Be not simply good; be good for something

[broken_arrow]

For three days they just talked, and more often than not they sit in silence, but after she had given him some names of people who had possible connection to the Red Room Clint had managed to get Fury to give him access to one of the smaller, private training rooms. It had all the essentials: training mats, punching bag and, of course, targets.

They had been at it for going on twenty minutes, their first sparring match since that first meeting in the tunnels. She was good, he had to give her that, but it was clear she wasn’t used to a challenge, at least not any more; he doubted she had came up against many recently who could even make her work for a victory.

Clint could have ended it sooner but he let it go on, watching all her moves closely, learning her tells. She had a definite routine, an order of things, and he kept on the defensive, letting her keep the upper hand, until she became too repetitive. He hadn’t acted much on the offensive the entire time so when he finally switched it was fast and it was effective. He used her surprise, her confidence that she was the best, and in the blink of an eye he had her on her back, pinned to the mat.

“Not bad,” he complimented her. Sort of.

Comments

[broken_arrow]

Whenever she actually smiled Clint felt accomplished and hopeful. Surely if Fury saw her like this he’d call off her execution for good, right? This wasn’t just some heartless killer. She had been forced to grow up far too soon, far too quickly, but underneath it all she was still just a girl, a young woman. He couldn’t ignore how dangerous she was, but if they helped her, gave her somewhere to belong and something worth fighting for then they could use that danger.

“Sounds like a pretty good deal to me, though you definitely got the raw end of it,” Clint replied. “You already have a working knowledge of the language. I got nothing.”

[red_andblack]

Natasha shrugged lightly, her smile fading only a little. She was letting herself get too comfortable, too fast. Sure, it was easy with him, he'd been nothing but patient and considerate. But, he only had roughly ten more days to prove to his boss that she was worth saving.

What if she couldn't?

"That is if we have time." she reminded him, then turned to walk back to the mats.

[broken_arrow]

Clint’s smile fell at her words. He tried not to think about how time sensitive this whole thing was, but as heavily as the thought weighed on his mind he could only imagine what she was dealing with. It was her life on the line, after all.

“We’ll have time,” he said with more determination than confidence. Removing his quiver, he leaned it against the wall with his bow before crossing the room after her. “Look at how much progress you’ve already made, and the information you’ve already given them will come in handy. It’s gonna work.”

[red_andblack]

Sure, it came in handy now, but what good was she when there was nothing else she could give them. How long would it take before they accused her of withholding any other information?

Just ten more days.

"With you, yes. But, I don't trust them." she motioned to the door, talking of the people beyond it. "I'm still dangerous and this, your boss will not approve of."

[broken_arrow]

“Okay, don’t trust them, that’s fine, but just try and trust me,” Clint replied earnestly, giving her a weighty look. She had no reason to trust any of them, and he knew how hard it was to put faith in people, but he had to try. “You think I’m not dangerous?” He gestured back over his shoulder at the target. “You think I couldn’t turn on them all some day? You’re not a bad person, Natalia, but you had a lot of bad things done to you, a lot of us have, but that doesn’t make us hopeless.”

He knew she wasn’t much for physical contact unless in involved trying to kick his ass or a handshake, but he took a chance and placed his hands on her shoulders and ducked his head slightly so their eyes were level.

“Just trust me. I know them, alright? I know Fury and I know this is gonna work.”

[red_andblack]

"Do you really believe you could turn on them?" she interrupted, head tilted in hard curiosity. He was a good agent, respected. That much she summed up after he went against his orders and spared her. Punishment for that where she came from was far more than a week, and quite painful. She had the scars to prove it.

Natalia quieted again and looked away, a reasonable attempt to control her frustration. But, then she felt the weight of his hands on her shoulders and tensed under them, though didn't move, or, shrug them away.

Trusting him was still a work in progress, however she did find herself wanting to believe what he said. And after a long moment of consideration, she looked up and nodded.

"Da, xopowo." she replied quietly, and a moment later gave a very slight, almost unnoticeable grin. "It means 'yes, okay'."

[broken_arrow]

He hadn’t expected the question, this wasn’t about him, but he could see that she was genuinely interested in his answer. “Well... no,” Clint admitted, “but that doesn’t mean it’s not possible.” SHIELD had his full loyalty, he owed them his freedom and maybe even his life; he couldn’t turn his back on that nor did he want to. That didn’t mean he was completely ignorant of some of their shady methods, though.

Clint remained patient, letting her consider his words without further pressure, and when she finally met his eyes and nodded he smiled back at her. He didn’t understand the Russian but it sounded good, though he was grateful for the translation nonetheless. “Okay,” he said. “Xopowo,” he repeated, very poorly mimicking her Russian in his American accent. “Now whaddya say, you up for round two?”

[red_andblack]

Natalia pushed forward on her hands, fingers curled around the edge of the vinyl covered mats, obviously thinking over the answer he gave her. It was a little confusing, and it did sound a little foreboding. But, it was all dismissed when she heard him repeat after her. And then she cringed at him teasingly.

At the same time she pushed off the vinyl covered mats and landed on her feet. She gave him a quick nod. If anything, the workout relieved some pent up tension.

This time, she had a few tricks up her sleeve to make sure what happened before, didn't happen again.