Going back to DC and the following weeks were uneventful. Grams, Mom, Peggy and me all stayed in Clint's old house. Jared was gone before we left for New York, whether on another mission or just to avoid the awkwardness, I had no clue. I envied him though. He was very good at being able to disappear. Natasha was gone as well and Clint was bored out of his mind at PEGASUS. I wasn't much better. There was nothing for me to do. I was usually shut out of the conversations and even missed Peggy's reunion with Steve. I'd barely spoken to the man, except during dinner and even then I wouldn't get much of a response out of him.

I did what any sensible person would do. Go back to work and tag along with Bravo team. At least it got me out of the house for most of the day. Long days of training or at the range went to the home situation feeling a lot less awkward.

It wasn't really helping me sleep though.

The nightmares of falling from the sky were plentiful. Always waking me up with a pounding heart and drenched in sweat. This time there was no Clint in the bed with me to distract from those nightmares. My bed felt awfully cold and lonely right now.

Which is why I was sitting on the couch at 0230. It was Saturday morning so I didn't have to work. It also meant instead of trying to get some sleep, I could sit up and ignore the fatigue until it made me crash. I was a few minutes into the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie when a sound made me turn around.

Steve was standing in the doorway.

"Sorry." He apologised instantly. "I heard something and I wondered who was up."

It was about the most he'd ever spoken to me.

"I can't sleep. Bad dreams," I said with a small smile as I paused the movie. "You're welcome to join me."

Part of me wondered if Steve didn't like me because he barely spoke to me. Or if he was embarrassed about our first meeting. Then again I couldn't begin to imagine what he was going through right now. No one really could. Grams and Peggy were doing their best though. I mostly felt like a tag along. Or the person to bring dinner home. Grams did enjoy the convenience of being in a major city with every available fast food option known to man.

"It's a good movie." I held up the cooler with a beer in it. "I also have beer and snacks."

I'd raided the cupboard and had a very good snack selection on the coffee table. Steve would have to pry the bag of Cheetos out of my cold dead hands though. Those were safely sitting in my lap.

I could see Steve's internal struggle clearly. He was like me and had the worst poker face. Finally, he accepted the offer with a stiff nod and came over to the couch. He sat in the recliner instead of on the sofa with me. Still, it was better than nothing.

"You haven't missed much in the movie," I said forcing myself not to over explain anything. Everyone else would be doing that to him and I didn't need to add to it. "I'm two minutes into it."

I scooted forward and nudged the spare beer with my foot. It slid over towards Steve, along with a packet of potato chips. I had no idea what flavour they were. They had just ended up in my armful of junk food. Without looking over, I hit the play button again and made myself comfortable.

I had to give it to Steve. He was good to watch a movie with. He didn't interrupt with questions. He even laughed at the funny parts. A few times he reached over and helped himself to different food on the coffee table.

My eyes felt like lead by the time the end credits were rolling. Despite the feeling, I got up and put the second DVD on.

"It's a whole series," I explained, smothering back a yawn. "The third one is my favourite."

"You don't have to stay up entertaining me," Steve said with a guilty look. "I can figure it out."

"Trust me, you're just a passenger in my latest round of insomnia." Fatigue was making me quite blunt. "I can't sleep without dreaming of falling. It's not a fun feeling."

The look of understanding the crossed Steve's face felt like a huge leap. If anyone could understand that feeling, it was the man sitting across from me. It was a weird feeling considering we'd barely spoken more than ten sentences to each other. Somehow I felt that Steve needed this right now. A little bit of normality always goes a long way. Although the situations were completely different, it's something I desperately needed after Riley. People not treating me like I was made of glass.

"Another beer then?" Steve's answer surprised the hell out of me. I wasn't going to turn it down though.

"Sure."

I waited for him to get back from the kitchen before hitting play. While I loved these movies, the second one was my least favourite. If I was going to fall asleep, it would be in this one. Still, it was good to watch it with someone who was seemed utterly fascinated with the whole thing. As predicted, I did drift off. It wasn't a dream of falling waking me up though. It was my phone buzzing in my lap.

I can't sleep without you.

