Author's Note:

If you like Clint, you'll like this chapter!

Big thank you to Andromeda2000 for helping me write one of the scenes, and to Sanctuaria for beta'ing this chapter and helping me go from 'I hate it' to 'okay, that works' for the majority of it!

Finally, but very importantly, a thank you to those who review! Sportsfan64; Sanctuaria; Baibe; Keara Park; Amy Hamato.

Sorry about the week's wait, but Christmas! Hope you all had a great Christmas or Hannukah or time off :D

Clint was relaxing on his bed in just a pair of jeans, the radio was going off in the background as he had his mobile pressed against his ear. "I don't want to bring her back right now, she needs to deal with this herself."

"Natasha is not going to deal with this, you do remember how long it took her to even trust you after you two met; she's not one to reveal her feelings, that's not her," Laura replied. "What she needs is to come home and get some sense knocked into her."

"Laura, have faith in her," Clint replied. "Can you please just give me advice on how to smooth the bridge?"

Laura sighed, "I do have faith in Natasha. I don't know what advice to give, I'm still confused on what happened with Bruce, I thought they made a cute couple."

"Nah," Clint dismissed, "that wasn't real. She was using her head, those two… they weren't the right people for each other. He was somebody she could make sense of for a relationship-he was a monster, a way to keep the distance between having a fully committed relationship."

"And Steve?"

"That's her heart, that is what she is ignoring."

Laura chuckled on the other side of the phone, "I never thought I would be talking to you about Natasha's lovelife."

"Okay, okay, laugh it up," Clint rolled his eyes at his wife theatrics. He picked up his gun and twirled it in his fingers- he hardly used one but could admit that they were handy- as he waited for his wife to stop laughing. He honestly couldn't see how that was so funny. His eyes darted to his door when he heard light footsteps approaching; he was confident that it was Natasha, but was prepared in case it wasn't. "Laura, hold that thought." His wife went silent at his words and tone of voice.

Natasha barged in without knocking, "You need to take over from me." She declared as she kicked off her shoes and climbed into his bed. "I don't know how you can watch that."

Clint's eyes remained on Natasha confused. "What are you talking about?"

"Steve was upset, so I offered to watch a film with him… of course he chose Star Wars," she grumbled.

"You actually watched Star Wars with him; you hate Star wars," Clint chuckled, highly amused by the knowledge.

"Shut up! And those films are just as awful as when you forced me to watch them," Natasha retorted, sending a glare in his direction, but he didn't take it seriously.

"How far did you get?" He questioned, he remembered that she was ready to kill him when he had convinced her to watch them the first time around.

"First two," Natasha answered.

Clint groaned, "You watched them in the wrong order, didn't you?"

"No! I watched them in the correct order, they were made in the wrong order," Natasha defended holding her hand out. "Now go. I said I'd only be a few minutes."

Clint rolled his eyes, "Sorry Laura, I have to go. I love you."

"I love you too, talk to Steve about his feelings, I need both sides of the story. Put Natasha on," Laura replied easily, he had ended called more suddenly than this in the past.

"Sure, give the kids a hug from me." He added before handing the phone to Natasha.

"Hey Laura," Natasha greeted instantly. "What?" she looked at him and laughed, making Clint could only wonder what Laura had said. "Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on him."

Clint rolled his eyes as he stood up and grabbed a t-shirt and slipped it on, "Thanks." He muttered sarcastically.

"He did leave his door unlocked, so I'll make sure he locks it next time too," Natasha added with a small smirk.

"Like locking the would've stopped you," Clint muttered to himself as he slipped on his trainers. "Can I have my phone back?"

"No, I'm talking to Laura," Natasha responded as she made herself comfortable on his bed.

Clint rolled his eyes, "Fine, give me your phone then." He caught her phone which came zooming towards his head and left the room. With a glance down both directions, he headed for Steve's room, presuming that would be where he is.

Clint knocked on Steve's door, deciding to wait for him to answer instead of walking straight in. The door opened within seconds.

"Clint, how nice to see you," Steve greeted with a smile. "Can I help you with something?"

"Natasha asked me to take her place in watching Star Wars," he told his teammate honestly. "I'm surprised she lasted two films."

Steve offered him a confused expression, "She didn't like the films? We could have watched something else."

"Natasha is a complicated individual, but I think you know that by now," Clint responded before he made his way into Steve's room, foregoing the invitation. The room was very tidy, which made sense with Steve's personality. "Nice room."

"Thank you," Steve replied genuinely as he closed his door.

Clint turned around, he noticed the third Star Wars set up, "How are you liking Star Wars?"

"It's really good," Steve answered, but Clint couldn't tell if he really meant it or not; he was hard to read sometimes. "I'll turn it off…"

"Don't worry, I'll watch it with you," Clint offered kindly. He wouldn't pass up the opportunity to watch it again, it was one of his favourite movie series'.

"That's okay, I should check on the recruits anyway. We can watch it another time, though. If you don't mind?"

Clint nodded, "That will be great, just let me know when." He paused, "What are your feelings towards Natasha?" he questioned bluntly.

Steve paused for a moment as he looked at him, it almost seemed as if he was not going to answer the question. There was a visible hesitation before he replied. "You already know the answer to that. Don't you?"

Clint stared at him for a moment, the desire to repeat his original question was overbearing in his mind; that was what he did with his children to get them to talk. But this was a different matter, at least, he decided to approach it in a different way. "It's not about what I think the answer is, Steve."

