Come on, Nat," Clint Barton muttered. Natasha Romanov narrowed her eyes and ducked her head, lashing out with one hand and delivering a swift blow to his left side and then jerking backwards as he whipped his hand forward in a punch. They sparred for the next hour, before Natasha had her best friend pinned to the ground with her thighs on either side of his chest and his hands pinned above his head. Clint glared up at her and she just smirked down at him.
"You're fucked, Barton," she grinned. "Admit it."
"I'm fucked," he managed to bite out, and she relented, getting up off him and stretching out her legs. The archer stood up behind her and raised his eyebrows as she doubled over to stretch out her calves, and he darted forward to kick at her leg. But, as always, Natasha was completely aware of what he was doing, and she snatched at his leg, pulled it hard and sending him sprawling forward on the ground.
"Asshole," she grinned at him.
"Bitch," he rolled his eyes back at her as they walked to the edge of the mats and picked up their hoodies and bottles of water.
"How's Laura doing?" Natasha asked as she splashed some of the water from her bottle into her hand and then wiped it over her sweaty face. "Nathaniel sleeping through the night yet?" Clint nodded.
"Sure is," he grinned proudly. He talked on for the next five or so minutes about his kids, but Natasha didn't mind. For a long time—years, in fact—she was one of the only people in SHIELD that knew about Clint's family, and they could only talk about it when they knew there was no chance of being overheard. But now, thanks to Tony Stark, there was a bunker that had been converted into a base for the Avengers initiative, and they trusted everyone there...Or at least, Clint did. The Avengers all knew about his family now, and so he was a lot more free when speaking about them. "So what's going on with you and Cap?"
"Huh?" Natasha looked over at his with wide eyes, as though completely clueless to what he was talking about.
"You're kidding, right?" Clint wasn't fooled by the red-headed assasain. "Whatever happened in Prague has had the pair of you all jumpy and tense."
"I don't know what you're talking about, Hawkeye," she twisted his official title out with a smirk and he rolled his eyes, knowing that there was no way he could push Natasha to talk about something she wasn't ready to. They had been partners for a long time now, and he loved her like a sister, and she loved him back.
All he could do is be there for her when she was ready.
"So I was thinking that maybe we should go out and get taco's," Natasha was saying as they pushed open the door and started walking down the long, stainless steel hallways. "Ooh, and you promised that you would take me dancing—I want to go dancing, Clint! Oh—" she was cut off as she walked around a corner and smacked directly into Steve Rodgers. Clint looked between the two of them with an arched eyebrow as Steve bumpled through an apology.
"Sorry, Natasha, I—"
"No, no, it's fine," she quickly tried to assure him.
"No, I'm sorry—"
"It's my fault, I, uh, didn't see you coming." They finally stopped talking and stepped apart, giving each other these long, strange looks that Clint watched curiously.
"I'll see you guys around," Steve said with a tight smile at both of them before continuing down the hallway, walking just a little faster this time.
"Romanov, Rodgers; I want you two to be bringing up the rear. Stark—no fucking showing off. We want to use the element of surprise, remember?" Nick Fury was snapping out their orders for the mission they were about to embark on. Maria Hill was throwing things up on the holographic screen for them all to watch, Steve's head tilted to the side as he took in the flashes in front of him.
Sometimes he was still taken aback by just how advanced technology was now.
"And what about me?" Clint asked, crossing his muscular arms over his chest.
"You're the escape route," Nick stated. "You're going to be bringing up the rear with the Maximoff's, in one of our quin jets." Clint nodded and glanced over at Nat, who was standing a few feet away, her body completely still. He wasn't going to say it outloud, but he was glad that it was Steve going in with his partner. Yeah, okay, so maybe she could totally have her own back, but if he wasn't there with her, he was glad that it was going to be Steve.
"You lot have twenty minutes before you need to be in the hanger," Nick glared around at the group of them.
"Let's make it a good one guys," Phil Coulsen added in with his slightly limp smile. There was finally a slight crack in Natasha's porcelin face as Phil looked up at Steve with this almost adoring expression. Her perfect, rosebud mouth tilted upward in a smile before she looked down at the ground to hide her reaction. As they walked down the long hallways to grab their go bags from their rooms, Steve caught Natasha's elbow and pulled her back, dragging behind the others.
