A/N

I split 5 into two, decent sized parts.

Chapter 5

I let out a soft growl as I poke a particularly difficult screw on my prototype radio beacon arrows. This new design would basically turn the arrow into a cell tower, which would be amazing. If I could just get it to work.

I glance up as I hear the lab doors swish open.

"Dad."

"Taylor." The tenseness earlier is still present in my dad's shoulders. He's probably down here to work out stress by tossing wrenches around; neither of us has the right mindset to apologize.

I silently turn back to my work and reposition the magnifying glass over the thumb-sized radio transmitter.

"What are you working on?" my dad has positioned himself over my shoulder, like a hawk. Obviously, I like hawks as much as the next girl, but I didn't need the tension in the air that came from him doing so.

"Arrows."

"If those are for Clint, you need to stop working on them. Right now."

I spin in my chair with a challenging look on my face. "And why would that be? Don't give me that they're dangerous, I made sure they weren't."

"Did you? Or were you too busy making out with your boyfriend?"

"What is your problem? Why do you hate Clint all the sudden?" I cross my arms and glare.

"He's dating my daughter! He has no respect for me, neither on the battlefield nor in the Tower! I'm his boss, Taylor, as well as your father!"

"I get the whole 'papa bear' protective thing you have going in. Really, I do. But I expected a shovel talk, like Natasha did, not this whole 'forbidden' thing!"

"I'm still his boss! And he has no respect for me!" my dad is fuming now, you can almost see the steam coming out of his ears. I'm sure I'm no different.

"Remember that discussion you had with Clint and Natasha about 'boss' being a loose term? You can't say that and then play the 'I'm the boss' card whenever it suits you!"

"What about the disrespect?"

"All I have to say to that is don't go throwing around accusation like you do your money. You wouldn't believe the amount of respect Clint has for you, whether it be as a father, on the battlefield, or as a friend."

"He is not my friend. Friends so not date their other friend's daughters."

"So you're saying my love life has destroyed your capability to have friends?"

"I have Steve, Thor, Bruce, and Natasha!"

"I'm pretty sure Natasha's on my side with this, she helped set us up, and she roped Bruce in. Thor is playing Switzerland – forever neutral – right now, so don't you dare pull him into this mess. Steve probably doesn't care unless we let our personal lives affect us in the field, which is exactly what you are doing right now."

"I doubt they'll be on your side after today. I own this tower, therefore they must support Me." my dad crows smugly.

"Or what? You'll put them on the curb? Do they deserve that? After all they've done?"

My dad stays silent. By now I'm out of my seat and pacing in front of my dad, who is standing behind his work table.

"And, in case you've forgotten, as soon as the team moved in, you signed parts of the tower away. Bruce owns his lab. Steve owns the main gym. Clint owns the archery range. Natasha owns the main gun range. Thor owns a smaller sub gym. So you don't own the Tower anymore. There's an A up top, not Stark."

"You're missing the point here: You can't date Clint. He's rude, disrespectful, and you could really do better."

I freeze in my pacing, do an about face, and fix my gaze on my dad. "I can and will date Clint. He's not rude; he's sarcastic, but I wouldn't be surprised if you didn't know the difference. He is by no means disrespectful, and I could do no better. He's one of the best things that's ever happened to me." My voice is deathly calm and even. This voice was usually saved for Fury, but I suppose it has other uses as well.

I shake my head and huff, "I'm going out. Don't call, you can't track me, so don't try."

I stomp my way past my desk, grabbing my new motorcycle helmet along the way. The helmet is a sleek, black, glossy design with a visor that acts as a holoscreen. Simpler than the one in the suit, of course, but it has Bluetooth and Jarvis.

I punch a code into a keypad mounted to the wall next to my work station. A door opens and I walk into a space about the size of your average shed. The only thing occupying the space is my motorcycle.

My bike is a custom designed bike, modeled after real bikes, but with a few bells and whistles.

It's a small bike, longer than it is wide. It's skinny and sleek, made for really high speeds, with a touchscreen dashboard and top of the line suspension. The rider – me – is meant to be in a half sitting, half lying down position, somewhat like a jockey. The bike is mainly back, but a few plates are the same blue as my arc reactor.

I tuck my helmet onto my arm as I walk over to another keypad by the bike. I punch in my code a second time, and a platform lowers me and my bike down a few floors in a sort of private elevator to a small underground area with a ramp onto street level.

I pop the helmet on and press a button by my neck for the visor to flip down. The holoscreen lights up and Jarvis greets me as I straddle my bike and press the power button.

With the flick of a wrist and the twist of a handle, I zoom out onto the streets of the city.

A~A~A

About an hour later, Jarvis informs me I have a call coming in from Clint. I tell him to answer it.

My boyfriend outweighs my need for separation.

"Hello?"

"You okay?"

"Define 'okay'."

"Content, happy, able to be found in your own home."

"Then no, I'm not okay. How'd you know I wasn't home?"

"Well about fifteen minutes ago, I went looking for you because I was bored, and none of the others knew where you were, but Bruce said you disappeared into the lab around eight thirty. I went down there, but your dad was the only one in the lab and there was a wrench-shaped dent in the wall. He said - snapped, more like – that you had disappeared about forty-five minutes ago and that you might be in your room. By the way, did you know your dad blocked the vents in the lab?"

"No, I didn't. I'll explain why later. Carry on."

"So I had to walk to your room, but it was dark and you weren't in there. I texted you, you didn't answer, so I called."

"Well, thanks for worrying. I took my new bike out for a spin, couldn't answer texts."

"Then how are you calling?"

"Bluetooth Jarvis helmet."

"You never cease to amaze me,"

"Thank you."

Clint's laughter echoes slightly in my helmet.

"So do you wanna meet for lunch somewhere or you wanna be alone?"

"Lunch? With my amazing boyfriend who actually bothered to look for me when my dad didn't? Sounds perfect."

"Got any place in mind?"

"No, but I'm sure Jarvis does. I'll have him look for restaurants near us serving what we like and I'll send one to you."

"Got it. Love you sparrow, see you soon."

"Love you too, hawk. Bye."

A/N

StarksDaughter: your cuddling scene will come eventually, probably after all the action.