When Maj woke the next morning, she immediately checked her phone and found multiple missed calls from Alec and Wade. The latter was more worried about the situation and why she'd be dragged from home so quickly. Alec on the other hand, was worried about her. It made sense that the pair would call. She hadn't spoken to either of them in over 24 hours, something that wasn't too unusual, but with the situation, Maj was sure they only wanted to ensure her safety. Not wanting to cause the two any more grief, she quickly fired off a text to both of them and rolled out of the bed.

It was twenty minutes before Maj was ready to start her day. She returned to the bed, sitting down in hopes that Natasha would show up. She hadn't eaten since the afternoon before and she was starting to feel the effects. She hoped the redhead would be by soon, as Maj really didn't feel like having to hear a lecture about not staying put or listening. She'd had enough of that to last a lifetime.

More time passed before there was a knock on her door. By the time it had come, the young woman was already standing at the door, hand on the knob. She pulled the door open, a scowl on her face. "It's about damn ti- Oh! You're not Nat."

"Last I checked. Have you eaten yet?"

Maj shook her head. "I woke up a while ago. Been waiting on Big Red to come and give me permission to leave the room." Bruce raised an eyebrow. "I wasn't supposed to leave the first time, remember? I'd rather not deal with her wrath. I probably should wait for her. If she saw me with you, she'd know I left."

"I doubt she'd say anything. You have to eat, right?"

"You don't know her, Bruce. While she's all for breaking the rules, when it comes to me, I'm meant to follow them. I've dealt with it for years… and I really don't want to-"

"Maj, don't worry about Agent Romanoff. If she gets upset, I'll talk to her." Maj stared at him, not sure why he was willing to do something like that for her. I mean, sure it was nice of him to offer, but he was just a scientist and Nat was a spy. When she voiced her thoughts, the man gave her a look akin to shock before he seemed to compose himself. "Well, I'm sure she wouldn't want to hear me talk."

"Probably not." She peeked her head out, looking to see if her pseudo-guardian was anywhere in the area… or hiding somewhere. When she saw nothing, Maj met Bruce's amused eyes. "What? She is a spy." The man chuckled before he slowly walked off. With a sigh, Maj shut the door behind her and followed after him.

When the two made it to the cafeteria, Maj was surprised to see just how inclusive all the food was. She probably shouldn't have been that shocked, but she figured the food would have been generic but decent. Bruce seemed to have a similar notion as he looked around. At least she thought it was surprise.

As they walked to the buffet style table, Maj couldn't help but notice that many of the people watched Bruce or seemed to avoid him like the plague. She couldn't see why they would do so, but she also noticed how his demeanour changed. The man hunched in on himself and kept his head down. Not wanting him to feel excluded or any more uncomfortable, Maj wrapped her arm around his and pulled him towards the food table.

The pair dished their share, with Maj having almost as much as Bruce, and found an empty table off to the side. She still saw people staring their way, but the young woman paid it no mind. She didn't care for the looks, but if someone said a thing to Bruce, she was going to have words with them. That was one thing she wouldn't stand for, especially when the man had been nothing but nice to her. Since she'd been on the ship she'd been ignored and left alone and he was the only one to speak to her, even if she had edged into his lab.

Majalia did her best to distract Bruce from the stares, but the man couldn't shake them off. She felt bad for him, as he really didn't deserve it. The moment they finished eating, Maj pulled the man off, sending glares at those who dared look at him. Upon entering his lab, the young woman began to ask about a few of the things he was doing. Bruce was patient enough to answer her, but Maj knew he wasn't particularly interested in the distraction but she still tried to pull him out of his head. When it got to the point that she found herself annoying, Maj rushed to her room and returned with her phone and earbuds. If he didn't want to talk, she would just be a silent companion.

It was around five thirty when Majalia decided that it was time for food. She stood, removed the earbuds, and stretched, popping the many stiff joints in her back. Bruce was still typing away at the computer, although he was muttering to himself. She sidled up next to him and tapped his shoulder. The man started a bit, but gave the woman a small smile. "Hungry?" He shook his head. "You know, I don't actually believe you. I mean, you probably don't want to deal with them staring at you."

