I plunked myself down on my bed and wiped my sweat drenched hair out of my face. Eight hours of practice and my muscles felt tense and strained. Kicking off my boots with my feet, I stretched out my legs with a sharp pop from my ankle. Standing up, I slightly winced and padded into the the bathroom. Literally having to peel my suit off of me, I tossed it onto the floor and turned on the water to fill up the claw foot tub. I grabbed the body wash from the shower and poured about a half of it into the tub, until it was a lovely soapy mess. Turning off the water, I slipped into the almost scalding water and felt my muscles almost cry out in relief. Letting out a long sigh, I slipped underneath the water and the foam. I slipped back up, just in time to hear a knock at my door as I wiped the soap from my face.
"Come in," I called out, as I checked to make sure the .45 I strapped to the wall facing side of the tub was still there. Hearing the door close, I slid my hand down the side and grabbed the gun without unstrapping it. Walking in was a very smiley Tony.
"Ello love!" He said with the most horrible British accent I have ever heard. "My dad told me all about the mission you and the Capsicle are going on. Sounds exciting." He said, walking over to me and sitting on the rim of the tub. Noticing he was holding a bag, I tried to maneuver to see it over the edge, but he moved it away. "Oh, this is nothing. Just some clothes we thought you might need until you leave tomorrow so you'd have something else to wear besides that suit that looks like it's painted on." He nudged the bag with his foot to where my suit was thrown down on the floor. "I hope you like them," He stood up and headed to walk out, but turned around before he managed to reach the door, "Though I would keep the suit. Cap can't keep his eyes off you in it," Tony gave me an exaggerated wink before almost running out the door and I slid once again under the water, right after I heard the door shut. I stayed in the water until it began to get cold and managed to drag myself out of the tub. Grabbing a towel from off of a rack and nudging the bag and suit along into the bedroom, I closed the door behind me and sat down on the edge of the bed. I threw my dirty suit into a basket by the door, after I grabbed my two knives from the hidden pocket on the inside sem. Untying the bag, I pulled out a t-shirt that held the emblem of Captain America himself. His shield staring brightly at me in the middle of the otherwise black t-shirt. I folded it carefully and threw it onto the bed. Next was a pair of pants that were literally covered in pictures of Iron Man himself in the armor and everything. Going through the rest of the clothes, it turned out it was all merchandise for all the heroes of our part of S.H.I.E.L.D.. Include four pairs of socks, one for everyone except for Clint. I rummaged through it and managed to find something that wasn't totally insane. The Captain America ultimate fan set. The shield shirt that was at the top of the pile and a pair of very baggy, probably guy's, black sweatpants with Captain American written down my left leg in red, white and blue. I tossed the rest of the clothes into the top two drawers of the dresser. Crawling in bed, I stretched out on the bed and rested my hand on top of my stomach. I heard it growl but as I went to move, my muscles groaned in protest.
"Fine then," I murmured as I moved back into bed and laid up against the wall. My eyes shut slowly and the darkness of sleep hit me like a brick wall.
I woke up slowly and groggily, rubbing my eyes as my stomach groaned in hunger. Swinging my legs over the side of the bed, I stretched backwards and stood up. I slipped on the pair of Iron Man socks from the top left drawer and opened the door. Closing it gently behind me, I silently made my way down the hallway. I stopped at the end of the hallway, hearing whistling from the main room. The smell of bacon flooded my nose as my stomach let out a silent groan as I realized that I had to weapon on me. My stomach let out a loud noise and the whistling stopped as I took a slight step back. I heard footsteps approach me and I took a step forward, meeting in the middle with Captain. He was holding a spatula with a death grip as I realized he was unarmed and without his shield.
"Oh, good morning miss," He said, putting down the deadly cookware. "Are you hungry?" He asked, motioning with his head at the kitchen that was in the back of the common room, that I never noticed.
"Oh sure." I said, following him as he walked back into the kitchen and I took a seat on the other side of the island. "What are you doing up?" I asked as I picked up a green apple and spun it within my fingers.
"I can never sleep the night before a mission, you?" He asked, his back to me.
"Hungry. I was going to get something to eat after training but I was too sore to move," I said, as I moved my aching leg to unstiffen it.
"Ah yes. Is it normal for Clint to practice so long? He never works with us, mostly just sits in his nest and shoots down at us sometimes for target practice." He said, chuckling, his back moving underneath his tight fitting t-shirt.
"We've gone for fourteen hours before, I'm never doing that again." I said, smiling as he turned around to look at me. Looking at me with surprise, he placed the spatula down and crossed his arms against his chest.
"Fourteen hours? No wonder you're hungry. I would've cooked you something before you went to bed if you wished," Steve said, a light red bursting on his checks.
"That sounds nice," I murmured as he smiled at me and our eyes met. Feeling my face get hot, I looked down at my apple and spun it around. We sat in silence for a few minutes with him whistling and I humming along. "Steve?" I asked as his humming abruptly stopped.
