A soft sigh slid past Spencer's lips as he pushed one hand down into the pocket of his slacks. With his other hand he reached out to take the glass of champagne off of a passing tray. He took a sip off the drink to give himself a chance to school his expression once more. It wouldn't do to show any sort of open disdain on his face. No matter how much he truly felt it. His eyes ran over the grand ballroom he stood in, over the many people in their fancy clothes and gaudy jewelry, and he wished more than anything that he was back in his apartment in a pair of sweats and his favorite shirt that he'd stolen from Clint. He and Clint could hang out on the couch, eat some pizza and watch a movie, maybe trash talk some of the people in the movies or the stupid things they did. That sounded a whole lot better than this.

'This' happened to be a charity ball that was raising money for cancer. So, naturally, everyone who was anyone was there. All the big, important people were there to sign over their money and make absolutely sure that they were seen out caring about someone other than themselves.

Spencer had to fight back a snort. Being around Clint was starting to rub off on him. The man was even more cynical than Spencer sometimes and was definitely more colorful when it passed his lips. Most of Spencer's thoughts stayed internal, though he'd noticed they carried more of a bit to them now.

The idea of what Clint might say if he were here was enough to have Spencer taking another drink to hide his smile. Yeah, the archer would loathe this. Then again-his wife would probably love it.

Spencer made a mental note to look around and find things that Laura might like. She loved hearing about the parts of his missions that Spencer could tell her. She'd like hearing all about this fancy get together.

That was a friendship that Spencer was still surprised by. Four months had passed since he'd met Laura, and he'd been sure that, after their initial meeting, he and Laura probably wouldn't see one another too much. But he'd found himself surprised-rather pleasantly. Now that Laura knew who he was, she had almost demanded his phone number, and then made sure to call or text him pretty much every single day. They'd grown quite close these past few months. It helped, too, that Spencer got to go and visit sometimes to the new Barton home.

It would seem that finding a corrupt doctor in her group had inspired Laura to do something she said she'd wanted to do for a while-retire. She'd returned to the states and taken up residence on her family's farm over in Virginia. Now she was a doctor of the small town that she lived in and both she and Clint were practically glowing with the amount of time they got to spend together.

To Spencer, it didn't seem like much. Clint was gone on missions here and there, and still even spent time at his and Spencer's apartment. But, without fail, if he wasn't on a mission he was home every single weekend. Sometimes he even took a long week off to go stay out there. It didn't seem like they got to spend a whole lot of time together. But both of them had laughed when Spencer had suggested it, and they'd told him that it was a lot compared to how they'd been before.

"Don't get me wrong, I love spending time with my husband." Laura had told Spencer. "But I knew when I got with him that his job was a huge part of his life. I won't ever begrudge him that. I mean, it's no different than, say, being the wife of a long-haul trucker. Or plenty of other government workers. Or even being a soldier's wife. I'm proud of what my husband does for our country. For the world. I won't ask him to change who he is."

Spencer supposed it wasn't really his business. Whatever worked for them. They were happy and that was what mattered.

Something caught Spencer's eye and pinged on his senses enough to draw him out of his thoughts.

A woman across the room in a red and lace dress was smiling up at a rather handsome looking gentleman. The woman had her hair piled up on her head, loose curls hanging down over her neck and cheeks in a way that Spencer could tell was meant to make her look alluring. It must've worked, because there were plenty of eyes on her. She looked like a pretty young woman, just like many others in the room. Very few would've been able to notice the subtle tells that gave away who she was. No one but Spencer would've seen the red and silver flower pinned into her hair and known what it really stood for.

This was the woman he was to make contact with tonight.

Making his way over to her took time. There was no way he could just stroll right up to her and exchange the information they needed. That would look beyond suspicious and would likely blow her cover.

Spencer mixed and mingled as he crossed the room. He even stopped once and danced with a woman who asked him. Though normally his male half didn't get a whole lot of attention, putting him in a tux and getting all 'dolled up', as Clint would describe it, seemed to get some people to notice him. Adding on an air of charm and goodwill around himself made people like him a bit more as well.

Finally he was close enough that they could 'run into' one another without it being too suspicious. She initiated it, smiling brightly when she saw him as if just noticing he was there. "Mason!" That was the codename that Spencer was under this time. "Is that really you? It feels like it's been ages!"

Spencer gave his brightest and most practiced smile as he turned away from the man he'd been speaking with. He made sure to light up at the sight of the woman gliding towards him. "Zoe!"

The two came together to exchange a quick kiss on the cheek and a hug. Then Spencer was pulling back, her hands held lightly in his. He spread them out a little to get a better look at her. "I swear, Zoe, you get lovelier each time I see you."

She let out a low laugh and squeezed his hands. "You charmer. Not like you have any room to talk. Look at you, all grown up into such a handsome young man!"

