A Different Call

Whatever It Takes

A.N. I'm sorry.

Natasha's P.O.V.

The ghost led us up another mountain that had two stone pillars near the edge of a cliff. The design gave me a feeling of being at an ancient altar like I could have found these same structures near Aztec or Mayan ruins.

The three of us approached the edge of the cliff before the Red Skull spoke up again. "What you seek lies in front of you. As does what you fear."

"The Stone is down there?" I asked. While I wasn't an expert in the stones, I did know that they tended to glow and for what I could see all that was at the bottom of the cliff was cold hard stone.

"For one of you. For the other...The Stone demands a sacrifice. In order to take it, you must leave behind that which you love." The ghost pointed a finger to the ground that had to have been a few hundred feet below us. "A soul for a soul."

As Clint keep looking down to the ground- or should I say grave- below I switched my gaze to watch him, I know what I had to do.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Maybe he's full of shit," Clint said, gesturing the spirit that was still standing at the cliff's edge. Clint had spent the last few minutes pacing, a common activity when he was anxious; while I had taken a seat on a rock, trying to think of the exact way I was going to break the news to Clint.

I look up the man who had been my finance for only a few hours. "I don't think so."

"Why?" Clint asked, rolling his eyes. "Because he knew your daddy's name?"

"I didn't," I told Clint sternly, I didn't want to spend my last few minutes with him arguing. "Thanos left here with the stone, and without his daughter. You really think that's a coincidence?"

We both looked out to where the spirt was standing, neither wanted to speak of what would have to happen next, trying to avoid making the action our reality for as long was could.

"Whatever it takes," We both uttered, recalling the speech that Cap had given us earlier.

I got up and walked over to Clint, confident in what I needed to say to put him at ease, "If we don't get the stone, billions of people are going to stay dead."

"Then I guess we both know who it has to be," Clint said, his voice the most solemn I have ever heard it be.

"Yeah. Guess we do." I was glad that he was accepting my decision.

We took each other's hand and rested our foreheads against each other. The position gave me flashbacks to all the missions that we thought we wouldn't make it out of. The only difference was this time there was no backup or Coulson to help save us. Only one of us is making it out of this situation.

Clint pulled away, looking at me with confusion in his eyes. "I'm starting to think we don't mean the same person."

I was in shock for a second before I spoke again, "For the last five years, I've been trying to do one thing -- get to right here. This is all it's been about. Bringing everybody back." My voice turned from confident to borderline pleading.

Clint let out a soft chuckle and gave his smirk that always managed to melt my ice-cold heart, "Do not get all decent on me-"

"You think I want to do it? I'm trying to save your life, you idiot-" I tried to put some humor in my voice, but there was a part of me that knew I had to do this.

"And I don't want you to," Clint said sternly squeezing my hand. I tried to tell him off but he cut me off before I could get a word out. "Nat. You know what I've done. What I am now. Your life's worth ten of mine."

"Not it's not," I quickly shot back. "Do you even know how many you've saved myself included."

"What about how many I've killed in the last five years alone."

"I don't judge people by their worst mistakes-"

"Maybe you should-"

"You didn't. And I know that after all this is said and done there are going to be a lot of kids that are going to need someone who won't judge them for what they've done. They're going to need someone like you."

Clint looked me in the eye and then looked back down. I knew I had won. "You're a pain in my ass, you know that?"

I had to let out a little chuckle, of course even in this situation Clint would still be making jokes. I took a moment to prepare myself and try to take in as much of Clint as I could when Clint swept my legs out from under me.

"Tell Laura and the kids I love them."

I flipped Clint off of me, I always did win when we had sparred. "Tell them yourself." I got up and fired one of my bites at him. I knew it wouldn't seriously injure him, just give me enough time to do what needed to be done.

I had almost made it to my goal when there was an explosion my feet, knocking me to the ground. As I sat up I saw Clint race past me and jump off the cliff.

I scrambled to my feet and followed him, making sure to shoot a grappling line into the side of the cliff. I crashed into Clint and made sure to attach the other end of the line to Clint before I continued my journey down.

Except Clint caught me, wrapping his hand around my arm just below my wrist.

Clint looked at where I had clipped the line as if trying to see if there was any way he could switch our positions; however, I had looked the line, making sure it couldn't extend any farther.

"Damn you." Clint and I hung there for a few minutes before I let his grip start to loosen.

"Let me go," I said, looking into Clint blue-grey eyes that had started to fill with tears. While none had fallen yet it looked like it wouldn't take long for the damn to burst.

"No, please no," Clint begged, a few tears escaping from the corners of his eyes.

I looked into his eyes, trying to let him know that what was about to happen wouldn't be his fault, that I knew what I was doing and that I was okay with it, that I would always love him.

"It's ok," I said my voice barely above a whisper. With one last squeeze, I kicked myself off the cliff and out of Clint's grasp.

As I fell I closed my eyes and was surprised by what I was feeling...peace.