Note: This chapter takes place soon after the battle of New York.

"Phil's dead." The words broke him. They had won the battle of New York, but now it felt like he had lost everything.

"Was it me?" Did I kill him? Clint was unsure. Loki's mind control had made him kill others, so maybe... Oh god, please no. 

"No. It was Loki. I'm so sorry, I should've told you earlier, but I knew it would break you and I couldn't bring myself to do it. I'm so sorry," she said.

Natasha, Clint and Phil had been the best of friends. Phil and Natasha were the two people in Clint's life that he truly and fully loved. The number had already been small enough, and now— it was too much to bear. He couldn't bear it. He wanted to scream and yell and break things. He wanted to sob and sleep till noon. He felt so drained, so tired. But he had a fire burning inside him, a fire that made him want to kill Loki with such brutality it was hard to imagine. 

She couldn't bear to see him like that. She took his face in her hands, and kissed his lips softly and slowly. She could taste his salty tears.

Author's note: I'm back! Today I'll be posting 8 chapters to make up for the ones I missed! Hope you enjoy. Also note— although they kiss in this chapter and a previous one, they are not necessarily dating. It's really up to you to decide how exactly they fall in love. Future chapters may show them officially dating, you'll just have to wait and see!