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"Well, I, uh…"

"Did you think I would choose Nat, choose this job, choose any job, over you?" Mikayla kept her mouth shut. "What did I tell you when we first met? Let me remind you. I said I think things out, consider all options, and then decide what to do. Believe me, when I say, I thoroughly reviewed everything, and I chose you, first and foremost. Ever since I met you, it's always been you. It seemed easier for you at the time, because I was on leave, for lack of a better term. Then there was Ultron and Sokovia, which proved to me that I could handle my job, and my teammates, without distractions."

Mikayla nervously bit her lip, thinking to herself, 'Did I screw this up? I was trying to do the right thing. Damn it, how can I make this up to him? How can I get him to take me back? Does he even want me back?'

Clint put his hands on the arms of the chair and stopped, looking directly into Mikayla's face. "You were willing to sacrifice your happiness to make sure I could still do my job?" She nodded, continuing to bite her lower lip as it began to nervously quiver. "No one, and I mean no one, has ever voluntarily offered to give up anything for me. Mikayla O'Hara Coulson Fitzgerald, I think I love you more than I did before, and I didn't think that was possible."

With her lip calmed down to a minor twitching, she asked with hesitation, "Does this mean you still want to marry me?"

"More than anything, babe."

A wide grin cracked her face and she leaped up, wrapping her arms around his neck, knocking him backward. "Me, too, Clint. Me, too."

Clint put both arms around her and fervently kissed her. "We need to get back to our party, Sharky, otherwise I won't be responsible for what happens next." His hands began roaming up and down her back and she was stroking the back of his neck with her fingertips. "Damn you, Fitzgerald, you know what that does to me." He enveloped her mouth again and they hungrily kissed until the AI's voice interrupted.

"The guests are waiting, Mr. Barton, Miss Fitzgerald. Your presence is requested and if you're not there in 5 minutes, Mr. Stark has ordered me to broadcast the video of the last few minutes to the entire tower and training facility."

"Thanks, Friday," Clint grunted. "I'm going to kill Stark for this someday." He nibbled her ear before pulling away.

"Give me time, I'll figure out how to hack it," Mikayla whispered, then licked his ear before he backed away. The couple straightened up their clothes, Mikayla combed her fingers through her hair, then the pair walked back out arm in arm. "Sorry, had something I had to handle."

"You mean someone," Tony said under his breath.

Clint marched over to him. "Stark, need I remind you my fiancée is a tech wizard who could kick your ass with her skills and not even blink?"

Tony gulped. "Right, shutting up now."

With a satisfied sneer, Clint went back to Mikayla, who had stopped to talk to Pepper. "Hey, babe."

"Hey, Clint. I was thanking Pepper for all her hard work. Pepper, I can't believe you did all this in what, 24 hours?"

"Remember," Pepper smiled, "I started as Tony's assistant. I've learned over the years to arrange things on the fly. Plus, it pays to have access to a certain person's bank account. Money talks. Can I see the ring?" Mikayla held out her hand. "That is beautiful, it's so…"

"Barton?" Natasha jumped in. "I wouldn't expect any less from him…of course, it's a purple gemstone."

Mikayla looked down at her hand and beamed. "I think it's perfect."

"Of course it is," Clint commented. "It was for the perfect woman."

Natasha started gagging. "Seriously, Barton. Is there some sort of surgery available to remove that sappiness?" She grinned, secretly enjoying this side of her partner. He deserved every bit of happiness and peace he could get, especially after what Loki had done to him. She spent the first few weeks after the attack by his side, helping her best friend through his nightmares. She'd be waiting for him when he came back from his sessions with the psychiatrist, calming him down during his nightmares, getting him through the times when he'd swear he still heard Loki's voice in his head. It took about 4 months until one day he realized he didn't hear that voice, another month to stop haven't nightmares about killing her. If anyone deserved this moment, it was Clint. She was glad she was able to be here for it.

Mikayla said, "Pepper, Nat, everyone, thank you for this." She waved her hand around the room. "I'm going to look at the cake before Thor decides to inhale it. Coming?"

"Be right there, babe." Mikayla meandered off to the bar. Clint ran his fingers through his hair.

"How did it go, Clint?"

"Too perfect. I keep thinking this is a dream, that she said no, or that I never met her and I'm living in an alternate reality."

Pepper gently placed a hand on his arm. "Clint, it's real. Mikayla's real. Believe me, I've been around Tony long enough to know real from fake, and what the two of you have is real. I also know this…lifestyle isn't for everyone. It takes a special kind of someone to fit, to assimilate, into this team of yours. It wasn't hard for me since I knew Tony before he, as he phrases it, joined Fury's boy band., so I had an advantage that Mikayla didn't have. She's from the outside world. Even if she's Phil's niece, she still didn't know any of you, so she had to work harder, though she probably didn't realize it. Clint, it's like she's been here from the beginning. She gets along with everyone, Natasha accepts her, and she can handle Tony almost as well as I can. She loves you and, most importantly, she allows you to be you. That's why Tony and I get along so well. I've accepted him and his warts, a package deal." Pepper mulled something over. "The day you got shot in Sokovia, I was supposed to have dinner with Mikayla that evening but I canceled it once I knew the team was returning to New York. I'll reschedule it and help her adjust to being a part of the team if you like, if you don't think I'd be intruding."

