My door is wide open. Welcome!

Trick or treat!

Well this was a first. In all the years Clint Barton and Natasha Romanoff had been partners at S.H.I.E.L.D., they were always in close proximity to each other on October 31. Not always on a mission, but never a continent, or two, apart.

It was bad enough that Fury sent Clint on his latest mission solo. It made sense given the delicate nature of the objective, Natasha had to admit. But she also believed that any mission could benefit by having them together. Working together, she emphasized to herself.

And it was Halloween. As ridiculous as it was, she and Barton had developed a little tradition. Each year one person provided a treat of some sort for the other. Nothing big, of course, and the cheesier the better. This year was her year to receive. Except he was crawling around in the sand and she was on assignment guarding a high-ranking diplomat during a state dinner. The dinner ended two hours ago, as did her responsibility, but she would be keeping the five-star hotel room until two minutes before check-out time.

As she propped up the luxurious pillows to begin reading that best-seller Pepper recommended a few months ago, a knock at the door raised her suspicion. "Room service," called the muffled voice.

Natasha pulled her robe tightly around her, picked up her pistol, and moved silently to the door. "I didn't order room service," she replied.

"Compliments of a third party, I believe. If you are refusing the delivery, please let me know. It will leave an awful mess out here otherwise," said the concerned voice.

Slipping the pistol into the pocket of her robe, she peered out the peephole. There stood a bellboy with a tray. On the tray was the most decadent looking ice cream sundae she'd ever seen. If this was hit, she had to appreciate the bait. She couldn't refuse.

She opened the door, snatched the sundae and all the accessories from the tray and slammed the door. "Thank you. I'll have your tip added to my bill at checkout tomorrow."

"Thank you, miss," said the young man as he walked away.

Sitting between the spoon and the napkin was a hand-written note on the hotel letterhead. It read simply: "Trick or treat." As Natasha walked back over to the bed to enjoy her treat, she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. She was smiling. This was a rare and genuine and actual smile. She told herself it was because of the ice cream. No sense ruining the moment by over thinking it.

Before savoring the first bite of caramel ice cream drizzled with hot fudge and having to wipe real whipped cream from the tip of her nose, she whispered into the air, "Happy Halloween, Clint Barton, wherever you are."

**Hope you liked it. Happy Halloween to you!! Also, have a virtual handful of your favorite candy!! **

Edited 2015-10-31 12:36 am (UTC)

Love it! And mmmh virtual peanut butter cups - almost as good as the real thing!

So glad you liked it! I enjoyed a dozen few of those real peanut butter cups this evening. Nothing like the real thing! ;)

Aw, sweet! :)

Trick or treat!

Happy (day after) Halloween! This was supposed to be a bite-sized treat, but turned into a full-sized candy bar.

The Reading (http://archiveofourown.org/works/5126696)

Aww thank you! It was really sweet. :)

Treat please :)

Happy Halloween! Here's a sugar rush for you. Hope you enjoy it.

Waking Up Zombie (http://archiveofourown.org/works/5118686)

Thank you for the tasty treat :D

Trick or treat!

I tried to get this treat to you before the end of the weekend, but the forces of evil conspired against me. You shall have something soon. Until then, Happy (day after) Halloween!

Hey, no deadline, no rush! Just be sure to kick some butts of forces of evil. ;) I'll be here when you're done with them.

Clearly, those forces of evil (in the form of a poorly managed firm forcing me into part-time pay and full-time job search) are still conspiring against me. I'm hoping to take a break next week and be inspired to write something worthy of your wait. :)

It looks like you have a lot of treating to do, so I'll just leave a hug and good wishes at your door!

Wait! Wait! *chases you down the street while throwing bite-sized Twix bars at you* It's not much, but here's a three-sentence fic for you…

As they left the theater after watching a 007 double feature on Halloween night, Clint Barton casually slung his arm around his partner and mused, "I wouldn't mind teaming up with that James Bond guy on a mission or two and ya know, I think you'd make a helluva Bond Girl, Tash."

Natasha Romanoff rolled her eyes, pulled closer to him as they walked and replied, "I don't see a whole lot of cooperation happening between S.H.I.E.L.D. and MI6 and, while it might be fun to toy with James, I much prefer spies who hate wearing suits, like eating pizza at home, and whose weapon of choice is a bow."

He smiled sheepishly, wrapped his arm tightly around her and said, "Well, take THAT James Bond, but I do gotta say that I bet they'd call us in if there was a really nasty scenario, like, say if an alien creature was stalking the streets of London or something like that."

Awww -- ficlet, no! How could I have missed you???? That is awesome.

And who'd think of alien creatures stalking the streets of London, huh. ;-)

PS: I am SO behind on my Halloween treats, they'll be brought by the Easter Bunny!!

Glad you liked it. I don't normally point out my own stuff, but wanted to give you credit for the inspiration.

And it's ok -- Easter Bunny is worthy. ;-)