“I won't touch Barton. Not until I make him kill you, slowly, intimately, in every way he knows you fear. And then he’ll wake just long enough to see his good work. And when he screams, I’ll split his skull.”
Loki kept his promise. He had captured Natasha and put her in a room with chains. He sent Clint in to do his bidding, watching and laughing as he did so. He allowed Clint to be awake in his mind, to see what he was doing to the woman he loved so dearly. Agent Barton could not control his body however, and his mind screamed, begging Loki to let him stop.
Clint walked in the room, Natasha looked up at him, a small look of hope on her face that Clint had returned to normal and was here to rescue her, it was the first time she had seen him since their fight on the SHIELD helicarrier. He had won. She held back when fighting him, she did not want to hurt him. Love was for children, she felt a much deeper, sacred bond to the man. He didn’t hold back. He attacked her with everything he had, and quickly overpowered her. She looked him in the eyes, searching for the man that she once knew. Clint walked over to her and put his arm on her neck, she relaxed, thinking that it was him.
“No, don’t! Loki! Stop this! Please, I’ll do anything! I love her!” He screamed internally, heart shattering as his body prepared for what he was about to do.
He pulled out a knife and dragged it slowly across he neck, bringing a stinging pain and drawing out thick, dark blood that oozed out and stained her clothes. Her head flew forward and she clashed her skull against Clint’s. He drew back his hand and smashed it against her face in a closed fist. She spat out blood. He put his hand on her forehead and rammed her head into the wall, she stared blankly ahead for a moment, dazed. This was the worst thing that had ever happened to her. Physically she had endured far worse than this. This was child’s play compared to the things that she has faced as a Russian spy. But Clint had never hurt her, and he was the one person whom she had opened up to. He vowed never to lay a hand on her without her consent.
Clint drew a hand across her face, stroking her soft, nearly flawless skin. She bit him, hard, drawing blood. He grabbed her hair and yanked her head back, and exposing her neck. “Listen here, you wretched bitch, you won’t do anything like that again, or I’ll hurt your sweet, Clint.” It was Loki talking. He drew a knife and dragged it across Clint’s forearm, creating a deep gash. Natasha did nothing to resist from that point onward. Once again the male assassin drew a knife. Still pulling her hair back, he put it just under her jawbone, and put just enough pressure to draw blood, the flow of it down her neck captivating him. Clint then drew out a cigarette lighter, the ones used in old cars. He smiled a sickeningly dark smile.
He heated the end of it and held it against Natasha’s leg, she whimpered in pain. He held it there until the fleshed began to smell burned, and moved it to her arm where he did it again. The process was repeated over and over until she could barely tolerate the pain. Clint stood up and walked to the edge of the room. He picked up a bottle, it contained rubbing alcohol. He uncapped it and walked back over to where Natasha laid, in the fetal position on the hard concrete floor of her cell. He sat her up, and then poured the liquid all over. She cried out in pain, the alcohol stinging every cut and burn that Loki had inflicted upon her. The pain was unbearable, her vision flashed white, and the searing pain almost consumed her.
Clint fought internally to regain control of his body. He promised Natasha that he would never let any harm come to her. He was the one breaking that promise, torturing her. He begged Loki, “Let her go, do whatever you want with me, just let her go. Or kill me, I cannot bear to watch this.”
The Loki-controlled- Clint threw his head back and laughed as he watched the once great Black Widow, writhe in agony. From his pocket he withdrew a single one of her stun circles. He activated it and placed it next to her. She jerked from the crackling electricity which was now running through her body. She shook, fighting to remain conscious, the thought of drifting off forever into sleep was all too inviting.
Clint used all of his willpower to fight Loki. A battle of the minds began. Clint fought to regain control, willing every cell in his body to surrender power back over to him. Loki was surprised by his strength. Natasha opened her eyes and watched Clint’s face as his expressions contorted, he was struggling within himself. Clint fought Loki for what seemed like hours. He was going to die before he gave up. Loki was growing tired, his mind unable to control all of his newfound servants, and fight with this one. The conflict soon grew to be too much for the God of Mischief and he fell unconscious, relinquishing his control back over to Clint.
“Natasha!” Clint yelled, once again having control over his body. He ran to her, and kissed her forehead. She looked up at him, tears in her eyes. The love and trust that softened her gaze when she looked him in the eyes had disappeared, replaced with a vile hatred and fear. “Natasha, I’m so sorry. Loki, he…” Clint choked on his words. He began to sob. “It’s me, Rubin. It really is me.” He reached undid her shackles. She did not dare to move, afraid that it was a trick. “Valun?” She prayed that it was him. [Author’s note: See bottom of the page]
He crawled over next to her and pulled her into his lap. He kissed her neck, and kissed all of the spots he could reach that he had hurt while possessed by Loki. She winced, but she was assured that her Clint Barton was back. She began to sob, and nuzzled her face into the crook his neck. He began to sing, in Russian, one of her favorite songs.
“You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me happy, when skies are gray. You’ll never know dear, how much I love you, so please don’t take my sunshine away. The night dear, while I lay sleeping, I dreamt I held you in my arms. When I awoke, dear, I was mistaken, so I hung my head, and I cried.” Clint’s voice was caught in his throat as he sang the last few words to the verse. He had cried, and he would never be able to make up for the damage he caused.
Natasha lifted her head and pressed her lips to his. The kiss was slow, sad, and sweet. It was familiar, and she sighed with relief. He wrapped his arms around her, and they sat that way for hours. She slowly drifted off to sleep, safe once again in her lover’s arms. Clint kissed the top of her head, and ran his fingers through her hair.
Loki did not return for them, having decided it was not worth the trouble, and left them to be. Being two legendary spies, they left the place of imprisonment as soon as they were strong enough. Even if Loki had wanted to, he would have never been able to find them.
[Rubin means Ruby in Russian, and Valun means Boulder. Because to him, she is a precious gem, and to her, he is her rock. I put this in all my Clintasha fics.]