I know I said it last week, but this chapter is definitely one of my favorites. I don't really know why, but maybe it's the way the characters interact and how it's starting to feel like it's something they would actually would say.

I did also adjust the MCU's official listed birthday for Hawkeye as I wanted to make him Natasha and Harlow somewhat closer in age. (Not that you can't be friends with someone much older than you because you can!) They have his birth year listed as 1971, I changed it to 1982.

zxnightfox: Thank you so much! It's nice to see what you think and thank you for wishing me well! I feel a great deal better!

Chapter 8:

All's Fair in Love and War...

And Birthday's

Undisclosed Location, Late Spring 2007.

"How you doing up there Hawk?" Harlow asked, as her eyes sifted through data on a monitor. She currently sat in an unmarked van, among countless other vehicles. Hiding in plain sight had been her idea.

"Nothing so far Bad Wolf." His voice gravelly, but she could tell he was smirking. The girl swiveled her chair to another monitor, inputing a few codes.

"I told you not to call me that...It'll stick. If I get a name, it's gotta be a good one...Like, 'The Shadow' Or something..."

"Oooh...That's a good one."

"Okay children, focus." Natasha's voice poking into the conversation. "How's it looking Harlow?"

"I'm almost done breaking the firewall. It should be down before you reach the office. You'll be able to get rid of the files no problem...Wait..." Harlow's fingers flew on the keyboard, pulling up security cams after seeing a few red blips appear. Natasha's figure appearing on screen and on another, several guards coming the red-head's way. "Nat, you've got guards coming your way. Six of them."

"Piece of cake. You just keep working the firewall...We've got to keep them from finding him."

"Will do. Hawkeye, you might want to see if there's any other surprises I might not see."

"On it." And just like that, the trio went about their tasks. It had been quite a year since Natasha and Harlow's brawl in the training gym. However, it seemed that was what the two had needed to start trusting each other on equal terms. They had begun talking a little more outside of work, finding it easier every day to do so. It had even caused a spike in their effectiveness on missions, though sometimes it was all they could do to make it through them in part to Harlow.

She was still relatively green at the time she started her first few missions, some of them being on her own. The girl definitely had to learn on her feet for sure, but it had earned her a bit of respect from Natasha and Clint both. The three of them soon found that together, they were like a well oiled machine whenever they worked together and somehow, Harlow always found herself as the person in the chair.

Although, this gave her a chance to work on her tech skills after being fast tracked through college. What was impressive to Harlow was the fact that Natasha had just received her Masters on top of the bachelors she earned back in 2005. How the woman did that on top of everything else she had to do seemed beyond comprehension.

"...My, my... How the time does fly..."

"What on earth are you talking about?"

"Just thinking how we've known each other since 2005 already...I hate you a little less than I did then." She heard a few punches and groans before Natasha replied.

"Yeah well you're still a pain in the a**."

"You were right Clint..." Harlow chuckled. "She does like me."

"I usually am."

"Great. Now he's going to get a big head. Thanks for that Harlow." The blonde's fingers flew like lightning and soon pressed enter in triumph.

"Nat, the firewalls are down. How are you guys doing?"

"Nothing I can't handle."

"Upper floors clear so far, they must've emptied to the lower levels." Harlow's eyes flicked to the security footage, scanning like mad. "I'll work my way down."

"Do it quickly or otherwise they'll converge..." She stopped, seeing a hulking shape of a man on one of the screens. There was no way Hawkeye would reach him in time and while Natasha was skilled, it would take her time to take him down. He certainly looked like he take a punch and a stab and a taser. "Guys, I'm coming in. If you see a giant blob of a man, be careful."

Blob like man was an understatement of the year as Natasha came to a sliding stop in the hallway. He took up the doorway, his head almost touching the door frame. He cracked his neck, a crooked smile to match his crooked nose.

"I don't suppose if I say please you will let me through." She mused, backing up slowly as he clomped toward her. The man only laughed as he rotated an arm before reaching for her to which the woman promptly ducked, slapping a taser disk to him. He jerked slightly, but he just guffawed at the sensation.

"That tickles...Now it's my turn." He growled slamming into her before grabbing the woman, throwing her down the hall. Natasha tucked her body and landed, balancing as her arm went into the air. Her com sparked to life, Harlow's honeyed voice crackled inside it.

"You might want to get down." Natasha smirked at the man which made him narrow his eyes as he slowly stalked over to her.

"This is going to hurt."

"What did you say to-" His eyes widened as a howl entered the air and a hulking black mass flew over the red-head straight towards him. He tried to turn and run but the giant wolf-like creature still caught him in its massive jaws, crunching down. Growling slowly stopped as the man soon went still. Natasha stood, brushing off her suit, making her way towards the black wolf.

