I dare you
A/N: Natasha has mad skills. Like seriously drive-Barton-crazy level acting skills. Wanna see them in action? Most of their missions so far have been less espionage and more Barton's fighter style because SHIELD doesn't give him these missions that often. But since Natasha is on his team now that might slowly start to change. It's not exactly a good thing.
DANCE MUSIC: If you want the music and the video I based their dance off of type in "Tango – Roxanne" into youtube and the first video is the one I used to imagine their dance. I used other videos but that was the music I had in my head while writing.
Chapter 46
Clint placed his dark eye mask over his face and calmly entered the massive white ballroom with a sparkling stone covered ceiling nearly 100 feet above his head. The room was packed with dignitaries and flowing dresses of all colors. He felt sort of stupid hiding his 'identity' with a real mask – but then you always feel less stupid when everyone in the room is doing the exact same thing. Assassins didn't need masks to protect them - they needed stealth and complete anonymity. He wasn't a damn masked hero – those people only existed in stories and in the pages of children's comic books. He didn't believe in heroes. No one has ever been able to prove to him that they exist – that they even could exist.
He left it as an open challenge for anyone to prove him wrong. Maybe one day he would meet someone he considered a worthy hero.
He scanned the room and leaned against one of the far walls so that he had the best view of the large packed space. He didn't see either of their targets in sight and from the Intel that was to be expected. The assassin Amelia Riviera wouldn't appear until a few minutes before everyone's main target Eric Conroy showed up. They were all waiting on his scheduled arrival.
"Are you here yet Tasha?" he asked quietly under his breath. Her heard steady breathing in his ear that was more comforting then any music he could ever listen to. The only sound that he liked more was probably her heartbeat. He rarely got close enough to hear that though. Maybe that's why it was his favorite sound.
"I'm going to need another minute," she said evenly in his ear. He paused as he tried to guess why she would need extra time. There were no worrying sounds on her end of the line.
"Why is that?" he asked slowly as he scanned the room once again. He heard her take a deep breath and knew she was steeling herself for something. He paused in his search for any potential threats and furrowed his brow.
"Tasha…" he said warningly.
"Barton…don't freak out okay?" she said calmly before she suddenly cut the line. He froze as the silence rang in his ears –oh no she didn't. She did it again! That Russian idiot cut him off again! He narrowed his eyes and clenched his jaw.
He was going to kill her one day. Before she managed to give him a damn heart attack because of her recklessness. Damn if she didn't turn that stupid com link back on he was going to tear through this ballroom and find out exactly where she is and compromised mission be damned. He pushed himself off the wall and started weaving through the crowds against his will. He wasn't actively looking for her but he was going to keep moving and maybe he would just bump into her – highly unlikely because if she was deliberately cutting him off she knew where he was in the room already. He paused at the refreshment table and contemplated how much alcohol was actually in the champagne. He wasn't that desperate to calm his nerves yet - but if she kept doing this he might just be tempted.
"Hey handsome – wanna dance?" an unfamiliar lightly Italian accented voice asked alluringly from behind him. He tensed ever so slightly. It was one of those voices that made men fall to their knees and lose their senses. They type Clint Barton stayed far, far away from. He made a personal rule never to give into people like that. They only use you for one night and then they disappear forever. He didn't care how beautiful women like this were – he's never let one charm their way into his pants before and he wasn't going to start now.
He blanked his expression and slowly turned around to quickly diffuse whatever interest the random seductress had in him but instantly froze when green eyes stared back at him through the simple black silk mask tied behind her head. Well shit there went all those thoughts right out the window. She tilted her head to the side and a red curl fell across her masked face as she watched his slack-jawed expression with slight smirk pulling at the edge of her lips. When she licked her lips his brain started smoking.
Clint froze as he felt his entire body start to respond unconsciously. Holy shit the blood was rushing south way to damn fast. No one ever got him to react that fast. He felt his blood start to pump quicker through his veins and swiftly schooled his face to get rid of the embarrassing expression he was wearing moments ago. He heard her laugh prettily – and it was like a cold bucket of ice water. Because it wasn't her laugh. It wasn't even close to the deep honest laugh she makes when they are having a really exhilarating sparing match.
