"Come on Jared, I'm a good driver and you know that." I tried not to sound too pleading that night as Jared and I sat down for dinner. Instead of eating out Jared had cooked steak and vegetables for dinner. It was nothing exciting but edible and beyond my lousy cooking skills. "I need to be at work early and unlike you, I can't teleport to where I need to go. Look I'm even asking this time so you can't be mad."

"Why so early?" Jared screwed his nose up. "Ugh, I forgot your one of those stupid people who like early mornings."

I scowled at Jared but didn't retaliate. If we argued then there wouldn't be any chance I'd be allowed to use his car. I swear he was doing this just to push my buttons. Plus he liked to hear me beg a favour of him. As reassuring as Clint had been about giving me a lift, I wasn't sure if Jared was going to go for that.

"I just got asked to come in early and unless you want to get up that early with me, I'll need the car," I said patiently. "Please?"

"Again, why?" Jared looked at me curiously. "What did you do?"

"I didn't do anything," I shrugged, pushing my peas around the plate. "I was at the range today."

"Oh, how did that go?" Jared suddenly looked a lot more interested in this conversation than before. "Show them all up?"

"Of course I did." If it wasn't Jared asking I might have been offended by that question. "Nothing changed there. And you'll never guess who I ran into there."

"Wade Wilson?" Jared asked me with a smirk. I glared at Jared for his smart-ass quip. I didn't even know who that was so I wasn't getting baited into that conversation. It would probably end up in Jared smugly telling me I didn't have the clearance level to know. Then I'd throw something at him. Usually something hard.

"Clint Barton actually," I said smoothly. Jared's fork paused midway to his mouth. "Thanks for introducing us by the way. I didn't think I embarrassed you that much you didn't want me hanging with your friends."

"I never said I was embarrassed by you," Jared said with a scowl. He pointed the piece of steak on his fork at me. "Don't even go there. I was waiting until you were more settled in before I took you around to meet everyone. There is the whole problem of no one in SHIELD know's about his family so I was covering all of my angles. Clint is very protective of his family so I wasn't taking you around unannounced. Don't be a bitch."

"Well, I know about them now and I've met him." I was a bit taken back at the force behind Jared's words. "So, now I can probably buy Natasha that drink for shoving Rollins into a wall as well."

"So why was Barton at the range? It couldn't be showing off to the new recruits. He and Natasha are banned from talking to them," Jared asked, his tone softer this time. I felt bad for accusing him of being embarrassed by me. He had a very good point about Clint's family. I would have never thought about that.

"Agent Coulson brought him out to watch me shoot. I don't know why." I went back to pushing the peas around my plate. I'd eaten on the way home from the range when the bus stopped at McDonald's. Jared had gone to the effort of cooking dinner, so I was trying to eat it even though I wasn't hungry. I didn't want to hurt his feelings. It was rare he cooked. The steak had been good but the peas were still hard and very undercooked.

"I do." Jared's mood shifted as he smirked at me. "You're the biggest gossip around work at the moment."

"I hate being gossip."

"Yeah but you are, so stop bitching about it." Jared reached forward and grabbed his beer off the coffee table. "Anyway, my guess would be to see if you two got along together."

"But why?" I asked, feeling confused. "It's not like I'd get assigned to them. Even Coulson said it was out of his hands when Barton asked."

"So what did you do to get Clint Barton himself interested?" Jared put his own fork down and turned to look at me with a lot of interest now. "Come on Kari spill. It takes a lot to impress Barton. The guy is one of the best shots in the world. You had to do something good."

I could feel a stupid blush creep onto my cheeks when Jared said that. My good impression had only been not backing down from a challenge when it was presented to me. Beyond that, I didn't know why Barton had shown so much interest in me. It couldn't have been my shooting. While it was good, it wasn't completely amazing to impress Clint.

"You know what." Jared sat up properly and put his plate and beer on the coffee table when I didn't answer. "I'm going to ring him myself and find out."

"Jared," I warned. "Don't. Please. It wasn't anything exciting, trust me."

"Yeah, right." Jared rolled his eyes, pulling his phone from his pocket. "I bet it is, otherwise you wouldn't be sitting here blushing and acting all coy about it. So you did something awesome and aren't admitting it."

Before I could protest any further Jared hit a name on the screen and put the phone on loudspeaker. I reached over to grab it but Jared quickly teleported to the other side of the room before I could get close. He smirked at me at the phone started to ring.

