I can't actually think of Avengers 2 without speculating what leads up to it so:

Okay, so we know from the Iron Man 3 trailer that Tony's Malibu house is going to go boom. What if there's also that thing with Pepper leading to Tony perhaps not openly acknowledging what the two of them have, but being...better with people. Like we've gone from the Tony of Iron Man needing having just Pepper and Rhodey and keeping them at arm's length to Tony inviting Bruce back to the Tower for fun science times and being so comfortable with Pepper in that opening Avengers scene and being part of a team.

In Captain America 2 I envisage Steve riding around the country, getting to know the new side of Amercia and familiarising himself with what never changes, then he gets called back in by SHIELD and Winter Solider mess happens, in which Natasha is involved, and Steve realises that whilst there are people like Bucky and Natasha that he has always and will always rely on, he hasn't always agreed with the military and he doesn't always agree with SHIELD.

Maybe in Thor 2 Thor goes from "Loki, come home" to "Loki, please don't forget that I am your brother" because he realises that he doesn't agree with everything on Asgard, that there's a lot to learn in living on Earth and he'd rather learn there than just be a carbon copy of his father.

Ant Man doesn't happen. Or if it does, Ant Man happens so that Janet/Wasp can show up, a fashion designer superhero, who bonds with Jane and Darcy, and happens to know Bobbi and the ladies dominate the film in the best fooled!ya movie twist ever. (Hey, I can dream.)

Meanwhile on the SHIELD tv show Maria is running everything, Fury messes with the WSC, Coulson is apparently not dead, random Agents chat around the coffee machine about how much mess the Avengers made, the WSC, damage control, other Agents, and other wonderfulness. A surprise!Clint listens in from the airducts. BECAUSE.

So that when we get Avengers 2 Tony is moving into New York, the Tower or the mansion, and really open to having a team!family, Steve wants to help people but not the SHIELD way, Steve and Natasha have bonded and Bucky is along for the ride, Thor is looking for a worthwhile way to be on Earth and learn whilst helping others, we have awesome ladies, and all of them have concerns about being connected to SHIELD, mainly because of the WSC. A Big Bad draws them all together - the credits sceen in Avengers suggests Thanos, but whatever THE MAIN THING is that they all come back together and move in to live with each other! Because there was a single A on Stark Tower at the end of Avengers and I consider that a promise, Joss!

As for Clint and Natasha...I see Natasha bonding with Steve, if only because Bucky is a friend of both of them and they had to deal with stuff in Winter Solider together, and Clint bonding with Tony and Bruce whilst Natasha's away, maybe being the SHIELD liason to Tony when all the mess in Iron Man 3 goes down, because Coulson is dead and a lot of people in SHIELD don't want to work with Clint and he and Tony know each other. I'm with the people above who said they'd rather we get subtle Clint/Natasha or it's left to our imaginations, I think. But in a way that I want everyone bonding with everyone else, sparks flying as they clash and realise that won't stop them from a team!family, and...can we have everyone speculating on Clint/Natasha? What if it became like a running gag of sorts, where everyone has an opinion but Joss never gives us anything completely sure? Because that would make me laugh a lot and sail this ship with glee.

Ant Man doesn't happen. Or if it does, Ant Man happens so that Janet/Wasp can show up, a fashion designer superhero, who bonds with Jane and Darcy, and happens to know Bobbi and the ladies dominate the film in the best fooled!ya movie twist ever. (Hey, I can dream.)

YES! THIS! Want so bad.

can we have everyone speculating on Clint/Natasha? What if it became like a running gag of sorts, where everyone has an opinion but Joss never gives us anything completely sure?

With even the camera getting in on the act? Like when they all get their call to arms, Natasha is sleeping on the right side of a bed with x color sheets, and Clint is sleeping on the left side with the same color, but you never actually see them together.

ALL THE LADIES :D

Oh gosh, yes! And like Tony sniffing their hair to see if they use the same stuff and Natasha giving him a look and then Clint sniffing her hair later to see what the big deal is and he does not get a look. Just lots and lots and lots of little things to tease the hell out of us. Which Joss does so well and I'd rather he did that than any of the other things Joss Whedon does so well with couples, heh.

That would be not only hilarious and fun to watch, but it would give us so much fodder for stories. There could be so many moments that serve as jumping off points for speculation on what is going on behind the scenes with these two.

Oh my, yes :D ...I am just basically asking for fanfic fodder, aren't I? OH WELL.

.... and this is why Hollywood should just hire fanfic writers/people from this bar to write Phase 2 for them ;) Or at least consult, yanno? ;) While I have faith in Joss,etc its little moments like those that they may not think of, but they're things that would make the movie a lot more enjoyable for the audience/folks at this bar (which, lets be honest, is a fairly large chunk of their audience ;)

In short, yes to everything you said! Especially the part about more badass females XD

All of the ladies! Maybe Avengers 4 will be about how the women/ love-interests rescue the men after they do something silly. Especially if Potts becomes Rescue...

And the fanfic trope where Clint is the only one who gets to call Natasha "Nat" or "Tasha" could definitely get some play.

And Steve becoming awesome friends with Natasha and Tony asking him if he's jealous, and Clint laughing at him.

OH THAT IS A THING I HADN'T THOUGHT OF in all of the speculation surrounding Iron Man 3. Pepper taking matters into her own hands, because if she's gonna worry about Tony might as well worry along side him :D ...but I think that is not this Pepper for me. Not that she couldn't, just that I see her as being the CEO of Stark Industries and being kick-ass great at it, so she probably doesn't have time to be Rescue.

Y'know, for an ATTF that's meant to be Avengers 2 thinky thoughts, I'm just sat here wanting Pepper, Natasha, Darcy, Jane, Janet, Maria, and any and all other ladies who'd like to join in to get screen time together, heh.

And Steve becoming awesome friends with Natasha and Tony asking him if he's jealous, and Clint laughing at him. YES!