"Are you using a voice altering device?" he asked in a low voice quickly getting a hold of himself and shoving his intense feelings to the back of his head. This was a job – this wasn't real. He didn't want this. A mysterious smile spread across her lips and it did weird shit to his stomach again – it wasn't the pleasant feeling either. Something about these lure and kill missions echo something from her past and caused her to act a bit different. He preferred the cold and efficient Natasha he usually worked with in the direct line of fire. This enigmatic Natasha made him wary.
"Maybe," she said airily with the same Italian accent that sounded so odd coming out of her mouth. He started to feel a little lightheaded. Okay so maybe she made him wary because she really played up the alluring part of her personality in these types of missions. But it wasn't real and that was what made the non-hormone driven side of his brain cautious. It made him scared to feel anything because none of this was real.
"I like your normal voice better – barely hinted Russian accent and all," he muttered determinedly looking away from her and scanning the room once more. He wasn't going to let her do this to him. He really hated being played.
"No one is here yet. I can see the entrance from here," she said evenly suddenly sounding exactly like herself. He froze. Not a voice altering device. She could do voices. He didn't know that. His eyes whipped back to hers but the odd mysterious expression was back in place like it never left.
"You still haven't answered my question you know?" she said with a soft sigh of disappointment suddenly heavily playing up her Russian accent. He simply scowled at her. Oh that was just horrible.
"I don't want that either," he grumbled. She tilted her head to the side again and he watched as slight confusion flashed across her face before her expression melted into a convincing pout – it would all be extremely convincing if he didn't know she wouldn't be caught dead having any of these expressions when it was just them. Oh dear god the day the real Natasha Romanoff pouted at him he thinks he might shoot himself.
"Are you saying no? Why - can't dance Mr. sexy blue eyes?" she asked in an amused straight clean American accent. He thinks it was slightly Iowan too. He blinked – he never knew she ever looked up his file to know where he was born. Either way she was really, really good. He would hate to fall for this type of fake personality. He hated personalities like these. He liked her real one so much better.
"You really like acting don't you?" he muttered still unfazed and pretty much bored with her little show. He felt her tense ever so slightly.
"It doesn't work if you don't play along," she said with a bit of her real voice bleeding through her tone but he could still tell it wasn't completely real. He leaned into her personal space and she simply watched him with an interested gaze. Lies. Lies. Lies. Always with the lies.
"Let me give you a hint Romanoff – be yourself and maybe I'll accept your offer to dance," he whispered in her ear. He felt her freeze and sighed before he pulled back. She was such an idiot. He glanced back at the entrance even though he knew that if either of their targets walked in she would break character instantly. He kind of wanted her to break it now though.
"Boy you are picky," he swore he heard her muttered under her breath. He glanced back at her slightly ruffled form. Her expression was slightly strained. It was almost like she couldn't decide exactly how to act at the moment. For someone so damn intelligent she was being downright stupid right now.
"Natasha you should have already figured out by now what I like," he said shaking his head in disbelief. Was it really that hard for her to believe that he liked exactly what he saw every day of the week? He didn't know if she was trying to seduce him for fun, to prove to herself that she could or if she was testing him for some reason. He glanced up at her again and saw a flash of familiar flat out annoyance in her green eyes and he finally felt the tightness around his heart loosen. Her entire demeanor shifted and he could feel the deadly aura she normally carried in field missions take over. He was finally, finally seeing Natasha Romanoff.
"Fine. Dance with me Barton," she growled before she roughly grabbed him by the scruff of his collar and literally dragged him through the crowd towards the dance floor. She didn't even care to let him say yes – he was coming whether he wanted to or not damn it. He laughed in relief as he let himself be dragged happily.
"My you are demanding Tasha," he said cheekily. She shot him a burning look as she pulled him along.
