Thanks to the people who reviewed and are following this story. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it. Thanks to AgentEquus for betaing!

6

"Alright, guys, let's call it a day. Thank you for your hard work," Maria announced, clapping her hands to indicate the rehearsal was done. Natasha was relieved she wasn't the only one who almost crumbled to the floor out of exhaustion. Next to her, Clint looked like he could use a good nap, yet was grinning his usual megawatt smile. She accepted his hand to help her stand up – she was supposed to practice a move on the floor – and marveled the strength in his arm when he pulled her up.

"So, what's your first impression?" he asked, chipper as ever. Natasha groaned.

"I didn't realize rehearsal was another word for 'torture'."

Jasper and Bruce were heading towards the exit. Rhodey was spread out on the carpet. Only Thor –who had joined them for practice with two people from another crew –looked passably rested. Phil and Maria were talking actively in their corner, the young woman's skin glowing from the sweat. Barton tapped on her shoulder to get her attention.

"Say, I know a coffee place around the corner. They make killer waffles if you're interested."

Natasha didn't hesitate.

"Let me take a shower and I'm right behind you."

The coffee shop did offer killer waffles, as Clint had promised. They also had awesome smoothies and cookies, and the staff was actually friendly. He explained that most of the crew came here after practice whenever they had the opportunity so the waiters kinda knew them by now. This was evidenced by the fact that Clint didn't even have to place his order; the small, good-looking waitress merely asked if he wanted the usual.

"You never answered me," Barton said as she was savoring a bite of chocolate-strawberry waffle with sugar icing. "What do you think of the training sessions?"

They had been training for a week already, more than enough time for her to make her own opinion. Natasha took her time chewing and swallowing.

"Tiring," she shot back, and he smiled knowingly. "I mean, Maria's a bit of a slave-driver and I'm not entirely used to that dance style yet so it's understandable I guess…"

"And believe it or not, Maria was totally managing you," he replied with that amused grin on his face. "You know, half of the guys actually spend about a half hour doing abs and stretching every night to keep up. Ya might wanna start that."

Natasha groaned again, took another bite, but didn't bitch about it. It made sense, having to reinforce your body some way so it could support the exercise. Clint didn't attempt to continue a conversation after that, so they ate in a relatively comfortable silence. It wasn't until they finished their respective orders that Clint took a sensibly deep breath and asked:

"So uh…it's Saturday. Do you wanna hang out if you don't have any plan this afternoon?"

Natasha opened her mouth to agree, but a little bell rang in her mind. She genuinely felt disappointed when she replied, "Sorry, I'm going on a date with James. I've been kind of neglecting him lately."

Clint was a great guy, she was coming to realize. Even after knowing him for barely a couple of days, she felt they would be close friends in time. But then, she had other… acquaintances and responsibilities, even if Bobbi was a pain and James a bit groping, they were still her friends. She just wished it didn't feel like a chore.

"Oh." Clint looked even more disappointed. "Well, if you ever change your mind, you have my number," He added, trying to act cheerfully again.

She gave him a sorry smile and checked her watch.

"Speaking of which, I gotta go." She pulled a couple of bills and left it on the table. "Thanks again for this morning. It was really helpful."

"Sure," Clint replied with a fake smile. "Have fun."

He watched her Natasha with a pang in his chest, way after she pushed the door on her way out like the horribly, horribly whipped guy he was. Apparently, he wasn't the only one.

"Aw, ain't that sad. You got dumped by your girlfriend, birdbrain?" Clint stiffened. He knew that voice. He knew that voice way too well. "Mind if I sit with ya, fella? I have a feeling you need some briefing about ladies. But don't worry, Iron Man knows it all."

Tony Stark fell into the seat Natasha was occupying barely two minutes earlier. Clint glared at him.

"What is it you want?" he asked dryly. Stark smirked.

"Like I said, you looked sad. Let me…"

"You're the bigges' womanizer in town, Tony," Clint reminded him, none too gently. "I don' want your advice."

"But my heart belongs to one alone," the dark-haired man replied with a dramatic shrug, and before the young man could reply, he added: "So that cute little redhead already has a boyfriend? She's the chick you've been pinning for the past three years?"

"Five years," Clint corrected him halfheartedly. "But she's got a boyfriend already." Tony's grin widened.

"Don't worry 'bout that, birdbrain. You heard the way she talked about the guy? She wanted to go as much as she'd want to sit on a cactus."

The younger man shrugged.

"Doesn't mean a thing."

"Don't be so pessimistic. You liked her even when you were dating that blonde bitch, right?" Clint winced, a bit ashamed of that time. "Well she'll eventually notice and believe me she'll dump that jerk for you." Clint didn't answer. Tony shrugged. "Anyway, don't give up, birdbrain. You'll nail her." He stood up, patted Clint's shoulder and walked away.

Clint stared at him, baffled and annoyed at the same time. It wasn't until the man had left that he realized amusingly that Tony had, actually, never gave him the aforementioned piece of advice.

Natasha was bored. Utterly, horribly, out-of-her-skull bored. The movie she and James had gone to see was a predictable, insipid plot filled with testosterone and big muscles - exactly a guy's thing. Usually she enjoyed that sort of mindless stuff, but being there with James was seriously tampering with her mood. She should have accepted Clint's offer, Natasha realized in retrospect. At least she knew she'd have fun… She sighed deeply. Perhaps it was time for James and her to have a talk. Their relationship wasn't the same as when they first dated, and she figured they either needed to seriously work on it, or just give up. Some small – okay, maybe big - part of her hoped for the latter.

"Hey, Nat?"

She suddenly realized said boyfriend was staring at her oddly, and visibly upset.

"You were zoning out again."

