Chapter 8: The Test

Steve paused as he brushed his teeth. He turned around and looked back in the living room. Natasha was doing stretches by the love seat. Thor was rummaging through the fridge in the kitchenette, grabbing a carton of orange juice. Sharon and Bruce were still asleep on the floor and Lazy Boy respectively. Clint wasn't there. Neither was Tony. Steve quickly rinsed out his mouth and walked over to Natasha.

"Hey Natasha, do you know where Clint or Tony is?" he asked.

"I was half asleep at the time but I saw them heading downstairs a while ago." she said.

"That's where the big kitchen is. Maybe they went to make something to eat." said Steve.

"Let us go join them. I do hope there is breakfast prepared for us as well." Thor chimed in.

Natasha rolled her eyes.

"I doubt that."

Steve chuckled.

"I know what you must be thinking, Natasha, but believe me when I say Tony's not as selfish as he seems. I'm sure he has something for the rest of us." he said.

Natasha grinned sideways at Steve.

"That's not what I'm worried about. Dummy's appetite fluctuates. If today is one of his hungry days, there wont be anything left for the rest of us if Tony got us breakfast."

"Then let us be on our way!" Thor shouted.

Bruce and Sharon slowly opened their eyes and whined in their positions.

"Talk about an Asgardian wake up call." Bruce chided softly, reaching for his glasses.

"I apologize my friends, but it is time for breakfast." said Thor.

Bruce and Sharon hesitantly removed their covers. They stood up, yawning and stretching. Steve led his sleepy friends to the elevator and waved his hand in front of the monitor. The doors dinged open and they stepped inside. On the elevator ride down, Steve looked at Natasha. She was still quiet most of the time and it was strange seeing her without Clint around. Curious about her thoughts, he asked her,

"So Natasha, what do you think?"

Natasha looked at him.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"About us. Think you might want to make our group here a regular thing? I'm curious" Steve answered.

"I wonder this as well." said Thor.

Natasha shrugged.

"Don't get me wrong, you're all enjoyable. Last night was cool, but only time will tell. And even then, Clint will probably have to be with me at all times."

"Understandable I suppose." said Steve.

He was so hoping that their time together last night would've made them friends, but he was happy she at least considered it. Steve agreed with Tony's comment about her and her partner. They were the most interesting members of the group. Definitely the most mysterious. The elevator doors opened, and Steve was hit with the smell of pancakes and other delicious things. His eyes fluttered as he stepped out first.

"Yup, I'm awake now." said Bruce who followed.

Steve smiled at them as he led them across the lounge.

"See?"

"GOD DAMMIT!" they heard Tony yell.

Steve's smile quickly faded. When he stepped into the kitchen he saw messy, runny eggs against the wall. Tony was on the ground, gritting his teeth and rubbing hard at his forehead. Steve ran over to his friend and knelt down beside him. The big breakfast set upon the stove and counters were completely ignored.

"Oh my god! What the hell happened in here?" asked Sharon.

"Tony, are you okay?" asked Steve.

Tony slammed his fist on the floor.

"No! I'm not okay, Steve!" he shouted angrily.

Natasha crossed her arms and glared at Tony.

"What's going on? Where's Clint?" she asked.

"Oh, him? He stormed off again. This time giving me a knock to the fucking head." Tony replied, his anger making him immune to Natasha's eye daggers.

Natasha uncrossed her arms. Steve grew nervous when he saw her lips tighten and her fists clench.

"What the fuck did you do this time?" she asked quietly.

Tony laughed weakly as Steve helped him to his feet.

"Well, your boyfriend and I got a little hot and heavy with each other. He freaked out when he almost came in his pants, so he hit me and left."

"You did WHAT?!" Natasha shouted, and Steve wasn't quick enough to stop her.

She leaped forward, shoved Steve out of the way and gave Tony a backhand slap so hard his head whipped sideways. The CLAP sound echoed in the kitchen. She growled and almost struck again. Thor intervened, wrapping his massive arms around her from behind and dragging her backwards.

"OW! God dammit, why am I the one getting hit?!" Tony hollered.

"Because I know Clint! Whatever you two did, he didn't initiate it! He was already shaken up over what happened last night! What is wrong with you?!"

