A/N: So yeah… this one is tragic. As much as I love Natasha and Clint, I had to write this one out. Um, I haven't read the comics but I do have some knowledge about Natasha and how the Red Room injected her with false memories to keep her loyal to them. Well, I'm running on that. I hope it made sense. I had some minor difficulty explaining how the implants (false memories) worked etc. Hope you liked how it turned out.

She Made Me Promise

Clint let out an inaudible breath of relief as his torturer stopped the electricity that was, frankly, frying his fucking head. He let his head fall limp on his chest. He had a childish impulse to bring his legs to his chest and wrap his arms around them. However, the manacles holding his arms and legs made it impossible.

Tiredly, Clint looked over at his partner, who was manacled to the opposite wall. Natasha was staring at him calmly. It was only because he had known her for eight years that he could see the worry and anxiety in her eyes. She was worried for his wellbeing, as he was for hers. For some reason unbeknownst to him, however, they were leaving her alone. They completely ignored her as they tortured him with their fists and electricity. Not that he minded, of course. He would take the brunt of their torture any fucking day to save her of that kind of pain. But he was still confused, and if the crease in her eye brows was any indication, so was she. It didn't make sense and Clint couldn't help the dread building in his stomach. He desperately wished that his teammates could hurry their asses up and find them.

The fucker that was torturing him said something quietly to himself (earpiece, no doubt) and then left the room without a second glance at them. Clint pressed his head to the wall, reveling the temporary peace. How the fuck did they manage to get themselves caught?! The mission required Natasha to go undercover; word was that HYRDA had acquired Chitauri weapons after the invasion. It was child's play, really. Natasha simply needed to confirm that they did indeed have the weapons and get out. Clint was there for backup. Honestly, Clint didn't really remember what the fuck happened. He remembered hearing Natasha's voice in his ear, screaming about a trap. Then everything went black. He assumed that someone had hit him from behind.

"Clint? How are you holding up?" Yep, she was worried. Clint tried to give her a smile. He suspected it came out more as a grimace. "I'm good Tasha. These fuckers don't have shit on me." She didn't smile at his attempted humor. Really, he felt like shit. He knew that at least 6 of his ribs were broken. She gave him a look over and internally winced at the multiple lacerations and burns that covered his body. When she got out of here, she was going to fucking rip these bastards to pieces for touching her partner.

Suddenly, the door burst open again. The two assassins both tensed. This man was not the same man, however. He gave a wide grin and clapped his hands in enthusiasm. Facing away from Clint, he walked towards Natasha. In a heavy Russian accent he spoke. "Welcome agent Romanoff. I must say, I have been waiting for this moment for a long time." Natasha glared at him, not falling for his bait. "I didn't expect to capture you so easily. Could you imagine my surprise when I was given the word that they caught the deadly Black Widow? With her less than significant partner, of course." The man gave a disgusted look towards Clint. Clint glared back at him. The man turned towards Natasha again and loosely curled his finger around her soft red hair. Natasha did her best not to cringe at the unwanted contact. She hated it when people touched her hair. There was only one person she allowed to touch it, and it wasn't this motherfucker. "Let me introduce myself. My name is Yaakov Trotsky. I work for the Black Widow Ops Program and more specifically, the Red Room." He was silent for a moment, letting that information sink in. Natasha stayed perfectly still, looking stoically at Yakov. To anyone else, she would have seemed completely unfazed by this information. Clint, however, could see the surprise, shock, and anger. The fear.

"Oh Natalia, we have missed you." Ivan smirked at her widely. Natasha gave an inaudible gulp and asked quietly, "how did you find me?" Ivan laughed softly. "Working with HYDRA has its advantages my dear." Clint glared daggers at Yaakov's back, silently promising retribution.