I read the text message from Clint with a sad little sigh. I missed him terribly. I always missed him when he wasn't here. But this was something different. Clint's reception was spotty when he was in his dungeon, as he called it, overseeing the scientists playing with something he couldn't tell me about on an unsecured line. We only got to speak when he was back in his room. With Natasha and Jared both on mission silence, it was very lonely.

Me either. I'm watching Pirates of the Caribbean with Steve. We're onto the second one.

My reply would probably raise an eyebrow from Clint. Last night I was complaining about getting three words from Steve over dinner. I wasn't disappointed. I had an answer in 30 seconds.

So that would be a solid no to sending you a dick pic right now and helping us both sleep in a certain way?

My snort of laughter made Steve look over at me.

"It's just Barton. He can't sleep and he's being a pest," I half lied. I was having to be exceptionally careful at the moment. I'd caught Grams and Mom both giving me a weird look while texting Clint.

Steve nodded and turned back to the movie. At least I could text without fear of my emotions or thoughts being caught onto. I was about to type out a reply before another text came through.

I hate it here. Even Coulson is bored.

I sighed again. Poor Clint. If we hadn't found Steve at least I'd be there to keep him amused. As it was, I'd much rather be bored at PEGASUS than the awkwardness of being here. I wasn't any help to anyone around here. I hated feeling useless.

And I miss you terribly.

The next message made my heart flutter for all the wrong reasons. I had to keep reminding myself this was nothing but sex. Clint could be very sweet when he wanted to be though. I pushed aside that feeling of something I wasn't going to let myself feel.

I thought your aim was meant be perfect?

Even I smiled at my smartass reply. Once the message came up as read on my phone, I could almost hear Clint's eyes rolling from here for my sass.

Haha. You're so funny. Why do I put up with you again?

This was safer territory. My smile turned into a smirk as I tapped out my reply.

My lack of gag reflex and flexibility from yoga from Nat?

At least talking about sex was a safer subject than actual feelings. Clint didn't disappoint either. His quick reply was a photo of the effect of those two thoughts were having on him. So much for a dick picture at an inappropriate time.

Steve laughing at the movie took my attention away from my phone. I decided to ignore Clint's hard cock for now and go back to the movie. Clint would just have to use his own imagination.

The need to not embarrass myself by having a nightmare on the couch kept me awake through the movie. Clint didn't reply to me again. By the time the credits were rolling, the sun was starting to come up. The house was still quiet which was unusual because Grams was always an early bird.

"I'm going to make a coffee, want one?" I asked as I got up off the couch. I stretched, enjoying the feeling of my back cracking.

"Sure. Black, no sugar," Steve's reply was quick as he got to his feet. "If you do coffee, I'll see what's for breakfast."

"Done deal." I gave him a smile. This was turning out better than expected. "I can't cook so I wouldn't put either of us through something like attempting to make an omelet."

I got an actual small laugh from Steve. It wasn't much but it seemed like another huge leap. I smiled all the way into the kitchen and it lasted until I went to find the coffee. My face fell when I opened the jar to find it empty.

"Fucker," I said, wrinkling my nose in disgust.

"What?" Steve asked from behind me.

Part of me wanted to laugh. When I was younger I remembered Grams telling me Captain America would not approve of my language when I dropped the occasional swear word. At the time I was going through a massive Captain America fangirl phase so it did help to mop up the odd F bomb that I dropped. I was also only 8 at the time.

"Coffee's empty." I fought back my snort of amusement at the memory. Instead I turned around and shook the empty jar at him. "Want to go somewhere for breakfast?"

There were a few places that would already be open close by. One place was close enough to walk and while Clint and Laura were together, we'd often go for a casual stroll there and to the park afterward. I had plenty of fond memories of that park with Riley.

"I know somewhere," Steve said, looking very pleased all of a sudden. At my curious look he quickly added. "You're not the only one who can't sleep. I've been going for a morning jog and found it."

"Walk or drive?" I asked. Considering I heard Peggy ask one night how many miles Steve had jogged that day and the answer was in double digits, this place could be anywhere in DC. Or even Virginia. Steve's jogging miles were insane.

"Walk, it's not far."

"I'll go get my shoes then." I gave Steve a quick smile. He returned it with a brief nod.

