Sorry I didn't post yesterday! My lame excuse is that I slept in, then I had some hw before a kind of early class. :/

Anyways, I'm making up for it with the longest chapter yet. x) This is the conference chapter, so hopefully it's not too boring... I actually did surprise myself though. :)

Enjoy!

The conference with the UN was set for 1300 on Thursday. Fury had sent out a memo saying that all SHIELD levels were encouraged to attend (which probably meant they should be there, or risk Fury's fury the next time he saw them). So, around a quarter till, Clint changed into a gray business suit, gave Strela something to eat (so she wouldn't get hungry while he was gone), and prepared to leave.

Before he walked out the door, he remembered the List.

Honestly, he was slightly pissed at himself for remembering. Given how the last few Steps had gone, he would have preferred it if he had completely spaced it until after the conference. Especially given that pretty much all of SHIELD would be in attendance, and he was probably going to make a fool of himself. Again.

But since he had remembered, he couldn't bring himself to just skip, because he'd-never-skipped-a-step-before and he was so close to the end now – just two more steps, and he'd be free from the List, or 'The Order of Utter and Complete Humiliation, as he'd taken to calling it (OUCH for short). And then he could just sit back and wait for Natasha to take the hint. No, wait, the hints. Twenty-one of them to be exact.

So Clint broke down and looked at Step 20:

20.) Respect space.

"Really?" Clint exploded, and Strela jumped. "Now you finally say it – after three weeks of grinning creepily at her across rooms, hiring my friends to talk me up, calling her during dates, half-killing myself to track her down and say 'hello', buying her cats, holding her hand, and grabbing her to kiss her on the cheek, just to name a few… Now you finally tell me to 'respect space'." He snorted. "Nice. Thank you."

He shut his laptop and stalked to the door, muttering "Finally, something I can't screw up" under his breath.

…

Parking near the Supreme Court building was scarce. SHIELD agents from all over had come for the conference, from preppy, wet-behind-the-ears Level Ones to experienced, hardened Level Tens.

Clint wasted several minutes driving around in circles, trying to find a spot. In the end, he had to pay ten bucks to park at a lot that was about half-a-mile away from the building ("Ten freaking bucks!"). Fortunately, it was a clear, sunny day, if a little chilly, so the walk to the building was not too unpleasant.

By this time, it was uncomfortably close to 1300. Clint hurried up the marble staircase and entered the Supreme Court building.

The marble, high-ceilinged lobby was crowded with SHIELD agents in business suits. Clint weaved through the crowd, trying to find a familiar face. (Subconsciously, he was looking for one specific familiar face, even though he had determined to keep his distance.) He spied Bobbi Morse by the wall, bickering with her ex-husband, an angry little man who Clint had only seen a couple times – Hoover? Holder? Something like that. He headed towards them.

"But really, Bob," Bobbi's ex was saying when Clint approached. "The price of Freddos has gone up by nearly eight pence in the past month, it's bloody outrageous! Don't tell me that doesn't bother you."

"We are at a conference with the United Nations," Bobbi said dryly. "Can't you complain about your precious Freddos later?" At that point she noticed Clint, and broke into a smile. "Hey Clint!"

"Hi," Clint greeted. He glanced awkwardly at her ex, who was eyeing him suspiciously with his hands in his pockets. "Hey."

"Hello, mate," the ex said, still watching him warily. (Clint suddenly wondered if Bobbi had told him that they used to date.)

"They're going to start soon. You made it just in time," Bobbi said. She craned her neck, peering around the room. "I don't know where Nat went. She was just here."

"It's fine, don't worry about it," Clint said quickly. "I'll catch up with her later."

"Okay." Bobbi's text alert went off, and she took her phone out and looked at the screen. Clint looked awkwardly back at her ex, who hadn't moved a single muscle. He was still surveying Clint in the same skeptical attitude.

"Handler, wasn't it?" Clint guessed.

