Half a bottle of wine later, and Natasha and Eden were leaning against each other and the back of the sofa laughing drunkenly at some joke that was lost. Eden snorted as she laughed, causing Nat's laugh to turn into a breathless wheeze. After some time and to try to regain some sort of reality and perhaps her balance, Eden rested her hand against Natasha's thigh without realizing it, and Natasha froze. Her eyes fell down to Eden's hand and then moved up to find Eden staring at her with wide eyes full of fear.

Eden's face was much closer than Natasha remembered, and she couldn't help but notice that her grey eyes flickered between her green eyes and her lips. Natasha gulped as Eden slowly moved in, her throat suddenly going dry and her mind screaming. She didn't know what to do and she was too under the influence to think straight, or even pull away...but she wasn't even sure if she wanted to. The few thoughts that she did have and could focus on were too incoherent for her drunk mind to understand.

Was she supposed to lean in and meet her lips? Should she pull away? How far was she supposed to go? Was she overthinking this? For once, Natasha was completely and utterly out of her element. During her training in the Red Room, she was taught how to seduce men for information or as a distraction, and through her time as a deadly spy/assassin, Natasha used her skills and her sexuality against many men. She was used to knowing that no matter how many kisses she gave or people she slept with, it was never real and she never had to worry about feelings: hers or anyone's.

Eden's lips were soft, but a little chapped. Natasha sat frozen, pressed against the sofa, and stared straight ahead, looking past Eden's head and focusing on a weird multicolored statue or maybe it was a vase. Eden deepened the kiss, pressing her lips firm against Natasha's, and flicked her tongue across her bottom lip. Natasha's eyes widened in shock and gasped into the kiss, leaving her mouth open. Eden seized her opportunity and shoved her tongue inside and immediately started to caress Natasha's tongue.

The redhead's heart beat faster and her breath caught in her throat. Nat never felt this way before, and it scared her. Her mind went blank as Eden continued to move her mouth against hers. She moaned into the kiss as her hand came up and caressed Natasha's cheek, and the redhead snapped back to reality and gently pushed her away, focusing on the heat in her face rather than Eden's disappointed and shameful face.

"I'm...I'm so, so sorry. I think I had too much to drink and maybe I misread some signals...please forgive me, Nat." Her face was so red and something about it tugged at Nat's heart, which she would've listened to, but it was drowned out by her screaming thoughts. Eden's eyes pleaded with her to forgive her, maybe even hoping that they could go back to the drunken lightheartedness that preceded only a few moments before.

"It's uh...um...I-I think I should go..." Natasha stood up from Eden's couch, grabbed her bag, and left. She ran down the hall to the elevator, waiting for it to come. Entering the empty elevator, she pulled out her phone and immediately called Clint who picked up on the second ring.

"Hey is everything okay? I hadn't expected to hear from you until later," the voice of the archer said into the phone, bringing Nat back again to reality, snapping her attention from the kiss.

"Uh Clint, I'm gonna need that ride," Natasha's voice wavered as she watched the numbers decrease the closer she got to the ground floor. Shuffling could be heard on the other end, but Natasha paid it no mind.

"Yeah sure, of course. Give me a few minutes to get ready and then I'll be right over."

"Okay. Please hurry, Clint." She hung up after that and paced the floor of the lobby while she waited for Clint.

When Clint pulled up outside Eden's apartment building, Natasha sprinted outside and threw open the passenger door. Clint pulled away the second she sat down and closed the door, sending her a questioning look. Natasha's eyes were glued to her lap and her fingers drummed against the armrest between them.

"Are you okay?" Clint asked. Raising an eyebrow at her as they stopped at a red light. "You've been oddly quiet since you got in the car."

"I'm always quiet, Clint."

"Yeah, but it's different this time, which is why I said, 'oddly quiet.'"

Natasha sighed and threw her head back. "Yeah, I'm fine."

They were quiet for the remainder of the ride, and when Clint pulled up outside of Natasha's building, he did the gentlemanly thing and helped her up to her apartment. Once inside, Nat flopped on her sofa face down and groaned. Clint sat down, lifted her feet up and placed them on his lap, and rubbed her feet. "What's up, Nat? I know something's wrong other than you being drunk."

"Eden and I...we kind of sort of...kissed."

"Woah! What?" Clint screamed and winced when the car behind him honked. "Alright, I'm going! So how was the kiss? Was it soft and sweet or rough and passionate?"

"Aren't you married with three kids and a healthy sex life? Why do you care about how my kiss went?" Natasha asked, furrowing her brow.

"Hey, it's a big deal. This was your first romantic kiss; it's not something that happens every day, Miss 'I prefer to spend all my time alone with hot pockets and pop tarts while listening to Panic! At the Disco'. So, tell me. How was it?"

