"I'm out," Rumlow said in disgust throwing his cards down, glaring at me from across the table. I just smiled and reached over to add to my ever growing collection of poker chips I'd won. Again.
"So, what did you have?" Clint asked leaning back in the chair. He'd thrown his hand in first, giving up on this round.
We were trapped in a cabin for the next 48 hours with no way out. Of course, someone would suggest playing poker to pass the time. If there's one useful thing Jared taught me, it was some good poker playing and bluffing skills. More bluffing than playing. I got sick of losing while I was in the flight school, so I roped him into teaching me how to bluff my way through it. Along the way, I'd actually ended up as half decent player. Right now I was playing against Rumlow and Clint. Both were losing spectacularly after I declared I really didn't know how to play too well. I'd sat there patiently letting them guide me through it while I watched both of them for how they played.
"Pair of twos," I laughed smugly stacking my chips up. "What did you have?"
"I fucking hate you," Rumlow growled at me. "How do you do that? I had a pair of 8's"
"You fell for the dumb blonde who doesn't know how to play cards routine a bit too well." I couldn't keep the smugness from my voice. "Never trust a pretty face Rumlow, it'll always get you into trouble."
"Have you been taking lessons from Romanoff?" Rumlow still looked annoyed.
"Jared actually, he taught me how to bluff my way through playing." I shrugged picking up a chip and letting it fall back on the pile. The clink of it hitting the other chips was very satisfying. "And along the way, I actually learnt how to play."
A cool hand gently tickled the back of my neck. I flinched and looked up, craning my head all the way back. Riley was smiling down at me. He looked like he'd just gotten out of the shower.
I'd slept for hours when we arrived at the cabin. All the way through what was left of the afternoon and nearly all the way through the night. Only a handful of guys on Bravo team had been awake and I didn't know any of them well enough to sit and have a conversation with them. I'd taken advantage of the early hour and had a shower in relative peace. I enjoyed soaking under the hot water for far too long and I was wrinkly and bright red by the time I'd gotten out. SHIELD provided a change of uniforms and although it took some digging around to find something in my size, it was nice to be wearing clean clothes, despite the lack of women's underwear. I wondered what'd happened to mine that I'd stripped off and left on the floor with the rest of my wet clothes. I hadn't given it a second thought until I had to get dressed. When I'd gotten out of the bathroom, Clint was up and drinking straight from a coffee pot. Seeing me awake he just held out the pot with a sheepish grin. At least he added milk. He'd also put on a big batch of oatmeal. We drank and ate talking about what happened while I was asleep.
I'd missed the radio call from SHIELD saying that our weather was savage and there wouldn't be any extraction for another 48 hours. At least. We had to sit tight and wait it out the snow storm that was lashing the area. At least we'd made it off the mountains and into cover. A fact which everyone was eternally grateful for as Clint told me. Right now all we could do was sit tight, enjoy the DVD collection and warm beds. The cabin was well stocked, well fortified and had its own power source. We could survive out here for a month if we had to. It killed our idea of getting home early but at least we were safe.
"Wanna play?" I asked with a flirty smile."These two are sore losers."
"Not a chance," Riley laughed, holding his hands up in surrender. "I'm terrible at poker."
"We could change it to strip poker to give you some incentive to learn," Clint said smugly gathering the cards and shuffling them. I'd watched him very carefully while he was doing it. I wouldn't put it past Clint to cheat.
"Or we could not." I shot Clint a dirty look. "Especially since I'm the only girl here and SHIELD didn't think to provide some girls underwear with a change of clothes."
"We'd get a few more players that way." Rumlow joined in on the teasing. I picked up a chip and threw it at him. It bounced off his forehead, which only made him laugh.
"I can't deal with this conversation without coffee and real food." Riley shook his head at our antics. "Back in a minute."
As Riley walked away I couldn't help but stare at the way his pants were just hanging off his hips. It seemed I wasn't the only one having problems finding clothes to fit. Although he was muscly, he wasn't anywhere near as big as most of the other guys. Not that I was complaining, it was a nice view. I lent back in my chair a little bit, rocking it back onto two legs to keep enjoying the view while he walked across the room. I was too engrossed in my little stare I didn't notice Clint's foot under my chair legs until it was a second too late. He hooked his foot around one of the legs I was balancing on and yanked his foot back. I wobbled briefly and with a very indignant and very girly shriek, landed on my ass. I sat there for a moment blinking stupidly until Clint and Rumlow both burst out laughing. I scowled at both of them.
