Under or Over: Hawkeye & Black Widow

CHAPTER #10

It was race day, so they checked out of the hotel.  Then returned the car and took a Tuk Tuk to the marina.  Agent Barton went over the boat to make sure it hadn't been tampered with.  They put their pack down in the cabin that was in the hull of the boat.  They had the whole day to kill, before race time. A local restaurant is where they sat, eating and having a few drinks.

Natasha said, "I had the nightmare again.  But it wasn't as bad as it usually is."

Clint nodded, "I know.  You talked a little in your sleep and I talked to you, letting you know I was still there and that you were safe.  You're dream seemed to pass, as your breathing went back to normal."

"So maybe you're right, talking about it maybe helped," Natasha admitted reluctantly.  "It's just really hard to.  All my training says I shouldn't."

Clint looked her right in the eyes and said, "like you told me once; our training doesn't cover dealing with monsters."

She frowned and threw an ice cube at him, which he easily caught and dumped into his glass. That just made her roll her eyes.  "What about you? Any secrets you want to tell me?"

There was one secret Barton had that he would like to tell her, but she wasn't ready to hear it.  So Clint shared something else, "when Loki had my mind under his control, it horrifies me now how easy it was for him to tap into the violence within.  The things that I thought of doing.... it just scares me that I have that in my mind."

"I think you, the Captain and I, have that in common.  Our humanity is what keeps a leash on the true violence that we are all capable of.... One could even argue that is the same for Banner," Natasha analysed.

"We are who we are.  And because of people like Loki, or the guy in your nightmare, we work for an agency that tries to protect the world from what we've had to go through.  Lesser people would break, but we're survivors who get up and fight back."

She nodded in agreement.  They watched people come in and out of the restaurant. Each of them had another drink. "I hate waiting," Natasha sighed.

"We could go to the Golden Dragon Water Puppet Theatre or some other show," Clint suggested.

"Seriously?"

"Why not?  Vietnamese culture has some amazing acrobatics, dance and kung-fu.  We've got a lot of time and we've been ordered not to seek out those big white guys from last night."

Romanoff remembered that agent Barton use to be in the circus. Her guess was that sometimes he missed it.  "I don't think I can sit still that long. But maybe going to a martial arts class or something?"

"Sure that will kill some time.  You ask the bartender if he knows where we should go, when you pay the tab."  Clint said handing her some cash.

Natasha got up and went to the bar.  Then shortly returned with some information.  "He said we should check out Vovinam in District 10."

"What's Vovinam?" Clint asked.

"It's a little of everything.  There are kicks from Tae Kwan Do, grapples from Hop Kido, throws from Judo and they also train with weapons.  The gym has boxing too," Natasha explained.

"Alright let's go, and Nat, make sure you don't hurt anyone.  We don't want to disrespect them," he cautioned.

She gave him a look that said he should just shut up and get a Tuk Tuk.  Barton flashed her a grin and got them a ride.  When they arrive, after paying at the front desk, they were each given a blue gi. They changed and then met in the main gym.  Both bowed deeply to the master that was training his students. Barton and Romanoff watched the session, finding that they limited using elbows and certain kicks.  When training was over, the master gave a demonstration and then invited them to participate.