Hope everybody had a good holiday weekend!

Happy reading!

Chapter 4:

Nightmares

and

Russian Lullabies

Natasha lay awake, finding she could only stare at the ceiling, rest not coming easily. Of course she would blame the jet lag among other things. Establishing her cover for the mission she currently had on her plate, on top of the one she had just finished, was especially tiring having to travel all over. Anywhere from Tokyo, Italy, France just to name a few. She also was currently working on a degree at USC, thankfully most of it was online and it wasn't too much of an issue.

The woman took a deep breath, trying to will her eyes to close. However, she soon sits straight up, noticing that the apartment seemed loud. From Harlow's movements earlier, she knew the girl had went to bed hours ago, making sure the t.v. was off. However, something was disturbing the peace of the living space and it didn't look like Natasha was going to get any rest until she investigated.

Her feet were silent on the hardwood as she concealed a taser disc in her left hand, no need for another weapon. After all, there were quite a few hidden all over the apartment, not to mention Natasha's training made her a weapon as well. Green eyes took in the dimly lit kitchen, no dirty dishes in the sink, garbage discarded. Blankets and shoes were put away, movies back on the shelf in their proper places.

"...Hmm..." Natasha hummed in amusement, finding that her unwanted roommate had cleaned up. She had noticed when she came home after the debrief, being as observant as she was, but her mind had been too busy sorting through mental files to keep it at the forefront of her thoughts.

"...Please..." She heard a voice cry out, full of pain and tears. A knot seemed to wrap around Natasha's heart, reminding her of all the nightmares she had herself when she had first started at Shield after Barton and Fury deprogrammed her. Sh*t she still had them, but she told no one, just dealing with them on her own.

Something about this word cutting the silence drew the older woman to the girls room, silently and effortlessly opening the door. She set down the taser disc down on a nearby hall table behind a picture frame, before entering Harlow's room. Moonlight poured in through the open curtains, illuminating the figure tossing and turning in the twisted blankets.

The girl panted and Natasha noticed the sheen on her forehead, along with soaked strands of hair. Her chest was moving up and down quickly, almost as if she had come in from jogging. As she dared to move closer, she noticed the tear stained pillow case receiving new splotches as tears fell from round cheeks.

"...Please...Please.." Harlow choked out in a sob causing Natasha to frown, her brow furrowed in thought. '...There was no one to know...' her brain mused as she calculated what to do. The woman dared to carefully sit on the side of the girls bed, swallowing hard before her voice entered the air.

Soft singing in Russian reached the girls ears, something about it seemed familiar. It was almost heartbreaking how sad the voice sounded, but it was also comforting as it cut the nightmares in half. Harlow's breathing soon returned to a normal pace and her mind quieted.

Natasha ran a hand through her tangled hair, trying to push it out of her face. Her singing had slowed to a stop when she noticed the girl seemed to settle, tears non existent now save for the stained trails on her cheeks and pillow. This seemed to be a sign that the red-head was no longer needed and she silently left the room, closing the door behind herself. Once she returned to her own room, she found sleep came a little easier, her aching muscles thankful for the rest.

"..Ugghhh..." Harlow groaned sleepily as she turned over in her bed, a bit of noise disturbing her. She fought to open her eyes, haphazardly reaching for her phone on the nightstand. Her body flinched at the sudden influx of light before her eyes adjusted to it.

4:00 am

This was definitely not what she was wanting, to be awake two hours before she needed to be. Her daily training didn't start until 7:00 and it was bad enough she had nightmares through the night until something she couldn't place chased them away. Harlow's ears picked up on the noises again and frowned as she drew her blankets back, getting out of bed.

Her clothes were twisted and at some point in the night, she had lost a sock somewhere, her bare foot cramping up on the floor. The blonde hair that had been put in a messy bun before bed was tangled around her pony tail, tugging at her scalp. Overall, she felt uncomfortable and irritated by it all on top of the disturbance.

Blinking slowly, she made her way out of her room, a yawn spreading across her face when she entered the hallway. Her tired eyes found her roommate awake, working on crunches in the living room. Frustration bubbled in her stomach, making her face hot as she made her way to the kitchen, grumbling all the way.

"...Who in their right mind works out this early..." Among other obscenities which weren't lost on the red-head continuing her reps. It was only fair since the girl had disturbed her earlier in the night, though she knew it wasn't intentional. Natasha counted silently, listening to the girl get into the cabinets for a glass, soon pouring herself a drink. A stool squeaked as the girl sat down, drinking a large glass of almond milk, praying it would help the tiredness return.

Her eyes drifted to the figure that made her way to the bathroom door to a pull up bar, watching as Natasha continued her workout without signs of stopping. Harlow was even more exhausted just watching her...How did she have the energy to be awake this early?

'It's almost inhuman...' the girl thought, as she took another drink of milk.

Natasha also studied the girl,who had been watching her before turning her eyes to watch her fingers trace the lines in the marble on the kitchen island. It looked as though the girl had done even more fighting in her sleep judging by her crumpled appearance. She had wanted to read the girls files initially but Fury had denied it, stating that there was nothing to be gained from it. When the woman tried to hack into it after her debriefing, surprisingly, she had failed as a new encryption had been put specifically over top of Channing's file.

"Screw it." Her voice rasped out loud, briefly catching Natasha's attention, though the girl blocked it out. Harlow finished her milk, but the tiredness didn't return as she had hoped, waiting several minutes after. She got off the stool, stretching briefly and a few joints popped in protest at the movement. The blonde meandered to her room and after ten minutes, she came back out with headphones in her ears. The girls hair was slightly more tamed and she was dressed in workout clothes and a warm jacket, soon heading out the door ignoring the long observing stare from the red head.

As the cool morning air hit the girls bare legs, she gave into a brief shiver prompting her to zip her jacket up further. Streetlamps lit up the road and the sidewalk, the world quiet save for the crickets that chirped as Harlow began jogging her way to Shield HQ. Her thoughts stayed still, not really concerning themselves with much of anything.

Her breath came out in plumes of white as she warmed up, the familiar burning in her lungs. Although, after a month of training thus far, it didn't feel so unwelcome. It reminded her that she was still alive, that she was bettering herself for the people she would one day save. At least that was a good way of looking at it anyway.

Soon, the familiar towering building rose into her view and Harlow slowed to a walk, allowing herself a brief respite to catch her breath. As she approached the doors, she reached into her pocket feeling her phone, but not her key card.

"You've got to be kidding me." She groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up, feeling a presence behind her, her key card soon thrust in her vision. Harlow looked to her left to see Natasha standing there.

"Can't get in without this."

"Thanks."

"Don't strain yourself." Natasha told the younger girl at her mumbled attempt. Harlow took the key card, scanning it and the doors promptly unlocked.

"Hadn't planned on it." She told the older woman as she opened the door, barely holding it open long enough for Natasha to get inside. Harlow picked up her pace, longing to put a bit of distance between her and the red-head. Both of them felt their nerves being grated on by the other, unaware of the thought they were having was one in the same.

'I sure hope Fury knows what the hell he's doing.'