A Family of Flaws

Chapter Nine; Coffee Break

*Clint's POV*

Tony just collapsed. Passed out. Had an anxiety attack. And Clint was fucking worried. The guy might be a damn narcissist at times and his humor was plain awful, but Clint had found it hard not to worry for him when he never ate, slept, or did anything other than work.

So no one on the team could say they were truly shocked that he had worked himself to the point of having an anxiety attack and passing out for fifteen hours, but it was pretty fucking scary. And when scary shit happens, Natasha and Clint decide to remove themselves from said situation and get coffee.

Natasha really likes coffee. Just in case anyone needed to know.

The red-head was going on her fifth cup, the duo barely being in the small cafe for an hour. She was cursing in Russian, Latin, and even some German. "That idiot... stupid fucking Stark... it's like he wants to die or something..." Natasha muttered angrily in English before switching back to the other three languages.

Clint spoke fluent Russian thanks to Natasha, but Latin was a stupid language to learn because literally no one spoke it and German was hard as hell to pronounce so he abstained from learning it. Though he could clearly hear the curse words in each language, having been taught each one from all the languages that Natasha somehow knew how to speak. She needed some good ol' soap in her mouth.

"Nat, can you calm down a little? The waitress looks ready to kick us out because you sound like a terrorist." Clint said quietly, kicking her leg under the table. "Seriously, I'm worried too but if you get us kicked out of my favorite cafe then I'm shooting you with an adhesive arrow and leaving you here until is dissolves."

Taking in a deep breathe, Natasha stopped all the cursing and turned to Clint with sharp eyes. "Do that and I'll tase you." She threatened, before chugging the rest of her coffee and asking the waitress for yet another cup.

  Clint sighed, rubbing his face, and took a long sip of his own coffee. Natasha liked hers black, but the very thought of such a bitter drink made him cringe. Personally, he liked his with tons of milk and sugar, but Miss. Darkness thought it was disgusting. They very clearly had different preferences in the tastes department.

  "Friday said Tony was fine." Natasha said after a few quiet moments. "She said he was fine but she can't tell us why Tony had a damn anxiety attack..." More silence. "I should have noticed. I'm a spy and I didn't even realize that Tony didn't leave his lab for four days... four days."

  "This isn't your fault." Clint interrupted sternly, giving her a steadying gaze. "None of us realized. It wasn't just you." Natasha shrugged, looking away like she didn't agree but didn't want to argue. "When he wakes up... we'll give him space." Clint added firmly. "We'll give him space and let him come to us when he feels better. Then we can help him."

  The two spies didn't speak for another short while, basking in one another's presence and enjoying their beverages. "Friday also said he had made a few upgrades for all of us." Natasha suddenly whispered, staring at the table. "Why would he be making us upgrades and then have an anxiety attack?" She asked, looking back up at Clint. "There would be some correlation, right? Which would mean... that it was about the team..." She trailed off, zoning out.

  For such an observant person, Natasha did zone out a lot. It was usually during things like emotional conversations, when she ate, and when she was scared. But there were other times when he could catch his best friend staring off, oblivious to the world around her. Though, she did her best thinking when she zoned out. So Clint allowed her the few moments of quiet, trapped in her mind where no one else could hurt her.