First, thanks for the review :) Shorter chapter here -sorry bout that ^^" and a little more hints of Clintasha. Hope you enjoy it!

I'll Be There For You

3

Maria was barely stepping out of the shower that the front door swung open.

"Maria! I need your freaking advice!"

The young woman stared in disbelief at a panic-looking, trembling Clint. The teen had obviously just ran out of class and headed straight at her apartment. Given the way his hands were shaking, the slight sweat on his forehead and the anxious look in his eyes, Maria assumed it to be very important.

"Natasha kissed me yesterday!" Seriously? Maria thought in disbelief, but before she could add something, Clint went on: "I was walking her out of the dancing room and we were chatting -or not chatting- as usual and then she was all weird and just kept staring at me like I don't know like I had a thing on my face or something and then she just tiptoed and freaking kiss-"

"Clint! Slow down!" Maria barked. Thankfully, he obeyed and stared at her with a hopeful glint in his eye. "Listen kid, you are going to do me a favor and go in the kitchen. Make yourself some chocolate or coffee or tea -hell, pick up a beer for all I care" and before he could protest, she rose a hand to keep him quiet: "And you are going to let me get dressed."

The teenager blinked and took a second glance at her clothes. Or lack of. Indeed, a humid fluffy towel was the only thing Maria had around her body. After all, she had been having a relaxing shower a few minutes before her surrogate kid brother had barged in. A deep shade of pink covered his cheeks and he quickly rushed to the kitchen. Maria shook her head, halfway amused, halfway annoyed, and went to take care of her business. A few minutes later, she found Clint obediently sitting at the table, a mug of black coffee in one hand and tea on the other.

"Didn't know if you had one already" he muttered, nodding towards the coffee. Maria knew that was his form of apology and accepted it with a smile.

"So" she said, taking place right across him. "Tell me."

Clint breathed in deeply and repeated:

"Natasha kissed me. And I don't have a fucking clue about what to do." To his surprise, Maria smirked.

"I'd rather say it's about damn time." He blinked.

"Damn time? Why?"

"Clint, the fact you two are into each other -no pun intended- was a known fact for everyone but you guys. You've been turning around her like a puppy since you've known her and she talks about you all the time." Clint stared at her incredulously, and Maria rolled her eyes. "Fine, she asks about you when we cross at the gym. In my book, especially concerning the Natasha Romanoff, that's talking about you."

"Oh" he said with an intense expression on his face, as if absorbing valuable information. "What do you think I should do?"

She wanted to smack him badly right now.

"I don't know, ask her out?" duh, she mentally added.

"Ask her out? You mean like a date?" Maria stared at him in disbelief; did she really need to spell it out for him?

"No, like do homework together. Of course a date, dummy." The panicked expression on his face was hilarious.

"A date?" he repeated, dumbstruck. "But Nat doesn't do dates. Heck, I don't do dates!"

"Well you better make up your mind and talk to her. I don't think you can avoid her for the rest of your life." Clint looked suddenly very busy staring at his mug.

"I'm never gonna face her after that. I mean a freaking date? I'm not even sure I like-like her. How can I know?" He glanced at her with hopeful eyes, as if she was the fountain of knowledge. Or held a miracle-solution to his dilemma. Maria rolled her eyes again.

"Well for starters, what do you like about her?" His mouth twisted and he frowned, as if confronting a particularly difficult problem.

"She's hot. And smart." he started slowly. "And funny. And ninja-like super strong. She has pretty hair too. And I like her eyes."

While he listed the qualities of his friend, Maria suddenly stood up and moved towards the cupboard. She hadn't started cooking her dinner yet and she wasn't sure if Clint would stay tonight.

"Sleepover?" she asked the moment he stopped talking. Clint frowned, then shrugged.

"Sure. Phil's out tonight."

"What do you want to eat for dinner? I don't have enough leftovers." The teen's eyes brightened.

"Spaghettis. With your special bologna sauce." Maria smirked. That was the one dish she never failed to cook.

"Okay. I'll be busy but you can keep talking." Clint shrugged and stared at his mug. He talked about his school day, about teachers being idiots, Natasha being a good friend, others picking on him, Natasha's dancing, his progress at archery, Natasha's new passion for martial arts and her kicking asses with it, the new kid -Banner he thought-having a major fight with Loki, Natasha's perfume and new clothes...

"Oh my God" he suddenly said. "I can't stop talking about her now!" Maria, still bent over her pans, stirring the boiling spaghettis, smirked at the slight panic in his voice. "Let's talk about something else...what about you? Everything good?"

Halfway distracted by the cooking, she almost missed his question.

"Work's fine. Jerry's coming tomorrow morning" Clint grimaced hearing her boyfriend's name. "And I won't be going." It didn't take the teenager long to connect the dots.

"To the funeral?" Maria nodded, not tearing her head away from the pan. "Why?"

"It's not worth it." What she truly meant was, he was not worth it. The man had thrown dirt at her her whole life. Why would she want to honor his memory by showing up and pretend she cared? It felt odd mentioning this with a seventeen year old, but she knew Clint would understand. He had no parents too, and a brother who had abandoned him in a circus before being taken in by social services and ending with Phil and Anita Coulson. She knew everything because he had told her, when she started babysitting him. Why he had gotten attached to her so much and so quickly though, she didn't know; but she was goddamn grateful for it. He kept her grounded, gave a meaning to her live -to keep an eye on him like a kid brother. Maybe, she reflected, the feeling was mutual.

"You're not gonna regret it?" Maria looked up and stared at him.

"What would you do?" Clint shrugged.

"Well, if Barney died, I'd show up if only in the memories of the good times we had together. I mean, before he dumped me, we were tight. You and your dad weren't, so I dunno. Your call in the end." Both sighed.

"Okay, enough of the heavy stuff" Maria cut with a faint smile. "So, are you going to ask Natasha out?"

The teen shrugged.

"Maybe. I mean, yeah I like her, but maybe we can take things slow, y'know?" Maria chuckled.

"I get it. Why don't you give her a call now? You can use my phone." Clint winced.

"You sure? Isn't it too early?"

"Too early?" Maria repeated, frowning in confusion.

"Yeah, I mean, when you start a relationship, don't you have to wait a day or two before calling?" The young woman snorted.

"Whoever invented that rule is an idiot. And you'll see her at school tomorrow anyway. Clint," she added with a soft smile. "Natasha and you have known each other for a while. She'll understand if you want to test the waters first. I think that's what she'd want too."

"Okay" he looked a little more confident as he stood up and carried his mug to the sink. "I'll do that then."

Once he left the kitchen, she picked up her own cell phone and dialed Jerry's number. Talking to Clint about girlfriends reminded her of hers and the slight guilt of neglecting him lately. Maybe he'd want to go out tomorrow night, it has been a while since any of them had time to spa-

"Hi, this is Jerry's phone. He's currently in the shower, but can I take a message?"

Maria froze. The voice was definitively not Jerry's.

"Uh hi" she replied uneasily. "Who are you?"

No assumptions, she repeated herself. No assump-

"Tania, Jerry's girlfriend. Who are you?"

They hadn't been going out for long, but the pang of anger and disappointment still hit her hard. Maria took a deep breath and replied calmly:

"No-one. Sorry for bothering."

And when she hung up, she barely kept herself from throwing the pan on the floor.

More Steve/Maria in the next chapter...