"Maj."

"You have to eat. How about we grab the food and try to find a kind of secluded place? I mean there's not a lot of places where people aren't, but I'm sure there's somewhere they won't be blatant with their staring," Maj gave an encouraging smile. She really hoped he would take her up on her suggestion. A part of her knew she was being a little selfish, but Majalia also had a feeling the man wouldn't do a thing he didn't want to.

"All right. Fine. I think we can find somewhere."

It didn't take long for the pair to grab their food and find a place to sit. As dangerous as it was, they settled down on the edge of the ship. Maj spent most of the time rambling about random things as they ate. Although she'd only just met Bruce, she had picked up that he was a quiet soul but witty. Maj found herself laughing the few time he'd interject. She enjoyed his presence, but she wished she knew what was going on.

After they had thrown away their trash, the pair decided to walk around the ship. Maj was interested in seeing what else there was. She had a small fascination with planes and to be on a carrier gave her the perfect opportunity to inspect them. As she moved to look at one of the planes, Bruce was near the carrier's edge, looking over into the water. She knew it was probably a bad idea, but with him so close to the edge, Maj decided to surprise him. Quiet as she could, she slunk over his way, but she never reached as a voice called out for the curly haired man.

"Doctor Banner." Bruce quickly turned to face the voice, but not before he raised an eyebrow at Majalia. She shrugged and walked with him. The young woman stopped in her tracks when she saw the icy glare she received from a very familiar red-head. "Majalia?" Her gaze left the woman to the man.

"Holy shit! Steve? Wh-what are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing."

Before she could reply, Bruce cut in. "Oh, yeah, hi. They told me you'd be coming."

"Word is you could find the Cube."

Maj looked between the men but kept silent. She was pretty sure she was already in enough trouble as it was. Better to stay quiet, especially as she knew Nat's eyes were trained on her. "Is that the only word on me?"

"Only word I care about."

There was an awkward silence, one that Bruce seemed to want to fill. "Must be strange to you, all this." Maj would have found it amusing if daggers weren't being glared into her. She really wished Natasha would just lay it out on her. Anything would be better than the look she was getting. Clint was a damn near master at the disappointed dad look, an expression that always made her feel like shit... and still did. Natasha. Well, she was in a whole new field. Sure she could pull of the look, but her dead eyed expression had the literal same effect as Clint's disappointed dad. She knew why. While Clint had rescued her from a shitty life, Natasha had welcomed her into their bubble, had been there for her through her last years of high school, became her confidant. Having the woman angry with her actually hurt more that Clint's expression. She hadn't signed on for any of that, hadn't signed up to her soulmate bringing home a stray teenager. But she accepted Maj nonetheless and treated her like the little sister she never had.

"Well, this is actually kind of familiar."

"Gentlemen. You might want to step inside in a minute. It's gonna get a little hard to breathe." As she said that, Maj watched as agents ran around the deck and strapped the planes down. She was confused as to what their actions and Natasha's words meant. Why was it about to get hard to breathe? Maj wanted answers, but knew Nat wouldn't be very helpful.

Both men had turned to her. "Is this a submarine?"

"Really, they want me in a submerged, pressurised metal container?" The men then looked at each other before the went to the edge. Maj furrowed her eyebrows. Why would Bruce say something like that? Was he claustrophobic? Maj was ripped from her thoughts when the carrier began to rise. "Oh, no. This is much worse."

The four stood in the bridge, Maj far behind as to not get in the way. She watched as Steve handed a man in a black trenchcoat a bill before he continued to look around. Maj remained by the door, watching everything and listening to what was being said. Eventually, the man in the trenchcoat returned his attention to Steve and Bruce. As the man spoke to Bruce, and Steve with Phil, Maj noticed that Nat had gone to a computer. The younger woman took a minute step forward when she saw Clint's picture, but caught herself before she could bring any attention her way.

