I head to the shooting range. Nat and Clint are both already shooting. I wait till they finish, and both come over.
"We are going to practice normal shots then sniper shots." Nat tells me going easy on me.
"Alright," I agree.
I quickly put together my gun from the pieces on the table. Nat always makes sure there is extra pieces as well to try to trip me up. It doesn't work anymore. I empty the magazine into the target. I then take the gun apart. I do this as fast as I can. She expects perfection at this point. She shows me the paper.
"That's decent. You could do better. But I accept it. For sniper you are going to have a paintball gun. You are going to shoot people walking around, but only if they are wearing blue." She says.
"Sounds good," I agree. I head up to the roof. Of course, I have to build my paintball gun. The paint is red. Clint comes up. I know he's here to make sure my shots hit on target and offer advice if I need it. I build my gun quicky and load the paintballs. Clint and I both lie on the roof.
"How long am I to be up here?" I ask him.
"Four hours," he tells me.
"Four hours!" I exclaim looking out of my sight.
If I miss a person wearing blue. Nat will have a creative punishment for me.
"I've had to wait for twelve hours for one target. Four hours for everyone wearing blue is easier," he says.
"I guess you're right," I reply knowing I have waited four hours for a target before. I see someone with blue walking. I line up my shot and take it. It hits him right in the chest.
"Good shot," Clint compliments. I thank him as I line up and take another shot. "Nice one. I almost didn't see him."
"That's a lie," I call him out.
"Yes, it is. I was hoping it would make you feel good, though." He says. "Did it?"
"Not really," I reply.
"I tried," he says with a shrug.
I shoot three people in succession. Every time I hit them; I laugh because they freak out. They run around like a chicken with their head cut off. Clint also laughs. I see Grant walking through the courtyard. I wanna make this shot.
"Oh look, lover boy," Clint points out.
"Lover boy?" I question.
"He's wearing blue." Clint tells me.
I hit Grant in the forehead. He freezes and looks around. He then keeps walking wiping the paint off before it drips down his face.
"Now, what did you mean lover boy?" I ask.
"He likes you," Clint says.
"No, he doesn't. we just met." I say.
"Well, he has a crush on you that much is obvious," Clint tells me.
"That can't be possible. He admires my skills and my SO." I say.
"Believe what you want but I know what I see. Ask Nat her opinion. She will agree with me," Clints says. "Also, nice job hitting his forehead. I'm surprised he didn't freak out. he reacted surprisingly calmly. Which is good for his training."
"His SO is Garett," I tell him.
"Ahh, that makes sense. He is a hard ass." He replies.
"And Nat isn't?" I ask with a laugh.
"No, she's a hard ass in a different way," Clint says laughing with me.
The rest of my four hours goes quickly. I had to reload a few times, but I didn't miss a person wearing blue; that I noticed. Clint and I start to climb down.
"Did I miss anyone?" I ask Clint.
"Do you think you missed anyone?" he counters.
"No, I don't." I say.
"No, you didn't. you're right." He agrees.
"You did good. You're starting to pick up sniping." Nat says when we reach her. "You didn't miss anyone."
"You have to go now?" I ask telling how she is acting.
"Yes, I do." Nat says.
"Mission?" I question.
"Yeah, but I will text you your next lesson to learn." Nat tells me. She gives me a hug. "You will do great. Go take a nap. Tomorrow your back to classes."
"Okay, thanks," I say.
Clint gives me a hug. I walk to them to the Heli pad. I wave my goodbyes then head back to my dorm.
"You hit me with a paintball," I turn around and see Grant.
"Did I?" I pretend to not know what your talking about.
"You did, I saw you on the roof." He says.
"Damn, don't tell Natasha, please. She has wicked punishments." I say.
"You let me take you out for dinner and I won't say anything. This can stay between us." He bargains. Maybe Clint was right. Maybe Grant has a crush on me.
"Deal," I say. We shake hands.
"So, what was the paintballs?" he asks walking with me.
"I was doing sniper training. You wore blue, so I was to shoot you." I say.
"Ahh, that's cool. Does she normally make lessons that interesting?" he asks.
"Sometimes other times they can be really boring. Depends on what I'm learning or perfecting." I answer. "What's Garrett like as a trainer?"
"He can be difficult. He isn't as creative as Agent Romanoff, apparently." He says vaguely. I notice he's hiding a lot. We reach my dorm.
"Well, this is me." I say. "You heading to class?"
"Yeah, I'll make my way now. This is our dorm?"
"Yeah, this is home." I say with a smile.
"I'm across campus." He says.
I know those dorms are falling apart. I used to be in them, but Nat had me moved. Why wouldn't Garrett have him moved? He has the power.
"Good luck in class." I say.
"Have a good rest of your day," he replies walking towards class.
I head up to my dorm. Nat wants me to take a nap, so I will. She always knows what's best for me. Her being in the field longer then me. She knows best. I crawl into bed and fall asleep almost instantly.
I wake up and it's evening. I decide to head to the sauna for a little while. I head to the pool room and see Grant swimming laps. I head into the sauna. I lay down on the bench and close my eyes. Grant comes in after he's done his laps.
"How were your laps?" I ask.
