Spoilers: General spoilers for the movie.

Disclaimer: The Avengers still aren't mine, but I'm allowed to dream, right?

A/N: While watching the Avengers for the third time, I was struck by the fact that Steve seems to know quite a lot about Clint before he ever talks to him, and Steve and Natasha seem strangely comfortable around each other. This fic was the result. :)

As always, I thank my Lord Jesus Christ for his incredible mercy and grace.

I hope you enjoy this, and please let me know what you think!

Serendipity

The conference room was quiet.

Maybe that wasn't really a surprise, now that Stark was gone. He'd taken Dr. Banner with him, and Thor had left shortly after that to discuss his brother's "accommodations" with Fury.

Not counting the bridge crew buzzing around them, Steve and Agent Romanoff were alone.

Steve hadn't minded her presence, but then again, she hadn't said much. In fact, for the last fifteen minutes she'd just stood there by the railing, staring out the window at the night sky beyond. Her expression was almost entirely blank, but her eyes were dark and troubled, her posture tense.

If he'd known her a little better, he might have asked her what was wrong, but she was still mostly a stranger to him, and he couldn't help feeling that it wasn't his place to pry. Besides, she probably wouldn't appreciate his meddling, even if it was well-meaning - maybe especially if it was well-meaning.

So, Steve had just left her in peace and silently studied the file Fury had given him. After all, Loki was in custody, but Barton wasn't, and if Barton attacked, Steve wanted to be familiar with the Agent's skill-set.

He was reviewing Fury's notes on the number of languages Barton could speak when subtle movement caught his attention, and he glanced up to see Agent Romanoff staring at him…or rather, at the file in front of him.

Agent Barton's picture rested on top.

Her eyes darted away as soon as she realized Steve had noticed her attention, but she wasn't quite fast enough.

She'd been staring at Barton's picture earlier too, Steve remembered, on the bridge. One of ours, she'd called him not that long ago, her voice oddly soft.

Feeling suddenly more sure of himself, Steve closed the file deliberately, picked it up and stood, moving to join Agent Romanoff at the railing. She didn't react to his presence, but Steve had no doubt that she knew he was there. He let the silence linger for a minute or two, trying figure out the best way to approach her. He didn't want to stick his foot in his mouth, but she didn't strike him as the type to like beating around the bush, either.

Straightforward it was.

"Ma'am? Are you alright?"

She looked away from the window to meet his gaze. "I'm fine."

"I just can't help noticing that you seem…preoccupied."

"Your concern is appreciated," she answered in a way that said it clearly wasn't, "but I'm fine." With that, she turned back towards the window, and Steve got the distinct impression that he'd been dismissed.

But, well, Steve had always been told that he was too stubborn for his own good.

"Then maybe you can help me with something," he tried, motioning with the manila folder in his hand. "I've been looking at Agent Barton's file, but there's a lot this file doesn't cover. Fury mentioned that Barton is your partner. I was hoping you could tell me more about him."

Romanoff looked at him once more, her brow furrowed as though she were trying to judge his sincerity, and a long moment passed under her scrutiny. "What do you want to know?"

Steve didn't answer right away, trying to choose his words carefully. He'd come over here intending to help her, and he still wanted to do that if he could, but he hadn't been lying about wanting more information. Romanoff, he was starting to suspect, could probably tell him more about Barton than just about anyone else.

"Is Barton a real threat?" he questioned finally.

"Yes," she answered immediately.

"His aim is really that good?"

"Better."

Steve blinked, a little surprised by her certainty. "What else besides his aim makes him so dangerous?"

"Tactics. He sees what others don't, and finds an opening."

"What about hand-to-hand?"

"He can keep up with me."

That might not have sounded very impressive, except that Steve had a feeling there weren't many people who could make that claim. Steve frowned. By all accounts, Barton was a good guy to have on your side, but against them…he didn't like the picture the facts painted.

"The file mentions ammunitions, explosives, you name it," Steve added aloud, "all adapted for an archer."

Romanoff nodded briskly. "Most of those were his idea."

"So, what you're saying is that Barton could do a lot of damage if-"

"Loki," she interrupted sharply. "Not Clint. Loki."

Clint. Steve wondered if she'd noticed her slip.

"Loki," he agreed.

There was a beat of awkward silence.

"Barton means a lot to you, doesn't he?" Steve couldn't help but ask.

Agent Romanoff just stared at him, as though that was all the answer he needed. Maybe it was.

The silence stretched on, long enough that Steve started to wonder if the conversation was finished. He let his gaze move once more to the dark sky visible outside the Helicarrier, the clouds rolling and changing with the wind.

Romanoff surprised him when she spoke again a few moments later, almost casually. "Five years ago, SHIELD sent Agent Barton to kill me."

Steve felt his eyes widen, his brows go up; that was some way to start off a partnership. "And he…missed?" Steve prompted, too curious to leave it at that.

Romanoff smirked faintly, like she knew exactly what he was doing. She probably did, but she answered anyway. "Hawkeye doesn't miss. He could have killed me that day, but he didn't. Instead, he brought me in, offered me a place with SHIELD. I wouldn't be here if it weren't for him."

Steve nodded slowly, letting her words sink in. He knew all about that kind of debt, and it wasn't something you could just ignore, no matter what happened. Romanoff seemed to know what he was thinking.

"I'm going to get him back," she added quietly, but her eyes were challenging like she was daring him to argue with her.

He didn't.

"If I run into him," Steve offered, "I'll do everything I can to take him out of the fight without hurting him. I'll make sure Thor and Stark do the same." There was no real point, he knew, in mentioning Banner. Even if he wanted to, he couldn't guarantee anything about the Hulk.

Romanoff nodded, apparently satisfied. "Thank you."

Together, they watched the sky outside for a few minutes longer before she was called away by Fury, and Steve went to check on Stark and Banner's progress.

After that, well, there was an attack on the Helicarrier, Loki's escape, and an alien invasion to fight off, and the conversation was pushed to the back of Steve's mind.

Still, he'd only needed to look at Romanoff and see her nod to feel confident that Barton was back and on their side, and it was thanks to her that he'd known exactly where to put Barton during the battle: up high, where he could do the most damage and call the shots.

It wasn't until that next night, when he was laying in his borrowed bed in Stark Tower, that Steve realized Romanoff might have wanted their conversation to happen for Barton's sake - that she might have cleverly, subtly, manipulated him.

But, considering the way that she and Barton had looked at each other after the battle - weary and worn but inexplicably lighter once they were side by side - Steve supposed he couldn't really blame her.

Fin

A/N: I hope you enjoyed it, and please let me know what you think!

Take care and God bless!

Ani-maniac494 :)