It did not bother Natasha all that much when her Director informed her that she would be working closely with Tony Stark for a short while, as SHIELD and Stark Industries began to mix together. It was a logical move that ended up being beneficial to both parties, in ways that Natasha did not need to concern herself about. The only part that she even really aware of was the amount of times Tony was able to break through the SHIELD firewalls for the sheer purpose of wreaking havoc. He never stole any information and he never left the door open to alternate hackers, he would only leave some sort of obvious footprint or calling card to let Fury know he had been visiting inside the system.

So actually including him in some of the more technical operations ensured his talents lay in constructive and creative methods rather than destructive or pointless ones. And of course considering that meant he was allowed more power levels for the Iron Man suit and round the clock flight clearance, he was happy to join the team. Even though Natasha was warned about the possibility of being around Tony, she didn't expect to ever run into him, she had been on a run of missions that did not need his involvement . It was only when she was more or less ordered to take a break from active duty that she found herself around him more.

He was helpful in most cases and that was something she could not deny, he had upgraded a few of her weapons and she was appreciative, content with knowing he had fun in levelling up the technology that had previously been SHIELD issued. After a week of seeing him at the base almost every second day she started to notice that she would run into him on a more frequent basis. She assumed it was intentional, though initially she gave him the benefit of the doubt.

As luck would have it, the day before she flew out on a deep cover mission, she thought of something he could help her with and found that he was not even at the base. She checked the flight logs in case he was out in the suit, he may have 24/hour clearance but he was still required to report his flights into SHIELD. When she found them to be clear she knew he would be at the tower, he may have had a billion dollar lifestyle previously but he seemed to have calmed down a little after merging his company with SHIELD. Natasha knew that Pepper was the CEO but she had listened to him and agreed when he proposed they accept Fury's offer.

There were a few people that had complete access to all areas of Tony's tower and Natasha was one of them, as a top agent of SHIELD she had been one of the lucky ones to be accepted by JARVIS. Sometimes it was easy to forget he was merely a computerized program, especially when he greeted her every time she stepped into the lobby elevator and always asked her about the weather. She would always reply with the same thing.

"You know the weather information for the entire globe JARVIS."

And of course his answer never changed.

"Right you are Agent Romanoff, Mr. Stark is in the lab."

She often saw interactions between Tony and JARVIS, she was fully aware that they argued and bantered like good friends, it was comical and saddening at the same time, but a word never left her lips to anyone on the subject. When she reached his lab and let herself in, she could see he was busy near the other wall, welding something that was probably beyond her capability of understanding. She approached him slowly, but kept a suitable distance, not wishing to burn herself with welding scars. Even as she took that precaution, she could see fresh marks along his bare arms that indicated he had burnt himself very recently. She wasn't surprised, he wasn't exactly known for taking safety seriously.

His arc reactor seemed to be glowing brighter than ever, easily seen under a thin muscle shirt that was his only protection against the sparks apart from an actual welding helmet. She waited patiently until he noticed her appearance and quickly looked up, though his face was not visible behind the heavy mask. The torch was extinguished and the flame died before he casually tossed it on the edge of the work bench and tipped back the helmet.

He grinned at her as he took a moment to catch his breath, a slight sheen of sweat glistening across his forehead which became visible as he removed the helmet entirely. She doubted the work had been physically exhausting but he would have been having to concentrate remarkably hard.

"Romanoff!" He exclaimed, moving around the side of the bench and presenting himself fully. "To what do I owe the pleasure?" She glanced at his pants and noticed they were a designer brand, not exactly common uniform for a day in the lab.

"Are you supposed to be somewhere official?" She asked him, neglecting to answer his opening question. He followed her eyes to his pants and understood why she had asked.

"Just came back from a fundraiser for the Congo." He explained, taking a rag from the bench and wiping his hands. Natasha was almost certain that they came away dirtier after touching the cloth. A theory that was confirmed as he ran a hand over his forehead and through his hair, leaving a smudge of what she assumed was oil. He was literally the only billionaire she had ever met that was not terrified to get their hands dirty. And she had met a lot of billionaires.

"So why the visit to my humble abode?" He asked her with a dramatic voice, waving a hand at the lab which was not exactly in neat order.

"I had a question about the gun you altered for me." She told him, taking it out of her holster and laying it on the workbench beside the welding torch. "Is there any way that you can make it so it will not fire unless it recognizes me specifically?" She watched the wheels ticking over in his head, already he seemed to be thinking of how to make that work, and evidently also her reasoning behind the request.

