[Her expression is wry and her eyes hold dark shadows, but she lifts her shoulders in a halfhearted shrug.] I did. Eventually. It scared me, though. More than I anticipated. More than when I saw him two years ago. This was up close and personal, one-on-one. It was... let's just say it's been a very long time since I felt that kind of fear.

[And that was hard to admit, to voice the words out loud. She wasn't one who let fear cripple her. She was the one who acted, did what needed to be done. And if she fell apart afterwards, in the silence and privacy of her own dark quarters, that was always her secret, or so she assumed. She was the Black Widow. She couldn't afford weaknesses like that.

Still, she meets his gaze, because he knows her better than most, and she doesn't want to lie to him, not about something like this. The experience had shaken her, was responsible in part for why she'd waded into a war with an unknown enemy, and she knew he'd understand that. Had understood that, even though he couldn't remember the softly exchanged conversation on his bunk. And when he huffs out a laugh, she gives him a crooked smile, because it's good to hear him laugh, to see him smile. That much, it makes some of it feel like it was worth it.]

It would. I'd enjoy the challenge of it. Besides, baffling Stark sounds like a fun new pastime.