Steve nodded lightly, it looked like a whole weight was resting on his shoulders as he sat down on his bed, "Yes, I like her. Of course I do; she's amazing."

He nodded in agreement, "How far you are willing to go for her; are you in for the long haul, or is this something that you could quickly get over?"

"I don't mess around, Clint." Steve told him, truthfully. "And we both know that. So yes... you could say that I'm in for the ride."

Clint gave him a single nod, he knew this about Steve, but he needed to hear him say it. "I don't know how you dated back in the forties, or what you've learnt since being defrosted-but when it comes to Natasha, you need to forget it all." He advised simply.

Steve looked at him, between amused and curious. "I know that she isn't like any other girl."

Clint eyes narrowed ever so slightly, it was instinct. "What makes you think you'll be good for her anyway?" He questioned. Many had pursued Natasha, and if she didn't kill them, he had convinced them to walk away, however, Steve was one he was willing to give a chance. Bruce hadn't really been a real contender, that was all Natasha and bizarre.

Steve thought about it for a moment. "I don't know that I am good enough. I can't just look at myself for proof. I know that I care about her and that I would do anything for her, but sometimes that's not enough. But I do think it should be her choice at this point, not mine."

With a firm nod, accepting the man's reply, Clint sat down on the bed next to him. "Great, then here is what you do. You go up to her and tell her how you feel, what you are wanting and then tell her it is all up to her and then you leave. It might take an hour, or a year, but if she feels the same way, she'll accept your offer into a relationship." He told him firmly before sending a slightly protective look, "There will be no pressuring her into anything. No tricking into dates, or blackmailing her to kiss you or something... because then it'll never work. She'll see through all of that, the only thing you have that everybody else who has tried hadn't had; is your honesty and patience. Understand?"

"I understand." Steve nodded. "Thanks for the advice... I appreciate it." He added.

Clint's pocket buzzed and he slipped out Natasha's phone, answering it without hesitation, "Barton. She's got mine. Yes sir. Understand. Yes sir." He stood up as he ended the call. "Got called onto a mission, Nat too."

Steve nodded, "Did you need any backup?"

"No," Clint replied simply. "Let me know about Star Wars." He threw over his shoulder as he left Steve's room and headed back to his own room.

He entered to see Natasha slipping into her tac-suit, he knew it was the one she kept with his things, in case of an emergency. As she looked up at him, his tac-suit came flying towards him. With ease he caught it, and began changing without restraint. After stitching each other up in awkward places, they weren't shy around each other anymore.

"Did Fury tell you the mission details?" Clint questioned.

"No."

"Phone," he muttered as he threw hers back to her, within seconds he caught his and slipped it into inner pocket, zipping it up. "Did Laura tell you about Cooper's new project?"

"Yes, he's going to turn into you… is that a good or bad thing?" She questioned with a smirk, before verbally groaning, "I was going to head down there tonight, had to cancel for this mission. I'll head there after the mission."

"You were going to leave when I was watching Star Wars," Clint commented knowingly, with a fake disappointed shake of his head.

Natasha scoffed as she twirled three knives in one hand for a few seconds before hiding them on her person. "Ready."

"We'll take my quinjet," Clint stated, it was technically his, but he was currently using it. "Do you need to let anybody know you won't be on base?"

Her eyes unfocused for a split-second, "I should mention it to one of the recruits, out of common courtesy. I'll meet you at the hangar."

"Don't dawdle," Clint commented before heading out and heading for his quinjet, he'll get it started up, do all the checked and get Fury back on the phone to get the mission or location.

Natasha walked into Sam's room without knocking, "Sam-" she started.

"Jesus! Don't you knock!" Sam exclaimed with shock as he quickly closed his laptop and stared at her.

Natasha blinked, "I'm heading out for a mission. While I'm gone, you should work out on your awareness, you should have heard me coming; I wasn't quiet."

Sam stared at her silently for a moment, "Sounds good. How long will you be?"

"I have a mission, then some personal things to sort out; a few days," Natasha answered truthfully. "I can be reached on my phone for emergencies."

"Yes ma'am… I mean Natasha."

"Keep an eye on Steve for me, he's been acting strange," she added before bidding him a simple 'bye' and walking out of his room, not bothering to close his door after herself.

She had only made it three quarters of the way to the hangar when she was stopped by Steve. "Natasha, a word."

"I'm heading out for a mission, can it wait?" Natasha asked dismissively. However, regardless of her words, she stopped and him her full attention for a few seconds.

"Yes, it can wait, it's not important," Steve replied. Natasha turned to leave, but halted again at his next words. "But, if you could spare a minute, I'd like to say it now."

She turned back to him and checked the time, "38 seconds."

He noted and seemed to hesitate before speaking, "I want to have a relationship with you, as you know. But I will not mention it again, it is completely up to you if anything happens between us. I don't want to pressure you or anything, I'm just letting you know." He stopped and waited.

Natasha stared at him silently for seven seconds, waiting for the 38 seconds to be over. "Okay. I'll be back in a few days, you can call me for emergencies." She didn't leave immediately, watching his deflated nod, and she couldn't stop herself from adding. "We'll talk then, I promise." With a jagged and hesitant turn, she headed away from him.

Natasha entered the quinjet and instantly sat in the cockpit with Clint, "What's the mission?"

"Extraction." He replied, taking off instantly.

Thank you for reading! And if I don't speak to you beforehand; HAPPY NEW YEAR!