"You scream like a girl," Clint was laughing so hard he could barely speak. "Oh, that was classic."
"I AM a girl," I bit back, yelling louder than I really meant to at Clint. "Of course I scream like a girl!"
"Sorry, Kari," Clint could barely speak he was laughing so hard. He did offer me his hand to help me up, which I took after glaring at it for a moment.
I sat back down in my chair with as much dignity as I could muster. Which wasn't much after how loudly I just shrieked. At least Riley had turned around to make sure I hadn't died or broken anything. He had his back to me again, but I could see his shoulders shaking in silent laughter.
"Consider it payback for kicking me in the balls the other day," Clint's laughter finally died down enough so he could speak properly. He had such a smug grin on his face. "It was too good of an opportunity to miss."
"Just you wait, you're going to be in a world of hurt." I was still scowling. "And it'll be when you least expect it."
"Oh, bring it on baby." Clint grinned as he lent back in his chair looking smug. "We haven't had a good prank war in a long time."
Uh oh. That didn't sound like it was going to end well for me. I was never any good at pranks. My excitement always gave it away. I was going to definitely need help if this was happening. I looked to Rumlow and he was instantly shaking his head.
"Hell fucking no, I am not getting involved in Barton's prank wars," Rumlow said firmly. "Last time it happened people were walking around the Triskelion in full body armour because you never knew when he was going to strike."
"Yes, they did." Clint put his hands behind his head looking extremely pleased with himself. "That'll teach you fuckers to let off a pink glitter bomb in my locker."
"Who was stupid enough to do that?" I asked curiously. Most people were intimidated by Clint. I could count on one hand the number of people who would be game to do something like that.
"Your fucking twin is who it was," Clint informed me with a slight scowl. "With Nat's help of course. And who's idea was it?"
Clint turned to look at Rumlow, who had suddenly taken an interest in the wall behind me.
"No idea," Rumlow said innocently, actively avoiding looking at both Clint and I. "Seriously have no idea what you're talking about."
I don't think my eyebrows could climb any higher up my forehead than they already have. Rumlow was full of surprises.
"Right, this story I need to hear," I asked laughing. "Come on Brock, spill."
"No fucking way," Rumlow said with a small laugh before dropping his voice. "Well, maybe later if you get lucky."
I was definitely going to get lucky. I wasn't going to stop until I found out the story behind this. Riley came over with a mug of coffee, like a normal respectable person, and a bowl of cereal piled so high he had to be careful when putting it down so it didn't spill everywhere.
"Is this the story about when Rumlow dared Jared to put a glitter bomb in Barton's locker for a grand?" Riley asked innocently. Far too innocently. "And then no one would own up to it so Barton hid in the air vents shooting people until Coulson tasered him?"
I gaped at Riley not sure if he was being serious or not. By the glares Rumlow and Clint were both shooting him my guess was every word he said was true.
"Wait, Coulson tasered you?" I turned to Clint before it clicked in my mind about what Rumlow had bet Jared. "And you were stupid enough to offer Jared money for something?"
Jared never turned down anything if there was money involved. Ever. He'd probably run naked through the streets of DC if someone paid him enough.
"Coulson has no problem tasering anyone," Clint laughed ignoring my question. "Especially if you touch any of his card collection or Lola."
"What's Lola?" I hated always having to ask these things. I felt like such a rookie when I did it.
"Lola is Coulson's 1962 Chevy Corvette, fully restored," Clint explained. "It's his baby. Don't ever touch Lola without permission. Ask Jared what happens when you decide to borrow it for a joy ride."
"I'm not sure who corrupted who sometimes," I said with a shake of my head. "Jared was always pretty wild. These stories I keep hearing make me think wild is too nice of a word for it."
"Fucking crazy is too nice of a word for it." Riley put into the conversation. "I have no idea how he gets away with it."
"Charming smile and the ability to talk his way out of anything," I said dryly. "His nickname when we were kids was Sidestep because he was always stepping out of trouble. By the skin of his teeth most of the time too. I'm the well behaved child."
"So am I." Riley flashed a charming grin. That was a grin that would make me do anything to see again. "My sister was always the one who caused trouble. Maybe we should get her and Jared together?"
"Please let's not encourage hooking Jared up with anyone," Clint cut in before a scheme could be cooked up. "He's got a big enough harem as it is."
"Stop corrupting my marksman," Evan's voice made all of us look around to see him walk through the lounge room into the kitchen. "He's my golden boy. I don't need him turning out like Barton or Jared."
