Clint left to complete his mission a few days ago. It was a fairly simple mission, break in the the hostile base and capture the criminals. A easy, quick mission...or at least it should have been.

The other Avengers were notified that Clint's mission had gone wrong on the third day of his absence. The whole operation had been completely compromised, the criminal force knew that Clint and his team were coming. They were prepared, they fought back. Since the battle was a surprise to the s.h.i.e.l.d team, they were not ready to fight. The attack hit them hard, they had to strive to defeat the enemy and in the fight an agent had lost his life. The agent was a close friend to Clint.

~

Natasha Romanoff as well as the other members of the Avengers were all sat nervously around the common room of Avengers Tower, waiting for Clint's return. They all knew he could be badly injured and mourning his desist friend.

The team had been waiting for Clint's arrival for around an hour when they finally heard the elevator door open. They all stood up and let out a sigh of relief when Clint walked out of the elevator and into the common room. He was alive and in one piece which is more than some of them had been expecting. Despite this, Clint was covered in blood, some of which belonged to him and some which was obviously from other people. He looked tired but his face was emotionless and he said nothing. Steve, being the teams leader was the first to talk.

"Barton, are you alright?" He asked.

Stupid question really, he had just been through hell and back and watched a close friend die, however everyone felt the question had to be asked.

"I'm fine", Clint answered clearly.

Everyone was quiet for a few seconds. Most were trying desperately to think of something appropriate to say but Natasha was just trying to get a read on the archer. The was he was holding his self up to one side was a clear sign he was in pain, but he would be, obviously, he was painted in his own blood. Natasha looked at him closer, his face in particular. He was avoiding her eye contact, that's one thing she noted but other than that she could get nothing.

"I'm sorry about your friend, the agent", Tony eventually spoke.

That's when Natasha saw it, Clint's whole body tensed. Only she noticed as she was the only one looking closely enough. Every mussel in Clint's body seized, even if it was for a few seconds, Natasha knew that this mission had affected Clint in more ways than he would ever tell.

"Don't be", Clint said threw gritted teeth. "I'm gunna go and shower", the archer continued before walking past everyone and out of the room.

The others left stood in the common room looked around at each other helplessly for a few seconds before Natasha took a step forward.

"I'm going to go and speak to him", she told them. The others nodded silently as she left the room.

~

Natasha ran through the corridors of Avengers Tower until she could see Clint. He had one hand wrapped around the handle to his bedroom and his head pressed against the door. Natasha stopped running and walked slowly towards him. She couldn't see his face as it was turned away from her.

"Clint?" She whispered softly.

At first there was no sign the archer had even heard her but as she was about to say his name again Clint turned to face the red haired spy.

"I could...should have done something Natasha", Clint stuttered hysterically.

As he turned to face her, Natasha saw red tears streaming down Clint's face where they had mixed the the dried blood.

"Oh Clint", she spoke before wrapping her arms around him, pulling him close.

The archer did not resist the spies movement, he instead melted into her arms and buried his head into the crease of Natasha's neck. He stayed there and let the spy hold him while he cried into her. As he did so Natasha held him close and tried to calm him by soothing him.

"It's not your fault Clint, you can't blame yourself", she whispered into his hair.

After a few minutes, Clint seemed to calm down a little. Natasha held his hand to still provide a little comfort as she slowly pulled him into his room and closed the door. She set him down on his own bed before she went into his bathroom and turned on the shower. The spy prepared hot water and towels before returning to Clint. She gently pulled him into the bathroom.

"Have a shower, clean yourself up and then we can talk, okay?" Natasha spoke softly.

Clint nodded before shutting the bathroom door. Natasha sighed and turned to sit on Clint's bed. She closed her eyes and waited patiently for Clint to finish.

~

Around half an hour passed before Clint emerged from the bathroom. He wore a comfy pair of sweats and no shirt. This was fine as Clint and Natasha were close friends who had known each other for years. Clint having a bare chest was hardly the most uncomfortable think that they had experience together.

"Better?" Natasha asked when she saw him approaching her.

"Hmm", he groaned, "although my back hurts", he mumbled.

Natasha smiled. She would often give back rubs to members of the team after they had had a hard mission and there was no doubt that Clint was by far the most fond of these.

"Lay down", she instructed.

Clint did as he was told and led facedown on his bed. After a few seconds he felt Natasha's soft and gentle fingers begin to press in to his back causing some of the pain to lift. Clint let his eyes close as Natasha began to untangle the knots in his back. His mind took over as he began to recall the events of the mission gone wrong. He must have been quiet for a long time because his mind was suddenly brought back to the present when he heard Natasha's voice.

"Talk to me Clint", she spoke.

He signed and winced as Natasha's fingers continued to release tension from his back. He didn't say anything.

"You don't need me to tell you it's now your fault, right? You know that", Natasha continued.

Clint nodded. As usual Natasha was right, there was nothing he could have done to save his friend but he couldn't help be feel like he should have tried.

"Yea, I know. It's just...watching someone you consider a friend being killed, it breaks you", Clint explained.

Natasha froze.

"It's worse when you're the person killing them", a voice in her head spoke.

Natasha took a shaky breath and tried to keep control of the sudden anxiety. The spy was relieved that Clint couldn't see her face, otherwise he'd have seen her trembling jaw and the fear in her eyes. She had to stay strong, stay hidden, for Clint if nothing else. Natasha focused and pushed the voice out of her head and tried to regain herself.

"I know", she replied once she was certain her voice wouldn't tremble. However the fear was still there, deep down, she had to leave before it made a more obvious appearance.

"Hey, it's getting late. You should get some rest", she told the archer.

Clint agreed. Natasha helped him move under his duvet before turning to leave but just as she did so, Clint grabbed her hand.

"Thanks Tasha, you keep me sane, you know that?" Clint said.

Natasha smiled, a real genuine smile which some how caused the voice in her head buried itself deeper until it slowly faded.

"It's alright Clint, now go to sleep", she replied.

Natasha lent down to kiss his forehead before turning to leave his room. She closed his door silently and began making her way back to the common room.

Clint was okay, she had made him okay.

She had remained hidden, hidden for one more day.