I was feeling exceptionally pleased with myself as I jogged back upstairs for my sneakers. This morning was going so much better than I'd ever expected. Steve looked as awkward as I felt most of the time around him. A little bonding over movies never hurt anyone. Even if our conversation was still very limited.

Steve was waiting at the door for me and silently held it open as I dragged my tired ass down the hallway. I was really hoping Steve's idea of walking distance was the same for us mere mortals. Otherwise, he might have to carry me.

The silence didn't feel quite as awkward as we walked out into the muggy dawn. Steve's long legs forced me to keep a decent pace with him. The small bit of exercise did seem to shake some of the grogginess of fatigue away. For the moment anyway. We'd walked two blocks before Steve suddenly spoke up.

"I'm sorry for throwing you into the wall," Steve blurted out. "And for not really speaking to you or apologising before this."

His sudden confession made my step falter for a second. I nearly had to jog to keep up in that split second hesitation.

"No harm done, apology accepted," I said with an easy smile. "It's been a crazy few weeks, hasn't it?"

Steve's half laugh, half scoff made me feel bad for him. I wondered if he'd been too embarrassed to say anything before this? Grams always said Steve was a lot quieter, almost shy, in his private life. He was only outgoing when he needed to put on the stars and stripes.

"Crazy doesn't quite begin to cover it," Steve's tone sounded so weary right now. "I know people are trying to help…"

Steve trailed off, catching himself before he could finish the sentence. He gave me a strained smile instead. He opened his mouth, most likely to apologise but I cut him off.

"But all you want is a little bit of normality? Like sitting down and having a beer and a laugh?" I finished for him.

The look of relief on Steve's face was like I'd just lifted a ton of weight off his shoulders.

"People are trying to help but it feels like you're being suffocated," I continued, giving him an understanding smile. "I remember going back to work after a big life changing event and the first thing one of my friends did was critique my punching in the gym. Then he took me into the ring and we beat the crap out of each other. It was the first time I felt alive in weeks."

I'd always be grateful to Rumlow for treating me like a normal person when I went back to work after Riley died. At the time it'd helped immensely. My story made Steve laugh a little.

"I'm a bit short on sparring partners," Steve said, this time looking wistful.

"I'd give it a go," I said casually. "You'd probably knock me on my ass in about three seconds but it would be funny."

Steve laugh sounded a little more genuine this time. I felt really sorry for him but he wasn't going to get any pity from me. If I needed to be that person to treat him normally then I'd happily take that responsibility.

"You sound so much like Hazel." Steve's smile didn't look as forced right now. "She used to enjoy boxing with us. Her powers gave her an unfair advantage and there were many times she'd put all of us on the floor."

That mental image made me laugh. It was no secret my Grandmother wasn't a delicate little flower. She'd been kicked out of schools a few times for getting into fights with boys.

"From what I heard she did more on the floor with Bucky." The words tumbled out before I could stop them.

Next to me Steve sounded like he'd just choked on his own tongue. His surprised look turned cautious as he looked at me.

"I'm not fishing, I know," I said, laughing at Steve's expression. "I think I'm about the only person who does though. After all, I am the favourite grandchild."

"I'm sure she said best behaved, not favourite."

Steve's teasing tone made me falter again. I burst out laughing a second later. That had come out of left field.

"Considering how badly behaved some of my cousins are, I'm still going to take that as the highest form of praise from Grams," I said through my laughter. "It's a shame Jared didn't stick around because then you'd see why I get the best behaved award."

"I've heard stories," Steve said lightly. "A lot of them lately."

A wistful look crossed Steve's face. Grams, Peggy and he had a lot of catching up to do. There were so many things he'd missed. Birthdays and Christmas didn't even come close to it.

"I'm sure Grams enjoyed telling the story of the time I ruined Thanksgiving," I said lightly, trying to keep the humour going.

Steve looked at me curiously. A sudden pit of dread formed in my stomach. He didn't need to tell me he hadn't heard that one yet.

"No," Steve confirmed my feeling. " But I'd really like to hear it."

There was something shy about his tone. Despite my initial dread about spilling the secret, I launched into the story.

