Potential, that was a good word for it, and it made Natasha happy the same way she could tell that it was working on Clint, too. There had been no discussion, no pre-planning, and - even if it was only a kids' restaurant, not even corporate espionage (the easiest kind of espionage), there was something that just felt good about it. How easy it was for the two of them to fall into sync, to trust the other and match what they were given, to build on it. Just the jump and the assurance that the other person would catch them, like success was all but assured.
She had missed this. She hadn't realized how much she had missed this in the last few years, what it felt like to just be best friends. To have fun with each other. Though - maybe that was part of the purpose of a date, too, they were supposed to be fun things to do. Even first dates with all the where'd you grow up what do you do how many siblings any hobbies what are your worst political opinions small talk they entailed.
They'd been past that for years. It made her smile back at him, one that probably could have also qualified as goofy.
"Okay," she said. "So we've got coffee and dessert on the way. We've already done the first kiss. And jumped a couple steps past it. We already know there's not going to be any will he call? mystery at the end of this, because you're very much mine." She grinned, nudging his ankle again. "I think we're great at dating, we're nailing this. Should have been doing this for years, I can't imagine why I never gave one of these a real shot."