Thanks for reading! As always, eternal gratitude to VanillaAshes, my lovely beta and friend.

Chapter 4
Operation W.A.L.K. O.F. S.H.A.M.E.
"Fast Out of the Gate" Part I

Her eyes opened, and she blinked slowly in the morning sunlight, slowly becoming aware of her surroundings. Bobbi yawned and turned over, the twinge between her thighs a none-too-subtle reminder of her activities last night. Suddenly she was face to face with Hunter, who was up on one elbow watching her. "I expected you'd be gone by now," she said truthfully, surprised that she had not immediately noticed another presence in the room as she woke. Something about him must have made her completely let her guard down while she was asleep. Dangerous to say the least, but...well, it was Hunter.

"And I, you," he replied. He looked as if he had slept with one eye open the entire night, like he had been waiting for her to wake up—planning on interrupting the quiet exit she honestly couldn't say whether or not she would have made—but was shocked when she actually slept through the night. Now he was taking the time to observe her as the sunlight filtered in through the curtains and seemed to be enjoying the view.

"It is my place," she reminded him.

"Then it's a good thing neither of us left," he replied with a smirk, leaning forward and capturing her lips with his. His hand slid unashamedly down the length of her side, sliding the covers even further off her exposed body.

She kissed him back, turning back onto her side and leaning into him, no hesitation in her movements. "We should do this again sometime," she suggested.

Hunter moved his kisses down to her neck. "I intend to," he murmured, breath warm against her skin.

Bobbi shifted position slightly, allowing him more access. "Can I ask you a favor?" she said, closing her eyes.

She heard a muffled, "Sure," as his kisses migrated to her shoulder.

"Can we...keep this between us? S.H.I.E.L.D. would have something to say if they…" she began.

She felt Hunter lift his head and his gaze on her. She opened her eyes to his smirk, confused as to why he had stopped. "Your secret is safe with me; this is just me and you," he promised. Her gaze drifted to the clock on her nightstand as she settled back down, and all at once she sprang up, almost knocking him in the chin.

"I gotta go," she told him apologetically, sweeping discarded bits of clothing off the ground and chucking them haphazardly in his direction. His pants hit him in the face accidentally. He reluctantly began pulling them on.

"Usually there's breakfast first," he complained, and his shirt landed on his head as well—this time intentionally.

"Don't hang around in my apartment like a creep," she told him as she donned her specialist boots. "I come home armed."

"Duly noted," Hunter nodded. "When will I see you agai—?"

"I'll call you!" Bobbi said over her shoulder as she made her way out of the bedroom, grabbing her keys off the hook.

"Don't die out there, okay?" came his muffled reply as she closed the door behind her.

"Got it!" she shouted through it before turning and bolting down the stairs.

Twenty minutes later, Bobbi hurried through the doors to the Atrium. She slowed only long enough to get scan her S.H.I.E.L.D. ID at the metal detectors, allowing her access and recording her entrance without pinging the two batons on her back and the small emergencies knives in her boots. She made a beeline for Fury's office—how the hell had the one day she had an early morning meeting turned out to be the one day after she'd met someone like Hunter? Then again, she hadn't exactly been planning on seeing him the next morning.

She belted around the corner and came to an abrupt stop, nearly crashing into May and Hill.

"Are you running late?" Hill asked, noticing the rush. "I thought you normally come in early to work out?"

Bobbi's mind whirled silently, but all she could come up with was, Crap.

"Or did you have your work out at home?" May suggested, smirking.

"The British SAS guy? Bobbi!" Maria exclaimed. She turned to May. "I thought you said she was swearing off any more one night stands after Pierre?"

"I did. I am. I mean, nothing happened," Bobbi said. Even she could tell how unconvincing that sounded, and she quickly put her guard up. "I'm late for a meeting with Fury," she told them, moving past them and walking off.

"This conversation is not over," Hill called after her. Bobbi gave a disgruntled wave of acknowledgement over one shoulder.

"You're late," Fury greeted her upon arrival in his office. He was standing behind his desk, facing away from her.

"I'm sorry, sir," she apologized. "Is there a mission?"

"Yes," the dark-skinned man with an eyepatch laid a file on his desk in front of her. "Get Barton out of my gym before we have to install actual monkey bars."

She frowned, confused. "Sir?"

"Deliver this to Agent Barton," he clarified, tapping the folder. "He's been benched for far too long, and he's taken to perching in the gym's rafters and observing everyone from up there. Some of the lower level cadets have started spreading rumors about how he could get up there—thus the monkey bars. The last thing I need is a report on my desk about some loose-lipped junior agent spewing tall tales about a government assassin with superpowers around D.C."

"I see, sir," Bobbi smiled. "Does this mean I get my partner back?"

"It does," Fury appraised her with his one good eye. "In that file are his medical release forms along with your next mission debrief. It starts at noon."

"Yes, sir, right away," she nodded.

"Agent Morse," he stopped her at the door. "Try not to be late next time."

