This isn't so bad, she thought as she bounced higher on the trampoline, and pulled her ponytail tighter. Barton had left her with instructions to keep practicing on the trampoline. It had taken a couple of days for her to get used to the rhythm and height of it but now she found it relaxing. She closed her eyes, syncing her breath with her movements. Her arms went up as she reached the zenith, her knees tucking to her chest and head tilting back. The world righted itself and her feet struck the trampoline, shooting her back into the air. This time she flipped forward, continuing the exercise Clint had instructed her on earlier that day. Back and forth she went until on a forward pass, she under rotated, the backside of her heels striking the mesh. Her body shot backwards, coming to a stop after a few awkward bounces. She pushed herself up, ready to try again when she heard foot falls against the floor. Brushing some stray strands of hair from her face, she sat on the edge of the trampoline as the Captain approached.

"Jane spoke with me," he said stopping in front of her.

Darcy nodded. "Yeah, she told me she would."

Steve exhaled deeply and scratched his chin, "I don't know what to make of any of this. Sorta out of my wheel house."

"You and me both."

"She seemed alright when we spoke, but is she doing ok?"

"Jane's pretty metal when it comes to compartamentalization. Her frustration usually only manifests as aggressive driving though she does get a little tetchy in the lab and in class."

He smiled, his hands going to his pockets and he looked around the gym. "Was she your professor? Is that how you got on her research team?"

"Uh, negatory. I was a political science major but I needed to versify my CV before graduate school and Jane's project was the only one that was accepting off cycle applicants," replied Darcy and she grinned. "I did hear Jane was a terror as a professor though. Once cut a guy's headphones wire when he refused to take them out in class."

He moved to push himself up on the trampoline to sit next to her. Darcy involuntarily tensed and her heart rate picked up.

Dammit, she internally cursed, realizing her silly crush had indeed taken root. He glanced down at her and she gripped the edge of the trampoline. Flawless skin, chiseled jaw, blue eyes with green flecks...

Damn, damn, damn.

"When we were kids," he said, "Buck and I had this coach that would pick us up and erase the chalkboard with us if we started to get mouthy."

Darcy smirked, thinking of her own high school experience. "My favorite teacher was Ms. Jacobs. She was elderly... or she just seemed elderly to my fifteen year old self. She would point to the board only using her middle finger. I suspect it was a little passive aggressive towards us but we were teenagers and therefore just the worst."

He gave a soft chuckle. "Do you think Sam or Scott would notice if I started doing that?"

"Most definitely," she replied, "but still totally worth it."

They lapsed into a comfortable silence, both just staring at the grey cinder blocks that lined the room.

"Clint thinks you're almost ready to try some field exercises."

"Does he?" she asked with a tone of suspicion. "I swear, I must have done something to that guy in a past life."

"He just wants to make sure you live," he replied good naturedly.

"Yeah, I know. I just wish survival didn't have to hurt so much."

Steve nodded, looking contemplative for a moment. "Yeah, me neither."

He sighed, then pushed back off to the ground. "Check with Foster on the physics and get back to Clint when you're ready for those field exercises. We'll have Wanda to spot you but it's best to be prepared." He started walking and was nearly to the door when he stopped. "I don't know if Thor ever told you, but lifting Mjolnir made you an Asgardian princess for the duration you wielded it."

Darcy's eyebrows shot up. "Really?"

"Yup."

"Well," she said in a measured tone, "That is definitely going on my CV... right underneath 'waitress at Shoney's for two years'."

He smiled and seemed to hesitate before walking out the door.

Steve turned as the gym door clicked shut and came up short when he spotted Natasha leaning casually against the wall. The smiled dropped off his face and his ears flushed as she looked at him. He felt suddenly exposed

"She seems nice."

"Nat," he nodded in greeting, ignoring her previous sentence.

The spy pushed off the wall and fell in step with him. "You know, she's one of the only two Midgardian's to ever fell Thor."

Steve's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "What?"

She smirked at his befuddlement. "It was right after he was cast out of Asgard. She, Dr. Foster, and Dr. Selvig found him and Lewis tazed him... even sent him to the hospital." Natasha shrugged. "He wasn't imbued with his usual powers but I still find it impressive... and the irony extremely amusing."

"The irony?"

She looked at him as if he was daft. "God of Thunder gets his ass handed to him by small human with artificial lightning."

"I see. Who was the other Midgardian?"

Natasha's face lost any of its amusement, returning the flat mask she wore so well. "Banner."

Steve stopped walking, his hand reaching out to touch her shoulder. "You want to talk about it?"

"Nothing to discuss. It was a foolish venture on my part, one that I knew was not going to succeed but that I pursued anyway," she replied dispassionately. "He never trusted himself as the Hulk, and he still loved Betty Ross. The former reason I thought I could counter act. The latter I did not realize until it had already gone to hell." She looked up at Steve, her face confident. "Besides, I don't like the person I was when we were together. I don't run from my responsibilities. I'm an Avenger."

He squeezed her shoulder in support before releasing her. "It's good to have you back."

She smiled, briefly but genuinely, as they started walking again. "So," she said, "When is Tony getting here?"

"No word on exactly when but soon, I'm sure."

"And what about Barnes? Tony won't cooperate if he's around... Tony barely cooperates when everything is copacetic."

Steve sighed, frustrated. "Bucky is back in cryo until we find a cure, at his own request. Hopefully that will satisfy Tony for the time being."

"And how does the team feel about him and Vision returning?"

"They are pretty bitter about their imprisonment and the conditions they were left in. Clint's more angry about what they did to Wanda than anything else, but they all know what's at stake and can put it aside to do their jobs."

Natasha nodded, "Betrayals, grudges, seething anger... what could go wrong?"

Steve gave a humorless bark of laughter in agreement. She reached out and squeezed his arm before leaving him in the hall. He glanced back in the direction of the gymnasium with a sneaking suspicion that returning could chase away his melancholy. He shrugged it off and started for his own quarters.