A/N: So this might be the last update for a couple weeks. Gotta focus on some school stuff, but as soon as that's over I'll have nothing to do EXCEPT write and I am so excited for that. Again, thanks to anyone reading and a standing ovation to those who leave me comments (you're my only source of serotonin).

Chapter #10:

It's an 'I' in Happiness, Not a 'Y'

"Rest your head here, pull me closer

I'll hold you tight while you let go, girl

And I could love you if you just let me

Be the one you, be the one you need, oh."

—Brett Eldredge (The One You Need)

The rest of the week and the next were kind of a blur and it was probably because for the first time in this job I was actually swamped. Pepper had emailed me details about the first gala I was supposed to organize. It'd be on the Monday of Thanksgiving week which meant I had a total of three weeks to plan it since November had already arrived. According to Pepper this would be an easier gala since there was no one to woo or impress. This was simply a gala where they could thank investors and partners of Stark Industries for their work and money. Essentially, I was just planning a giant party.

"Thank you so much again." I hung up with the caterers and marked them off the list I made of people I needed to touch base with to make sure they knew the plans. The gala was in six days and I was stressing a little. Or a lot. I just wanted this to be perfect. The greatest gala to ever be held. I was basically setting myself up for failure with standards like that, but I was determined not to screw this up.

"Hey, Aj." Bruce called from across the room. Tony had been done with meetings for the day, only having a half day since I worked in lab time for him in the afternoon, so I was in my lounge clothes sitting at the large dining table in the shared workspace. All my gala plans were set out in front of me. I wasn't ashamed to admit I gave Tony dedicated lab time because it meant I could work on this uninterrupted. Bruce came over and set his hand on my shoulder as he glanced at the pages in front of me, "I was going to ask if you were busy, but I guess this answers my questions."

I laughed and used my other hand to pat his own, "Nah, sit down, what's up?"

"I just wanted to let you know who I had coming for Thanksgiving dinner. Tony told me you were making a list of guests to keep up with so you knew how much food to order and things like that." Bruce sat down with a shrug. I sat in my seat like a deer in headlights. Bruce called my name again before waving his hand in front of my face, then he sighed, "Tony told us that, but didn't tell you. That makes a lot of sense actually."

"I'm going to murder him." I shook my head. "I am going to throttle that man with my bare hands."

Bruce chuckled, "I won't stop you."

I groaned and rubbed at my face, "Will you please tell me what's happening?"

"Tony wants to have a big Thanksgiving dinner. We had one last year and now he wants to make it an annual thing." Bruce explained. "It's Avengers plus family. He has catering come in with the food and we just spend time together. One, big, really weird family."

I chuckled and pulled out my Stark Pad, opening a new document, "Alright, who're you bringing, big man?"

"I just have one guest. Her name is Betty Ross." Bruce said and I wrote his name and her name down. "She's actually coming in for the gala too. I'm excited for you to meet her."

I gave him a suggestive eyebrow wiggle, "So she's the girl, huh?"

"Yes. She's the girl Tony doesn't stop making fun of me about." Bruce chuckled.

"Well, I got it down." I grinned. "If you head up to the lab can you tell Tony to come down here? I'm gonna make him walk to his own death because I don't feel like getting up."

Bruce laughed and gave my head a small pat before leaving. I sighed and glanced down at the watch on my wrist. It was only 12:30 which meant I still had time. Tonight, I was going over to Amber's place for dinner again and I was supposed to be there by 5:30, but I still had food to make. Last time I had told her I'd bring something because I didn't want to come empty handed again, and she said she was excited to see what I made. I had been planning on buying something at the store, but now I felt like I had to make it myself.

That should be interesting.

Tony must have come down from the lab in the opposite direction because he was now coming out of the kitchen toward me with two warm mugs. He gave me a big grin and set mine in front of me. He pointed to it, "It's that blend you really like. The one from Guatemala with the hints of orange. I even put in your brown sugar."

"Bringing me the perfect cup of coffee will not save you." I said then pulled the mug into my hands, "But it will prolong your life for a few minutes."

