Thanks, everyone, for sticking with me - I love all of you! Of course, we can't have an Avengers story without a mission, so Fury will be interrupting. We'll also get to meet Laura - told you I'd include her in the story. Hope you enjoy and keep those reviews, favorites, and followings coming!

Clint smirked. "Oh, ye of little faith. Just you wait." He pulled out her chair and she stood up. He put an arm tightly around her waist and they went over to the adjoining lounge, where a small jazz combo was playing. He led her to a small table toward the back where he could keep an eye on everything and still see Mikayla. They sat down and ordered a couple of drinks. While waiting for their drinks, they took in the soft jazz that was being played. Mikayla looked around the lounge to get her bearings. There was a bar along the opposite side from where they were sitting. The stage was to the left of the bar. There were tables spread throughout, and in between the tables and the performance area, there was a small area for dancing. The server delivered their drinks while Mikayla was surveying the room. Clint stood up and offered his hand out. "Dance with me, please?" He immediately put on the puppy dog eyes and pouting look.

"You have got to stop that, Clint," Mikayla said as she took his hand and he led her to the dance floor.

"It worked, didn't it?" He smirked.

"Clint Barton, I would've danced with you without the look."

He spun her around, grabbed her by the waist, and pulled her close. "I know. Can I help it if I'm irresistible?"

"You're also incorrigible, but it's part of your charm, so I'll take it." She put an arm around his shoulders so they could talk softly to each other.

The song the band was playing ended and they went right into another one. Before she knew it, Clint was softly singing in her ear:

Unforgettable, that's what you are

Unforgettable, though near or far

Like a song of love that clings to me

How the thought of you does things to me

Never before has someone been more

Unforgettable

She went to lay her head on his shoulder, but he put his index finger under her chin, lifting her head so they could look at each other as he continued singing.

Mikayla watched his eyes as the two of them danced around the floor. With every spin, they seemed to change depending on how the light hit them. One moment they were blue, then they were grey, then the two colors seemed to merge into the most gorgeous, unique color she'd ever seen, causing her to smile broadly.

"Happy?"

She nodded. "Just looking at your eyes. Women would kill to have eyes like yours. I'm glad I'm the only one who gets to see them this close, though." She moved her hands to link her fingers behind his neck. "I love you," she whispered.

He ran his fingers through her hair. "Love you, too. Where have you been all my freaking life?"

She grinned. "Waiting for you to fly through my window,"

He smiled back. "Had I known that I would've done that long before I did."

She kissed him. "I think you landed at just the right time."

"I'm sorry you had to wait to hear from me."

"Clint, it's okay. I understand why. New memories here, remember?"

"You're right, new memories." He took his hand and moved her head closer to his. "Thank you for saving me, Mikayla Fitzgerald, soon to be Mikayla Barton." He placed a soft kiss on her lips.

"You saved me, and I'll be honored to be known as Mikayla Barton." The band was taking a break, so the couple went back to their table and nursed their drinks. "You were right." He looked at her, his brow furrowed. "The night did get better."

He smiled. "Told you to trust me." He took her hand. "You do trust me, right?"

"If I didn't, I wouldn't have agreed to marry you, silly goose, uh, hawk." She chuckled. "I put a lot of value in trust. To me, it's the bedrock of a solid relationship. If you can't trust the other person, then why bother being with them? And, Clint, you've not given me any reason not to trust you, just the opposite. You've shown trust in me by letting me into your life, which I know is not easy in your profession, so it's a no brainer for me to trust you."

He nodded. What she said was so true. All he had to do was think back to Laura Ignazio, the woman who showed him exactly what he did not want in a mate. He didn't handle clingy people well. She never could understand why he wasn't always at her beck and call. She displayed an annoying habit of having to be hanging on to him like she couldn't exist without him. The proverbial straw that broke the camel's back was something Nat pointed out, something he had failed to notice. Laura, despite always having to have him around, never thought he was good enough. He wasn't up to standards she'd set, even though she never voiced what those standards were. The breaking point was the series of texts he discovered. Laura had called him from work, asking him to find her cell and she'd pick it up when she came over that evening. He found it in the bed covers. Being the master spy, he unlocked it and saw a string of texts between Laura and someone named Jasper. What kind of name was Jasper, anyway? From the messages, it was obvious they were sleeping together. What was not obvious was when did they have the time because she seemed to always be at his place? He greeted her with that question when he answered the door later that day. She told him Jasper was a friend from work, and she didn't think her relationship with Clint was monogamous anyway. He tossed the phone at her and ordered her to lose his number, they were done. He never knew what happened to Jasper until Nat came back from the mission with Cap. The ringing of his phone in the present interrupted his thoughts. "Barton."

