A/n: Hey guys. Who's seen Age of Ultron? I haven't... yet. Oh, but I will. As soon as I can find the funds to see it, you bet your Asgardian armor I'll see it. Haha! Summer break has officially started for me and I can't wait to do all this writing! Anywhoozles, onto chapter ten! Hope you guys enjoy.
Chapter 10
Raylin's POV
Bruce's breathing slowed at hearing my words and I mentally sighed in relief. The hand I had placed on his shoulder could still feel him trembling slightly from the stress his body was in. As soon as I had seen Bruce leaning up against the wall, a pained look on his face, I knew that the Hulk was trying to come out and I leapt into action. "Concentrate on my voice, Bruce. Take deep breaths and count to ten slowly. I'm right here with you." I watched his back rise and fall with each deep breath he took. Even after it had been well past ten seconds, he continued breathing deeply and I knew that he was going to be okay. When he made to stand up straight again, I moved my other hand to his side and helped him. "That's it. You feeling better?"
"Much. Thank you, Raylin." he answered, looking up at me with a hint of a smile on his lips. My heart fluttered in my chest and I looked away from him for a moment, hiding the blush that had risen to my cheeks. I loved his smile, however small it may be. "I was just coming to look for you, by the way. You have heard the news, haven't you?"
"That Loki has my sister?" Bruce looked surprised and I laughed. "Hayden Adams told me as soon as she had the chance. She was the one who figured it out and Fury has her working on it now. We're pretty much best friends." It had been a shocker, since he was supposed to be on Asgard, taking some form of punishment. When she told me, I was glad that it had been her who found out instead of someone else. She deserved the honor and attention for the hard work that she put into it.
"Good because Tony and I may be able to track down where Loki has your sister." Without a single thought, I threw my arms around Bruce and hugged him tightly. This news was beyond relieving. I now had a stronger sense of hope for my sister's return. If Bruce was able to help find her and bring Loki to justice, I would be forever indebted to him. "Um, Raylin? Can you let go of me?"
A blush crept over my cheeks and I let him go, staring down at my shoes. "Sorry. I got a little carried away." I looked back up at him with a soft smile. "Thank you, Bruce. You have no idea how much hope you have given me. If only I could share that hope with Gabby..."
"Listen, Raylin." Bruce said, staring at me straight in the eyes. "I swear that I'll do everything in my power to find your sister. I know how much she means to you." My heart fluttered in my chest and I wanted to hug Bruce again, but a voice interrupted.
"Raylin, this is Harmony." I grabbed my radio from my hip and held it tightly in my hand. "Agent Romanoff just came looking for you. She wanted to remind you of your training session today. Which, by the way, is in five minutes."
"Crap!" I exclaimed, gaining a smile from Bruce. Pressing the button on my radio, I replied. "Thanks, Harmony. I'll head in that direction." Clipping my radio to my hip once more, I looked over at Bruce who had stuffed his hands in his front pockets. "Well, I have to get going, but I'll come to the lab later. I mean, if that's okay with you. Is it okay with you?"
Bruce chuckled at my babbling. "Its fine with me, but Tony might be a... well... you know." I laughed and nodded in agreement.
"Okay. I'll see you later then." With that, I headed off down the corridor towards the training room. Just as I reached the end of the hall, Bruce called out my name causing me to stop and look back at him. "What?"
"How about you join me for dinner again?"
"I'd love to." I said with a smile. Bruce smiled back at me and began walking back towards the lab. As I continued to my training session with Natasha, I felt like today couldn't get any better. Finding out who kidnapped my sister and then the possibility of finding her put a skip in my step. Not to mention the invite to dinner from Bruce. He knew how to hit me right in the chest with that charm. Even if that wasn't he was going for, then at least I had someone to admire as much as I did. It had been years since my last 'crush', if you could call it that at this age.
He was quite the package—smart, gentle, caring, quiet, and to top it all off, he is gorgeous. With those brown locks and thin wire-framed glasses, he could catch the eye of anyone. I could talk with him for hours about anything and everything if that meant being near him. Then there was the Hulk. I wish I could understand him more than what I had seen briefly the first time we met. Bruce didn't bring him up ever and I feared if I did, he would shut me out or get angry. The few people I had asked about him around the Helicarrier hadn't told me much except for how frightening it is to watch him in battles. Perhaps I would bring it up tonight when I visited Bruce for dinner. It would be beneficial to my knowledge to know just how the Hulk works.
"You're late." Natasha frowned. I shrugged my shoulders and gave her a look of 'at least I'm here'. We entered the training room and headed for the sparring mats. "Where were you anyways?"
"Bruce was about to Hulk out in the hall." I answered. "I mean, it would have taken me longer if he had actually hulked out, so just be glad that didn't happen."
Natasha shook her head and gave me a confused look. "I don't see how you can calm him down as easily as you do. The first time he turned into the other guy in the ship, I tried to calm him and it did no good. How do you do it?"
"I don't know. I just sort of talk him out of it." I said, trying to find the words to explain myself. "I suppose I'm just really convincing."
"Apparently. Maybe you should get into hypnotism." Natasha joked. I rolled my eyes and began stretching out. A couple minutes later, Natasha and I began to spar. We'd throw punches and kicks at each other, blocking the other's attacks then attempting to counter. I somehow managed to land a couple good hits on Natasha, but, still being the more inexperienced one, she had the upper hand. After a good fifteen minutes, I found myself pinned to the ground underneath Natasha. "Good. You've gotten much better. I'm actually quite impressed."
Natasha helped me up and I took a couple deep breaths. "Yeah. Me too." I spoke in between breaths. "Is getting out of breath normal?"
"For you, being inexperienced, it is expected, but I promise that when you complete training, you'll feel like you could run a mile after sparring." Natasha said, tossing me a water bottle. I opened it and took a gulp of the cool, refreshing liquid. "Don't drink too much. We still have another match before we're through. I'd hate if I took you down because you got a cramp." I set my water bottle down and turned around to face Natasha, a determined look on my face.
"Let's go." Natasha gave me an approving look and she was quick to start, throwing the first punch. I ducked out of the way and sent a swift kick at her side, managing to catch her. Not wasting my time in celebrating the single hit, we continued our dance of attack, block, and then counter. This match continued for another fifteen minutes and I was starting to get tired. Natasha moved to counter and I found myself dodging out of the way before tackling her to the ground. The unexpected weight of my body pushing against her knocked her down and I found myself pinning her to the ground. "Excellent! That's how you win a fight. I accept my defeat."
I rolled off of the top of her and laid there on the mat, catching my breath again. I did it. For the first time ever, I defeated Agent Romanoff in a fight. "Are we done now?"
Natasha chuckled and nodded. "We're done. Next session will be on Thursday. Same time, but this time we'll be working with firearms." With that, I pulled myself off the ground and grabbed my water bottle. I felt absolutely disgusting, covered in sweat and hotter than the sun. Before I went to the lab, I knew I was definitely going to shower and quickly headed to my room to do just that.
A/n: Well that's all folks! Just so you all know this is post-Avengers and pre-Ultron. Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. I'll update soon. Until next time, my lovelies!