Tony quickly sat down, "I could've swore I told you about Turkey Day plans."

"You absolutely did not." I countered and wrote his name on my Stark Pad.

He pointed to it, "Uh, you spelled my name wrong. It's T-O-N-Y Stark, not I-D-I-O-T Stark." I raised an eyebrow at him, and he took a sip of his coffee then nodded, "But I guess that's an arguable point. My list is easy. I'm bringing Pepper, Rhodey, and Happy."

"Aw, I finally get to meet Rhodey and Happy?" I asked. So far all I knew about them came from stories and the stories Tony told were usually embellished and exaggerated. Tony pulled out his phone then sent out a text. My own phone buzzed, and I narrowed my eyes in confusion on why he would text me, but when I glanced at it I saw he had texted the group chat about their own guests.

"Who are you bringing, sunflower?" Tony questioned.

I bit back a small smile. I had only grown closer to the people around me, but moments like this where they just assumed I'd be part of the 'Avengers plus family' gathering made my stomach flip. I shook my head, "Um, maybe Amber and her family? Could I do that? I'm really getting close to them so…"

Tony waved his hand, "Course you can." I wrote down their names. "I kind of meant, family wise though. You got anyone coming up from sweet home Alabama?"

"Uh, no." I answered softly then picked up my phone when it buzzed again. Clint and Natasha were bringing Phil Coulson, who I hadn't seen since he took me to Queens, and someone named Maria Hill. Then Clint added that Coulson might bring his kids. "Coulson has kids?"

Tony chuckled, "Yeah. A whole bundle of them. They're usually running missions though." I blinked then realized the children were just more agents. "If he comes he'll definitely bring Skye, probably Fitzsimmons? Melinda May, but she's less kid and more 'scary mom'. I really don't know though. I don't get SHIELD details about whatever the hell they're doing."

"I didn't understand any of that, so I'll just put '+4' by Coulson's name just in case." I replied and Tony gave me a thumbs up. Steve finally texted back and he said he was just bringing Sam. It made me feel really thankful that I had grown close enough to Amber's family to invite them. Otherwise, I'd be the loser with no one to bring. "Is Thor coming? I still really wanna meet the guy."

Tony motioned to himself, "Why? You've already met all the cool Avengers."

"Have you seen his arms? That's reason enough to want to meet him."

He rolled his eyes in good nature then added, "No idea. We really don't get a warning when he shows back up. If he does come though he'll be bringing Jane and Darcy."

I tilted my head, "Those do not sound like Norse names?"

"They're not." Tony chuckled, "Jane Foster is his girlfriend and Darcy is Jane's friend. I've met them once. The last Turkey Day. Darcy is fun, you'll like her. She matched me shot for shot that night."

"Jesus…" I mumbled and wrote down their names. "Ok, I got what I needed from you. Begone."

Tony gasped, "Just like that? You don't wanna hang out with me?"

I leaned against the table with a smirk, "I could always find some meetings for you to attend if you're really that bored."

Tony was gone a half second later and I chuckled to myself before going back to work. Now, I had two parties to plan. Yay.

Natasha knew that Clint was talking to her right now, but she also knew he was going off on wild tangents because he was in a mood. She shifted in the couch she sat on. Her legs hung over one of the armrests while she leaned against the other. Clint was sitting on the couch in front of her messing with some of his arrows while ranting.

A snap popped up on her phone screen and she smirked when she read it was from Aj. The woman had said she hadn't ever really used snapchat. Probably because her phone used to be from the dark ages. Now though, she was getting pretty good at it. Natasha opened the snap to see Aj standing in front of her bedroom full length mirror, her phone covering half her face. She had on a pair of black yoga pants and an oversized gray tank top. Aj held her other hand up in a peace sign and the caption read, 'This is my baking pie outfit also how tf do you bake a pie'.

Aj's hair had grown out to a little past her shoulders and her bangs had grown out as well. She hadn't been kidding when she said her hair grew fast.

"Hey." Natasha turned the phone around to show Clint. He stopped ranting to look at it and his lips twitched up in amusement but fell again. She rolled her eyes and let the picture fade. Natasha took a picture of Clint pouting and sent it back to her.

