New chapter finally. Sorry for the wait folks. For some reason, this chapter was tricky. I wrote and edited and rewrote and deleted and rewrote again about three times.

Not much really happens in here. It's just fluff. God I love fluff. And seeing as you had a pretty action-y, stressfilled chapter last time around, I figured our Avengers could use some down time.

I don't own Marvel, etc.

Oh! And before I forget, this story reached 15000 views! That is a HUGE number for me and I just want to say thank you thank you thank you.

Okay, that is all.

With her back against the arm of the couch and her legs propped up on the seat cushion, Natasha flipped through her pregnancy book with boredom, quirking an eyebrow every now and again as she read over the text.

"They want me to talk to the baby?"

She shook her head and deposited the book on the coffee table with a plop. With a sigh she leaned her head back, pushing her fingers through her now shoulder length fiery curls.

"Did you say something, Nat?" Clint asked as he strolled out of the bedroom, suited up with his bow in hand.

After the UN incident, Director Fury had (pending a very convincing argument from The Black Widow) granted Hawkeye a three week leave of absence for some much needed R&R. In addition to that, he was allowed every other week off unless there was an emergency which required the skills of the master assassin. But his three weeks of vacation were up and it was back to work for Agent Barton.

"Baby books are weird," she snorted, swinging her feet onto the floor and padding over to the kitchen. Clint met her halfway from behind and snaked his arm around her ever growing baby bump, planting a kiss in the crook of her neck.

"Mm, how so," he murmured as he placed another kiss closer to her jaw line.

"It said I should talk to the baby so it can recognize my voice," Natasha frowned, resting the back of her head on Clint's shoulder as she enjoyed the sensations of his strong hands rubbing against her stomach."What do I even say to it?"

A lopsided smile pulled at Clint's lips as he moved in front of her, kneeling so he was at eye level with her belly button. "Hey there, baby," Hawkeye greeted the growing child inside of Natasha. "How you likin' it it there?"

"You know he can't answer you," she chuckled, running a hand through his hair.

"Oh, it's a boy now?" Clint raised a happy eyebrow.

"It's a fifty-fifty shot," she shrugged.

"Well then little guy, you've got two pretty kickass parents, you know that? We're in with the big dogs, we fight the bad guys. And your mom looks pretty sexy in her uniform when she's not, you know, all elephanty." At the last sentence he took his eyes off of her protruding stomach and lifted them to her face with a bold grin.

The corners of her mouth lifted upward as she lightly smacked his head, and her tone feigned offense. ""I'm not even that big yet! And are you saying I'm not sexy?"

"Oh god no," he smirked playfully as he shot up, pulling her up against his body. "And I'd prove it too, except I have to be on the helicarrier in twenty minutes. But, I could be late..."

"Go on, Barton," she chuckled lightly, patting his cheek twice as he attempted to go in for a proper kiss. "I doubt the Director will let that slide so easily given the circumstances." Clint pouted his lip out like a child refused chocolate before dinner. "No, you have to go. Besides, the guys are coming over soon."

"The guys?" Clint's tone teased. "Natasha Romanoff, are you by chance being social?"

"Hush," she quieted him with a quick peck. He pulled her back in as she lifted her head away and Natasha surrendered herself to battle his lips.

He slid a hand down to the small other back, keeping the other firmly at the nape of her neck, brushing his thumb just under her earlobe. Her fingers reached to play with his hair, every now and then grabbing fistfuls and eliciting a moan from him. To this she smiled and he could feel her lips tug ever so slightly against his.

This was the hardest part about leaving her, he thought. Missing out on this. The way her soft lips played on his, or how her body felt in his hands- the things that could never be conveyed through a phone call. Well, at least not in his life time.

Then suddenly their front door clicked open and they simultaneously twisted their heads in the disruption's direction. Tony sauntered into the apartment, trailed closely by Steve and Thor.

"You could knock next time, Iron Ass," Clint glared in the billionaire's direction, not bothering to move much from the suggestive position he and Natasha were in other than to turn more fully towards their unannounced guests.

"I did knock," Tony countered. "You must've been a little too, uh, busy to notice."