"What Sidestep?" Clint's voice came over the phone as he answered. He sounded so smugly proud of himself. Jared shot me a dirty look at the use of his old nickname.

"What did my little sister do today?" Jared jumped right into it. "Cuz she's sitting here blushing and not telling me. It had to be impressive or really bad since she has to be at work at stupid o'clock tomorrow."

"Why are you ringing me about it?" Clint asked sounding bored. "She's your twin if she doesn't want to tell you then…COOPER!"

Both Jared and I jumped at the sound of Clint yelling.

"For fuck sake," Clint muttered under his breath before raising his voice to a normal level again. "No, how many times have I said no crossbows in the house?"

I snorted trying to stop myself laughing. I didn't hear the reply from Cooper but Clint muttered a few Russian swear words quietly. I raised my eyebrows at that. I didn't know Clint could speak Russian. But it'd make sense with who his partner was. Even his accent was flawless.

"It's still a bow dude," Clint said, sounding like he was fast running of out patience. "No matter what Aunty Nat says it's a no to using it in the house. And no I don't care if they're only blunt, they still hurt. When you sister punches you in the nuts again for doing it don't come to me crying."

"Wow it sounds like Gram's during the holidays," I laughed shaking my head. Clint wasn't kidding when he said his house had the weirdest set of house rules. If there had to be a rule about no bows in the house, well my imagination could run wild with the rest of the rules. Then again they probably didn't have the rule about no using powers at the table. Under any circumstances. That was always an interesting time at our place.

"I will repeat what I said at his birthday," Jared laughed as Clint muttered something I couldn't hear. "That wasn't my idea. I wanted to get him a DS. Tasha got him the crossbow and put my name on the card so she didn't get all the blame."

"Yeah, well thanks," Clint grumbled. "That thing causes World War 3 around here. They're going to come live with you if they keep being little shits today. Why are you bugging Kari about today?"

Right back into the previous conversation. I made a ball of ice in my hand and casually started to toss it between my hands as a warning to Jared. He just smiled at me sweetly and flames came from his hand that wasn't holding the phone. Jared and I had no such rules about using powers at the table. One we didn't have a table, and two it had been a long time since we had roughhoused with our powers. I was disappointed when Jared let his flames drop without any fighting. I pouted slightly and pushed my power into the ice ball until it shattered. Jared was no fun, I was looking forward to smacking him in the head with it.

"Curiosity. She needs my car to travel like a real person," Jared said with an infuriating smirk. "Because there is no way in hell I'm getting up that early to drag her ass to work.

"Aren't you the worst twin in the world" Clint scoffed. "If you must know she was making a circle of bullets around the target. With a semi-auto M16 on a windy day at the furthest target possible. I shot an arrow in her target and she only just missed shooting it. Got the fletching though. When I told her she missed she just used her power and made the arrow explode."

"Nice." The admiration was clear on Jared's face. "That's my twin."

"So I need her embarrassing nickname to tease her tomorrow," Clint asked. "Because she's meeting me in the gym and then I'm going to see if she's any good with a bow as well."

"She doesn't have an embarrassing nickname." Jared pouted, the grumble clear in his voice. "She really doesn't, she even liked her callsign which was Knuckles by the way. And yes she's pretty awesome with a bow as well. At least now she'll understand why I gave her all sorts of shit about it after I finished at the Academy and ended up working with losers like you and Nat."

"Yeah well, remember this loser can still break you in half pretty boy. Thank you for that," Clint said smugly "See you…"

Clint was cut off again. This time by a high pitched shriek and girlish giggle followed by dogs barking.

"Later." Clint finished as soon as the noise quietened down to an acceptable level. He didn't wait for Jared's reply, he hung up.

"I hate you." I scowled at Jared as soon as Clint was gone. "So much. Why do you need to embarrass me like that?"

"For the same reason you gave Barton my nickname," Jared grinned at me, not the least bit perturbed at my scowl. "Yes you can borrow my car tomorrow and whenever else you need it for. Good job Kari, I knew you'd fit in here."

I threw a pea at Jared. I didn't have a reply to his teasing. Jared laughed and got up went into the kitchen. When he came back he had a bottle of Glenfiddich whiskey, aged 25 years. It was an impressive and expensive bottle of whiskey. Jared wordlessly poured two glasses, a smile on his face the entire time.