"He was my marksman first," Rumlow argued. "You stole him from me."
"And he's mine now, so don't be giving him any ideas on how to misbehave," Evans argued back. "I like having at least one member of my team I can trust not to get arrested on a regular basis."
"Here I was thinking you actually liked me for my personality, Evans," Riley said smartly. "Now I know that isn't true. I feel like I'm being fought over for dodgeball."
"I wouldn't know," I chuckled. The cheeky side of Riley was very cute. "Dodgeball was banned at my school."
"That's because dodgeball at your school would have been a level eight SHIELD threat," Clint joked. "Not to mention, absolutely terrifying and downright cheating."
Riley nodded vigorously in agreement.
"Lots of fun though," I smiled, thinking back to those out of control games which mostly ended up being people showing off their powers. "We may have snuck a few games in when teachers weren't looking. We always got caught in the end."
"For those of us who have no idea what's going on in this conversation." Rumlow raised his hand. "Explain."
"I went to Professor Xavier's academy until high school," I explained rolling my eyes at Rumlow. "God, you're slow sometimes Rumlow."
"I need to take my boots off to count to 20 remember," Rumlow shot back. My, weren't we all full of sass this morning? "They only teach us to be dumb grunts at the Academy. Isn't that right Barton?"
"Don't drag me into this," Clint said instantly, pointing his finger at Rumlow. "They couldn't wait to get me out of the Academy, I think I was fast tracked on purpose. I can count higher than 20, unlike some people."
"That's because you were a little asshole," Evans said bringing a chair over and sitting between Riley and I. There really wasn't enough room for him so we both had to scoot over and away from each other. It made me glance around the back of Evans to Riley who was giving him a dirty look. Clint smiled innocently at Evans.
"Do you feel cock blocked?" I asked Riley behind Evans' back. Clint had just gone to take a drink of coffee and nearly inhaled it through his nose. He hid his snort and cough in the crook of his elbow.
"Very cock blocked," Riley grumbled but he couldn't keep the smile off his face. "I'm a teenager again and my chaperone is sitting between me and my date at the movies."
"I'm old enough to be your father, both of you," Evans took a drink his coffee not looking perturbed at all. "I'm getting too old for this shit."
It was the first time I'd actually been close enough to the STRIKE Team Bravo's leader to get a good look at him. Or that he actually spoke to me. He really did look old enough to be my father. He was have been in his mid forties. It was only his face which gave his age away. He looked just as fit as all of the younger STRIKE guys.
"On the bright side, we're in here and not outside in the blizzard." Clint pointed out."And you're not that much older than Coulson. Look at what he has to put up with."
"Which I'm eternally grateful for." Evans looked tired as he sipped his coffee. "Is it still snowing?"
I looked out the window which was just a sheet of white now. The snow was piled right up with no hope of seeing out of them. How we were going to get out was a mystery to me. Maybe SHIELD had invented something that heats the outside of the cabin to make the snow melt.
"Yep," Clint said sounding a bit disgruntled. "It's heavy too, you can hear the snow sliding off the roof every so often. If it stops sometime today we might be able to get out tomorrow."
"In that case, I'm going back to bed," Evans drained the last of his coffee and stood up. As he did he gave my shoulder a brief clap. "Thanks for getting us out of the weather."
"You're welcome," I said, scooting my chair back over next to Riley. I didn't miss the roll of eyes from Evans as he walked back to the large dormitory style bedroom.
"So, how are we actually going to get out once the weather clears up?" I asked turning back to the others sitting at the table. "And what the hell are we going to do until that happens?"
"There's a big DVD collection," Clint shrugged. "That's about it. Give it a few hours and everyone will start going stir crazy. Don't worry about getting out. SHIELD has its ways."
I glanced at Riley thinking of the ways I'd like to be spending the time. There was absolutely no privacy here so all my thoughts were null and void. He caught my look at well and shrugged, looking as disappointed as I felt. Sometimes life seemed like it was working against us.
"I'm putting Harry Potter on and if anyone complains they can answer to me." Clint stood up taking his coffee pot with him. "Starting with the first one."
"I have no complaints about that at all." I stood up as well. Poker was getting boring with me winning all the time. I'd happily laze on the couch all day considering how busy my last few weeks had been.
"I don't think I've seen Harry Potter," Riley admitted with a nervous laugh. Both Clint and I shot him a look of disbelief. "I have read the books though."
