Natasha plans to sneak into Avengers Tower without anybody noticing she's there.
Unfortunately, Tony is right outside the elevator, using his Iron Man glove as a laser pointer for Snowflake to chase around.
He looks up when he hears the elevator ding. "Oh, hey, you're back."
Natasha nods uncomfortably. "Mm-hmm." And now she waits. How long is it going to take him to say something? He has to know. He may not be terminally online, but for as big a story as it is, SHIELD's files leaking online, he has to know.
"Heard you took down SHIELD," he says.
"Well, you know..." She trails off. Yeah, she took down SHIELD. She probably took herself down in the process, with how much of her own past is now online for the world to see.
But all Tony says is, "Good on you."
Natasha forces a smile.
Yeah.
Real good.
Tony puts his hands in his lap, and Snowflake crouches down, ready to pounce whenever he brings the laser back. She can tell by the shift in mood where this is going, and it's exactly what she'd hoped to avoid.
"Okay, I gotta ask," Tony says.
Natasha swallows hard. Here it goes.
"What the hell happened to Fury?"
Natasha stares at him.
What?
"Because you said he's dead but it looks like a lot's changed in the last 48 hours and the internet's not so sure anymore."
Natasha blinks.
That's it?
He's been online, he's seen the fallout, he's almost certainly seen the things she's done, and he just wants to know about Fury?
"He's alive," Natasha says cautiously. "But as far as everyone outside this tower is confirmed, HYDRA killed him."
Tony clicks his tongue. "Got it." He mimes zipping his lips. "Would've asked Loki, but I'm pretty sure he's been sleeping for, like, 16 hours straight."
She raises her brows. A small part of her finds that weird, but a much larger part of her can't figure out why Tony's not saying anything. He has to know what she's done. There's no possible way he's been online and hasn't seen it. It's everywhere, and he hasn't said a thing.
"You guys really wore him out, huh?" Tony adds.
He's still not saying anything.
Does he really not know? Is it not as big of a deal as she thinks it is? Does she just feel like everyone already knows because it's her? Maybe they don't. Maybe it's not as bad as she thinks it is.
"I guess so," Natasha says. "I don't blame him. If I'd had nothing else to do, I probably would've done the same." It was a long couple of days. She could go for a nap. And, honestly, 16 hours of unconsciousness doesn't seem that bad right now.
"Fair enough," Tony says. He lifts his hand from his lap and the laser returns. Snowflake jumps after it, putting a smile on his face. "When's Cap coming back, you know?"
She shakes her head. "No idea. He took a pretty good beating. I don't think he's up for an hours-long car ride."
Tony raises his brows. "What, can't take a plane?"
"His head is the size of a watermelon," Natasha deadpans. "When I say he took a beating, I mean he took a beating." She felt kind of bad, ditching him like that, but he has Sam to keep him company while he's icing the hell out of his face. She just really wanted to come home.
"Damn, tough break," Tony says. "You seem to be doing fine, though."
"I don't let people punch me in the face," she says with a small shrug. "Is Barton around?"
Tony gestures vaguely, sending the cat flying after the laser pointer he so carelessly aimed all over the room. "Yeah, somewhere. His room, I think."
"Cool, thanks." She'd assumed as much, but this felt like an easy way to end the conversation. She heads to the doorway, but Tony's voice stops her.
"Oh, and Nat?"
She glances over her shoulder. "Yeah?"
"You might want to stay offline for a few weeks," Tony says. "It's not looking pretty."
Natasha freezes.
So he's seen it.
He's seen them talking about her; who she was, what she did. He knows.
That's what she was afraid of.
Everyone's going to know. The Avengers are all going to know. Tony; Bruce, Steve. All her dirty laundry is out there for the world — for her friends — to see.
Everybody knows her every misdeed.
Shit.
Tony must notice her discomfort, her genuine fear, because he adds, "Just ignore 'em. Bad press is part of the job. If you let it get to you, they win."
Natasha forces a smile. "Yeah, I know."
Tony smiles back, then returns his attention to this ridiculous (but kind of cute) game he's playing with Snowflake.
Natasha heads out of the room, her sights set on one room in particular; a room she could find with her eyes closed, she's been there so many times. She knows she can just walk right in — she usually does — but this time, she finds herself knocking first. She's not sure why. She just... she wants to know that she's welcome. She will be, but she wants the assurance that she is.
"I just fell asleep," Clint whines.
"Oh, sorry," Natasha mumbles.
"Nat?" He immediately sounds more alert. "What are you doing? Get your ass in here."
Natasha opens the door warily. "Hey."
Clint sits up, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed. "I have been calling you nonstop!"
"I know, I'm sorry," she says. "It's just been..." She can feel her voice threatening to break, and she shakes her head helplessly. "It's been a really bad day."
Clint sighs. "I know, I'm sorry." He pushes himself to his feet and holds his arms out. "C'mere."
Natasha feels tears prickling her eyes, and she crosses the room, launching herself into his arms. He hugs her tight, and she buries her face in the crook of his neck.
"Are you okay?" he asks quietly.
"Mm-mm," she hums. No, she's not okay. She's really, really not, and she's tired of pretending she is.
"You wanna talk about it?" he asks.
"Mm-mm."
"Okay." He presses a kiss to the side of her head. "What do you want to do?"
"I don't know," she admits. "Cry."
Clint huffs a quiet laugh. "You can do that."
"I'm not gonna start crying," she mumbles.
"Hey, you do you," Clint says. Just the ridiculousness of that statement in this kind of situation puts a small smile on her lips. "You wanna sit down?"
"No."
"You wanna just stand here for the rest of time?"
"Yes."
Clint's shoulders shake with silent laughter. "Okay," he says. "Let's just stand here for the rest of time."
"Thank you," she murmurs.
Clint gently rubs her back, a nice, soothing motion. "You know, I don't know what happened or why," he says quietly, "but I know that whatever you did, you did the right thing. And I'm sorry it had to end like that, but I know it'll be worth it in the end."
"I know," she says softly. "It just really doesn't feel like it right now."
A/N disclaimer that I'm not setting Clint and Nat up I just think they should get to hug and kiss each other's hair you know as a treat (and Laura Barton would agree)