Chapter 6: Dinner
Clint stormed out of the living room. He didn't know what just happened or why but he had to get out of there. Quick. He slammed the arcadia door behind him as he stepped out onto the balcony. He kicked the closest lawn chair over on its side and went to the edge of the balcony, tightly gripping the smooth concrete ledge until his knuckles hurt. The breezy cool night air helped him relax, but he found it hard to shake off his feelings of anger and confusion. Who the fuck does he think he is kissing me like that?! It was clearly Natasha he'd been drooling over all night. It was Natasha he should have kissed. He's just doing this to fuck with me. Why would he think I'm the sexiest person in the room? Is Tony Stark gay? Am I gay? Why do I care? I don't care! I don't! Clint slammed his fist on the ledge. He hated being confused. He should've just kept his distance like usual and not even joined the game. But it was fun. This whole night has been fun. And that kiss was,- Clint slapped his temple, stopping that last thought before it could go any further. He spun around on his heel and saw Natasha approaching him. She looked just as upset as he was but her face softened when she saw his.
"Clint, are you alright?" she asked, gently grabbing his wrist.
"Natasha, you're smart. You tell me how I am." he replied, sounding much more snappy than he wanted to.
But Natasha knew him far too well. She wasn't affected by his attitude. She rarely was.
"I'm not sure what Tony's angle is or what kind of game he's playing, but I know why you're upset." she said.
"Oh, please do tell." Clint snarked.
Natasha slowly leaned forward, her emerald peepers level with his steely-blues.
"You're not the only one with good eyes. I saw you, Clint. You kissed back."
Clint subconsciously stroked at his lips. The taste of Tony was still there. Pineapple chapstick. Buttercream frosting. A hint of beer. He wiped his hand over his face and groaned.
"Shit, you're right." he said softly.
She was absolutely right. Clint was having more fun with Tony tonight than he expected. Like, at all. He let down his guard, and now Tony got to him.
"What's up with me, Nat?" he asked, his head facing down.
Natasha lifted his chin with her finger, her face neutral as their eyes met again.
"I don't know Clint. That's something you're going to have to figure out yourself. For now I just have one question for you, and don't you lie to me."
Clint stroked her hair and softly kissed her forehead.
"I never have, and I never will." he said.
"You and I both have had a fun night. You haven't let yourself go like this in a long time. So tell me, do you want to leave?"
Clint closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. He held onto her shoulders and let his forehead fall against hers. Natasha waited patiently until he finally exhaled, still feeling confused but a lot less tense.
"No." he whispered.
Natasha stroked his ears and gave him a tender ten second kiss on his lips.
"It'll be okay, Clint." she said, smiling affectionately.
"Only if you stay with me."
Natasha playfully punched his bicep.
"Where else would I go, you dummy?"
He hoped nowhere. Clint grabbed Natasha's hand and stared at her for a while before they went inside.
**************************************************************
Thor was puzzled. Though Clint was hesitant at his suggestion to play Truth or Dare, the interesting teen was all in as soon as the game started. He did wonder where Clint learned to pole dance the way he did after he admitted to not being a male stripper. He made himself proud how he copied Clint's sensual dance moves when he was dared to give Tony a lapdance. He was more than flattered when Rhodey admitted to having a, what did they call it? A man-crush on him. When Steve got incapacitated from one shot, Sharon gagged eating butter, and Bruce confessed defecating in a stranger's backyard, Thor didn't remember the last time he laughed so hard. He loved his lady Jane like no other, but Thor found himself speechless at Natasha's Jessica Rabbit impersonation. As ashamed as he felt to admit it, it was the sexiest thing he'd ever had the pleasure to witness. Clint was indeed a lucky fellow to have someone like her. That is, if they were together in that way. Thor was perplexed as to exactly what their relationship was to each other (and why Tony kept calling them Bonnie and Clyde), but Steve warned him in private not to ask. Ever. The game was going by fine and dandy, until it was Bruce's turn. Bruce challenged Tony to kiss whoever he thought was "the sexiest person in the room". Thor was concerned with this. He knew full well how others perceived his physical appearance, and a big part of him was expecting him to be kissed. He already felt so bad about oggling at Natasha behind Jane's back that he didn't want to kiss someone else as well. Tony crawled to him first, and Thor thought his fears were about to come true when Tony brought in his lips, but he only smiled and crawled away. Thor was relieved, but he was also surprised it wasn't him. Tony played his teasing game with Sharon, Steve, Pepper, and Bruce as well. Thor was growing anxious. Just who was it? It looked like a done deal when he seemed to kiss Natasha, but nope. Tony swiftly hopped to Clint and kissed him. Bruce said making out wasn't necessary, but Tony leaned into it and Clint grabbed Tony's hair and momentarily kissed back. Surprising but I could see it. Friend Tony was being exceptionally flirtatious tonight. Especially with Clint, Thor thought. Back in Asgardia, male on male relationships weren't uncommon and for the most part not frowned upon. He'd known for a fact that Tony sometimes had...relations with guys as well as girls. Clint kissed back, so why did he look like a deer in headlights before he stormed off outside? That was what was confusing Thor. Tony was into it. Clint was into it, so why was he mad? Clint Barton and Natasha Romanoff were definitely a mystery to Thor. When Natasha went out to the balcony to check on Clint, the air in the living room was thick with awkward silence. Tony was rubbing his hand behind his head, still trying to recover from Clint's abandon Natasha's death glare. Bruce, Pepper, Rhodey, and Sharon were glancing at any and everything but their host. Thor hated awkward silences. Too much happened for someone not to talk.