"Yes, sir." She walked out of his office, folder tucked under one arm and an extra bounce in her step. Her last few missions had been without Clint. While she was perfectly capable of completing them on her own, she liked having someone to watch her six—especially if that person was one of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s finest, a master assassin who could take out an enemy at a hundred yards with a single arrow. He also was a pretty damn good sparring partner, and he never held their history—a few months of dates, before she'd realized he wasn't what she was looking for—against her.

She'd almost made it to the gym before she was ambushed by May and Hill, this time with Coulson in tow. She rolled her eyes at all of them. "Are your jobs really so boring that you've got nothing better to do than pester me about my sex life?"

"So you did do it!" Hill pounced.

May turned to Coulson, smug, and held out her hand. He scowled and pulled fifty bucks from his suit pocket, slapping it into her palm. "You bet on me?" Bobbi asked, marginally annoyed.

"I didn't think you would," Coulson shrugged.

"He didn't see your dress," May said. "You are going to return that, aren't you? I did take that from the S.H.I.E.L.D. undercover-outfits warehouse." Bobbi looked away, momentarily distracted, and May added, "It is still in one piece?"

"Shut up!" Bobbi exclaimed, attention refocusing on May in indignation.

"Details," May prompted.

Bobbi scoffed. "Yeah, right. Certainly not when all you guys are going to do is tease me about anything I say."

"Well, that means there is something to tease you about," Coulson said.

"I guess I'll read all about it in your official mission report," Hill told her with a triumphant smile. "And I want it thorough, Morse. Every juicy tidbit."

"Including after we left the restaurant?" Bobbi countered with a raised eyebrow. She laughed at Hill's expression. "Thought not." She looked at the three of them. "I have actual work to do, and I'm sure you do too, so…" She made a little waving-off motion with her fingers and they reluctantly let her go. Bobbi hurried forward another few paces and opened the door to the gym she'd just spotted Barton slipping into. It shut behind her as she looked around, scanning the area for him. There were two female agents on the treadmills and an overly buff specialist at the weights, but no sign of her partner.

Remembering what Fury had said, Bobbi looked to the ceiling just in time to see a dark shape flit across the rafters. She smiled to herself, shaking her head. Even though she worked with this man, his agility never ceased to amaze her at times. That and his overabundance of patience—waiting, testing the wind, and waiting some more for the perfect shot. "Yo, Barton!" she shouted upwards, not caring how unprofessional it sounded. From Fury's account, the agent had been wreaking some havoc around here in his copious spare time anyway. It was time to rein him in, get the Hawk to abandon the little nest he seemed to have built himself up there. There were plenty of nests to be made on other missions, but not here for the goggling eyes of the younger agents.

Barton didn't respond, so she headed for the tiny ladder that went about a fifth of the way up the wall. From there a small ledge was just within reach, and then a somewhat-sturdy cord hanging from the ceiling. After that...she didn't even want to think about it. She placed her hands on the bottom rungs of the ladder. "Barton, if you make me kill myself to come up there and get you, I'm going to murder you!"

A second later, a large shape appeared at the top of the slick steel pole—an odd part of the structure of the gym in her opinion, but Bobbi was no architect—and her partner came sliding down it. He released his grip and let himself fall to the ground for the last foot or so and then stood up fully, brushing off his hands on his pants. "How could you have murdered me? You'd already be dead," he pointed out.

"I'd have come back as a demonic spirit and gotten the job done," Bobbi told him flatly, but her eyes betrayed the teasing nature of her statement. She thrust the file folder into his hands. "Welcome back to active duty, Agent Barton."

"Finally, Agent Morse." He opened it eagerly, careful not to let any of its highly-classified contents spill out. "Myanmar, tomorrow morning bright and early. You ready?"

"Always," Bobbi joked.

Bobbi parked her car outside her building with a sigh. She hadn't had a chance to come back to her apartment after waking up with Hunter due to lengthy mission briefings, and she sincerely hoped he didn't mess anything up in her absence. And that he actually left.

She slid out of her car and walked into the building. As she was nearing the top of the stairs, she noticed something red and green in front of her door. Upon getting closer she saw that the item in question was half a dozen roses tied with a yellow ribbon and nestled in a clear plastic sleeve. "Seriously, Hunter—how discreet," she muttered to herself before bending down and picking them up. She opened her front door and walked into her apartment. Dropping the flowers on the table, she locked the door behind her, pulled out her gun and checked her whole place—making sure her home was both empty and undamaged. The only disconcerting thing she found was that he didn't bother making the bed, but she could live with that. She walked back into the kitchen and picked up the roses to read the note.

Had fun last night. —Lance

Bobbi was tempted to throw the roses out, but she didn't. Instead she pulled out a vase her mother had given her for some birthday or another and filled it with water. She pulled the flowers from the plastic sheath and inserted them, moving the vase to the back corner of the counter. She'd throw them out when they died. A new thought occurred to her, and Bobbi laughed and shook her head when she realized the full extent of Hunter's plan—she was now obliged to call him and thank him for the flowers, lest she appear ungrateful.

Pulling out her phone, Bobbi set a pot of water on the stove to boil before dialing his number.

"Hello?" he answered after two rings.

"Hey, you," she said with a smile. "Thanks for the flowers."

Then she hung up.

Two could play that game.

Hope you liked it! I would love to hear your thoughts in a review :)