Work Text:
*********************
“Ninotschka!”
Natasha barely made it out of the SUV that brought her to the set before the cheerful voice of one Tony Stark reached her ears.
The two formed a friendship pretty much on the first day they met on the set of a rather cheap (and not very successful) action movie back some years, when Natasha was a newbie to a film set and Tony was freshly out of rehab, trying to not only get a grip on his life again, but also his job and his fiancé at this time back.
Tony took Nat under his wings, showed her all the little tricks he picked up over the years, and one particular evening, he took her to an old film theater, where they had a Greta Garbo double special. Between the movies, Tony flat out told Natasha that she reminded him of the Garbo, both in her acting and in appearing to be unapproachable, leading him to calling her “Ninotschka” whenever they saw each other.
“As they say, Tony, in the flesh,” Nat finally replied, the smile threating to split her face in half. Of the few true friends she had made in Hollywood since her debut, the flamboyant costume designer was definitely her favorite.
“Come here and give me a hug, honey,” he demanded with an equally broad smile.
“Yo do remember that we just saw each other last week at Peter’s birthday party?” Natasha asked with a raised eyebrow while following his request.
“Of course I do,” Tony all but spluttered, “but you have no idea how long seven days can be without seeing your lovely face.”
“Good thing that Rhodey doesn’t hear you talking about other people that way.”
“Ah,” Tony said calmly while slinging an arm around her shoulder, “by now, he should know where my heart really is. Besides, he happens to share my particular feelings for you, Red.”
The two made their way over the set, passing trailer after trailer, and with each step, Natasha felt a bit more at home, so to speak. Sure, this wasn’t her usual action movie set, but still, some things were the same on every set, no matter what genre the end product was.
“Earth to Ninotschka?”
Blinking, Natasha was met with a pair of worried brown eyes.
“Oops,” she began with a light blush creeping up her face, “sorry, I was lost a bit in my thoughts.”
“I guessed so, though I’m a bit miffed about the fact that I’m apparently losing my touch, if I can’t even keep you enthralled with my stories,” Tony replied with a huff.
“Oh shush, you still got it, Antoschka.”
Natasha was quick to reassure her friend, knowing only too well that a moody Tony could drive even the sanest and most patient people up the wall in no time.
“Good to know. By the way, did Pepper or any of the production firm contact you about the sudden change in the male lead?”
“No, not that I know about.” Natasha had to think a moment on who was cast alongside her. “What happened to Justin Hammer?”
“Besides him being a first-class pain in the ass of everyone who has to spend more than a minute in his company?” Tony asked with acid lacing his voice. “Take a pick - he demanded that his part in the movie would be much larger than yours, stating that you were, and I quote, ‘a rather pretty face in the wrong line of acting’,” they both cringed at that, “wanted more money for ‘putting up with all of us’, and way more that Pepper won’t even tell me.”
Pepper Potts had paved the way for female movie producers in under a decade, with a lot of support coming from Tony and Rhodey, who made the young woman once the CEO of the film studio Tony had inherited from his parents. Which was probably the best thing that could have happened to both Tony’s studio and Hollywood at large.
After getting rid of the old management, Pepper made not only sure that most of the employees were women, she also set an example when it came to equal payment. And on top of that, inspired by several examples in her personal and business life, she fought hard to keep any kind of hate, racism and discrimination out of the studio grounds.
“Well, I can’t say I’m sad to see him gone from the cast,” Natasha surmised, a cryptic smile playing at her lips.
“That makes at least two of us,” Tony added. “I swear, I would have decked him if he only just had looked at you the wrong way.”
“Hate to tell you that, Tony, but while I’m flattered that you would do that, I’m a big girl, and I can look after myself just fine.” To soften the blow of her words, Natasha squeezed his arm. “But who’s gonna get his part now?” As far as she knew, none of the bigger stars, at least from the romance genre, were free right now.
“Does the name Clint Barton ring any bells?” Tony asked.
And it did.