"Like most times, this started with Jared and our cousin Alex being tormenting shits," I started, smiling at the memory. It was funny now. Not so much at the time. "They'd been little assholes to me all day. I think we were only 7 or 8, so it was childish stuff. Like pulling on my hair every time they went past."

Steve made a sympathetic face but didn't interrupt.

"Everyone had sat down for dinner and Mom had separated me and Jared because of our bickering. But for some reason, she'd let Jared and Alex sit together. Just as everyone was about to eat, Alex made a force field around a big hunk of mashed potatoes and sent it over my head, dumping mashed potatoes all over me. I was gripping the table and spitting angry but also ready to cry. I froze the entire table over before I could get a control of myself."

Steve laughed hard. It was a good sound to hear from him. Furthermore, I was so pleased that my story had been the thing to do it.

"So Thanksgiving that year was a huge line up for the microwaves," I said with a laugh as well. "I was perfectly happy to eat an entire pumpkin pie because no one wanted to piss me off again. Grams' place is always a madhouse. These days I deal with it with strong liquor most of the time."

"Hazel did say something similar," Steve said through his laughter. "I still can't get over the fact she has such a big family when she swore that children were the devil and she'd never have one."

"Really?" That was news to me. As far as I knew Grams always wanted a big family. She had accomplished that very well.

"Yeah," Steve said with a half smile. "Funny how life works out, isn't it?"

"It sure is." I could agree with that statement. "But here we are, still moving. There are worse things that could be."

I usually wasn't that deep and meaningful on 0545 on a Saturday morning but it worked. Steve's half smile turned into a more genuine as he nodded. The silence that followed the rest of our walk wasn't awkward. It also wasn't too long before we came to the cafe. It was the cafe we used to come to all the time when Clint and Laura were still together. One of the baristas used to shamelessly flirt with Riley and Clint which was more amusing than annoying. Another place with a lot of happy memories attached to it. I hadn't been here since Clint had moved in with me.

"I know this place," I broke the silence as we walked in. "I haven't been here in ages though. They do awesome muffins."

"They do." Steve looked pleased with himself. "I've been coming here nearly every morning."

As we approached the counter, a woman my age with the most wicked head of brown curls looked up. Green eyes, a dash of freckles of fair skin made her look gorgeous. As she saw Steve her face lit up. Steve's smile looked the most genuine I had ever seen as he saw her.

I could barely hold my grin back. This was interesting. Obviously Steve wasn't coming here for just the muffins.

"Hi, Steve," the woman's name badge said Ellie. "The usual?"

When she looked over at me, her face fell slightly. She still kept her cool though, her smile barely wavered.

"And for your friend?" Ellie asked before Steve could say anything.

"Vanilla latte and a double chocolate muffin for me," I said smoothly. "Does Carla still work here? I haven't been here in ages."

Almost on cue, the shameless flirty barista came from out the back. At seeing me, her face broke into a grin.

"What is it with you and all these hot men? Where's my walking biceps to perv on?" Carla said in her usual way too fast speech as she walked to the coffee machine. "Or your brother? I haven't seen him in a long time to drool over. Come to think of it, where have you been? The usual?"

Me talking to Carla gave Steve and Ellie a little room. I moved to the side so I could keep talking to the chatty woman.

"Yeah, please." I draped myself over the counter. "Your favourite walking biceps sold his house so he's living closer to work now. I don't even know what country my brother is in right now."

With me out of the picture, Steve was happily chatting to Ellie. She seemed to have relaxed completely realizing I was no threat to her. The cafe was deserted except for us. I was watching them out of the corner of my eye. Steve was so relaxed right now. Ellie was laughing at something he said. It was an adorable sight.

"Shame," Carla said with a dramatic sigh, bringing my attention back to her. "I'm so single it hurts right now."

"You and me both," I said with a laugh. At least Clint was a very good fuck buddy. "Work hasn't been helpful with that."

"You work with all men." Carla gave me an unamused look. "Surely there has to be something good enough there to climb like a tree."

"I don't shit where I eat," I said with a wrinkle of my nose. I couldn't imagine sleeping with any of the STRIKE guys. I barely socialized with anyone outside of STRIKE either.

"I thought Ellie was going to die seeing you walk in with the man mountain," Carla changed the subject with a laugh. "How do you know him?"

