It was the little things that count.
Tony Stark may be oblivious to many things but the relationship between his two teammates from S.H.I.E.L.D was not one of them. He likes watching them interact because it's just utterly different from the way Pepper and him function. For example, when Pepper gets mad, she screams and kicks him out of his own building to nurse his hurt pride and wonder exactly what he did wrong this time that would be amended with actual German chocolate, lovely bouquet of lilies, and two tickets to the Chinese Opera in Beijing.
Pepper is sensible but she loves it when he compliments her on her dress or the way she styles her hair. Her eyes light up whenever he's on a rant about some new scientific project and even though she doesn't understand even a tenth of what he's saying, when he takes a breath to look back at her, she's there, a wide smile on her face, laughter creeping into the wrinkles around her eyes.
They go on dates and remember specific days to celebrate their anniversaries on. Like the day Pepper finally got her name on one of his building's lease or the day when he successfully completed all the work on the new Avengers Tower. Sure they might be a bit unconventionally sometimes but damn, they're pretty normal compared to the two superspies.
For one thing, when Natasha gets angry at Clint which is rare but happens quite frequently especially after a mission, she doesn't explode like Pepper does. Instead, she gets all quiet, spending her time with Bruce in the lab or in the gym with the Captain. And Clint doesn't apologize with roses or her favourite snack or even with two tickets to whatever her favourite show or movie is.
He would just come up behind Natasha and put his hand against the small of her back, as if that makes everything all better. Tony doesn't get it but he supposes it's their system because whenever Clint does something like that, the next day, Natasha would be her normal self again.
Another weird thing that Tony had noticed about the two is that Clint rarely complements Natasha. But then again, maybe the archer has seen it all. After all, the two have been working for at least 10 years, give or take a few, so perhaps after so many numerous missions, there is only so much compliments you can say that the other would believe you on.
Like when Natasha was showing off the new tight emerald dress Fury had given her for the upcoming mission where she was to get information from some Swedish diplomat. Steve had blushed a bit and commented on how her eyes matched the colour of the outfit. Thor had lamented for about half an hour on her beauty and how the 'flow of her hair is exactly like the great sirens, those beauteous beasts!' Bruce had just said a simple, 'You look beautiful', before slinking back towards the lab. Tony had just settled on cat calling and winking which promptly stopped when Pepper nudged him hard in the stomach.
But Clint, he didn't do anything. All he did was hand Natasha the mission files while on his way out of the room. Then he patted her on the top of her head, a quick bop, before withdrawing his hand and went out the door. Just like that. There was Natasha in a skimpy green dress that dared called itself an outfit that revealed her every asset and Clint didn't even bat an eye. Just a tap on the head. No words said.
And yet, Tony had never seen Natasha look as content as she was when Clint did his little head pat thing on her. It was as if in the span of the two seconds it took for Clint to perform that gesture, a world of conversation had passed between the two.
And in a way, Tony muses one day while nursing his hangover, maybe there is all there is to it. A simple gesture, a kind word, transforms the usually sharp angled woman into someone softer.
In the end, it's like a touch of magic.
Author's Note: I wanted to do a parallel of the relationships in the Avengers and this story popped into my head. Pepper and Tony's relationship is so different compared to that of Clint and Natasha's. So viola. Hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it.
Reviews are much appreciated.