"Is uh, is there something stronger than Bud Light to drink?" Thor asked hesitantly.
Steve shot up from the floor and gave a frustrated look at Tony who was heading to the kitchenette.
"Oh that was really nice, Tony." he grated.
Tony opened the cabinet and pulled out the vodka he made Steve drink earlier.
"You're gonna have to be more specific than that, I'm afraid." Tony replied as he poured himself a glass.
"Just what the hell was that? Playing us all like that? Was Clint your real target or did you just feel like messing with him?" asked Steve, his face stern as he put his hands on his hips.
Tony put on a fake hysterical laugh as he filled his glass to the rim.
"Why does it matter to you? What's wrong, huh? Mad it wasn't you? Gimme a break."
Tony rolled his eyes and took a strong sip of his drink before pouring Thor a glass, too.
"That's not the issue and you know it." Steve replied, trying to keep his composure.
Thor walked past Steve and joined Tony by the corner.
"Were we not just having a grand time? I fail to see the problem here. " he said, nodding thankfully when Tony handed him a glass.
Tony snorted.
"You're not the only one, big guy." he said, taking another big gulp.
Steve lowered his eyebrows.
"You can't be serious."
"On that note, I'm gonna go now." said Pepper, who quickly stood up and grabbed her shoes.
"Now wait, Pep. Just because I kinda fucked up here doesn't mean you have to go ya know." said Tony.
Pepper shook her head, the corners of her mouth tight.
"No no no, it's okay. I stayed here longer than I should've. I got a lot of work to do anyway."
"I'll go with you. This is all a bit much for me." said Rhodey, gathering his cap and shoes as well.
Thor felt his eyes sadden at the sight of them leaving. What was happening? They were all friends here!
"Are you sure, friends?" he asked.
"Pep. Rhodey. Come on." said Tony, walking up to them.
Pepper help up her hand and looked away from him.
"Happy birthday, Tony." she said flatly, turning on her heels and taking the door to the stairs.
"I'll uh, I'll see you on Monday. Happy eighteenth, Tony." said Rhodey.
He was more warm, but he also made it clear he wanted to leave. Rhodey followed Pepper out, waving to everybody else as the doors closed behind him. Tony swore under his breath and took three more gulps, finishing his glass and immediately pouring more. Steve walked up behind him, putting his hand on his shoulder.
"I'm sorry, Tony. It's just you know,-"
Tony held up his hand.
"I know. You hate conflict in times of celebration."
Steve nodded then looked at Tony's bottle. Thor finished his glass quickly and did the same. Tony turned around and looked at them, then at Bruce and Sharon who were still sitting quietly in the living room.
"You guys gonna leave, too?" he asked, bitterness dropping off of him like sweat.
Thor shook his head.
"Nay, my friend." he said.
"Me either, Tony." said Steve, smiling softly at him.
"I go where Stevie goes." Sharon added sweetly.
"So things got awkward. Big whoop. I'm just shocked it took this long for something like that to happen." Bruce joked.
"Ha! Good one, Brucie Boy!" Tony called out.
"Ahem!" came a voice, and all heads turned to the arcadia door.
Natasha and Clint were standing there. Their arms crossed. Faces unreadable. This bothered Thor. Like uncomfortable silences and horror movies, Thor disliked not being able to read people.
"I trust everything is okay, new friends?" he asked.