"Either you expect to be disarmed, or you are planning to get disarmed." He stroked his neatly trimmed goatee as though it was a show of deduction. Natasha wasn't sure if he was purposely making an appearance of seeming like Sherlock Holmes, but that was who she was reminded of. Before she could even answer he had spun off the subject entirely. "So I was thinking, you and I should take off together. You could say it was a mission, or just tell them it is a much needed holiday and I don't exactly need anybody to sign my permission slip."

"I- what?" She asked, slightly confused as she tried to figure out how serious he was.

"Or," He held up a finger as though a sudden thought had just occurred to him. "We could just mash out this sexual tension right here, right now. It would certainly make working together a whole lot easier." He lowered his eyebrows in a suggestive way.

Normally Natasha would have hit him but she was in somewhat of a good mood, with her excitement in getting back onto field work, so she simply gave him a look that warned him he was barking up the wrong tree. He shrugged but didn't apologize.

"Hey, they all succumb eventually." He reasoned, adding in a wink for good measure.

"I thought you had something going with Pepper." Natasha pointed out, placing her hands on her hips.

"You and everyone else in this world seems to believe that." He sighed in a way that Natasha couldn't tell was genuine or for dramatic flair. "Honestly I take her on one date and the paparazzi assumes there is a marriage around the corner."

"So… she isn't pregnant?" Natasha asked, with a forced tone of confusion. The look on Tony's face was close to terrified as it drained of all color. But when he saw Natasha's lips twitch he realized her purpose was to unsettle him.

"You're evil, you know that right?" He pointed a finger at her as he picked up her gun. Natasha smiled but didn't reply, at least she had managed to get him back on track. "Honestly every time I sleep with girl there are rumours that a baby is on the way. Like Pepper even has time to get pregnant, she's too dam busy for such a thing…"

Natasha rolled her eyes as Tony muttered away under his breath about illogical situations and regrettable times.

"I may have a program that could do what you want." He informed her after studying the gun. "I would have to replace the chip I just put in, but in a couple of days it will be finished."

"I'm leaving tomorrow." She told him. "I'm back on field duty."

"So I won't have you hanging around my lab when I'm at the base?" He asked, unclipping the ammo and setting it aside. He searched through a pile of what seemed like metal scraps and pulled out a tiny pair of tweezers. Natasha watched as he proved how steady his hands could be, removing the tiny chip he had placed inside the gun only a few days before.

"What do you mean 'hanging around', you call me down half a dozen times." She reasoned, her tone giving every suggestion that she was getting defensive. He grinned at her, as long as she was getting animated, it meant he was getting under her skin.

"And you come every time." He pointed out.

"I'm officially ordered to assist you however you need when you are working with any sort of SHIELD property or technology." She told him with a dry tone, paraphrasing what Fury had said to her when the organizations merged together. She realized as soon as she spoke that it was a big mistake, she saw the grin widen and his eyes narrow, the suggestive lowering of his eyebrows returned.

"Oh? Is that a fact. Well, I can think of a few things that I need right now." He seemed very proud that he had gotten her to say all that and she tried not to face-palm, aware of how much dignity she would lose.

"No Stark," She sighed, rubbing her forehead exasperatedly. "Those things are what you want, not what you need."

"You sure?" He asked with raised eyebrows as his eyes dropped to take in the view of her in her trademark catsuit. "Because it feels like I need something, pretty damn badly." Her tolerance finally wore out, as it normally did after being in a room with him for so long and she stepped forward to snatch her gun from his hand. She grabbed the ammo from the bench and slammed it back into the gun, glaring at him while completing the action, as if proving a dangerous point.

"I'm leaving." She said, turning to walk from the lab and stopping in surprise as she found him moving swiftly to block her way.

"Alright, forget the mind blowing, unforgettable sex that we could be having right now." He said with a wave of his hand. He plucked the gun away from her and once again removed the ammunition. "If you really need it by tomorrow, then I can probably have it done tonight. The program is half written anyway, I've been working on it in my spare time. The problem being that I don't often get spare time." He flashed her an award winning smile and if Natasha had any less strength of character then she no doubt would have swooned.

She was good at reading men and Tony was no exception to that talent, she understood that he wanted her because he could not have her. She was also aware that there was a good chance of him leaving her alone and probably forgetting her name if she just gave in and slept with him. But there was a battle of wits going on between them and by conceding to his advances, she would lose that battle. That was not something she could allow to happen. No matter how good he looked in designer pants and a muscle shirt that he wore with rugged style.

For the record, I've been wanting to do a Tony/Natasha one for awhile but figured there weren't really many people that would bother reading it. But I got a request from Sky Fenty, so decided I may as well write one up, hopefully this is enjoyable.