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Loud music fills Hunter's ears when he enters the Tower's lounge the night of Tony's celebration and Thor's farewell party, and soon makes place for the many voices of the many guests.
Standing in the open door, he scans the room for any familiar faces but can't find any of his male team members. Fortunately for him, his female team member has a striking hair dress. He finds her behind the bar, making and serving drinks to other guests and sneaking one in once in a while. Hunter takes a quick glance at her surroundings before stepping towards her.
His eyes are fixated between the woman and on the people around. And with no sight of the other Avengers, he continues. The muscles in his shoulders tighten as the distance between the two decreases and Hunter can feel sweat appearing on both his face and in his clenched hands, but shifts the blame from his nerves towards the crowded space around him. And with only a few feet left and being in her eyesight, there's no going back.
But then he hears someone call his name, and he's stopped in his tracks. Right as Hunter turns around, Natasha looks him into the eyes, and frustration bubbles up inside him. He meets the blue eyes of Steve Rogers with right next to him a pair of unknown browns.
"Hope I didn't interrupt anything," the man begins, eyeing between him and the woman.
"Not at all," he replies way too quick, "just wanted to get a drink."
"Good," Steve responds, "I wanted to introduce you to Sam Wilson." Hunter shifts his attention from Steve to Sam. "Sam is a former US para-rescue," he continues as the two shake hands, "he helped me and Natasha with taking down HYDRA."
"While also taking down S.H.I.E.L.D." Hunter adds, "if being an Avenger doesn't work out and I end up jobless, I know who to go to."
"We had to," the captain defends, "with publishing the files, all agents got exposed, both HYDRA and S.H.I.E.L.D. There was no way to tell who was part of what." Hunter starts to chuckle, followed by Sam, and both men receive a confused look from the soldier. "Am I missing something here?"
"It's called sarcasm, Captain," the agent tells.
"Maybe that's something to add to your list," Sam suggests, causing Hunter to almost choke on his saliva.
"You have a list?"
"He has a list of important things he missed," the man explains, "things like events, movies, or music."
"Everyone told me to get acquainted with the modern world," Steve clarifies, "so I made a list. You even contributed to that list!"
"What was on that list?" Hunter questions.
"I am not going to share my list and watch how you two make fun of me needing a list," Steve exclaims.
"We won't," Sam tries to change the man's mind, and he eyes at Hunter. Steve now looks at him attentively.
"I might."
"Thanks," he says, "now if you excuse me, I'll find someone who doesn't want to make fun of me to talk to." He gives both Sam and Hunter a short pat on the shoulder. Before walking off, he adds: "You two enjoy yourselves." Silence reigns between the two strangers after their mutual friend leaves until Hunter brings up Steve's introduction.
"So you were a para-rescue?" They sit down at the lounge to continue their conversation, this time as subject their years of service in the military. And as their conversation continues, more guests join in to listen or share their experiences, and Hunter zones out.
"It's nice," he hears a familiar voice say faintly. Another voice responds, but the music makes it hard for him to understand.
"Yo- an- Manoff." His eyes dart across the room.
"No-,"the voice stammers, "that wasn't-"They spot the woman as she walks from the bar.
"It's okay-,"he hears Steve say assuringly, and Hunter rises from his seat. He pushes himself through the crowd to catch the redhead before she disappears again. With hurried steps, he arrives at her side and wraps his fingers around her wrist. Her head spins around, her green eyes staring dangerously into his browns, but relax at the sight of him.
Leaning closer, he asks loudly, "Can I talk to you for a moment?"
"Sure," she yells back. He places his hand down her lower back and as he leads her out of the lounge, Hunter almost swears he can feel eyes burning into the back of his head. Right outside the lounge is a door he doesn't know where it leads to, but he opens it anyway. Giving Natasha a little push inside with the hand that laid on her back, he lets his eyes roll back to the lounge. Still inside, sitting at the bar, is Steve with his back turned to the pair. Besides him sits Bruce, whose eyes meet his and never leave his until Hunter disappears out of sight with Natasha.
Glancing around the broom closet, she asks, "What did you-" His hand snatches her shoulder, turning her around, and Natasha's being shoved against the wall. Before she can register what's happening, her colleague crashes his lips onto hers.
Natasha freezes at the gesture. Her eyes widen, her breath catches in her throat, and all things she should be thinking, her brain decides to ignore. Using her shocked demeanour to his advantage, Hunter uses his hips to push her closer to the wall and moves his hands from her shoulders to her face. Her lips widen in a gasp and his tongue slips through, desperately searching for hers. She can feel the alcohol burn on her tongue as hers brushes past his and her body fills with a pleasant heat. Before she knows it, her eyes flutter shut, her hands move into his hair, and she kisses him back.
