Thank you so much to my wonderful BETA Binne who helped me with this chapter! (and who I email at 2300 with a chapter and replies at 0600!) Also to all the wonderful reveiwers, followers and those who favorited this story, thanks for the short!

This chapter is short but the next one I promise you guys will like. Bonus chapter for who figures it out! Anyway, thank you again. Happy reading!


4 - Tony Stark

Tony Stark walked by the living room engrossed in his tablet and the design he was trying to build for the Iron Man suit that he didn't notice the redhead sitting on the couch wringing her wrists to calm her nerves down.

"Stark!" Natasha exclaimed sitting up from her spot on the couch and approaching the billionaire. She had been waiting forever for that man to do his usual kitchen run. Stark greeted her with a raise of his eyebrow seeing the difference in her stance. "I need you to hack into the SHIELD records, now."

"Why should I do that?" Stark asked her with a raised eyebrow. He would gladly hack the SHIELD database for her; he was only wondering why she just doesn't do it herself.

"Clint missed his check point," Natasha stated. "I can't hack into his mission files because Fury and Maria had it encrypted so that I can't access it with what I know. I'm learning but I just... It's taking me forever to figure it out. Come on, Stark. I know how much you like hacking SHIELD."

"Barton missed his checkpoint? How long ago was that?"

"Five hours ago," Natasha stated. "I only know because he usually calls me after checking in with Maria. He said he would have called five hours ago. Clint never forgets to call, Stark."

That was another thing that piqued Stark's interest. Why would Barton be calling the assassin after checking in with SHIELD? It was something like calling a girlfriend to check in.

"I'll do it."

Tony sat down next to where Natasha had been sitting followed by her as he tapped all over his tablet. Natasha looked over his shoulder to figure out what he was doing, needing to figure out what the genius knew about hacking would not only help her in the field but save her from further embarrassment of asking for help to see where her partner was.

"He's in Paraguay," Tony read off the short case report. "He checked in with Hill five hours ago, like he was supposed to."

Natasha looked at him confused then grabbed his tablet. "He checked in?"

"That's what it says, Red."

Natasha scrolled through the mission brief. "Why didn't he... why didn't he call me?"

"Why WOULD he call you?" Stark replied, "You're not his handler."

"I'm his partner!" Natasha replied standing up from the couch to the window. "It's just something we do, alright?"

"You two are just weird."

"You wouldn't understand…"

"But do you know what I do understand? I understand how it feels… to love someone so much that you need to know they're ok… I think you love him."

"No, I don't."

"You do," Stark said observing her through his reading glasses. "For a spy who knows everything that's going around you, you sure as hell don't get what's going on with you. I'm a genius remember? I know these things."

"Look Stark, I appreciate you going into SHIELD files and getting that info from me, but I would appreciate it if you just... left me alone. "

Stark shook his head. "Pepper used to do that, you know. She used to sit there and wait for me to call her, just for me to make some smartass comment, even after seeing me on TV knowing that I was ok. I saw the videos of her just worrying until I would let her know that I was ok. It didn't matter if the reporters were going on about how I did what, she wanted to know for herself," Tony started as he met Natasha's gaze and seeing it soften. "You should talk to Pepper."

"What you and Pepper have is completely different from what Barton and I have—or don't have for that matter."

"I wouldn't be too sure of that."

It was then that Natasha's phone rang causing her to jump to the couch where her phone was. That tone was specifically assigned to a text from Clint.

34535610 .-.

Natasha looked up at Stark in panic. "Call the team, get them suited up."

"What's going on?"

"Clint needs help."

"How do you know that?" Stark asked peering over her shoulder this time and looking over at the message that Clint had sent her.

"They're Long-Lat coordinates, Stark. He's asking for backup."

"Jarvis, Assemble the Avengers," Stark said typing again on his tablet arranging the logistics of the mission and grabbing the coordinates from Natasha.

"Right away, sir."


Review?