Tony wiped the side of his mouth before giving her a smug grin.

"Feeling threatened, are we?"

"Oh, you fucking prick!"

"At least call me something I've never heard before, Bonnie."

"Hey! That's enough! Both of you just STOP! Shut up!" Steve shouted.

Steve had an especially large pool of patience, but all of this had quickly drained it. Things had already gotten physical, and he knew if he didn't stop it now Tony and Natasha would've kept arguing. Natasha's face was back to being neutral, but her breathing was hard and her fists were still tight. She gave Thor a sharp elbow to the ribs, making him let her go.

"I'll show myself out. If I see you come near Clint again with that kind of crap, I will fucking end you."

Natasha let that marinate with everyone as she calmly left the kitchen. Steve put on a brave face, but he was scared of her. He saw the way she looked when she said what that. She was completely serious.

"Guess this means party's over." said Tony, who covered his eyes with his hands.

"You got that right. I'm getting the hell out of here." Sharon replied harshly.

Steve looked at her shocked. Tony was hurt and in need. Why would she leave?

"Sharon?" he asked.

Sharon only shook her head sharply and exited the room. Thor had his arms crossed, his face upset.

"I do not understand what is going on, but I do not appreciate this. I will not depart just yet, but I am not pleased, Tony." he stated.

Bruce stayed silent, his head down as he followed Sharon out. Steve's heart broke at the sight. Things had gown down hill so fast it was mindboggling. Clint, Natasha, and Bruce leaving was understandable. Sad, but understandable. Sharon leaving? That just didn't make any sense. Tony was in pain, and Thor was bothered by it all. Tony moved his hands away from his eyes. He looked shocked to see Steve and Thor were still there. Steve looked Tony in the eyes and asked,

"Tony, what's going on with you?" he asked.

Tony closed his eyes and looked away with a gulp.

"I messed up, Steve." was all he said.

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Natasha finally caught up with Clint after she turned another corner and saw him crossing the street. Barefoot and all. How dare he? He left me there with that mess! She ran up next to him, and she wanted to yell at him. Scream at him. Hit him in his jaw, but when she saw his face, she did none of those things. His face was blank as they kept walking, his eyes staring straight ahead and going nowhere. This worried Natasha. She knew he should be furious, but he was shutting out. He normally did this with other people or when he was doing his morning handstands. Not to her. Never to her. If he was feeling anything, he would tell her. Natasha wanted to say something, but she knew now wasn't the time.

They walked together in silence for over an hour all the way back to Clint's house. When they got there, they saw that Clint's brother's car wasn't there. Typical. Barney was always out. Boozin' and sleeping with hookers probably. Barney had been Clint's legal guardian ever since their parents died when they were young, but Natasha knew that Clint usually took care of himself. They entered the house and she kicked off her shoes. As soon as the door closed behind them, Natasha couldn't stand his silence any longer.

"Clint, talk to me." she said.

That was an order, not a plea. She wasn't going to take this. Not from her partner.

"I slapped the taste out of Tony's mouth before I caught up with you, but I wanna hear your side of the story."

Clint dropped his head.

"Nat I uh,...I let Tony,..."

He opened his mouth to say more, but then he clammed up again. Natasha sighed deeply. She was a very patient girl, but Clint was starting to piss her off.

"We kissed again. He started it but,...this time I didn't fight back. We um, we made out. A lot. Then we were dry humping and I almost,..."

Natasha shook her head. She may have been out of line in hitting Tony, but Clint was lost. He wasn't sure how to feel, and Tony went ahead and initiated something else anyway. He didn't know Clint. He hasn't spent nearly enough time with him. Tony should've known better. Natasha chewed on her lip and thought for a moment. She knew what would help. Time for a test.

"Clint, come here." she said.

Clint did as she requested, and his eyes were softly looking into hers. She stretched up on her toes locked lips with Clint. Normally when they kissed it was to calm each other down or assure them everything would be alright. Other times it would be just for the hell of it, but not today. This time Natasha added heat into it. The two of them may not have been a couple, but they knew how sexy they found each other. Clint wasted no time and kissed her back hard. Natasha giggled as Clint's tongue found hers, and she let him taste her. Clint grabbed her waist and brought their bodies in close. She moaned in anticipation when she felt the growing erection in his jeans sliding against her stomach. She continued to heavily kiss him as her fingers found the button to his pants.