Describing Steve as a man mountain made me laugh. A certain other barista certainly looked like she would like to be climbing him.

"Old family friend going back through to Jesus or something." The half lie was easy enough to sell. "It's a bit awkward you know, the family all think you'll be amazing and get along because you're the same age or something. Then it's not the case and you have no idea how to talk to each other."

Carla seemed to buy the story easily. She laughed as she twisted the steam wand off. She opened her mouth to say something else but my phone started to ring in my pocket. The Imperial Death March blaring across the room meant it was Coulson.

"Yes?" I answered, drawing the vowels out. It was very early for Coulson to be ringing on a Saturday morning.

"The scientists need a part and I need you to come to beat the crap out of Barton, or something, to stop him climbing the walls." Coulson's exasperation was clear across the phone. "Quinjet leaves in an hour and a half and needs a pilot."

"I'll be right there." Now I was the one grinning like an idiot. "I'll grab my coffee and leave."

My exhaustion was long forgotten all of a sudden. I didn't even need coffee to perk me up.

"Thank you," Coulson said with a heavy sigh. "I told Hill this was a really bad assignment for Barton by himself. But no one ever listens to me. What would I know?"

I snorted with laughter at Coulson's little rant. He must really be at his wit's end right now.

"How long am I staying for?" I shifted the phone to sit between my ear and shoulder as Carla handed me my coffee.

"As long as I need you," Coulson's vague answer made me very happy. I was going to be bored stupid but at least I'd have company during it. "See you soon."

Coulson hung up before I could ask anything else. I quickly shoved my phone back in my pocket before picking up my muffin as well.

"Steve?" I turned around to see what he was doing. He was still at the counter talking to Ellie. "I have to go to work. I'll see you when I get back."

"Do you…" Steve began to ask and I quickly cut him off with a shake of my head. He didn't need to walk me home.

"Stay, enjoy your coffee and muffin." I held up my bag and cup. "I'm good to go. Have fun."

I said the last part teasingly. Ellie turned bright red at my words. I didn't have time to stay and bask in my teasing though. I had to get moving.

The walk home was nearly at a jog. I took the stairs three at a time while gulping the last of my coffee down. I was changed and nearly had my bag packed when Mom gently knocked on the door. I called for her to enter and she pushed the door open. She looked at me and then down at the bag on the bed.

"Work calls," I said with an apologetic smile. Sometimes I thought Mom felt as lost as I did with Steve right now. "I'm not sure when I'll be back. Coulson needs me at PEGASUS to keep Barton in line."

Mom laughed a little at that. It didn't last long though.

"I will never get used to seeing you charge off at a moment's notice," Mom said with a half smile. "Did you sleep much last night?"

I shook my head as I zipped up my bag. There wasn't much in there, only a few changes of clothes.

"I can't stop the dreams of falling from happening," I said honestly. I was so much better at talking to my Mom about things these days. "I ended up watching Pirates of the Caribbean with Steve. Then we went to a cafe to get breakfast, I left him there flirting with one of the girls."

"That was my next question." Mom took a few steps into the room and pulled me into a hug. "Drive and fly safely. The dreams will get better in time."

"I know." I hugged Mom back tightly. "I'll ring you when I can."

I never felt like I ever got to have enough time with my Mom these days. Our relationship was a huge improvement on what it used to be. A few life changing events would do that. Even though I wanted to stay and hug Mom for a bit longer, I really had to go.

"Be safe." Mom gave me one last squeeze before letting go.

I was out the door and on my Kawasaki speeding down the street in less than a minute. I had plenty of time but this was one flight I was not going to miss. Being the weekend, the traffic wasn't bad and I was an hour early for the flight. Not that it mattered, I meandered through the pre-flight to kill the time. It was just me on the flight and the cargo in the back so there was no stress about this, only excitement. I wondered if Coulson had given me a routine boring flight to help get my head back in the game. Providing nothing went wrong today, it was going to be exactly what I needed.

My clearance was given early and 15 minutes before I was due to leave, I was climbing to altitude in the sunny morning. PEGASUS was in the middle of nowhere in New Mexico. The entire area was a no flight zone, thanks to Area 51 being right down the road as well. When I got there I spent more time waiting for clearance to enter than my entire flight took. Apparently because my flight was put together on such short notice, my clearance hadn't gone through to Area 51.