"What's this for?" I asked when Jared handed me a glass. Straight up, no ice. Just the way I liked it.

"For picking yourself up off the floor and making the best out of shitty circumstances," Jared smiled at me brightly as he lifted his own glass. "Just like I knew you would. Cheers."

I blushed furiously at the very rare compliment coming from Jared. But I didn't stop the smile that felt like it lit up the whole room. Jared was right all those weeks ago. This wasn't going to be the end of the world. I was starting to enjoy myself.

I threw the coffee cup in the trash after draining the contents as I walked into the gym. I was ten minutes early. I couldn't sleep properly because of my nerves. I'd given up around 0330 and gotten up and ready for the day ridiculously early. While having breakfast as quietly as I could so I didn't wake Jared, I had a quick look on the net for my own apartment. My heart sank when I looked at the price of them all. I wasn't sure how much money I'd be on when I was a full agent, but I had no idea how I was going to afford living by myself. Rent was insanely high unless I wanted to do a 45 minute commute to work. I might just have to keep sharing with Jared and hope we didn't kill each other.

Why did I think this was going to be a good idea? My nerves increased as I saw Clint already waiting for me. He was wrapping his hands looking wide awake. His head snapped in my direction as the door closed with a bang. He smirked as I walked over to him. I was glad I was becoming immune to all the guys with big muscles and hot bodies around here. Clint was pretty ripped, more so than most guys around here. Hours of archery practice had given him taunt arm and back muscles, which stood out clearly thanks to the tight t-shirt he wore. I could see every clearly defined 6 pack against his shirt.

"Good morning Knuckles," Clint said smartly. "You're early."

"Morning," I couldn't help but laugh at Clint. My tension easing off a fraction. "At least I didn't have an embarrassing callsign. One of the guys tried to call me Three Less but thankfully it didn't stick."

"So why Knuckles?" Clint looked at me curiously. He had finished wrapping his hands and was flexing his hands around them. I didn't miss the quirk of his lips at the stupid joke of the nickname one of the guys tried to make.

"Got into a bar fight," I half smiled at the memory. "Broke some guys nose, but broke my knuckle as well. So hence the nickname Knuckles."

"Well, that's not giving me much confidence that you're going to break my fingers," Clint had a small laugh at my explanation. "So I'm guessing you've been doing hand to hand skills here?"

I nodded feeling my ego deflate at his words. He'd seen right through me and knew this wouldn't be a challenge.

"You've got Rollins as an instructor don't you?" Clint expression was one of mild disgust. It seemed like Rollins wasn't well liked within SHIELD.

My nod of confirmation made Clint scowl briefly.

"He's useless, thinks hand to hand is all about being able to punch the hardest. Don't listen to him."

"And I'm not exactly packing in the muscles department." I was relieved at Clint's reaction. I was beginning to think I was a lost cause with it. Unlike Jared, I didn't do any kind of martial arts at school so I was starting from scratch with my abilities.

"It's not about muscles." Clint shook his head. "It's about using what you have to your advantage. Take me for example, I'm a big guy so I had to learn to be agile and not just rely on my strength if I get into close combat. It's not my favourite thing so I had to work hard at being good at it."

"Not your speciality?" I asked curiously. This little talk was making me realise I really didn't know anything about what I was about to get myself into. My curiosity was getting the better of me though. My ego couldn't stand any more beatings in my classes, I needed to work on this to become better. Even with the little tips from Jared and Riley, I wasn't doing much good.

"No, I like to take my targets out from a distance," Clint explained. "I prefer not to do much close combat, that's more Nat's speciality than mine. She's small, fast and can get in and out of trouble before I can land a punch."

"So I'm tall and skinny, I feel like I don't have much going," I said dryly. Clint chuckled lightly at me.

"You're tall, so you can use your reach as an advantage." Clint rolled his shoulders, stretching his neck from side to side with an audible pop. "Skinny, well you're going to have to start hitting the gym to build muscle. Start a high protein, low carb diet and you'll muscle up easily. But my bet would be with training you can be pretty damn quick."

"I'm glad someone is giving me hope I might be able to at least not die one day." I had to stop myself sagging in relief. Clint was giving me a small sliver of confidence back.

