The hours passed in silence after Natasha's admission. Neither of them spoke for a long while, but the weight of the unspoken truth between them hung in the air, thick and palpable. Clark sat on the edge of his couch, his hands clasped tightly in front of him, his mind racing.
Natasha stood across the room, leaning against the doorframe, arms folded across her chest, her face partially obscured by the dim light of the single lamp that flickered in the corner. She looked at him, her eyes filled with a quiet sadness, but there was also a kind of understanding. A knowing look, like she could see through the walls he'd spent years building around himself.
Finally, it was Natasha who broke the silence.
"I know I can't undo what I did," she said quietly, voice heavy with regret. "But if I could go back... I would've told you sooner. I wouldn't have hidden behind the mission. I was so focused on the job that I lost sight of... well, of us."
Clark's gaze flickered up to hers. His voice was calm but thick with emotion when he responded, "You've been doing this your whole life, haven't you? Hiding behind the mission."
Natasha nodded, her eyes never leaving his. She took a slow step forward, carefully choosing her words. "I was trained to be a weapon. To do whatever it took to get the job done. No emotions. No attachments. But when I met you, I felt like everything I thought I knew—everything I was—started to unravel. I thought I could handle it, but I couldn't."
Clark didn't know what to say. He had been so wrapped up in his own feelings of betrayal that he hadn't stopped to think about the weight Natasha carried with her. She had her own scars, her own battles she had been fighting in silence.
"There's a lot you don't know about me," she continued. "Things I've done. Things I had to do. I've been a soldier for so long, it's hard to remember a time when I was just... human."
Clark nodded. He understood that. In his own way, he had been living as a soldier too. A protector. A savior. But what did that leave him? He had become a stranger in his own skin, always trying to save the world, never once considering what it had cost him.
"I was never really given a choice, you know?" Natasha said, her voice barely above a whisper. "When I was taken as a child, I didn't even know what the word 'freedom' meant. They trained me. They made me into something else. And for years, I let myself believe that was all I was ever going to be."
Clark shifted on the couch, his heart aching at the vulnerability in her voice. "What changed?"
She hesitated for a moment, as if unsure how much of herself she wanted to reveal. But then she exhaled slowly, as if she had made a decision. "You. When I met you... something shifted. You made me remember that there was more to life than the mission. That there was more to *me* than just the soldier I'd been turned into."
Clark's mind raced as he processed her words. He had never thought of Natasha like that he had seen her as a spy, as someone who was constantly playing a role, even with him. But hearing her say it out loud, hearing the pain in her voice, made him realize that maybe they weren't so different after all.
He stood up slowly, crossing the room to stand before her. "I know what that feels like," he said softly. "I was raised to protect people, to be a symbol of hope. But after... after I lost my world, I didn't know what I was anymore. I didn't know who I was supposed to be."
Natasha's eyes softened, and she took a step closer to him. "You're still that person. The person who fights for others. You haven't lost that. You haven't lost yourself."
Clark let out a bitter laugh, a sound that didn't carry any humor. "Maybe. But sometimes it feels like I'm the last of a dying breed. I'm... a god among humans. But that doesn't make me any less alone."
The silence between them felt deeper now, heavier. Natasha was so close that he could feel the warmth of her body, but it wasn't the heat of desire that made his heart race. It was the sheer weight of the words they were sharing—the rawness of their pain and longing, their shared isolation.
"I get it Natasha said quietly. "The loneliness. The constant feeling of being out of place. I know what it's like to be *too much* for the world, to feel like you're not really part of it, no matter how hard you try."
Clark's gaze softened. "You're not alone anymore, Natasha."
Her eyes flickered down to the floor, her breath hitching slightly. "I don't know if I believe that yet. But I want to."
They stood in the quiet, a moment of understanding passing between them. It was like the dam had finally broken years of guardedness, years of pain and confusion, pouring out in the space between them.
Clark didn't know what he was feeling, but he knew he didn't want to lose her again. Not now. Not after everything they had shared.
And then, as if the world had aligned in that perfect, fragile moment, Natasha closed the gap between them. She reached up, her fingers brushing against his jaw, her touch tender. Clark's heart thudded in his chest as he felt the weight of her emotions, the rawness of everything she had shared with him. He had never felt so connected to someone in his life.
Without another word, he leaned down, his lips finding hers in a kiss that was slow and aching, full of everything they had been through, everything they had shared. Her arms wound around his neck, pulling him closer, and for the first time in a long while, Clark didn't feel so alone.
They moved together, the kiss deepening, the touch of her hands against his skin igniting something he had kept buried for so long. When they pulled back, their breath heavy, Natasha gave him a small, unsure smile.
"Are you sure about this?" she asked, her voice fragile.
Clark's response was simple, his forehead resting against hers. "I'm sure.
The night went on in a haze of quiet passion and understanding. They held each other, shared pieces of their past, and found comfort in the warmth of the other's presence. For the first time in a long time, they both allowed themselves to feel.
They didn't talk about the mission. They didn't talk about the lies. For that night, there were no secrets between them. Only two broken souls finding solace in one another.
And when the morning light broke through the curtains, it was different. The world outside still felt uncertain, but in that moment, inside those walls, Clark didn't feel quite as lost.