"Yeah? Well you are a pain in my ass that has the strangest taste in the entire world!" she huffed shaking her head in disbelief. He gave her a careful look that she didn't see.
"Why is it strange? Are you only saying that because you've never met anyone who wanted all the pieces that make you who you really are?" he asked quietly. She froze and suddenly stopped walking right in front of the dance floor without turning around. It was a rare moment when he caught Natasha Romanoff off guard – it didn't last long.
"Can you even dance Barton?" she asked suddenly changing the subject. He gave her a long look. That was a pathetic attempt – especially from her. He answered her anyway.
"Of course I can dance Natasha. We're spies not guerrilla warfare fighters," he said dryly. She spun around with a fresh determined look on her face and stepped backwards onto the dance floor while she dragged him along with her by their suddenly joined hands – he nearly tripped from the speed she yanked him forwards.
"You're rather assertive. You do know in dance it's my job to lead right?" he said in amusement as he easily regained his balance and stood in front of her and her steady expression. She scoffed as she made sure to keep the entrance in sight at all times.
"I know that idiot. I can do both roles," she muttered. He paused as he considered what that really meant.
"So you've disguised yourself as a man before too. Why am I not surprised?" he said shaking his head in even more amusement. She glared at him and angrily took his left hand and placed it around her waist and grabbed his right hand in her own. They stared at each other for several intense seconds as they waited for the current song playing to end.
"Ready to get blown away Tasha?" he whispered inches from her face as he tightened his grip on her hip. She flashed him a tight smile that hid dark promises.
"I've danced with the best Barton – I've killed the best too," she said with a sudden straight face. He grimaced.
"Morbid," he muttered. She snorted as she heard the last verses of the salsa song start to play out.
"I thought you liked weird and morbid?" she asked warily. He shook his head.
"No actually I don't," he said honestly. He felt her instantly tense but gripped her hand tighter as the new song started – it was tango music. Fantastic. He pulled her close and smiled even though she was clenching her jaw.
"I just like you," he whispered before he pulled her into the dance and spun them across the dance floor. She remained tense as he led them through several intricate back and forth footwork around the room. She kept up easily and didn't look away from his serious gaze for even a second. Dancing was like second nature – she was a natural dancer since she was young. She could feel the control in his frame as he quickly twirled her in place and firmly caught her by her waist before he spun her back into his arms with perfect timing. She narrowed her eyes when the serious expression was still there.
"I already told you, you don't know me well enough Barton," she said steadily as he led them though another round of footwork that was more like a battle between how fast he could keep pace and how fast she could followed his elaborate steps. It was almost like sparing – but not quite. She wasn't trying to land a hit – the point was to follow as fast as possible without ever actually catching his feet and breaking the rhythm.
"I learn something about you every day – one day I'll know enough Tasha," he said determinedly as he slid his warm hand up her side and coaxed her into a deep dip away from him. He followed the motion with a swift step forwards to balance their sudden shift. Several strands of hair came loose from her pinned up bun and he thought that it just made her look even sexier. She stared up at him with cautious eyes.
"You don't know how long we'll stay partners Barton," she said before he gracefully pulled her back upright and she firmly gripped his shoulder as she kicked her foot back and slammed her heel into the hard wood floor as he forced her backwards as the music picked up.
"As long as you let us Tasha – because I will never be the one who ends our partnership," he said decisively as he firmly grasped her waist and allowed her to throw her right leg into the air and slide it across the floor in a wide semicircle as he followed her hypnotic motion with his eyes. She honestly had the most killer legs in the world – pun intended.
"I never said it was going to be me who ends it," she said quietly as he tugged her back towards him and slammed her body against his a bit harder than strictly necessary. The music spiked and she wrapped one of her long strong legs around his waist and allowed him to lift her off the ground and spin them across the dance floor as her red dress flowed around them like a swirling fire. They never lost eye contact as he carried her through the dance.