The man that had been with her let out a low chuckle. "Indeed he did." He took a step forward and Spencer got a better look at him. The tall, slim yet fit build, the perfectly tailored and expensive tux, the well trimmed goatee, the stylishly messy dark hair. One look and Spencer knew exactly who it was. SHIELD had a file on him already.

Tony Stark.

The fact that he was here at all was surprising. Rarely did he go to anything that was considered 'boring' as this might be. But what was even more surprising was the way that he was looking at Spencer. There was a beautiful woman right here with them and yet Tony's eyes very clearly ran over Spencer, down and then back up until they finally landed on his face. There was a heat there that Spencer could recognize anywhere even without feeling the lust in the air.

Either Zoe missed it, or she was ignoring it, because she simply smiled at him and turned to include him in their conversation. "Oh, Mr. Stark, my apologies. Please, come and meet my young friend." She let go of Spencer with one hand and then used that hand to gesture between them. "Tony Stark, I'd like you to meet my dear friend Mason."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Stark." Spencer said politely.

Tony's mouth quirked up on one side. His smile was more of a smirk, and definitely smug, yet it was somehow still attractive. "Yes. Yes it is." Then he winked at Spencer. "But for once I can say it's a pleasure to meet you as well. I love seeing fresh new faces at these things. Especially such beautiful ones. These things are always so boring otherwise."

It took effort for Spencer not to chuckle at that. Instead, he lifted one eyebrow, his lips twitching just a bit. "If that's so, I'm surprised you came at all."

"Frankly, so was I." Again he gave Spencer a sweeping gaze. His grin seemed to grow impossibly bigger. "I'm starting to not regret it as much. You should come and grab a drink with me, help me keep the boredom at bay. It'd be a public service."

The flirtation was over the top and the man's smugness should've been a huge turn off for just about anyone. Yet Spencer found himself regretful at having to break away from the man. He had a job to do, though. "Ah, tempting as that is, I was actually hoping..." Here, Spencer turned away from the man, giving the hand he still held a squeeze. "Ms. Zoe, would you allow me to claim this dance before someone sweeps you away from me?"

She let out one of those fake tittering laughs that always drove Spencer insane. "Of course. Though I feel like I'm stealing you away."

"Nonsense. There's not a soul in this room that could compare to you."

Zoe laughed again and the two stepped away, leaving Tony watching them amusedly. The man lifted his glass in a sort of cheers as Spencer pulled Zoe into his arms and swung out onto the floor.

Twenty minutes later found Spencer standing out on one of the many balconies this ballroom sported. He'd had his dance with Zoe, as well as a brief and fake conversation to maintain their cover, and then the two had parted ways without anyone ever having been able to notice a thing. No one noticed Spencer palm one of the jewels from her hair-a jewel that SHIELD had designed and that carried quite a lot of digital information on it. Important information.

That little jewel was now neatly tucked into the tiny pocket on the inner cuff of Spencer's jacket. A jacket he'd currently pulled off and held draped over one shoulder, his finger hooked into the collar of it to hold it there. He was leaning back against the wall, staring up at the sky and sipping off a rather delicious glass of wine. He'd managed to pull back from the crowd for a breath of fresh air. But Jason had wanted him to stay for a while after talking to Zoe. Her cover was deep and they wanted no risk of anything compromising it. No one could suspect their meeting had been anything but chance.

Still, that didn't mean he couldn't try and get some air. The ballroom was stifling. SHIELD seemed to think his skills and powers made him well suited to missions like this one. Mostly, Spencer wanted to tell them to go to hell when they brought it up. He hated these fancy gatherings. Almost as much as he hated being in a crowded room like this. So many people made it hard to maintain his shields. He was going to have to do some meditation tonight or he was going to have one hell of a headache the next day.

"So this is where you vanished to."

Spencer jerked his head up and didn't bother to hide his surprise. He hadn't noticed anyone coming close to him. Bad. So, so bad. Dangerous! "Mr. Stark." He let his surprise bleed into his tone a little. Anyone would've been surprised to have someone sneak up on them.

There was a smirk on Tony's lips as he strolled forward. He stopped only a few feet in front of Spencer. "Please, call me Tony. Or, really, Mr. Stark works fine if that's your thing. No shame here."

Some of Spencer's earlier amusement at this man returned to him. He didn't fight the way his lips curved up a bit. "No, I imagine there wouldn't be." The way he looked Tony over and how he said his words made his message clear on that.

To his surprise, Tony actually laughed, and Spencer felt honest amusement from him. He felt a lot more, too, but he enjoyed the amusement. It was pushing away the boredom the man had been feeling. "Sassy. I like that." He tipped his glass Spencer's way.

