About an hour and a half later, Clint reached over and gently shook Nat's arm, waking her up from her little uncomfortable nap. She looked over at him as she blinked the sleep from her eyes.

"Can you tell the team that we're ten minutes from base?" Clint asked. Natasha nodded and got up from her seat. Walking to the back of the Quinjet, Steve's head picked up when he saw her.

"Ten minutes," Natasha said and Steve nodded, getting up to rouse the rest of the team. Nat walked back to the cockpit and stood against the frame behind Clint's chair.

They landed at the Tower soon after, and Natasha quickly left and ran to the room that she called hers, the room that Tony and Steve insisted that she keep just in case she ever needed to stay the night, and changed out of her signature black jumpsuit and into something more suitable for sitting at a friend's apartment. As she was getting ready to leave the Tower and being her walk to Eden's apartment, Clint's voice stopped her.

"You heading to Eden's?" he asked.

"Yeah. I'm already late and need to get going..."

"Come with me, I'll give you a ride." Natasha smiled and followed Clint out and to his car, hopping into the passenger seat, and gave him her address. As they drove, Natasha was grateful for Clint giving her a ride because it didn't take long for them to get there and she just knew that she would've been extra late had she just walked. "There you are. You sure this is her?"

"Yeah, thanks Clint," Natasha said as she got out of the car.

"No problem, Nat. Hey when you're ready to leave, just give me a call and I'll come get you."

"Aren't you heading home?"

"Nah, I'm gonna spend the night at the Tower."

"Alright, will do." Nat took a step away from the car, but a thought quickly appeared in her head and she stopped and turned back around. "Tell Laura and the kids I said hi."

Clint chuckled and shifted the gear. "Will do. Remember, don't forget to call me when you're ready to go home."

"Thanks again, Clint," Natasha said as Clint drove away, honking his horn and waving as he left. Natasha climbed the steps and pressed the buzzer to Eden's apartment on the wall beside the door.

"Hello?" Eden's voice came through the speaker.

"Hey Eden, it's Nat. I'm outside."

"Alright, I'll buzz you in!" she exclaimed happily, and Natasha chuckled.

The door buzzed loudly and the lock clicked as it unlocked. Natasha opened the door and walked in, taking the elevator up to Eden's floor. She awkwardly stood outside her apartment, suddenly filled with a sense of nervousness that was foreign to her. Taking a long deep breath, she raised her hand and knocked twice before wiping her sweaty palms on her pants. Rapid footsteps slapped against the floor on the other side of the door and it swung open, revealing a very happy and excited Eden.

"You're here!" she exclaimed, leaping into Natasha who reflexively opened her arms to catch her. Eden giggled and soon released Natasha, flashing her a big smile. Natasha chuckled at her and shook her head.

"Yeah, I said I would be," Natasha replied. "I'm sorry for showing up now and I hope I'm not too late. There was a work emergency that I couldn't get out of..."

"It's no problem, I understand. You're not that late. Honest to God, my brother got here about an hour before you. Apparently he ran into the same kind of situation as you. Come on in."

Eden led Natasha into her apartment where her eyes traveled to a portly middle aged man with balding blonde hair and a slightly younger woman with similar blonde hair that was a couple shades lighter. The man wore glasses that were worn down by the tip of his chubby nose. At first glance, he seemed to be cleanshaven, but as Natasha studied him more, she could see the neglected stubble that grew around and under his chin. She also noticed his arm that was wrapped around the woman's back, but the woman was trying to sit as far away from him as possible without anyone noticing. The man eyed Natasha curiously and the woman narrowed her eyes at her in a glare. The redhead tried her best to ignore her and stood by a chair across from the man.

"Make yourself at home," Eden said as she started moving away to a hallway off the main room. "You want anything to eat or drink? Thomas brought over a pizza and a bottle of wine..."

"I could go for a slice," Natasha said and Eden smiled.

"Alright, cool. Tom, you want anything?"

"I'm fine," the man—Tom—said and looked over at the woman beside him. "Do you want anything, sweetie?"

