Clint has been gone for seven months, and Natasha is seriously considering quitting SHIELD. It's not the same without him, no, but nothing is meant to stay the same; she could survive being unhappy at work. Most people do. She could survive knowing that no matter what hallway corner she turns at headquarters, she will never happen upon him turning it from the other direction... that she'll never feel startled delight at nearly running into him, at his chuckle when they almost collide. She'll never feel the warmth of him stopping to talk, to make plans for after a mission, to be with her for that moment.

She's a professional. She could live with that.

But she can't live with not searching for him when he's gone, and that's what's going to happen; Sitwell has made it clear how he wants their resources used. Hawkeye's MIA designation will turn to KIA. They'll declare him dead based only on 95 percent certainty. She will be assigned a new mission, and she'll go into deep cover for some time, and come back to a workplace that had once been a home. And life will go on.

Meanwhile, Clint will be waiting for her.

She'll be damned if she lets him wait, so when Fury calls her into his office, she goes with a vengeance, prepared to end it all and go out on her own and more than okay with the prospect.

"Natasha, good," Fury says, looking up from a familiar map of the area where Hawkeye went missing. "Just got off the phone with the Council. They're putting you in charge of the search."

"What happened to Sitwell?"

Fury bares his teeth in a grim smile. "I did. Now let's get cracking. Hawkeye's been waiting long enough."

Aw, woman -- that is beautiful! :-) Thank you!!

I'll be catching up with my treat writing this weekend ...

So glad you enjoyed. :)

Oh, love that.