Clint scoffed, "You're not even listening."

"You're stressing over something you don't need to be stressing about right now."

"Because it's stressful!" Clint replied sharply and Natasha raised an eyebrow in surprise at his tone. He mumbled an apology under his breath before going back to his arrows with a line of frustration drawn between his eyebrows. Natasha set her phone down on the table then crossed the space to sit beside him. She set on hand on his forearm, forcing him to be still, and he let out a sigh, "I didn't mean to snap. I really didn't, Tasha."

She nodded, "I know you didn't." Natasha squeezed his arm. "Is this about what Coulson was talking to us about last week?"

"Skye is gone. Coulson can't find her still and…" Clint shook his head once, "Whatever group that took her or that she went with, however it happened, they're collecting inhumans."

"We don't know for sure that Aj is inhuman."

"No, we don't, but you heard what Coulson said." Clint replied. "They don't care. None of these assholes on the board do. This group that runs 'Afterlife', von Strucker, some other Hydra goon—they don't care. Inhumans are suddenly the new weapon everyone wants their hands on." He tossed the arrow in his hand onto the table and then leaned back in his seat. "They'll take her, put her through terrigenesis, and then either they get their new weapon or they sweep away the pile of dust she becomes."

Natasha shook her head at him, "Clint, she isn't going to end up like Agent Triplett."

"You said it yourself." He let his eyes drift over to her. "We don't know."

"Maybe not." Natasha leaned back in her own seat and rested her head on his shoulder. After a second, he sighed and wrapped his arm around her. Clint leaned his head on top of hers and Natasha smiled. "One thing we do know, is that we won't give anyone the chance to even try. Coulson warned us and now we know to keep an eye out."

"One of von Strucker's shithead goons—"

"HYDRA could be back in town for a number of reasons." Natasha argued. "And intel showed it was only two of them. They were probably just trying to spy on the Avengers. Nobody knows Aj's potential other than us. Her file is safe with the new SHIELD."

Clint still didn't seem convinced. Natasha could still feel the tension in his entire body. She knew, better than most, the kind of responsibility that the archer put on his own shoulders. Clint was a goofy train wreck that was addicted to caffeine and had a penchant for getting thrown into dumpsters, but he was also a strong, loyal, protective agent who would lay his own life down before he let anyone put a hand on the people he took care of.

Natasha was glad he had pulled Aj into their world. Her paranoia and skepticism had evolved into an actual friendship. She didn't look at Natasha like she was the world's deadliest assassin even though she very much was. Aj looked at her like she hung the stars, like she was a role model of all things, and that was something Natasha never considered herself to be. There were other women in the Red Room with her, sisters in arms, and she had even grown close to one, but this relationship was still different. There was no sister from the Red Room that would mock Clint and Tony with her, or let her braid her hair, or learn how to snapchat to please her.

"Nobody is going to touch her, Clint." Natasha said firmly. "And you know she's better off here than where she was. She's happy, Clint." The red head pulled away from him to grab her phone. She swiped at the screen until she got to a photo from a few days ago. Natasha had dragged Aj out for a day of shopping and girl time and this one had been filled with fun and laughter rather than their first shopping trip which was filled with distrust and tension. Aj had taken the picture with her own phone as they walked down the street. Natasha smirked from a few steps behind her while Aj beamed at the camera with a peace sign. She held the phone out to Clint. "You did that. She's happy and that's all thanks to you, Clint. Did you ever think the closed off, brooding woman we first met in that shit hole ring would ever smile like that?"

Clint sat up to take the phone and she smirked when he began to chuckle. He shook his head, "Definitely not."

"You did that." Natasha repeated firmly. "And now the rest of us are going to make sure she stays happy. No one is going to touch her, Clint. No one."

Clint's lips turned up in a lazy smile and he leaned forward to press them against her own. She cradled his face with one hand so he couldn't pull away from her. Clint chuckled against her lips and mumbled, "Still soglad I didn't murder you."

