God with Whiskers

The new guys

There was a starring contest going on. Two figures sitting absolutely still, glaring into each others eyes, neither one wanting to break away and thus admit defeat.

The archer, with an sullen angry expression vs. a black cat whose typical-bored-cat expression was belied by the intensity of his stare, slowly swishing tail and the deep growl sounding intermittently from his throat.

Clints eyes narrowed. Loki lifted a lip to show a hint of fang.

And they just continued sitting there. Staring.

It was honestly fascinating to see just how long they could keep going at it. It was even hypnotizing, in a way, so much so that several Avengers just stopped the things they were doing to watch before they shook their heads and moved on.

"I bet ten bucks Clint is going to break eye contact first." Tony stated as he was working on the time machine.

"I take that bet." Natasha replied as she stood beside Tony, observing him.

"You sure Nat?" Tony asked. "You do know Loki is a demi god right? And a cat! Starring at stuff is kind of what they do. And they don't stop. Trust me, you just can't win a staring contest against a cat."

"Clint is the best sniper SHIELD has." Natasha replied. "Part of his job is to keep eyes on a target for hours or even days while not moving an inch as that could reveal his position to the enemy."

"Oh my God, those two are caught in a deadlock aren't they?" Tony asked. "We lost them Nat! We are never going to get them back."

Natasha smirked, amused at his dramatic proclamation. Then her eyes softened. "Tony..." she hesitated. "It's good to see you. I really mean that."

Tony tensed slightly and paused in his work.

"Don't worry, I don't mean anything else by that." Natasha assured him. "Only that it's honestly good to see you."

Tony sighed. "I really didn't want to come back here." he admitted, relaxing. "There's just so much shit going on."

Natasha nodded. "I understand."

"It's good to see you too." Tony admitted and Natasha looked up. "Didn't know how this was going to go down but... It really is good seeing all of you."

Natasha's eyes were soft and she nodded again. "Yeah." she said.

"You really think this is going to work?" Tony asked.

Natasha shrugged. "I don't know." she admitted. "But I suppose there's nothing else for it than to try. I mean, what other options are there?"

Tony sighed deeply. "No other... There are no other options."

"Okay listen." Clint whispered, his eyes had still locked on Loki. "I don't trust you. I got no reason to! Any funny business from you and I will shoot you!"

A louder growl than before came from the cat's throat. It was almost like he was saying 'Come at me bitch.'

Clints eyes became extra hard.

"HEY BOYS!" Natasha suddenly shouted from the machine. "Are you done measuring your dicks yet?"

Clint and Loki turned to Natasha simultaneously, with wide open eyes. "WHAT?!" "MEOOW!"

"Dammit Nat!" Tony exclaimed. "They turned their heads at the same time! Now we're never going to know!"

"It's for the better." Natasha commented. "As you said, we might have lost them forever if nothing had been done."