"We will finally have you back with us my dear. You see, for years, I have been developing specific memories just for you." Natasha's eyes widened in fear. "I'm happy to say that these implants are permanent. You will once again be loyal to us. " Erratically, Natasha looked towards Clint. She was panicking, he realized. Yaakov followed her gaze. "Don't worry about him, Natalia. Once I inject you with the enhancers, you won't remember him. Your memories of your partner and lover will be…deleted. He will be just like any other target."

When Yaakov looked back at Natasha, he wasn't ready for the ball of spit flying towards his face. He yelped and jumped back. Natasha was breathing heavily and glaring murderously at Yaakov. "My name is Natasha you fucking bastard." Angrily, Yaakov backhanded her. Ignoring the cries of fury from Clint, he roughly grabbed her hair and pulled. "Do not bother trying to fight, Natasha. You have no choice in this. We will take back what is rightfully ours." With that, he let her go and strode out of their room.

The moment Clint heard the door lock, he began thrashing around. He had to get them out of here. He fucking refused to let Natasha fall into their hands again. No. He wasn't going to let them destroy and use her for their sick pleasure. Not ever again. He would die before he let her fall back into their hands. Natasha looked towards the floor and her beautiful curly hair covered he face. "Clint" she said softly. He didn't hear her. Or perhaps he ignored her. She didn't know. She tried again. "Clint-"

"We have to get out of here Tasha. I'm not going to let these bastards get you again. No fucking way. We're going to get out and then we're going to find our weapons. I call Yaakov. I want to fucking put an arrow through his heart. Then-"

"Clint-" Natasha pleaded softly. She looked at her partner, who was still attempting to escape from his manacles.

"After we kill him and his HYDRA associates, we'll burn this place to the ground. I'll get hold of Stark and he'll contact SHEILD and there you go- we're rescued."

"CLINT!" He jumped and looked at Natasha. They searched each other's eyes. Clint was shocked to find… resignation. Anger bloomed in the pit of his stomach. "No fucking way Romanoff. No. Don't you look at me like that. DON'T!"

Natasha shook her head sadly. "How are we going to escape Clint? They have us chained up and you were tortured. I'll be willing to bet you can't stand on your own two feet. We would never make it out. And the others won't get here in time" she said simply. Clint shook his head furiously. "No. We've gotten out of tight spots before Tash. We could find a way out of this. We… We have too. I can't lose you…" He felt wetness on his cheek. He felt the traitorous tears run their way down his face, and drip to the floor. He stopped fighting his manacles and hung limply, refusing to believe her words.

"Clint. We probably don't have too much ti-time. I need you to do something for me." Clint raised his head to look at her and felt his heart break at the sight of her eyes filling with tears. "Anything Tasha. Anything." She took a deep breath. And then another. Finally, she said, "I need you to promise me something Clint." At his hesitant nod she continued shakily. "I don't want to be under their control Clint. I can't. I need you… I want you to kill me, Clint. You can't let them take me back." At Clint's horrified expression, she let her tears slip from her eyes. "Please Clint. Promise me."

Clint couldn't hold back the sob that passed his mouth. Please don't ask that of me. Please please please. "I was sent to kill you eight years ago-couldn't bring myself to do it then. What makes you think I can let the arrow loose this time?" he asked unsteadily.

"Because this time, I'm asking you to do it Clint. If you care for me, then you'll do this. Don't let me be a monster again Clint. I…don't want to be a monster. Not ever again. Promise me."

Clint gave another gut wrenching sob and looked at the floor again. "What makes you think I have the strength to do that huh? Do you know what you're asking me to do? If you die, Natasha, my life isn't worth living anymore. Please, don't ask me to do that. Please Tasha…."

Natasha nodded eagerly. "You do have the strength to let that arrow go and continue on with your life, Clint. There is always a reason to live. The Avengers need you. You're st-strong- stronger than you give yourself credit for. Please… do this last thing for me. If you don't do this, they are going to make me kill you" she snapped. More softly, she continued, "I don't want that on my ledger Clint… I don't want you on my ledger."