"I have no doubt you'd fight like a cornered tiger if you had to," Clint chuckled again. "So, throw a punch at me."

"Seriously?" I couldn't stop myself gaping at Clint. "Like just punch me and I'm not going to sit there and correct your stance and get in trouble because my foot is an inch too far to the right?"

"Yeah seriously." Clint smiled at me as he stood with his feet slightly apart. He looked completely at ease. "Show me what you've got."

"Okay." I cringed, Clint was going to think I was the worst student in the world right now. I took a stance, instantly forgetting everything I'd been taught as my nerves kicked in.

"Kari, don't even think about it." Clint looked like he was trying not to laugh at me. "Just punch me. There's no right or wrong here. I don't have any kind of style to the way I fight. It's just whatever works best for me. An enemy isn't going to care if you're a black belt in something. They're going to try and kill you whatever way they can. So, throw a punch."

I gulped before throwing a weak punch towards him. Clint stepped away from it easily and sent a quick punch back at me, aiming for my face. Years of roughhousing with Jared was the only thing that made me step back and throw my arm up to block up. Clint's fist connected with my arm with enough force to make me grunt in surprise.

"Good." Clint nodded, stepping back. "Nice reflex, you didn't even have to think there."

I'd probably made more progress in that one move than I had in three weeks of hand to hand class. My confidence started to creep back out of it's hiding hole at Clint's praise. I was really getting hung up on my lack of skill in this area.

"Try again," Clint instructed. "This time don't be afraid of putting a bit of power behind it. You won't hurt me."

This time I threw the punch like I meant it. I still missed Clint, he would have seen it coming from a mile away. It felt a bit more natural.

"Again." Clint nodded in encouragement. "That was better. But you have some muscle there. Use it."

We sparred for an hour. By the time I was done it felt like every bone and muscle in my body was aching. After the first few goes when I got closer to actually hitting Clint, he started to hit back. While he didn't put a lot of force behind his hits, it was still enough to hurt. Though with every punch or block, I felt my confidence coming further out of it's shell. Clint was a very patient teacher. He never raised his voice, scolded me or lost his patience. If I was doing something wrong he'd correct me without making me feel like a complete idiot. If something wasn't working he'd make a suggestion about moving my body so it was more efficient. By the end, I was able to block most of his moves. But I still wasn't quick enough to get a hit on him.

It wasn't until we were done I noticed we even had company. Jared was standing to the side conversing quietly in Russian with a red headed woman. I didn't even need to be introduced to know it was Natasha Romanoff. The woman just screamed her persona Black Widow. Clint was right about one thing, Natasha was pretty small. She would only be 5'4, with killer curves and bright red hair. She laughed at something Jared said before turning to face me. Despite her reputation for being a hardened assassin with a cold exterior, she was smiling brightly in my direction. This week was full of surprises.

"My turn." Natasha looked at Clint with a terrifying grin. "Ready to get your ass kicked Barton?"

"No," Clint groaned. "On so many levels, no. Nat, this is Kari since Jared is going to be rude and stand there and not do introductions."

"Oh I know," Natasha grinned wider as she turned back to me. "I've been watching you a lot lately, but nice to finally meet you properly Kari."

Unlike everyone else, Natasha made no move to come forward and offer any other greeting. Clint leant over to me and whispered loudly.

"She's Russian and had a freaky thing about people touching her, so unless you're punching her or being her favourite lounge chair don't expect any touching."

I couldn't stop the snort of laughter that came from me. I then cringed slightly expecting a punch to come flying at me. Natasha just looked at me carefully with her grin turning into a smirk. I felt like I had just passed some kind of unspoken test with the look she gave me.

"Kari, aren't you meant to be at PT?" Jared spoke up looking at his watch like he was bored. I looked at my own watch and felt a pit of dread hit me. I was already late.

"Fuck yes I am," I cringed. As long as I sprinted I wouldn't be too late. Rumlow would still make me do push-ups until my arms fell off. "Are we still on for later Hawk?"

Natasha sniggered at me calling Clint the nickname I had dubbed him with. Jared looked like he was waiting for Clint to punch me and then laugh when I landed on my ass.

"Yep, archery range is behind the running track, its pretty secluded so I'll just meet you outside the locker room and show you where it is," Clint said to me before turning to Natasha. "Okay, please be nice Nat and no knives today."

