It was just over a week into their road trip down memory lane. Some days were better than others, even despite that first night when everything seem to fall apart even before it started. But, they were still at it; still trying to trigger something in Clint's mind whether it was a memory, or just a flicker of one. At times, she wanted it worse than him, and in others wanted to pull her hair out because nothing seemed to budge. 

Every stop she noted just ended up in one disappointment after the other.

They had been to Florida, Texas, Arizona and California before zigzagging across the Eastern United States before ending up in Vegas. From there they would zigzag up the Eastern coast into British Columbia and straight north to Alaska where they would end. 

Something had to give before then, right?

She was tired, tension stiff in her shoulders and the back of her neck which made her quiet. Clint had done most of the driving that day, which was probably a good thing seeing as all it would probably take was one red neck prick to cut her off and she'd lose it. Again.

When they arrived, it was dark, with only the lights on the Strip noticeable from the highway into the city. They'd been there before, on assignment of course, but were able to slip in and out without anyone even knowing making the risk of being recognized pretty slim. Anyway, there was no plan to go anywhere public. 

Nat set them up in one of the motels on the outskirts, to be safe. Once checked in, and settled in their suite, the Black Widow decided she wanted to release some tension.

"Let's hit the Strip." she said, looking up at him from where she sat at the bottom of the bed.

 As promised, Natasha returned a few hours later with a black bag, a folder under one arm, and his leather jacket draped over her other. It had taken some convincing on Fury's part to allow her permission to take him off base, but the more he said no, the more determined she became, and finally, he saw it her way. With, of course, proper warning that if her personal assignment turned out anything like it did a few weeks prior, that it would be him she would have to deal with. The dangers were far greater now since the war, and the both of them risked being recognized as part of the Avengers team that saved New York.

Still, it was a risk she was willing to take.

Over the next couple of weeks, while Clint still recovered from his injuries, flying anywhere was out of the question, but there were plenty of places in the country she could start him with. Los Angeles, Mexico, even Canada were all within driving distance and so she decided to begin with those ones.

"Here." she said, holding the bag out to him. Inside were his boots, a pair of jeans, a grey t'shirt and hooded sweater. When he took it, she set the folder down on the small table and set his jacket on the chair she had been sitting in before.  

 Things were going well after they'd had their first sparring session, or as well as they could have gone considering the circumstances. Natalia was still a danger, even though she'd shown a little progress with Clint. There was also the information she gave him, which no doubt went to Director Fury. She knew they wouldn't tell her what they did with it, and she knew better than to ask.

But, things changed drastically after that day. Natalia noticed faces look through the window on her door, then pass by the window slowly. When it happened a few times, she moved off her bed to the wall underneath, not allowing them the pleasure to view the 'wild animal'. She felt like an exhibit at zoo.

The following day, they let themselves in. Two doctors, one with a medical bag, the other with a thick file under his arm, both wearing white coats. She knew what was going on. And she wasn't going to simply allow them to do whatever they came to do. 

When the alarm went off, one laid on the floor unconscious, and the other supported his right leg which was contorted in a way that was not at all natural. Natalia was nowhere in the room, the door locked and both pass cards the doctors had around their necks gone. Agents ran this way and that down the hallways and corridors hollering 'clear' as they checked all the rooms.

Natalia on the other hand was far from being in an obvious place. 

Or, at least not obvious to anyone other than Clint Barton.

 After the conversation with Steve, Natasha finally lifted out of the chair she had been sitting in and moved towards the elevator. She had no plan on making an appearance, and whether the Director was down there or not, she cared less about anyone saying something to her about it later. No, she had plans. Ones that included a certain marksman.

Stopping on her floor to rid herself of her purse, and collect the scarf she'd worn with her coat, she headed up to Clint's room one floor up. It was definitely his, tastefully decorated with a ledge built into the corner of the windows that spanned the entire length of the floor.

Spending a moment to look out at the view, she sprawled out across his bed and waited. Wherever he happened to be in the building (and she had her doubts he returned to the party down on the main level) she knew eventually he would return.