Zoning out was his expression for when she just stopped listening to incessant chatter (most of the time, Bobbi's) while pretending to do pay attention. In this case, he was asking if she had followed anything of the movie.

"Nah, just tired," she replied with a small shrug. "You ready to go, then?"

They headed to another coffee place, somewhere with a killer snack bar, where Natasha hoped she could tackle that particular subject fast. James didn't stop babbling about how great the movie was and she let him talk. They were about to enter the snack bar when he suddenly blurted:

"By the way, I invited Bobbi to join us. I figured it wouldn't be a problem."

Natasha didn't even have time to reply; the guy had already pushed the open the door and passed the entrance. Now that was a low blow; weren't they supposed to be together alone? Never mind, she thought angrily. That would just be another little thing to put on her 'list'. The blonde jumped up happily at their sight, and Natasha remembered she hadn't seen much of her either. Strangely, she hadn't missed her at all.

"You haven't been around that much," Bobbi complained the moment they sat down. Natasha shrugged.

"I got a lot going on, sorry."

"Stuff more important that your friends? You didn't even come to Friday night's party!"

"I declined that one three times, you knew I wasn't coming," the redhead replied dryly. Partying wasn't as fun as it had been before, and she really didn't want to miss a rehearsal. She had more fun sweating. Bobbi pouted.

"But we're friends! And I needed you there. Thomas Black wouldn't get off my back!"

"That's because you flirt with him too much," she replied, deadpan, and not a bit sorry for her. Bobbi frowned, and even James stared at her oddly.

"What's going on with you?" the blonde asked. "You've never been this disagreeable before." Natasha snorted. Disagreeable? Really? "That must be because of the time you're spending with those losers. I haven't said anything because I know you are a perfectly respectable girl, but really, stop hanging out with them."

"Will you stop talking about them like that?" Natasha snapped, fed up with her friend's attitude. "What have they done to you?"

The blonde stared at her, surprised.

"Those people will never have a true career, won't be useful to society. Why bother to grant them any attention?" James snorted in what seemed to be agreement. Encouraged by his response, she added: "They should know their place and-"

The last words barely made it out of her mouth. Cold water hit her face in a not so gentle way.

Natasha was, contrary to appearances, a very impulsive person. For her parents' sake, she had learned to master her emotions and impulses and bury them. She couldn't release them so easily in front of her so-called friends, either, and she had swallowed a lot of naughty comments. But insulting the very people who had helped her out when her two "friends" currently sitting in front of her had not bothered wondering whether she had made it home safe after leaving Bobbi's house? Those same people who had quickly welcomed her in their crew in spite of their initial reluctance to let her? That was the last straw.

She couldn't punch Bobbi - although feeling something crack under her hand would have felt good, she knew a glass would catch less attention than a fistfight - so she went to her glass and threw its content to her head. The whole bar fell silent and stared at them as Bobbi shrieked.

"Are you crazy?!" James shouted, hurrying to the blonde's side. Whispers were rising around the trio, and the entire place was staring at her with awe and a little bit of fear. Natasha shrugged.

"Cool down, I didn't hit her."

"My makeup is ruined! I'll tell your mother!"

"Oh, grow up," Natasha snorted and both James and Bobbi glared at her.

Some customers nearby smirked. The rest didn't deem said distraction worth their attention and returned to their chat. Natasha just wanted to laugh at Bobbi's reaction, but James' caught her attention. He usually disagreed with the blonde's choice of words (he didn't care who she called losers, but he had some semblance of a sense of respect, or at least Natasha thought he had) and would laugh the incident off. It was just water, after all. She stared at Bobbi, then James, then back at Bobbi. The way he held her, the way she almost cuddled him…

"You slept together."

James was a virgin when they got together. And Bobbi had been attracted to him from the start. The evidence hit her so hard she wondered how come she had missed this before. Hadn't he said, "C'mon, darling, you must be the only one in the whole high school who hasn't gotten any?" not too long ago? It was so obvious, Natasha suddenly realized. The way James stuck with Bobbi when they argued, the way he'd look at her sometimes, the sneaking glances and brushes she caught… Bobbi's odd references to the boxing world and James' sudden, strange knowledge of nail and shoes suddenly made sense. When neither denied, Natasha knew she was right.

"Figures," she muttered, shaking her head. It hurt her, of course, but not as much as she thought it would've.

"Nat," James started, "I'm –"

"Save it," Natasha replied, coolly cutting him off. She rose from her seat and left enough money to pay her drink. James immediately left Bobbi's side and followed her.

"I'm sorry, Nat, I truly am!" he said. "It was just a fling, it meant nothing I swear!"

The redhead ignored him and headed towards the exit. People were watching them, loving the drama of it all, but she ignored them.

"That's not what you told me!" Bobbi huffed indignantly.

"You shut up!" James hissed at her, narrowing his eyes. Part of Natasha wanted to explode in anger, but the other just wanted to laugh. She never truly loved – or even liked - James. He was just… convenient, she realized.

"Whatever," The redhead muttered and put her hand on the door.

She was caught off guard when he grabbed her wrist and pulled her back.

His face was torn apart by fury and anguish and his grip strong, but she didn't flinch.

"You are not leaving me!" he howled. A customer in the back started rising. The barista was eyeing them carefully. Natasha didn't hesitate: in one swift motion, she twisted her wrist and brought her knuckles down on the inside of James' wrist. "OW! Fu-" his grip was knocked loose and she gave him a harsh slap for good measure. Natasha was suddenly glad for those self-defense classes her parents made her take.

"Don't come after me, Barnes," she growled under the alternately approving and wincing stares of the other customers, and Bobbi's horrified one. Natasha pushed the door opened and walked out of the snack bar, finally feeling free…