I took that as my dismissal and bolted from the gym. I was going to be hurting tonight, I was already tired and sore from the sparring with Clint. Throwing in a PT session was just going to be another form of torture. I made it to the oval just as the group was starting to move off for the jog. I weaved into the crowd, making my way up to my usual spot near the front hoping I wouldn't be noticed. As usual, my luck didn't hold up and I ended up right next to Rumlow who shot me a grim look.

"Late," he scolded instantly.

"Sorry," I apologised quickly. If I tried to make excuse I'd only make matters worse. As I fell into the steady rhythm of the jogging I looked around for the now familiar face of Riley. I felt a slight stab of disappointment when I didn't see him. I then slapped myself for feeling that. No Kari, no to STRIKE guys under any circumstances I mentally berated myself. I'd been having to tell myself that far too much lately.

"First mission back," Rumlow's voice dragged my attention back to him. "If you're looking for Riley, he got medical clearance and is back in the field."

"I wasn't." The lie was weak and Rumlow saw through it straight away.

Riley had mentioned the night before he was hoping to get his medical clearance yesterday. I'd been at the range all day so I hadn't seen him to find out how it went. Obviously well since he wasn't here. I was happy for him that he got to get back to work.

"Uh huh." Rumlow gave me a knowing smirk. "Sure, I believe you. Just like I believed him when he got the medical clearance and had this tiny bit of disappointment look about him when he got put onto a mission straight away. I don't speak Russian but it sounded a bit colourful in the locker room when he was getting ready."

"Yeah well, he's probably enjoyed sleeping in a comfortable bed and not living off the ground." I tried to sound casual, not like I just hadn't been caught out. I was too obvious. I needed to work on my poker face a lot more.

"Or he's going to miss giving you your lift onto the chin-up bar every morning," Rumlow couldn't wipe the smirk off his face. I wanted to slap it off him, but after this mornings effort,s I knew I wouldn't be able to even get close. Rumlow looked so pleased with himself right now.

"Ugh, don't meddle. Remember?" I wrinkled my nose at Rumlow instead and gave into his teasing. "Seriously, don't even go there. I don't do relationships."

We were both silent for a good while. The only sound was the sound of heavy breathing around us and quiet conversation too mumbled to hear. I liked running, I couldn't wait until I was free from these PT sessions to be running by myself with my iPod blasting. Or hitting the gym. I'd have to start looking at some weight training programs to try and get some muscle happening like Clint suggested. YouTube and Google was about to become my best friend.

"So." Rumlow broke the silence again. "Would that be a no to passing your number onto Riley? Or me giving you his?"

I nearly tripped over my left foot in surprise.

"Why do you ask?" I said carefully when I recovered from my near embarrassing fall.

"I have his number and I figured he's too chicken shit to ask you for yours otherwise he would have done it by now. So I'm helping him out like a good wingman should." Rumlow looked so damn smug with himself right now.

"No, good wingmen get the girl drunk and then pass them off at the end of the night." I joked to cover my embarrassment and trying to stall for an answer. Fuck I did not expect this to be happening. What's more, I didn't know what to do. Since my first day, I'd been good and sworn never to get involved with any STRIKE guys. There would be too many issues with working too closely together. I was pretty sure SHIELD frowned on any relationship in work anyway. I'd read something about that in my SHIELD manual.

"Well, we all drink at a place called JoJo's," Rumlow said casually. "So I can do that when he gets back if you want to swing it that way."

"Rumlow," I groaned in protest. "Please stop meddling."

"Why?" Rumlow asked this time his expression was genuinely confused. "It's either you don't like him or you really like him and don't want to admit it. Come on, I've seen you two together every morning. And I've seen you leaving the office together a few times. Remember when I told you he was shy? He really is. You have no idea how hard it is for him to talk to anyone he doesn't really know."

"Or I don't want to get caught up with working with someone I'm sleeping with," I shot back quickly to cover my discomfort. If he was so shy he didn't normally speak, why was I finding it so easy to have a conversation with him? "Unlike you, I can do a magical thing called read, and I've read all my SHIELD manuals like a good little nerd. I'm pretty sure relationships at work are a big NO."

"Hey, I can read." Rumlow faked a wounded look on his face. "I know enough to read which end of the rocker launcher says front and back."

