Disclaimer: I don't own/stab TA's to death with the Avengers or Harry Potter.

Walter Malville

"You're holding it wrong." Harry's voice shot through the silent room like shrapnel from a bomb. Natasha turned quickly, surprised. The dagger that she had been practicing with flew from her hand before she could stop it. The thrown dagger was off a little, more to his right than his heart was which was one of the reasons it was so easy for Harry to catch.

"I didn't hear you come in." Natasha said without the tiniest bit of remorse at the thrown dagger. She probably thought that if he wasn't good enough to catch a miss thrown dagger than he wasn't good enough to be her partner.

Harry scoffed at her.

"Do you always thrown daggers at people who walk in the door?" Harry asked calmly while handing the dagger back to her.

"When they are purposefully being sneaky, then, yes." Natasha said without pause. She looked down at the dagger in her hand and back to Harry. "I wasn't..."

"Holding it wrong? Yes, you were." Harry said nonchalantly.

He knew more than his fair share about holding and throwing knives. Aunt Petunia had expected nothing less when she placed a knife in his hand at age five to help chop vegetables, unconcerned for his safety. The knowledge of how to throw knives and daggers respectfully came a bit later. Seamus had been an intolerable show-off when he was young, but had been very skilled with a dagger. A skill which made him infamous until his death, well that and his tendency to turn water into rum.

"No, I wasn't." She said very insistently. Which was unsurprising because if you lived your entire life was dependant on your ability to throw a knife well, then you were going to be a bit hesitant when someone informed you that you had been doing it wrong all those years.

"Yes, you were. Look..." Harry took a step forward, but stopped when Natasha took a step away from him. "I'm not going to hurt you. I was just going to show you why it was wrong. The way that you are holding it know makes it too easy to remove from your hand." Harry motioned a little with his hand before sighing and taking out a dagger of his own. "I'll show you alright."

The dagger that hit his hand was positioned instinctively. The motion had been drilled into his brain for years. He held it out to show it to her, keeping the blade pointed away. He opened and clenched a few times to really show her.

"It has been working for me just fine." She said stubbornly.

"That's because you have fighting people that didn't know any better. Once you actually fight a skilled opponent they are going to pluck it from your hands like candy." He stepped forward a little to test to see if she would back up again, she didn't. "Let me show she what I mean." His hand shot forward quickly, putting Natasha on the defensive. She took a few swipes that Harry generally ignored and when he got close enough a quick grab to her hand a pull was all it took for the dagger to slip right out of her fingers.

Natasha stared in surprised dismay at her dagger in Harry's hand. "How did you do that?"

"I told you. The way you were holding it was wrong. Here, take it back." Harry flipped it over in his hand and gave it back to her hilt first. When she took it Harry stepped closer. He covered her hand with his and moved her grip on the hilt. "Hold it like this, okay? It will take a little while to get used to it, but practice makes perfect, and everything."

Harry backed away quickly and headed to the table. He sat down in a chair and kicked his feet up. He continued ignoring Natasha and took out a folder from his jacket. Natasha stared at the dagger in shock for a second before morphing her face to a neutral expression.

"Thank you." The words that came from Natasha's mouth were a shock to Harry, but those didn't bother Harry as much as the tone it was said in. There was something very off about the way that it was said that put Harry on edge. He narrowed his eyes at Natasha.

"It was no problem. We are working together. It might be my life on the line based on your ability to hold the dagger correctly." It was logical when he said it like that. It wasn't because he wanted to help her, it was because his life depended on her knowledge.

"No, really, thank you." Harry looked at her closer now. There was something wrong, very wrong.

Natasha took a step toward Harry, but it didn't look right. Natasha's normal stride was efficiently graceful, no unnecessary movement, professional. The way that she was walking toward Harry was unnatural. There was a small sway to her hips. The movement was slower and sensual. It looked very wrong.

"Natasha, stop it." Harry said suspiciously.

"Stop what, Harry?" She took a step closer, swaying. "You gave me something. Shouldn't I return the favor." She was close enough to touch now. Her clothing was black as normal, but loose on her frame, no doubt hiding weapons. She leaned down to get closer to Harry and showed more skin that normal. Her body was still a girl's though. She was fourteen, barely into puberty, and already was trying to seduce him. What sort of people had she been around to give her the impression that he would be even the slightest bit interested.