"You were not kidding...But that still only counts as one." The woman smirked as she saw the wolf blink slowly, followed by a chuffed breath. Almost as if Harlow wasn't amused by the Lord of the Rings reference.

"Keep watch." The wolf nodded, turning, golden eyes focused on the long hallway as Natasha went into the office. Soon, her fur bristled and she growled briefly, only to find Hawkeye appearing a few moments later.

"We're all clear..." A slow whistle came from his as he saw the still form of the mountainous man. "Daaanggg...I almost think it would be better if you were a wolf all the time." He said as he approached the golden eyed lupine. Harlow barked angrily in his face causing his eyes to widen before he laughed. "I'm only kidding...Sort of."

"I wouldn't push it you know." Natasha told Clint, small smile on her face as she reappeared. She patted Harlow on the side, not in teasing, but letting her know she had done a good job. "She could swallow you whole." The red-head chuckled slightly as she heard Harlow's chuff of agreement.

"We good?"

"Everything's gone and we should be in the clear. Until someone tries again." They started their walk out, slightly pained groans behind them. Natasha turned to see Harlow back in her human form, steadying herself on the wall. Sweat beaded on her face, cheeks red as she tried to catch her breath.

"You okay kid?" Clint asked, semi jogging over to her putting one of her arms over his shoulder for support.

"I'll be fine. Just hard to change back sometimes...Wish they'd hurry up with that bracelet...Been waiting almost as long I've known you two."

"When we get back, I'll check in with Fury and see how they're doing with it." Harlow grinned at her, as if she knew something Natasha didn't. The woman raised an eyebrow in questioning. "What?"

"Do you ever stop working? I swear you'd miss your birthday the way you go on like you do." Natasha only seemed to just stare blankly before shrugging. "Don't tell me you don't celebrate...I mean I drug you out on mine. It's only fair that you get to return the favor."

"It's not like I've ever had the time. Besides, it's just another day...It never felt worth mentioning." They continued to make their way back outside, all the while keeping an eye out for any potential threats. As they saw they had the all clear, Harlow patted Clint on the shoulder, letting him know she was good to walk on her own.

"December 3, 1984." Clint whispered to the girl, discreetly gesturing to Natasha who made her way to the drivers seat of their vehicle. "Mine's in January by the way." Harlow laughed, before shoving him away and beating him to the passenger seat.

"Listen here Barton, I video called you and sent you a gift. I couldn't help it if you were away and I couldn't celebrate with you in person." the girl stretched before putting a foot up on the dash, reaching for a pair of sunglasses. Natasha smirked slightly, rolling her eyes as she drove, noting the "little sister" energy Harlow was exhibiting.

"Yeah yeah." He looked at the screens behind himself, hand hovering over the keyboard briefly. His hand pulled away when he saw Harlow peek her head around the passenger seat, pointing a finger at him.

"Touch my equipment and you're dead. You will not play Galaga or Pong or whatever grandpa games you play on my computers."

"Grandpa games? Need I remind you, you're only five years younger than me. Not to mention, it's technically Shield's equipment." He watches as she smirks before turning back around.

"I stand by my statement." Harlow sighs before changing the conversation back to birthday's. "Natasha, if you did celebrate, what would you do?"

"You're never going to let this go, are you?" The woman looks over at her briefly to see Harlow shrug. "I don't know...I've never really thought about it before...Maybe something quiet."

"That sounds nice." The wheels starting to turn in the girls head, the car now in amicable silence. Since she had missed the woman's birthday, albeit not by her own volition, the least she could do is give her a belated birthday gift.

"Cooking can't be that hard...Can it?" Harlow muttered to herself, looking at the recipe pulled up on her phone. She didn't dare trying to fix a meal, but she could handle a cake surely...However, one of her great flaws was not being great in the kitchen. For most of her life when she began to strike out on her own, it had mostly consisted of frozen meals and take out. As Natasha napped when they had finally returned home the day after their mission, the girl had set to work.

She had gotten just a few balloons and picked up a spicy sausage and cheese pizza, which was one of Natasha's favorites. Harlow didn't particularly care for it, but it didn't matter what she thought. The girl was happy to notice a small flicker of joy in the woman's eyes when they had one. The girl took a deep breath, steeling herself before beginning to follow along the digitized list. Overall, it probably took Harlow longer than any normal person, never really having attempted something like this. However, she finally got through it, satisfaction rising in her as she slid the pan into the oven.

