A/N: So this is an idea that I kind of stole from another story I follow (idea is formatting-wise, not content-wise). The story is called Reliant and it's by CuppaTea13, so if you like Clintasha and long stories, that's definitely a good one to check out:) Anyway, in that story, the author occasionally deviates from the plot to include 'interludes'. The interludes fill little plot holes and/or are just extras for the story and are mostly used when the author is struggling with the main plot or is too busy to write a full chapter.

At any rate, they're going to serve mostly the same purpose here. So this is an interlude; a new chapter of the main plot will hopefully be up within the next couple weeks. Any commentary is still appreciated on the interludes and if there's any side bit that you'd like to see made into an interlude, feel free to drop me a line!

Also note that in this interlude, we assume that Natasha and Natalia resent being collectively referred to as 'the Nat's'. I haven't really introduced that in the main plot line, so I thought that I would mention it.

Enjoy!

Clint was frowning, eyebrows drawn together in confusion. He would have sworn up and down that he had looked everywhere. He had checked the mess hall, the training room, the extra training room, Coulson's office, their dorm rooms; he had even reluctantly gone and checked Dylan's room. It seemed that the twins had apparently vanished into thin air. Gritting his teeth, Clint pushed his way down to the hall where his dorm room was. It was the one place that he hadn't looked for the girls, but he wasn't really expecting to find them there.

He should really have learned by now to change his expectations.

The door swung open after he keyed in his passcode and Clint stepped inside. A slight rustling reached his ears before his eyes had swept the room and he had his pistol halfway out of its holster before he saw the two blondes sitting on his bed, eyes wide with feigned innocence. Clint relaxed and dropped the gun, but his face quickly turned into a glare.

"Where have you two been? I've been looking for you for an hour!"

"Sorry Clint," muttered Stasia, eyes downcast.

"We were in the training room for a while, but some idiots had the nerve to tell us we were only in training because you guys thought we were 'cute'." Natalia smirked darkly. "We called Medical, but we thought it would be more prudent for us to leave before they got there."

"Coulson's gonna kill you." Clint shook his head, but smiled nonetheless. He suddenly frowned again. "How did you even get in here anyway?"

"Uhh…you gave me the code a while back…" Stasia avoided looking at her SO; Clint could smell a lie that big a mile away.

"No I didn't." He folded his arms and took a few steps forward. "Tasha gave it to you, didn't she?"

"Maybe…"

"Dammit, Tasha." Clint groaned and ran a hand over his face.

"While we're on the subject," Natalia grinned mischievously at her sister, "Would you care to explain why Natasha has the access code to your room?"

"No I wouldn't," said Clint shortly, still mentally cussing out his partner, not failing to notice her continued absence. He sent a sidelong glance at his trainee, the start of a plan for payback starting to form in his mind. "Speaking of which, where is the other Nat?"

Stasia gasped and clamped a hand over her mouth, glaring daggers at Clint. Natalia frowned as though she had heard wrong.

"The other what?"

"The other Nat." Clint couldn't contain his gleeful grin now, almost all of his earlier annoyance gone, replaced by the joy of revenge and the slightly terrified look on Stasia's face. Natalia spun around and fixed her sister with a look, eyes narrowing at Stasia's guilty expression.

"What did you do?" hissed Talia.

"Absolutely nothing." Clint was impressed; Stasia had obviously been paying attention to his and Natasha's lessons. She mixed just the right amount of eye contact and looking away and her voice never wavered. She still had a couple of tells, like the way that her left ear twitched, but we can work on that, thought Clint. Natalia, on the other hand, wasn't fooled.

"I know when you're lying to me Stasia. What did you do?"

"I didn't do anything," insisted Stasia, scooting back a few inches on the bed. Natalia shifted into an almost predatory stance and she crossed back over, jumping up onto the mattress. Anastasia leaned back as her sister invaded her personal space.

