Iron Beta: All is Fair in Love and War

Chapter 1

A/N

Hello, dear readers! Welcome to Iron Beta: All is Fair in Love and war, the second book in the Iron Beta series.

This chapter is dedicated to fanfiction.net's Currahee506, who wanted a scene later in the chapter to happen long ago.

Chapter 1

"Happy Birthday to you!

Happy Birthday to you!

Happy Birthday dear Taylor,

Happy Birthday to you!"

I tilt my head and count to ten as I wait for the inevitable other shoe to drop.

"Happy Birthday to you

You live in a zoo.

You look like a monkey,

And you smell like one too!"

"Thanks, Dad." I laugh, "But you just called your Tower a zoo."

"I most certainly did not!"

"Oh, but you did! Second line, you said-"

"Both of you!" Natasha cuts in. "Can we not do this today please? If both of you don't shut up I will start throwing cake, don't think I won't."

"Sorry Natashalie."

"Sorry Tasha."

"It's alright. Now Taylor, come blow out your candles so I can eat the cake if I'm not gonna be throwing it at people."

I chuckle softly as I step towards the table and approach the cake.

The cake is a white frosted beauty with purple hand-piped decorations and frosting letters spelling out "Happy 18th, Taylor!" on top, surrounded by various nicknames such as sparrow or glowstick in fancy script.

I lean towards the eighteen candles and huff and puff as I blow out the candles, making a silent wish as I let my eyes take in my team/family gathered around the table.

Once I come back up, my dad cheers and runs out of the room towards the kitchen, screaming "Let them eat cake!" all the while.

"Shame on you, dad! Nobody ever said that!"

My dad sticks his tongue out at me as he comes back with the cake knife.

I roll my eyes at his childlike motion as he begins slicing the cake.

I gratefully accept my paper plate with a center slice, easy on the frosting - just how I like it - before going over to sit on one of the couches.

Natasha soon joins me, and we strike up small talk about daggers, guns, killing devices, and dangerous things in general.

You know, normal small talk between an eighteen-year-old and her surrogate aunt.

As Natasha tips her head back and laughs at a remark I made, I can feel someone's eyes on us, making me squirm. I glance quickly around the room to find the source of the gaze, and I do.

I eventually look over Natasha's shoulder to see my best friend, archery mentor, and crush of three years, Clint Barton, boring his eyes into Natasha's back. As he notices me watching him, he immediately looks down towards his cake, then shoves his plate away like it has burned him and almost runs out of the room.

I tilt my head and furrow my brow as I try and decipher what I just saw.

"Taylor?"

"What?" I snap, ninety-five percent of my brain fully focused on what I just witnessed and not happy at the interruption.