"Good. We're going to be the best Tasha. You and me – we're going to beat out all of the other SHIELD field teams out there," he said as he gracefully came to a stop and allowed her to spin right out of his arms until they were only joined together by one hand.
"Sometimes life gets in the way of even the best Barton," she said without looking at him. They were still monitoring the entrance for their targets. They never forgot why they were here. They were never allowed to forget. He sighed and tugged her back towards him and firmly grasped her hand as she fell against his chest with a carefully look in her eyes.
"Why are you always so pessimistic?" he muttered as he tightly gripped her waist to lift her up and spin her around before he bent his knee and forced her to slide into nearly a full split across the wood floor. He leaned forward and searched her steady eyes for an answer.
"Because life burns optimists alive Barton," she replied staring back at him with a dark undertone to her words. He saw violent memories flash across her eyes and knew she was speaking from experience. He gave her a sympathetic smile before he warped a strong arm around her body and slowly pulled her back up into a standing position. Then he suddenly flipped her around roughly dragged her bare back flush against his chest. He felt her inhale sharply and chuckled sending deep vibrations through her body.
"My world is already on fire Tasha," he whispered in her ear as he slowly guided both of her arms to warp around his neck as they both watched the entrance wondering when their dance would be forced to end. He wrapped one of his arms around her waist once more and he slid the other hand down her stomach, over her thigh and grasped her right knee forcing her to pull it up to her chest.
"Why hasn't it burned to the ground yet?" she asked as they both took a deep breath.
"Because the fire is what keeps me alive," he answered as he picked her up and rapidly spun them around again and again and again. For a moment it was just them lost in the music that dictated their every motion.
"Then one day that fire will go out," she said slightly breathless as he finally brought them to a standstill and let her drop to the floor in front of him. He dragged his nose over her shoulder and pressed his face into the dip of her neck as he took a deep breath of just Natasha.
"I'll never let our fire go out Tasha," he whispered passionately. She tensed and suddenly broke his hold and pulled away from him to spin around and pin him with a fierce look.
"Why are you doing this now Barton? Why are you bringing all of this up now after what you said in the car?" she asked cautiously. The song finally ended and they were both left out of breath and staring at each other with several unspoken questions suddenly hanging in the air.
"I already told you I needed you didn't I?" he said in confusion. He didn't understanding what she was saying. She herself looked confused now. What the hell?
"Yes you need us to be partners – so what? I already knew that a long time ago," she said slowly. He froze. Oh god she wasn't really doing this was she? After all the shit that happened between them she really wasn't thinking that he told her he didn't want her did she? He gave her a searching look and his heart sunk when he saw resignation somewhere in the depths of her green eyes.
She did.
"Natasha. You're so stupid sometimes," he said with a sigh. She froze and completely blanked on him. Now he knew for a fact she was just hiding her utter shock. He reached out to pull her close and felt her instantly tense as she glanced over his shoulder – it wasn't because of him. There was a slim dark-haired late arrival wearing a white mask that completely contrasted with her deep black dress that just walked into the room.
"Your target is here," she said quietly popping the bubble they had been stuck in together. He sighed and leaned his forehead against her shoulder. Damn mission.
"I prefer dancing with you - you know that right?" he whispered in her ear. She rolled her eyes – he was comparing dancing with his partner and his target. Obviously she would win even if she was the shittiest dancer on earth. Idiot.
"Shut up and go seduce an assassin Barton," she said flawlessly slipping into mission mode. He shook his head and firmly gripped her waist not allowing her to pull away just yet. The dark-haired assassin could wait because her target wasn't here just yet. Instead he drew Natasha closer and leaned his cheek against hers so that his lips were right up against her ear. He continued to gently spin them around the dance floor while keeping an eye on their petite dark haired assassin. They ignored the music now and just flowed with their own beat.
