Oh god, despite the fact that I was itching to get Natasha into the story, this was such a tough chapter to get on paper! Darcy, yeah. Clint, pretty easy as well. But Tash? Jeez, she was hard to write!
Thank you and welcome to the new people following this story – the fact that you are reading my drivel and giving positive reviews makes me both proud of my story and terrified that I might end up disappointing you all.
That said –on with it!
"Well", Darcy mused as she sliced peppers, "that could have gone a whole lot worse".
She stood firm with Valerie squarely pointed at her ex-roommates head. At this distance a hit was certain and her finger was itching to pull the trigger and unleash 50,000 volts into her body. "Natasha, you have three minutes to explain to me why I shouldn't just Tase your ass back to the Dark Ages, and you'd better make it good 'cause those Disney marathons don't mean shit anymore and – honestly – I miss them. Why Tommy, when you knew you had practically every student and half the faculty panting after your knickers?"
Natasha sat very still, looking remarkably unconcerned about a menacing weapon being pointed at her by a clearly upset woman. "He wasn't who you thought he was, Darcy. I was sent in to determine his threat level and find out exactly what he was up to. You were lucky to get out when you did".
"Not good enough. Two minutes", Darcy snarled. She noticed that Clint had backed up as far as the room would allow, a mixture of shock, alarm and curiosity on his face.
The red-head took a deep breath. "I'm a SHIELD agent. My name is Natasha Romanov, not Rushman as you were told. I'm a spy and I was undercover to investigate Tommy who had been on the Agency's radar for some time. He was involved in some heavy shit, Darcy. Believe me when I say you are better off without him in your life."
Darcy looked a little mollified by that and her arm dropped very slightly – she couldn't hear deception in the older woman's voice. "And you are here, waiting in the dark like a creepy stalker why?"
"I'm meant to be on mission elsewhere, but New Mexico wasn't that far and I intercepted some intelligence which I thought was rather pertinent to my partner". Darcy's eyes narrowed again and her Taser was re-levelled at Natasha. "Not that kind of partner Darcy, I swear! Work only!"
Clint spoke suddenly, his mind operating at full speed from the moment that Valerie had put in an appearance through half-remembered mission de-briefs correlated with the timing and various cover stories. "Tommy? Tomas Sforzka? That was your deadbeat, drunk ex-boyfriend? Jesus, do you have a lucky rabbits foot or something, Darce?"
Her attention shifted, "How the fuck..?"
"Tomas, Sforzka, premier weapons smuggler on the Eastern Seaboard north of the Mason-Dixon, branched into human trafficking for prostitution eighteen months ago and picked up by SHIELD last year. Currently being held high-security prison". Natasha nodded at Clint's recall.
Her Taser hit the floor with a thud. "What? I… What?" and she was pulled into a strong hug. She was shivering (she guessed from the shock of a blow to the head followed by discovering that she'd Tased a major criminal) and Clint's hand was soothing her hair gently and how the fuck had he got across the room so fast and it felt so good that it made her want to cry in the best possible way. After a few minutes of putting every ounce into fighting her own body her mind won and she was able to pull back and glare at Natasha over Clint's deliciously lickable (really Darcy? Now?) bicep.
"You, I'm still pissed with. You lied to me for months *and* slept with my boyfriend. Yes, I now know that he was a criminal as well as being a total tool, but the principle stands". She took a deep breath, "But I forgive you, because it would be awesome to have someone else who can kill people in any one of fourteen ways with a teaspoon who I can call a friend. Also, that's a way less scary prospect than declaring you my enemy." She gently extricated herself from Clint's hold and, with him hovering at her shoulder like some sort of mother-hen (she would have to Have Words with him if he kept doing that but she kinda got it in this situation) stuck out her hand, and the two women shook.
"And now the formalities are done: I'm starving what with all the fun. Tasha, you sticking for a bit?" The spy nodded at her, and Darcy headed round the counter to check the fridge.
