"Simmons pinch me, I must be dreaming."
"I know exactly what you mean Fitz. This place is incredible." The two young SHILED scientists stared in amazement at the top floor of Avengers Tower.
"Stay focused you two," May advised "This is a mission, not a field trip."
"Yeah right," Fitz scoffed "Just wait until you see Thor. You're the one that said he was dreamy."
"Skye would be so jealous!" Simmons gasped.
"I hear Coulson's a big fan of Captain America," Fitz gossiped "Poor fella's probably dying inside that Hill talked the Avengers out of meeting with him."
Bobbi laughed. "Sometimes I forget just how young you two are."
"Where are the Avengers?" Simmons asked "I thought you told them we were coming?"
"They're around here somewhere. Just be on your toes with James. The kid has a fondness for pulling," Maria was cut short when a balloon full of flour dropped down and fell on May's head. "pranks."
"Darn it! I missed!" James dropped down from the air vents with a groan. For the past week, James had been trying to prank Maria with no success. James was looking for a challenge, and who better than SHIELD's former second in command? "I almost had you!"
"Not yet I'm afraid," Maria said with a smile. Truth be told, the ten year-old's constant antics had certainly kept her on her toes. That fact that the balloon had hit May and not her was simply dumb luck, something Maria was sure to run out of if she didn't keep her guard up "You're going to have to do better than that if you want to get me."
"How is it that you're new to this and I still can't get you?"
"Well if it makes you feel any better you did prank a SHIELD agent."
"And the Calvary no less," Simmons giggled.
"Sorry," James offered May a towel as he apologized "Why do they call you the Calvary?" May's only response was an icy glare "My mom has a look like that," James commented "Hers is scarier."
"James? What's going on in there?"
"It was an accident!" James responded quickly.
"The SHIELD agents are here," Maria called "James dropped flour bomb on one of them."
Steve sighed "I'll be right there."
Steve walked into the living room with Natasha right beside him, an amused smile on her face when she saw May wiping the flour from her face. "You dropped a flour bomb on the Calvary?"
"It was an accident," James repeated "I was aiming for Aunt Maria."
Steve looked at James sternly "James, these people aren't here to play games," he scolded "They're here to get you home."
"I said I was sorry," James repeated.
"It's alright Captain Rogers," May reassured "Your son didn't cause any harm."
"Yes, you know how kids are," Simmons answered nervously.
"Yeah, they're always causing mischief," Fitz added "pulling pranks and what not."
Simmons laughed nervously "I remember this one time when I was babysitting-," a single glare from May was all it took to silence her.
"If Mom ever looks at you like that, run," James warned "Assuming you could get your legs to work."
"I'll keep that in mind," Steve said casually.
Maria rolled her eyes "Anyway meet the agents of SHIELD. This is Agent Morse."
"It's an honor Captain Rogers." Steve could see why Clint was crazy about Bobbi. She was beautiful. A tall blonde with tanned skin, long golden blonde hair, an athletic build and bright blue eyes.
Steve shook her hand and smiled. "It's a pleasure to meet you Agent Morse. And please, call me Steve."
"Well in that case, call me Bobbi."
"This is agent Fitz and agent Simmons," Maria introduced "SHIELD's foremost scientific minds. If these can't figure out how to get James home, no one can."
Steve was a bit surprised at how young Fitz and Simmons were. Fitz with his scruffy blonde beard and blue eyes, Simmons with her short dark hair and youthful brown eyes. "Nice to meet you two."
The two scientists shook Steve's hand with excited vigor "It's truly an honor sir," Simmons replied.
"A privilege really," Fitz corrected.
"And the one getting the flour out of her hair is agent May," Maria gestured to the silent Asian woman standing near the back with the towel. "She's just here to make sure the others got here safely."
"It's an honor Captain Rogers," May shook Steve's hand while maintain a stoic expression. "The Director speaks very highly of you."