"Nat, I wanted to talk to you," he said, keeping his voice low as he looked nervously over her shoulder before back at her.
"Well, make it snappy, grandpa," she teased him tightly. "We're on the clock."
"Look, Nat, I just wanted you to know that I don't want..." Steve looked as though he had no idea how to phrase his next words. "I don't want...This between us, you know." Natasha blinked, disappointment flooding through her veins as she understood what he was saying, but carefully kept her face composed. "I just wanted you to know that I've got your back. I'm always gonna have your back."
"Thanks, Cap," Natasha said tightly. "Good pep talk." She turned on her heel and stalked down the hall.
"No, wait, Nat—" Steve called after her, but she was already turning the corner at the end of the hall and was showing no signs of slowing down. He would run after her, but Natasha wasn't really a woman that you talked around to see your point of view, she was more likely to punch you in the nose and then change the subject.
"That was smooth, old man," came a voice from behind him and Steve almost groaned as he realized that the whole encounter had been witnessed not just by anyone, but by Tony Stark.
"I don't want to talk about it, Tony," Steve said shortly as he strode quickly down the hall. Tony had shorter legs but he was determind and he caught up with Steve easily.
"Look, good ol' Captain America," Tony continued, as though Steve had invited him to have a discussion rather than being his version of rude. "Now, the ladies these days are a lot more complicated that the ladies back in your time. They don't just want to have a lovely conversation, like back when you were...Courting? Is that what it was? And especially our lovely Black Widow, is a lady with a very specific mind frame."
"You're talking about sex," Steve stated as he reached his door and swiped his card against the lock.
"I'm talking about sex, my man," Tony said with a cocky grin. "I'm so glad to know that you're aware of what that is."
"I don't want to talk about this," Steve repeated, stepping inside his room and pressing the button for the door to slide shut. He had all of about two seconds of peace, as he picked up the bag in the corner of the room and then snag his tooth brush from the small, adjoining bathroom, before the door was sliding open again.
"I own this building," Tony said, holding up a white swipe card. "I have the master key, as you would call it." Steve just sighed, but didn't bother arguing with the stubborn Avenger. "Look, did you hear what you said back there?"
"I don't want to talk about it? Several times?"
"No," Tony raised his eyebrows pointedly. "You told Nat that you didn't want this between you."
"Yeah?"
"Do you not get that?" Tony's eyes widened. Steve just stared at him for a long few seconds before giving him a confused look. Tony sighed and rolled his eyes. "What did you mean when you said this?"
"There's this tension, and I hate it," Steve said with a shrug. "After what happened in Prague, I just want things to go back to normal between us."
"Right. The kiss," Tony said knowingly.
"How do you know about the kiss?" Steve asked, looking panicked.
"I have JARVIS hack everything," Tony grinned. "I saw the whole thing from the camera in the ballroom. That was some nice work there, buddy," he patted Cap on the back and then pulled back when he saw Steve let out a sigh of relief. Tony frowned, realizing that there was something that he was missing. "There was another kiss?" Steve's cheeks reddened slightly. "More than a kiss?" Steve frowned and Tony took a step back. "When was this?"
"It was on the way back to the apartment, when we were getting ready to pack up and leave," Steve was mumbling, his cheeks getting an even darker shade of red. "She asked for some help to get out of her dress...And then when she turned around she just sort of...Kissed me," he almost stuttered the last words out. Tony stared at him for a long moment before letting out a laugh.
"You need to make things right with her, old man," Tony said, clapping him one last time on the shoulder. "Because if she kissed you when there were no eyes on you, and it wasn't for a case, you know that there's something there," he winked as he backed away. But now Steve was interested and he took a few steps toward Iron Man.
"What are you talking about?" He asked.
"She doesn't...She doesn't fool around," Tony stated. "I'm not going to go into it with you—and I mean, when it comes to Natasha, Clint is the one to talk to."
"I'm pretty sure he doesn't like me," Steve mumbled.
"You're trying to get in the tight leather pants of his best friend," Tony grinned. "Good luck with that."
