Clint was acting before his mind even processed what just happened. His bow was ready with a grappling arrow loaded. But he didn't fire, not yet. He couldn't risk Stark cutting the cable again. Instead he swan dived out the window after Natasha. Clint could see her free falling down below him, unconscious. Natasha had a head start on him, but he was heavier and falling faster. It felt like years before he reached her but he doubted it was more than a few seconds.

The problem was now how to grab her and still be able to fire the arrow. He didn't have time to think about options and how every single one could leave to a catastrophic ending because if he didn't act now then they were both dead anyway. Clint released the arrow and pulled the bow down over his head and around his waist. Before the grappling arrow even reached the building he was wrapping his arms around Natasha. It wasn't exactly an easy feat but he managed.

Air was whistling around his ears and Natasha's hair was blowing everywhere. Generally he liked her hair but right now he'd love to cut it off. It was obscuring his vision. He couldn't see whether the grappling hook had actually found anything to wrap around. They could be seconds away from death and he wouldn't even know.

Clint held Natasha even tighter, if they were going to die at least it would be together. He tried not to think about the warm feeling of blood soaking into his shirt. Even if they survived the fall, Natasha might not survive the blast from the repulsor.

Finally Clint felt a tug around his waist as the cable tightened. He prepared to be ripped forwards into Stark Tower. He really didn't want to be back there but there was nothing else close enough. Clint just hoped his spine wouldn't be snapped from the pressure of the cable coming to a stop. They started swinging back to Stark Tower, Clint's spine intact but he was struggling to keep the bow around his waist and keep a hold of Natasha.

There was no way he was going to go smashing through a window. He couldn't control it, not with Natasha in his arms bleeding out and the bow stuck around his waist. Instead, Clint extended his legs and aimed for a solid piece of wall. As his legs struck the wall he bent them to lessen the impact to try and avoid shattering his legs. Something cracked and Clint winced.

The added weight of Natasha had meant his legs couldn't compensate, he didn't think anything was broken but his ankle was fractured at least. He had no idea how they were going to escape, not when he had to carry Nat and now his ankle was fucked.

But he didn't have time to worry about what was going to happen in a few minutes. He had to worry about now. He was now dangling off Stark Tower with a bleeding Russian killer and a pissed off Iron Man a few floors above.

Clint laughed. Because he really didn't know what else to do. He thought the Russian job was messed up—this was a whole other level of messed up. The increasing feeling of warm wetness sobered him up and Clint moved back into action. After shifting Natasha and freeing up an arm he released the cable slowly, allowing more of it out and they began lowering down the side of Stark Tower. Clint had to occasionally kick them away from the wall, avoiding using his right ankle so as not to damage it any more.

Frequently he looked up, expecting to see Iron Man flying out the window and towards them or simply cutting the cable and letting gravity do the rest.

"Clint..." Natasha murmured into his side weakly.

"Tasha, just hold on okay?" Clint felt a sense of relief hearing her speak even though it was weak.

"You're..." Natasha trailed off with a wet cough, "a fucking idiot."

Clint rolled his eyes. "I'm so glad you woke up." His voice heavily laced with sarcasm.

"Someone has to make sure you and your ego know the truth." Natasha fell silent again after that, he couldn't tell whether she passed out or was saving her energy. His main focus was on getting to the ground without the help of Iron Man.

He knew their temporary Iron Man free luck wouldn't last. Another glance up and Iron Man was hovering half way down the cable line. Tony had a different suit on this time, that must have been why Stark wasn't after them straight away.

Natasha obviously did a good job of frying the other one. He glanced down at her limp body. Not good enough. Her being passed out again made the worry gnaw away at his insides. She was at serious risk of bleeding out and he couldn't do anything about it right now.

Maybe not ever, because the cable started to move and Clint realised Iron Man was cutting the cable. Or to be more accurate, burning through it. Clint looked down to see how far they had to fall. It was only another twenty feet which on his own he could just about make with a few bruises. But with Natasha and his ankle fractured there wasn't much chance to avoid serious injury and in Natasha's case possible death because she wouldn't be able to protect her head.

If he waited any longer one or both of them would be dead. He grabbed his last grappling arrow and quickly secured the hook and a section of cable around Natasha's waist. Clint tried to remember how much cable was in the arrow, fifty feet he thinks. He should have listened to Natasha more.

Without the bow controlling the release of the cable she'd just fall to the ground anyway.

Clint takes the end of the cable into his teeth and starts using his free hand to pull out as much cabling as he could as quick as he could. The cable was starting to give way where Iron Man was burning it and he knew it wouldn't last much longer.

There's cabling everywhere and Clint can't get any more out of the arrow. Clint releases the hold he has on Natasha, keeping one hand at the base of the cabling, his other hand now free grabs the cable as well.

Slowly he starts letting the cable slide through his gloved hands and Natasha starts lowering towards the ground. Clint looks up and can see the cable is nearly burnt through.