And she would be there when he did. 

PSL 

Gdocs:

Post Avengers - Voicetest.
Playing House - Undercover mission.

Meme's:

Intimacy Meme - Secrets
Sensory Deprivation - Where Clint loses his hearing.
Proposal Meme - Kind of self-explanatory.
Rain - Blood, Sweat and Rain.
Another Love Meme - Clint and Natasha make it rough.
Alignment Switch - Clint is still suffering the effects of Loki; Post!Avengers (AU separate from main PSL)
Angst/Broken Meme - Clint awakes from being in a coma (continuation of Alignment switch (AU PSL).)


Journal:

You Get In, You Get Gone - Where it all starts.
Who's Side Am I On? - Nat arrives at SHIELD HQ
Be Not Simply Good; Be Good For Something - Natalia and Clint spar for the first time, then talk. (Origins!PSL)
Memories Are Films About Ghosts - Natasha goes back to see Clint after a discussion with Bruce (AU PSL)
Down and Dirty - Nat and Clint check out his floor (SAR!Verse)
No One Said it Would Be Easy - Natalia meets Director Fury and Phil Coulson (Origins!verse)
Nothing is Ever Really Lost - Nat takes Clint on a roadtrip to try and trigger his memory (AU PSL)


ONE-SHOTS

Broken Meme - Natasha almost dies; Clint tries to hold it together.

One week had gone by since her arrival at SHIELD headquarters. In one week, Natalia had been poked, prodded, tested, re-tested, questioned, and interrogated all before the deconditioning even started. It was all easy enough to handle up until that point. Once the process started, however, it didn't take long before the infamous Black Widow buckled and started misbehaving. 

Natalia's mind had been a place of no access; a locked vessel in which no key could open. It was a deliberate action on the Red Room's part, not only to protect themselves, but their agents as well. Deep inside were memories, ones that could, if recalled, jeopardize any assignment if their prized pupil's were on. They couldn't have their spies gaining any kind of conscience. There was to be no distractions, nor any reason to stray from the mission objective. They wanted cold hearted killers if the situation called for it. And that was exactly what they achieved. Quite brilliant on their part. Only, they underestimated the world. Specifically SHIELD.

And they found a way in.

The first session unlocked her childhood up to the age of six. Long lost memories surfaced. A mother. A father. A home. Happiness. But, then it all faded into long, flaming fingers of amber and red. Then there was an overwhelming sense of loss, despair, fear and uncertainty. 

The second session opened her earliest memories after she entered the Red Room. The abuse, punishments for disobedience, the training sessions, the pain after. It was too much, and that afternoon, Natalia sent two doctor's to the infirmary. They attempted again a few hours later with much the same results. After a third and final attempt, it was concluded that they could not proceed without medication, or full cooperation.

Natalia Romanova would not allow either.

After being notified, Nick Fury, director of SHIELD decided to pull the plug and ordered her elimination. But not before having the decency in telling the one who was ordered to do it initially.

At first glance, she was just a young pretty girl; long red curls, captivating green eyes and an innocent smile that never sparked any kind of suspicion. It was in those eyes that an unsuspecting person found themselves drawing closer to, instead of away from. Her lips, the way her long graceful fingers brushed her hair back over her shoulder, and the aura of mystery pulled her prey to her. Of course, baiting and reeling people in was only half of what she truly was.

But, they would never know that.

The job was not exactly a short one. She had been hired by an Arabian billionaire, hell bent on knowing the location of a particularly nasty rival who had murdered her employer's son, and taken a very large diamond that had been in his family for close to a century. So, there was research to be done first, and while the brunt of the job hardly utilized her skills, it had been a few months since her last one. Natasha was one who felt better working. Actually, it was all she knew how to do.

After a few months of scouting some of the more usual places, she finally found him. Then, after tracking him, she put herself directly in his path, and with one look, he was hers.

He, too, was rich, and showered her with his wealth. Cars, money, lavish parties, yacht trips. Yet, while she was supposed to be focused on completing the task, Natasha couldn't help but feel that she was being watched from a distance...