Clint Barton was, for the past couple years, quite the male pendant to Natasha’s own career. Most of the movies on his IMDB page were of the action genre, and while some of them seriously lacked a depth in the respective story, the action sequences were even better.
Natasha had seen most of his movies, and in more than one occasion, she even had shown a scene to the stunt coordinator of her own movie, hoping that they could teach her some of his moves.
Clint had a natural grace to him, something that Natasha actually envied him for, cause even after all the ballet training she received from a very young age on, she couldn’t quite turn her moves into the smooth, cat-like glides that Clint could pull off so easily.
“What, really?” she finally replied.
“Yep,” Tony gave back. “Turned out he, very much like you, wants a change, a way to show he’s more than all the action movies. And, according to Pepper, he told her that he was slowly getting ‘too old for that shit’.”
“He’s not that old,” Natasha protested. Sure, Clint had about a decade on her, age-wise, but still, there were other, older guys doing their own stunts all the time working in the industry.
“Besides, he’s bringing Phil Coulson with him, as director.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah, oh,” Tony deadpanned. Phil Coulson was, like, the uncrowned king of Hollywood when it came to romance movies and romantic comedies. His movies had won awards left, right and center, but he himself always ended up empty-handed at the award ceremonies.
“I’m looking forward to work with both of them, but now, I’m actually looking forward to first have a shower, followed by a lenghty nap.”
“You came here right from the airport?” Tony asked, his eyebrows going skyward.
“Yeah, and I usually sleep here at the set as well,” Natasha replied.
“Oh dear, that’s gonna have to change, like right now.” Twisting on his heel, Tony scanned their current location for anyone from the production team. “Hey, Daisy?” He called out to a young woman several feet away from them.
“Yes, Mr. Stark?” she requested while coming up to them.
“Tell Pepper that Natasha here,” Daisy’s eyes went wide when she finally recognized Tony’s companion, “needs a hotel room, asap.”
“Of course, Mr. Stark, I’ll make personally sure it gets done with priority. And Ms. Romanov,” she continued while locking gazes with Natasha, “welcome to the set. I’m Daisy Johnson, one of the liaisons between studio and everyone else.”
With that, the young woman was gone, leaving them to their own devices.
*********************
Since Clint was still working on another movie, Natasha and the rest of the crew began with working on her solo scenes, as well as scenes her character had with others.
Which brought the next surprise for her at the first table reading.
“Steve?” Natasha asked, blinking a few times to make sure she wasn’t dreaming.
“In the flesh, Nat,” the gentle giant answered from the doorway before coming over to where she was sitting and giving her a long hug.
“Good grief, Rogers, it’s been ages since we worked together!” Nat exclaimed while they were sitting back down.
“Only a couple of years, actually, but I totally get what you mean,” Steve agreed before sobering up visibly. “Between that one movie and now, so many things have happened. Some of them were good, but most of them…” He trailed off, his voice breaking at the end.
“I know, Steve, and God, there wasn’t a day where I didn’t want to pick up the phone and…”
“Stop it, Nat. Don’t apologize for putting your career first. I know firsthand what happens to an action movie star when he puts on the proverbial brakes.”
“So, how’s it going now? How’s Grace?”
Grace was Steve’s daughter, the result of a, as he always put it, “magical summer” with Peggy Carter.
“Growing like a weed,” he said with a grin, “and looking like a carbon copy of her mother. Though Bucky jokes she has all the looks from him.”
“Oh, that’s something I totally can hear him say,” Natasha added with a smile.
James “Bucky” Barnes was, like, the embodiment of the term “Hollywood Heartthrob”: elegant, even in torn blue jeans and a leather jacket, eloquent, a smile that could light up a room, a pair of mesmerizing blue eyes. There weren’t many people in the world who didn’t start to swoon wherever he showed up. Many of these hearts broke, though, when he came out a couple of years back, with Steve at his side.
“Yup, and he likes to tell it everyone, too,” Steve continued.
“Alright, ladies and gentlemen,” a new voice cut in from the doorway, “let’s get this show on the road.”