"Sorry Nat." Clint mutters and lets the cable in his hands start rushing through, he can feel the friction causing his gloves to split apart and the cable is ripping into his flesh. He ignores it and then wraps it around his wrists and pulls up to stop the descent. His wrists groan in protest. Natasha is hovering less than a foot off the ground and he gently lowers her the rest of the way.

Now he just had to figure out how to get himself down there.

That decision was made for him though as the cabling snapped and Clint began free falling the rest of the way. There was no easy and pain free way to do this but Clint didn't have any grappling arrows left or the time to fire one off anyway. Instead he tries to prepare his body for the landing, this was going to completely break his ankle but if he could roll fast enough after the impact he might save his other ankle and his legs from shattering.

However as he's falling something catches his eyes and Clint could feel his luck change ever so slightly. A light post was just below him, Clint angles his body so he slips past it and stretches his arms to grab the extending metal. He's fairly certain both of arms were just ripped out of their joint but he wasn't falling fast enough for it be serious damage. He'd dislocated his shoulders that many times it was just a matter of popping them back in once he was safely on the ground.

Which was still going to be an issue because now he was just hanging off the light post like an idiot. He was glad Nat was unconscious for this.

People were pointing and gasping. It seemed Iron Man was on the way down. It wouldn't take Stark long to reach him so Clint released the pole and fell the last ten feet, he felt his ankle scream in protest and he moved forward into a roll to stop the impact destroying it any further. Clint sprung of of his roll and rotated his shoulders. He was relieved to find neither of them dislocated.

Clint rushed to Natasha as best he could on his fucked up ankle.

"Natasha I need you to wake up." Clint called out to her urgently but there was no response. He really needed to apply pressure to her chest to try and slow the bleeding but if he did that he'd lose precious escape time.

He'd never felt so alone. Surrounded by people watching him lose the only person he'd ever really had in his life. Clint wanted to scream at them to help but they wouldn't. Not when they were associated as being the enemy. Not when Iron Man was on the way to finish them off. Clint grabbed Natasha's shoulders and pulled her up. He flung her over his shoulder, his bow moved up and over the other shoulder.

Clint's eyes darted around everywhere, assessing escape routes, obstacles and more enemies other than the flying metal one hurtling down towards them.

"Don't you dare die on me Tasha." Clint murmured out, he knew she couldn't hear but it was more for his peace of mind than anything.

Everyone started cheering and clapping. The sound of whirring mechanics sounded from behind him. Clint felt his heart fall out his chest and hit the concrete. It was over. He couldn't save himself from this, and more importantly he couldn't save her. Clint knew that if he left her, he could probably escape but it wasn't an option. He was compromised and it was going to be the death of him.

But he'd rather die with her than die on his own living a half life.

"I'm sorry Tash." Clint whispered.

"Me too..." Natasha whispered back to him. Clint couldn't feel relief that she was awake again, if anything he wished she stayed unconscious so she didn't know what was happening.

Clint lowered her to the ground and stood in front of her, trying to protect her from the man they'd relentlessly joked about over the past few weeks, from the man they waived off as ever being a real threat. Clint readied his bow even though he knew it would do no good.

This was it, surrounded by spectators and the woman he possibly loved dying at his feet. Clint considering begging, not for his life but for hers but it would do no good. Even if she was spared she'd be jailed for life for being a Russian spy. But she could escape a prison. Clint's mind was whirring of possibilities but nothing was really plausible.

Yet, as he stood there, Iron Man was watching him and not making a move. Not even the repulsors were aimed at him. Instead Stark's suit arms just hung by his side.

Of course, Clint swore internally. Iron Man wouldn't kill them in front of people. Clint dropped his bow then fell to Natasha's side, he pulled off his jacket and pressed it into her chest to try and staunch the bleeding. He had wasted so much time trying to think of ways to get them out of this that he hadn't truly being thinking. That mistake could cost Natasha's life. But then something else came back to him, she was enhanced by serum. That was why she probably wasn't already dead and it could get her through this. Or so he hoped.

Clint wasn't sure whether police or some other organisation were coming for them but he couldn't stay here. Clint didn't know what Tony was going to do but he scooped Natasha up and calmly stood up, his back to Iron Man. Clint didn't turn around to look at Tony, instead he started walking towards the crowd.

"I wouldn't recommend that Legolas." Stark called after him.

Clint turned his head around slightly. "You're not going to kill us in the middle of all these people. I'll come find you after this, you can do what you want then."

"And her?"

"I have nothing to do with her." Clint responded coolly. It was far too late for the charade now, given how much effort he went to save her but it was still worth a try.

"Then why bother saving her?" Iron Man called him out.

Clint didn't respond, he faced forwards and kept walking. The crowd parted around him as he carried his broken Russian doll. There was nothing stopping Stark from firing a blast into his back or from the crowd trying to interfere but no one tried anything.

In fact an eerie silence had fallen over everyone. Clint thinks it could be because all his emotions were splayed over his face no matter how he tried to hide them. He was a man carrying the weight of the impending loss of his only friend, but their relationship went deeper than that and there wasn't a word to describe what Natasha was to him.

Everything, his mind supplied. And Clint couldn't argue with that.