"Yeah, that was one of your better calls, lyubimiy."

I had a weird collection of talents. Obviously, there was the fighting and mouthing off to people I probably shouldn't be mouthing off to, but I could also balance a spoon on my nose and recite the alphabet backwards and I never forgot a face. As I was coming to learn, baking was not one of those special talents. Still, I had already buried an hour into this task, and I was not about to let a fucking pie beat me.

I smashed the dough together again and glanced at the phone to try and figure out what I could add to this mess to make it not fall apart so easily. It was supposed to be a balance of water and flour so I went back to trying to get to the middle of both where the dough would be perfect. Mindlessly, I focused on the task at hand for the next few minutes.

"I didn't know you sing."

"Shit." I spun around in surprise. Steve was leaning against the open frame that led into my kitchen with an amused smile. I had been so preoccupied with being 'Sally Homemaker' I hadn't even heard him come in. I let his words finally hit me, "I wasn't—"

Singing. Had I been singing? It had been to myself, an old habit, but it was an old habit I hadn't indulged in for a very long time. The shock must have been written on my face because Steve pushed off the wall and his smile fell, "Hey, I'm sorry I didn't mean to—"

"No." I shook my head with a disbelieving laugh. "I was singing."

That was another one of my weird talents. It was the only thing I got from my Mom. Unfortunately for me, I took after my absentee Dad while Aubrey got most of Mom's traits. Still, the one thing I had of her was her voice. I could sing just like her. Some of my happiest memories were singing in the kitchen with her while she made dinner.

"I sing when I'm happy, it's an old habit, I didn't even think about it." I mumbled in surprise. The last few years of my life hadn't had very moments where I wanted to sing. It almost felt wrong to…like it would taint my older, happier memories if I even tried. So that gift from my mom, the only real memory I had of her, I had buried under years of bloody knuckles and bad days. It belonged in the past, to a girl I couldn't be anymore. Yet, here I was now. Baking a poor excuse for a pie and singing in the kitchen while doing it.

"You ok?" Steve questioned resting his hand on my elbow.

I laughed with a nod, "Apparently, I am." His smile slowly returned, and I shook my head then pointed at him, "Hey, do you bake? Because, boy, am I struggling right now."

Steve said he didn't bake, but two shitty bakers had to add up to a mediocre one, right? I think that's how the math worked. The two of us stood side by side as he helped me get the dough right, shaped in the pan, and then mix the filling in. He told me about his intel gathering in DC and how Sam was excited for the gala. I told him I had just found out about the Thanksgiving party today and he laughed.

"How did you used to spend Thanksgiving?" I asked. "You know, before all of this."

"I'd spend it with my mom usually. We didn't have much, but she always made sure there was something fresh on the table then." Steve replied, his smile was bittersweet, "After she passed, I usually spent it with Bucky and his family."

I reached out to give his wrist a quick squeeze only to leave apple filling smudged on his arm. We laughed and I quickly grabbed a rag to wipe it off, "My mom would always go big on Thanksgiving Day. Make enough food to feed an army and then invite everyone in the neighborhood to join. It was a huge block party. After she died…" Steve and I had already talked about our moms after a late night of TV shows so this wasn't news to either of us, "I didn't really do Thanksgiving anymore."

Steve shook his head, "Was she your last real Thanksgiving?"

"No, actually." I let out a small laugh. "Granny—er, Rosie, I mean. I call her Granny. She was the lastfoster mom I had. The only one who ever cared. She ran a good home. I did everything I could to annoy the shit out of her." Steve chuckled and I couldn't help but smile at the memory, "Literally, I'd slam doors, curse her out, sneak out to fight and crawl back bloody. Hell, the only reason I started calling her Granny was because I thought it'd bother her."

"But it didn't."

"Nope." I nodded and focused on pinching the edge of the dough around the rim of the pie plate, "Before her, I got kicked out of every single foster home, but she wouldn't let me push her away. Without her… I don't know. I don't think I would've graduated high school or even survived that long."

