Natasha is 6 months pregnant
Tony rode the elevator up to the communal floor, clutching his empty coffee mug. Exiting into the hallway he walked straight into Clint;
"Barton, what are you doing?"
"You can't go in there" Clint told him, gesturing to the doorway which led to the open plan lounge/kitchen
"And why not?"
"Tasha is in there"
"Okay... And?"
"She's angry"
"Just because your girlfriend is mad at you doesn't mean the rest of us can't go get ourselves some coffee"
"She's not mad at me... Well, she is, but more specifically; she's angry at men"
Tony's hand froze on the doorknob and he took a step back
"Damn"
"Be thankful I warned you. Why don't you just get coffee from your floor?"
"The coffee machine is bust. Dammit Barton why'd you have to knock her up right before all the god damn coffee machines on every damn floor went on the fritz?"
"Sorry Tony, next time I'll plan it better" the hurt tone to his voice didn't pass Tony's attention
"Sorry Barton, I just really need coffee"
The elevators opened again and Steve joined them in the hallway;
"There a queue for the coffee?"
"Dammit Stark can't you just fix one of the other machines?"
"I tried, the one on my floor exploded. I plan on building my own from scratch in the future"
"So why are we all stood out here?" Steve queried
"Natasha is angry at the entire male population, and she's in there"
"Oh, okay. I can live without coffee" he stated, turned and left
Tony and Clint sat on the floor and waited for almost half an hour before Steve returned with three starbucks coffees
"Come on Clint; you gotta go in there and fix it"
"Me? Why me?"
"She's your girlfriend!"
"I know, but I don't want my child to grow up without a father"
"Come on Clint, Nat isn't going to kill you"
"Maybe not, but I'd like more children one day; and if I go in there that'll never happen!"
"We should send Pepper in"
"I don't think we should"
"Why?"
"Women have a way of sympathizing with each other, no matter how irrational they are; the last thing we need is for both Natasha and Pepper to hate us all"
"Agent Barton?" Jarvis' calm voice came over the speaker system "Agent Romanoff would like to see you now"
Clint gulped and looked to Steve and Tony for support. They both shook their heads and backed off; "Good luck" Steve whispered as Clint opened the door
He entered the floor apprehensively; he could hear Steve and Tony discussing his funeral as he left them
"Tasha?" he asked quietly, creeping into the lounge. She was positioned with her back to him, he didn't quite know whether to approach her or wait for her to acknowledge him...
"Natasha, are you okay?"
She turned to face him, standing from her perch on the couch; "I'm sorry Clint!" she cried, tears streamed down her face
He was a little taken aback, although this was probably better than her yelling at him...
"It's alright Tasha" he told her gently. Wrapping his arms around her and bringing her body close to his, despite her bump getting in the way. Her head tucked in under his neck as he kissed her forehead
"I was so angry, and I don't even remember why. I'm really really sorry Clint" she wept
Clint could already feel the tears soaking through his shirt
"It's okay Nat, it's just-"
"If you say hormones I will go back to being angry at you"
"I definitely won't use that word then"
Natasha laughed and moved her hand from Clint's chest to wipe the tears from her face
Clint moved the two of them to the sofa and kissed her damp cheek
"You never have to be sorry Tasha, we're both in this together okay, just let me help?"
She nodded, her eyes welling up again
"No more tears Nat; Tony and Steve are both stood outside"
"Why?"
"They were too scared to come in"
"Did you tell them that they're idiots?"
"All the time" he told her proudly, "but I was stood out there with them" he admitted
"You're an idiot too"
"I know; you tell me every day. But you love me anyway"
"Remind me why again?"
"Because I put up with all your crazy" he smiled and kissed her again
Her emotions and moods had been all over the place recently, and Clint never knew whether he'd wake up in the middle of an argument he knew nothing about, or to a crying and emotional wreck. She had her good days where she was her regular old self, but when the pregnancy hormones struck; they hit hard.
"Should I go and tell Tony and Steve they're safe to come in?"
"Yeah, I guess you should" she pouted when he withdrew his lips from hers
"Would you prefer to stay alone for a little while?" Clint asked his girlfriend with a wicked grin
She nodded and wrapped her arms round his neck, returning his lips to hers
"Do you think he's dead yet?" Steve asked, sat on the floor by the elevator with Tony
"Oh she's most definitely disposing of the body... Starbucks?"
"Starbucks!"