"What are you doing?" Captain America hissed across to Black Widow, who was beginning to creep forward. She sent him a death glare—something he had pretty much resigned himself to getting for the rest of his life. Steve wanted to say something again, but she was already almost on the first guard and he would alert the man if he made any noise. Suddenly, Natasha was launching herself at the guard, her thighs around his neck and then slapping her hand over his mouth to muffle his shout. His buddy on the other side lifted his gun, but Steve was already throwing a punch that sent the man crumbling against the wall and down to the stone floor. "A little forewarning on the plan would be a good idea next time," he muttered over to her.
"Why? Can't keep up?" Natasha snapped at him before taking off at a jog down the hallway. Steve looked after her with a pained expression on his face.
"I don't even know what you mean by that," he muttered as he watched after her. "I'm sure you meant it in a mean way!" He called after her, as loud as he could without alerting anyone else to their presence. He growled under his breath as he tapped his comm link. "We're heading in the main building. Now would be a good idea for Tony to make his approach."
"Copy that, Cap'n," Tony replied down the line. Natasha was already running toward the next set of guards at the doorway leading up the stairs to the where they assumed the holding cells were. Steve caught up with her easily, smacking his hand down on the neck of the guy who was opposite her, and throwing his shield toward the guard who was coming down the stairs. Natasha kicked the man in the face, to finish the job off, and then picked up the shield, tossing it off handedly down to Steve. He caught it with a narrow eyed look, and followed her up the stairs.
In any other situation, he would want to be going first, but there was no talking Natasha out of her position as lead—he knew that by now.
He was so lost in his thoughts that he almost collided directly into Natasha, who had come to a standstill at the top of the stairs. She sent a glare at him before turning her eyes back to the control station that they had come to.
"Looks like our blue prints were out of date," she muttered to Steve. "Doesn't look like the holdings cells to me."
"Okay, well," Steve pursed his lips as he thought. "We'll wait until Tony comes in as the distraction and then we can sneak—"
"I'd rather a straight out fight rather than all this sneaking around," Natasha interupted him and he let out an exasperated sigh. "We can take them."
"You've got to be shitting me," Steve grumbled under his breath, and for the first time since Prague, there was a small smile on Natasha's mouth that was intended for him.
"Language," she reprimanded him lightly, before pulling the gun out from her boot and launching herself forward.
"Everyone good?" Clint shouted over his shoulder as he thrust the jet forward and sent them speeding through the forrest.
"We're good," Steve called after a quick assessment of the people in the back. Tony was flying himself home, and the only people left were Natasha and the German scientist that they had rescused. Well, Pietro and Wanda Maximoff were also in the front seat, but they hadn't left the jet. Natasha had been shot; well, she had been grazed, but she was clenching her teeth together and refusing to let on that she had been hurt, and so Steve let it go, although his eyes were glued to her the entire ride home. Once they got back to base, Clint escorted Natasha to the medical bay to get seen to, and Steve watched them go.
"You just need to tell her how you feel, eh?" Came an accented voice behind him and Steve turned around in disbelief.
"And who the hell filled you in?" He asked.
"Ooh," Wanda sung out. "You getting a little tetchy there."
"Wanda has a hard time staying out of people's heads," Pietro said with a casual shrug. Steve's eyes widened and horror and she made an apologetic face.
"Sorry...Sometimes I just can't help it," she shrugged. "And your thoughts get very, uh, very loud, in training." Steve's cheeks reddened as he realized what Wanda was referring too. The tiny shorts that Natasha wore, and only a sports bra covering her torso...He really hoped that Wanda had caught him on a day when all he was thinking about was how hot she was, or there were some pretty descriptive scenes that the Sokovian might have walked away with.
"I'm going to my room," Steve mumbled, turning on his heel and stalking down the hallway. The Maximoff siblings grinned and exchanged looks.
"Maybe you shouldn't tell him you knew what he was thinking about when she bent over and—"
"Can still hear you!" Steve shouted over his shoulder and Pietro smirked, quickly pursing his lips together as his sister jabbed him in the side with her elbow. Steve stormed down the hall, approaching his room quickly and walked inside, stripping out of his uniform and dumping it on the bed. He was about to pull off his black briefs when there was a rustle behind him and he spun around, his arms jerked in front of him.
"What?" Natasha raised her eyebrows at him. "You're going in attack an unarmed woman?" Steve snorted as his figure relaxed.
