Chapter 2

By: MysticFantasy

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"Gonna kill him. I'm gonna kill him. I'm so gonna kill him." Steve muttered as he continued down the long vent that felt like it had been going on for a mile. With how big the tower was, he was sure that is was a mile long.

So far, nearly two hours had gone by and he hadn't had the slightest clue or hint of where Clint might be. He was starting to think that maybe Clint left the vents long ago and was waiting for Steve to figure it out.

That's it. I quit. the soldier thought to himself and decided to find the nearest vent to climb out.

He quickly wiped sweat from his brow when he suddenly heard a small thump. He froze and listened.

Thanks to his enhanced hearing, he would hear things from a farther distance than the others. The noise didn't seem like it came from very close by but it was close enough for him to hear.

Sure enough, Steve soon heard a pattern to the sound and realized that it was Clint crawling around close by.

Slowing his breathing, Steve listened carefully to try to figure out which direction the noise was coming from.

Left.

Being as quiet as he could be, Steve made his way in that direction and when he came to a split he stopped and listened again.

Left again.

The noise was getting louder and Steve made sure to stay as quiet as he possibly could.

"Where the hell is he?" came a whispered mutter.

Steve felt an evil smirk cross his face. Clint hadn't left the game after all and seemed to have gotten himself just as lost as Steve in the confusing ventalation system.

Feeling like a tiger on the hunt, Steve carefully manuvered himself toward the sounds Clint was probably unaware he was making.

Clint is, without a question, a great spy and could sneak up on just about anyone he wanted. Natasha was the only exception.

But thanks to his heightened senses, Steve was now one of two people Clint couldn't get by very easily.

The archer believed that he could prove that fact wrong but so far it hasn't happened. Mostly because he hasn't had chance to test it out.

The noises were so close that Steve was starting to feel trigger happy. He slowly looked around a corner and quickly ducked out of sight.

Clint, I'm sorry but you are going to pay for talking me into this little game of yours. Steve thought.

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Bruce, Tony and Natasha were sitting scattered in the main living room the team used. It was peacefully quiet for once and they were rather enjoying it.

But all good things never last.

"Leave my a** alone!"

The three snapped their heads up and looked at each other when they heard the yelling. Realizing it wasn't each other, they looked up toward the ceiling where they soon heard chaotic noises.

"This is the last time I let you talk me into this!"

"Ow! My a**!"

"Well, that's not disturbing." Tony said in a monotone voice with wide eyes as Bruce and Natasha continued to stare at the ceiling.

"Get back here Barton!"

The vent cover in the room suddenly fell to the floor and Clint basically flew out of the vent covered in multiple colors. Most of which were on his backside.

He landed on the floor with a grunt and scrambled to his feet. He then proceeded to run out of the room just as Steve came out of the vent and landed on his feet.

"I'd say Clint finally met his match." Bruce said noticing that Steve was free from any paintball markings.

"He deserved it." Steve said putting the paintball gun on the closest table top. "Had me crawling around in there for two hours."

"That's a lot less time that he's spent in there." Natasha said. "I think the longest I've seen Clint stay in the vents was about nine hours."

"Why would he do that?" Tony asked.

"He does it all the time at SHIELD when the newbies arrive. He loves to shoot water loaded arrows at them from the vents to see how well their guard is up. Fury didn't like it at first but realized that it was a good idea to see how prepared they are. Let's just say that a lot of them have to go through some serious basic training."

Tony laughed as he pictured the situation in his mind.

"Well, that little game was fun and all but I don't think I'm ever trying it again." Steve said.

"To be honest, I'm surprises you didn't get stuck in there." Tony said. "I was really hoping for some pictures."

"Sorry Stark, not this time." Steve said with a smirk as he started to leave the room.

"You'll slip eventually and when it happens I will be there." Tony declared.

"You're going to be waiting a long time for that to happen." Bruce said with a smirk.

"Don't remind me. Captain Perfection doesn't ever make mistakes." Tony muttered.

Natasha lightly chuckled at the two men before quietly leaving the room.

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Steve emerged from his bathroom dressed in grey sweats and a white shirt with his hands using a towel to dry his wet hair. He hadn't realized how sweaty he was until he finally got out of the vents.

He was just glad that the little game was done and he'd shown Clint that he himself was a good shot. He was sure that it was going to be a long time before the archer asked him to play another game like that again.

"I know you were spying on me."

Steve froze, towel still covering his head. He lowered the item away and noticed someone was sitting at his desk.

Natasha.

"I'm sorry?"

The female Avenger stood and made her way over to Steve. The super soldier didn't realize it but he had backed away from her until his back hit the wall and Natasha closed in on him.

He froze, hoping his appearance didn't betray the truth. He hoped that Natasha would chalk his nervousness to the fact that she was standing so close to him. They all knew how he was around women and it would usually lead to him getting teased at greatly.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"You and Clint were running around in those vents all day and I heard you come up to mine and saw you in the reflection of my mirror. I thought you respected people's privacy."

"Well...you see...I, uh..." Steve stammered heavily then cut off when Natasha pressed her lips against his softly. His whole body tensed but realized he was kissing her back without thinking.

It didn't last long since Natasha pulled back and they were staring each other in the eyes.

"I know that you have experience with espeonage. With a little more practice, you could be as good as me." she said running her fingers through his damp hair. "That means that we are going to have to spend a lot of time together.

Steve lightly smirked.

"Yes ma'am."