Lunch Between Friends
Tony slung an arm around her shoulders, nuzzling her cheek with his nose. “I’m going to go to Pepper’s today. Do you want to come?”
She popped a strawberry into his mouth. “I told Clint I would meet him for lunch. There’s some things I wanted to talk to him about. And shouldn’t Pepper be in her office today?”
He shook his head. “Nah, she called in sick.”
She studied him carefully. “And you’re going over there? Isn’t that a little obsessive?”
“Pepper hasn’t called in sick in twelve years. I’m going over there to make sure she’s okay.” He nodded his head. “What, are you still mad at Barton because he didn’t tell you he was resigning?”
She shrugged.
“Alright,” he said. “Can I at least take you to dinner tonight? Maybe some place where I can actually have you all to myself for once?”
“Yeah,” she said, smiling as she wiped her fingers off on a napkin. “That actually sounds good.”
“Great,” he said, kissing her cheek. “Although I can’t promise that I won’t try to seduce you into coming home with me after. It has been far too long since I got you alone, and I’m starving.”
She pulled him in for a kiss on the lips. “Believe me, you’ll know if I’m seduceable,” she teased.
“Later,” he said with a grin.
“Hey, keep me posted on how Pepper’s feeling,” she called.
“Will do,” he promised, turning back to steal one more kiss before he turned to go.
XXXXX
“Hey there, stranger,” she said once she arrived to the outdoor café. She nodded towards the table. “Whatcha reading?”
“Vanity Fair,” he said, holding up the magazine as he stood up to give her a hug.
She smiled, leaning into his embrace. “It’s good to see you, Clint.”
“You too,” he said, gesturing for her to take the seat across from him under the umbrella. “Although I wasn’t exactly expecting to see so much of you.”
She groaned, taking the magazine from him. “The dress was a bit much, right? Are they horrible?”
He watched as she turned the pages. “Actually, they turned out pretty good,” he admitted. “Too bad your only engagement photos are plastered all over the place for everyone in the world to see.”
She looked up at him, unable to hide her satisfaction with the photos. “Actually, Tony bought the whole set from the magazine. I’ve got plenty of photos that weren’t published.”
He rolled his eyes. “Of course he did.”
“The dress is actually kind of flattering,” she said, still studying the cover.
He raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, it’s a good thing I’m a happily married man and you’re engaged to Stark,” he joked.
She shook her head. “Uhm, I’m going to pretend you didn’t just say that.”
“What? We’ve been on plenty of missions where I’ve had to see you naked and that dress is still more revealing. And they matched it to Black Widow colors? Look what Stark’s wearing. Iron Wedding. That’s cute.”
“Can you stop?” she asked. “You know, I actually asked you here for a reason.”
“Yeah,” he said, closing the magazine and tossing it aside. “I figured you’d be mad. You gonna give me a chance to apologize?”
She shook her head. “Actually, that wasn’t the reason, but speaking of that. You didn’t tell me you were leaving Stark Industries, Clint?”
“I was going to tell you. I just had to think about how. Besides, we kinda got caught up in saving the city and all.”
“Still,” she said softly. “That’s usually the kind of thing we discuss beforehand?”
He sighed. “I’m sorry, Nat. I should’ve told you first. It’s nothing against you, or him, or even you and him. I just need to spend some time with my family. I don’t want to miss out on the kids being young and everything.”
She nodded. “I understand that. I really do. And I’m not mad anymore.” She reached for his hand across the table.
“Good,” he said, his expression relieved. “So what is it you needed to talk about?”
She paused for a moment. “You know I’m getting married soon and….”
He snorted. “Gee, I didn’t realize.”
“Clint…”
“I’m sorry.” He patted her hand. “That was the last one, I promise. Go ahead.”
She looked into his eyes. “I just.” She took a deep breath to clear her head. “I was just wondering…. If you could walk me down the aisle, at my wedding…. and give me away?”
He stiffened, his smile frozen on his face and his gaze locked on hers. “Let me make sure I understand this. You want me, of all people, to physically and symbolically hand you over to Stark? Are you sure that's not a job that's better suited for Steve?”
“You’re the closest family I have, Clint,” she whispered. “And I honestly can’t picture doing this without you. Will you at least think about it?”
He nodded, lowering his gaze and rubbing his thumb across her hand. “You know, you’re one of the most important people in this world to me.” He turned his eyes back up to look at her seriously. “And there’s just two things that I want for you. I want you to be happy, and I want you to be well.”
She swallowed hard, her eyes tearing as she waited for him to continue.
“And regardless of how I feel about that man… I really think he does both of those things for you, Nat.”
She smiled a watery smile, inching her chair closer to his and leaning her head on his shoulder.
He wrapped an arm around her, squeezing her tightly. “Tasha, I’d be honored to give you away at your wedding.”
She turned around to hug him, closing her eyes as she embraced him fiercely. “Thanks, Clint,” she whispered.
“You know, he came to me awhile back. Asked me for your hand. I wasn’t sure if I was going to tell you that.”
“And what did you say?”
“I said it was your decision. And I mean it. I trust you to make that decision.”
She smiled. “He was just being traditional.”
“Yeah, I got that.” He tugged lightly on her ponytail. “Come on. Let’s see the ring.”
She grinned, holding out her hand to him, the hourglass diamond shining in the sunlight despite the umbrella over the table. “Something simple,” she said.
He snorted, taking her hand. “Simple my ass. You know he definitely spent more than a couple hundred thousand dollars to have this thing made for you, right?”
She was silent, fingering the ring on her hand.
“But I guess he’s Tony Stark, and he can do whatever he wants for his girl, right? It’s actually a surprisingly thoughtful design. And it suits you.”
She patted his arm gently. “That’s the nicest thing I’ve heard you say about him. Keep practicing.”