"At least there's something redeemable in there," I teased him. "Come on, you have to watch the movies now."
The rest of the day and a good part into the night was spent sprawled out over the couch with our Harry Potter marathon. I fell asleep against Riley halfway through the second movie and didn't wake until the start of the third. Rumlow joined us on and off throughout the movies, along with a few other members of the teams. Everyone must have still been tired from the long trek here because by 9pm everyone had gone to bed. I was fighting staying awake because I was too comfortable cuddled against Riley to actually move. I'd barely moved off the couch all day, feeling way too exhausted even though I'd gotten more than enough sleep last night. I'd only moved for food and toilet breaks. I fell asleep again about five minutes into the Order of the Phoenix.
I don't know what woke me up at first. The entire room was dark and I was lying on my side still on the couch. I could feel someone behind me, judging by the closeness they were holding me I was guessing it was Riley. Someone had draped a blanket over me and put a pillow under my head. I blinked a few times trying to get my bearings. I buried my head back into the pillow, closing my eyes to go back to sleep. I'd nearly drifted back off when there was a muffled gasp behind me waking me back up. The grip on my waist tightened momentarily before letting go. I could feel a few short and shaky breaths on my neck.
"Fuck it." It was Riley's whispered voice behind me. I felt his forehead fall against the back of my head with him still breathing heavily.
"You all right?" I asked quietly keeping still.
"No," Riley's voice sounded so small and uncertain. "But give me a second and I will be."
I didn't say anything. I waited until Riley's breathing had returned to normal before wriggling around so I was facing him. I could just make him out in the darkness. He gave me a wavering smile and ran his fingers down my cheek.
"Do you want to talk about it?" I asked leaning against his touch. I put my hand over his fingers, stilling them on my skin.
"Not really," Riley said tightly. "Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you. It was just a stupid dream. It comes with the job sometimes."
"I was awake before you woke up." I smiled, hoping it might put him more at ease and pulled myself closer to him. "So don't apologise, I'm here if you want me."
Riley was silent as he held me close. His thumb ran over the skin of my cheek almost absently. He looked so lost in thought and still half caught up in whatever nightmare he'd just woken up from. I reached up and kissed him gently, tangling my hand in his sleep messed up hair. He looked like he needed a distraction and I knew the perfect way to do it. He sighed quietly against my lips before responding. His hand came around to the back of my neck, pulling me in closer and teasing his tongue against my lips. I nipped his bottom lip gently before responding to his teasing tongue. My hands had a mind of their own as they made their way down to Riley's pants and had his belt and top button undone before he realised what I was doing. My hand dipped into his pants, gleeful that he wasn't wearing underwear.
"What are you…" Riley started pulling back from our kiss. His words died as I gripped his half erect cock. His words turned into a muffled groan as he buried his head in the crock of my neck, his hips involuntarily jerking pushing him into my hand. I teased my hand up and down a few times before gripping his cock harder. He was definitely packing in that department.
"Want me to stop?" I whispered against his head which was still buried in my neck. Riley shook his head but otherwise didn't move. I smiled kissing his ear, which was the only part of him visible as I continued our naughty make out session under the blankets. As my hand stroked him I was getting more and more turned on by the little gasps and groans coming from Riley. He was doing his best to keep them muffled, but I could feel the vibrations coming from his lips on my skin. It just made my hand move faster. Riley was pushing himself against me as if to try and get more friction on my hand.
Riley's head came up and his lips crushed against mine. It was hot, passionate and very demanding. I couldn't stop the moan against his lips as we kissed. Only a few seconds later Riley's hips jerked uncontrollably and he stilled as he came. He broke the kiss and buried his head back into my neck, trying hard to keep quiet as he pushed himself into me as close as we could humanly get. I held onto him for a few more seconds after he was done, before taking my hand out of his pants. I doubt he even noticed me wiping my hand on the inside of his pants.
"Holy shit," Riley gasped breathing heavily against me.
I grinned, placing a kiss his temple and waited for him to come down from his high. It took a couple of minutes before he swallowed heavily and took his head from my neck and looked at me with a grin.
"Enjoy?" I asked with a sly grin.
"I think I embarrassed myself how quickly I just blew," Riley was still breathless. "You're so naughty. I enjoyed myself very much. I don't remember the last time I had a hand job like that."
"Wait until I blow you," I teased. "You won't ever want to leave me."
"If its half as good as your hand job I'm going to lock you in my bedroom so you can't ever escape," Riley teased back, laughing at me quietly.