Natasha rolled her eyes and reached behind her to unhook Clint's hand from her back. "Knock louder."

Steve, who had not been too keen about barging into the master assassins' home, shot the pair an apologetic look. "Clint, I didn't know you were joining us."

"I'm not." He retrieved his bow from where he promptly dropped it when things had started to heat up, and strode into the kitchen. "And joining you for what?"

"Cultural integration," Natasha informed him. "We're trying to catch Captain up with modern times."

"Ah," Clint nodded, pulling a water bottle from the refrigerator. "What's on the menu for tonight?"

"We are to watch a swashbuckling movie," Thor chimed in.

"Pirates of the Caribbean?"

The God of Thunder nodded, "Yes, I believe that is the one."

"Good choice," the archer approved. It was actually one of his favorites; nothing beats Captain Jack and a good sword fight.

Natasha glanced around the room and then, after seeing that they were missing an avenger, inquired as to where Bruce was. Tony shrugged and informed her that he was taking care of something in the lab.

"I just hope it doesn't blow up," he added.

"Well that's reassuring," Clint snorted, touching his lips to Natasha's forehead before grabbing his quiver resting on the counter.

"Should we leave so you can continue giving your baby mamma a proper goodbye?" Tony quirked an eyebrow humorously and Clint rolled his eyes, but it was an unamused Black Widow who replied.

"Quit calling me that, Stark," Natasha quipped quickly, crossing her arms over her chest. "You make it sound like we're one of those seventeen year old couples that elope in Vegas after the condom breaks."

"Aren't you?"

It was Natasha's turn to roll her eyes. She turned to Clint, ignoring her pesky teammate in the other room. "Be safe."

"Always." He shot her a genuine smile before turning to his teammates. "See you guys later. Enjoy the movie." The archer marched out of the apartment. A faint "Hey Doc" could be heard from inside and moments later Bruce Banner made his way into movie central.

"Bruce baby," Tony exclaimed a greeting. "Glad you could make it. Everything alright down at the lab?"

"Everything seems to be under control. For now at least," Banner added with a light smile.

The five avengers spread out among the living room. Natasha sat with her feet curled under her beside Steve and Bruce on the couch and Tony claimed the arm chair adjacent to them, leaving Thor to make use of the floor. Once the God of Thunder had finished creating a throne of pillows against the coffee table and settled in, the Black Widow pushed play and let the Disney magic begin.

She didn't really pay much attention to the movie. With it being one of Clint's favorites, Natasha knew nearly every word and could recite Barbossa's "Aztec gold" monologue completely from memory. It was much more amusing instead to study Thor and Steve's reaction to Captain Jack Sparrow and his crew of miscreants. Thor was completely enthralled by the happenings on screen, and to Natasha's surprise, so was Rogers. When Stark paused the movie just as Jack and Will were about to rescue Elizabeth, both the Asgardian and the supersoilder cried out with disapproval.

"Oh come on Stark," Steve groaned. "You could have made the popcorn before we started the movie." Tony waved a hand at the captain's complaint and sauntered into the kitchen.

"I had to secure my spot to make sure Blondie didn't take it."

Thor rolled his eyes. "Quickly, Man of Iron. I long to see more of this film."

"Alright alright," he called into the living room as the distinctive popping erupted in the microwave. "Anybody want anything while I'm in here?" Steve requested a beer. Thor jumped at the idea. "Good thinking Rogers," Tony dug through the refrigerator for three Samuel Adams. Then he turned to Natasha. "What about you baby bump?"

If looks could kill, Pepper would have her hands full just about now with funeral plans. "Just tea."

"I'll have some as well," Bruce raised a finger. He glanced over Steve to Natasha. "How have you been doing by the way?"

"Fine I guess," she shrugged, smiling softly. "Everything seems to be normal."

"Good," he nodded. "Well if you ever need anything, I'm just downstairs."

"Thanks Doc."

Bruce returned the smile.

Meanwhile, Tony opened the cupboard alongside the stove and frowned. "You've got like twenty boxes of tea in here. Care to specify?"

