An Unlikely Romance - The Avengers (Part 2)

Initiation Rituals

"Hey, scooch over," Clint said as he plopped himself onto the couch beside you, forcing you toward the middle.

"Sure, Clint, I'd be glad to sit here and watch some bad late-night programming with you, why don't you take a seat?" you asked, trying to smother Clint to death with sarcasm. He only chuckled, elbowing you playfully as he set a bottle of liquor down on the simple tabletop you'd set beside the cheap furniture. You weren't sure if he had made more than one trip without you noticing or if he was just an adept at carrying things, but there were already two full two-liters of store-brand soda on the floor as mixers.

"You'd better be just as offended when I sit down, or I'm going to think you have a crush," Natasha said, sneaking up from the other side of the couch. Surprisingly she was also holding a bottle; some vodka whose name you couldn't even pronounce, looking far more expensive than Clint's store-brand rum. She had no mixers... and apparently didn't need them, as she had already started to gently sip on it next to you.

"Who wouldn't?" Clint asked, chuckling while he was already popping the cap off of his bottle, pouring a glass faster than you could watch. His glass was topped off before you had even turned back to him, and he was eyeing the remote in your hand. "So what's the show tonight? You know my preferences, but it's offseason on Idol, so hit me with whatever you've got."

"I was just gonna watch some news..." you said, hesitating. "Kind of trying to keep up with the outside world, you know? I don't get to-"

"Oh hell no, we are not watching the news on an anniversary. Here, I'll pick the program," Clint interrupts, gently taking the remote from your hands and beginning to flick through channels at a breakneck pace. He offers you the drink he'd poured for himself, still untouched. "Here, you take this and forget whatever you were about to try to learn. I'll find something we can all enjoy."

"Oh, uh, okay," you mumbled, glancing at the glass. You'd drank with Clint before, but never with Natasha. You thought about handing the glass back over in case this was all some kind of test, but you could smell the vodka from Natasha's glass almost as well as you could smell the rum from the one Clint had just handed you - and she was downing that glass. You hesitantly sipped at it, before you dared voice your next question.

"What exactly is this the anniversary of?"

"Sweet, I love these guys," Clint said off-handedly, landing on what seemed like some kind of sketch comedy show you didn't remember catching before. "Oh, the anniversary? Shit, I guess you're about the only person left who doesn't know... guess that shouldn't surprise me, though. It's the anniversary of Budapest!"

"Budapest? What's that?"

"Something Clint fucked up a long time ago," Natasha says, though there's a certain coyness to her voice.

"You and I remember Budapest very differently," Clint noted, shaking his head as he put the remote down and reached for the alcohol to pour himself a proper glass since he'd given his own away.

"Oh, so... was it like... some kind of mission?" You asked hesitantly, not sure what kind of vague clues were being fed to you.

"See? I told you that you were a fast learner," Natasha noted, smiling coyly at you over her glass as she sipped on the vodka again. You were caught off-guard by the friendly smirk and the strange playfulness you saw in her eyes.

"So do you guys do this every year, then?"

"Pretty much," Clint said as he finished pouring in his mixer, raising up his glass. "As a part of SHIELD you don't really get too much personal time, but that doesn't mean that you don't enjoy the friendships you make along the way. Nat and I... we've been through a lot."