He leant forward and kissed me again. I smiled against his lips and kissed him back. This time it was Riley's hand straying down my body. He hesitated at where my shirt had pulled up just over my hips, leaving a line of bare skin exposed. Still kissing him, I took his hand and put it between my legs, pressing up against it.
"Is that a hint?" Riley chuckled breaking away from our kiss.
As he spoke he ran his fingers up and down teasingly. It made me shiver in anticipation. I nodded, not actually trusting my voice to speak right now. I'd been wanting this for weeks. It was definitely not the time or place to be doing it. But that just added to the excitement.
"You know I'd much rather repay the favour by going down on you," Riley trailed a few kisses down my neck. He gently nipped me right above my pulse point. I bit my lip so hard to stop the moan escaping, I was sure I was going to draw blood. He'd barely touched me and I was already wanting more. His hand trailed back up my pants before slowly undoing the button on them. It seemed to take forever as he pulled the zip down and slid his hand into my pants. I still hadn't found any underwear so I was enjoying going commando.
"I like this even more than I liked your hot pink thong." Riley nuzzled my neck as his fingers teased me up and done spreading my wetness all over. If Riley thought he hadn't taken long, he was about to find out the meaning of a quick orgasm. His fingers dipped into me, this time I couldn't stop myself. My hips flexed and I moaned at his touch. Riley was quick to kiss me to muffle the sound. His fingers found my clit drawing lazy circles around it.
"Fuck," I gasped. My entire body felt like it was on fire now. I was writhing under his gentle ministration on my body. The anticipation of this had been well worth the wait. Riley knew exactly what he was doing. He alternated between lazy circles, to firmer rubbing and seemed to know how to play my body the way I liked it. It didn't take much to push me over the edge. Riley kissed me again right as my orgasm hit, muffling all the sound coming from me as I rode it out. My entire mind went blank at how intense it was. It took me a good minute to be able to come back to my senses.
"Wow." It took me ages to catch my breath again. I looked up at Riley who was looking very pleased with himself. "If you can do that with just your fingers, I can't wait to find out what you can do with your tongue."
"That is going to have to wait until we get home," Riley looked so pleased with himself. "Because this time I don't want to muffle any sounds coming from you."
"Well, if you can do that again your neighbours are about to find out your name," I chuckled. My eyelids were already drooping again, threatening to snap shut on me. I was more than ready to go back to sleep and enjoy my post orgasmic haze. I couldn't stop myself yawning.
"Do you want to move to a bed?" Riley asked.
"Nope." I rolled over onto my other side, so Riley could spoon me. "I'm comfortable right here with my sex god behind me."
Riley chuckled but said nothing. He wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me close again. He kissed my neck before settled in behind me. I nearly drifted back off to sleep before Riley woke me up again.
"Thanks for the distraction," Riley said quietly. "I needed it."
"You're welcome." I smiled but didn't open my eyes. "You'd do the same for me."
"Part of me really hopes I wouldn't have to," Riley's sigh was barely audible but it was still there. "But this is a crazy life we lead."
"Crazy doesn't quite describe it," I said quietly. My voice was getting softer as I drifted off to sleep. "At least I found someone who shares in the crazy with me."
"This makes getting shot worth it," Riley nuzzled the back of my neck and kissed the bare skin. "Very worth it."
"101, 102, 103," the voices chanted around the room.
I was sitting on the couch enjoying the sight of ten very muscly guys having a push-up competition. All shirtless. I had died and gone to muscle heaven. Sipping my third cup of coffee for the morning I was definitely enjoying myself.
It was mid morning in our second day. Everyone was well fed and well rested meaning there was an overabundance of energy bouncing around the cabin. And testosterone. For a group of people who worked out for hours on end every day it was a bad combination. There had already been suggestions on moving the furniture around so people could spar later on. Clint had been pushing me to have a turn with someone else besides him.
"159, 160, 161."
I hid my grin behind my coffee mug. Riley was still in the group making it look effortless. He was the one I was enjoying watching the most. I think there was a little bit of showing off going on as he kept sneaking me cheeky little grins. Both Clint and Rumlow were now doing their pushups one handed. Their smug looks seemed to be daring each other to be the first one who failed.
"I can do this all day Rumlow," Clint said easily. He wasn't even breathing heavily yet. "Are you going to give up?"
"No," Rumlow said back cockily ."Because if I win you're buying drinks for my entire team when we get back."