"Thanks, Pepper. I think she would. The two of us have that in common, not having a lot of close friends. She's got Misty, of course. They've known each other since college, but it would be nice if she could get to know someone else outside of," he smirked, "Fury's boy band."

Pepper leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. "Happy to help, Clint, and congratulations. She's a lucky woman."

"Thanks, Pepper. Not half as lucky as me." The two parted and Clint started to walk toward the bar when he was stopped by Misty. "Wondered when I'd see you."

Misty hugged him. "Congratulations, Clint. I've never seen my best friend so…centered and at peace. I don't know what you did to her but keep it up." Clint started to speak until Misty put up a hand. "Now, here's the serious moment of the night." She focused on Clint's eyes. "If I ever, and I mean ever, find out you hurt her, no one will ever see your body in one piece again. Do I make myself clear?"

"As a bell, Misty. Don't ever plan on that happening."

"I know, but I'd be remiss if I didn't give the best friend speech." She hugged him again. "You know, the 6 months before you called her, she was miserable."

"Really?"

Misty vigorously nodded her head. "She spent the first month or so wondering if you'd ever call. She'd talk herself out of it by assuming you lost her business card or doubting whether she should've left the card at all. In the next few months, it was like traveling the seven stages of grief. She began to focus on her career, but I think she always felt you circling, hoping you'd call. I can't remember how many times she described you, not in an obsessive way, but in a way that she knew, if she met you again, you'd change her life. Of course, it helped you looked like you."

"Meaning?"

"All I heard for at least the first couple of weeks after the alien attack was this hot guy that flew through her window at work. She'd find new ways to describe your physique. I'd never heard so many descriptive words for arms, legs, and torsos. I accused her of being an obsessed fangirl." She leaned in and whispered conspiratorially, "Feel free to use that information as you see fit." Misty spun around on her heels to go mingle some more.

Clint finally made his way over to the cake. Mikayla was by herself, watching the others talking. "It's still overwhelming," Mikayla said.

"What is?"

"All of this." She looked over at him. "These people. You've given me another family, Clint. After my uncle died, you know how alone I felt. I mean, I always had Misty, who's always been like the sister I never had. Then, you showed up, and now, all these people. It's nice to be a part of something bigger, which makes me feel less alone. So, I owe you, again."

"Not keeping score. But I do know how you can pay me back."

"I know I'm going to regret this, but I'll ask anyway against my better judgment. How?"

Clint slid behind her, put his hands on her shoulders, and seductively whispered, "You can show me about how you feel about me. You know, my arms, my legs, my torso." He trailed his fingers up and down her arms, sending shivers up her spine and down to her toes until it hit her what he said and how he phrased it.

"Misty," she growled, "I should've known she'd tell you. Is nothing sacred? I'm adding the two of you to my growing hit list."

"Already wanting to kill me. This engagement is starting swimmingly," Clint joked.

"You've been put on notice, Clint. Now, let's get our minds back on this lovely party your co-workers have arranged for us." She patted his hand, then squeezed it. "And if you bring it up again, I won't be responsible for my actions." She turned around and gave him an evil grin. "I'm diabolical, remember?"

"That you are, babe." He kissed her on the cheek. "Now, let's take a look at the cake."

"It still amazes me how much work Pepper and Nat were able to get done in such a short amount of time."

"They are miracle workers. I've learned not to question their abilities."

"Probably for the best."

Clint got Tony's attention, and Tony whistled. "Everyone, gather round. Time to embarrass the honorees." The group made their way over to the bar.

"Mikayla and I want to thank all of you for everything," Clint said, squeezing Mikayla's hand, then looked over at her, since she was the more accomplished and more at ease speaker.

"First, I want to say thank you for accepting me and allowing me into your well, family."

"Dysfunctional as it is," Tony whispered to Pepper, who elbowed him.

"I know I was thrown into your lives unexpectedly and we got off on the wrong foot, some of us rougher than others." She shyly smiled and glanced at Steve. "Then the incident with my apartment and the ongoing repercussions of that. Each of you rallied around me as if I were one of your own, and now this. I guess what I'm trying to say is I hope I can repay each of you for your kindness. Most of all, I want to thank you, Clint, for so many things. For flying into my window on that day, for finally contacting me after 6 months, for inviting me out on a date, for loving me, and, most importantly, for asking me to marry you. How could I not say yes?" She leaned into the crook of his arm. "I would say yes a thousand times over, Clint." She sighed, then stood upright again. "Enough with the sappiness. Let's share this cake with everyone, shall we?" She looked over at Clint.