Phil Coulson was the owner of said voice, and while Steve and Nat felt like two pupils being caught at skipping classes, the middle-aged man couldn’t keep a soft smile off his face.
“Relax, guys, we still have to wait on the rest. By the way, is it okay to call you by your Christian names? After all, we’re all working towards a common goal here. Or at least we should try.”
“Sure, Phil,” Steve replied before looking at Natasha. “What about you, Nat?”
“I also don’t see a problem with that.”
*********************
So far, all work went by without a hitch (except for an unplanned tumble in the grass that happened to Nat and Scott Lang during one scene), and try as she might, Natasha couldn’t stop her mind from repeating the same question over and over - why had she waited for so long to do a romantic comedy in the first place?
Next to no training parallel to shooting the scenes, no strict diets (or at least not as strict as she would have at an action set), and, surprisingly enough, a team on both sides of the camera that wasn't watching each other like the proverbial hawk with every move, waiting for even the slightest slipup to use it as a weapon later on.
*********************
A new day dawned on Los Angeles, and while she was going over her lines for the first take that day on the drive over from the hotel, Natasha kept thinking on when Clint would show up finally. No one on the team knew anything, unless they kept it from her and the other actors.
Happy, her driver from day one on, dropped her off at the main entrance, wishing her, as usual, a wonderful day at the office, as he liked to joke about the set.
Watching him drive away, Natasha only belately realized that someone was watching her. Looking to her left, she realized that it was Sam Wilson, the script writer of the movie.
“Anything wrong, Wilson?”
“Nope, just wondering if this is the day where you finally grow roots over there, Romanov.”
“Dream on, Sammy,” she said while passing him and giving his shoulder a squeeze, “but this won’t happen until hell freezes over.”
“Well, Hollywood is the city of dreams, right?”
“Right, but I’m pretty sure you don’t want this particular dream coming true.”
“Touché.” They both started laughing. Sam was another long-time companion of Nat, and at one point at the beginning of their respective careers, they even were roommates in a shoebox apartment. “Oh, by the way, there’s a guy waiting at your trailer.”
“A guy?” Natasha echoed. She was single, for quite some time now, so she wasn’t expecting a boyfriend dropping by unannounced.
“Yeah, but don’t worry, he already passed security.” Natasha narrowed her eyes at him. “That’s all I can tell you, Nat. You’ll have to see the rest for yourself.”
Huffing a breath, Nat made the way over to her trailer, only to stop dead in her tracks when she rounded the last corner.
Right in front of her, sitting on the steps to her trailer door, was none else than Clint Barton, and Sweet Jesus, he was even more handsome in real life than he already was on any kind of screen.
“Can I help you, Sir?” Natasha asked, coming up to him.
“Oh, you already do,” he said while getting to his feet. “Sorry for showing up here in that way, but I’m Clint, your co-star.”
“I actually was wondering when you would grace this set with your presence, and a little part of me was worried you would ditch us all, big Hollywood star that you are.”
“Pardon my French, but are you nuts?” Clint replied. “When Pepper called me about her troubles with Hammer, i told her right away to give me his part. I want, no I need a change in pace, you understand?” Natasha nodded. “Besides, I’m not getting any younger, sadly, and I got a nice wake-up call at the last set.”
“How’s so?” Natasha inquired while opening the door to her trailer.
“Twisted my left knee during a chase sequence, and Doc Banner said that I barely skimmed a worse injury.”
“Ouch,” Natasha said with sympathy in her voice. Sure, any actor had a higher risk at getting injured on set, but action stars, no matter how many stunt doubles they had, were on top of that list.
“So,” Clint continued while coming up behind her, stopping in the doorway, “Phil told me what scenes you already have shot. Once again, sorry for keeping you all waiting, but I actually was following doctor’s orders for once and kept off my feet for two weeks.”
“No worries, Clint. Come in! Want a coffee?”
“Are you a mind-reader on the side?” he asked with a smile.
“No. Why?” Natasha replied while getting two mugs.
“I need coffee in my system like others need air or food. And I’m barely a human being before my first cup in the morning.”