I moved to pick up the pie, but Steve beat me to it. He pulled open the oven door, the heat radiated out, and then he carefully set it on the middle rack in the center. I picked up my phone to set the timer and then started cleaning up the mess we had made. Steve spoke up, "Where is she?"

"Oh, she's still in Alabama." I shrugged. "She never left. After high school, I left for NYC to do college and she was…she was so proud. I got busy in school, stuck in my own head, and only sent her a few texts or emails every now and again. When I got accepted into medical school, I was going to invite her up to my white coat ceremony as a surprise. It happens after the first few weeks of school, but you know that story." I shrugged and set the dirty utensils in the sink. "Once I got back in the ring, I couldn't face her again. She worked so hard to drag me out of the ring down south and turn my life around, and I thanked her by jumping headfirst into one that was worse. She'd be so ashamed if she knew."

Steve shook his head with a frown, "Hey, don't think like that." He held my gaze. "If she's as great as you make her out to be then I have a feeling she wouldn't feel that way at all."

We moved onto a much lighter topic as we waited for the pie to bake. I knew technically I could leave the kitchen since there wasn't much I could do right now for it, but a part of me was scared that if I stepped away it would burst into flames or something. That'd be about my luck. As we reached the halfway point, I peeked into the oven to check on it again. I was like a new parent refusing to take their eyes of their newborn. Under my breath, I mumbled another song and this time I was aware enough to pick one.

"Wait." Steve shook his head, he was leaning against the counter. He had left to clean up and change into a pair of joggers and a plain shirt, but he surprised me by coming back down after he was done. "Is that…Are you singing a country song?"

I was surprised to hear the judgement in his voice and gaped at him, "Hey, leave my country alone. I don't make fun of your music taste and you grew up listening to Jazz."

"Jazz is good."

"So is country!" I argued then shook my head, "It gets a bad rap, and there are a lot of songs I'll admit are modernized and repetitive. I'm not crazy about the pop and country fusion, but you of all people should like country."

Steve motioned to himself, "Me? Why should I like country?"

"You're from the 40's!"

"Again, wrong era." Steve chuckled. It was a running gag that'd I'd name something completely from a different time and ask if he partook in it.

I shook my head with a laugh, "I'm not doing the bit, I'm being serious. The 40's was all about dancing, right? Swing Music and that romantic shit."

Steve let out a bark of laugh, "Yes. We had swing dancing and that romantic shit."

"Well, in this day and age, old timer." I pointed to him and he just grinned back at me, "Dancing has changed a bit. I don't have you pegged as the kind to break down at the club to hip hop or techno."

Steve's eyes widened marginally, "You're right on that. Learned from experience."

I snapped my fingers, "Ok, that's a story I definitely need to hear, but moving past it to the task at hand…Country is something you can dance to."

"Country music?" Steve chuckled. "I can dance to country music?"

"Again, I don't appreciate the tone…but, yes. We got line dancing, which I guess is our version of swing dancing…sort of." I said and he raised an eyebrow at me questioningly. I stood firm in my belief, "And we definitely got that romantic shit."

Steve shook his head at me, still amused, with a smirk, "I don't think I can see myself winning a dame over via country music."

"Ok, is that what we're doing today? Proving your ass wrong?" I challenged and he motioned for me to try. I nodded in determination then grabbed his hand and began to drag him toward a clear space between the dining area and the kitchen, "JARVIS, play 'Tennessee Whiskey' by George Jones please."

A second later the familiar strum of a guitar filled the air and I tugged Steve toward me. His eyes widened, but I put the hand that wasn't holding mine onto my waist and then set my own onto his shoulder. Right now, I was leading since he still looked surprised at the turn of things.

"Do not question my resolve, Steven." I smirked and let us slowly sway back and forth, "I'll defend country to my last dying breath." A slow smile began to spread across his features and he readjusted the grip on my waist, pulling me closer. I could hear the chorus coming and pulled back keeping our hands connected, "Spin me."

Without warning, I spun under his arm with a laugh. He surprised me back though by releasing my hand to catch it with his other and tug me back into him with another spin. Steve caught me back in place with his hand at my waist and mine on his shoulder. Now he was leading.

