Moment of Truth

Chapter One

Time seemed to slow in the midst of a firefight. It always did. Hawkeye was at her side, providing sarcastic analysis of the battle while firing arrows with uncanny accuracy. Natasha slid new clips into her twin pistols, but before she could find a target, the archer pushed her to the ground.

Natasha rolled to her knees, fired twice at an advancing adversary, and asked angrily, "What was that for, Barton?" When she got no reply, she asked again, "Clint?" She glanced at the archer. "Shit."

Hawkeye leaned heavily against the overturned car behind them. Crimson blood seeped through his fingers where he pressed his hand against his left shoulder.

Natasha fired a few more rounds, then was at Barton's side. "That was meant for me," she stated as she eased the archer to a sitting position against the car. "Now I have more red in my ledger."

"Tasha, friends don't keep track."

Looking around with an experienced eye, Natasha noticed the battle was rapidly waning. Once again, the Avengers were victorious. She spoke into her com-link, "Hawkeye's wounded. Send medics immediately." Looking into Clint's eyes, she asked, "How bad?"

"No worse than Algiers," he replied with a weak smile. He wasn't about to admit how much it hurt.

"Algiers was bad enough. Let me see." Gently, Natasha pulled Barton's hand aside and studied the wound. Too much blood pumped steadily from the ugly hole and ran down his arm and side. "Liar. This is much worse than Algiers." Romanoff pressed her hands firmly against the wound in an effort to slow the bleeding.

Hawkeye grunted with the sudden sharp pain. He felt beads of cold sweat running down his face. An uneasy sickness settled in the pit of his stomach. That and the way his usually razor-sharp vision was fading told him he was bleeding out. He wouldn't be conscious much longer. "Tash…" he said weakly. "Tash… I…" The archer's eyes slipped shut.

"Hey! Barton! Look at me, Clint!" Romanoff demanded. "Damn it, where are those medics?" she shouted into her com-link.

Please review. Usually I write original fiction, but I watched the Avengers movie and enjoyed the chemistry between Clint and Natasha. This little story just wouldn't leave my head, so I decided to share it.