I laughed at that. Even if he was a hard taskmaster at least Rumlow had a good sense of humour. My initial reservation about him had faded ever since that night he'd dared me to skydive from the Quinjet. I had even begun to enjoy him bringing out my competitive streak.

"And relationships aren't work aren't a big no," Rumlow continued. "It's just you have to sign paperwork saying you won't fight at work, no fucking in the shower and you don't work closely together if it happens."

"Just the shower?" I pretended to muse which made Rumlow chuckle.

"I hear the locker room is out of bounds too," Rumlow added. "And Fury's desk, though I'm sure there's bets going around on who does that first without getting caught."

"That is wrong on so many levels," I grimaced at the mere thought of doing that. I wouldn't even be able to get in the mood if I was trying to do that for fear of Fury walking in on it.

"So do you want Riley's number or not?" Rumlow asked swinging the conversation directly back to where I was trying to discreetly lead away from.

I bit my lip in contemplation. I did want his number but I didn't want to admit that to Rumlow. I'd rather work up the courage myself to ask Riley out for a drink myself. This going through Rumlow just wasn't my style. It might take me a few weeks to finally ask Riley, but at least I'd be doing it myself.

"Stop trying to play coy." Rumlow broke through my racing thoughts. "He likes you, I know that for a fact. By that look on your face, I know you do too. It's not high school, just get his number and go have a beer for fuck sake."

"I was going to ask him myself," I admitted feeling defeated. "But fine, give me his number and please don't make me do 100 chin-ups today."

"Sweet." Rumlow grinned at me in obvious glee. "I'll only make you do 50 just for saying yes."

"Asshole." I grinned back at Rumlow. "I spent the morning sparring with Agent Barton so I'm sure my arms are going to fall off."

"Well, aren't you a lucky one then?" Rumlow looked surprised but didn't elaborate any further on it. Our jog was finished and most people were already quickly dropping to do their sit ups and push ups. Rumlow jerked his head in the direction of the bars while looking at me.

"And since I can already see bruises coming up on you, ten and you're done," Rumlow said with a smile. He looked a little envious of me right now. "Barton doesn't hold back. Lucky you to have him as a teacher. See me before you hit the shower for Riley's number."

There was no wiping the smile off my face at the rare show of mercy coming from Rumlow and the fact I had just gotten Riley's number. This week was turning out to be pretty damn good. I did my chin ups as fast I had ever done and walked back over to Rumlow. He didn't say anything because he was talking to someone else but handed me a piece of paper with a hastily scribbled out number on it. I didn't bother interrupting him, I had what I wanted.

The locker room was deserted and I enjoyed a hot shower for once, instead of the usual barely warm water. The technology SHIELD came up with was incredible, yet they couldn't seem to install a decent hot water system for the showers. I was busting to hit the archery range with Clint so I got dressed quickly and threw my sweaty workout clothes back into my locker. I walked out the door and nearly straight into Coulson. I stopped myself in time from running head first into him.

"Good morning Sir," I said instantly feeling a small pit of dread work its way into my stomach. Judging by the firm look on his face I felt like I was in trouble. Big trouble.

"Morning," Coulson said simply. "This way please."

Without another word, Coulson turned on his heel and marched off down the hallway. I sighed, following him a pace behind. There goes my feeling of it's going to be a good day. I shuffled along behind Coulson not paying attention to where we were going. Besides the telling the elevator what floor we needed, Coulson was silent as well. My nerves only increased when I found myself outside Director Fury's office. Without even a knock Coulson let himself in.

"Sit, Lyngley," Fury ordered straight away not looking up from whatever he was doing on his desk. Without a word, Coulson left the room. I started to mentally run through a list of things I'd been doing over the last few days. There was nothing I had done to get me into enough trouble to be back in front of Fury again. Unless it was to do with shattering Clint's arrow on the range yesterday. Shit that had to be it. I didn't even think when I did it that it'd cause a problem. If it had been a problem why had no one said anything at the time? Jared openly used his teleporting around here so I assumed it wasn't going to be an issue.

"How are you enjoying your time here at SHIELD?" The words coming from Fury's mouth nearly made me fall out of the chair. I was being awfully clumsy today. Here I was expecting to be chewed out big time. The pit of dread in my stomach started to slowly fade away.

"I've settled in well. Thank you, Sir," I said carefully.

"Good." Fury finally looked up from what he was doing. "Usually Agent Hill gets the say in assigning teams, but I feel like this should come from me instead."