"Nice to meet you agent May," Steve responded politely "Allow me to introduce to Natasha Romanoff."
"It's nice to know that the Calvary is still on our side."
"Why do they call you the Calvary?" James repeated.
"I'll tell you when you're older," said Natasha.
"I hate when people tell me that," James pouted.
"Well, that's all you're getting." Natasha glanced at Fitz and Simmons curiously "You two look a little young to be SHIELD agents."
"They're the youngest to ever come out of the academy. If anyone can get your kid home, it's them," May reassured.
"Hmm," Natasha's gaze drifted from the two scientists and made its way to tall blonde woman beside them "Morse," she greeted simply.
"Romanoff," Bobbi said coldly "Been a while."
Steve watched the two spies carefully, fully aware of the tension between the two. Natasha's composure seemed neutral enough, but Bobbi seemed looked ready to take off the red-haired woman's head off. "You two know each other?" he asked.
"Morse and I go way back. Isn't that right Bobbi?"
Bobbi's eyes remained cold as she forced a smile "Right. This'll just give us a chance to catch up."
"How about I show Fitz and Simmons to the lab," Natasha suggested "So they can get to work?"
"Please give the Director our thanks Agent May," said Steve "If SHIELD needs anything, anything at all," he emphasized "they only need to ask."
May nodded. "I will. And the Director was more than happy to offer her assistance."
As Maria led her to the elevator Steve stopped her. "Agent May, you said that the Director spoke highly of me. Have we met?"
May glanced at Steve at the corner of her eye, a faint glimmer of amusement in her dark brown orbs "You could say that."
"These are SHIELD's best scientists?" Bruce watched skeptically as Fitz and Simmons starred in awe at the equipment inside the lab. "They look like they should be studying for the SATs."
"Look, I know they don't look like much," Natasha agreed "but I checked with Hill, those two are responsible for some of the greatest advancements to come out of SHIELD before it fell."
"Lighten up Green Man," said Tony "I was about their age when I took over Stark Industries."
"Yeah and look how you turned out."
"Simmons, I am in heaven."
"If you are then so am I Fitz," Simmons whispered "We're in Tony Stark's lab. Iron Man's lab!"
"In the Avengers Tower. If I get to work on one of Iron Man's armors, this'll be a dream come true."
Bobbi laughed. "You two look like a couple of kids at Disneyland."
"For a scientist, this is Disneyworld."
"Did someone just call me the Walt Disney of science?"
Simmons' jaw dropped to the floor "Oh my gosh."
Fitz's eyes widened to the size of saucers. "You. You're, you're…"
"Not that articulate are you?" Tony joked.
"It is an honor to meet you Mr. Stark," Fitz rambled as he shook the billionaire's hand "Your wok on quantum engineering is phenomenal. Your repulsor technology, genius. Your armors, legendary. You, you sir Mr. Stark, are a visionary."
"You hear that everyone?" Tony asked loudly "Genius. Phenomenal. Legendary. Finally somebody who appreciates me for more than just my money. What's your name kid?"
"Uh, Fitz sir. Leopold Fitz," he replied.
"Fitz, I got a feeling you and I are going to get along just fine."
"It's a privilege to be working with you Dr. Banner," Simmons managed in an awestruck voice "You work on the gamma effects on biology, it's one the reasons I became a biochemist."
"I'm flattered. And your name is?"
"Simmons. Dr. Jemma Simmons."
"Well, Dr. Simmons, shall we begin?" Bruce suggested.
"Of course," she replied, still in a daze. "Yes let's, let's get to work. I was actually hoping to give James a check-up just to make sure," Simmons stopped in mid-sentence when she noticed that James had disappeared "Where'd he go?"
"Son of the Black Widow," Tony reminded "Plus, he's not that found of doctors. James, come on out buddy. There's nothing to be scared of."
"NO SHOTS!" James shouted from somewhere in the air vents causing Simmons to jump.