"I could go for another glass of wine," she replied, holding out her glass and subtly shaking it. Natasha glanced over at Eden's face and noticed her original smile morph into a fake one the minute she opened her mouth.

"Of course, Kylie," Eden said, her voice dripping in faux niceness, and she reached out for her glass.

"I'll help you," Natasha said, following Eden down the hall and into her kitchen. Once in the security of Eden's kitchen, her fake smile and attitude melted away and she let out a very audible groan and smacked her head against the surface of the fridge. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Eden groaned again. She picked her head up and looked at Natasha. "I'm really glad you're here, Natalie. I don't think I could survive this night without you."

"It's no problem." Natasha peeked out into the main room and then back at Eden. "So what's up?"

"My brother's fiancé, Kylie is what's up. She hates me, which doesn't bother me because I'm not too keen on her either. It's so obvious that she's only with him because of his money. Like, seriously, she's not even trying to pretend to love him. She's like 20 years younger than him and...did you notice how they were sitting? She might as well be sitting on a totally different seat. God! I can't stand her!"

Eden's face was a bright red and anger shone in her eyes. Natasha stepped closer to her and lightly touched her arm, bringing Eden's grey eyes up to look into her light green ones. Her chest heaved with all of her unsaid anger and aggression, but her eyes were gentle and somewhat sad. Usually Natasha would've felt a little uncomfortable at seeing someone emotionally come undone in front of her, but seeing Eden look so conflicted sent a pang of sadness into her heart. Giving her a small and sympathetic smile, Natasha opened her arms and cocked her head, beaconing Eden to come to her. The black haired woman's grey eyes started to water as she launched herself into Natasha's waiting arms.

Natasha rubbed her back as Eden started to cry, though after a few seconds, almost nearing a minute, Eden pulled away and brushed her tears away as best as she could with one hand. She chuckled humorlessly as a deep blush crept up her face. She took a deep breath and moved away from Nat, going to refill Kylie's glass.

"I'm...really sorry about that. I've just been under so much stress lately...and just seeing my brother and his fiancé...I think it was too much for me. All day I had to listen to the two of them gang up on me, making me feel bad about my life's choices and my flaws while they remained oblivious to their own." She took another deep breath and placed her free hand against her forehead. Natasha came up behind her and started to rub her back again, helping her friend calm down. "Again, I'm sorry. I don't normally do this..."

"Hey, don't worry about it. Why didn't you tell me you were so stressed?"

"Would you believe me if I told you that like 85% accumulated when my brother walked through my door?"

"Mm...maybe not."

"How about if I said that I felt like a million times better when you showed up?"

A small wave of heat washed over her as she blushed. Her eyes shifted down to the island counter. Eden's face also flushed a deeper red than before when she realized how her words sounded out loud and her eyes widened.

"I uh...I didn't...that's not—I mean...oh jeez." She moved her hand back up to her forehead and started pacing her small kitchen. "Um...okay. I didn't mean it like that, I only meant to say that you make me feel really good—I mean...Jesus!"

"Eden," Natasha chuckled, "relax, okay? It's fine. I get what you mean." Her blush didn't go away, but she didn't care. She gave Eden a smile which the black haired woman returned, though it quickly turned into a frown when Kylie poked her head into the kitchen doorway.

"Hey, I just wanted to see what was the holdup on that glass of wine..." she said, the edge of her voice sharp as she faked niceties. Eden's fake smile returned and she went back to filling up Kylie's glass.

"Here you go," she said, the corners of her mouth twitching as she stretched her fake smile wider. Kylie took the glass, shot her a smile with way too much teeth, and left. Natasha shuddered and glanced over at Eden. "God, I hate that bitch," she whispered. Natasha chuckled and walked to a cabinet, grabbed two wine glasses and the bottle of wine, and filled up both of their glasses.

"Well, if you want to just camp out in here, I'm all for it." They clinked their glasses together, and Eden chuckled when she swallowed her sip.

"God, I want to get out of here..."

"Really?"

"Yeah. But I can't. I can't justleave Tom and Kylie. It would be rude...plus I don't trust that bitch to not takeanything," Eden sighed and lowered her head sadly.

