Trapped in her own Web

The Past Comes Calling

The hot water from the shower nozzle washes away all the sweat and grime of the mornings exercise and the previous nights mission.

It beats down in a steady rhythm and is accompanied with the soft hum of Natasha.

She stood completely immersed in the water and let the droplets slide off of her. The soapy suds from the shampoo gurgled down the drain and she sighed contently.

She was so wrapped up in her own thoughts, that Natasha failed to hear the soft footsteps approach her room. She also failed to notice a white envelope shoved beneath her door.

The water shut off and Natasha quickly wrapped a towel around her body and another one in her hair. She padded out the bathroom and crossed towards her wardrobe before donning a more casual look in one of Barton's tees and Tony's hoodie.

The white envelope caught her eye and she flicked it open. In side was a single piece of paper with a carefully typed sentence.

The air in the room dropped suddenly and Natasha's fingers froze in a vice like grip. She clenched her jaw and screwed the paper up. Taking deep breathes, she forced herself to calm down and toss the paper away.

She brushed out her hair and decided to just leave it as it was. Staring at her reflection in the mirror, she allows her eyes to wander to the bin. Getting up, she unscrews the paper and flattens it out.

After rereading it, she folds it up and puts it in a spare drawer of her dresser. She shakes her head in dismissal and leaves the room. It's only someone screwing with me.

The other avengers are up and slightly awake by the time Natasha joins them. She picks up an apple from the fruit bowl and bites into it.

The window over looks the main entrance to the facility and several cadets are lined up outside listening to their SOs. It was almost peaceful with the quite talk of the others behind her. Well, peaceful until she was attacked from above.

The vent above her clanged open and something heavy dropped on her shoulders. She went with the momentum and came up again. In less than a minute she had her attacker pinned to the ground and trapped in a headlock.

The sheepish face of Clint Barton grinned up at her. She narrowed her eyes at him and let him up. The others were watching them and Natasha went to retrieve her fallen apple. Clint was sniggering as he walked away and Natasha looked mournfully at the bashed, inedible piece of fruit.

She smirked and all of a sudden lobbed the squishy piece of mush at the retreating back of her partner. It collided with the back of his head and everyone froze.

He turned around grinning. "Oh you're so on. Gym in ten." She grinned back and left to change into her track kit. There was a slight bit of confusion with the newer recruits but they followed a bouncing Tony none the less.

In the gym a line had been drawn out. On either side of the line were 6 balls, soft ones. On one side stood Natasha, on the other side stood Clint.

Clint beckoned the others to come forward. Bruce backed up onto one of the benches "sorry guys, but we don't want a code green." They nodded and Vision also backed out.
"This way, we'll have even numbers."

On Nat's team was Cap, Sam, and Rhodey. On Clint's team was Tony, Wanda and Thor. Both teams stood facing each other and Bruce held a whistle.

"Remember the rules. No powers or suits or anything you could use to your advantage including weapons. Ok? 3,2,1 GO."

Both sides scrambled for the balls. Tony went straight for Steve who only narrowly ducked, it hit Sam instead who stomped off in annoyance. Almost instantly, Natasha caught Wanda's ball and Sam was back on and Wanda was off.

Rhodey and Thor both took each other out and were followed shortly by Cap and Sam who were beaten by Tony and Clint. It was now Natasha against them. Surprisingly, Tony was quite nimble. It was getting increasingly difficult to fend off Clint and try and hit Tony. She caught a ball but Tony screamed that no one was allowed on. In that moment she nailed him in the head and he slumped off defeated.

Now it was only Clint and Natasha, but that was to be expected. Both danced around each other, ducking and diving and even throwing in a few fancy flips. The game was heating up and the others were on the edge of the benches.

Somehow Clint had acquired all six balls and lined them up. He shot five balls at Natasha and she did a weird funky matrix move. It was as she was coming up that he shot the sixth ball and managed to whack her in the head.

Everybody froze, Clint included. They all expected the red head to explode, instead she extended her hand and congratulated him on a good game. Only Clint saw the glint in her eyes as she smirked at him. He gulped theatrically and nursed his bruised hand.

Tony sniggered at him mouthing the words you're so dead. Clint nodded in agreement and disappeared. When Natasha tried to find him to challenge him to a rematch, he was gone.

Hours went by, most of which consisted of boring paper work and file reading, and still no Clint. Steve and Bruce went and checked in the gym again and found him hiding in the rafters by the large apex window. "Come on Clint, I'm sure it's fine."
"No it not. You didn't see her."
"Yes we did Clint and she's been fine all day."
"Uh uh. No way she lost her winning streak because of me. She not just going to let that go."
"So?"
"So? So! That means she's gonna murder me in my sleep."
"Clint it's fine stop being dramatic. She's gone see."
"NO SHE ISN'T SHE'S JUST WAITING FOR ME."

They finally managed to coax him down and he passed her by on the way to his room. He eyed her suspiciously but she just offered him an innocent smile back.

He unlocked his door and stepped over the threshold. The moment he did that an icy bucket of water was tipped all over his head. He heard her laugh and turned round. He opened his arms and she immediately backed up. He started chasing her round the facility whilst the others backed out of the way. She lost him in the kitchen where she vaulted over the island and opened the refrigerator door in his face.

He thundered down the corridor and skidded to a stop outside of her door. He heard the lock click shut and then a bolt being slid across. None of the other rooms had a bolt, but then again this was Natasha.

He sat on the floor outside her room and told her very loudly that he didn't plan on moving until he was dry. She just chuckled from the other side and settled at her desk, continuing the paper work Fury had assigned.

She smiled to herself. This is what life was supposed to be like, and she enjoyed it. Not a day went by that she didn't thank the universe for sending Clint after her. If it had been anybody else she would be 10 feet under without hesitation. Or more likely, they would be 10 feet under and she would still be a fugitive. But it's ok, everything seemed to have worked out in the end.

Although she can still hear Clint ranting at her from the other side of the door. No doubt he'll get her back tomorrow.

A/N sorry if Natasha was a bit out of character, but I see her as becoming a little bit more playful and relaxed with Clint because he understands and gets her a little more than the others. In this story they have a more sibling type of bond. So yeah comment, vote, read whatever. Hope you guys enjoy this.