hand to the wolf. My movement making it stand and growl. I gave it a small toss to the side towards Natasha and Fury, which made it stop growling and tilt its head at me. I did the same thing with my quiver of arrows. It tilted its head more. Thinking back to what Natasha did when she approached the wolf, I raised my hands, so they were in its wolf's view. I went to the keypad and opened the door. The wolf backed up to the back wall. The chain attached to the cuffs around its paws and collar dragged against the floor.

I understood why it was chained this way, but this was wrong. I made my way into the cell, keeping my hands up the whole time. The wolf put its tail between its legs, lowered its body to the ground and started to growl again. Keeping my hands up, I made my way to the center of the room and sat down. "It's ok. I'm not going to hurt you. I'm sorry about before, I may have overreacted." The more I talked to the wolf, the more it relaxed. It only took a couple minutes for it to stop growling at me and after another five minutes of me sitting with my hands raised it slowly crawled to me. I made sure I didn't move, I just let it come to me. I guess all those animal resume shows I watched with the kids finally paid off. Once it got to be about a foot away, it reached its muzzle out and sniffed my hand before licking it. I let out a breath I didn;t know I was holding and gave the wolf a pat on the back. Surprisingly it let out a small purr like sound, that gave me a little chuckle. I wonder if Laura would let me keep it.