"No one said anything about shots James," Bruce reminded "now will you please just come out and let Miss Simmons take a look at you?"
"No way! I don't care how pretty she is. I'm not getting any shots!"
Simmons smiled at James' compliment "James, please come out. There won't be any shots, I promise."
A small head of bright red hair and a pair of pale blue, puppy-dog eyes poked out as an air vent overhead popped open "You promise?"
Simmons smiled as she made an x-like gesture over her chest "Cross my heart. Plus if you're good patient, I might have some goodies for you."
Bobbi watched in amusement as the four scientists attempted to coax James out of his hiding place, when she felt a familiar presence. She scowled. "I can tell when you're watching me, Clint."
Clint stepped out of the doorway to the lab and quietly walked over to her. "It's good to see you Bobbi. I missed you."
Bobbi said nothing.
"I've been trying to reach you since SHIELD fell," Clint continued "you get my messages?"
Bobbi nodded silently.
"How come you never called back?"
Bobbi shrugged. "Didn't feel like talking," she replied with a cold and bitter tone. "Kinda like now."
"I need to talk to you Bobbi," Clint requested in a soft, pleading voice.
Bobbi's voice was as cold as ice "Yeah? Well you're last person I want to talk to," and she walked off.
Natasha pitied the archer as she watched him standing alone against the empty lab bench. For years Clint had been trying to win back the woman that had been his wife only to shot down at every turn. Natasha had tried to help him, but after a while she thought it was better for her friend to simply move and try to start over, but Clint wouldn't have it. "Once you find the one, you can't settle for anyone else. It's all or nothing." But Natasha had other things to worry about. She knew Bobbi could be trusted but she wasn't so sure about one of the scientists.
"Mind telling me why you're looking at Simmons like she's a mark?"
Natasha's eyes stayed glued on the biochemist as she looked over James, giving him a check-up to make sure that the time travel hadn't affected him in anyway. "They might be young, but that doesn't mean that we should underestimate them, Steve. We don't know for sure that SHIELD is completely HYDRA free."
Steve took notice of the seriousness in her voice and laughed.
"What's so funny?"
"You," Steve chuckled "You're jealous."
Natasha whipped her head around and looked Steve in the eye "Excuse me?"
Steve nodded his head toward James. Simmons had just given him a lollipop for being a good patient and the boy was grinning from ear to ear. "He hasn't taken his eyes off of her since she got here. When he was making sure that there were no shots, he actually called her pretty. He likes her," Steve explained, the smile still on his face "You're not watching Simmons because you think she's HYDRA Nat. You're watching her because you're afraid that she's going to take your little boy away." And just like that Steve walked away, leaving Natasha stunned.
"Here you go," Simmons handed Bobbi a cold beer as the two of them outside on the Tower balcony, enjoying the cool breeze of the summer night. "Oh God, it's so beautiful up here."
"Sure is," said Bobbi. From here she could look down over all of New York, from the bustling traffic to glistening skyscrapers and the twinkling diamonds overhead. It was truly magical.
"Bobbi," Simmons' voice was nervous and self-conscious as it broke the silence "Can I ask you something? Just between us girls?"
"Sure. What is it?"
"What's going on with you and Hawkeye?"
Bobbi felt her jaw begin to clench as Clint Barton's face appeared in her mind. His messy brown hair. His soulful dark eyes. That smug grin he was always wearing. "We have a history."
"You two dated?" Simmons assumed.
"Worse than that, we were married."
Simmons gasped. "Married?"
Bobbi stared wistfully out into city "Four years. Four of the best years of my life," she admitted, a sad smile on her face.
"What happened?"
Bobbi's face turned sour as she took a long sip of her beer. "Romanoff."
"The Black Widow?"
Bobbi nodded. "I caught him in her apartment after we had just come back from separate missions," she said, the pain of the memory slipping into her voice "They were heading out for dinner. After that, I didn't see any reason to stick around."