The girl soon busied herself with cleaning up the counters and dishes she had tarnished before finding she still had roughly 45 minutes left to wait. She couldn't help but pace a few times before sitting on the couch, flipping through a magazine but not really focusing on it. Begrudgingly, she made her way to her bedroom, picking up all of the laundry from her floor and organizing her books on her desk. Her hands deftly made her bed and once her room was done, the girl made her way back to the kitchen to check the timer only to see ten minutes had passed.

"Seriously? How do people wait for this crap? Why not just buy one?" She grumbled, regretting her decision to make it homemade. But she had read online somewhere that people appreciate homemade stuff...Not that she would need to look it up or anything...Heaven help her if Natasha found out that she had, she'd never hear the end of it.

A yawn spread over her face, causing her to stretch and roll her neck, a few pops breaking the silence. Maybe just a tiny nap would help time go by and Harlow made her way to the couch, jumping over the back and bouncing slightly on the cushions. She pulled a blanket over herself and got comfortable, dozing off as the warmth of the blanket pulled her into sleep.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

Harlow sat straight up, hearing an alarm of sorts before realizing what it was. She threw back her blanket and all but ran into the kitchen. Her socks caused her to slide as she stopped, ramming her elbow into the counter, sending tingles up and down her arm. Gritting her teeth she grabbed some nearby pot holders and made to pull out the cake. The girls slight excitement somewhat deflated as she pulled it out, seeing it didn't completely rise.

"...Okay, it's still a cake. That's something I guess..." She set it on the stove top to cool while she set out the pre-made frosting she had bought. Vanilla was a safe choice she hoped. Of course now she had more time to kill but it didn't seem to be as bad as before, a movie finally catching her attention.

When it was time to ice the cake, Harlow was absolutely focused. Her eyebrows were drawn down, a small crease forming between them as her tongue stuck out slightly. If she had to admit, this had been the best part of making the cake thus far. However, she wished she would've realized how hard it was to write in frosting. The girl made a mental note to next time to just buy those candy letter things she had seen.

Natasha only watched quietly from a bar stool, having snuck out of her bedroom hearing the tell tale signs of a timer go off in her sleep. She had been curious about what Harlow had been making but the balloons had given it away for sure. It was ridiculous in the woman's eyes, but something about the way the blonde carried on about birthdays was catching the red-head's attention. Some part of her wanted to make it a regular thing, though her defenses resisted.

"...That's as good as it's going to get..." Harlow muttered, turning around with the pan in her hands. She jumped slightly, almost dropping the cake, seeing Natasha was awake with her chin in her hand and a small smile on her face. "JEEZE Nat. Make some noise or I'll have to buy you a bell or something."

"Now what fun would that be if I didn't get to see you scared out of your mind each time." She watched as the girl blushed slightly. "I wanted to see what you were up to out here, though it's pretty obvious at this point."

"Yeah and you almost made me drop this..." Natasha watched as Harlow bit her lip and avoided her gaze. Embarrassed. Nervous. Anxious. "It's not pretty and I can't vouch for how it tastes. I've never cooked before."

"Well, I'll be the judge of that." The woman watched as Harlow slid the cake pan onto the bar counter before her. At least Harlow was nothing if not honest...most of the time. It was definitely messy and if she hadn't known what the cake would say, it would be illegible. But what warmed Natasha was the fact that the blonde said she had never cooked before. That meant Harlow definitely had begun to see Natasha as a friend and was willing to try things out of her comfort zone.

Was she ready to start doing the same for the girl before her?

"Here." She heard the girls honeyed voice cut through her thoughts, a fork appearing in her vision. Natasha thanked her for it before taking a small bite of the yellow cake. It wasn't the worst that she had, but it was definitely very dry and slightly overcooked. Seeing the anticipation in Harlow's hazel eyes made Natasha nervous, unsure of what to say. She didn't want to quash her first attempt at something unfamiliar. Not like she had done several times last year.

"Not bad for your first attempt at all. Though I do think I want actual food before eating cake." She watched as Harlow went back over to the counter, picking up a pizza box.

"You're in luck." Harlow opened it, revealing a cheese pizza plastered with spicy sausage. "I'm way ahead of you...And I've already qued up Moonraker. Though you can quote the thing by heart already." The girl smiled slightly seeing that familiar look in Natasha's eye.

"What are we waiting for then?" Natasha smirked as they made their way to the couch. Maybe a birthday wasn't so bad if they were celebrated like this.

^^ it just warms my heart...As for Chapter 9, I have the beginning but it might take a little extra time to put together but I will do my best!

And I'm glad that everyone is stopping by for a read! Have an amazing week! You deserve it!