A Couple of Master Assassins (Clintasha)

Chapter 13

The drive to Iowa was nearly seventeen hours long. Normally, they would have taken a plane like the rest of the agents to save time, but Coulson thought it could look suspicious so sent the two assassins separately in a car. They were going to take turns driving, so Clint took the first shift. If he was being honest with himself, it was just to distract him from the fact that he was about to see his brother in his childhood home again. It was somewhat overwhelming for the archer.

"Clint, are you okay?" Natasha asked him. She noticed he looked really tense- he was gripping the steering wheel so hard that his knuckles were white.

"Yeah, I just... it's a lot, you know?" he said, relaxing a bit. "I expected to see my brother again, but not like this, and definitely not this soon. And Iowa brings back a lot of memories that are difficult to process. It's just a lot," he finished, repeating himself.

"This time is going to be different," Natasha reassured, placing her hand gently on his. "Because this time you have me."

Clint smiled. "That I do," he said. Natasha's touch was caring and protective, and relaxed Clint completely. "And I hope I never lose you."

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Soon it was Natasha's turn to drive to let Clint have a rest. The journey was filled with useless conversation about nothing, but it kept them both feeling positive and relaxed. It was like they had known each other for years rather than weeks, and even though the chat was pointless, it allowed them to grow even closer as a couple.

Clint's turn came back around quite quickly, and he insisted that they play "I spy" to pass the time. Despite being a silly, childish game in Natasha's opinion, she ended up really enjoying herself, earning a lot of teasing from Clint until she threatened to hit him in the arm. About five hours from their destination, night fell, and both the assassins began to yawn.

"Maybe we should pull over for the night," Clint said. "I'd rather not risk it," he added.

"Good idea," Natasha agreed, yawning once more. Clint pulled over to the side of a quiet road and got blankets from the back of the car, giving one to Natasha and keeping one for himself. Natasha bundled herself up in the blanket and leaned on Clint- he was warm and made her feel safe. She could hear his heartbeat as she rested on his chest, drifting off to sleep.

Clint, meanwhile, didn't dare sleep; he was afraid of what his dreams would entail. What if Barney was influencing his dreams? It would explain a lot, but it also posed the question of what else he could do, what else he could make him see. As Natasha slept peacefully in his arms, he couldn't help but push away his thoughts. How could he? She was perfect. Even her presence was enough to make him feel safe. Slowly but surely, he fell asleep too.

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They arrived at the hotel they were assigned to in the early hours of the morning and dragged all their kit up to their rooms. Even though Clint had fallen asleep, he didn't remain like that for long, disturbed by another Barney-infused nightmare. He looked tired too- paler than usual and mixing up his words- which caught the attention of Coulson when they arrived. Despite seeing one of his best agents off his game, he didn't bring it up.

When the two agents were behind closed doors, Coulson's phone buzzed in his pocket. It was the Director, Nick Fury.

"Sir? Is everything okay?" Coulson asked. Fury never called him.

"Fine, Coulson, just fine. I have a message for you to pass on to Agents Barton and Romanoff. They're going to become part of a new team. A team of elite agents of SHIELD," Fury told Coulson.

"Who are they being teamed with sir?" he asked.

"You."

Coulson paused. "Excuse me?"

"You, Agent Coulson. You and agents Barton and Romanoff are now Strike Team Delta. Congratulations. Spread the word, and prepare for the worst," he told Coulson, then hung up.

"Well then," Coulson said, bewildered, staring at his phone. Finally, he put it in his pocket and began to climb the stairs (he hated lifts after a childhood incident) to his teammate's room.

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Natasha had finished unpacking her things ready for tomorrow's mission ad had flopped down on the bed.

"Settled?" Clint said chuckling. Soon enough, he plonked down beside her.

"Very," she replied. A sudden smirk grew on her face as all fear of commitment left her. She didn't know why- maybe it was the way Clint protectively wrapped his arm around her as soon as he lay down, or maybe it was how warm he felt. Whatever it was, it gave her the confidence to start kissing is neck. Pretty soon, Clint was the one to kiss Natasha as they faced each other, their legs becoming a tangled mess.

"What brought this side of you out?" Clint mumbled between kisses.

"Don't know, don't care," she replied.

"Fair one," he said, then resumed kissing her, more passionately this time. Somehow, he ended up on top of the red head, playing with her hair. He began to trail kisses down her neck when a knock at the door interrupted them.

"Clint," Natasha said.

"I didn't hear it," he said, ignoring the door. About thirty seconds later, the person knocked again, forcing Clint to stop. "Damn," he said. "To be continued?"

"To be continued," Natasha confirmed. The two reluctantly got up and answered the door to Coulson.

"You always have the worst timing," Clint commented.

"It's a curse," Coulson replied coolly. "I have news."

"What are you waiting for? Christmas?" Natasha asked when her superior didn't elaborate.

"Fury called," he said. That caught Clint's attention. "We're working together now. Welcome to Strike Team Delta."

My sinuses are so blocked right now it's not even funny. 

 A conversation that happened in my A-Level physics class yesterday:

Student 1: *out of literally nowhere* How many sides does a shape have?

Student 2: Yes.

Student 3: All of them; it committed tax fraud.

I still have no idea what was going through their brains, but I also somewhat understood exactly what they were saying. 

I think I might be going mad.