After SHIELD went to shit, the team decided that they should spend more time together. Though the decision was unspoken. They all knew that one day they might have need of these people, and it was better to know exactly who had your back in life-and-death situations. The two people that seemed to become fast friends were Natasha and Steve, a fact that didn't go unnoticed by Clint, and especially Tony.

Natasha had finally stopped obsessively straightening her hair and Clint was very happy about that decision. He wasn't a huge fan of the pin-straight hair that Natasha saw fit for whatever reason, he missed her curls. More specifically, he missed running his hair through those curls.

The team had watched a movie the night before. It was some sappy comedy that makes you laugh but you can't really remember the title the next day. The three people who had had the most invested in SHIELD were usually the first to rouse in the morning though one of them had a different early morning routine. Clint's first course of action was to of course make an entire pot of coffee. For himself. It wasn't that he couldn't function without coffee in the morning, he'd had to do that on many a mission before, it's just that he felt like having 30 ounces of steaming, bitter, store-brand, black coffee all to himself was probably one of the best ways to start the day. Everyone else thought it was absurd.

Natasha and Steve, being slightly more sane than Clint, usually started out their days with a short run or a brief stint in the gym. Today was no different, save for the fact that when the two came into the kitchen this morning they were laughing. The fact that they were laughing wasn't all that odd, what was odd was the fact that Natasha was usually more reserved in her expressions of emotions, preferring to save those for more private moments. But today, Natasha was laughing her "that was really fucking funny" laugh that was throaty and squeaky and everything that Clint loved. On second thought, it probably meant nothing, or, well, Clint didn't want to think about the or. He probably just hadn't had enough coffee to really be awake and capable of higher thought processes yet. Probably.

Later that day when the rest of the team was up and running, Clint walked into the living room and just happened to catch the end of something Tony was saying, which is never a good thing.

"-and anyway Rogers, do I really have to tell you that flirting with a woman whose codename is Black Widow is a terrible idea?"

Thank god Natasha wasn't in the room because she would have literally ripped Tony's eyes out for saying that. Touchy subject.

Clint and Natasha had been partners for longer than any of the other team had even known each other so everyone knew there was an incredible amount of trust built between the two, but they all also suspected that trust wasn't the whole story. Clint and Natasha were never touchy feely in public but the way that they talked to each other, looked at each other, there was another level of something there, but no one had enough guts to bring it up.

Steve's eyes went wide for a second when Clint walked into the room but immediately tried to play it off like nothing happened.

"I'm getting the feeling that I'm interrupting something here." Clint said.

Tony was the one to respond, "I was just giving the captain here some worth while life advice."

"Uh huh." Was Clint's response.

Steve got up and cleared his throat awkwardly. "I'm gonna get a glass of water, you guys want anything?"

Both Tony and Clint shook their heads and Steve left the room.

"Now, before you go threatening my life with whatever weapon you have stashed in your pockets, let me explain."

That night after dinner, Steve came up to Clint as he was putting dishes in the dishwasher, which was cause enough for celebration.

"Hey, Clint?"

"What's up?" Clint asked.

Steve had steeled himself for this conversation, knowing that it had potential to go south because whatever was or wasn't going on between the two assassins, Clint was obviously protective of Natasha, and vice versa.

"I just wanted to clear things up, about earlier I mean. Tony was just messing with me because I think he's jealous that he can't make Natasha laugh that hard. I think it's a blow to his ego or something."

Clint chuckled, which Steve took as a good sign and continued.

"When she and I were working together while SHIELD was imploding she kept trying to set me up with women. Whenever we weren't about to die she had another option. Just last night she mentioned one of them again, I think she has a lip piercing and Tony overheard and, well, took things too far."

"I know Cap," Clint interrupted. It wasn't that he didn't appreciate Steve's willingness to explain himself, it's just that he felt so stupid for thinking that Steve was trying to steal Natasha from him. "Tony told me after you left earlier. And I understand, Natasha can be, insistent sometimes. Like-"

"Like what, Barton?"

Clint turned around to see Natasha standing behind him with her signature smirk and eyebrow raise. Steve felt like this was a good time to let the two be alone and went back out to the rest of the team.

"Like, really pretty and stuff." Was Clint's reply.

"You really think I'm pretty?"

This time it was Clint's turn to raise an eyebrow. Natasha let the game drop and looked at Clint more seriously.

"What's been up with you lately?" She asked. "You've been distant at times but clingy at others…?" She let the question hang.

"I know." Clint said, looking down at the ground before chuckling to himself.

"Did I miss a joke or something, Barton?" Natasha asked.

Clint looked up to meet her eyes. "This team has been through a lot lately and I know we all want to know each other better and you've been doing better than me at that, but I guess I was just, jealous." He looked down again, thinking about how stupid that sounded out loud.

This time Natasha chuckled. It made Clint look up at her in confusion. He was expecting her to be angry or at least want to smack him. "I get it." She said.

"You get it?" Clint asked, no less perplexed than before. "Were you, jealous…?"

Natasha stepped closer to him, completely invading his personal space and reached up to play with the collar on his shirt. "Oh, totally. You know, for a second there I really thought that Bruce was gonna steal you away from me. Thought I might have to fight him for you."

Clint smiled and shook his head before resting his forehead against Natasha's. There weren't in the view of the rest of the team but this was still uncharted territory for them. This wasn't one of their rooms; someone could walk in at any moment.

But the thing was, they didn't care.

"You're just saying that to make me feel better." Clint said with a mock-pout.

"How about this then." Natasha shifted her arms to loop around his neck and run her fingers along the short hair at the base of Clint's head while Clint wrapped his arms around Natasha's waist. "You have nothing to be jealous of, Clint. You'd know that if you spent more time with the other guys. Sure, they can be assholes sometimes. Well, mainly Tony can be an asshole sometimes, but that's not really a redeeming characteristic. Steve's a good guy to have in your corner, a good friend. He would never try anything to get in between us. Besides, I think you and I have been found out."

"Yeah," Clint agreed. "Steve and Tony were tiptoeing around me earlier when I overheard Tony say something about Steve flirting with you."

"You don't need to worry about losing me." Natasha said, eyes showing words left unsaid. "I'm yours, Clint."

Clint closed the space between them and his heart skipped when their lips met. It was passionate, but not a hot, fiery, fast passion. It was slow and tender and, loving.

The pair didn't have much time to themselves before they heard a long low whistle that could only have been from one Tony Stark. Natasha pulled away cheeks turning pink slightly.

"Well it looks like Romanoff's plan to make Bird Boy jealous worked. Maybe a little too well." Tony gossiped to the rest of the team, who was standing somewhere behind him.

Natasha dropped her face into the crook of Clint's neck in defeat and then both she and Clint outstretched an arm and gave Tony the middle finger, never letting each other go.

"Mine." Clint muttered half angrily, half jokingly.

That time Natasha did smack him.