Bobbi's ex looked miffed. "Hunter, thank-you-very-much."

"Sorry. Hunter," Clint amended quickly.

He sensed a shift in the crowd around them, and he turned his head. Everyone was heading out of the lobby and into the conference room.

"We should go," Bobbi said quickly. "We have seats with Daisy and May. Come on, Hunter." She headed briskly towards the conference room. Her ex shot Clint one last dubious glare before following.

Clint strolled slowly into the conference room, an enormous, dome-ceilinged area with chairs all around. It was a matter of seconds before he saw her: a redhead sitting near the front of the room. She was twisting in her chair, eyes flickering across those coming through the door, as if she was looking for someone.

Clint slowed to a stop.

Her gaze landed on him, and she smiled and lifted a hand in greeting.

Clint waved back. He saw that there was an empty seat next to her, and for a moment he thought about taking it.

Respect space.

Instead, he tossed her a quick smile and took a seat in the back row.

(On the upside, it didn't look like she was upset about what had happened yesterday anymore.)

"SHIELD," a UN rep was saying. "Come to order."

Gradually, the room quieted.

Clint looked up to the front of the room. Six or seven people from United Nations were sitting up behind the podium, as well as several Level Tens: Clint recognized Nick Fury, Maria Hill, Victoria Hand, Noelle Walters, and Anne Weaver.

"We have convened here today," the UN rep went on, "to discuss some recent problems that have come to light concerning the actions of the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division. Following a recent attack on the Central Intelligence Agency…" The rep kept talking, explaining basically what Fury had already explained to them all on Tuesday. Clint was pretty sure that this guy's voice had been genetically engineered to make people fall asleep. He suddenly wished he was sitting next to Natasha so he could whisper that to her and make her laugh.

"…Nick Fury, Director of SHIELD, to come forward and make their case." The rep finally finished, after what seemed like roughly two and a half hours of talking. He sunk down into his chair, and Fury stood up.

"Concerning the recent attack on the Central Intelligence Agency," he began. "As we have already expressed publicly, this attack, while performed with SHIELD resources, was not a SHIELD-issued attack, nor was it carried out by SHIELD agents. It was performed by the hostile organization known as HYDRA, whose agents were using nanotechnology to impersonate SHIELD officers.

"While we have testified that this particular attack was not carried out by SHIELD, we freely confess to having initiated similar attacks in the past, though not on the CIA or other non-hostile organizations. However, we also affirm that in every case, these attacks were executed for the good of the public, and…"

Fury's voice was considerably less boring to listen to, but he was talking about pretty boring stuff, in Clint's opinion. He understood that this was an important conference, of course, and that SHIELD was at stake, but it was still violently tedious.

Finally the UN rep stood up again. "You all have heard Director Fury assert that all of SHIELD's actions have been for the good of the people," he began, in that monotonously slow voice that reminded Clint of a sloth. "However, might I suggest that it is not SHIELD's responsibility to decide what constitutes the good of the public? The government has appointed law enforcement officers to decide…"

And that was where Clint stopped listening. It was vastly more exciting to stare at the back of Natasha's head, even though she wasn't moving. He contemplated her hair color for several thrilling minutes, noting how the dull yellowish light in the room distorted it a little.

Anne Weaver stood up next. "Sir," she began, and just that one word in her clipped, accented tone was so much more interesting than the UN rep's entire speech. "We acknowledge the fact that the government has appointed law enforcement officers to protect the people. However, the point of specialized organizations such as SHIELD is to defend the people when the government cannot. It is the same justification as with the Avengers. We recognize the fact that we work outside the law, in the government's understanding of 'the law', but we only presume to work in situations where the intervention of law enforcement officers would be insufficient or superfluous."

She returned to her seat.

(Mic drop.)

Honestly, Clint only understood about 60% of what she had actually said, but it sounded good – plus he liked the fact that she had kept it short and to the point, unlike the UN rep.

