'Mr Johnson?'

Fitz shook himself out of his reverie and firmly grasped the offered hand. Agent Romanoff didn't seem to notice his blatant shock, but then again, she was the greatest spy that SHIELD had ever seen, so she was probably just acting.

Natasha shook hands with Jemma, then motioned for them to sit down at the table.

The hours that followed involved a series of discussion about the new 'Junior Avengers' initative with a focus on training young students in the sciences, sports and arts. Whether or not they became future Avengers was irrelevant, Natasha was quick to emphasise. It was all about personal development.

To their credit, Fitzsimmons actually performed remarkably well. May took a seat at the opposite end of the room, surveying their facial expressions. She felt a surprising amount of pride blossoming in her chest as Jemma didn't even blink when Natasha casually commented on the occasional stutter in Fitz's speech (which only happened once, and that was because he wasn't informed he's be talking to the Black Widow). And when Natasha subtly implied that Jemma was only a teacher who knew nothing of real science, Fitz only clenched and unclenched his fists several times, and under the table so Natasha couldn't see from where she was sitting.

This went on for some time, and Natasha seemed to constantly insult each of them in turn, but in such a subtle and seemingly oblivious way that they couldn't be sure if she was being rude or simply tone-deaf. Jemma briefly wondered if she was doing this on purpose, to test the mettle of her potential student's parents. Fitz thought that perhaps this was supposed to be part of the Black Widow's charm.

Eventually, they dialled down the conversation (or interrogation, as Fitz would later call it). They followed Natasha out of the office and on a tour of the facilities, seeing the training hall and the gardens. She even showed them a little glimpse of some of the lab spaces through the glass, and it was all they could do not to start jumping up and down in excitement. As a final treat, Natasha offered them tea in the courtyard, and they both felt it would be out-of-character and impolite to decline.

'So then,' Natasha said as they relaxed on a quiet balcony overlooking an immaculate lawn. A sly smile worked its way onto her lips. 'Did they pass?'

'With flying colours, wouldn't you say?' May cut in.

Fitzsimmons were too shocked to speak. They had been thinking they were doing okay, and had even begun contemplating the fact that the Black Widow might have actually believed they were merely a progressive young couple hoping to do the best for their child.

'Absolutely,' Natasha agreed with an all-out grin. 'If I didn't know better, I'd be totally fooled.'

'Oh.'

'So you knew.'

Natasha's green eyes sparkled with mirth. 'You have to give yourselves credit, though, you did really well. I've been trying to get under your skin all day and you've hardly budged.'

Fitz and Jemma stared at her with looks of indignation.

'You were doing that on purpose!?' Fitz exclaimed. He'd been clenching his fists so hard throughout the day that there were sure to be permanent fingerprint marks on his palms.

Jemma was too furious to speak. She'd had an uncomfortable feeling in her stomach all day, and every time Natasha commented on Fitz's non-existent stutter or shaky hands, she'd felt her heart rate spike and her stomach twist with doubt - was Fitz still showing symptoms of brain injury? How could she not notice?

But Natasha wasn't fazed by their reaction. 'May briefed me on how to get under your skin,' she explained, prompting Fitzsimmons to whirl around to glare at May.

May shrugged. 'Nat's an old friend.'

Natasha continued. 'But you two did extraordinarily well. May's been teaching you control, I see.'

'I have,' May confirmed. The two scientists were still too busy trying to calm down enough to speak politely.

'So how long have you been married?' Natasha asked, her voice level.

Even May looked confused at this question. Natasha noticed a look pass between Fitz and Jemma, and realised that she had made an error.

'Oh my,' said May when she realised what was going on. Did Fitzsimmons actually pull one over the Black Widow?

A slow grin spread across Fitz's face, all traces of anger forgotten. He looked over at Jemma, who, likewise, had shed any negative sentiments and was now looking as delighted as she was on the day they'd been admitted to SciOps.

'You're not actually married,' Natasha stated. She looked between them wonder. 'Well, what do you know? You did fool me after all.' She gave them one last fond look and drained the last of her tea. 'So do you want a tour of the labs while you're here? I'll get a lab tech to show you around.'

'You're kidding!'

'Of course, what an honour!'

Natasha turned to May. 'Do they always do that?'

'Speak over each other?' May replied, with a slight roll of her eyes. 'You've no idea.'

Natasha and May dropped off the kids on the fourth floor with a terrified-looking technician who answered 'yes, ma'am' to Natasha's every word, even after she told them to just call her Natasha. While Fitzsimmons toured the labs, Natasha and May visited the new dojo.

They were evenly matched, and twenty minutes of sparring had them both out of breath and desperately thirsty.

'So,' Natasha panted, between sips of water, as they sat on the bench for a break. 'That's Fitzsimmons. Must say I'm impressed.'

May nodded. 'They've come a long way. Jemma especially used to be awful at lying. Couldn't even tell a white lie. Then she went undercover at Hydra and then got stranded on an alien planet. And Fitz used to be this awkward little kid, and now's he's been through hell and back and risen up to every challenge. They're growing up.'

Natasha wasn't a lead spy for nothing. She noticed the rare pride in May's voice, and the slight sadness behind her eyes of a mentor watching her protegees graduate. But there was something else too, something subtle and heavy that anyone less astute would not have seen in the slightest slump to May's shoulders and the infinitesimal drag to her movements.

'Daisy too, I take it?'

That got a reaction out of May. She looked up quickly, searching Natasha's eyes with suspicion. But she saw only kindness and she relaxed with a sigh, leaning back against the wall.

'She's grieving,' May said finally. 'Thinks it's her fault. Wants to distance herself to protect everyone she loves.'

'Sounds like someone I know,' Natasha commented, but not unkindly. She continued, her tone gentle. 'You know, it didn't really work for your either.'

May sighed again. 'I know, Nat. And thanks.'

Natasha put a hand on May's knee and squeezed. Then she stood up and jerked her head towards the door. 'Come on, better pick up the kids.'

The flight back to the base couldn't have been more different to their journey to Avenger's Complex that morning. Fitzsimmons were like excited puppies, talking over one another as they gushed about the technology that Stark was working on, and coming up with ideas on how they might apply it to their own work. Despite their words overlapping and the fact that they were carrying about five topics of conversation at once, they understood each other perfectly, and May could easily see how Natasha had thought they were genuinely married.

This was one of the rare exceptions that May didn't mind a little aimless chatter in the quinjet. Although she usually enjoyed her solitude, the background noise of two excited young agents seemed to calm her today. Maybe she couldn't protect Daisy from herself just now, but she had two equally brilliant young charges to take care of for the time being. The thought made her smile, and she steered the quinjet into the sunset, homeward bound.