"One more try," whispered Natalia. Anastasia felt the cool metal of a knife blade press gently against her leg. She knew that Talia would never hurt her seriously, but she wouldn't put it past her sister to give her a surface wound and her eyes widened. "What did you do Anastasia?"

Stasia swallowed and pressed her lips together. She kept her face blank and her body still, absolutely determined not to say anything. From the corner of her eye she saw a movement, but didn't put any stock in it until-

"What are you three doing now?"

"Oh, hey Nat." Clint grinned up at his partner, who was leaning against the doorframe, and shoved another handful of popcorn from the tin that he kept in his room into his mouth.

"Hi Tasha," said the twins in unison, neither one breaking their eye contact. Natasha took in the situation warily, eyes finally settling on Clint and his popcorn. He smirked, eyes sparkling, and Natasha just knew that he had set this up somehow. Sighing, and giving up on any hope of training this evening, Natasha settled down on the floor next to him and took a handful of the popcorn that he offered her.

"What did you do?" she whispered to him, watching the twins on the bed. She could see the glint from Natalia's knife, but she knew that Talia would never be able to hurt Stasia-not of her own free will anyway. Clint's smirk faded a little and Natasha was immediately suspicious.

"Nothing…" said Clint cautiously. Natasha narrowed her eyes at him and suddenly they found themselves in a situation very similar to the one happening on the bed. Natasha was much less hesitant to pull out her knife and Clint was more than accustomed to the feeling of her insanely sharp blades pressed against the various places of his body. This time, he could feel the edge biting into his left shoulder and he tensed with anger. That was his draw shoulder; she should know better than to threaten it. Then again, it was probably a good way to ensure that Clint would tell her what she wanted to know. He gulped. Be strong Barton, he thought. Stasia was holding up just fine in the face of interrogation and so could he, right?

Yeah, well, Stasia isn't facing Natasha. Screw this.

"I may or may not have referred to you and Natalia collectively as the Nat's and sort of framed Stasia for it, even though technically she's the one who started it." Clint squeezed his eyes shut in fearful anticipation. He relaxed when he felt the blade leave his shoulder, only to jump immediately after when he felt it go whooshing by his ear and embed itself in the wall behind him.

"Hey!" he exclaimed. "That's my wall!"

"идиот." (idiot) Natasha scowled. Up on the bed, both twins had turned to their mentors. Natalia was grinning and Stasia looked relieved that the pressure was off of her.

"You're paying for that repair," muttered Clint. Natasha responded by shooting him another glare and walking over to his little TV, snatching the remote, and joining the girls on the bed. Clint rolled his eyes, but breathed a little easier to be walking away with no injury. He too scrambled up onto his bed, surprised that they could all fit comfortably. Natalia was curled up with her head leaning on Natasha's shoulder. Stasia was lying with her head in Talia's lap and her legs across Barton's. Clint scooted over so that his arm reached across Natalia's shoulders and just barely brushed Natasha's arm. The twins exchanged a grin, but a swift look from Natasha silenced any comments they were planning to make. The redhead silently scrolled through Clint's Netflix queue, ignoring the noises of interest coming from the other three, obviously set on something specific. When she finally made a selection she hit play too quickly for either twin to see the movie title, but Clint groaned and leaned his head back against the wooden headboard.

"Again, Tasha? We watch this every time."

"I don't think the twins have seen it," replied Natasha innocently. The girls' heads both swung to the screen as the title popped up.

"Stalingrad?" questioned Natalia.

"Stalingrad?" echoed Stasia.

"Сталинград," (Stalingrad) corrected Natasha, shooting a triumphant smile at Clint, who rolled his eyes but gave in grudgingly. "It's Russian." "Cool," said the twins, each snuggling closer to the two senior agents as the opening credits rolled across the screen. Clint and Natasha exchanged a glance over the girls' heads, both wondering what in the world they had done to deserve everything that they had right here.