"I'll stay if you're making fajitas, but I've got to be back in California by tomorrow, so I won't crash on the couch". She eyed the dark bruise at the junction of Clint's neck-to-shoulder and raised an eyebrow at him. He didn't look the slightest bit embarrassed, maybe even a little bit proud of the mark, and she smirked. "Not that I'd get much sleep. Darcy's a screamer" and she delicately ducked the wooden spoon which arched past her ear.
And so that was how Darcy came to be cooking up fajitas for a couple of master-assassin/super-spies on her weekend off whilst they sat and watched some awful made-for-TV film on the SciFi channel and chatting about nothing in particular. She looked over at them, at Clint who she knows is watching her back from the corner of his eye and she picks up this…vibe. She can't explain it, but she knows that she needs to get Tasha alone because she was so good at reading any situation Darcy was in whilst they were roommates. "Clint, could you run out and grab me an avocado? I need one for the guacamole, along with some chilli flakes. If they don't have flakes, a small fresh red one? And not one of those monstrosities that puts you in the ER if you eat it raw". He looked from her to his partner and back with a worried look on his face, a crease between his eyes that she just wished she could kiss away. "Don't worry about me and Tasha – she won't kill me until *after* dinner".
The red-head unfolded herself from the couch. "It's true. I wouldn't want to jeopardise Darcy's fajitas – best I've ever had". She nodded to the younger woman with a wink, who grinned back. "Besides, we need to talk about *you*…"
Clint opened his mouth to protest further but when he received almost identical looks from both women, shut it again with a snap and slunk out of the apartment without another word. He knew when he was beaten.
Natasha swung herself up to perch easily on the counter-top and watched Darcy slice chicken breast into strips. "So, you and Clint huh? He's a good man to be with".
She paused in her food preparation. "Did you two ever...?" and the other held up her hand.
"For a very short time a while ago. It didn't work out and started to affect our work, so we decided that we were better staying as partners. He's my best friend, Darcy. Please don't break him, I don't think he could survive that again". At the younger woman's quizzical look, she shook her head. "Not my history to tell - ask him if you must know, but it happened well before he and I became the brief item that was destined to fail".
Darcy worked in contemplative silence, dicing a few ripe tomatoes into salsa. "Thank you, Tash. For Tommy now that I know how much danger I was in, and for – well, everything. I have missed you, even when I was pissed off with you. I still watch Doctor Who."
"Dear god, don't tell Clint I'm addicted to that – I'd never live it down! It's hard enough keeping him quiet over comms as it is without him permanently telling me that bowties are cool." Darcy sniggered and made a zip-the-lip motion as she stored that little bit of information right next to Clint's Taser-ing in her Blackmail Bank.
They looked at the door when a light tread was heard on the stairs outside, followed by the jingle of keys. Natasha quickly turned to Darcy and said in a low voice "I didn't see you this happy with Tomas, and I've never seen Clint this relaxed around anyone. Think about it." The younger woman's jaw dropped slightly, but managed to recover as the super-sexy-sniper cautiously stuck his head around the door.
"Is it safe to come in, or will I be in a room full of hostiles? I need to know now whether I should be saying a fond farewell to my manhood". He flashed his cocky grin, and Darcy felt her knees give out. She gripped the edge of the worktop and locked every joint below the hips in an effort not to turn into a dribbling pile of goo at the sight of him.
Natasha took in the slight flush on Darcy's cheeks, the pulse beating hard and fast in her neck and the wide-open dilation of her pupils in a split-second before turning with a knowing smile. "Only friendlies here, Agent. It's safe to proceed with your mission" and Clint sauntered in with a small shopping bag, kicking the door shut and swinging his purchases onto the worktop beside his partner, who busied herself by starting on the guacamole. He spun Darcy on the spot and pulled her, rather dazedly, into a protective embrace. He brushed his lips over the top of her head with a light kiss, one hand on her hip and the other on the back of her neck.
"Missed you" he murmured as a barely audible growl into her hair, and with those two words she knew she was lost.