Natasha shrugged.

"Alright, let's take this slow. If you could describe how Eden's lips felt in one word, what would it be?"

"Clint, I don't feel comfortable—"

"Come on, Nat, it's one word."

"Clint..." Natasha whined.

"Nat..." Clint mimicked her whine. "Come on, please? We never got to talk about boys, and if I had known that this whole time that girls were your thing, I—"

"God, Clint." Natasha slammed her head down on the throw pillow and groaned. Clint gave her a sympathetic look and patted the back of her thigh.

He noticed her flushed face and desperately wanted to make some sort of joke about it, but decided against it. Natasha was silent for a few minutes, an inner war raging inside her, when she sat up and turned towards Clint, sitting cross-legged next to him. She took a deep breath and ran a hand through her messy hair.

"Okay, Clint...If I could describe her lips in one word it would be...warm, like I was kissing a...a...I'm drawing a blank, but her lips were so warm, Clint. Warmer than I've ever felt. And they were so soft, like cotton, but they were also a little chapped, but it's like it didn't even matter because she was so gentle but a little rough at the same time." Clint smiled as Natasha opened up to him, watching as her eyes sparkled and her face flush a light red as she described the kiss. "It's nothing like I've ever experienced before. I don't even know if I liked it."

"Well, it seems like it was some kiss. Why did you leave?"

"She...she wanted to go...further and I wasn't ready."

Clint nodded and looked down at the floor and Natasha knew him well enough to know that he was thinking. She figured he already knew the reason for her hesitation, and she knew it herself, but she wasn't sure she was ready to say it out loud. Clint sighed and squeezed her hand, causing her to look up at him with nervous eyes, something he wasn't used to seeing on her.

"You're my best friend. You know that, Nat. So, that means that...whatever you decide to do with your life I will support you." Natasha was grateful that she didn't have to come out and say her fears and whatever thoughts ran through her head at the moment. She sent him a small smile and he could see her relax on the plush couch.

"Thanks Clint...for the talk. I know I'm not the most...open person in the world, so I'm grateful that you're still around for me to talk to," she gave his hand a squeeze and moved closer to him. Clint smiled back at her and nodded his head.

"Yeah, of course, and I won't pressure you to tell me things. I'll wait until you're comfortable."

Natasha sat in silence for a few minutes, looking down at her lap while her thoughts kicked up a storm. She by no means was ready to spill the metaphorical beans, but out of all the people that she worked with and considered friends, Clint was probably the only one that could help her. The man was happily married and went through the whole trouble of coming to terms with feelings and shit, so maybe...he could offer some insight? He had to be useful for something...

"There's um...there's something else," Natasha breathed out, ignoring her thundering heartbeat. Clint sat up and lifted his head a bit, signaling that he was listening patiently. Natasha's next inhale was unsteady and wavered in a slight and almost unnoticeable way. Almost. "For a while now, I'm not sure how long, but...I've felt something weird. When around Eden."

When Natasha didn't pick up right away, Clint broke the silence and said, "What is it that you feel?"

"I...can't describe it. She makes me feel warm? I guess. Whenever she smiles, I can't help but smile. The sound of her laugh makes me feel...complete. Especially when I'm the one that makes her laugh." Clint smiled at her, a sweet smile and one born of happiness. "I don't usually like being out with people, but when I'm with her, I...don't mind being with her. I've been feeling happier lately, and I think it's because of her."

"What else?"

"The kiss...it was the most confusing and...exciting moment in my entire life. I mean, it scared the shit out of me, but I..." she shrugged, losing the words, "I don't know."

"I think...the infamous Black Widow is in love," Clint wiggled his eyes as he lightened the mood and Natasha pushed him away as her cheeks dusted a light pink.

"I'm not in love. I don't love Eden. It's probably just...me not used to having friends that are girls. I mean, I'm surrounded by guys like almost 24/7."

"Whatever man, but trust me, I know what's up. I've been where you are, so even though I'm joking around, know that there's some kinda truth to it," Clint said as he squeezed her knee and got off the couch. "Well, I better be going. Got to fly back home tomorrow. Early. I'll see you later." He walked to the door and gave her one last wave. "I'll tell the family you said hi."

When Clint left, Natasha was left along with her own confusing and exhilarating thoughts. Did she love—or at least like—Eden? I mean, she was a good friend and she loved her company, but that didn't mean she had feelings for her, right? That's all Eden was...a friend. Nothing more, nothing less.

Natasha shook her head, trying to erase her troubling thoughts from her mind, and got off from the couch. She padded into the shower, sighing as her troubles seemed to melt away, and when she was finished, she got changed into a comfy set of pajamas, and went to bed. She hoped the next day would be kinder to her and tried not to think of Eden or the kiss.