Liv - Thank you so much, love! That really means a lot, because I'm trying (and occasionally failing) to make the action seem fresh each time, even though the readers already know what's coming. So I really appreciate that! :)

Ilessthan3KH - AH tysm!,! That is so encouraging honestly, and I really hope this chapter lives up to your expectations! x)

So, this one's closer to my normal chapter length, so in light of how long they've been getting lately, it may feel short. :P I'm a little unsure again - I think this chapter has its ups and downs. :/

Hope you enjoy it though! :)

It wasn't until after dinner the following day that Maria Hill, as she had promised, brought a small party to Natasha's house.

She showed up around eight-thirty with Bobbi Morse, Melinda May, Pepper Potts, and Sharon Carter. Natasha had made an effort to look presentable, and was prepared for the visit with a 12-pack of Samuel Adams. Her friends clambered into her kitchen barstools and, before long, both alcohol and chatter were flowing freely.

Just as Natasha had hoped, her friends' presence proved to be a good distraction from everything that was going on between herself and Clint. Once or twice he flitted briefly through her thoughts, but for the most part, she was able to keep her mind off him, which was a welcome change from her constant thoughts about him lately.

Unsurprisingly, the women's discussion soon turned towards HYDRA's movements, and Clint's suggested conference, which had apparently been officially approved by SHIELD.

"Yeah, it's definitely confirmed now," Maria was saying. "Victoria Hand and Noelle Walters said they're gonna be there, and now I'm trying to get Anne Weaver interested. This isn't really her division, but I thought it'd make a good impression to have someone from the Academy there, since this is affecting all of SHIELD."

"Anne Weaver… Oh, is she the one from Science and Technology?" May asked.

Maria nodded, taking a swallow of beer. "Mhm. She's a good speaker."

"You don't think it'd be better to have someone from Ops?" Sharon suggested.

"We thought about it, but we decided Sci-Tech would make the best impression," Hill replied. "Ops has the highest percentage of washouts in the academy, and Comms… Well, you know Comms. Sci-Tech's elite, and it has a better success rate."

"When's it set for?" Pepper asked.

"Tomorrow, 1300," Maria answered. "Fury's talking about getting the Supreme Court building. We'll see how that goes."

Thoughtful silence hung in the air for a few seconds as the friends sipped their beer.

Then Bobbi set down her drink and said, "Okay, enough about work. Let's talk about Barton."

The attention level in the room suddenly rose, and Natasha found herself on the receiving end of five curious gazes.

Oi, der'mo.

She took a slow pull at her beer bottle, trying to look casual. "What about him?"

"You know what about him," Sharon responded. "Whatever it is that's been going in between the two of you!"

Natasha examined the tiny, conceited-looking man on the Samuel Adams logo. "Don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't play dumb, Romanoff," May ordered. "We all know about the rumors that were going around."

"Oh, that." Natasha laughed in relief. "Look, a rumor's a rumor. It doesn't mean anything."

"But all rumors have to start somehow," Pepper pointed out. "And a lot of times, they're based on fact."

"So are you interested in him?" Sharon asked.

Natasha hesitated. Until this moment, she'd been relieved at the chance to get her mind off of Clint. She still felt that way, but at the same time, she had to admit that the prospect of discussing her feelings with her girlfriends did have its appeal.

"I'd… prefer not to talk about this…" she began uncertainly.

"Of course she's interested in him," Bobbi cut in. "Every woman at work is interested in him – and not just the women, actually."

"Well, to be fair, who wouldn't be," May remarked, "with abs like his."

A general buzz of agreement passed through the other women. Natasha took a huge gulp of beer.

"That's true, he does have very nice abs," Sharon concurred.

"I'm in a very happy relationship, and even I have to admit that he has nice abs," Pepper agreed.

Natasha raised an eyebrow, feigning amusement. "Look, do you mind if we talk about something other than Clint's abs?"

"She's right, ladies," Maria spoke up. "Enough is enough."

"Thank you."

"Let's talk about his arms instead," said Maria.

"NO."

"Ohh, that's true, he does have good arms," Pepper said. "Doesn't he, Nat?"

Natasha swallowed. "I… hadn't noticed…"

"No, he does," Bobbi agreed. "Have you ever seen him in the archery range? You know how his shoulders look when he pulls back the arrow and releases it?"

Natasha groaned. She knew exactly how his shoulders looked. "Shut up…"

"And his biceps? They're honestly mesmerizing," Sharon added.

"Mesmerizing, that's true." May nodded approvingly at Sharon. "Good word."

Natasha scowled at her beer bottle. She knew what her friends were doing – they were going to keep tormenting her until she admitted how she felt about Clint. And she was getting uncomfortably close…

"Morse, you've dated him, right?" Pepper asked.

"Oh, that's right, you did!" May said, as Morse nodded. With a sideways glance at Natasha, May added, "How is he at kissing?"

Natasha rolled her eyes and lifted her beer bottle to her lips, pretending disinterest.

"Clint is an amazing kisser," Bobbi said earnestly. "He's good with his hands… always uses just the right amount of tongue—"

Natasha choked on her beer.

"Morse," she said weakly. "Cut it out."

She saw some of her friends exchange gleeful glances – they could tell she was close to confessing.

"What about in bed?" May went on. "Or did you ever get to that point with him?"

"Don't. Answer. That question," Natasha said severely, as Morse opened her mouth. Five pairs of eyes fastened hopefully on the assassin, and she sighed.

"Fine. Yes. I love him. Happy?"

Her friends were grinning at her.

"More like, ecstatic," Hill replied.

"Nat, that's wonderful!" Pepper said. "I always knew you were into him, but I didn't realize you were actually in love with him!"