"I don't think anyone ever could call you unarmed, Natasha," he muttered. He swallowed and then realized he was standing there, in front of the gorgeous woman he'd developed a thing for over the past few months. "Uh," he gripped one of the blankets from his bed and pulled it in front of him. "What are you doing here?" Then he looked around with a frown. "How did you get in here?!"
"I'm good at picking locks," she shrugged casually.
"It's a swipe key."
"All locks," she added with another shrug.
"Okay, well, what are you doing here?" He repeated, feeling impatient. He wanted to sleep. Then he wanted to talk to his best friend, James 'Bucky' Buchanan, who was the only person that he had acutally told about his feelings for Natasha. Admittedly, Bucky didn't often talk back these days, he was locked in a pretty cushy cell on one of the lower floors while his body was de-toxing, but it just felt good to talk to someone that he knew. That was familiar.
"I kissed you," Natasha stated and Steve blinked at her. She didn't continue and he swallowed hard, realizing that she wanted a response from him.
"Um, yes," he nodded. Natasha was looking at him carefully. She was still wearing her torn, leather catsuit from their mission today, with cuts and littering her hands and face, and the gash which had come from the bullet was roughly bandaged, and wondered if Clint had just done it himself rather than taking her to the med bay.
"I don't kiss anyone off mission," she continued with a strange look in her eyes. He didn't say anything, watching her carefully as he stepped toward her, his hand dropping slightly so that the blanket wasn't covering him anymore. The look in her eyes was one that he had seen a hundred times, hell he had seen it in the mirror looking back at him, but he was pretty sure he had never seen it in Natasha's face.
She was nervous.
"I know," he murmured quietly. "Tony told me." That got a proper reaction from her.
"You told Tony?!" She snapped at him, her eyes narrowing. Steve jerked back a step, looking from side to side worriedly.
"Uhhh," he uttered. Natasha got up from where she was sitting on a chair in the corner of the room and started pacing, her red curls bouncing up and down as she stalked the room. "Look, Tash—"
"I can't believe you told Tony of all people!"
"Well it's not like everyone else doesn't already know!" Steve blurted out and she froze.
"Everyone knows that I kissed you?" She asked with a voice that actually scared the brave and fearless Captain America.
"No, no," Steve quickly assured her, not really thinking before the words were coming out of his mouth, just not wanting her to say anything in the voice again.
Or worse.
Give him that deathly smile that she shot at attackers before she went in for the kill.
That always came after that tense voice.
"No, everyone knows that I like you," Steve sighed and an a hand over his face, suddenly feeling a whole lot more exposed than he had a couple of minutes ago when she had seen him there in nothing but his briefs. Natasha turned to face him, looking confused and he locked his jaw. "Everyone...Seems to know that I like you," he repeated, his voice almost inaduible now. She stared at him for a long moment, not a single movement, and Steve had to swallow again.
He was going to die.
This was it.
She was gonna—
"I don't just kiss anyone, Rogers," she breathed before launching herself at him. Steve tried to compose himself quickly as her legs went around his waist and then her mouth was over his. He could have easily stood there and held her for hours, but he sat down on the edge of his bed, so that the focus of his energy was on her. Her arms were tight around his shoulders and he responded with as much vigour, his fingers digging into the leather covering her hips. Her long, red hair surrounded them as she tilted them backwards, until he was almost laying down, his elbows braced against the mattress as her fingers skimmed over his bare shoulders.
Natasha never did anything halfway.
He was about ready to burst in his underwear by the time she pulled back and stared down at him, her eyes glassy with want and her mouth swollen.
"So," Steve managed to say, not even a little bit embarassed by the crack in his voice. "You don't just kiss anyone, huh?"
"Yup," Natasha replied with a smirk.
"Want to go...Not just kiss anyone in the shower?" Steve thought it was a pretty smooth comment until Natasha let out a snort and shook her head at him.
"I think you've had enough excitement for one day, old man," she grinned and pressed one more kiss to his mouth. "Plus, Clint made me come here first before to the med bay...So my arm is still really sore."
"Oh, right," he looked down at the blood that was seeping through the bandage. "Uh, did you want me to take you?"
"No, I'm fine," she smiled at him as she straightened up, nodding down to this lap. "Plus, you have a problem that needs taking care of." Steve looked down and his cheeks reddened. "See you later, Cap," Natasha sung out over her shoulder as she left him with a smile on his face.