A Shift in Opinion
Clint came to visit Natasha every day. He always brought some small comfort item to her: an extra blanket, a soda, a word puzzle book, pizza. What started as short visits of less than ten minutes with stony silence from her turned into hour long visits with small talk. Natasha revealed very little; Clint did most of the talking, but he didn’t mind. After several weeks of her cooperating with the interrogators and deprogrammers, the psychologists moved her into a room with a window and some scant furniture. Clint started coming twice a day, delivering food and bringing a movie every now and then. Natasha, who had been insulated from almost all western culture, found that she liked a lot of 80’s comedies like Raising Arizona and Trading Places, and she really seemed to enjoy Mel Brooks movies. Clint was delighted - those were all his favorites. They fell into an easy rapport of chat, Clint not revealing too much, Natasha revealing even less, but both telling the other trivial things that could build trust and friendship. Clint told Natasha about growing up in the circus around all of the animals and clowns. She was curious, she had never seen a circus. He promised to take her someday. She told him about her ballet training as a young child. They talked about music quite a bit. Natasha was very interested to learn more about types and styles of music beyond the opera and classical she was familiar with, having been in ballet. Clint obliged, bringing in CDs from lots of different artists and genres, leaving them with her to listen to.
After several more weeks of cooperation, she was rewarded with a move into another room, this one more apartment-like, with a living area, bedroom and bathroom. She still wasn’t allowed a kitchen or the utensils that came with it, but she understood and didn’t hold a grudge about it. She was surprised to find that she looked forward to Clint’s visits every day. He still brought her little comfort items, and she recognized the trust he was putting in her in some of the items he was bringing. A glass vase for her coffee table, art for her wall with metal frames. He was bringing things that he was well aware could be weaponized, but he was trusting her not to use them to harm him. She didn't want to. Natasha was bemused when she discovered that she wanted him to trust her - it was a feeling she had never had before. She found herself liking the man who had taken her captive. She began to laugh. She began to trust. She was pleased that he laughed with her, and was putting his faith in her as well.
After six months in captivity, she realized that she no longer thought of herself as being in captivity. Her little rooms felt more safe and secure than she had ever felt in her life, she felt no threat from Clint, and while she didn’t completely trust the other people she dealt with, she didn’t fear them. Clint had been true to his word: no one had threatened her. She had not been harmed in any way. The worst harm that had come to her was that she had not been able to keep herself as physically fit as she would like and had gone a bit soft from lack of real exercise. It had been ages since she had had a good workout. She had been provided with healthy food (and whatever terrible food she asked Clint for - they particularly enjoyed Chinese), civilian clothes that were comfortable and of good quality, a warm, safe and comfortable place to live, and a friend she trusted in Clint. She didn’t want to leave, she didn’t want to betray this man or this institution that had saved her. When all the pieces came together and she came to the realization that she wanted to stay with S.H.I.E.L.D., in this safe place, she had to sit down from the gravity of the thought.
The next morning when Clint visited, she told him that she wanted to stay. He smiled brightly and told her he was glad, he had hoped she would. The deprogrammers and her psychologist came earlier than usual that afternoon, Clint having tipped them off that she wanted to stay. She told them everything she had been holding back. Three weeks later, she was moved into a tiny apartment and granted permission to go to the gym to begin training with Clint.