The two of them kept standing there, not saying anything. Tony stepped forward and opened his mouth to speak, but a held up finger from Natasha stopped him in his tracks. Thor arched an eyebrow. The only person he knew that had the power to make Tony shut up left with Rhodey just a minute ago.
"Look, if it's okay with you we'd like to stay." said Natasha.
Clint scratched behind his earlobe and added,
"Look, no apologies. No explanations. No more surprise kisses. That okay with you, birthday boy?"
Tony smiled widely and raised his glass.
" Seriously?!You two are the most interesting people here. If you'd have left he would be bummed. Lets not disappoint him, shall we?"
Bruce, Clint, and Steve frowned at Tony.
"Who?" Bruce asked.
"Duh! Me!" Tony shouted.
Steve, Sharon, Bruce, and Clint rolled their eyes and groaned. Not Thor, though. He found the way Tony spoke in third-person from time to time most amusing. He bounded over to Clint and Natasha and threw his arms around their shoulders.
"Most excellent, new friends!" he shouted, not noticing when Clint flinched under his arm.
Steve, happy the awkwardness was cleared, clapped his hands together and smiled as well.
"Good. So, what do you guys wanna do now?"
As if right on cue, Thor's stomach rumbled loudly, sounding like a lion's growl.
"Holy shit, Thor." Clint said.
"I am quite famished. Might I suggest we get some food?" Thor asked.
"Yeah now that you mention, I'm hungry, too." said Bruce.
"Yeah I'm with the rest of you on that. That finger food was good and all but, wow." said Steve grabbing his stomach.
"I wouldn't mind going out some place." said Sharon.
"Me either, but you guys realize it's midnight by now, right?" Natasha pointed out.
"You know, there's a twenty-four hour diner a couple blocks from here. My treat."Tony offered.
"Sounds good to me. Let's go." said Bruce.
Tony turned around and fumbled on his way to the cabinet, clearly tipsy from his beer and glass of vodka.
"Shall we call Happy, friend Tony?" asked Thor, trying not to giggle at his fault.
Tony nodded as he struggled to stand up straight.
"Uhhh, yeah. That'd be good." he answered.
**************************************************************
Steve and his friends all sat in a circle around the cluster of tables brought together for their party of seven. Just for fun to see the reactions of the staff, they decided to go out in their costumes. Wigs and caps and all. They were not disappointed. He took another big bite of his perfectly crispy chicken-fried steak and mashed potatoes. Next to him Sharon was eating a creamy Alfredo sauce pasta with cheesy bread. Natasha, with her right leg resting on Clint's lap, was enjoying a simple tomato soup with crackers while her partner was content with chicken strips and fries. Bruce had a large stuffed roasted turkey club with sun chips. Thor and Tony were shamelessly muching on their racks of barebecue ribs with steak fries. Steve's stomach still hadn't fully recovered from his shot during the game of Truth or Dare, so he made sure to take his time eating his steak. Steve looked up at Clint, who had started telling a story while the others watched and ate. An itch was bothering Steve in the back of his mind. Tony's kiss thing wasn't over with. He could tell. Tony had went a full day without drinking. On his birthday, which Steve was secretly proud of him for. He and Steve and the rest of them had a darn good time without the aid of drugs and alcohol, something Tony occasionally took part in. Yes he had half a bottle of Bud Light during Truth or Dare, but compared to Tony's normal habits that was nothing at all. It wasn't until Tony kissed Clint and Clint stomped away afterward that Tony grabbed the liquor. Steve noticed how upset he was as he harshly drank the vodka. Tony usually had a cranberry juice as a chaser or started off with something light like wine before drinking like that, and Steve was concerned. Concerned for both him and Clint which was why he almost went off on Tony for what he did. Then Steve saw Tony's reaction when Pepper and Rhodey left. The millionaire playboy could joke and bask in his own glory all he wanted, but he was still human. Tony was troubled. Steve was a problem solver. Class president for a reason. There was more he wanted to say, but he didn't want to add to Tony's emotional stress. Clint and Natasha came back in the house and were nonchalant about the thing, but Steve knew this wasn't over.
"Was Clint your real target or did you just feel like messing with him?"
Tony never did answer that question. Knowing there wasn't much more he could do about it, Steve dropped the issue for now and let himself get immersed in Clint's story.
"Alright, so this one night while Nat and I were taking a walk, we decide to go to a random part of town we've never been in for no reason. We'd taken some shots earlier so admittedly, we're a little fucked up."