"They were good. How was your nap?" He asks in return.
"It was actually needed. I was surprised on how tired I was." I say. "How was class?"
"It was class. I wish they challenged us more. But I guess you gotta go through all the tests and pass them before you can move on to the next thing," he says.
"That's true," I reply.
"Slowly, the sauna every night?" he asks.
"It started as a way to sooth the pain in my muscles when I started. After it just became routine," I say. "So, what class did you have?"
"Cyphers and codes," he says.
"That's an interesting class." I reply.
"Yeah, it can be, but today I found it boring." He says.
"Why?" I ask.
"They were talking world war one and two cyphers and codes." He says.
"Knowing the old codes is a good thing," I reply.
"Maybe," he agrees.
We lay quietly for a while just enjoying the heat. We both decide to leave. I walk him to his dorm this time.
"Why walk me?" he asks.
"Because it's your turn to forget dropped off." I say with a smile.
"I like this," he says.
We arrive at his dorm. He pins me against the wall and kisses me. I run my fingers through his hair. He pulls away. I pull him in for another kiss.
"Have a good night," I say.
"Thanks, you as well!" He replies walking into his dorm.
I take the walk back to my dorm to be able to think about how I feel about him. I can't deny he is attracted. He is very smart. He can also keep up with me in his classes from what I have heard and seem. But he is hiding something. Can I be okay with that? He might eventually open up to me. I arrive back at my dorm.
"How was your day?" Leslie asks.
"It was good," I reply.
"You were there for sparring," she says.
"Yeah, got a text from Nat waking me up. She wanted to do some extra training on my day off." I tell her.
"That's why agent Barton and agent Romanoff were here," she says.
"I don't know hoe they ended up in our sparring class though," I say.
"That's true. But you know how coach is. He can be very persuasive." Leslie says.
"Natasha, getting persuaded to do anything she doesn't want to do?" I question.
"You're right. Agent Romanoff will never do anything she doesn't want to," she agrees with me. "It was awesome to learn from Agent Barton and Agent Romanoff. I hope we get to learn from them again."
"You will probably get the chance. They aren't done with my yet." I tell her.
"Haha, if it was up to them, they would never be done with you," she says.
"Yeah, they definitely love," I agree.
"So, what did they have you doing?" she asks,
"Gun training. Had to snipe people with paintballs if they were wearing blue. Which was fun," I tell her.
"Damn, I wish Victoria would do something like that with me." She whines.
"Agent Hand is an amazing Agent. I've also heard from others that she's a great SO. Learn from her and you will be a great agent as well. You might also have some future agents look up to you in the future." I tell her.
"You got intel on Victoria?" She asks.
"I got intel on most agents. One of Natasha's training exercises" I explain.
"Oh, I forgot to ask how was sparring with Mr. Grant 'robot' Ward?" she asks.
"It was good. He is actually good. It was a challenge which is always nice. I have a feeling coach will pair him and I together more often. Grant matches my skill level a bit more then the other students in the class," I tell her.
"That's just cause your trained by thee Agent Clint Barton and thee Agent Natasha Romanoff," she says rolling her eyes.
"That's not totally true. You just don't pay attention. You prefer the social aspect. You can get intel from anyone without them knowing because you are that good at the social aspect," I point out.
"Okay, I can agree with that. Sparring is just so boring," she says flopping down on her bed.
"But it's a necessity to stay alive," I say.
"Fine. I'll try to pay attention more as long as you tell me what's going on with you and new boy Grant Ward," She tells us. See what I mean, good at social.
"Haven't picked a nickname yet?" I ask.
"No, not yet. Sut spill," she says.
"Nothing, it going on between us," I tell her.
"Yeah, and I don't have the biggest crush on Clint Barton," she says. "You already knew him when I introduced you two. So, spill."
"Yeas, when we met, I was in bra and panties. What's the big deal?" I ask very confused.
"What's the big deal? The big deal is that you met him in sexy bra and panties." She squeals "He seemed to like you though."
"That's what Clint said." I tell her. Maybe I really did miss the cue. I really need to pay attention more.
"There's more then your telling me," she says.
"Fine," I say rolling my eyes. "I shot him with a paintball during my assignment. He saw that it was me. He promised no to tell Natasha if I went to dinner with him."
"Did you agree?" she asks sitting up.
"Yeah, of course. I don't want Natasha finding out. She would be so disappointed." I say.
"Did anything else happen?" she pushes for more details.
"No, I went and took a nap," I say.
"You were late getting back from the sauna, today," she points out.
"And?" I ask.
"And what did you do? You're never late getting back." She says. Damn she knows my routine too well.
"Well, he was doing his pool laps when I arrived. He joined me again after we talked. I walked him back after. Then he kissed me."
"He kissed you!" she exclaims squealing.
"Yes, he kissed me." I say with a huff. "It's not a big deal."
"Sure, it is, new guy show's no interest in anyone, not even as a friends. He meets you and bam instant crush." She tells me like it's an epic love story.
"It didn't go that way," I say.
"This is also your first relationship that I know about," she says.
"That's right. That you know about." I agree.
"What!? That I know about! What's that supposed to mean?" She exclaims.