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The invitation called it The First Annual Avengers Christmas Party. Of course, Stark would phrase it that way, just taking for granted they would all show up each and every year. After the Battle of New York a few months before, and everything that followed, it seemed like a miracle they had all survived to this December, never mind any more further down the line.
“We can’t just not go,” said Natasha, the day they both received their gold-edged invitations and exchanged incredulous looks about them in the SHIELD cafeteria.
“I’m pretty sure we absolutely could just not go,” Clint countered, tossing the card on the table in favour of eating his food.
He really didn’t expect Natasha to argue at all. He knew her well enough by now, he was pretty sure she wasn’t really the social, party girl type of person. Of course, when he looked up and noticed her pouting, he wondered if he had that wrong.
“I think I’m gonna go,” she said thoughtfully, pushing the invitation into her inside pocket, then giving all her attention to her coffee, two hands around the cup, eyes fixed on the dark surface.
“To Stark’s Christmas party? Probably the cheesiest, most tasteless event of the season?”
That got a smirk out of her, as it was designed to.
“Sure, why not?” she asked, sipping from her cup. “You’re always saying I should learn to relax and have fun more. Besides, I went to Tony’s birthday bash before. That... had its high moments.”
He still wasn’t sure what happened there. Clint tried to put it out of his head, tried to tell himself that Natasha would never go there, not with Stark. She was undercover and playing up to the guy a little, sure, that came with the job, but she never seriously let anything happen then, and she certainly wouldn’t let it now. The girl code wouldn’t allow her, not since she got friendly with Pepper, he was pretty sure, and even so, she had better taste than that, didn’t she?
“Something on your mind, Barton?” she checked, head tilted just so as she stared back at him across the cafeteria table. “It’s not like you to leave Doreen’s baklava just sitting like that.”
She had a point, same as always. Baklava was his favourite and nobody made it better than Doreen, but the only thing Clint cared more about than his stomach was his heart. He and Natasha never said that stuff to each other, it just wasn’t the way things were with them, but he cared about her too much to let her throw herself away on some worthless guy. Tony had money, but that wasn’t the same as being worthy.
“You’re weird today, Hawkeye.”
He heard her say it and watched her closely as she walked away from him. Still, Clint seemed to miss the part where she snagged his snack, but when he looked down and saw it was gone, he knew Natasha was the only one who could have taken it. She was also the only one he would let get away with such a thing. What Clint refused to do, as always, was look to closely at why that was.
As far as he was concerned, he was going to go on keeping his feelings locked inside where they belonged. All good agents and spies knew it was better that way. Besides, he and Natasha were partners, a team, and sure, they were undefined but nonetheless definite best friends, because how could you not be, after all they had been through?
He also knew she was attractive, because though he sometimes wondered if maybe he was getting a little deaf, he certainly wasn’t blind, but that didn’t mean anything either. You didn’t do that kind of thing with your Strike Team partner, because it always led to no good.
All that being said, two days later, when Tony followed up on his official invitation, checking in with Clint on whether he was going to the team Christmas party, he said yes. He meant to say no, or at the very least make some jokes and snidey comments, before finally giving in, but he couldn’t do it. The second Tony asked the question, being sure to include the fact that Natasha had already accepted her invitation, Clint was nodding and agreeing to be there too.
“Like the card said, it’s formal, so no leather and weapons, okay? We’re going for classy.”
“Classy, right.”
Clint recalled that last exchange with Tony as he looked in the mirror and checked himself over. He cleaned up okay, or so he would like to think. It wasn’t as if he never put on a tux. Undercover work had put him in that kind of formalwear a few times and he seemed to wear it well, even now.
“How bad can it be?” he asked his reflection, imagining the gathering he was going to, then wincing accordingly.
Tony being master of all he surveyed. Thor not knowing how to be with human people and probably asking where the suckling pig or roast peacock were at. Steve and Bruce both being awkward and weird about social interactions, one because he was still adjusting to the twenty-first century, the other because he was afraid of turning green and killing them all.
That just left Clint and Natasha. Not that he could object to that at all. Time alone with her was never a bad thing. That being said, if the others could pluck up the courage to interact... or maybe they would bring their own dates. Pepper would have to be there, or so Clint assumed, and last he heard, Thor was supposed to have an Earth-bound girlfriend too, in the form of Dr Jane Foster.
His cell buzzing in his pocket took his attention then, and Clint reached for it, smiling when he saw Natasha’s name and picture on the screen. He accepted her call, but didn’t even get a chance to say anything before she spoke, the exact second his phone was at his ear.
“Stop staring at yourself in the mirror and come down to the car,” she told him, a smile in her voice that he could hear so clearly.
“How did you...?”
“You really have to ask?” she checked. “Come on, Barton, the sooner we get to this thing, the sooner we can leave. Just don’t forget your gift for the Secret Santa. I think Tony will actually cry if we ruin any of his reindeer games.”
“Be right down,” he promised her, hanging up from their call.
Immediately, he reached for the package he had put on the counter by the door, knowing at least he couldn’t leave without it that way. He had no reason to want to. Of all the names he could’ve pulled in Stark’s gift-giving game, it was both a blessing and a curse to get Natasha. At least he had a better idea of what to get her that she might actually like. At least there was a slim chance she would take the gift as a kind of joke, and therefore wouldn’t lose all respect for him for being a sentimental fool.