“Like anyone else in this business.”
“Yeah, true, but let’s just say I take it to a new level. Like, I wouldn’t put it behind me to attack someone who dares to speak to me first thing in the morning.”
“Uh-oh, but thanks for telling me.”
“No problem,” Clint said while accepting the mug. “Aah, the nectar of the gods,” he added after taking a deep breath full of coffee steam.
“Okay,” Natasha continued while sitting down at the table, “has Phil also told you which scenes we’re going to shoot today?”
“Yeah, and I’ve been going over my lines with him already.”
“Good. Any questions?”
“No, at least not yet, but I’m generally quick on adapting, so don’t worry about lil’ ole me over here.”
“You’re not that old, Barton,” Natasha quipped.
“Says the woman with the ageless beauty.”
Natasha almost choked on her coffee. Don’t get her wrong, she probably got more compliments about her beauty than stars in the sky, but something about the way Clint said it made this one quite unique.
“Thank you?”
“You sound like you’ve never, ever got a compliment for your looks before.”
“Oh, I did get them, but most of them are just means to an end. Like, whoever says it wants something from me. Either they want me to get them a meeting with a producer, or into a premiere event, or worst, into my pants.”
“Ewww,” Clint said, shaking his head slightly. “But let’s be honest, Natasha - what makes you sure I’m not the same as them? That I just say it because I want something from you?”
Nat took a deep breath. Who would have thought that behind that action star fa󠄃çade was a bright, inquiring mind hidden?
“I… I honestly don’t know, Clint, but something tells me that you’re different to other guys.” He gave her an honest, blinding smile. “Besides, you’re the bigger star of the two of us, and you probably could get anything with just a snip of your fingers.”
*********************
If possible, filming the scenes with Clint went even better than shooting with the rest of the cast. Like most of the characters he had played so far, he was easy to work with. On the other hand, he was one of the most professional actors Natasha had worked with, ever.
There were barely any scenes that needed to be reshot, and none of it was because Coulson was discontent with the result. One more than one day, they both even got a praise from him for their excellent work, and both of them even picked up words like “dream team” behind the scenes.
But what was, in hindsight, even more important to Nat was the fact that over the course of the shooting, she found herself drawn closer and closer to her co-star.
Usually, her filming followed the same pattern - coming to the set, doing her scenes, going back to the hotel; rinse and repeat. But here, they both actively seeked the other’s company, and not just in preparation for the next scene.
Quite the contrary, any kind of prep for scenes was pulled to the back with these two in no time, and more than once, Tony and others had to remind them that there was still some work left to do.
Clint shared things with her that Nat never, ever would have associated with him, or would have believed to be a lie, had she just read it in a magazine.
Like the fact that he initially became an actor because of his late brother Barney, who dragged him along to one of his own casting calls, and Clint ended up getting a job (which caused even a temporary rift between the brothers). Or that he was, despite the physical distance, quite close with Barney’s wife and kids, as they were the only family left.
Natasha reciprocated, telling him about how her parents fled Russia when she was a toddler, but soon left her at an orphanage. How she found solace first in ballet, then in theater before ending up in Hollywood.
They shared their misfortunes of their love life, and that while they both had a constantly growing fanbase, it made being themselves and getting people to see the “real” of them even harder.
And so Nat wasn’t quite as surprised as she should have been when she realized, a couple of days before principal shooting for the movie would have ended, that she was, irrevocably, falling in love with one Clint Barton.
But what about him? Was he feeling the same for her as she did?
Natasha would never, ever have asked him about it directly - that wasn’t her style - but Fate apparently decided to lend a hand in that matter and make her overhearing him talking to Phil Coulson.
“Clint, I gotta say, I’m surprised that you didn’t consider romance movies sooner in your career,” the director began.
“Yeah, Phil, get in line,” Clint grumbled good-natured. “Ever since I did my first scene here, I keep asking myself the same over and over.”
“And here I thought that was just because of your co-star, who, if I might add, also keeps surprising me.”