"Thrill us," Natasha quipped over her shoulder. With a huff, Tony grabbed the first box he laid his hand on. A minute later he returned to the living room with full arms. He passed out the drinks and plopped into his chair with a bag of smoking movie theater buttered popcorn. "You may proceed."

She wasn't able to focus on much of anything after that. Every now and then, she would be intrigued by a particular action sequence, but other than that her thoughts wandered and her mind raced far beyond pirates and cursed treasure.

In her hands she clasped the steaming mug, holding it close to her face. It's warmth rolled into her mouth in small sips she managed sparingly. Her stomach had been acting up all afternoon to her displeasure. Eventually she set the mug down, not even halfway emptied, and leaned back against the couch. With a yawn, she rested her head on her hand and stared blankly at the television.

A light rustling of her shoulders woke The Black Widow as the credits rolled and she found herself propped up against Steve. She sat up and rubbed at her eyes."How long was I out?"

"About thirty minutes," he informed her with a chuckle.

"Sorry about that Cap," she apologized groggily, stifling a yawn as she dragging a tired hand down her face. "How'd you like the movie?"

Steve scratched his head. "I like it quite a lot actually. Just how did they get the crew to look like skeletons?"

"I was questioning the same," Thor added as he rose to his feet. "They seemed extremely lifelike."

"The magic of special effects," Tony said, and Thor quirked an eyebrow at "magic".

Bruce nodded. "It gets even cooler in the second movie."

"May we watch it?" Thor asked excitedly. All four men turned to Natasha, who was dangerously close to passing out again.

"Go ahead." She stood up and shuffled into the kitchen. "It should be on the shelf under the tv." The Black Widow gulped down a small glassful of water before starting for her bedroom.

"Are you not watching with us, Miss Romanoff?" Thor's called his query as he carefully extracted the first disk from its player.

"Nah," she shrugged, "It's probably best I turn in before I fall asleep on Rogers again."

"Ah, well then goodnight," he inclined his other men gave their similar pleasantries and Natasha disappeared into the bedroom.

She crawled overtop the less than neatly made bed, not bothering to remove the comforter, and frowned as her head hit the pillow. Ever since she had met Clint, sleeping alone had never been something she preferred. It created the perfect atmosphere for nightmares, of which she has had more than her fair share even for someone in her line of work. Her hand fell to her stomach as she rolled restlessly onto her side; it was something she did unconsciously now, and it happen much more often on the days her partner was off on some assignment god knows where.

As tired as she was, she knew there was no chance of catching any peaceful sleep in this lonely bedroom. Snatching the pillow underneath her head, the Black Widow scooted out of bed and stepped back into the living room. Thor had vacated his spot on the floor in favor of her previous seat on the couch, so Natasha silently took up the nest of cushions. The men tried to offer their seats to her when they saw her re-enter, but she was having none of it. She urged them to return to their movie; the floor was much more comfortable than it looked, she told them. Steve and Thor didn't give up so easily but eventually Natasha convinced them that she didn't need or want any special treatment and despite their objections, they resigned.

Natasha settled into the makeshift bed in the comforting presence of her teammates. Maybe she would even go so far as to call them her friends. She smiled at the notion. All her life, there had only ever been one person she could truly call her friend, and right now he was somewhere tens of thousands of feet above her head. But this dysfunctional group known as the Avengers she was thrusted upon seemed to have changed that. With the light remnants of that smile and her hand cradling her lower stomach, the Black Widow nodded off into a tranquil, nightmare-less sleep.

Yeah, like I said, not much happens here.

The more I watched The Avengers and the more I focus on Natasha, she really seems to take a liking to her fellow teammates- or at least that's my take on things. She's found people who have her back and can trust with her life, even Stark.

Ha, sorry for all the Natasha feels. What do you guys think about her and the Avengers?

Also the whole thing about Nat and Clint sleeping in the same bed since they've met is sort of a personal headcanon of mine. I might be inclined to write a oneshot about it in the near future. We'll see.

Anyway, next chapter should be up soon, as always. Fair warning though, with school starting up in the next couple of weeks, updates might be even less consistent.