Sometimes she catches Clint staring at his hands idly, as if looking through his gloves.
Her name was Bobbi, Clint tells her one day as they wait for their pick up, and her words had been "At least it was you." She was the only mission Clint had ever failed, being young and maybe a little too self-assured in himself. Bobbi's words had been "Hey, you need to keep your eyes open." but she hadn't. Bobbi had died in his arms at that bank, and after that Clint's mission success rating became just as legendary as his aim.
He has another one on his ankle a small scribble of "So you're the man in the ducts?" and she can tell what type of day it has been due to those marks.
"You know what's really terrifying? I'm old enough to be this kid's father." Clint laughs, his thumb stroking the line of text on his crossed ankles. Platonic soulmates happened sometimes, but they rarely had words. Shapes and symbols filled with colors and patterns were marked for platonics, much like the little arrows on the insides of her fingers and and the red web design that tracked down Clint's back. Words were reserved for those to be engraved on a heart; their soulmate's heart.
A heart, which if you believed the gossip, Natasha didn't have.
But her thumb idly skims across her hip, and she feels slightly exposed to know the truth.
Okay, I trust you.
She remembers very little, other than staring up at the sun with her ward dead behind her, the bullet that the ghost had shot straight through her hip into the head of her ward. Natasha can't tell if she's crying or not, she can't stand, she can hardly breathe as her hands scramble over her wound and automatically go through the motions of self-preservation.
A little less than ten minutes later, Clint is at her side and hefting her into the helicarrier. He stays at her side as the on-sight medic examines and cleans the wound, and if she fractured a bone in his hand with her iron tight fist, he hadn't even flinched. Her breathing is deep and calm, so why is she trembling so?
"It's still there, Nat. The wound is right under it. Don't worry, your words are still there." Clint reassured her quietly as the flew above bodies of water. She felt herself relax in a slight manner and it didn't settle well with in her that she was worried about the beautiful script being mangled. She closed her eyes and pictured the obliterated words instead of what was actually there on her skin. She did not flinch, but her stomach rolled and she didn't like it at all.
"You're okay, Nat. They are still there."
More marks surrounded her than ever in joining the Avengers Initiative.
Steven and the bullet with the red star in it on his shoulder, the words "Hello, I'm Agent Carter." printed neatly on the inside of his middle finger, and "I guess you never learned to dance." circled around a thick bicep in a swiggly hand.
Pepper's "Hello gorgeous." stamped right on her butt cheek earned a few laughs, but it paired well with Tony's "It's Pepper to you, you have a meeting in ten minutes and I am never late." that went straight down his leg.
Bruce did not speak of his words "I'm Betty" that wrapped gently around his ring finger, right wear a band would sit, and Natasha had never the urge to hug and yet strangle a person at the same time. It was an interesting sensation.
Much to everyone's surprise, even Thor had "Do me a favor and don't be dead." scrawled neatly on his rib cage. He talked increasingly about the Lady Jane and her "handmaiden" Lady Darcy, who apparently wielded a small box of lightening and was mighty indeed.
It also does not suit Thor well when Jane Sydney Foster manages to get a hold of Pepper Potts and explains who she is and then tearfully relays that Darcy had been taken. Steve assembles them when they gather the needed information to get to Darcy Elaine Lewis who was now being held captive for information on the Bifrost.
"How much does she know?" Steve asked as they flew to their location, Jane on the holoscreen
"She knows a lot more than she lets on. Darcy has the numbers but no equation. She wouldn't know how to translate it right." Jane cries, wringing her hands and Thor bellows that they will return the Lady Darcy to her safe and sound.
Natasha mans the computers and communication when it's clear that JARVIS will not be as accessible due to some type of frequency that the base is giving off. Clint is nearing his position and acquiring the asset when the com for Darcy blinks to life. "Darcy, this is Natasha, don't worry I'm going to get you through this."
She hears the stuttered breath on the other side of the com and Natasha freezes for a millisecond as four words come from their recently reacquired person. "Okay, I trust you."
