Wanda blocked one kick, but took the next three to the chest and stomach. Gasping, she managed, "Is this really necessary?"

"You said you wanted to learn to protect yourself without your powers."

"Yes, but…"

Natasha didn't relent, but redoubled her assault. She had come back from her trip to Clint's bursting with energy; apparently she and Steve had been banned from their favorite activity after waking the baby one too many times. Hand-to-hand was more of an adventure than usual while they caught up on each other.

Wanda was deeply regretting that she had agreed to spar with Natasha while Steve and Sam ran some errands in town. She blocked only one of the next five blows, landing uncomfortably against the mats several times. She projected a shield to protect herself as she staggered to her feet. "Give me a chance."

"Then earn one. Concentrate."

"If I concentrate, I will flatten you against the wall."

"Try it," Natasha dared, bouncing back and forth on the balls of her bare feet.

Wanda unleashed a wave of power, but found herself wheezing after a blow to the throat.

She heard Natasha land somewhere behind her. "What did I tell you about relying too much on your telekinetic abilities?"

"Not to?" Wanda sent a wave of indiscriminate energy to cover her back, though she was sure Natasha had already flipped out of range. "But I am not fighting alone."

"And why should that keep you safe?"

"Because I have teammates covering my back?" Wanda was unable to free her hands from the sudden grasp of the Black Widow standing in front of her. She had noted that Natasha's eyes took on a peculiar glaze when she inhabited her persona rather than herself. "I can count on them to free me."

"True," Natasha agreed, releasing her hold on Wanda's wrists and reverting to her normal level of relaxed wariness. "And we'll be there. You still need to work on your hand-to-hand though. I could beat you into the ground if I had to."

Though she was loathe bringing up Ultron, Wanda suggested, "I have my doubts."

She hit the mats and felt her arms securely pinned again. "Then you still have issues with trust. Misplaced?"

"Not at all."

"Good." Natasha was suddenly standing over her, extending a hand to help her up.

Wanda wiggled her fingers as she regained feeling in her arms. "I suppose I do need more work, yes?"

"Another day. In the meantime, work with the bags, build up your strength. Why don't we make dinner for the boys after we're done here?"

Wanda nodded – 'the boys' meant Steve and Sam, with Rhodey and Vision included if they happened to be around. Natasha had been noticeably more accommodating to Steve's home-cooked tastes since returning from their visit to the Barton homestead. She had been especially obliging regarding the comforts of home. Wanda couldn't be sure but she thought she'd seen several local real estate brochures around lately. If she and Steve were planning on moving out of HQ…

She almost tripped over the back of the treadmill as she stepped up. She found she didn't want Steve and Natasha to leave. She would miss their presence, their light. The worst part was it was likely her fault they were looking for a place of their own. Or partially her fault. Wanda didn't like the idea of dividing the team; even if they weren't always at the compound, it was still their home. She knew the importance of people in making a home and since she'd lost Pietro, this had been hers. They were hers. They wouldn't move further than driving distance, naturally, but it would be strange not to share a conversation with Steve or have an impromptu workout with Natasha. She pouted and stared down at the treadmill's blinking lights.

"Wanda."

She was about to protest that she was about to start when she realized that Natasha had stopped running, her attention fixed on the mirror in front of them. They were no longer the only people in the gym; the Winter Soldier stared at them in reflection. After a moment, he raised his metal arm and pointed. "You. You're Steve Rogers' girl."

Natasha didn't react to his words, instead turning slowly while shoving Wanda's arms down, which was probably fortunate because she likely would have destroyed half the compound with the energy blast to end all energy blasts she'd been envisioning. Displaying a calm Wanda couldn't help buy envy, Natasha stepped off the treadmill and took two steps toward him. "What do you want with Steve?"

He ran his metal fingers through his unkempt hair, causing a small shower of leaves and twigs to land on the gym floor. "You can get him here?"

"Tell me why you want him."

"I trust him. Only him."

Natasha settled her hands on her hips. "He isn't here at the moment."

"Then get him here."

"Let's do this with a minimum of bloodshed. First, you give me your word that you won't hurt Wanda and I. In exchange, I'll contact our Ops director and have the team currently surrounding this location called back. Then, I'll call Steve and ask him to come. If you do anything to hurt him when he gets here, I will separate your head from your body with my bare hands. Do we have a deal?"

The Winter Soldier glanced over his shoulder nervously. The helmet of a member of the response team was just visible at the bottom of the window. "Nobody comes in here but Steve."

"Fine. Maybe Wanda could leave as a gesture of your good intentions?"

"Call them off. You both stay."

