Clint blushed furiously as he cursed himself under his breath; that was not something he'd wanted her to hear. Tony smiled at him before dragging Pepper off to refill his drink
"I'm sorry I'm late" Natasha said awkwardly
"Thanks for coming" he said, turning back to look out over the fields
Natasha strolled forward to stand next to him, feeling the eyes of their friends burning into her back as they all watched, pretending not to
"Hey Clint, do you want to take a walk?" she asked, glaring back at the others
"Sure" he said, sensing why Natasha wanted to and turned to glare at his friends as well.
XxX
Darcy and Steve were the only ones still inside the house, mainly because it was a bit chilly for Steve in his wet Tshirt.
"I'm sorry about your shirt" Darcy said, apologising for what had to be the twentieth time
"It's okay Darcy" he said smiling. He was beginning to wonder why Darcy had stayed in here with him when all her friends were outside, when he looked down at his phone he had a text off Bucky;
'Kiss her already'
Steve blushed and looked around for his cousin. He spotted him outside talking with Jane and Thor
Bucky caught his eye and winked at him, causing Steve to blush further
Darcy noticed his blushing and leaned forward to peer round the corner to follow his line of site
"Steve, why are you blushing?" she asked when all she saw was the backs of three of Thor, Jane and Bucky
"Oh, nothing, it doesn't matter" Steve stammered, trying to give her a reassuring smile, but she didn't look reassured; she looked somewhere in between worried and confused
"Darcy, can I ask you something?"
"S-sure"
Steve didn't quite know what to say... So he didn't say anything, her just leaned in and kissed her
Darcy was quite taken aback by the sudden change in direction. Steve had been awkward and quiet all night, yet here he was kissing her... And Darcy was cursing herself for over thinking it all when she should be concentrating on what was going on
He pulled away, cheeks flaming red as he tried to read her reaction
"I erm-" he tried to explain, but he didn't get chance to say much when Darcy pulled him close again, returning the kiss with one of her own
XxX
"It's about time" Jane commented, glancing at Darcy and Steve before closing the back door to leave them in privacy
Bucky laughed; "Stevie has had a crush on that girl since they first met!"
"What?!" Jane asked, almost choking on her drink. Everyone had known Darcy liked Steve, everyone other than Steve that was, but no one had any idea he liked her back
"Man this would have been a lot easier if one of us had just said something" she admitted as Thor laughed behind her
"I do believe I suggested this to you Jane" he told her, leaning over to kiss her cheek when she elbowed him playfully in the stomach
XxX
"You having fun Pep?" Tony asked, leaning in to kiss her but she pulled away and turned her face
"I'd enjoy it more if you hadn't been drinking" she said, taking a few steps further away from where Bruce, Jess and Carol were stood talking
"Oh come on Pep, it's just a few glasses"
"Have you noticed you're the only one drinking Tony? No one else has touched it"
Tony glanced around, noticing their friends all drinking the juice Pepper had added to the table
"Oh come on Pep, lighten up"
"Don't think I didn't notice you drinking the other day at school Tony. Your starbucks cup doesn't hide the smell"
Tony glanced down at his feet, putting his glass of scotch down and taking Pepper's hands in his; "I'm sorry Pepper, I really am"
"You need to stop you know" she warned, allowing him to pull her closer
"I know, I will"
"You promise?" she asked
"I promise" he smiled, pulling her in for a kiss, which this time she allowed
XxX
When they were a little way from the house and could no longer hear their friends talking, Natasha took Clint's hand in hers as they continued to walk.
Clint glanced down at their entwined hands and couldn't suppress the smile on his face
"I really didn't mean to be so late, I'm sorry if you worried" she told him
"It's okay Tasha, I'm just glad you didn't stand me up"
"Stand you up? Is this a date Barton?" she teased with a grin on her face
"I sure hope so" Clint answered, feeling suddenly braver now Natasha was by his side
He pulled her off to the side, sitting on the ground under a large willow tree at the edge of Tony's garden
"You don't have to tell me, but why are you so late?" Clint asked after a moments silence
Natasha's eyes flickered to the ground as the smile fell from her face slightly
"I erm, I had to wait for Ivan to go to bed"
"He doesn't know you're here?"
"No"
"But what if he finds out?" Clint asked worriedly
"He won't, he passed out drunk before I left. I'll be back long before he wakes up"
"But-"
"Clint, I don't want to waste my time talking about Ivan, please?"
"Okay"
Clint tipped her chin up so she wasn't looking at the ground any longer; "What do you want to talk about?" he asked with a smile, lightening the mood instantly
"Why don't we talk about you?" she asked, leaning against Clint's shoulder
"Me? Why me?"
"It's your party after all"
Clint grinned, glancing at his phone when a message from Tony came through;
'Steve and Darcy finally happened! Just waiting on you and Red now Barton'
He quickly closed the message as Natasha turned to face him
"Everything okay?" she asked and he nodded, a little too eagerly
"Nat, what exactly did you hear me say to Pepper earlier?" he asked when she glanced down to the phone in his hand
"Nothing I didn't already know" she told him, before adding "Clint, I like you too you know"
And that was the first time Clint saw her blush...