"It's Fury. Hate to interrupt your little vacation, but I need you for a mission with Romanoff."

"Where and when?"

"Russia, 36 hours. I'll brief you when you get back." There was a pause. "Coming back with good news or bad?"

"She said yes."

"Bad news it is, then."

Clint chuckled. "For you, yes, sir. For me, the best news ever."

"Let me talk to her, Barton."

Clint handed Mikayla the phone. "Hello?"

"You know what you're getting yourself into, Micki?"

She sighed and grinned. "Eyes always open, Nick, just like I was taught."

"OK, then. Congratulations are in order then."

"Thanks, Nick. I'll get him back to base in one piece." The line went dead, and she handed the phone to Clint. "How long before we have to get back to the real world?"

"I leave in 36 hours, so we can head back tomorrow."

She turned her head. "Music's back, another dance?"

"My pleasure, Sharky." They held hands and returned to the dance floor, dancing to a couple of songs. Clint noticed Mikayla beginning to yawn. "We should head back to the hotel."

"Are you okay to drive?"

"I am, I had a couple of glasses of champagne, didn't touch my drink here."

"OK, just checking."

"Ready?" She nodded. They exited the building, got in the car, and went back to the hotel. Clint pulled into the parking garage, looked over, and saw Mikayla had fallen asleep. "Mikayla, we're here?" He gently shook her. "Babe, wake up. Time to go back to the hotel room."

She stretched. "Okay, good." They got out of the car and went into the hotel, the cool breeze hit Mikayla in the face, fully waking her up. 'Oh, look,' Mikayla said to herself, 'the tramp is back behind the desk.' As they walked by the desk, Mikayla raised her voice to ensure Denise could hear. "James, darling, thanks for another lovely outing. I never get tired of them." She trailed her nails across the back of his neck and nibbled his ear. "Get your own man, this one's mine," she said to herself.

Clint played along. "Always, June. I never get tired of spending time with you." He began tracing circles on her back, sending shivers up her spine. When the doors to the elevators closed, he leaned in and asked, "Jealous much?"

"Not at all. Jealousy implies she has something I want, which she doesn't. I've got you, she doesn't, enough said. I just wanted to make sure she didn't forget that you're taken."

"As are you, babe," Clint leaned over and kissed her. She wrapped her arms around his waist, and they stayed that way until they got to their suite. Once Clint closed the door, Mikayla took off her shoes and kicked them across the room as Clint removed his coat and tie, tossing them on a chair. He collapsed into another chair and pulled Mikayla onto his lap. "I'm going to enjoy these next 24 hours as much as I can."

Mikayla wrapped her arms around his shoulders and leaned her head down on top of his. "I like that plan." She sighed. "I could get used to this," Clint replied by caressing her legs with his free hand, the other one holding her on his lap. "Mmm," she said as she snuggled even closer to Clint. Before he knew it, she had fallen asleep. He picked her up, carried her to the bedroom, and undressed her. He laid her down on the bed and went to grab a t-shirt and pajama pants from the suitcase. He returned, put the shirt and pants on her, then brought the covers over her. He softly kissed her cheek and returned to the living room. He started to focus on the mission. This would be the first one since the alien invasion not involving the entire team that he'd be involved in, but he and Nat worked so well together he wasn't concerned about that. What did concern him a bit was his new relationship status as a fiancé. He knew if his enemies found out, he could be compromised. He'd use all his resources and training to make sure that didn't happen. He would also use his archery training to stay focused on the task at hand, that was something he had confidence in. He also had the best partner in the world, and, to top it off, the motivation to stay focused and alive – Mikayla. He knew it would break her heart if he didn't make it back, so he would make it back with no problems, simple as that. He thought about things over the years he'd used for motivation - making his father proud, which failed miserably, making his trainer in the circus proud, thereby making his brother proud, also didn't work, and he wasn't in the Army long enough to make a difference. SHIELD was the first thing in his life that gave him true motivation, true focus. Phil Coulson was right, he could make a difference in the world. Phil convinced him he was doing just that. He knew even with that motivation, though, he still had a lot of deaths on his hands, deaths that would never leave him. Natasha had a term she'd always used, red in her ledger. Clint knew both would spend the rest of their lives putting enough black in their respective ledgers to make a dent in the red. He hoped Mikayla would contribute to the black. He chuckled, "And of course she had to be a brunette. Probably why I never dated redheads. Of course, having my best friend as a redhead defeats that theory. OK, Barton, back to focusing on the mission, which, right now, is being with my fiancée." He got up and retired to the bedroom, changed into a t-shirt and boxers, and climbed into bed. Mikayla instinctively slid across the bed and put her arm across his chest. He turned to his side so he could see both her and the door. He enveloped her in his arms and immediately drifted off to sleep.