- Hey Sorry for the wait, i've decided i am going to start shorter chapters, because its easier with all the work i am doing with school and also my brain is subconsciously telling me to work on my sorter chapter fics cus im so lazy, i might do longer ones on weekends but not sure.

in other news, someone asked me for Clint/Coulson pairing and i was happy to oblige, this was gunna go a completely different way, but it sucked, and had a brain wave (at least i think it was a brain wave, i might be wrong and this completely sucks) on the bus home today and i am really happy with it so here it is...

Chapter 3

Natasha Romanov had always said love was for children. And she truly believed that. But she wasn't that person anymore. She wasn't the cold blooded killer she used to be. Yes, She still was a killer, but she felt, she felt remorse for the innocent, hatred for the opposite. She wasn't the emotionless killer, robotically following orders for her next kill. She was a friend, a sister (though not conventionally), she was a hero, and avenger, an S.O... And she was a girlfriend.

She knew love was real. She had seen it enough times being around Clint and Phil for the past 8 years, when it went unmentioned and when it was. She had seen the tender look in their eyes as they dressed their wounds, and the protective fire in their souls as they fought to save each others lives. She had seen it in the mourning, through the silent tears and the not so silent drunken screaming. And she had seen it in the hope. The hope when Clint had re watched the video of Skye a hundred times over just to be sure he really was alive.

She knew love was real, but she also knew love was for children. For people like her, love only came as a child, before your first kill, before you held a life in your own hands and were ordered to snuff it out. The red room does that. Stamps out any resemblance of love that you are left an emotionless tool. But she wasn't that killer anymore, was she? She had changed. These thoughts raced around Tasha's head as she watched Skye sleeping. It had been a few days and she still couldn't get used to touching her. She had touched Skye before hand. They were all over each other when the sparred. But it was different from the violent grazes of their bodies. It was the gentle caress of a thumb on her cheek, or the way she would tenderly place her hands Skye's. She had never been tender before, never wanted it, but with Skye, she needed it, craved it as a reminder that she had changed, like she was worth Skye's life.

Skye sighed in her sleep, and subconsciously reached for Tasha. She didn't know about Tasha's nightly musings, she didn't know that Tasha would feign sleep till she could watch Skye, to remind her that she was there, to make sure she was still there in the morning. It had only been a few days, and she was already compromised.

'Love does that for you,' the nagging thought at the back of her brain told her. She wasn't touching that train of thought with a ten foot pole.

Clint was sulking, and Coulson knew it. They hadn't properly spoken since before New York. They hadn't discussed what would happen to them since Coulson had 'died' and he knew Clint was too proud to talk. He had claimed he was over Coulson lying, but he knew he wasn't. Not really. Phil didn't blame him, how could he expect forgiveness when he had essentially left him. Coulson didn't even know if Clint had moved on. It had been 2 years. Coulson sighed. This was getting nowhere. He had to talk to Clint. He had enough to worry about without fretting over hypothetical situations. This was easier said than done. As soon as he has made his decision, he was wracked with panic and paranoia. It was 3 in the morning, he was sleep deprived and he didn't think he could take it if Clint said it was over. He couldn't thi-

'Just go talk to him. You will regret it if you don't, literally, I will kick your ass if you don't find him.'

Phil startled. When had May gotten here? How had he not noti- right, it was May he was talking about, she's a ninja.

'How did you know?' He asked miserably.

'You mumble when you're stressed. It was surprisingly coherent this time.'

Phil chuckled, before remembering himself. His face returned somber. 'What do you think I should do.'

'Go. Talk to him. I guarantee he is fretting over the same thing right now. He's been sulking for the last 4 days. It's annoying.'

Being the push he needed, he looked at Billy's iPad, he found Clint's lanyard tracker. Either May was right and Clint was wrapped up in thought or Clint had taken to sleeping in the vents... Phil wouldn't put it past him.

Phil made a subtle cough as he approached the vent face, not wanting to startle Clint. Though it did not do much good. Clint looked flustered when he noticed Phil. Although that had more to do with who it was.

'Hey, umm could we.. Err talk?' Coulson didn't think he had ever uttered a sentence lacking more eloquence in his life. He felt a blush rise to his cheeks. He was a grown man, for goodness sake!

Clint nodded and gracefully jumped down from the vent and sauntered over to the sofas, pausing to look over his shoulder at Phil, curling his fingers in invitation. Phil ignored the fluttering of his heart, following after Clint. Did Clint know what he did to him, Phil thought.

Phil positioned himself on the sofa, far enough from Clint for personal space but close enough that he could reach out and touch him. God, he wished he could cut down the foot in between them. The no mans land.

'I know we haven't really talked abou-'

'I still love you,' Clint interrupted, as if in fear of hearing what Phil was going to say.

'Oh, thank god!' Phil exclaimed, instantly pulling Clint towards him, hands combing through his hair as he kissed him. He was consumed with joy at feeling Clint beneath him, his arms locked around him. He felt a burning desire, bubbling under his skin, ready to burst out from him.

He moaned into Clint's mouth, and pulled away.

'I love you too.' He said simply, before Clint pulled him down again.

Between kisses and gasps, repeating the words together, making up for lost time.

'I love You.''I love You.''I love You.'

This went on for hours. Time lost to them, all they knew was the feeling of one against another, and those three words ringing in their heads; not knowing the difficulty Tasha had, at that very moment, even thinking the words, elsewhere in the base.

-lemme know what you think x-