It's a Spider Thing. {Peter Parker and Natasha Romanoff}

{48} is blood thicker than water?

"LEAVING SO SOON?"

Helen's words echoed across the corridor; her eyes zeroed in on Peter despite Clint's attempts to mould the teen into his own body to hide him from her feral gaze.

"After all the fun we had Peter." She tutted in disappointment. Her face had darkened as she took a single step forwards- Barney's grip shifted on the gun, making Helen's eyes drift lazily towards him; she looked insane. Hysteric laughter bubbled in her throat. "Shield? Really? I thought better of you. Your talents would serve a greater purpose elsewhere Barney Barton."

"Not Shield." He shrugged half-heartedly. Clint scowled at the conversation.

"Oh?" Helen mocked, "Is blood thicker than water?" Her eyes trailed back to Peter.

On instinct, Clint tightened his grip on the teenager when Helen's eyes settled on him. They raked over his body as if she was analysing his physical state. Anger sparked in the archer's stomach and he itched to put an arrow between her eyes, but no matter how much he wanted to torture her like she had tortured his kid Clint refused to let Peter go until he was sure they were safe on the quinjet.

As if sensing his thoughts, Helen grinned devilishly.

"You have something of mine."

"He's not yours." Clint spoke through gritted teeth.

"Isn't he?" She taunted, eyes glinting.

"Hydra knew what he was from the beginning." Helen spat; her eyes bored into Peter whose body froze under her gaze out of instinct. "He was born, to spill blood." Peter winced as her words washed over him- he'd pondered that same thought- was he born to be a murderer? "The day Hydra took down his parents they gave him a purpose, allowed him to achieve his potential! They saved his life-"

"How?" The word was sharp and vicious and cut through her sentence like a knife.

"They tore me a part and put me back together again, and again, and again!" Peter screamed, tears brimming in his eyes that looked lost to the onslaught of memories running rampant through his mind- he sucked in a shaking breath. "Hydra has no claim on me because they killed me." His voice carried despite its lowered volume before he slumped back into Clint's side; the sudden fight that had sparked within him dissipating instantly.

Barney stared at the young man in a stunned silence. He would swear that he saw the light leave Peter's eyes in that moment, even if he weren't dead.

Unperturbed by Peter's outburst, Helen merely cocked her head to the side with a small shrug of her shoulders in response. "We'll hunt you down Peter Parker till you either conform or you die." she stated with a heart-sinking finality that dripped from her words before her eyes lingered on Barney.

A cruel smile pulling at her lips as she asked, "Is blood thicker than water Barney Barton?"

The man frowned in confusion at the strange question, the realisation hitting him a second too late as the sound of a gun being fired bounced off the walls around them.

Peter had been quicker on the uptake. He always was.

He'd been watching the muscles in Helen's hand like Natasha had taught him and he reacted on instinct when he splayed himself across Clint's chest despite the way his body had screamed in protest at the sudden, jerked movement. But it was soon drowned out by the familiar pain blossoming through his chest- his breath stuttered in his lungs and his eyes widened from the shock.

The ground rose to meet him as his legs buckled beneath his weight and then suddenly arms were engulfing him, and another gunshot rang out somewhere behind him.

Peter couldn't lift his head to find the source or the victim. All he could see was Clint's fearful expression as he hovered over him, hands flitting over the gaping wound while he shouted something indiscernible; the silence was back and Peter relaxed into it. He felt his eyelids grow heavy and a sense of weightlessness slowly fill his body- peace.

Not a bad way to go, he mused before his mind went hazy.

"No, no, no." Natasha breathed, feet pounding hard against the floor as she ran past Helen's body and landed heavily beside Peter's. Her hands shook as they reached out for him. "You're okay." She whispered, cupping his cheeks, and tapping them slightly but Peter continued to stare past her through half lidded eyes, chest moving infrequently- Natasha was terrified that every breath was his last. "Breathe. Just breathe. Open your eyes. Come back. It's okay, it's over."

It was as if her mind short-circuited. Peter was in her arms like she'd wanted, but he wasn't...

She'd been so close. "You're okay- just wake up. Don't do this to me. Don't do this to me, please." Natasha begged under her breath, delicately brushing away strands of his hair. "Clint?"

He'd never seen Natasha look so panicked as she turned to him- as she turned to the one person that she trusted more than anyone for guidance because she didn't know what to do. Natasha couldn't imagine a world without Peter now that he had become so integrated in her own, she didn't want a world without him. It isn't fair. "Help me."

"Nat, I don't know what else to do." He rushed out, still applying pressure to the gunshot wound but Peter was losing too much blood. "We need Bruce." He breathed out.

"He's on his way." Announced Barney as he crouched beside the two assassins, looking pale and worried as he pressed his finger to Peter's pulse point on his wrist. Natasha felt sick as she nodded her head in an attempt to clear her thoughts of any doubts that he wouldn't pull through as she cradled Peter's head in her lap as gently as possible, not wanting to lose any contact with him.

"Tony, we need the fastest route out of here." Clint ordered. 

A/N

I love this scene. And the fact that Peter still remembers Natasha's training- also the symmetry between him taking a bullet for Nat and now Clint is *chef's kiss*

Anywho! Let me know of any spelling mistakes! xoxo.