“Huh. How’s so?”
“I did some talk to both former colleagues of her, as well as some of the directors she worked with prior to this one, and while most of them praised her talents, the same people also described her as distant, some of them even calling her an ‘ice queen’.”
“Are they nuts?” In her hiding place, Natasha couldn’t see Clint’s face, but she didn’t need a lot of imagination to see his eyes going large at Phil’s implications. “Sure, we both know that people can change, but I, for one, can’t see even an ounce of an ice queen in Nat,” Clint added. “Judging by your earlier choice of words, Phil, I’m apparently not the only one.”
“For once, you’re right, my friend.” There was a short pause, and Nat could hear the sound of them drinking. “Forgive me for being nosy, but the two of you seemed to have grown quite close, right?”
“Absolutely, Phil. And God, she’s such a wonderful human to spend time with. As you know, I’m not always that lucky when it comes to any kind of relationship, but Nat made it easy from the get-go to be friends with her.”
“You’re sure you just want to be friends with her?”
“Oh shut up!” Clint exclaimed with a laugh. “Of course not! Truth be told, Phil, I never thought I would even consider it, but Natasha is a woman I can see spending the rest of my life with.” Another bout of silence, and Nat hoped that none of them could hear the loud beating of her heart in her chest. “You know, just me, her, and Lucky against the world.”
“You’re not worried that Lucky won’t like her, as he did with other women before?”
“Nope, not at all.”
Fleeing the soundstage, Natasha made a wild dash for the sanctuary of her trailer. Once there, she locked the door, needing some time alone before she could face anyone, her co-star at last.
Laying down at her bed, she let her mind go spinning. Sweet Jesus, he sounded so sincere when he spoke about sharing his future with her. But what if, somewhere down the road, the constant pressure of their jobs, paired with the sometimes long distance between their movie sets, would change his perspective?
Natasha wasn’t sure if she could walk away from him with her heart intact. Quite the contrary, she was sure that if they would become a couple and Clint would break up with her at some point (which was, in her opinion, inevitable), her heart would completely shatter to pieces.
A knock on the door derailed any further thoughts, but before she could say anything, a voice called out to her.
“Nat? It’s me, Steve. Scott saw you hurrying over the set, and he’s actually worried about you. You okay in there?”
For a minute, Natasha considered her next actions. Should she let Steve in, not just into her trailer, but also into the proverbial jungle both her mind and heart had turned into?
At long last, she got up from the bed and unlocked the door, coming face to face with Steve’s concerned expression.
“Thank the Lord,” he exclaimed, stepping into the trailer when Nat took a step back from the doorway. “What’s wrong?” he asked, turning back to her. “You’re not…?”
“What?” she asked, only to cringe when the single word came out way harsher than she had initially intended. “Sorry.”
“No need to apologize, Nat, but you know you can talk to me, about anything. And I know you’re friends with Tony as well, so before you go hiding in a proverbial snail shell, please reach out to someone.”
Grabbing a small fruit drink from her fridge, Natasha finally sat down at the table with a sigh.
“I know, Steve, and I’m really grateful for your, and Scott’s, concern, but I’m fine. It’s just…,” she trailed off, opting for taking a sip instead.
“Just what? Did any of the crew give you a hard time?”
“No, not at all. Quite the contrary, this is, hands down, the best crew I’ve ever worked with.” Nat took a deep breath before giving Steve a flash of a smile. “Actually, I think you’re the best to talk about my real dilemma here.”
“How so?”
“You first met Peggy on a set as well, right?” Steve gave her a nod, a fraction before his eyes went large in realization of what Nat was implying. “Well, looks like I’m heading down your road now.”
“You and Clint?”
“Yup, and the reason for me making a dash across the set was that I was, more or less, eavesdropping on a conversation of him with Phil Coulson. A conversation where they mainly talked about me, and where he told Phil that he could imagine a future with me.” She got up again, starting to walk back and forth. “I… I…”
“What’s so terrible at this thought, Nat? Especially when you apparently feel the same for him?” Steve asked, and for a moment, Nat was torn between hugging and throttling him.