Clint knew that he could never deny her anything. "I promise Natasha. God damn it, I promise. I promise" he murmured softly. Natasha felt relief course through her. "Thank you, Clint." He didn't respond. There was silence for a couple of minutes until he spoke again.

"I love you Tasha." Her head whipped up to him in shock. They never told each other that- never uttered the "L" word. Thinking about it now, he realized how much he regretted not telling her more often. "Love is for children Barton" was her immediate response. He shook his head softly, laughing. "Then in these last few moments we have together, let's be children."

They stared at each other. Footsteps were heard outside the door. They didn't have much time. "I love you Natasha Romanoff" he said fiercely. Natasha stared into her partners beautiful eyes for what she knew was going to be the last time. "I love you Clint Barton" she whispered just as fierce.

The next moments were chaos. Five bulky men walked in and quickly surrounded Natasha. She immediately began struggling. Clint screamed for them to let her fucking go. These were smart motherfuckers- they handled Natasha in a precise way, so that she couldn't find a weakness and escape. That didn't mean that she gave up. She gave a furious scream and did about anything she could to get free. It was all in vain. Eventually, they had her subdued. At that point, Natasha resorted to screaming. As they led her away from the room, she screamed. "DON'T FORGET CLINT! YOU PROMISED. YOU PROMISED. YOU PROMISED." Then she was gone. Snatched away from him.

Clint roared in fury. He screamed and screamed and screamed. He didn't know what else to do. She was gone. These bastards took her away from him. He yelled for her. He yelled her name over and over and over again. He cursed the people who tore them apart. He swore he would kill them all. Every last one of these fuckers. He. Would. Kill. Them. All. He yelled at them, knowing that they probably couldn't hear him. He yelled how he was going to carve out their hearts and serve it to them on a silver platter. And he would laugh and laugh and laugh.

Eventually, someone came to shut him up. With multiple punches to the face and stomach, Clint was rendered unable to speak. More bones broken. He hung there, feeling shitty and useless and he wept. He wept and wept. Silently he whispered her name, like a prayer. Natasha Natasha Natasha. For what felt like forever, Clint mumbled her name to himself.

It could have been weeks. Days. Minutes. Seconds. Eventually, they came for him. Three guys beat the shit out of him for good measure (electrified his ass a bit too) and unshackled him. He was too tired to fight them. He let them drag him by his arms out of the room and to wherever. He tried to pay attention. But he was so tired. The pain was a fucking killer.

They brought him to a lightened room, a contrast from the dark cell. He heard people (Likely more people from the Red Room) talking excitedly in Russian. Happily. He detected Yaakov's snide voice and he felt his blood boil. He moaned silently. Oh Tasha… They were circling around something, or someone.

When they heard them come in, they turned around. Yaakov smirked and gestured the guards to bring Clint forward. "Ah, Agent Barton. I'm glad you could make it." Clint spit the blood that was quickly filling his mouth, at the man's boots." Yaakov smiled and looked at one of the guards. He groaned in pain as he felt a punch to his stomach again. "Allow me to introduce to you, Natalia Romanova." He stepped to the side and gestured to where she was standing. Slowly, fearfully, Clint let himself look at Natasha.

No, that wasn't Natasha, he realized. This was Natalia, a slave of the Red Room. She stood confident… proud. She met his gaze head on. She looked stoically towards him, if a bit curious. She didn't recognize him. There wasn't a single emotion that Clint could detect that signaled that she was acting. She was a heartless killer again… a monster, as she put it. Eight plus years of memories… gone. Natasha please, don't you recognize me? "Who is he Yaakov?" she asked curiously.