"Oh Bobbi I'm so sorry," Simmons replied in a sympathetic voice.
"Don't worry about it," said Bobbi as she forced a smile "I'm over it."
"You know what? It's his loss," Simmons stated with certainty. "That two timing, chauvinistic archer never knew how lucky he was. He's the one that missed out, no matter how many aliens he can soot in the head."
"I heard he shot them in the eye."
Simmons jumped as James appeared on the balcony behind them. "You're pretty good at sneaking around," Bobbi commented.
"I learned from the best," James sat down next to Simmons and look out at the city below. "I love coming out here at night. It's like looking at two skies. Anyway, I just came out to tell you guys that dinner's ready."
"Thank you James. You know one of these days; we're going to have to figure a way to meet without you scaring me."
"Sorry," James said as a nervous smile spread across her face "You have a pretty voice."
"Aw, well aren't you just the little charmer?" Simmons smiled as she playfully ruffled James' hair making him blush. "Could you tell the others that we'll be inside in just a moment please?" James nodded and quickly went inside.
"Keep that up Simmons and he's going to try and come home with you," Bobbi warned.
"I can't help it!" Simmons replied shamelessly "He's adorable!"
"Natasha? Yeah, that's no surprise," Clint sighed as he ran his hand through his hair. "Guess it was only a matter of time before I had to explain this again."
"So what happened?" Steve asked.
"Me and Bobbi had both been on mission when our second anniversary rolled around," Clint began "so I decided to surprise her when we got back," Clint's eyes turned painful when he remembered the night gone wrong. "The plan was to get cleaned up over Natasha's, come home in my best suit with a dozen roses and take her to her favorite restaurant. Turns out Bobbi had a plan of her own. Concert tickets to see our favorite band. So when I started running late, she pinged my phone, expecting to find me stuck in traffic somewhere. Instead,"
"She found you at Nat's," Steve finished.
Clint nodded. "Bobbi and Red never got along, so when she found Tasha in her robe sniffing the flowers I asked her to pick up for me, she lost it. Next thing I know, I'm pulling my wife off my best friend wearing nothing but towel. Then she threw her ring at me and moved out."
"Ouch," Steve commented.
"Yep," Clint sighed "So, what did you find out?"
"Give me a sec," James tapped the screen of his watch a holographic orb appeared and surrounded his forearm.
"What is that?" Steve asked.
"Smartwatch," James replied simply as he rotated through the holographic images. "Uncle Tony gave it to me."
"That man's going to spoil you," said Steve.
"You say that a lot."
"So what are you doing with that thing?" Steve asked.
"Checking my notes. Who's Hunter?" James asked.
Clint clenched his jaw "He's a merc we met back in Dubai. Why?"
"I think he's Bobbi's boyfriend."
Clint's eyes nearly fell out his head. "What? How do you know?"
"I heard Simmons at dinner say that Bobbi should've brought Hunter and rub him in your face since you kept starring at her."
"I knew should've shot that creep," Clint growled.
"But I think they're fighting," James added quickly "Look." James pulled up and enlarged a video of Bobbi talking on the phone on the balcony.
Steve's eyes widened. "Is that from the security feed? How'd you do that?"
"Shh," James husged "Listen."
"How many times are we going to go through this, Hunter?" Bobbi asked "You keep saying that you want to trust me and it's like no matter what I do just isn't good enough," Bobbi sighed "Look, I got to check in with May. I'll call you later okay?" And she hung up without another word.
"Why do you look so happy?" Steve asked when he noticed the smirk that had grown across Clint's face.
"Because London Bridges is an even bigger idiot than when I met him. The only thing mercs trust besides themselves is cash and Bobbi is all about trust," Clint explained. "Believe me, I know. I'll Bobbi back in my arms in three days tops."
"You seem pretty confident," Steve commented.
"That's 'cause no one knows my Bobbi baby better than me, " Clint said with certainty "Trust me, Cap. I got this."