“You know the story of my life, Steve. I’m damaged goods, and if the slew of short-time partners and affairs I left in my wake so far is anything to count for, it’s that I’m apparently not made for a working long-term relationship.”
“It also could be that you just haven’t met the right one, until now.” Now it was Steve’s turn to heave a sigh. “Could you please sit down again? You’re making me dizzy with all this.”
Natasha did as told, though her right foot kept jiggling - unusual for her, since Madame B, her ballet teacher, drilled that out of her from the very first day on.
“Look,” Steve continued, “it might sound crazy, but I was feeling the same when I met Bucky for the first time. I kept thinking that he deserved better, deserved someone who didn’t come with the baggage of a toddler. But he prevailed, and showed me that he definitely wanted me, and not someone else.”
“I really didn’t know that, Steve.”
Well, now you do, and if I was able to overcome these insecurities, you should be able to do it as well. Besides, you don’t have the ‘extra’ of a kid from a previous relationship to factor in.”
“You’re right, I don’t, but I think Clint does.”
“What makes you think so?”
“Towards the end, Phil mentioned someone called ‘Lucky’, and that that person apparently drove away more than one of Clint’s former lovers.” Natasha barely finished the sentence before Steve began to laugh. “What’s so funny, Rogers?”
“You, actually.” He took a deep breath to calm himself down, at least a bit. “Lucky is Clint’s dog. From what I know, he found him tied to a road sign in the Valley, dehydrated to the max and almost half-dead. Nonetheless, he loaded the mutt into his car, drove to the next vet clinic, and together, they brought the dog back to the land of the living, so to speak.”
With a groan, Nat let her head fall down on her folded arms. How could she have been so stupid? In hindsight, Lucky was definitely a name for a pet, not for another human being. But then again, this was Hollywood after all, and not everyone had as much common sense as Steve and Peggy when it came to name their offspring.
“So,” Nat finally began, “you would tell me to go for it, right?”
“Absolutely! And I’d like to think I’m not the only one. Nat, none of us working on this set is blind. We all have seen how much both of you have changed over the course of the principal shooting.” He gave her another of his ‘honest-to-God’ smiles. “And I, for one, love what I’m seeing, in both of you. So, yes, go for it, Nat. You deserve it.”
With that, Steve got up, gave Nat a hug and made his way back to the door - only to stop and turn back to her.
“But, Nat, I call dibs on being your ‘maid of honor’ at the wedding.”
He barely was able to close the door before the empty juice bottle hit it.
*********************
Principal shooting finally ended, and while Natasha was sad to part ways with most of the cast and crew, she actually was looking forward to the upcoming spare time until the premiere. Sure, Maria, her new manager, had sent her some scripts to read and decide on, but she already had arranged with the no-nonsense woman who had taken over from Nick Fury that she was first going on a short holiday before starting to think about her next project at all.
Surprisingly enough, Maria was quick to agree with her, stating with an audible smile that she had heard some rumors “through the grapevine” about Nat and her co-star.
“Knock knock.”
Only two words, but still they were enough to bring Nat back to reality (and her hotel room). Clint was standing in the doorway.
“What’s up, Clint?”
“I…,” he began, his hand going up to his neck, “I was wondering what you’re going to do once you’re checked out of this location.”
“To be honest, not much. First, going home to make sure my cat hasn’t turned the apartment into her own kingdom, then catching up on all the things I missed on stream and cable, and maybe getting some pampering at the day spa. Why?”
“Want some company? I…, “ he sat down at the small coffee table. “To be honest, I’m not really looking forward to go back home to my own apartment. There’s only Lucky waiting for me, maybe Kate, the neighbour who keeps looking after him when I’m working, but these days, she spends most of her time at her girlfriend’s place, so most likely, it’s just the mutt.”
“Clint, I would love to spend more time with you,” Nat replied, and before she could come up with more, she found herself in his arms, his lips claiming hers in a toe-curling kiss.
*********************
The End
*********************