"You know there is only one assassin I've always wanted to seduce in my entire life – at first I really hated the fact that I wanted her. I denied it and she denied it too. And for a while it was okay like that because we really didn't know each other at all. Then several months passed and I learned things about her – real things. And then suddenly one day I didn't want to seduce her anymore. One day I wanted to see if maybe she could be the friend I never had instead. I was lucky enough to find out too. She is an amazing friend. Saved my ass more time then I can count. But then one day being friends wasn't enough anymore," he whispered softly. She tried to pull away but he wouldn't let her and just held on tighter.
"Stop Barton," she said quietly. He smiled softly but didn't listen – he never listened to her words – only her actions. And she wasn't pushing him away – physically or otherwise.
"One day I wanted to be the only person she wanted to spend her free time with. One day I wanted to be the only person to make her smile – a real one. One day I wanted to be the only person she came to when she felt like she was going to explode. One day I wanted to be the only one to hold her when nightmares of a past she doesn't deserve haunts her in the night. One day I wanted to travel the world with her. One day I wanted to explore something I've never found with anyone else with her. One day I wanted her to want all those things too," he continued softly.
"It doesn't matter what she wants," she whispered. He shook his head sadly.
"It matters to me," he whispered back. She remained silent. He easily filled the silence.
"Do you like my little story?" he asked with a tight smile. She snorted.
"It got way too damn cheesy at the end. The story should have stopped at her saving your ass," she muttered. He laughed softly.
"But then where would the happy ending come from then?" he asked amusedly. She suddenly looked away and frowned. There were no such things as happy endings.
"Life doesn't work like that Barton," she said carefully. His expression darkened slightly.
"No – actually it's SHIELD that doesn't work like that. But we could work around that Tasha. You've been saying no because you think I can't handle if we got caught right?" he whispered. She tensed and he smiled softly.
"Things like that make me want you more you know," he whispered. She sighed and shut her eyes.
"No Barton I really don't think this is a good idea," she said quietly. He was silent for several moments.
"I've had offers from the CIA you know?" he said suddenly while still keeping an eye on the lone figure floating through the room. They were all still waiting for Eric Conroy. Until he got here he didn't technically have to let her go yet.
"The idiots you insult all the time?" she asked warily. He laughed.
"Yup," he said simply. She rolled her eyes at his childish response.
"You'd get bored working your way up their stupid bureaucracy," she said with a scoff. He shrugged.
"It would be worth it trust me," he said seriously. But they both knew he would hate it. SHIELD was the only organization out there that gave them the right amount of freedom along with proper regulation. But he would still do it if he had to. If they got caught and service terminated he had somewhere to go – that was the point.
"Do they even allow for newbies to choose their partners in the CIA?" she said warily. He froze. Was she saying what he thought she was saying?
"Are you serious?" he asked in shock. She gave him a long look. well it wasn't like she was jumping to switch organizations. She rather liked their current handler - it kind of helped that he saved their lives.
"You still gotta work for it Barton," she said dryly. He scoffed.
"Haven't you already put me through enough shit Tasha? You and your annoying mood swings, odd habits and evil pranks. Damn if only the world knew just how sadistic you can be," he muttered. She scowled and was about to smack him upside the head when they both tensed as they saw Eric Conroy finally enter the room. Damn time was up. They were always running on pre-set time limits.
"Bye Tasha. Tell me later. Go get your target," he whispered as he brushed his lips against her cheek and walked away while taking his warmth with him. She stood there for several moments breathing in several deep breaths and trying to compartmentalize the mess of emotions he always leaves behind in her before she schooled her face and walked off in the opposite direction. Great now her cheek would be burning for the rest of the night. Bastard did it on purpose she was sure.
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A/N: Now things are going to get messy! Yay! But how exactly is the question. I got a plan. haha. ACTION TIME :D And um…raised your hopes. Ek. And btw TANGO IS HARD TO WRITE DAMN IT! The video moves are so fast! WOW. That scene took well over an hour to write out. haha. Sorry real dancers! I was just making some of the moves up! If I said something that is not actually physically possible I'm sorry! I can't dance at all! I just have a really good imagination. Haha.
DID YOU LIKE THE DANCE? :D