"And you're buying something really fucking awesome for my team if I win." Clint was quick to reply. "What do you want Kari?"
"A bottle of Johnnie Walker Blue will do me," I said straight away."And I'm guessing something really expensive in vodka for Natasha."
"Belvedere to get drunk on or Grey Goose Magnum to enjoy," Clint supplied sending me a wink. "And I'll second that bottle of Johhnie Walker Blue, thanks Rumlow."
"Fucking expensive taste the three of you." Rumlow shook his head and switched arms. "That doesn't mean that you will win though."
"I don't ever lose." Clint switched arms as well. He reached up and faked a yawn covering his mouth with his free arm. "It's pretty boring actually. All I'm doing is waiting for you to give up."
Everyone else had stopped by now watching the pair doing their verbal spar as they kept going. I was mentally keeping count in my head while watching them. It was until 300 that Rumlow actually broke out in a sweat. He and Clint kept going with their taunts and eventually insults to try and distract each other.
By 450 Clint started to break out into a sweat as well. Rumlow was beginning to lose a ground by going slower. He just wasn't quite matching Clint, but the difference beginning to be noticeable.
"I can almost taste that bottle of scotch," I teased Rumlow. "It's going to be so fucking good."
I didn't get an answer. But Rumlow did speed up again. For another 20 at least. Riley came over to sit next to me as he watched the pair of them continue.
"Just so we're clear," Riley lent over and fake whispered to me. "We're sharing this bottle of scotch aren't we?"
"We so are," I said smugly. "You and me once we get back. I'm thinking Thai sounds like it'll go pretty good with it."
"You aren't getting that bottle of scotch," Rumlow argued through his heavy breathing. "I'm not losing."
"Looks to me that you are." I pointed out smugly. While taking the breath to reply to me he'd just fallen behind by two push-ups.
"Aw, fuck it, I'm done." Rumlow let himself collapse to the floor. He rolled over onto his back breathing heavily. Clint pushed himself into a sitting position looking very smug.
"Champion effort," Clint said crispy. "I do love it when you admit defeat to my superior athletic ability."
"It makes up for your lack of intellectual ability." Rumlow put his hands on his head trying to slow his breathing down. He looked completely fucked. "Dammit, how the fuck do you do it every single time?"
"Archer," Clint said smugly. "Do you think my bows pull themselves back? I have draw weights that are bigger than what Kari weighs."
"Hey, don't bring me into this," I laughed. "And leave my skinniness alone. Not my fault it's genetic."
"Jared isn't that skinny." Rumlow pointed out looking up at me from his position still on the floor.
"That's because he works out," I argued back. "If there's hope for him to put on muscle then there's hope for me."
"Jared only works out because he likes to check out the girls in the gym," Riley put in with a small smirk. "And I think he likes sparring with Romanoff because she pins him between her thighs."
Clint made a strangled sound that was caught between hysterical laughter and mortification. I frowned at both of them, not sure if I was getting the implication behind those words.
"Wait, no fucking way." I was horrified at that thought. "Please tell me they aren't fucking? She's the only female friend I've had and I couldn't deal with it if she went there with my whore of a brother."
"Oh they aren't fucking," Clint quickly reassured me."Trust me on that. Nat would eat him alive. There's more than one reason why she's called Black Widow."
"The thought of it just…" I trailed off and shuddered. "Ugh, no, on so many levels. Actually, I don't even need to think about my brother's sex life. I hear the giggles and fawning that follow him around at work. That's bad enough."
"Oh please," Rumlow cut in. "Like watching you and Riley giggle and fawn over each other for a month wasn't bad enough."
"I never giggled." I pulled a face down at Rumlow. "Or fawned. I just enjoying the lift up onto the chin up bar every single morning. Where's the harm in that?"
"And I enjoying giving you that lift up every single morning too," Riley grinned at me.
"You two are sickening." Clint rolled his eyes at us. "Wanna spar, Kari?"
"In other words, you're feeling macho and feel the need to kick my ass too." I faked a dramatic sigh. "Fine."
"Actually." Rumlow pushed himself back up into the sitting position looking at me. "Wanna go a few rounds with me?"
I raised my eyebrows in surprise. I'd completely forgotten about Clint's comment about Rumlow a few days ago with sparring with someone else. Well, there was nothing else to do so why not? I'd probably get my ass handed to me in a few minutes anyway. It'd pass the time and give everyone something to laugh at.
"Sure," I said easily. "Just don't kill me."