As Bruce and the man had traded words, the young woman crept to his side. She knew that with all the stares he received, she could probably stay out of some trouble. It wasn't until Natasha was told to escort Bruce to his lab did Maj panic.

"You're gonna love it, Doc. We got some new toys."

"Really? Do you have a com-meter sixty four?"

"I'm not su-"

"Oh, you're very young." As they reached the door, Bruce turned, eyes searching. When they found it's target, he smile. "Speaking of. I need my assistant. Maj?"

All eyes fell on her. Majalia looked around the room wide eyed before she skittered over to Bruce. She didn't bother to meet the eyes of Natasha. Maj was quite certain the woman was going to rip her a new one, and while she wanted to pretend she didn't care, she did. The woman was basically her sister and it hurt that since she'd been picked up, the redhead had done nothing but ignore her. After everything they'd been through, Maj had hoped she wouldn't have acted the way she was.

As they reached the lab, Natasha put a hand out to keep the coily haired brunette from entering. She let out a squeak, one that alerted Bruce of the situation. She watched as the two entered a staring match, one that in the end didn't have a definite victor. The two had looked away at the same time. "Nat-" Before she could continue, the spy had moved her hand and pushed Maj into the room. The woman turned and watched as she walked away, her gait relaxed but the muscles of her back tense. Maj knew this wasn't the end of it.

It was near two hours later that there was a bit of commotion. From listening to a few agents, it seemed as if that the person who had taken the cube thing was found. Maj looked at Bruce before she sighed and told him she'd be back. Although things didn't seem too great between her and Natasha, she really wanted to see her off. It was something she always did when they were home, even if they were upset with each other.

It took getting lost and asking a few people to find the redhead. When she had, the woman barely looked at her. Maj tried to get her attention, but she received nothing. In a fit of anger, she threw a punch at the woman. With lightning fast reflexes, Natasha had grabbed her arm and flipped her onto the floor, pinning her down with her knee. Maj let out a cry, one that was heard by a man in an american flag suit. "Hey. What are you doing?"

"It's none of your concern," she bit out, still not releasing her.

"Looks like it is. You go around hurting your own?"

"When they deserve it."

"I'm sorry, okay! I'm sorry I snuck out. I'm sorry I didn't listen. I'm sorry I basically ruined everything. Please, just let go. I'll stay out of your way."

"That what you really think? That you ruined everything? That you're in the way?" Maj whimpered. The man in the suit was forgotten. "Dammit Majalia, do you have any idea the shit storm you're going to cause?" Natasha released her and pulled the crying girl to her feet. "I wanted you in that damn room so that none of the other agents knew you were here. In case you didn't know, you're a liability. I can't do my job and worry about you."

"I'm sorry."

"Go back to the lab. Stay with Bruce from now on. Do you understand." The younger woman nodded. "Good." With that, she sauntered into the nearest plane.

Steve on the other hand kept his eyes locked on Majalia. He was worried about what he had seen, but at least he'd figured out why she was there. Steve knew he had to go, but he really didn't want to leave a girl crying, especially when Romanoff had said he wanted her safe. "How's your arm?"

"Fine. I'll be fine."

"You should probably do as she said."

"I will." Maj chewed at her lip a bit, unsure of herself in front of the stranger. "Um, could you tell her to be safe for me?" Steve raised a brow. "I-I mean, you too. I didn't mean-"

"I'll tell her."

"Thanks." With that, Maj turned and made her way back inside. She took her time getting back to the lab. A large part of her wanted to run, but Majalia didn't want Bruce to see her all red eyed and sniveling. She didn't want to worry him… or distract him from his work. Whatever they were doing here was obviously important and she didn't want to interfere. All Maj could do was hope that she'd be able to go home soon. She missed Wade, Weasel, and the guys at Sr Margarets. She wanted to spend time watching sappy romances and horror flicks with Alec. She missed the people who had been there when Clint and Natasha hadn't. She just wanted to go home.