Harri in this is more or less the same version as Loyalty and Unity. Obviously after she's kicked some sirius Volde-butt, Shield felt the need to head-hunt her.
You don't have to read Loyalty and Unity to understand this though.
"You and I remember Budapest very differently," Agent Barton stated.
Agent Romanov smirked amusedly, the relief she had her figurative partner in crime back leading her to goad her long term workmates; "I don't believe you. I think I'll ask Potter if this brings back memories of Budapest and see what she says."
The Black Widow had thought aloud, knowing full well that what she was saying would be heard over the comms, so she wasn't surprised when she received an answer. The rest of the newly formed Avengers team however, were a little taken aback by how unyieldingly flat the answer sounded; "I am not discussing this now. Get your kicks elsewhere, Arachnid."
The topic was quickly dropped after that in favour of more pressing matters, like an errant brother, a powerful spear, an attempted invasion and a bomb. Such little things could hardly keep the teams curiosity at bay though, much to a certain raven's displeasure. So once all was said and done (or more precisely, debriefed and secure) and the team were quietly celebrating with victory shawarma, the theme of Budapest came up again.
"I second what Clint said; I remember Budapest differently" Harri said with a straight face.
"Yes, but when Clint says that, I know what he means. You, however, got split off from us often during that mission," Natasha was practically purring with her amusement much to the confusion of the rest of the group, including Clint who couldn't fathom why the red head wanted to know about the younger girl's memory so much.
Harri turned a very dry stare towards the assassin, whose eyes widened innocently. Harri had become rather adapt at reading Natasha though, and saw the thinly veiled pleading expression. Harri scowled darkly and held up three fingers. "I remember three things, and only three things, about that mission. One; it went pear-shaped from nearly the very beginning and it got worse before it got better. Two; once it was completed, I actively tried to forget it ever happened with great enthusiasm. Which I was highly successful in doing and I greatly dislike the attempt to bring back the memories," she finished, pointing an accusing finger at a bemused Natasha, who said nothing in return.
Silence reigned for a moment before Tony inevitably broke it, which was exactly what the Black Widow was hoping for. She did note with a hint of surprise that he was rather tentative when he asked; "And the third thing?"
"I promised Fury that if he ever mentioned anything about Budapest, Koi fish, foot fetishes and the name Don Louise in the same sentence in my presence, I would castrate him with his own eyepatch, painfully and without the need of magic."
Still glaring at the Russian, who seemed to brighten upon hearing her reply, Harri was only dimly aware of the horror and discomfort she had inspired in her male teammates; all of whom had never heard her speak in such a vicious and merciless way. A heavy thump however, had her turning to see the team's sharpshooter groaning into the table beside his shawarma.
"Barton, are you alright?" Bruce queried with concern, thinking the shawarma may not have agreed with their archer.
Clint raised his head and looked at Harri despairingly both ignoring and answering Dr. Banner in the same way; "You're the reason Fury was walking around with a bandage around his head for a week, aren't you?"
Harri blinked, then shifted her expression into something that was clearly less than impressed; "He thought it would make a difference to my threat. I quickly disillusioned him of that idea."
Clint groaned a second time and let his head thump loudly to the table top again; and with Natasha looking like a particularly satisfied, canary filled cat, the rest of the team felt they were missing something vital to understand just what it was they were seeing.
Steve looked around the table for some sign of the missing link; from a vaguely annoyed Harri and bemused Bruce to a calculating Tony and Thor, who just looked fascinated by the entire Midgardian display. Or that's what Steve assumed he was fascinated about. Steve sighed; "Well, at least I'm not the only one who doesn't understand something, this time."
"A novelty you shouldn't get used to, Cap," Tony quipped without missing a beat, invoking a snort from a still sulky Harri. Steve could feel annoyance rise in his chest but when he looked at Tony he found the other man already watching him carefully. Quirking an eyebrow, Steve decided to let it slide* with a good humored huff, when Tony only flashed him a shiny grin and said nothing else.
"How long have you known?" Clint agonised, bring the collective attention back on the despondent archer and the smug assassin.
"It's a recent discovery, but our bet still stands," Natasha explained nonchalantly, then leaned in close to Clint. "You owe me money, dinner and a back rub."
And it all made sense.
*I couldn't type "let it go" without thinking of Frozen...
As you can see, this is just a little drabble that popped into my head the other day. No really characterisation or plot.
All my other stories are at a bit of a standstill while I'm working on projects but they are still on my mind. This was just something short that I thought of and typed up, instead of developing it into a full beginning, middle, end plot.
Hope you enjoyed it all the same!
