A/N: Not sure I like this chapter much, but hopefully you do! I wanted to get something up before I go back to school. This is also my longest chapter in this story so far.

First Time At Clint's Farm

Natasha did not like surprises. Not one bit. But when your girlfriend and your best (and only other) friend insist they're taking you to an undisclosed location for a holiday, there's no getting out of it. If Clint and Aria were anyone but themselves, Natasha would have been able to get the truth out of them, but they weren't. They were expertly trained spy-assassins (even if Aria was technically retired) and they knew more than anyone else how to keep a secret.

"What kind of clothes do I need?" Natasha asked down the phone, standing in front of her closet in frustration. Aria had shooed her out of her apartment to her own, partly so that she would finally pack (they were leaving the next morning, after all), and partly to stop the constant questions Natasha had been shooting at her. It hadn't worked, of course, because as soon as Natasha had gotten home she'd called Aria and continued (insisting that she needed help packing, but Aria wasn't that gullible).

"Just bring everyday stuff. Casual, really casual. Honestly, like what you'd wear at mine. And something you don't mind getting dirty." Aria had been dropping hints like that for weeks, and she knew that Natasha was beyond frustrated. The only reason Aria would drop hints would be if it meant Natasha had absolutely no chance to guessing what it could be. The hints just left her more confused, and they often contradicted each other ('bring sunscreen, we'll be outside a lot' followed shortly by a 'I'm not expecting us to change out of our pyjamas a lot to be honest, Nat.' was enough to confuse anyone, even the assassin).

"You're the opposite of helpful, babe."

"What was that? The great Natasha Romanoff whining?" Aria teased and Natasha scoffed.

"Bite me." A short breath of laughter sounded down the line followed by a distant growling, followed by several short, deep barks.

"Looks like Matrix wants to take you up on that offer, babe." The barking stopped but there was a deep panting sounding down the phone, and Natasha didn't have to be there to know Aria was sat on the couch with a Doberman bigger than she was sat on top of her so he could listen in on the phone.

"Yeah, yeah, he would." Matrix was practically the dictionary definition of 'angry old man that hates everyone but that one grandkid', that one grandkid being Aria. Natasha just so happened to be that one grandkid's girlfriend, so Matrix put up with her (mostly).

"He loves you really. Now I gotta go Tash, I've got to talk to Clint about tomorrow, and you need to pack."

"Yeah, sure. I'll see you tomorrow when we get on the…" She could at least me told what type of transport they were getting, right?

"Not gonna tell you, Nat. I'll pick you up at seven." There was shuffling and the sound of a door opening and closing, followed by Clint's voice talking in the background. "Yeah, whatever Clint. I'll see you tomorrow Nat, try to get some sleep without me okay?" It may have been a joke, but there was a hint of truth behind it. They both knew Natasha had trouble sleeping if she was on her own.

"Don't worry about me, Ari. I'll see you tomorrow."

"You going to tell me where we're going yet?"

"Nope, you'll see when we get there." Aria laughed, catching Natasha's eye in the rear-view mirror of the SUV that SHIELD had provided for Clint for the week (on the agreement that should they be needed, all three agents would return before the end of their agreed holiday). Clint sat in the driver's seat, grinning at Natasha's discomfort but keeping quiet. He was… Nervous. He had been the one to suggest this trip, but now that it was happening he was beginning to doubt himself. Aria flicking the radio station over diverted his attention though.

"Hands off, Xande." She, of course, ignored him, and turned up the volume further with little more than a jerk of her wrist and a smug grin over at him. Natasha huffed in the back seat, realising they were definitely ignoring her. It had become somewhat of a common occurrence in the past few weeks – their most effective method of not spilling anything about the holiday.

It was three more hours (filled with Natasha's complaining and Clint's dry comebacks and Aria laughing at the two losers she decided to keep as friends) until they pulled over at the side of the road. Natasha thought they had arrived for a moment, though there were only fields for as far as her eyes could see, but then a second car pulled up behind them, much more neutral and less suspicious as the SUV and Clint caught Natasha's eyes in the mirror and said "gotta swap" and he and Aria were out the door, grabbing their bags and hauling them over to the new vehicle before Natasha could comprehend what was happening. The redhead followed slowly, letting out a small huff when she realised Aria had already grabbed her bags as well as her own ("someone's got to be the chivalrous one in this relationship, babe" is what she'd been told last time Aria had done something similar). The car swap was unusual, to say the least. Natasha hadn't expected where they were going to require a car swap – only places with top level security would require such actions. They were going on a holiday, not to a SHIELD base.

"Thanks, Agent." Aria grinned as she grabbed the keys from the driver, Clint himself tossing the man the SUV keys in return. The man jerked his head in a nod in return but never spoke, just turned back to the SUV, got in, and drove away seconds later.

When Natasha finally got herself situated into the backseat, she'd noticed Clint and Aria had switched places – Aria now in the driver's seat, the man now in the passenger's seat – and from how Clint was settling in and setting up the in-car movie system, it became apparent they still had quite the distance left to go.