"Cheers to that." Tony interjected.
Clint, Thor, Natasha, and Tony clinked their glasses together before Clint continued.
"We're sauced up. We're loosey goosey and feeling like doing something dumb. Random cars fly by, and I bend over every now and then to pull down my jeans and flash my ass."
Bruce paused in the middle of a bite of his club.
"Really?!" he asked, incredulous and mouth full.
"Darn skippy." said Natasha, winking at him.
"So anyway, like I said, I'm flashing my ass. Most of the cars that pass me by are giving middle fingers or shouting at me. Some give me honks of approval. Nat, why don't you go ahead and tell this next part."
Steve was felt halfway guilty for being so interested. Boy, his mom would not approve of Clint. She was hardly okay with the fact that he hung out with Tony who was a certified wildcard. He wished Clint would stop with the foul language already, but then he remembered what he himself said earlier after he took the Dare shot. Eh that doesn't count. At least, it shouldn't count. Aw man, I think it counts. Natasha slurped a spoonful of soup before she continued for Clint.
"Like Clint said, he's flashing his ass. We're boozing, having some laughs. Well, that gets boring after five minutes and god dammit if Clint doesn't start messing around."
"Messing around how?" asked Sharon.
"Well, he decides he wants to start doing his gymnastic tricks on the sidewalk. Drunk as a sailor, he's doing sloppy cartwheels, knocking things out of people's hands and almost getting into a few fights because of that."
"And what did you do?" asked Thor with a mouthful of cow.
Natasha crossed her arms and smirked.
"Didn't you hear Clint? We were both a little fucked up. He's cartwheeling and stumbling and spouting nonsense at strangers, and I'm just yucking it up. Of course, the dummy to my right here decides he wants to take stuff further. He jumps and does a badly executed backflip in the middle of the damn street. Mid-flip he moves his wrist wrong and falls on his ass. He gets up, but there's a van coming full speed down the road. Dummy doesn't seem to notice the horn blaring as it's coming up on him, so I snap sober and run out there. I shove him out of the way in time but now the van is seconds away from hitting me."
Steve's eyes go wide.
"Oh my gosh. So what happened?" he asked.
Clint snorted.
"'What happened'? To who, Nat the fucking spider here? Nothing! The van is seconds away from hitting her, and she hops on the hood, clinging to it like a fucking spider! The van skids to a halt, and some old lady opens her door. The old bat is shouting every swear word imaginable at us as Natasha grabs my wrist and we run away."
Steve, Sharon, Thor, Bruce and Tony set down their eating utensils and clapped, applauding the story. Steve laughed internally. Oh yeah, Mom would certainly not approve. Tony stood up from his seat, facing everyone as he raised his glass.
"Like I said earlier, you two are the most interesting people here. Too bad Rhodey and Pepper weren't here to enjoy that story but hey, their loss, right? This been a fantastic fucking birthday! Cheers!"
Tony did it again. His vibe flowed right into Steve like rainwater to a stormdrain. Completely ignoring the swearing, Steve was the first to stand and clink glasses with his friend. The other five followed suit in seconds, and the sound of their "Happy birthday!" cheer and clinking glasses rang throughout the diner. Then they all sat down and resumed their dinner, having fun chatter which thankfully didn't have any swearing. Well at least not much. By the time they finished eating, Steve and the others were stuffed and lethargic. It was well past midnight, and the day's activities were finally catching up to them. They had to drag themselves out of their chairs and outside to the parking lot. Their bill had only added up to around forty-five dollars, but Steve saw that Tony left two hundred dollar bills on the table. Their servers were going to be very happy tonight. Steve winked at Tony as Happy pulled into the parking lot in a shiny black stretch hummer. Tony liked to hide it but Steve knew how generous he could be. The seven of them sat in comfortable silence the entire car ride home. Even Tony and Thor, the loudest of them all.
