Natasha laughs at that, a little wry but not without real humor. "How I see it, the situation right now is a friend's birthday party—a mutual friend, it turns out. It doesn't have to be more than that if you don't want it to be."

She smiles. "You could tell me how you know Lancelot?"

She says it as an extension of their last interaction, and while it might be expedient for her, she doesn't see it as a problem. If it works best for both of them... sometimes the path of least resistance isn't the wrong path. Especially when it means keeping politics out of a party.

Natasha's not sure how long this tack can last, but she's not above drawing it out as long at it works.