Paper Rings; M. Hill (on hold)

Ten.

MADRID, SPAIN
AUGUST 6, 2007

"BARTON I SWEAR TO ACTUAL GOD IF YOU STEP ON MY FOOT AGAIN I WILL PUNCH YOU." Adelaide whispered forcefully, through her very fake smile.

"Just based on your awful dancing skills, Romanova will probably be able to scout us out from a mile away." She quipped, "Oh, because you're doing so much better."

"Yes actually, I am." She stated, as Clint spun her around, "I hate stuff like this, it's like prom all over again, except less drinking, and less hormonal teenagers..."

"Sounds interesting..." Clint stated, "Oh, believe me, it was quite the experience, but it's expected that you go when you're on the planning committee."

Clint arched an eyebrow at her, "You were on the prom committee?"

She huffed in annoyance, "I did everything I could to look good on a college application. I couldn't get out of that town fast enough."

A silence fell over them at the mention of Adelaide's past, "You don't have to get all quiet and weird on me, Clint." she shot him a small smile.

"So, I told you something about my past that wasn't great, but I don't need any sort of weird quiet sympathy."

"Who said anything about weird quiet sympathy?" he asked, "Um, your weird silence."

"I don't know about all that, miss prom committee."

Adelaide laughed, "Ok, so what? Prom committee is hardly the only laughable thing I did."

"I'm sure I've done worse." Clint dismissed.

"Barton,"

"Yeah?" he asked, "I think I see her,"

Adelaide twirled out of his view, "Yeah, that's her." he confirmed, twirling the blonde back towards him.

"You ready for this Laurie?"

"I was born ready, Barton," she smirked, letting her hands slide away from where they rested on his shoulders.

The red haired widow had a blade pressed against Adelaide's throat, a small drop of blood dripping down her neck, "Who sent you?"

"I just want to help you," the blonde choked out, spotting Clint in the corner of her eye, an arrow pointed directly at Natalia.

"Help me? Why could you possibly want to help me? Who sent you?"

"I have a clear shot." Clint's voice echoed through her earpiece, "You've never had a choice in your life? Am I right on that?"

Natalia didn't answer, she simply let up the pressure on the blade, "I never had a real choice either, until I did. Let me give you a choice."

The tension in the room was high, Clint a few feet away, an arrow point directly at the redhead, but if he took the shot, Adelaide could end up dead too.

And in the instance that Clint brought back a dead Adelaide, May would probably, most definitely kill him.

Natalia stepped away from Adelaide, and the blonde released a breath, "Stand down, Barton."

"You say you're here to give me a choice?" Natalia arched an eyebrow at the blonde, "What's the condition?"

Adelaide shrugged, "That's more up to you. I'm giving you a chance, what you do with it will determine the so called condition."

"You want me to join you...join SHIELD?"

"I'm glad you made back in one piece, Agent Laurie."  Maria smiled, "Two months. Indefinte could've been a lot worse."

"Agent Hill, it's great to be back."  Adelaide smiled, although her smile was tainted with exhaustion. "Have you seen May?"

"Yeah," Maria nodded her head in May's direction, "Thank you."

Natalia took note of the way Adelaide's hand lingered on the woman's hand or the way the woman's eyes lingered on Adelaide even after she had walked away.

"You know you're completely insane for going off on a pretty much doomed mission, and practically falling off the face of the Earth for two months." May spoke, "Hello to you to,"  Adelaide quipped.

"I'm glad you're alive," May reached her arms around the blonde, and Adelaide gratefully accepted the hug.

"Yeah me too."

May let go of Adelaide, and after a moment, the blonde motioned toward Clint and Natasha, "Am I still crazy, May?"

"Yes." May stated, studying the Russian woman, "You know you don't have to put your life on the line to prove me wrong."

Adelaide smiled,  "I just gave her the same choice that you gave me. Just paying the good deed forward."

"Your heart is to big for your own good, Laurence." Fury stated, walking over.

"Maybe so," she shrugged, "Take Romanova to an interrogation room, I need to see you and Barton in my office right away."

"He is not too happy with you," Maria quipped, walking beside Adelaide once again.

"Nope, but I did bring a highly trained Russian Spy here so...this was to be expected."

Fury was in fact not very happy with Adelaide or Clint, "Are the two of you aware that Romanova could be actively working against us as we speak?" He spoke sternly, "You can't just bring in strays without permission."

"All due respect, Fury. We probably helped you in more ways than we hurt."

"Nick...I sense now isn't the best time to call you Nick...Anyways, Romanova is the key. I may not know her, but I know her. And as for your benefit, she's the key to taking down the red room." Addy leaned against the desk.

"If, and this is a big if; if she's really on our side."

"Nick. She doesn't have to be on our side, she just has to be against the red room." Addy stated, and Clint nodded from beside her.

Fury inhaled deeply looking back and forth between Clint and Adelaide, "We'll talk more about this, later...For now, we have to talk to Romanova."

A small winning smirk pulled at Adelaide's lips,  "This is a win, Barton," she whispered, "Yes it is, Laurie. Fury might never let us out by ourselves again though."