It took a lot less adapting to life outside of SHIELD than Annie thought it would. She had not expected it to take much, considering she had slowly grown a hatred with her job and most things associated to it. She knew it would be a pretty smooth adaption from one place to another. Yet she didn't realise just how smooth the transition would feel. She quickly adapted to her role on the staff at the Institute. Even though she had grown up there and been a student herself, she found ease in slipping into the role of mentor and teacher to the young mutants. 

Annie no longer came home from work feeling as though she was at her wicks end. She no longer felt too emotionally drained to do things around the house, spend time with her loved ones. Even if the journey to and from work was longer, that no longer affected her. Nor her ability to function. 

She had very little doubt that her decision would be a mistake. And the last year had proven that it was anything other than this. She hadn't thought back just once to what she might have been doing had she still be working as an Agent at SHIELD. She would probably be on desk duty or something, she wouldn't have ever stepped foot into the field again. Maybe she had thought back once or twice, hypothesised what her life would be like had she resigned her contract. And all Annie could think was that she would not be as happy and content as she was right now. 

Sure there were many things she would have loved to change about her current lifestyle. She would never truly be happy with what she had. That wasn't a real thing human's did. They always wanted something more than they had. All Annie wanted was a nice holiday away with both of her partners that wasn't interrupted by their jobs. For Natasha to say those words they had all been waiting to hear since they had gotten together. And for Clint to put his socks into the washing if he expected them to be cleaned so he could wear them again. She wasn't asking for much, but Annie knew that had she not left life working as an agent in a governmental service she would have wanted much more in life. 

She had also gotten very much used to the reality that she would head home most nights of the week to find the house empty after she finished work. That both of her partners would work much later into the night than she would, and that on some mornings she would get up and they would already be gone. That their interactions were sometimes limited, going a few days without hearing anything from them. That was normal now. She was dating two super spies and was just your run of the mill teacher now a days. It didn't mean it hurt less when she didn't see them so often, especially now considering she knew even less about what they were doing than when they worked together. But Annie supposed that at least she was understanding and tried her hardest in not pressuring them to feel like they needed to spend time at home with her, or they needed to head back to her. 

At least Annie hoped that she never let her partners believe that she desired those things. Of course she desired them being at home with her, but she never voiced that she was unhappy with what time she got with them. Putting that kind of pressure on their relationship was not something Annie ever wanted to do. No matter how much she wished on occasion that when she came home from work that the effort had been made to make her have a nice and relaxing evening. That the others had cooked for her, done some of the housework or something. Not that she would finish work everyday, cook for everyone in the house and then do all the cleaning.

But she would never say anything if it meant keeping them both in her life. 

Maybe that would be her downfall.

Therefore, on one of the few days off that all three had together, a rather nice Saturday. It should not have surprised Annie in the slightest that Natasha was once again being pulled away to work. Annie understood that Natasha was one of the agencies best agents. And therefore, if she was available to do something of course they would chose her over another candidate. But it still sucked watching the red haired woman get all dressed up ready to leave the house on the first proper date day they had in months. 

And Annie knew even if she asked Natasha just to decline the mission this once, it would never go down well. They had been arguing more as of recent, mainly around Natasha's overall input in the relationship. Annie could feel the redhead pulling away as the older woman noticed how domesticated they had become. And she knew that asking Natasha to stay behind, even if it was just this once, it would be the final nail in the coffin. Their relationship was somewhere fragile at this moment in time. Annie never wanted to push it too far for the fear of losing her girlfriend forever. But just some times she wondered just what was holding the older woman back. What was the reason that she was pulling away. 

But Annie let these concerns fall on inattentive shoulders all the time. After all, Clint could not see any problems in the relationship in a whole. In fact he thought at present that their relationship had never been stronger. And it wasn't like she could bring these concerns up to Natasha herself. So Annie would continue to sit and ponder just what was truly going on. As she watched the older woman pack a very small bag before walking out of the door. Not even an acknowledgment to those she was leaving behind. 

Maybe this mission would give them the space apart that allowed Natasha to truly think through what was troubling her. Then they could move onto the next stage of their lives. Whatever that may be. Maybe they'd get a dog. A rescue dog would be really nice.