"If ya'll could stop probing aliens for 5 seconds this would be a lot quicker," I said in good humour. At least the air control wasn't actually being dicks about it. They were just doing their job.

"Because we've never heard that one before 629 Bravo," the traffic controller said with a laugh. "If you could think of any way to speed this up, no one will complain."

"Get someone to tell PEGASUS that I have Agent Coulson's precious cargo on board." It was a good thing I was alone. Keeping a straight face was impossible with that bold faced lie. "That will get someone to get off their ass."

The radio went quiet after that. I was doing lazy barrel rolls, enjoying the peace and quiet while it lasted. It only took 10 minutes before I got my clearance. I did the maximum speed allowed to PEGASUS. Coulson was waiting for me on the runway, along with half a dozen other workers. The workers ignored me and went to get the cargo off. I couldn't help myself but to give Coulson a brief hug.

"He's just woken up and grumpy as fuck," Coulson said with a small laugh. "He's on guard duty until late tonight so I'll show you to the rooms and you can cheer him up."

The guilty part of me wondered if Coulson wasn't just talking about seeing me to cheer Clint up. It almost felt like a subtle dig to get my guilty conscious to spill everything. Coulson knew everything and Clint and I were lying to ourselves if we thought otherwise. Still, I wasn't going to blab right now.

"Lead the way, I'm sure a right hook will punch that grumpiness right out of him," I said cheerfully, hopefully covering up my guilty expression.

Coulson didn't say anything but I still didn't feel like I was off the hook. Instead, I followed him into the huge building that was the housing for PEGASUS.

The entire facility was enormous. If my memory served me correctly it started back in the SSR days and expanded from there. Whatever happened here was strictly classified and my level 6 clearance was only enough to let me guard a door. I trailed after Coulson like a lost puppy, filling him in on my very unexciting times with Steve. As unexciting as it was, Coulson's inner fanboy kicked in and he wanted to know everything.

As we rounded a corner, a very grumpy looking Clint had just come out of a room and was closing the door. I closed the space between us in a few rushed steps and jumped onto Clint's back.

"Hey, Hawk." Nothing could stop my grin as I clung to his back like a monkey. "Miss me?"

"Not in the least," Clint said in the driest tone possible. His face gave it away though, he was struggling to keep the grin off his face. "What are you doing here?"

"Playing delivery driver for the science nerds." I wrapped my legs around Clint's waist a little harder. "And to keep you out of trouble."

"That I appreciate." Clint's hands came to rest on my legs as he turned around. "Thanks, Coulson."

I glanced over at our handler. He was standing there looking very pleased with himself. Right now, even if he knew what was going on between me and Clint, I really didn't care. I was just happy to see Clint again. I'd prefer to drag him into the room and ride him until I couldn't walk properly the next day. We weren't going to get that luxury. This was good enough though.

"I missed you," I whispered lowly. My head was half turned so Coulson wouldn't see me speaking. "And I wanted to tell you that in person."

I was an idiot for letting my mouth run away on me. But I really did miss him. This time Clint couldn't stop the smile on his face.

"Come on, we've got scientists to guard." Clint hitched me up on his back a little higher. His left hand lingered long enough to give my leg a squeeze. "And you can see why I'm going insane with boredom down here."

In the few moments Clint and I were having our little reunion, Coulson had disappeared in his usual ninja style. Clint noticed the sudden absence too. He craned his head around and gave me a brief kiss. It wasn't much more than a quick brush of our lips.

"I missed you too," Clint murmured quietly.

We were complete fucking idiots. This was getting really dangerous even thinking about tip toeing in this territory. But here I was, grinning like a complete fool.

"Let's go."

Despite the odd looks we were getting, Clint didn't put me down until we were down in the bowels of the research centre. I could see why Clint had no reception down here. We were a few stories underground in concrete lined bunkers. This place looked like it was built to withstand an atomic bomb being let off in here. As I dropped from Clint's back and walked into the room, peering at the science equipment I suddenly understood why.

