In the field, nothing had changed. Clint covered Natasha with thorough precision; Natasha fought beside him seamlessly in hand-to-hand. If the other Avengers only saw them on the field together, heard the way they interacted while working, they would never think that anything was different.

But off the field, sliding out of gear and breaking down, even passing each other in the halls of the Avengers Tower or sitting on the couch during movie nights, something painful and nameless stuttered between them. Their silence seemed less of a bridge and more of real distance.

Polite, sideways inquiries yielded no useful answers. Direct questioning—"Hey, what's wrong, you two? Did you fight?"—earned only unreadable expressions and continued silence. They didn't avoid each other, but neither did they seek each other out.

"And let's face it, cap," Tony added after his latest failed attempt to draw them out, "that means something's the matter, and for the sake of the team, we shouldn't let it lie."

While it didn't affect the team, Steve told him to let it lie.

(rest on AO3)