"Steve, I didn't know you had moves like that." I joked.

He dipped me, making me laugh, and then brought me back up, "There's a lot you don't know about me."

I grinned and began to sing the chorus not able to help myself, "You're as smooth as Tennessee whiskey… You're as sweet, as strawberry wine… You're as warm, as a glass of brandy…Honey, I stayed stoned on your love all the time."

"You have a nice voice." Steve commented.

"Thanks. My mom gave it to me." I said proudly. He spun me again, just like before, before I was pulled back into his arms. I could hear the song coming to a close, we were in the final chorus. "So, have I convinced you yet?"

Steve chuckled, "Maybe I'll try to win a dame over with a country song."

"It's foolproof, I promise." I grinned, "But don't use this one, ok? I'll give you some others to put in your repertoire for wooing women."

Steve raised an eyebrow as the song ended. I stepped back from him with a smile, but he kept his hand in mine, "Why not this one?"

"Well we danced to it already, dummy." I replied. "That means it's ours."

"Ours? R—Right." Steve nodded once, his smile warm, "Right."

I squeezed his hand once before letting it go and moving back to the kitchen, "Now, come on. If my pie burned because I had to prove you wrong I'm gonna kick your ass, Captain." I could feel Steve follow after me as I continued to hum the familiar song. It had been my mom's favorite once upon a time.

Mentally, as I checked the pie, I went through different songs I knew to show Steve. With a good country song the man would be unstoppable. I almost pitied the woman he planned on wooing. Poor thing had no chance.

Tony had taken a break from the Iron Legion to work on a different project and apparently that was the end of the world. Bruce still stood beside him shocked from the news that he wasn't currently working on his baby.

"If you keep your mouth hanging open like that, you'll catch flies, Brucie Bear." Tony said without looking up from the small device in front of him. It was the same technology as the Mark XLV. He was just making it handheld size. Well, watch size was more accurate.

"You've been working on the Iron Legion non-stop why are you—"

"Aj." Tony shrugged. Bruce made a humming noise of acknowledgement and Tony glanced over his shoulder to see a smug look of amusement on his lab partner's face. "Now what?"

"Nothing. I just should've known." Bruce replied.

Tony rolled his eyes, "I wanna make sure the 'Kyle' incident will never happen again."

Bruce raised an eyebrow at him, "She definitely won that fight. You don't want her to beat up her attackers again?"

"No, I want to make it 100 times easier for her to do so." Tony countered. He stepped to the side so Bruce could see what he was working on. The man slid his glasses on and leaned forward to look the devices over. Tony reached forward and tapped the top of the hand sized band and the metal expanded outward on the model hand it rested on into the shape of a fingerless glove. It was thin metal, he couldn't make it too thick or bulky, but it was enough to give their trouble prone friend an edge.

Bruce nodded his head, "That's impressive, Tony."

"Ok, first off, everything I do is impressive." Tony replied and Bruce chuckled with a shake of his head. He stepped forward again to go back to working on the more complicated band of this set. "Right hand is just the glove. Something to cover her knuckles. Left hand though…"

Bruce blinked as he looked over the exposed metal and the wiring, "Are you installing a repulsor?"

"Tiny one, but still a big punch." Tony grinned. "There's no heat in it. It's more of a…deterrent. It'll knock out the issue, but it's one-time use."

"If you increased its overall size you could change that."

"Thought about it." Tony nodded, but then he shrugged, "But it'd be a little bulky for her to wear and I figure the easier it is to wear the more likely she is to never take it off. Plus, the plan behind this is that she isn't battling anyone. She's just giving us enough time to get there ourselves."

Bruce's lips twitched up into a small smile, "Need some help?"

"I was wondering if you came in here to be useful or just to gawk at me." Tony replied with a smirk.

Dinner with the Jones family had been a great affair. It always was. This was third time I had come over to spend time with them just because I really did love their family. Amber was a warm, motherly presence that was calming to everyone around her. Brandon, her husband who worked two jobs, was a little more on the reserved side, but he was kind and welcoming. Mj was always a blast to hang out with. The kid's humor was dry, but that was right up my alley. Tonight's dinner had a few extra guests even. Mj had brought by one of her friends from school, a kid named Peter who was absolutely precious, and I had brought Natasha.