**************************************************************
Natasha couldn't remember the last time she felt so content. Despite the bump in the road with Truth or Dare (she knew that situation was a can of worms to be opened for another time), she and her partner were perfectly happy. She had no idea why Pepper and Rhodey left, but she didn't really care. The rest of the night went on without a hitch. They ate dinner and shared stories and laughed. It made her feel good knowing that Tony, the biggest showman at school who loved flaunting his money, found misfits like her and Clint to be the most interesting members of the company. She still didn't see any of them as friends yet. It was too early to tell, but she could let her guard down some. At least halfway when they were chatting and all the way when they were dancing. Even during their drunk nights around town, she and Clint hardly ever went dancing just for fun. The ride back to Tony's was quiet, which was what Natasha liked the most. Sure loud music and laughing like madmen was fun, but she was in her element in the quiet. Back on Tony's floor, Natasha and Sharon went to the bathroom to change back into their regular clothes. Finally, she thought, this dress is pushing my boobs up to my ears and I'm going to kill somebody if I have to take another step in these damn heels. Natasha was back in her red shirt and black skirt. Sharon was in an oversized gray t-shirt, blue short-shorts and long pink polkadot socks with the movable toes. Natasha smiled at them. I oughta get me a pair of those.
"So Natasha," said Sharon when they were dressed and fixing their hair in the mirror, "Is it okay of I ask you something?"
"Go ahead." said Natasha.
"I can kind of understand why Clint was mad at the whole Tony kiss thing but, why were you?"
Natasha sighed and faced her.
"Clint and I,...we're connected. We think the same on virtually every level. The two of us are so in tune that,... anyway, I've rarely seen get Clint shaken up like that, so when he stormed off, I knew it must've been for a good reason. Ergo, he's mad, I'm mad."
Sharon smiled softly at her as she placed her blond locks in a top bun. Natasha could swear she looked a little sad.
"I can't say I've experienced anything like you have. I know how you feel about the question so I'm not gonna ask but, whatever this thing with you and Clint is, it's special. I can only hope for something like that some day."
Natasha smiled back and nodded. Nothing more needed to be said about that. She and Sharon emerged from the bathroom. Clint, Steve, Bruce and Thor back in their earlier outfits as well minus their jackets and socks. Tony, dressed in red satin pajamas and a silky golden robe, was passing out covers to them.
"We're spending the night." Clint said when Natasha came up to him.
For reasons unknown, after her small chat with Sharon, Natasha felt the need for Clint's mouth. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him in to a deep liplock. Clint responded immediately, kissing her back and angling his head. Natasha sighed into their embrace. She loved kissing this guy. They kissed like that for a full minute before breaking apart, realizing they were still in the presence of other people. Tony wasn't in the living room anymore. Sharon, Steve, Thor, and Bruce were looking at them with raised eyebrows.
"Forgive me for asking but uh,...does this answer a certain question?" asked Bruce, pulling out the leg-rest of the Lazy Boy chair he settled into.
A silky lime green quilt covered his body from the neck down, and he set his glasses on the coffee table next to him. Clint grinned and shook his head.
"No not really." he replied, handing a black and purple quilt to Natasha.
Thor shook his head, frustrated with all of the confusion.
"I do not understand." he grumbled, his long form taking up an entire couch.
"In simplest terms, Natasha and I are unclassified." said Clint.
Natasha nodded. Clint was right. They were unclassified. The thing they had, the pair they were, had no label. Not to them anyway. Steve cuddled with Sharon under a blue and white cover on the soft floor, adjusting the thick pillows beneath their heads.
"You two are mystery." Steve mumbled, already half asleep as he wrapped his arm around Sharon.
Thor threw his silver and red cover over his head, cocooning himself in it on the couch.
"Indeed! Good evening, comrades!"
Even muffled through a thick piece of cotton, Thor's loud voice made Clint flinch. Natasha and Bruce giggled. He had to be hating that. Natasha grabbed the purple and black quilt and took a spot on the end of the velvety loveseat. She sat upright and pulled out the leg-rest, letting her feet kick up comfortably. Clint, with his bare feet hanging over the arm of the seat, crawled onto the empty space of the loveseat and rested his head on her lap. Natasha scowled at him. Clint was a drooler when he slept, but his puppy dog eyes were irresistible so she let his head stay there. She could get a change of clothes tomorrow. They were in the house of a millionaire after all. Tony was bound to have something for her. She swung the quilt around them, positioning it so that it covered most of her legs and Clint's upper body from the neck down. With closed eyes Clint reached up and pulled her into another long, tender kiss. His lips tasted like salty fries and ranch dipping sauce, but she didn't mind. These lips were hers. Not Tony's. Whoa, where's this coming from? she asked herself. Clint was not her boyfriend. She was not his girlfriend. They were unclassified. Still,... Tony's hand clap sounded from his bedroom, and the lights clicked off. Natasha let her head fall back as Clint began snoring almost instantly. Sleep, my hawk. Sleep.
A/N: What do you think is going to happen next? What would you do in any of their places?