By the time the end credits were scrolling up the screen, the bedcovers were littered with stray pieces of popcorn, mostly thanks to Clint and Stasia, who had been throwing the kernels back and forth for each other to catch in their mouths. A tiny bit of the blame lay with Natasha and Natalia for occasionally snatching the popcorn out of mid-air before it could reach its intended target, usually earning them a light smack and glare from the other two. The twins were both asleep and Clint and Natasha weren't far behind them, but both senior agents knew it was technically against regulation for the girls to stay the night there. Sighing, they both pushed themselves up and gently shook the girls awake.

"Talia," murmured Natasha, brushing a few stray hairs from the young girls face in a gentle caress, "You need to get up ребенок." (child)

"Stasia," said Clint, his voice rough with sleep, "time to go kiddo."

Their eyes fluttered, but both girls were still pretty out of it and they spoke without thinking.

"Папа?" (Papa?) muttered Stasia, looking at Clint but not quite seeing him. Clint paused for a second, shocked, and then a wistful smile wove its way across his face.

"мама?" (Mama?) Natalia's voice was a bit clearer, but her tone said that something about this situation was wrong, like her mother wouldn't be the one to wake her gently. Natasha froze, her hand still resting on Talia's cheek. Clint watched her carefully, but she didn't seem to be panicking or suffering a flashback, so he relaxed a little. Smiling at his partner, he felt his heart twist unexpectedly.

"Kinda makes me wish…" he trailed off when Natasha raised her eyes to meet his gaze. She smiled softly and glanced back down, finishing his sentence in her head.

Kinda makes me wish we could have our own kids.

"We don't need to get what we already have, Barton," she replied, ever so softly. Clint followed her gaze down to the twins, surprised to see Natasha showing so much emotion and caring. In the short amount of time that the two SO's had been talking, Natalia and Anastasia had both fallen back into their slumber and Clint already knew that they weren't going to try and wake them up again, because really, when had they ever given a damn about protocol? So he didn't bother trying to; he just joined his partner in carefully lifting and tucking the heavy comforter around the girls before the two of them slid back in and curled up with their trainees in between them. Soon only the sound of breathing filled the room as Clint and Natasha both consented to slip into unconsciousness, releasing a high level of trust to both the twins, one they had only ever given to each other, and to Phil. It took a lot for them to make themselves so vulnerable to any one other than each other.

The twins had no idea the prize that they had just earned.

Natalia awoke to a subtle shaking. It was like the whole bed was quaking, and for a moment she was very confused. Then the previous evening came rushing back to her and she remembered where she was. Looking to her left, she realized what it was that had woken her. Natasha was trembling in her sleep, her face twisted in pain. Before Natalia could reach over and wake her, Natasha let out a small shriek and Clint sat bolt upright, hand on his gun before he too realized what was going on. Stasia turned with concerned eyes as her SO jumped out of his side of the bed and darted quickly over to where Natasha was held in the throes of her own mind. The two girls had racing hearts and panic in their eyes, but Clint was cool, and collected. Natalia exchanged a glance with her sister.

How often has he had to do this to react so calmly?

Too many, decided Stasia, turning anxiously back to the two senior agents.

"Tasha," Clint said quietly. When she didn't respond, he repeated her name, a little louder. "Tasha!"

Her eyes snapped open, but they weren't her eyes for the first few seconds. Talia's breath caught when she sighted the eyes that both Clint and Natasha had described as belonging not to Natasha, but to Natalia Alianovna. Clint held up his hands to show that he was unarmed and the twins quickly followed suit. They all held their breath until Natasha sagged back against her pillows. With a pointed look from the archer, the twins scooted over so that Clint could slide in next to Natasha, but the redhead pushed him off and swung out of the bed. She shot one last inscrutable look at the threesome, clearly trying to avoid the confused pain in Clint's face and any eye contact with the twins at all, before she took off, moving quickly out into the hallways to some unknown location. Natalia stared after her for a moment before turning to look at Clint.