The bright blue cube was something not very well known in history. I'd heard the stories from Grams though. The Tesseract. Something Johann Schmidt had said to be the treasure of the gods and a lot of other nonsense he sprouted off. Then again, he wasn't entirely wrong. Thor turned out to be an alien, not a god though.

Here it was. Encased in a metal container with miles of cables surrounding it. I got chills just from looking at it.

"Holy shit." I didn't know what else to say. A lot of things from World War 2 were certainly coming out these days.

"Yeah, not quite what I expected being a guard for," Clint said, circling around the glowing blue cube. "The scientists are trying to harness the power from it for a clean energy project."

That made me raise an eyebrow. SHIELD, the world's largest intelligence organisation play with clean energy. That had to be a joke. Even more so, having an agent of Clint's caliber guarding it.

"I'm just telling you what they told the level sixes could know," Clint said, holding up his hands in defeat. "Even though some of us know better and can smell the bullshit from a mile away. My perch is up there."

I followed the direction that Clint inclined his head towards. There was a narrow boardwalk around the top of the room. Of course, Clint had found the highest vantage point in the room. At least he had a ladder to get up there. Though I did spot a rope dangling from the rafters. I suppose I'd go mad doing 12 hour shifts down here too. Clint had to find something to do. Even if it was some crazy acrobatics getting up and down.

"I'll take the ladder. Please tell me you've got a pillow up there so I can nap."

"Please," Clint said with a snort. "I have pillow, blankets and I even smuggled a cooler up there for drinks. I am well equipped for my 12 hour shifts of staring at nothing. I even have the perfect position for the occasional bar of phone reception."

That made me laugh. Poor Clint. No wonder he was climbing the walls down there. It was dark and dreary. There was no natural light and only one door in and out. Even at this early hour there were plenty of people in white lab coats milling around. No one was paying any attention to us. They were all fixated on their computers or whatever else they were doing.

"Ladies first." Clint stood aside with a sweep of his arms.

I sent him a dirty look but went first. The climb up the ladder was exhausting. My last bits of energy were fading quickly as I made myself at home in the corner. Clint was right. He was well stocked up here. I went straight for his nest of blankets and pillows. Despite it being boiling hot outside, it was freezing down here. Clint settled down with his back against the wall, legs stretched in front of him. The boardwalk was narrow enough you could still see everything with your back against the wall.

I grabbed a blanket and a pillow, scooting over to Clint. I put the pillow in his lap and made myself comfortable. I looked up at Clint who was smiling down at me.

"Wake me up when something interesting happens," I said, smothering back a yawn. I had the blanket tucked up to my chin and I was feeling surprisingly comfortable. Well, as comfortable as I was going to get on a cold metal floor. At least in Clint's lap, I felt safe. Clint playing with my hair was enough to lull me into a light sleep very quickly.

I woke up a few hours later, groggy and disorientated. For the first few seconds, I had no idea what universe I was in. It wasn't until I blinked a few times and Clint came into focus I remembered where I was.

"Having fun?" I asked sleepily.

"Loads," Clint said with a small chuckle. "I don't have coffee but there's Red Bull in the cooler."

That would do. I sat up, rubbing my face tiredly. My little nap did nothing except make me feel more tired. At least I didn't have any dreams of falling. Being in Clint's presence was good for that. I shuffled over to the cooler and got the last two cans of Red Bull out.

"So, what's been happening?" I asked as I shuffled back to sit next to Clint. I sat at close as I could to him without actually being in his lap.

"Lots of frantic typing from the geek horde." Clint took the Red Bull from me and cracked it open. "More than usual. The readings are looking a little funky today."

I smiled to myself as I opened my can. Clint was very good at playing stupid. He was actually incredibly smart. I had no doubt he had a good grasp of what people were doing down there, even if he didn't understand the actual science behind it. He was the master of noticing the smallest details of things being off.

"Funky in what way?" I asked, taking a big slurp of my drink.

"Energy spikes where they weren't there before." Clint coped my slurping. It was a gross habit we both had. "I'd almost say it was like someone was knocking on the door."

"Knocking on the what now?" I was confused. I really had no idea what the Tesseract actually did except for being one giant energy source.

"Yeah, the cube is a doorway to space," Clint explained to me. "It's supposed to be something similar to all that stuff Jane Foster was studying."