Natasha half-smiled. It did feel nice to tell them.

"Is it a mutual thing?" Sharon asked.

Natasha shook her head. "I really don't know. I wish I did," she added bitterly.

"Well, give us more information," Hill coaxed, folding her hands. "How does he act towards you?"

"Um…" Natasha squinted, trying to think. "Well… I guess there was that one day where he kept sort of... brushing up against me, kicking me under the table, that kind of thing."

"Footsie?" Sharon asked.

Natasha frowned. "Not exactly. At the time I thought it was because he was pissed at me, but I could've been wrong. And then there was this time when we were sparring and he was having trouble getting into his stride… But that could've been a fluke."

"What else?" Pepper asked eagerly.

Natasha pursed her lips. "Well, he did get me Strela… and after I got drunk at Stark's party, he was acting really concerned about me… Oh." A memory struck her, and she felt her cheeks grow warm. She laughed awkwardly and looked at the floor.

"He did sort of say – that is, at my session, he was there and he – well, I was standing really close to him, and he sort of said… that I smelled good?"

"What?" Sharon exploded. "Romanoff! Rule of thumb: if a guy notices how you smell, he's definitely into you!"

"But would he tell her," May mused. "That's what I'm wondering. I mean, a guy might notice how his crush smells, but he probably wouldn't comment on it, because those types of observations can come off as creepy."

Natasha paused. "So… what does that mean?" she asked. It felt odd to be the one asking for help. But she had no experience with love, and her friends did, so it made sense to ask their advice.

May narrowed her eyes. "I don't know… Continue."

Natasha crossed her arms, shrugging. "I don't know, I think that's about it. I mean, I guess last Friday he did sort of pin me down and tickle me to death—"

"What!" This time the exclamation came from all five of her friends, and Natasha froze.

"What?" she asked doubtfully.

"'Pinned you down'?" Sharon repeated.

"'Tickled you'?" Bobbi added.

"Yes…?" Natasha said, squinting at them.

Her friends gaped at her.

"Are you blind?" May said. "Natasha, Clint likes you."

Natasha blinked. "What?—No, he was just teasing me I think… I mean, we were just chatting, and he started touching my leg—"

"WHAT!" all five of them yelled again.

"Romanoff," Hill said sharply. "You may have never been in love, but you've at least been on enough seduction missions to know that touching the leg is a romantic gesture!"

"She's right, Nat," Pepper agreed.

Maybe they had a point. Natasha furrowed her brow, trying to remember exactly how it had happened.

"I don't know," she said dubiously. "I mean, for me, obviously, it was…" She faltered, unsure how to describe the tingly thrills she had felt while he was tickling her, and the feeling in her stomach at the touch of his warm hands. She cleared her throat and moved on. "…but for him, I mean, he knows I hate being tickled, so I think he was just being an asshole."

"Romanoff, it's a generally known fact that boys act like assholes to girls they like," Sharon said.

"Yeah, in kindergarten," May cut in dryly. "Look, Romanoff, the point is that physical contact of any kind is a big indicator. So if Clint 'pinned you down and tickled you', he was basically waving a flag in your face that said 'Hey Nat, date me.'"

"Alright, alright, hold off on the wedding invitations," Natasha said sarcastically. "I've been telling you about things that make me think he is into me, but there have been things that make me think he isn't, too. Like once, when I thought he'd been attacked, I hugged him and he just kind of stood there."

Bobbi grimaced. "Oh."

"And when he heard the rumors about us, he started laughing and said, and I quote, 'That is hilarious,'" Natasha said indignantly.

Hill took in her breath. "Yikes."

"Not to mention how far away from me he sat at the meeting last night; so don't start giving me baby name suggestions just yet," Natasha said wryly. "I've been getting mixed signals."

There was a pensive silence.

Then Hill said, "Well, the next time you'll see him is at the conference tomorrow, right?—So maybe something will change then."

Natasha shrugged. "Maybe."

Another moment passed, then Sharon said, "Well, I hate to break up this party, but I really need to head home now. Fury has me making all these preparations for that debate tomorrow, so I should really get a head start on that."

The others expressed their disappointment as Sharon slid from the barstool.

"Thanks for the beer, Romanoff. I'll see you guys," she said, before heading out the door.

After she was gone, Pepper leaned forward onto the counter and took another sip of beer. "So, where are you right now, Nat? In terms of Clint, that is."

Natasha shrugged, crossing her arms. "Really, I'm just taking my cue from him. I don't know how he feels about me, so I'm kind of waiting for a hint on that, I guess."

"What kind of hint?" Bobbi asked.

Natasha shrugged again. "I don't know… I just don't want to risk our friendship, so I want to know how he feels before I act on my feelings."

"Well, if you really want to know how he feels about you," May said mischievously, "a kiss on the mouth is a good test."

The others laughed, and Natasha joined in, albeit blushingly. "I'll keep it in mind," she joked.

There was a knock at the door.

"Sharon must have forgotten something," Pepper mused, as Natasha started for the hall.

"Hey, if it's Barton making a booty call, let us know and we'll leave!" Hill called after her.

Natasha started laughing. "Got it, thanks," she called back sarcastically.

She was still laughing when she opened the door and found herself face-to-face with Clint Barton.

Annnd I think this was actually the chapter I got the most requests for! It was a blast to write, I just really really hope it was okay! xP I'll try my hardest to get the next part out tomorrow.

Also, if my May seems out of character, this story takes place before Bahrain. Which, again, does not fit with the canonical timeline... shhh. x) There isn't really an MCU timeline that fits with this story, but that's okay, right? After all: Time, from a nonlinear, nonsubjective viewpoint, is more like a big ball of wibbly wobbly, timey wimey stuff. ;)