"I'll only hit half strength, I promise." Rumlow looked gleeful as he sprung to his feet. "This should be fun."
I don't know if fun was going to be the right word for it. This could either go really well. Or fail spectacularly on my behalf. I pushed myself to my feet uncertainly looking around the room. The guys who were out here were looking on with keen interest.
"We'll move the couch." Clint sprung to his feet as well.
Riley gave me an uncertain look before getting off the couch and helping Clint move it out of the way.
"Wanna go a few rounds with me after I kick Rumlow's ass?" I joked more to reassure myself than anything else.
"Sure." Riley flashed me a quick grin. "You've got to kick Rumlow's ass first though."
There was a good incentive to not get my ass handed to me. I had no doubt Riley could knock me flat on my back in a few moves as well. But at least he wouldn't hurt me on purpose. I hiked my pants up a little bit and stood in the now cleared space. Rumlow was watching me carefully, a tiny smug smirk playing on the corners of his lips.
"No hitting full force," I said, reinforcing his earlier statement. "Be nice, I'm skinny and I still break."
"No hitting in the balls," Rumlow added another rule. He was looking far too pleased with this situation. "It's cheating."
"Only if you're the one with balls," I said smartly. I fiddled with my pants again, hiking them up to try and get as comfortable as possible. "All right, I'm ready."
I really wasn't. But I needed to get over my reservation about doing this. It'd been awkward enough the first day Clint had helped me. I might have made some progress since then. I hoped I had anyway. Both Natasha and Clint were reassuring me that I was doing well, despite the fact I could never do anything to actually hit them beyond landing a few blows on Clint.
Rumlow put his fists up, smugness all over his face made him look like he had all the confidence in the world. I took a guard position watching him carefully. He took a few steps to his right and I circled with him never taking my eyes off him. He feinted a quick jab that wouldn't have even hit me. I ignored it, keeping my position. That was a move Natasha made all the time. I'd learnt to ignore it after the first week.
"Come on, someone hit someone," it was Sam calling out obnoxiously. "I want to see blood."
"Ladies first," Rumlow said cheekily.
"Off you go," I replied back smartly.
Rumlow didn't need to be told twice. He came at me with two very quick left and right jabs before throwing in a more wild punch. I managed to duck jabs and block the last punch, grunting slightly at the force actually behind it. If this was him at half strength, I never wanted to be on the receiving end of a full hit. Blocking his wild punch which had gone high enough to force my arm up to block it gave me the perfect opening for a hit to his ribs. It was very satisfying hearing a whoosh of breath leaving him as my fist contacted with his ribs. He quickly stepped out of the way before I could land another.
"Ow," Rumlow laughed shortly but didn't drop his guard.
"Gotta be quicker than that big guy," I teased. Rumlow had nothing on Clint or Natasha. If it'd been either one of them they would have had me in a vice grip and on the floor for the slow punch I'd throw at his ribs. Or maybe Nat and Clint were both just freakishly fast and us mere mortals had to try and keep up with them. Rumlow was a big guy though. His size was his disadvantage here.
We played with each other for another minute. I threw a few punches around just to see how quickly he'd react. I didn't manage to land another blow but I did learn very quickly that Rumlow might be handy with his upper body. But he left most of his lower body unguarded. His stance looked like it came more from boxing training. After I blocked another punch I slid forward on my left leg and threw a punch I knew he'd block. Just as he went to block I quickly stepped to the side and landed a brutal kick right in his lower back. By the grunt of pain coming from him, I'm pretty sure I got him right in the kidneys.
"Nice," Clint called out from the side.
I stopped myself grinning and kept focused. Rumlow was a bit slower to turn around, favouring the right side of his body every so slightly. He shook his head and covered the ground between us quickly. I ducked out of reach from the left hook he went to throw and gave him another smart hit in his ribs. I was a bit too slow to come back up again because Rumlow quickly wrapped his arm around my neck, spinning both of us around so he had me in a choke hold from behind. It wasn't hard, enough for me not to be able to wiggle out of it though.
"Yield?" Rumlow asked with a smug tone.
"Not a chance." I elbowed him in the stomach hard. It was enough to break his grip on me so I could squirm out of his grasp. Using the moment of off balance, I hooked my leg around his knee and yanked it out from underneath him, sending him crashing to the ground. Before he could get up I quickly put my bare foot against his throat and smirked down at him.
"Yield?" I asked.
Rumlow grunted and smacked my leg away looking very begrudging.
