1/6: The Golden Archers
Oliver Queen could no longer ignore the incessant buzzing of his phone. With apologies to those around him he answered with a clipped greeting, "Make it quick Barton, I'm entertaining here."
"Hello to you, too, buddy," was the jovial response. "Just wanted to confirm that Smoak and Romanoff made a brilliant team. There is a certain children's charity with their bank account not only restored, but also padded nicely and the hackers responsible... Well, hacked."
"Hacked? Do I want details?"
"No," was the simple reply.
Ollie smiled. "Thanks. I owe you one. Regards to Widow."
"Adding it to your tab as we speak, my friend. Enjoy the rest of your social schedule," said Clint in a truly mocking tone and the line went dead.
2/6: Open Doors
As she silently climbed the never-ending set of stairs to his apartment, Natasha wondered how she would approach him. Would she kick the door in and demand his attention? Would she knock softly and ask for entrance into his private space? Would she sit on the last step and wait for him to trip over her when he had to eventually make his way out?
As her cat-like footfall hit the final step, her questions were answered. "Door's open," Clint announced from just beyond the scratched and creaking wooden frame.
Reluctantly, she smiled. One of the toughest neighborhoods around and he sits with his door open. She mentally added that to her growing list of things to nag him about as she entered.
3/6: Crazy Cat Lady
When the old Ford pick-up truck came into view, Clint Barton took that as his cue to take a break from splitting firewood. As he took a quick look at the growing pile, he began to wonder how much would be enough. It was anybody's guess, really. Until they got solid intel from somebody - anybody! - about what was going on, they would have to live off the grid and fend for themselves. They were well-trained for this scenario, but it could easily drive them stir crazy.
And speaking of crazy… did she have another cat?
"Nat? What's in the box?" he called out to her as she pulled a large box from the passenger side of the truck cab.
She looked sheepishly over the shaking box. "He was on 'the list' for tomorrow. I couldn't leave him."
He walked up to her and put his strong hand on her shoulder. "I know. But…" and as he looked into her eyes all reason got washed away. She could kill him 18 different ways where he stood at this very second. Yet she nearly pleaded with him for the life of this cat. Just as she'd done with the other three she'd saved from the urban animal shelter that was two hours away. If there were any other trusted supply store, he'd send her there to stem the flow of incoming felines to the property. But, there wasn't. And so they welcomed another feline into their family.
At least they were "fixed" and there were plenty of mice and rodents around to keep them fed. She made sure the barn was warm and comfortable. Although, he had no doubt that he would be sharing his living room with them once the weather turned. As he continued to look into her eyes, he could have it no other way.
"Thank you. There's just so much out of my control right now. If I can give these guys a chance," she motioned behind Clint as the other three came running toward them, "then it makes this situation mean something. And let's be clear that that does NOT make me a crazy cat lady. Right?" she asked.
He couldn't help it. He laughed. A genuine, hearty laugh as he took the box out of her hands, put it on the ground, and opened it up. Out popped a skinny black cat with laser green eyes. After blinking his thanks to Clint, he walked around Nat with his tail wrapped her legs. Then he took off with the other three to get acquainted with his new territory.
"You know there's nothing I would deny you, right?" asked Clint as he wrapped her in a tight embrace.
"I was hoping you'd say that," she said as she stood on tip toes and gave him a peck on the cheek. She turned back to the truck and opened the tailgate.
"Meet Scooby!" she exclaimed as she helped a skinny black lab to the ground.
From the bedroom window above the porch, the scene played out in front of Lucky and Liho as they lounged together at the foot of the bed. Just another day in hiding for Strike Team Delta.
4/6: Sleeping in the Clouds
Natasha Romanoff had been around the world. She'd danced and romanced with the wealthiest .025% - men who put the so-called "1%" to shame. But this...
This bed was the most luxurious, decadent, and simply relaxing bed she could possibly imagine. With the balcony door open to the warm sea breeze, she was about to fall asleep inside a cloud and rest her body as well as her mind. She was safe. She earned this. Yes, she deserved this, she thought as her eyes closed.
...and then snapped back open at the sound of heavily-soled boots on the balcony. "Any room in there for me?" came the surprisingly relaxed voice of Clint Barton as he strolled in through the open door. "Perimeter's clean. Fury did a fine job."
"Not good enough if you got in," she replied sarcastically through a smile she couldn't hide.
"Who do you think sent me?"
"Figures," she sighed as she patted the empty spot to her right. "But if you start snoring and disrupt my beauty sleep, you're banished to the balcony. "
"Ummm, wait, you mean we're really actually sleeping?" was his shocked reply.
Another heavy sigh escaped her. "Yes. Sleep. Rest up. And then we'll see how good this bed really is."
With a smile, he crawled into Nat's cloud bed and snuggled up next her with a small kiss to her cheek. "See you in my dreams," he whispered.
Cheesy as it was, it was the Clint Barton she couldn't help falling in love with. They drifted off in a rare moment of peace and normalcy and the promise of what awaited each of them upon waking.
5/6: Guess Who's Showing Up for Dinner
Pepper Potts did not take "no" for an answer. So, when she called and asked Natasha to come to dinner on Thursday night while she was in town, it was less of an invitation and more along the lines of a command.
This was fine with Natasha. She felt directionless lately. She'd been searching for Clint for the past three months. While she'd never give up hope, her leads - and her optimism - were running thin. Getting a command was easier to deal with than wondering if her next decision would be her last.
A private dinner at Stark Tower would actually be a welcome distraction. And if she were completely honest with herself, she would admit to fishing for the invitation. She could easily come and go from New York without anyone knowing, but she needed to feel safe. If that momentary safety came wrapped in the annoying package of Tony Stark's presence, so be it. Yes, she was that desperate.
