The Meaning of Trust: Brutasha

Memories

"So I was thinking that we could leave tomorrow night. That'll give us time to regroup and get a plan in motion. What do you think?" Clint asks Natasha as she enters the room.

Natasha nods. "I think that's a good idea. If you don't mind, I'm going to shower."

"Sure."

Natasha walks into the bathroom and turns on the shower. Of course, it isn't good compared to the showers at the Avengers' Facility, but she has been away from home for a month. She undresses and hops into the warm water. Natasha quickly washes her body and hair. She gets out and dries off before putting her clothes back on.

She walks out of the bathroom and finds Clint sitting on the bed tossing a bouncy ball in the air.

"Where'd you get that?" Natasha questions.

Clint chuckles. "Near the ventilator. Some kid must've left it."

Natasha nods and soon realizes there is only one bed.

"You didn't request more than one bed?"

"I told him there were two people. Oh come on, I don't kick."

Natasha rolls her eyes. "Fine." She picks up two pillows and sets them between her and Clint.

"Nice wall," he jokes.

"Thanks. I like it too."

"Night, Tash."
"Goodnight, Barton."

Natasha wakes up to Clint mumbling. She turns around to find Barton holding one of the pillows close to his chest.

"Clint?" Natasha quietly calls out.

Clint remains in his dream.

"Clint. Wake up," Natasha says.

When Clint doesn't react, she starts to gently shake him. Clint wakes up with a sudden jolt.

He tries to play it off: "Oh. Is it time to get ready?"

Natasha shakes her head. "You were having a nightmare. We've only been asleep for forty-five minutes."

"Thanks for waking me up. I'm sorry I woke you up."

"It's fine. Do you want to talk about it?"
Clint finally lets go of the pillow he was holding against his chest. "It's nothing. Just comes with the job."

Natasha nods. She knows what he means. She used to have nightmares all the time. The only thing that kept them away was Bruce. He comforted her even when they did come. He wasn't scared of who Natasha used to be. He embraced all of her, just like Clint has done since they first met.

Clint rolls onto his back, staring at the ceiling. He stays silent but wide awake.

"You know you'd be able to sleep if you talked about it. We both need the rest too."

Clint thinks about her offer. "It's always the same type of dream."

Natasha turns to face him.

"I'm back on a mission from a while ago. I was supposed to lead a team of Agents into a government building to try and take down Hydra's contact. It was supposedly an easy assignment. The agents with me were new to the field." Clint pauses. "We got into the building fairly easily. We made it to the server room when we were met by forces. Hydra somehow knew we were going to be there. There was gunfire from both sides. I was shot in the shoulder and my team was dropping all around me. I eventually made it out with two kids still with me."

Before he can continue, Natasha interrupts: "You don't have to continue, Clint."

He does anyway, "We hid in a small closet across the hall. It was crowded and hot, but we stayed until we were certain Hydra had left. I was the first to exit and decided to return to the server room. I thought that we could power the server off and maybe collect some of our friends. I made the wrong decision. We got to the server and closed our friends' eyes and crossed their arms. You know? Paid our respects. Anyway, we started to leave but just as we stepped out of the house more gunfire rang into the air. I ordered my team to sprint for the car knowing we couldn't take a gunfight. They did as I demanded and ran. We hopped into the Jeep and drove away. Everything was fine. We made it out alive but part of our lives forever ruined."