"He is Agent Barton from SHEILD. He was sent here to kill you. We captured him just now." LIES! Natasha, they are lying! Don't you believe them! He didn't voice his thoughts, however. What was the point? His Natasha was lost… dead. Natalia's eyes hardened then. She bent down to his level and roughly took his face in her hands. She searched his eyes. He couldn't do anything but let her. She didn't say anything. So neither did he. Instead, she smiled. Clint felt himself cringe. This was a smile Natasha used with her targets. It was never meant for him. It was all teeth, and it was frightening.

She lightly caressed his face before she picked herself up. "What are we going to do with him? Perhaps he can give us valuable information on SHEILD." No. He would die before he gave up SHEILD. "No Natalia. A man like Agent Barton would never give up his secrets. No, its best you kill him." Natalia frowned but didn't object to her orders. The guards hauled him to his feet as Natalia readied her gun. She quickly took aim at his heart. Clint glowered at Yaakov. "I'm going to kill you Yaakov- mark my words" Clint promised. Yaakov merely began to laugh and gestured at Natasha. "Go on my dear. Take his life, as he surely would have taken yours." Clint looked at his partner. "Natasha please, don't do this. It's Clint. Your partner!" he begs weekly. She remained unfazed. The gun aimed at his heart doesn't quiver. Irrationally, Clint began to laugh. Natalia raised her eyebrows in surprise. Clint didn't understand why he was laughing. He was about to die at the hands of his partner and lover. And yet, I will never forget saving you Natasha Romanoff.

Her finger was on the trigger when BOOM. The whole right side of the room erupted; pieces of rubble were thrown everywhere. Captain America, Iron Man and the Hulk made themselves present then (Clint assumed Thor was still in Asgard). The Hulk immediately went to go smash. Natalia, shocked and furious, completely forgot about Clint. Apparently, so did the guards because Clint was able to free himself easily. In seconds, he snapped all three of their necks with his hands. He felt adrenaline pumping through his veins as he turned around and grabbed Natalia's hand, twisting it until she dropped the gun. Angrily, she kicked him in the chest. He fell backwards, in complete and agonizing pain.

When he looked up, he saw that she was gone and fighting a completely shocked and bewildered Steve, who had no choice but to defend himself against her onslaught. He got up, ignoring the pain in his chest, and ran towards Steve. I won't let you become a monster again Tasha. I swear. Tony was battling multiple Red Room and HYDRA agents when he flew up to Clint. "Uh, you want to explain to me why Romanoff is attacking our Captain?"

"They took away her real memories and implanted… false ones into her. She thinks we are the enemy." Keep it simple. Comprehension filtered across Tony's expression and he nodded grimly. Using his communicator he told Steve the exact thing. Clint saw a vague understanding pass through Steve's face before he began to truly fight back. Clint found a gun on the floor and began firing at HYDRA and Red Room agents. He needed to get to Natasha. But before he did that, he needed to pay a visit to Yaakov. The Cap seemed to be holding his own for now (thanks to the sparring matches the two had every day). Suddenly, he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around and saw Tony, who had his bow and quiver of arrows in his hand. "Thought you might want these- can't be Leagolas without them." Without replying, he took them and began to hunt for Yaakov.

It wasn't hard to find the mother fucker. He was cowering behind some rubble. He screamed upon seeing Clint. He smiled internally. Yes. He would make him pay for what he did to her. He grabbed him by his shirt and shoved him into the nearby wall. He aimed four arrows and shot them. He relished Yaakov's cries of pain as each on hit his arms and legs, holding him to the wall. "I did say I was going to kill you, didn't I?" Yaakov looked at him, terror gripping him and leaving him without words. Clint notched another arrow and aimed. "I would take delight in taking you apart, piece by piece, but I don't have time. This is going to have to do you sick fucker." With that, he let the arrow fly into Yaakov's stomach. The man's cry of agony was silenced seconds later as he exploded, his blood and guts flying everywhere.