As she entered the tower, she felt even more than she'd hoped for - there was a blanket of rare calmness. Odd for anything associated with Stark.
She was greeted by Pepper with a big hug and gushing compliments over her new hair style. The hair was more a function of necessity, really. Allowing her hair to grow out and maintain its natural curl was just easy. But, according to Pepper, it looked simply gorgeous. Who was she to argue?
Tony seemed confused as to how to greet her. He was waffling between offering his hand and moving in for a hug. Very odd. What was he nervous about? She leaned in slightly and gave him a squeeze of his shoulders, which he seem to take as permission to wrap one arm around her waist and peck her on the cheek. "Romanoff," was what he settled on with a smile that truly shone in his eyes.
"Thank you both for having me over for dinner," Natasha said as they walked toward the dining room. "It's nice to be able to relax a little and I'm sure the food will be -" suddenly she stopped with the pleasantries. Rising from a chair on the right side of the table was the one and only Clint Barton. He looked tired, hurt, and very much alive.
"Oh my God," Natasha whispered as she moved in his direction without thinking or looking, her cat-like reflexes allowing her to dodge every piece of furniture in her path.
"Hey," was all Clint could muster as stood before him.
"Seriously," whispered Tony to Pepper in the great room. "That's the best Robin Hood can come up with?"
When he didn't get a response he looked directly at Pepper. She was smiling, but her lower lip was trembling and her eyes sparkled with unshed tears.
"Hey," Natasha quietly replied. "I've been looking for you."
Tony rolled his eyes and sighed, but could not find it in his heart to continue with the snarky comments. "Pep, should we leave them with Dum-E and hope he doesn't spill anything on either of them?"
Pepper bit her lip and nodded. "They'll be fine. Let's go," she whispered as they turned to attend their own dinner reservation, which would have them out of the tower for several hours.
After more than three months apart, the shocking end to their organization, a million unasked and unanswered questions, and the obvious set up of Natasha by Tony and Pepper, no words were exchanged. The touch and feel, each for the other, confirmed that they were alive. They were back together. What that meant could be explored later. Well, sooner rather than later, they both thought. While they silently agreed that the emotional connection needed healed before anything physical, neither was willing postpone a kiss any longer.
6/6: Rescue You
"Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage." - Lao Tzu
"Cap, I can't wait for back up!" exclaimed Natasha Romanoff. "It's already been longer than we planned," she yelled into the comm unit.
"You can't go in there alone, Natasha," pleaded Steve Rogers. "Barton will serve my head on a silver platter if anything happens to you."
"No, he'll blame Stark," was her matter-of-fact reply.
"What the hell? If anything, I shaved an hour off of our arrival time while bringing cool toys to play and not share with HYDRA," Tony indignantly responded.
"Stand down, Agent Romanoff, and wait for back up. That's an order," commanded Steve. Tony turned away from the controls of the quinjet to give him an approving nod.
"Sorry, Cap," came her out-of-breath voice punctuated with grunts, groans, and surprised shouts from HYDRA's first line of defense at their remote island bunker. "I'd be defying those orders even if SHIELD were not in shambles. I hope you understand." And with that, she shut her comm link off.
After a heavy sigh, Steve looked at Tony. "Gettin' us there as fast as I can, Cap," promised Tony.
It was only a few minutes later that the quinjet landed and Tony - in full-blown Iron Man armor - and Cap entered the bunker. "Ya know, I gotta hand it to Robin Hood. Getting that coded message to Pepper was a pretty tricky hack job. If SHIELD doesn't claw its way back, he might have a future with Stark Industries," stated Tony thoughtfully as they easily dismissed the few remaining guards they encountered.
As they entered the main area, they were greeted with an impossible scene. A bloody and battered Black Widow sat with her back to an equally bloody and battered and noticeably thin Hawkeye. They leaned against each other for support while keeping high-powered weapons trained on the HYDRA leadership.
As their teammates quickly subdued the enemy, a simultaneous chorus of "What the hell took you so long?" escaped from Strike Team Delta. It was not dignified with a response.
A short time later both Natasha and Clint were loaded and made comfortable in the quinjet for the flight home. As was their usual routine, they took turns taking inventory of each other's injuries and doing field dressings. They were silent and completely oblivious to anyone else.
"Thanks, Tash," Clint stated simply.
"For saving your ass? Any time. You know that," was her quiet reply.
"When I have the energy, I'm going to give you a very pointed lecture about never doing that again. The odds were clearly not in your favor. You could've been killed," he growled. Then he added softly, "And that would've killed me."
"SHIELD may be destroyed, but this is still our job," was her attempt to end the conversation.
"What you did back there - for me - was above and beyond. I won't have you risk your life for mine ever again. Period. End of story," he stressed as he looked directly into her eyes.
"You have to know I would never do that for anyone else but you," she whispered and cupped his face in her hands.
He was so shocked by the emotion behind the words that he didn't know how to respond. He continued to be mesmerized by her eyes.
"I had a lot of time to think while we tracked you down. I did a lot of reading to calm my nerves. I found a quote. I was going to share this with you in private, but now seems like a good time," she said as she moved her hands from his face to entwine her fingers with his.
"I no longer believe love to be childish," she said. "Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage. I believe that to be true. That's why I was able to take on a HYDRA outpost. And win. My love for you gave me courage. Your love for me gave me strength. It's that simple," she stated.
He leaned in and kissed her deeply. "If that's your idea of simple, remind me to not complicate things," he said through a radiant smile.
"Deal," she agreed as she leaned back in to continue their kiss.