Four hours later and they pulled into a clearing (Natasha had been fairly certain the trees of the forest were going to continue forever, and let out a sigh at finally having left their shadows). Aria cut the engine, but no one made to move. Natasha's eyes roamed the ground outside, taking in the large clearing and the two story farmhouse stood proudly in the middle, before turning back to the front of the car, where two pairs of anxious eyes met hers.

"This is it." Clint muttered, before launching himself up and out of the car. Aria followed after, a jerk of her head indicating for Natasha to do the same. They each grabbed their bags (Natasha managing to grab her own before Aria could, which resulted in a half-hearted glare from her girlfriend and Natasha kissing her quickly to stop her from complaining) before they made their way up to the house, coming to a stop on the front porch. Clint turned to Natasha. "So, we've been partners for a while now."

"Yes?" Clint ignored the unsure tone of her voice and soldiered through with what he needed to say. Obviously, it was important to him.

"And I trust you, and Aria trusts you, and obviously you trust us or you wouldn't have let us take you all the way out here." Natasha's throat constricted but she found herself nodding regardless. Trust wasn't something she was used to having, or something she was used to giving, but she definitely trusted the two people in front of her, and they trusted her. "Good. Well, fuck, only Aria and Fury know about this place. And you. I'd like to keep it that way." Clint waited until Natasha nodded again before nodding himself, turning and pushing the door to the house open with little effort, Natasha frowning at his back. Barton was acting weirdly, but she wasn't given much time to think on it as Aria's hand had reached down and her fingers had tangled with Natasha's, drawing the redhead's attention back to the blonde.

"Remember to breathe, babe." Then, with a grin, she was pulling the assassin into the house after Clint. The trio dropped their bags in the foyer before moving onto the next room, a wide, open room filled to the brim with knickknacks and photos and books. There was really only one way Natasha could describe it – it was a home. An average, everyday, civilian home. It looked lived in and personal, and if Natasha squinted she could see a picture of Clint and Aria on the far wall, dressed in their usual SHIELD attire but they were definitely outside on the porch they'd just left and their heads were thrown back in laughter. Next to it hung another picture, with Clint and another woman that was definitely not Aria – unless Aria had grown eight inches, let her hair grow out and dyed it brown. Clint's voice called out before she could study it further.

"Honey, we're home!" Seconds later a faint voice called back, and Natasha tensed, ready for a fight. Aria's fingers tightening around her own relaxed her somewhat, reminding her that Clint had called out to someone, and whoever they were they were meant to be there. They were not a threat. Aria and Clint trusted her and now she had to earn it and not attack whoever she was about to meet.

"Clint!" A heavily pregnant woman rushed into the room, arms immediately wrapping around Clint and bringing him in for a kiss. Natasha could only watch, wide-eyed, tightening her hold on Aria to prove to herself that this was real. They pulled away a few seconds later, and Clint's arm wrapped around the woman as the two turned their gazes to the Russian.

"Laura, honey, this is Natasha Romanoff, my partner. Nat, this is Laura Barton, my wife." Natasha voice stuck in her throat and she found that she couldn't talk, but it didn't matter: Laura spoke first.

"Hi, it's so nice to finally meet you! Clint and Ari are always talking about you." And then the woman wobbled over, one hand on her bulging belly, and wrapped the taller woman in a hug, forcing her to let go of Aria's hand. There were a few brief moments of panic in which neither Clint or Aria could tell how Natasha would react, but their worry was misguided because soon Natasha's arms were wrapped loosely around the woman in return. Perhaps a year ago the outcome would have been very different, but Natasha had become so accustomed to Clint and Aria's unusual touchiness that she herself had finally gotten used to it.

"It's nice to meet you, Laura. I'm afraid I can't say I know much about you, Clint's been holding out on me." Laura laughed and finally let go, making her way back to Clint, and he wrapped his arm around her waist, deciding now to speak up.

"Sorry, Nat, had to be sure." And she could understand that. For a long time Clint and Fury were the only other people to know about her and Aria because Natasha had been so worried about the KGB finding her and using her girlfriend against her that she wouldn't have had it any other way – and that was with Aria being an agent (though retired) and knowing how to defend herself. Eventually it had come out (there was only so many rubbish excuses they could give for their behaviour whenever the other one got hurt, and Aria threatening to maim a new recruit for causing Natasha to get shot definitely hadn't helped), but the sentiment was there. It was only natural to want to keep those you cared about safe, and Laura wasn't an agent, she wouldn't have any idea how to protect herself should Clint's work be brought home.

"I get it." She nodded over at the man, her partner, before looking back at his wife. God, she hadn't been expecting that. It explained why they'd both been so secretive since they'd suggested the holiday, and why Clint had been so on edge all day. Natasha's eyes dropped to Laura's stomach.

"So there's going to a baby Barton around here soon? How's the world going to handle another one?" And just like that, everything was fine.

A/N: Hope you liked the chapter!

Make sure to check out my tumblr (shanniepatto) to keep updated on when to expect a new chapter. You can also request 'Firsts' on this tumblr by sending an ask! I'm thinking of starting a small series over on tumblr about Aria and Natasha and their relationship based off those 30 day challenges you see, so keep an eye out for that if you're interested! x