"Would a chicken be limited if it didn't have feathers?" Lana asked, hanging upside down from the couch.

"It'd be cold, surely," Bucky replied, leaning his head back on the neck rest. Somehow, the two had managed to create something you could compare to either a friendship or the bond shared between enemies. No matter what, the two managed to entertain each other and at times even distract, making one or the other seek the other out whenever possible.

"I would give it a sweater or something, I'm not a monster," she scoffed offended.

"Debatable."

"The point is, since they're not very strong flyers anyway-"

"Oh my god," Natasha let out in frustration, having been listening to the two for over an hour; "you guys are driving me crazy."

"I wonder how old that expression is. Why is it drive crazy?" Lana questioned the air. Her hair went over her head and to the floor, where it was in a messy pile.

"Back in my time-"

"Clint!" Natasha interrupted the second he entered; "you were going somewhere today, weren't you?"

"Yeah, I'm going to be planning the trip to Mojave, why?" He asked curiously, stopping in his track.

"Don't you wanna bring Lana? Show her the average day of an agent?"

"What? Natasha! Why are you trying to sell me?" Lana complained loudly, lifting her head - which took more strength than she wanted to admit in a room with Natasha Romanoff, Clint Barton and Bucky Barnes.

"Actually, if you don't mind, I could use a strategist, Lana," Clint told, sending Natasha a small smile.

"I'm not a strategist, I'm a consultant... Apparently," she added unsurely.

"And I need someone to consult about strategy, come on."

"Urgh," Lana moaned, but nonetheless followed Clint out the room.

"You've been quite talkative lately," Natasha hummed from her spot by the table.

"Mhm," Bucky replied, returning his attention to his thoughts.

"At least some of the time," she added with a shrug.

"Mhm," Bucky repeated.

"So, what is Mojova?" Lana asked curiously, walking besides the archer.

"Mojave," he corrected; "and technically speaking, it's a desert, but it has a facility where we've been putting some extra attention lately."

"Why?"

"You signed the non disclosure agreement, right?" Clint checked before continuing after Lana confirmation; "There's something there called the tesseract, they've been studying it since the 80'es, but lately it's been emitting some sort of energy. I don't really understand it to be honest, but I'm being sent over to keep an eye on it."

"Has it done that before?" Lana asked; "emitted energy, I mean."

"Not as far as I know."

"It's unlikely it'd begin out of a sudden then, right?" She continued.

"That's what Fury thought as well," Clint told; "which is why I'm going there."

"I just mean, if it's been there for thirty years without a glitch and now all of a sudden it's changing? Are you sure no one there happened to trigger something or press the wrong button?"

"Why would they do that?" Clint asked, opening a door with his ID card and letting Lana in.

"You said it yourself, they've been there since the eighties. If it was me, I'd want something to be happening soon," Lana admitted, entering the private office available to agents who didn't have their own, but did occasionally need one.

"Hm. You do make a point, Mini-stark," Clint admitted.

"Hadn't you considered that?" She questioned, sitting down in a chair.

"I'm not exactly a strategist, Fury is just sending me so I can keep an eye on things," Clint replied, sitting down as well.

"You should consider looking at their ranking system and managing style, if they really haven't developed in any way in so long the employees will be frustrated. That's why you keep gaining new titles at places like McDonald's, those small promotions make it feel like there's progress and you're less likely to become frustrated, feel stuck or do something to change things because you feel like you have a sense of purpose and do develop a better job for yourself," Lana explained, spinning around in her chair until she noticed Clints look; "I studied business. We didn't really cover sociological leadership, but we had a brief summary of the basics."

"Huh. Wanna come?"

"What?"

"I know nothing about that, I'm only there to keep an eye on things. If you'd be able to deduct some things it might make my job easier," Clint explained with a shrug.

"I guess it would make sense, they'd be focused on me and you'd be able to check them out under the radar," Lana considered loudly; "Sure, why not?"

"Will you be able to survive without me?" Lana joked, zipping her bag on the bed.

"I will. You coming back I'm not so sure about," Bucky retorted, making Lana smile.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" He asked honestly.

"I know it's hard, but you'll survive without me," she promised; "it is just one week."

"I'm serious. This is an actual mission, Doll," he pointed out.

"If I didn't know any better I'd think you were worried about me," Lana challenged, looking at him with narrowed eyes and a playful smile.

"Very funny, but luckily you do know better. I'm just saying, it could be dangerous," he pointed out with a tense shrug.

"James, love, I'm going to some lab in the desert - I'll be fine," she promised; "Besides, Clint is coming."

"Mh. Guess you're right."

"I have to go. Don't mess up my room, James," Lana warned.

"I'll walk you out," Bucky offered, grabbing her bag before she could.

"To the living room?" Lana joked, opening the door for him.

"I happened to be headed that way," he assured her.

"The room already feels empty without me, huh?" She joked as they entered the living room; "hey, Clint."

"Hey. Ready?"

"Yes. Wait, no, phone! Be right back." Lana hurried out of the living room, and Bucky looked at Clint.

"Do you really think it's a good idea to bring a civilian on a mission, Clint?" Bucky asked honestly.

"We're going to an off-site lab and she's not a civilian, she's a consultant," Clint reminded him.

"Spoken to her dad about this?" Bucky asked instead.

"What is your sudden interest in my doing?" Clint asked annoyed, making Bucky look away.

"Or is it an interest in Lanas doing?" He realised, narrowing his eyes.

"I was asking a question," Bucky muttered unhappily.

"I have a better question. Do you like Lana Stark?"

"Her name is Williams."

"That's not an answer." The two quieted as they eyed each other.

"Hey, I'm ready now," Lana told as she walked back in, phone and charger in hand.

"Bye James," she said with a smile before leaving with Clint.

"Bye Doll," Bucky muttered quietly, looking at the door closing behind them. Soon after, Tony entered, unhappily eyeing the soldier.

"Where's Lana?" He asked, not bothering with pleasantries.

"Just left," Bucky replied, equally impolite.

"Do you know when she'll be back?" Tony asked.

"In a week," Bucky replied, leaving the room before Tony could bother him with more questions.