"I'm so glad." Spencer said dryly. He lifted his own glass, taking a sip off it before keeping the glass at his lips and arching one eyebrow. "Was there something I can help you with, Mr. Stark? Or do you simply stalk random party guests for entertainment?"

"Only the gorgeous ones." Tony fired back easily. He wasn't put off at all by Spencer's dry remarks. If anything, they spurred him on. "And speaking of gorgeous, let me just say that you looked amazing out on the dance floor. I've always enjoyed a person that knows how to move well." That last part was said with a wink.

Chuckling, Spencer let his lips curve up and he dipped his head just a bit. "Thank you."

"You two made quite the couple. I wasn't aware Miss Zoe was seeing anyone currently."

Instincts had Spencer's focus sharpening. The man was fishing, there was no doubt about that. What was he hoping to learn? Spencer chuckled and watched the man's face carefully, reading everything he could as he told him "Oh, no, it's not like that. Zoe's an old friend. We're not… no. We've never been an item." He let himself give a playful little shiver, as if someone had suggested he date Clint or Natasha. The real emotion that gave him helped make his lie here more honest looking.

He was caught off guard when the man's eyes sparkled and he seemed to just light up. The smile he gave was big enough to crinkle his eyes. "Well then, I guess I don't have to worry as much about hitting on you then, do I?"

"Is that what you've been doing?" Spencer huffed a laugh and shook his head.

Tony didn't let it deter him in the slightest. "Not very well if you're only just now catching on. Maybe I'll have to be a little more blunt." He took one step forward and Spencer found that he didn't feel the urge to back away. He just lifted his eyes and met Tony's head on as the man smirked at him again. "You're insanely gorgeous and I'd like nothing more than to take you upstairs and spread you out on some silk sheets and make sure we both end up forgetting our own names before the night is over."

Well now. That was blunt. Spencer lifted his glass to his lips again and took a small sip, looking up at Tony through his lashes. He could feel his attraction; knew what intent the older man had here. But Spencer was shielding enough that Tony's emotions weren't overpowering his. Yet… there was a warm knot of attraction low down in Spencer's stomach. Something he'd only ever felt before when feeding off of people's emotions. After a quick double-check to make sure that his shields were still firmly in place, Spencer realized that he was…actually attracted to him. All on his own.

And for the first time, he honestly wanted to do something about it.

When he lowered his glass, he found himself smiling at Tony a lot more honestly than he'd been doing all night long. "You're not very subtle, Mr. Stark. Are you?"

"God, no. That sounds boring."

Spencer's smile grew a little. "Heaven forbid someone accuse you of that." Then, with one breath to the next he made his decision, throwing caution to the wind. He took a small step forward and tilted his head, giving his best coy look. "Good thing I'm not all that fond of boring."

The warmth of his hand in Spencer's as he led him up a discreet staircase, away from the party, was one of the greatest feelings that Spencer had felt in a long time. And something told him the night was only going to get better.

When Spencer got home three days later, he dropped his reports off with Jason and then headed straight home. Clint was lying draped over the couch when he let himself in, dressed in lounge clothes and watching some movie with explosives in it. His head tipped back at Spencer's entrance and he wore a lazy, relaxed grin. "Hey! Look who's back! When'd you get in?"

Spencer's own smile was just as relaxed. Shutting the door behind him, he pulled his coat off and hung it up on the wall rack. "About an hour ago." He said, making his way over and around the far end of the couch. When he got there, Clint had already moved his feet out of the way, making room for Spencer to drop down. He didn't even flinch when Clint dropped his feet back into Spencer's lap, though he rolled his eyes at the neon green socks the man was wearing. Ridiculous.

Almost as ridiculous as the man himself. Clint wiggled his toes, deliberately digging in his heels for a second, and he snickered when Spencer glared at him. "Aww. Missed you too, squirt. How'd it go?"

Memories of the ballroom flashed in Spencer's mind. Of that little corner on the balcony, a nice glass of wine, and the warmth of attraction as it'd washed over him. He thought of the impulsive decision to go upstairs and the way it had felt to finally be doing something because he wanted it, not because it was a job or because he felt obligated, but because he'd honestly wanted it. A slow smile curved his lips and, though he didn't know it, his eyes softened. "Good."

The way Clint was looking at him told him that he'd probably let a bit more slip than he'd intended. Clint had his eyebrows up and had frozen, his one arm still behind his head and his other hand holding the remote on his stomach. He didn't start asking questions like Spencer was half afraid he would. Nor did he lecture him. Thankfully. He tended to get weird when he thought about Spencer with other people. Instead, all he did was say "Yeah?"

"Yeah."

Clint's smile was just as slow and just as lazy as Spencer's was. "Good."

The both of them turned their focus towards the TV, and Spencer let himself relax down into the couch, happy and content and wrapped up in the comfort of home.