Before the War - {Clintasha} - {Pre-Avengers} [#Wattys2019]

Hard to Control

Hey, guys!!! Sorry for the LONG delay!

I have been extremely busy and nervous...but I just got accepted to the Disney College Program on November 5th!!! I am beyond excited and a little nervous! My role is Merchandise (top role!) and I really hope to work in the Avengers store in Disney Springs!

Since I will be leaving for Walt Disney World on January 14, 2019, I am going to update this story more often and try to finish it before then! 

"You took a bullet for me." Clint glanced down to see the heavy and hot white bandages packed around his left shoulder, too shy at the moment to look at Natasha. The infirmary itself was incredibly hot that day, or maybe the medications were making him feel that way; he didn't know. 

Natasha sat next to his bed side in an uncomfortable grey chair, her hand draped over his hand. "Why?"

"Weren't you trained to never walk into a trap?" The archer raised his head and looked at her. A small smirk even made him wince in pain. 

Natasha rolled her eyes and glanced at the gap in the  privacy curtains surrounding the small post-op area. She then locked eye contact with Clint again. "Yes, and you were trained to never get caught." A small smirk crept up on the edge of her mouth. 

"So I screwed up once. Well...I've been shot before." The archer treated it like it was no big deal. 

"That was in your arm and there was an exit wound. Clint, the gun went off twice; one bullet to the shoulder  and one to the right knee. If I hadn't bashed my head against the weapon that shot you and altered its accuracy..." She trailed off, thinking about attending her best friend's funeral for a split second. She shook her head once and looked up at him. "Surgery tomorrow. They haven't even started on your knee yet." Both agents looked down at Hawkeye's bare knee, which was propped up with two square pillows, bandaged in the same thick material his shoulder was wrapped in, and encased in a black plastic and Velcro brace. 

"I love you, Nat..." Let's face it. Clint was done talking about the failed mission's consequences. 

Natasha fell silent for a moment, trying to find the right words to say in that situation. She hesitantly pushed a strand of her (then) red hair behind her ear. One strand fell forward again, but Natasha did not care. "I'll stay with you until they take you back to fix your knee tomorrow. You know that will require at least six months of therapy before they let you back out on the field."

"What will you do without me?"  Clint managed a small smile. Natasha knew she needed to leave so he could catch some much needed sleep. His pale blue eyes looked dull from lack of sleep. 

"Get the job done." Natasha smirked. 

The pain was unbearable.

He felt someone lifting his head up, then lifting him up under the arms as someone else picked him up by his ankles. Clint soon felt his body crashing against a slightly padded, yet uncomfortable surface. 

"Tasha..." The archer cracked his eyes open and tried to curl up in the fetal position, but immediately felt hands firmly push his body flat against the uncomfortable gurney he was lying on. 

Wait. Gurney, people?

"Nat!" Lifting his head up felt like a chore. Clint immediately felt a hand press down on his forehead, forcing him flat against the stretcher. The archer raised his hands up and tried to push the person away but the pain in his side caused his hands to drop.