Natasha shrugged, though Wanda felt better for his denial. She hadn't been intending to leave, in spite of Natasha's suggestion. Although her calm exterior revealed nothing, Wanda could sense an undercurrent of nerves in Natasha that worried her. Natasha remained unflappable as she pointed to a table across the room. "I'll need my phone to call Steve. Do you want to get it, or should I?"

"What about your Ops team?"

"They're already withdrawing." She began to walk slowly toward the table. "Did you think no one would be watching and listening since you tripped the silent alarms?"

"I didn't trip any alarms."

Natasha sighed and called out, "Hill?"

Hill's voice, unsurprisingly, matched Natasha's for calm. "I took the liberty of informing Captain Rogers of the situation already. Based on GPS, you have fifteen minutes before he arrives. Response teams will remain on standby."

"Thank you."

The Winter Soldier interrupted, "Who's…"

"Acknowledge." Natasha held up a hand to silence him.

"We'll keep eyes on, Agent Romanoff," Hill replied after a moment. "Captain America's ETA is now twelve minutes and you should probably call him to let him know you're okay."

"Just about to." She held up the phone she'd managed to get while the Winter Soldier had been distracted by the voice from above. "I'll put it on speaker if you want."

Two echoing rings later Steve's voice echoed through the gym. "Hey. You okay?"

"Wanda and I are just fine. Anything you'd like to say to Steve?" The Winter Soldier shook his head in a curt 'no.' "I think he wants to talk face to face."

"Nat…"

"Just tell Sam to drive like me, okay?" She ended the call before Steve could reply. She tucked the phone into her pocket in spite of the fact that it was buzzing. Her gaze was steady as she looked across the room. "Well, I guess it's just the three of us for a few minutes." To Wanda's surprise, Natasha took a seat on one of the training mats, gesturing that they should join her. Wanda slowly took a seat with the Winter Soldier following stiffly after a moment. Natasha pulled the elastic from her hair and pulled it back into a tighter ponytail. "How shall we spend the time?"

"You're his girl," the Winter Soldier repeated.

"Yes. We established that when you came in. Is there anything else you'd like to say?"

"If you're his girl, he should buy you shoes."

Wanda had to bite back an inappropriate laugh. It was true that Natasha was still barefoot from their training session. She had a thing about barefoot running building character, which was bad enough on a treadmill but murder when she occasionally took charge of their perimeter checks. It made her light pink toenails stand out even more now that she was sitting. She suddenly shot Wanda a warning look. "I have plenty of shoes," Natasha replied. "I just didn't know if you'd want to take the time to, like, apologize or something."

"Apologize?"

"Well, you shot me. Three times. Only once while Steve, um, cared. But it still pissed him off."

"I don't remember that."

"You also shot Steve a bunch of times. Do you remember that?"

The Winter Soldier squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, then opened them. "Uh…a little?"

"I found him almost dead on the bank of the Potomac." Wanda had no doubt that she couldn't stop Natasha if she chose that moment to pounce. "That pissed me off. That pissed me off a lot."

"I think…" he rubbed his metal hand against his forehead. "Did I drag him out of the river?"

"You wouldn't still be alive right now if you hadn't."

He laughed, a hollow sound that died before it could echo. "Then he loves you, huh?"

"He does." Wanda retained her seat beside Natasha only with an exceptional effort. "He'll prove it against you if he has to."

The claim seemed unnecessarily bold to Wanda, but the Winter Soldier seemed to buy it. "And if he does?"

"Try to kill me. He'll take his revenge."

"Steve doesn't take revenge."

"He would."

"That's…that's not why I came here."

"Then why are we threatening each other?"

"Bad habits." They all turned to the door where Steve was standing, Sam lurking behind him. "Bucky. You're here."

"You stopped chasing me."

"You didn't seem to like it. I didn't want you hurting my friends any more."

"I…I've…I'm not always myself. Sometimes I know and sometimes…I want help. I want to remember. I want to be Bucky."

"Then you came to the right place." Steve reached out his hand and, after a moment, the Winter Soldier – Bucky – took it. After a moment of brotherly contact, Steve abruptly pulled him into a headlock. "You ever threaten Natasha again and you'll regret it. Understood?"

"Uh huh. Get her some shoes."

"What?"

"Nothing." Natasha waved her hands in the air as she approached the two men. "He didn't even try to hurt Wanda or I. Let him go."

"Good." Steve transferred the intensity of his hold to her, wrapping his arms around her torso. Wanda didn't listen to what they were saying, but the light they were emitting told her enough.

As things settled down and secure quarters were arranged for Bucky, Wanda realized that Steve and Natasha were unlikely to be moving anywhere given the current developments. Her dislike for the Winter Soldier receded ever so slightly.