"Yield." He looked like a five year old being told he couldn't have something. "This coming from someone who could barely get by in her hand to hand classes. I think you've improved a bit."
"Here's hoping." I couldn't stop the stupid grin appearing on my face before I offered him a hand to get up. Rumlow took it and pulled himself back up.
"Your turn man." He turned to Riley who was standing there with his arms crossed looking impressed. Riley also looked mildly relieved that I was still in one piece.
"No thanks," Riley laughed, shaking his head rapidly. "I think I'll keep my manhood intact over here."
"You and me then." Clint looked very proud. "Same rules. No hitting me in the balls. Again."
As usual, Clint kicked my ass within a minute. Any kind of ego swelling up from beating Rumlow was quickly smacked back down into submission as I lay on the floor winded and sporting some new bruises.
The day continued with much of the same. Sparring was a good way to pass the time. Even if you were only watching it. Most of the guys had their own styles and it was actually educational to watch. Sometimes it was downright hilarious. Riley had surprised the hell out of me though. He was quick on his feet and very brutal. His sparring with Sam ended much the same way mine and Clint's did. With Sam on his back swearing at him for being so fucking agile. After his little display, there was no way I was going to spar with him.
SHIELD radioed in that evening saying they were hoping to get an extraction in by 0600 the next morning. If the weather stayed calm. The snow had stopped that morning. The windows were piled up with snow but the front door was still able to be opened. I couldn't see over the snow drift but there was a very weak sun trying to make its presence known. We were all hoping the weather would be kind enough to stay fine until we could get out of there. I was desperate to continue after our little fun on the couch last night. I thought some action might have tided me over, but I was hornier than ever.
I fell asleep on the couch again. It was a lot more comfortable than actually getting up to move to a bed. When I woke up sometime during the night Riley was behind me fast asleep, arm curled around me. I didn't say anything, I just went back to sleep enjoying him keeping me warm. I didn't wake up again until his watch started to beep in my ear at 0530 to wake up. We were nearly the last ones up. Everyone else seemed to be either up and moving or in the bathroom getting ready for the day.
From there it was an anxious half an hour wait to see if we'd actually get a ride home. Or be stuck here another day. As 0600 rolled around everything was silent outside. I huffed in annoyance and decided to get some breakfast instead. I'd gotten three bites into my peanut butter smothered toast when the sound of a Quinjet filled the air.
The cheers going around the room were contagious.
The heat coming off the Quinjet's engines were enough to melt a path of snow right to it. The ground was horrible and muddy but no one cared. Everyone was on and boarded in five minutes. This time I didn't have to ask the pilot. He handed the controls over instantly. Clint came to sit next to me making conversation.
I wasn't ashamed to admit I shaved off nearly two hours of flying time with the speed I flew us back home. The chastisement from traffic control was well worth what was waiting for me when I got back. I ignored Clint's endless questioning and teasing about why I wanted to get home so quickly. No one else was complaining. It was a relief to see the Triskelion finally in front of us after a few hours. With the Quinjet back in the hanger, I had to stop myself from running to my bike to get back to Riley's place. At least I wasn't the only one hurrying from the jet. Everyone was keen to get home.
"My place or yours?" I asked Riley as I fell into step beside him. He'd waited for me by the ramp while I powered down.
"Mine, want a lift?" Riley asked. Unlike me who was bounding with excitement about being home, he looked more reserved.
"Take me home."
Authors Note
I am SOOO sorry about how late this one is! It's been a very long 2 weeks of work, horses, competing and life in general. Unfortunately the next 3 weeks are going to be very much the same as competitions wrap up for the year.
Work sucks. There's no other way to put it right now. But it sucks big ass stinky balls. I did a 62 hour week last week and this week isn't looking much better. It gives me a lot of time to think and get chapters written in my head. But not a lot of time to actually write return I think this chapter reflected a bit of wishy washiness. I'm not used to writing any kind of smut, but I am trying. So if its good let me know, if not I can improve!
Thank you to all my new followers favourites and my lovely reviewers Ryaaaaann, kira shadow wolf and Cookie Crumbla! It makes my day getting an email to say I have a new review or follower. I honestly never really expected to actually publish this. But I'm glad people are enjoying it.
I can promise a fair bit of action in the next few chapters. So thank you to everyone for sticking around while I've built the story up. As I said at the start this is going to be long. I'm expecting having to break it up into separate stories otherwise it's going to end up 90-100 chapters.
Until next week!
Edited 6th June 2018