Thank god Clint always wore loose fitting jeans because the craze with guys in skinny pants these days just baffled her. She undid his button and zipper and his jeans fell around his ankles. His rock hard cock sprung from the slit in his boxers and she grabbed it in her hands. Clint broke their kiss and smiled as he licked his lips. Seeing him do that made Natasha wet in her underwear. They didn't have sex nearly enough. The two of them lost their virginities to each other years ago and used each other for sexual release from time to time. They agreed not to make it a regular thing because then they would feel like "fuck buddies". Still though, she almost wouldn't mind doing that. She stroked his cock from base to tip, up and down and Clint moaned softly. His lips made contact with hers again and he slid his hands up her skirt. She shut her eyes and bit down on his lip when he used one hand to yank down her lacy red panties and the other to slide two of his fingers inside her. She shuddered as Clint curled his fingers and twisted.

"Oh god!" she cried out.

His hands were great, but she was aching for something more.

"Jesus, you are so ready, Nat." Clint whispered into her mouth.

Natasha shoved his fingers out of her and guided his cock into her slick warmth. They both moaned at the same time. She winced somewhat. She had almost forgotten how big Clint was. She hiked up her skirt and led them backwards to the couch. Clint lifted her up, wrapped her legs around him and let them plop onto the cushions. Natasha on her back. He gave one big thrust, and Natasha cried out again.

"Fuck! Clint!" she yelled.

Clint gave a grunt as he thrusted again, his dick now enveloping her. Her toes curled and her nails dug into the back of Clint's shirt. His thrusts were slow but hard and rough, each time making her gasp. They truly were partners, in every sense of the word.

"Clint?" she asked with another gasp.

"Yeah?" he asked through his teeth.

"Who's fucking me right now?"

Clint gave another hard thrust and she lifted her head, biting down on his shoulder.

"I. Am." he replied between growls.

"Who are you inside of right now-ah!"

Clint lifted her hips from below and buried himself deeper inside of her.

"Nyugh! You."

Natasha's body was shaking as Clint sped up his pumping. She couldn't keep her legs still. Clint was making her so wet and fucking her so good she struggled to keep up her test.

"Oh god! Who are you making writhe beneath you?"

"Holy shit! Agh! You, Nat! Always you!"

The tip of Clint's shlong was tingling inside of her. He was almost there, and she was about to beat him to it.

"Jesus Christ! Who are you fucking right now?! Who's about to cum because of you?! Agh! Clint!"

Natasha couldn't take it anymore. With Clint still on top fucking her like a bunny rabbit, Natasha exploded. She coated his still thrusting, throbbing cock in her essence, and she tore a hole in the cushion she was gripping.

"You, Nat!" Clint strained.

She could feel his climax coming, and she couldn't wait for it to fill her up.

"Clint,..." she asked breathlessly,

"Who do you want to be fucking right now?"

"T-"

Then Clint stopped. He stopped completely, motionless as he stared at her. His sex high was coming down fast, and Natasha almost cried when he withdrew from her. He sat up on the couch, his wet half erect cock slapping on the cushion beneath him. He covered his eyes with his hands and groaned with frustration. It was the second time Clint almost came today but didn't. Natasha sat up and closed her eyes. She enjoyed Clint fucking her like nothing else, but she had tested him and her guess was right. They were still partners but,...

"Clint," she said slowly,

"it's happened. It's finally happened."

Clint uncovered his eyes. He looked mad, but not at her.

"What's finally happened?" he asked.

Natasha wiped some sweat off of her forehead. She smiled at him. A knowing, sad smile.

"You've been compromised." she replied.

Clint clamped his eyes shut and gripped his hair with both hands.

"I can't do this, Nat. I can't get compromised. It's always been you." he said

Natasha scooped her legs under her and scooted closer to him. She kissed his cheek but his eyes remained closed.

"You'll always have me, Clint. We'll always be partners, but you can't keep doing this to yourself."

Clint shot up from the couch. He quickly pulled up his pants and stomped out of the living room with a very stern face.

"Just watch me. I'm a tough guy. I'll live."

A/N: What do you think is going through Clint's mind right now?