I'M BAAAAACK~ I found a little bit of what I lost! It's looooore! :D

"Oh come on, Novie, you know you're having fun." Clint teased.

"Keep your thoughts to yourself." Nova warned, sending a glare his way.

"Aw come on, we're tryin to have some fun, right Nat?" Clint threw the question to the backseat.

Nat only laughed.

Nova rolled her eyes as she turned the truck onto the gravel road that led into town. The scenery zipped by them, fields stretching as far as they could see, buildings dotting the lands occasionally. It was hard to stay mad for long.

Coming home, surrounded by the familiar sights and smells, made her feel at home again. At ease. That feeling had been missing after the chaos of The Battle of New York and everything that had come before.

For the moment, the weight of the world outside the ranch seemed lighter.

The wind rushed through the open window, ruffling her hair and bringing with it the familiar images of farmland Wyoming.

Nova found herself smiling despite her best efforts to keep up the disgruntled front.

The scent of hay filled her senses, reminding her of long summer days spent working alongside her father and the other farmhands.

"See? Told you," Clint said with a smirk, breaking Nova out of her thoughts. "You can't fight it. This place is like a magnet for good vibes."

She glanced at him, trying to suppress her grin but failing. "You're lucky I like you, Barton."

"Oh, I know," he replied, his grin widening.

Nova rolled her eyes as she took the sharp turn into town. The small downtown area was coming into view, with the familiar general store standing proudly on the corner. People were milling about, chatting on the sidewalks, the sight made her smile.

She turned into the hardware store parking lot, sighing as she pulled the key out of the ignition. She did a once over the list, a habit she'd picked up at the Tower. More than once her colleagues (and herself) had made mistakes, leaving them with a surplus of items, when they only needed ten, or one. Receiving a full case of bolts had been quite the surprise. They still had most of the case left, as they only needed a handful for the prototype.

Nova jumped at the car door opening, revealing a smiling Clint with an outstretched hand.

Nova lifted a brow. In return Clint wiggled his fingers, grin unwavering.

"What are you doing?" Nova tried to keep a straight face and hide the smile that was tugging at the corner of her lips.

"Aw come on. Let me be a gentleman." Clint groaned.

"You, a gentleman?" Nova questioned, folding her arms and turning in the seat to face him with an amused look, "since when?"

"You wound me. I'm always a gentleman." Clint replied.

Nova rolled her eyes, but they had a smile in them as she took his hand and stepped out of the car.

" My, what a gentleman." Nova said sarcastically.

"Does that mean I get a reward?" Clint asked, looking hopeful.

"What reward are you thinking of?" Nova asked with a sly grin.

" I dunno." Clint replied slyly, "A kiss?"

"Nope."

"Don't I get one for my gentlemanly deed?"

Nova leaned close, getting Clint excited. "Nope."

"Aw come on!"

"Suffer." Nova said with a wink, sashaying away towards the hardware store entrance.

Clint hung his head dramatically, sighing.

Natasha, who had been quiet for most of the ride piped up behind him, "you walked right into that one."

Clint turned to her, throwing up his arms in betrayal. "I thought you were on my side, Nat!"

"I'm on the side of entertainment." Nat said with a cool shrug, walking past Clint.

Nova pushed open the door, the little bell above jingled, signalling the arrival of new customers.

Hank, the longtime owner of Fred's hardware store, looked up from his inventory book and smiled warmly.

"Novalie! It's great to see you!"

" Hey Hank! How's my favorite hardware guy?" Nova smiled in return,

"Pretty good! I didn't know you were in town."

"Yeah, I decided I needed a vacation." Nova said with a smile, leaning against the counter and holding up her slip of paper. "I need new tools. The old ones need to retire."

Hank hummed, taking the slip and reading through the list.

"I'll need to special order some of them." Hank mused.

"That's fine by me." Nova replied.

Nova threw a grin to Clint and Nat as Hank scribbled down the special order items.

"How's New York been? I heard it was attacked by aliens, is that true?" Hank asked.

"Yep. Was working when it happened." Nova nodded.

"So it was real?" Hank said in disbelief.

"As real as you and me. I was in Stark Tower when it happened." Nova said.

"So you got attacked? Did you get hurt?" Hank asked with concern.

"I did. But I'm fine now." Nova assured.

"Well, that's good." Hank sighed in relief.

Hank glanced at Nat and Clint.

"Do y'all need anything?" Hank asked with a smile.

"Nah, we're with Nova." Clint said.

"Hank, my Soulmates. Clint, Nat, Hank. Clint's my Romantic, Nat's my Platonic." Nova explained.

"Well, congrats! It's nice to meet you two." Hank said, grinning widely.

"Thanks." Nova said happily.

"Well, let me put these in, they'll probably be here in a week and a half." Hank said, passing back the list to Nova.

"Sounds good!" Nova said, turning to her two Soulmates and snatching up a cart.

"Let's go." Nova said, waving the paper.

This is a short one :)