The nerves came back with a vengeance. I gulped slightly. Here it was, my fate for the next year.

"Do you understand the role of a handler, Agent Lyngley?"

There it was. The first time anyone had ever referred to me as Agent. Technically I was still a recruit though. I couldn't stop the small flit of childish excitement that came with that title. Though Fury's question confused me. I knew the answer, but why he was asking me this I wouldn't know.

"A handler is put with specific agents to handle all their missions closely. The agents are usually special cases or Enhanced," I rattled off an abbreviated version of what I knew. "Their handler keeps an eye on them not only while on missions but in all aspects of their life as well. Specially trained agents can be a danger to the public and themselves if not kept a close eye on at all times."

"There are only a handful of agents and teams who require handlers," Fury added tapping his pen against the desk quietly. "Are you going to be one of them Agent Lyngley?"

That was a loaded question. If I said no, then I would probably end up assigned to some bullshit job. If I said yes, my life was about to get very interesting and possibly not in the best way depending on who I got lumped with.

"I will be whatever you require of me, Sir," I said tactfully. It was a bit of a bullshit answer, but judging by the briefest flick of a smile on Fury's face, it must have been the right one.

"The second you walk out that door, Agent Coulson is now your handler," Fury said. "You will be assigned to STRIKE Team Delta immediately. When you aren't on missions or training with them you'll be carrying out the normal duties of a SHIELD pilot. Agent Barton and Romanoff will take over all of your training from now on."

I must have gotten hit on the head and just dreamt the last hour of my life. I had to be still lying on the gym matt passed out cold from Clint hitting me. There's no way Fury himself just assigned me to Natasha Romanoff and Clint Barton.

"Welcome to SHIELD, Agent Lyngley." Fury picked up a small black wallet on his desk and handed it to me. I opened it with my shaking hands to find my badge and ID placed neatly in it. I had to pinch my leg to make sure this was real. I pinched myself hard and then winced at the pain in my leg. Nope not a dream, this was very real.

"Dismissed, go and see Agent Coulson," Fury turned back to his work on his desk without another word.

"Thank you, Sir," I managed to stutter out. How I didn't fall over my own feet leaving his office I will never know. When I opened the door I came face to face with Clint and Natasha both sitting across from the doorway looking bored. Natasha had her feet in Clint's lap while they both flicked idly on their phones. At the sound of the door closing, they both looked up.

"Look what I got." I couldn't stop the grin on my face when I opened my ID.

"Welcome to SHIELD Agent Lyngley." Clint smiled at me. "Who did you get assigned to?"

"You," Coulson came from around the corner with a file tucked under his arm. "You kids begged so nicely to keep her, Fury decided to let you keep another stray. Welcome to STRIKE Team Delta Agent Lyngley."

"Seriously?" Clint looked at Coulson with a grin starting to appear on his face. "Thanks, Dad I like it when you let me keep the strays."

Natasha shoved Clint, so hard he nearly fell off his chair. She then stood up and walked over and gave me a hug. I don't know who was more surprised, the men watching us or me. I awkwardly returned the hug. Though it was kept really brief. I pulled back looking at Natasha and I couldn't keep the surprise off my face

"I need another woman around here who isn't terrified of me," Natasha grinned as she explained. "And I've kind of been tailing you since you started. I figured the first day when you didn't back down from Rumlow when he made you do all those chin-ups you'd be good fun. Come let's get coffee and food, you need to tell me all the embarrassing stories about Jared so I've got some good ammo on him. By the way, loved your work the day you sat him on his ass on the track and when you kicked Rollins in the nuts. We'll have to go out for celebration drinks this weekend. I hear you're shouting me drinks for pushing Rollins into the door frame."

Without letting me get a word in, Natasha latched her arm through mine and started to drag me away. Her efforts were only briefly stopped by Coulson who handed me the file he had tucked under his arm.

"Have fun with coffee and reading," Coulson said to me with a smile. "Barton, you and I have to talk about those mission reports you promised you were going to do last night."

"Ah fuck," Clint swore. "Yep I'm going, bring me coffee Nat. I'll be a while."

"Yeah if you're lucky," Natasha threw over her should as we walked down the hallway to the elevator. "So, tell me everything."

Authors Note

Quick and sneaky update before heading to work this morning. Enjoy!

Edited 27th May 2018