Brought was a strong word though.

It was more she offered to drive me and then invited herself in. I didn't mind it at all, and I knew the Jones family wouldn't either, but it had just been a little odd. It was like she didn't trust me to be there alone. A part of me had worried I had upset her somehow and our trust with each other had taken a hit, but she didn't act like it had so I tried not to take it personally.

Overall, it was a successful dinner. My pie, which hadn't burnt to a crisp in the oven, was praised endlessly and I was not ashamed to say that I preened in that attention like you wouldn't believe. I had even invited the family to the upcoming Thanksgiving Dinner, and they said they would plan for it.

My back slammed into the mat for the ninth time and I groaned, "I think you enjoy this a little too much."

"It's been an hour and I've only flipped you nine times. That's improvement." Natasha chuckled from above me. I rolled back to my feet with a grin. The first time she had offered to spar with me had been less a sparring match and more of me just getting tossed around the room. Never had I ever had my ass so thoroughly kicked before. It felt like I was a rookie again and that filled me with excitement. It meant I had a lot to learn, and I always like learning more in this arena of my life. "What did you do wrong that time?"

I put my hands back up and shrugged, "Challenged you?"

Natasha smirked and lunged toward me again. I went on the defense trying to block every attack she threw at me. The moment she found out that defense was my weakness she said that's what we would work on first. Well actually, it went more like, I told her 'Offense is the best defense' and then she immediately knocked my feet out from under me so I face planted into the mat. Apparently, offense was not the best defense.

"Block quicker and place yourself in the position to counter the attack you just blocked."

"If you stopped moving so fast maybe I coul—"

Natasha knee me in the stomach then grabbed my arm and rolled me over her shoulder. For the tenth time, my back hit the mat. She smirked and I pointed up at her from my spot on the floor, "No need to be so smug, flipping me apparently isn't a challenge for you."

"You're doing well, mladshiy."

I rolled backwards over my shoulder to get back onto my feet, "If that's a Russian dig at my size I'll…" I pointed to her, "I don't know, I can't do anything but get flipped by you apparently."

Natasha grinned, "It's a term of endearment."

"That doesn't tell me if it's a dig at my size or not." I replied and she chuckled before motioning for me to get ready. I groaned, "This again?" She raised an eyebrow at me, and I huffed. "Fine."

I sparred with her or Clint every night, it helped my sleeping trouble since I was usually too exhausted to stare at the ceiling and have an existential crisis. They'd teach me a lot, show me tricks on how to hit harder or faster, and how to actually defend using my body rather than my face. One thing they made clear is that they hated how I escaped from being held down. They had seen the video where I headbutted Helga to get loose and stared at me like I was an idiot. In my defense though… I told them that was a move of desperation and I thought I was dead anyways so why not?

Then they asked me to show them how I usually get out from under an opponent.

Clint got on top of me and I did my usual routine of rocking him over except he did not go over. He just stayed in place above me looking down at me like I had just told him I used chopsticks to eat my soup. Needless to say, they were not impressed by me. Apparently, my usual move only worked because my opponents were untrained and distracted. So now they were teaching me what I should do if I have someone on top of me and I was not doing great at it.

"I think if I just focus on never getting pinned then I'm good." I suggested.

Her response was to lunge forward and quickly take me to the ground before I could even block the attack. I hit the floor, her on top of me, and immediately tried to do a triangle choke hold. Just like they showed me a million times, I grabbed the back of her neck with my hands, hooked my right leg over her left shoulder, then my own left leg over her right shoulder to form that deadly triangle. With teeth clenched, I yanked her downwards, turning my body to the left, and tightened my legs cutting off her blood supply.

Natasha wrapped her hand on my knee, pulling it back far enough to slip her left arm onto my abdomen, then grabbed my forearms and used her entire body to lift me in the air. She brought me down hard and the moment my back slammed into the floor my legs lost their grip and she was able to shove my legs to the side and bury her knee into my gut.