"Why'd she leave?"

Clint just shook his head. "She doesn't like it when other people see her in what she considers moments of weakness. She's usually okay when I'm there, but it's hard with anyone else. Even you guys."

"Well that doesn't fly," said Natalia matter-of-factly. Stasia nodded her agreement. Clint looked between the two of them before also nodding his assent. He might not usually chase after Natasha, but tonight would be a night where he wasn't going to let her try (and fail) to cope by herself.

"I'll call Coulson in case she goes to him," he said, "Stasia, you go check her room through the vents. Be back here in three minutes." Stasia scrambled out of bed and up through the opening in Clint's ceiling as her SO whipped out his phone and hit the number one speed dial.

"Coulson? Yeah, I know it's early, sorry about that, but Natasha just ran out of here…she had a nightmare…yeah, will you just let me know if she comes to you? Thanks, Phil. Yeah, sure I'll make sure to let you know if we find her. Thanks, yep, g'night." Clint hung up the phone and shook his head at Natalia. "She didn't go to Phil."

There was a slight scuffling overhead and Anastasia dropped back into the room. "She's not in her quarters either." "

Where would she go?" exclaimed Natalia, exasperated. Clint paused and tilted his head to the side.

"Well, there is one place," he said, looking at Stasia. "Do you remember-"

"-the place that you showed me the other day?" Stasia finished with a slight frown. "Yeah, but you said Natasha didn't know about that."

"She doesn't know…about that one."

"There's more than one?" asked Stasia, surprised. Clint nodded, grinning.

"The Triskellion is a big place. And I get bored a lot. Plus, once the junior agents find them, they become practically useless."

"Okay, so this place," interjected Natalia, "Where is it?"

"Follow me," said Clint, reaching up and removing the air vent cover that Stasia had just replaced. Natalia suppressed a groan, reminding herself that Natasha needed them. Stasia flashed a quick grin before resuming her somber expression and swinging up into the vent after her SO.

.

.

.

Clint led them down a twisting, winding path of air vents over the sleeping quarters for the junior and senior agents, past the elevator shaft, over Coulson's office, and finally a sharp right turn before they reached what looked like a dead end. Natalia made a frustrated noise but Clint merely grinned as he fiddled with the seam between two of the vent panels. They finally gave way and revealed a ladder, which Clint promptly slid into place on the wall in front of them. Natalia got an ohhhhh look on her face and Barton and Stasia, who had clearly seen her SO do this before, smirked at her before beginning the climb up the ladder. When they reached the top, they tumbled into a huge pile of purple and gray blankets and pillows. And there, lying right in the middle of the whole nest, was a familiar looking redhead. She had her hand on her gun and was staring at the top of the ladder, but it relaxed away from the weapon when she saw who it was.

"What are you guys doing here?" she asked, fighting to keep her voice from trembling and trying to hide her tear-stained cheeks.

"What did you think this was, a one-sided relationship?" Stasia sounded a tiny bit insulted.

"Yeah, do you think that you only get to comfort us, not the other way around?" Natalia crawled over to her SO and snuggled up against her one side, letting Stasia press against the other. Clint came over the top of the ladder and smiled at the sight of the three of them all curled up.

"C'mon, Nat," he said softly, "you know us better than that." Clint scooted over and settled down cross-legged, lifting Natasha's head into his lap so that he could stroke her hair soothingly, just the way that she liked him to. Fresh tears formed at the corners of Natasha's eyes and the twins wrapped their arms around her from either side.

"Thank you," whispered Natasha, just barely managing to choke out the words.

"Anytime," whispered Anastasia.

"Always," corrected Natalia. A huge yawn split Natasha's face and the twins couldn't help the contagious effect. All three of them closed their eyes and one by one, they let sleep reclaim them. Only Clint kept his eyes open, still stroking Natasha's hair, keeping watch over all of his girls for the remainder of the night.