Checking one more time that he had everything in his pockets, Clint headed downstairs, unsurprised to see a limo waiting by the kerb.
“Stark really went all out with this thing,” he remarked, just as the door started to open.
“He’s not the only one who did,” said Natasha, appearing from the car like she was stepping off a catwalk.
Clint was pretty sure his eyes actually rolled back in his head when he saw her. Either that or he blacked out for a second. In all the various disguises and outfits he had seen Natasha wear over the years, he had never seen anything like that. In an off-the-shoulder, floor-length red dress, that could only be adequately described by the word ‘slinky’, her hair falling down to her shoulders in soft curls, and a smile curving her lips, she was the epitome of hot and sexy, not to mention absolutely beautiful.
“Wow.”
“Very articulate, Barton,” she said dryly, “but hey, at least you clean up nice,” she teased him, adjusting his tie even then.
“Seriously, Tasha, you look...”
“Wow?” she checked, smirking hard. “Yeah, I think I heard that somewhere. Into the car, please?”
Clint nodded dumbly and did as she said. The whole way from his place to the newly-named Avengers Tower, he knew he was staring and couldn’t seem to help it. If Natasha noticed, she didn’t say anything. At least when they finally arrived at the party, he felt less stupid for tripping over his own tongue that was dragging behind him the whole way, as if he were in a cartoon. Everybody, from the ever-gentlemanly Cap to the god-like Thor, via bashful Banner and Stark besides, looked absolutely bowled over when Natasha walked in. Anything they said went right over Clint’s head, since he didn’t hear a word. All his senses were overwhelmed by her and nothing else was getting through. It was only when Pepper whisked Natasha away someplace that he even fully realised there were other people in the room!
“Okay, so I think we can call the dress a success.” Pepper grinned widely, literally marking it off on the list on her tablet screen. “Secret Santa is all set, so he should definitely have a gift for you, and all the guys are prepped to ask you to dance when the music starts. It’ll be Steve first, then Thor, Bruce, and finally Tony, but don’t worry, I’ll be there to remove him when Clint finally cuts in.”
“And he will cut in,” said Maria, nodding her head. “He won’t stand the ribbing I’ll give him for too long.”
“Did I mention that I appreciate the help with this?” Natasha asked, adjusting her dress that was slipping just a little. “Also, tell me again why I agreed to this dress?”
“You saw his face, right?” Maria checked. “Tongue on the floor?”
“So much drool I almost called for Dum-E to bring the mop!” Pepper confirmed.
If Natasha was the type to blush, she might have just done it. “If all I wanted was to seduce him-”
“This is so much more than seduction, trust me,” insisted Pepper, checking her list one more time. “Okay, everything is set for Stages Two and Three. If you can even find a place to not be under the mistletoe, I would be amazed.”
“Excuse me, ladies,” said Maria, finishing off the martini she had been drinking in one more gulp and heading back to the party. “I swear, if I can get that super soldier under that mistletoe...”
“Poor Steve.” Natasha shook her head, trying so hard not to laugh.
“Yeah,” said Pepper, watching their friend and colleague go, “that’s going to be something to see.”
“I think we can safely say my inaugural Avengers Christmas Party was a total success,” said Tony, his arms tight around Pepper’s waist and his chin on her shoulder.
“You mean the party that I suggested, and mostly arranged by myself, almost entirely to help out Natasha with getting Clint to admit he loves her?” she checked, glancing back at him.
Tony grinned and kissed her right on the lips. “Well, when you put it like that,” he said, still smiling. “But hey, everybody had fun, except maybe Rogers. Hill really laid one on him, huh? Still, you got your Christmas wish. The spies are sucking face, and she looked pretty damned thrilled about that arrow necklace he got for her. That’s the kind of sentimental gift that screams true love.”
The way Pepper smiled proved she really was thrilled with the way things turned out, and if she was happy, then Tony was happy too. Honestly, he just liked any excuse for a party and didn’t mind admitting it either. Dancing with the Widow as part of the plan to make Barton turn green with envy had been a treat, seeing Rogers get almost eaten alive but a slightly tipsy Hill was damn near hilarious, and all in all, it had been a good night.
“So, all of this mistletoe you put up everywhere,” he said then, encouraging Pepper to turn in his arms and stop staring up at the balcony where the two Agents of SHIELD were making best use of the famous kissing plant. “That wasn’t just for them, right?”
“Tony,” she said, rolling her eyes like he was just so tiresome. “I hardly think we need mistletoe, do we?”
“Geez, I hope not,” he said, smiling as he put one small loose strand of hair back where it belonged in her very fancy up-do. “Merry Christmas, Pep.”
“Merry Christmas, Tony,” she replied, right before they kissed.
The sound of footsteps pulled them out of their clinch pretty fast, the both of them looking up to see Clint and Natasha, leaving the balcony hand-in-hand, grins on their faces that were clear even at long range.
“And finally,” said Tony with a sigh. “It’s about time and, you know, for a pair of assassins, they’re actually kind of adorable.”