Clint didn't stay to watch. Immediately, he ran to find Natalia. In seconds he did. She was still fighting with Steve, who was still going strong. He felt his blood freeze, however, when Natasha slid a hidden knife deep into Steve's abdomen. He yelped and fell onto his back, holding his wound. Taking her chance, Natalia pulled out a gun. Her eyes gleamed in satisfaction and victory. She took aim at Steve's head and-

-cried out in agony as an arrow sliced through her hand. She dropped the gun and pressed her wounded hand to her chest. She looked around until she saw Clint, who was running towards them until he stood directly between her and Steve. Her eyes were burning in hatred and fury. Clint merely looked at her, another arrow knocked.

Eventually, Tony came and helped Steve get up and the Hulk sized down so that Bruce was walking towards them. The place was trashed. Most of the HYDRA and Red Room agents were killed. Some were unconscious or top wounded to move. The only one that remained standing was Natalia, who had an arrow aimed at her heart. Clint couldn't help but notice how ironic the situation was.

The Avengers stood at the side and looked at Natalia. She was glaring at Clint. "Maybe we can take her back- have medical look her over. Maybe they could give her back her memories" Tony said. Natalia gave him a confused look and spat at him. "You'll never take me alive. Идти ебать себя!" She looks towards Clint again, who still hadn't lowered his arrow. (Go fuck yourself!)

Promise me Clint.

Clint shook his head roughly, trying to get the evil thought out of his mind. He looked into Natalia's eyes and searched for the woman he loved. "Clint, maybe you should aim for something less fatal?" asked Steve. He ignored him. He continued to look at Natalia, searching for any remnants of Natasha.

You promised me Clint.

Natalia's eyes revealed nothing. She merely glared at him, still holding her injured hand to her chest. Please Natasha, show me you're in there. Don't make me do this. I can't. I can't I can't I can't. Nothing. Natasha didn't make an appearance, much to Clint's despair. Tears began to leak from his eyes; they formed tiny puddles on the ground. "Natasha?" he asked weekly. She continued to glare at him as she snarled, "My name is Natalia."

YOU PROMISED ME!

Without warning, Natalia reached for her gun, aiming it at his chest. He let his arrow fly. He was deaf to the outcries of his teammates. He watched, distantly, as the arrow embedded itself into her heart. She looked at it, shock gripping her face, as she fell to her knees. Blood dribbled out of her nose and mouth and she collapsed to the ground, dead.

Clint's legs couldn't hold him up anymore and so he collapsed and fell to the floor. He felt like he was still falling. I kept my promise Natasha. I kept it. Immediately, Tony grabbed him. Numbly, he looked at Tony and realized that the latter was yelling at him. He couldn't understand him though. He couldn't hear him. The only thing that was registering in Clint's mind was that he kept his fucking promise.

"—WHY?" Clint couldn't stop the laughter from spilling from his mouth. He laughed and laughed. He had lost it, he realized. Even with that knowledge, he couldn't stop laughing. At Tony's shocked face, Clint grabbed his shoulders and pulled himself to his level- he had to explain what was so funny! "She made me promise. She made me promise to kill her so that she wouldn't be a monster anymore! I kept my… promise to her Tony! Now she's dead! It's okay though- I kept my promise!" Clint didn't understand why Tony looked so distraught. He did what Natasha wanted him to do!

Clint didn't remember when he started crying. He gasped for breath and his shoulders shook with the magnitude of his grief. It wasn't very funny anymore. He wept. He couldn't do anything else but weep. He grabbed Tony, needing to find solace of another human being. "Jesus, she's gone. She's dead. Dead dead dead dead. Why did she have to make me promise Tony? Why?!" Tony could do nothing, could say nothing. He simply wrapped his arms around him and hugged him close (his suit be damned). "She made me promise Tony."

God damn it, she made him promise.

A/N: Well… that was tragic. Hope you guys liked this one. Leave a review if you like :) I'll be nicer to them in my next story, I promise. I'm staring school soon (T.T) so I'm trying to write as many stories as I can. I have a whole list of them.

Review? :3