"You're dead again."

My deadly triangle hold was less deadly and more pathetic.

"My legs are too short for this." I groaned and she pulled me to my feet.

"I do fine."

"You have two whole inches on me." I argued. "And you're a superhero."

Natasha chuckled and motioned for me to start stretching, "We'll keep working on it." I stretched my shoulders then bent my body over to reach for my toes. Half the stuff Natasha tried to teach me required me to be much more flexible than I was. "It looks like you and Steve are getting close."

I looked up from my stretch with a grin, "Yeah, he's great, isn't he?"

"He is." Natasha agreed with a nod. She stretched beside me. "How great do you think he is though?"

"Do you want a list of his positive traits?" I chuckled with a shrug. There was a lot of things I thought were great about Steve. I mean, the bar was low when it came to the position of 'guy best friend' since the last contender was Kyle Osbourne. As long as Steve didn't trade me out for a payday then he was doing fantastic. "We're trying to pick a new TV show to binge since we're caught up with the Walking Dead. I'm trying to get him to watch the Office, but he is resisting."

Natasha chuckled and rose to her feet. Once she was up, she offered me her hand and yanked me up too, "Is there anything there?"

I blinked at her in confusion. Anything there? It took me a few seconds to finally understand the question she was trying to ask me. I let out a loud laugh, "Like romantically?" Natasha nodded once and I immediately began to shake my head with another laugh, "Of course not! He's just a really good friend. Neither of us see it like that."

"Are you sure?" Natasha tilted her head. Boy was she reaching now.

I laughed again, "Dude, he's Captain America. He's like the star of every American's wet dream. Girls have his poster on the wall. I know this because in college I took a class with a girl who legitimately had his poster on her wall." I shook my head. "And me? I'm like a sewer rat who—"

Natasha grabbed my arm, tucked her body into mine, and flipped me hard. I groaned at the surprise attack, "I wasn't even ready."

"First rule, always be ready." Natasha said firmly. "Second rule, every time you talk shit about yourself you get flipped. Whether it's here in the gym or one of Tony's board rooms. I will put your ass on the ground."

I rolled back onto my feet, "Aw, come on. Half my humor is self-depreciative. What am I supposed to talk about now?"

"I'm sure you'll find something." She replied as we continued our walk to the elevator. Natasha was right though. I'd always find something to talk about. The trouble was in getting me to shut up. "You're gorgeous. I can name eleven men off the top of my head in this Tower who would trade a kidney to be with you."

I blushed and quickly began to stop her, "Give me a second to think of a response that isn't negative toward me." We got into the elevator and she crossed her arms. I nodded once, "Ok, got it, the truth is… I just don't date."

Natasha looked caught off guard by my answer, "You don't date? When was the last time—"

"A while ago." I shrugged as the doors opened on my floor. Natasha took a step forward so the doors wouldn't close. "Some people in this world just aren't meant to have that—and I don't mean that as a dig to myself! I just…I can't picture it, you know?"

Natasha rested her head against the elevator doorway, "You've been through a lot. That's understandable. I felt very similarly for most of my life…and then I met Clint. Have you considered that you just need the right person?"

"Maybe." I shrugged then rubbed my elbow with my opposite hand, "That's a 'future Aj' problem. Right now, I'm focused on getting my head on straight. It's kind of a full-time job. Again, not a dig at myself! Just an observation."

She chuckled and reached out to squeeze my shoulder, "You did good tonight, and remember—" Natasha stepped back into the elevator and gave me the 'I'm watching you' motion, "—I will not hesitate to kick your ass if I need to."

"Oh, I'm well aware." I laughed and the doors closed. Stretching my arms over my head again, I walked towards my bedroom to get ready for bed. Mentally, I went through the gala check list in my head and my to-do list for tomorrow. After cleaning up and slipping out of the workout clothes into a large t-shirt I had found in the closet, I crashed onto the bed. The lights cut out and I fell asleep quickly with the chorus of 'Tennessee Whiskey' stuck in my head.