Speak of the devil…

"You have all heard Agent Weaver affirm that SHIELD works outside the law," the rep said. (Of course we did, dummy, we were all sitting right here.) "Now my question is, can SHIELD, or any non-governmental organization, assume such power without authorization? If SHIELD establishes itself as being outside the law, that gives them unsanctioned control without any checks and balances, which can lead to abuse of power and…"

And Clint was back to staring at the back of Natasha's head.

She hadn't moved the whole time he'd been watching her, but suddenly, she turned her head and looked right at him. Clint jumped.

Oops.

He quickly looked away, but he was too late. She had already caught him staring.

After a moment, he looked back at her with a sheepish smile. She smirked, then looked forward again.

Clint sat there for a minute, wondering how the hell she had known he was looking at her. Maybe she had felt him – she was creepily good at that. He had heard her talk before about feeling his gaze on her during their missions, how it made her feel safe, like he had her back. Maybe she had gotten really good at recognizing that feeling.

Oh, crap. I have GOT to stop staring at her.

He tried hard to focus on the slow-talking UN guy, who was coming to the end of his monologue.

"…and if non-hostile organizations such as SHIELD can have that kind of unchecked power, with no restrictions, then what about hostile agencies?" the guy was saying sluggishly. "If we don't eradicate SHIELD, or at the very least place restrictions on it, then that same unlimited power will continue to be assumed by organizations that are hostile towards society." He took a seat.

This time Hill stood up.

Oh, this is gonna be good.

"With all due respect, sir," Hill began dryly.

Clint started grinning. Whenever Hill started a sentence with 'with all due respect', that meant that someone was about to get pounded.

"Placing restrictions on 'rogue intelligence agencies', as you call them, would do nothing to remove the daily threat on society. In fact, it would achieve the opposite. SHIELD is a peace-seeking organization, so you are guaranteed concurrence should you choose to enforce restrictions on us. However, hostile associations, by definition, would not agree to abide under whatever laws you would choose to place on us. They are already antagonistic towards our cause, but given the power we maintain as of now, we are able to keep them in check. On the other hand, should you choose to place restrictions on non-governmental agencies, these hostile organizations would rise in power due to SHIELD's fall, and their attacks, and their maneuvers, would not be beneficial to the public in the way that SHIELD's are. They would cause incalculable damage to our society."

Hill sat down.

Dang.

We are so winning this thing.

Clint didn't really pay attention to any of the rest of the conference. He spent his time gazing up at the impressive dome, counting wall murals, and trying not to stare at Natasha. The time passed excruciatingly slowly, but finally, the UN rep stood up and announced that they were adjourning.

"The Level Tens will remain with the UN to discuss this issue," he said. "The rest of you are dismissed."

Everyone stood up, and there was a mass exodus to escape the marble prison chamber. Apparently Clint was not the only one who had been bored by the meeting.

During his attempts to reach the lobby without getting trampled, Natasha appeared at his elbow.

"Hey," she greeted quietly.

"Hi," Clint replied.

They didn't speak again as they picked their way back to the lobby.

Clint found a bench beside the wall and plopped down onto it. Natasha collapsed beside him.

"That was intense," she commented.

Clint snorted. " 'Intense' is not the word that comes to mind."

Natasha turned to him, one eyebrow raised in amusement. "Oh, no?"

Clint turned his head, and suddenly he realized how close he was to her. Respect space. He edged slightly away from her on the bench, and saw her eyes flick down, tracking his movement.

"Nah," he said finally. "I thought it was boring."

Natasha hmmed, watching him closely. Self-conscious under her inspection, Clint looked away.

He spotted Bobbi and Hunter squabbling across the room, and he quickly stood up. Natasha frowned up at him.

"I'm gonna go, uh, talk to Bobbi for a sec," he said quickly. "Be right back." He hurried away.