Wormholes. Einstein-Rosen Bridges. That all felt like a lifetime ago confiscating all of the study from the astrophysicist.

"So there's been energy spikes on and off for the last few hours. Like something is trying to get it to open but not on this end," Clint continued when I didn't interrupt him with any stupid questions. "Selvig isn't happy. The part you flew in is supposed to be something to do with harnessing the energy, which they haven't worked out yet."

It was too much for my tired brain to handle. I was silent as we sipped our drinks, watching the activity below.

"Hungry?" Clint asked a few minutes later. "I've got a MRE warmer and I've been smuggling supplies out of the kitchen late at night when I can't sleep."

"Always." My stomach grumbled in agreement. The muffin hadn't done much for me all those hours ago. "I am super impressed by how well you have this setup."

"I have a lot of spare time to plan it all," Clint said with a small laugh. "There's meatballs or the beef taco I think."

"Meatballs." I claimed it instantly. "You know what I like."

Clint grinned at the double innuendo. His fingertips brushed up against the bare skin of my arm as he moved to get the promised food. Such a light touch shouldn't have turned me on as much as it did. Today was going to last forever until we could get some alone time.

The subject turned to Clint filling me in on all the people working here. It reminded me of our mission in Russia and us making up stories for all the workers there. The subject changed to mundane things as we sat there and ate our MRE's. The day passed by quickly with us chatting about everything and nothing at all. I was in the middle of telling Clint about my morning with Steve when he suddenly changed the subject.

"We should go out for dinner when we get back," Clint blurted out as I was about to tell him about Carla calling him the walking biceps.

"Sure?" I looked at Clint, confused by the sudden change of topic. "Where do you want to go?"

"You know that fancy pasta place?" Clint asked, tapping his fingers against his leg.

"Red Hen?"

Why was Clint tapping his fingers against his leg? It was his nervous habit. This wasn't something he should be nervous about. It was so insanely normal for us to plan to go out to dinner.

"Yeah." Now Clint wasn't looking at me, he was staring straight ahead. "Coulson said we should be finished here by the end of this week. So I booked us a table for Friday night afterward. Is that okay?"

"Sure." I was missing something in this conversation. I knew it but I couldn't put my finger on it. "Is Nat and Jared coming with us?"

"Nope. Just you and me."

Why did this feel so much more than dinner? Or was I reading into something that wasn't worth reading into? Still, even though I couldn't work it out, my reply was near instant.

"I would love you have dinner with just you and me." Despite the weird vibe, it really did sound good.

"Good." Clint visibly relaxed, his face breaking into a wide smile. "I'll even pay."

"Whoa there Barton," I said, laughing. I always paid if we went out. Clint did the majority of the cooking and housework so it was the least I could do. "Now we're getting serious."

Before he could reply, the entire room shook. I looked down and the geek horde were running around like mad. In the centre of all the chaos, the Tesseract was glowing.

That wasn't meant to be happening.

In less than a minute, Selvig was running back in the room. Judging by his expression, something really bad was happening. He began shouting orders to the room full of people. When someone stopped to question him, Selvig raised his voice loud enough that even I heard him clearly.

"I am fucking aware it's not meant to be active. Just shut it down!"

"Well, you weren't wrong." I turned to Clint.

He was up against the railing, watching every below very intently. He acknowledged he heard me by a brief nod. But the playful mood from before was long gone and he was in mission mode.

"What do you need me to do?" I asked briskly. Now wasn't the time for jokes.

"Get the radio and get a hold of Coulson." Clint was all business. "I have a feeling it's going to be a long night."

Authors Note

OH MY GOD IT'S HAPPENING!

MxM, one of the readers have the reaction nailed with the Office meme of this happening. I am SO excited to get to this point.

Thank you all for your patience with the sporadic updates. Work has finally settled down into a bit friendlier roster which lets me work horses, write and then go to work. Having half the day free has really helped get stuff out and not finishing too late either.

We are FINALLY here at the Avengers. I can't wait for the next few chapters. I'm sure some of you are going to kill me for what's going to happen. BUT IT'S HERE! A moment I've been waiting for 3 years to get to this point.

Buckle in! It's about to get wild.