"Eden, I think maybe you should leave. Being here isn't doing you any favors. Why don't you come to my place for a little to cool off, and if Kylie takes anything then I'll personally deal with it. I promise."

"What are you going to do?" Eden asked, breaking into a genuine smile.

"You'd be surprised..." Natasha smirked at her and finished off her wine.

"As much as I'd like to take you up on that offer, I can't. I really, really can't."

"Alright, I won't make you leave. But I'm gonna do you a huge favor," Natasha said, leaving the kitchen.

"What's that?" Eden asked, looking suddenly worn out.

"I'm gonna take out the trash." Natasha left the kitchen, with Eden in tow, and walked back into the main room, standing in front of Tom and Kylie. She folded her arms and sent a cold glare at Kylie in particular.

"Can I help you?" Kylie asked in a snooty annoyed voice, her face contorted into a sneer. Natasha's glare turned into an overly fake smile.

"Yes, I think you can. You can help me by getting the fuck out of this apartment." Natasha's voice was high pitched and sounded very much like the annoying tone used by over the top vegan surfers in California that spend all their time either surfing, sunbathing, or talking about surfing and sunbathing while eating a kale and avocado salad.

Kylie's sneer grew and she would've pounced on Nat had Tom's hand not shifted from around her back to grip her thigh. Kylie's face turned a bright shade of red and she was visibly shaking, and Natasha could've sworn she heard the younger woman growl at her.

"You can't tell me what to do. This isn't your apartment." Kylie shook Tom's hand off her thigh and stood up, placing her hands on her hips and leaning to one side.

"You're right, I can't make you," Natasha admitted, and her eyes traveled to the doorway where Eden stood, watching the scene. Looking back at Kylie, she smirked. "But she can."

Kylie looked over at Eden, who took a deep breath and walked further into the room. "I w-want you out."

"What did you say, bitch?" Kylie stalked towards Eden; a menacing glare displayed on her face. She raised her voice and Eden winced at the highness of her pitch. Kylie stood in front of Eden, towering over her in a desperate attempt to intimidate her. Eden looked down at her shoes and began to sweat under her scrutiny, feeling herself submit subconsciously to her. "That's what I thought."

Kylie walked back to her seat on the couch and grasped her wine glass, taking a sip. The not-so-subtle victory smile on Kylie's face angered Eden beyond anything the blonde ever did. Eden frowned and walked further into the room, standing next to Natasha, and pointed with her free hand to the door.

"Kylie, this is my apartment, and I want you to. Get. Out. Right. Now," Eden said, annunciating her words. Natasha noticed how...beautiful she looked when she got angry. Her left eye twitched and her eyebrows crinkled, and ever so slightly, her ears wiggled. Kylie's mouth dropped open in shock and her eyes widened. With a stomp of her feet and a bratty strangled scream, Kylie ran out of the apartment, screaming and yelling down the hall as she went. Tom stood up from his seat and frowned.

"You didn't have to be like that, Eden. It was completely rude and uncalled for," Tom said, his hands falling at his hips. Eden huffed and chuckled and humorless chuckle as she stepped closer to Tom. Natasha backed away but remained ready to intervene, sensing that this was going to go south real soon.

"And you didn't have to get engaged to that gold digging skank, Tom. That was what was uncalled for. How can you be so oblivious to the fact that she's using you? Didn't you graduate law school at the top of your class? Aren't you supposed to be like, really smart?" Eden asked, poking his broad soft chest with her index finger. Tom was at a lose for words and stood flabbergasted for a moment before he followed Kylie out of the apartment.

When the sound of the door closing reached Eden's ears, a huge weight lifted from her shoulders and she slumped over into the closest chair, sighing and groaning. "Oh God," she moaned, resting her hand against her forehead and taking deep breaths. Natasha came over and sat on the coffee table, resting a hand on Eden's knee. Eden moved her hand from her own head and placed it on top of Nat's hand. After a few seconds, the black haired woman broke into a laugh with Natasha joining in.

"So...what do you want to do?" Natasha asked when the two of them calmed down. Eden looked up at her and smiled, a soft twinkle in her eyes.