Title: Without Words
Fandom: The Avengers
Characters: Clint Barton, Natasha Romanova, Phil Coulson
Rating: G
Length: 274
Summary: Clint muses on Strike Team Delta


Clint couldn’t help the sigh of relief that escaped him as he settled into the Quinjet next to Natasha, Coulson a familiar presence at his side. They may all be battered and bruised but this was what he knew. It was all so easy when it was just the three of them. Not that the assignments that they were sent on were easy but rather the relationship that the three of them shared made it easier for them to work together.

They didn’t always work together, the three of them. Clint and Natasha, whilst specialist agents were precisely that and could be assigned to any handler who had need of their specialties. Coulson, on the other hand, was the best handler that SHIELD had and also had other demands on his time as Fury’s right hand. The other handlers were good, of course they were because this was SHIELD, but Clint always found it more frustrating to work with them. They didn’t always trust his decisions and he found himself having to take the time to explain himself, explain things that he didn’t have to do with Natasha and Coulson.

That was the beauty of Strike Team Delta.

They knew each other so in sync with each other, knew the best and the worst about each other. They trusted each other implicitly, even to the death, and what would take them ten minutes to explain to another operative, could be communicated in a single look.
SHIELD might be comprised of people who were the best at what they did but Strike Team Delta were the best of the best and together they were unstoppable.