"Yes, Natasha?" He said, his back still to me.
"Call me Nat. Why did you sound so sad when we were talking about where we got our names? You got that look in your eye," I asked, silence following right after except for the snap and crackle of the bacon. He clicked off the stove and turned around to face me.
"Do you know where I got my strength and training from?" He asked, his face dropping and the air tensing up.
"The United States Military, right?" I said, doubting myself but he nodded grimly.
"I was born on March 4th, 1920." He said, looking directly at me, waiting for the shock. I nodded. "World War II was going on then but I was only sixteen and my mother wouldn't let me go in for service. Of course I didn't need her approval but since my dad died she needed me. She managed to get a job in one of the factories and I ran off to go deploy. I was skinny then, extremely fragile and had a list of medical problems as long as my arm. They accepted me though and allowed me to go through a scientific experiment that would turn me into a super soldier. Later on I realized I wasn't meant to kill Nazis, I was meant to kill Hydra agents,"
"They turned you into a killer?" I asked, looking into his heartbroken eyes.
"I didn't want to kill anybody. I don't like bullies, I don't care where their from," He said, his eyes now fierce and protective, but when losing their sting and retreating back into themselves. Reaching across the table, I took one of his hands in both my mine and his eyes gained that spark again.
"You're one of the lucky ones then," I smiled sadly as he gave my hand a squeeze.
"I would like to hear that story later sometime. If will let me," He asked, nervously as I nodded. He leaned down and kissed my hand as he turned around to go back to the food. As I pulled back my hand, I cradled it to my chest and heard the clanking of dishes and cups. The sweet aroma of coffee filled my nose as Steve asked,
"Coffee? No cream, two sugars?" He asked, sliding me the full mug with a shy smile on his face. Reaching out to grab it, my hands brushed his as I grasped the mug in both hands.
"How did you know that?" I asked, my eyebrows raised.
"The file they gave us, all types of information," Steve said, turning back around and sliding me a plate with two sunny side up eggs, four slices of bacon and cut up strawberries.
"Let me guess," I said, nodding to my plate. "The file as well?" Popping a strawberry into my mouth, he nodded. Turning around to grab his plate, I swirled my coffee around in the mug as he walked over with his plate and sat next to me.
"What information did they give you about me?" He asked, passing me a fork, which I accepted with a nod.
"None actually." I said, picking up the fork and stabbing it into an egg. "What did they tell you about me?" I asked, taking a bite of the egg.
"Everything I think. How you like your coffee, eggs, cereal. Favorite bands are Asia and Kansas. Your history at Red Room," He looked down nervously at this.
"What's your cover if you know everything about me?" I glared at the bacon. "The file I got said I was dropping you off and just watching over your training. In and out. What the hell is S.H.I.E.L.D. up to?"
"Please don't get upset Nata-, Nat. They want me to just get to know you better, apparently they want us to have a..relationship." He looked down and fiddled with a piece of bacon. I took one from my plate and snapped it with my teeth. Placing his hand on my shoulder, I looked over. "I want us to actually have a close relationship. You're a part of the family now Nat. All of us are happy to have you here and I want to get to know you." Steve said smiling as I gave him a weak smile back. Not even here a week and they're betraying me, I thought.
"I'd like that," I said, smiling back, picking up another strawberry and biting into it. He
smiled at me and we ate in silence. His hand was kept on my shoulder as I finished and went to stand and put up my plate. He stood up quickly as I almost ran into him, our chests meeting as the plate fell onto the counter.
"I'll get it for you," He said as I blushed at the close contact. I never was close to anyone but Clint and he was a brother, not someone who wanted to get a close relationship with me. As I tried to ignore the almost lightening feeling that was running down my spine, I sat back down as he grabbed the forgotten plate. As he went to go place the plates in the sink, I went over to the stereo that was in the corner. I started looking through the music. Black Sabbath. Asia. Kansas. Metallica.
"What music do you like?" I asked as I popped in Asia and turned the volume down so that we didn't wake the entire floor.
"I don't really like music," He said, as I swung my hips in time with the beat.
"Well don't you like to dance?" I said, humming along and turning to face him, my hips still having a mind of their own.
"I don't know how," He said as the water turned off and he turned back around to face me.
"I could teach you sometime," I said as I spun around on my heel and did a step here or there. When I raised my head, I saw him looking at me with a small smile with a hint of some emotion that I couldn't place.
"I would like that," He said, stepping out from behind the island. Staring intently out the window, he walked towards me with my coffee mug. "Would you like to watch the sunset with me, Miss. Romanoff?" Steve said, extending my coffee and his arm. Turning down the music, I smiled and took both.
"It would be my pleasure, Mr. Rodgers." We talked out onto the balcony and watched a new day come into the world.