It wasn't that he didn't want to be around Natasha. He did – in fact, he hated walking away from her. But the List had a point – after being hounded by him for the past three weeks, she deserved a break from his constant, and probably irritating, presence.

"I'm serious, Bob!" Hunter was saying. "He was flat-out ogling you. I'm not saying I'm jealous, I just think it's bloody disrespectful to stare at—" He broke off as Clint stopped beside them, and glared at the archer.

Bobbi sighed and looked at Clint. "Hunter thinks you're interested in me," she said wryly.

"What?" Clint laughed. "Are you serious?"

Hunter gave a sharp nod.

Clint smiled and shook his head. "We haven't dated in like eight years, man," he told the Brit. "I've moved on. And I'm sure Bobbi feels the same way."

"See? That's what I keep telling you," Bobbi said in exasperation.

Hunter eyed Clint doubtfully. Clint was starting to get used to it.

A hush started unexpectedly settling over the crowd. Clint turned and saw the UN reps and the Level Tens exiting the conference room. They were speaking in low tones, all shaking hands. Then the UN representatives started towards the exit. The crowd of SHIELD agents parted to let them pass.

No one spoke until all six-or-seven of them had left the building.

Then Fury spoke.

"The United Nations," he said. "has agreed to let us keep functioning."

The lobby erupted in cheering.

Clint was clapping wildly, grinning as he watched Bobbi grab an astonished Hunter and kiss him on the mouth. He looked around the room at all the smiling faces, and his gaze fastened on the person he was looking for.

She was hugging Antoine Triplett.

Clint swallowed and looked away.

Agent Walters spoke above the uproar.

"We're going to celebrate!" she announced. "A party, tomorrow night, and all of SHIELD is invited! I hope to see you all there!"

Clint laughed at the shocked look on Fury's face. The he looked back at Natasha. She was talking to Triplett now, and they were both laughing about something.

Well… I guess I can go now, right?

Clint headed across the lobby towards the exit. He knew deep down that Nat wasn't really interested in Triplett or anything like that, but it still wasn't exactly awesome to watch her hug other guys. He shoved his hands into his pockets and stepped outside.

He had made it halfway down the stairs when someone spoke behind him.

"Barton?"

Clint's heart leapt excitedly, and he turned.

Natasha was standing at the top of the stairs with one hand on the railing, looking down at him with her brow creased.

Clint cleared his throat and took a couple steps up towards her. "Yeah."

Natasha opened her mouth to speak, then paused and turned her head away. She picked at the railing for a minute.

"Just… I mean, if… If I…" She broke off and looked at him again. "Barton, is something wrong?"

Clint blinked. "Wrong? With me? Course not." He hesitated. "Is something wrong with you?"

She shook her head. "No, no, I just…" She stepped a stair closer to him. "You just seemed a little… I don't know. Distant."

Yep, that's the goal.

"I just – I hope I didn't do something to upset you," she said quietly, looking at her shoes.

Clint laughed incredulously. "You? Upset me? Don't be ridiculous, Romanoff."

She smiled a little and met his eyes again. "So… we're good then?"

"Course!" Clint said cheerfully.

Natasha was studying him closely, as she had been doing so often lately. "Okay," she said vaguely.

Clint cleared his throat again.

"Well," he said. "Guess I better go now. I'll see you later."

He turned and hurried down the steps. Natasha didn't call him back.

(It was only then that it occurred to him that Step 20 had said to respect space, not create it.)

The avid AOS fan will notice a problem: By the time Skye was called Daisy; Hand and Triplett wouldn't have been around anymore. In response to that, I would just say that this is kind of an AU. Cause according to canon, Clint should have like 2 kids right now (I know, I try not to think about it too). So I know it doesn't make much sense, but just roll with it. My guess is that you don't set much store by MCU canon, seeing as you're reading a Clintasha story. x)

So the next step, I think I've decided is going to be a three-parter. I have big plans for these guys, and I am so pumped for you all to see! :D