"Natasha. Stop it." Harry almost growled at her. His voice held barely disguised anger and his eyes were alight.

"Why? I need to repay my debt." She stepped closer now, her hands on the arms of his chair.

Harry didn't let it go any further than that. With a snarl he tugged her forward onto his lap. He twisted the dagger out of her hand forcefully - despite the correct grip - and pushed her onto the table. Her back hit the tabletop and he leaned over her. With a quick motion he stabbed the dagger next to her head.

"We need new ground rules, sweetheart." He snarled close to her scared face and then stepped back, putting distance between them. He let her compose herself for a few minutes before sitting back in the chair, motioning for her to take the other one. "I was going to tell you about our new job, but I think after that little display we need to have a discussion."

"What are your rules?" Natasha's voice was back to the same emotionless tone it always held and Harry let out a sigh of relief.

"Rule one, no trying to manipulate your partner." Harry looked very pointedly at her. She opened her mouth to protest, but Harry cut her off. "I knew exactly what you were trying to do from the start. Natasha you are one of the most skilled actresses I've ever come in contact with, but seeing as I've seen your true self without any masks, the effect is sort of ruined on me. You could get anyone to do anything if you really put your mind to it, but I am not your enemy. Natasha, if you use your skills on me, then this ends. Stick to manipulating the targets, not me." Harry said firmly. Natasha's grin face nodded.

"Fine then, if we are making rules." She sat up straighter in her chair, their earlier fight forgotten. "Rule two, no sneaking up on me or spying. If I can't use my skills on you, then you can't use your skills on me." She looked pointedly at Harry. "That includes your vanishing act."

Harry smiled and nodded. Natasha had no idea what his magic could do and he didn't really ever think of telling her, but the longer this partnership went on the more careful he would have to become. Natasha was observant and keeping the secret of his magic from her would be difficult, especially since she already had suspicions.

"Rule three, no running into possibly deadly situations without backup. I refuse to have another car incident. If you can help it, you don't walk into the middle of a group of bad guys and follow them." He told her steadily.

He had reacted fiercely to her first almost kidnapping and refused to be forced into that kind of action again. Harry didn't need another person to protect, but it seemed like that was the only reason he had said yes to her offer of partnership. He thought he had gotten rid of that part of him entirely during the war and it was distressing to see it again. He still didn't know why he decided to become her partner, but something in him wanted companionship and refused to die no matter what Harry did to it.

"Rule four, no presents." The voice was soft, but still emotionless. Harry focused his gaze back on Natasha and stopped day dreaming. Natasha's gaze, however, was focused on the table, nowhere close to Harry.

"Why?"

"Presents suggest an emotional attachment. We are partners in a business. Our relationship is strictly professional. There is no need to form attachments between us." The tone was emotionlessly professional, a Natasha signature.

"Does this have something to do with the CD and player that I got you?" Harry asked curiously. Natasha remained silent and continued looking at the table. The silence went on for a moment before Harry continued talking. It wasn't really any of his business anyway. "On that note. Rule five, no sexual intercourse."

Natasha looked up in surprise. "What?"

"It is a similar sentiment to rule four. Emotional attachments and all that." Harry said, waving a hand nonchalantly. Natasha looked at him confused so Harry continued. "Look, you are cute. I am not going to deny that. However, you are fourteen years old. When I look at you I see dolls and pink bows. I don't see anything that attracts me though. You aren't sexy or hot, you are a cute girl. So, whatever you thought was going to happen when you started that little seduction routine of yours, is off the table completely. Understand?"

Natasha nodded, but still seemed slightly bewildered. Harry had to wonder if it wasn't because she hadn't ever met anyone before that didn't want her body. The thought was followed by a surge of rage that he had to push down. He ignored the thought and the rage and continued to stare at the girl.

"Seems reasonable." Natasha said slowly. She was obviously still considering the rules, but after awhile she nodded to Harry.

"Great, the rules are set. Now, we can get to our job." Harry threw the folder onto the table in front of Natasha. "Walter Malville worked as an intern for Dr. Caudswell. He is the closest thing that the doctor had to a successor and Bloom wants him gone as well. Since we did so well on the last job, this is our new one."

Natasha nodded and picked up the folder. The picture inside was of a twenty-something year old man with brown hair and lazy eyes. Her eyes flickered over the pages. It was only once she had finished when she turned back to him with questioning eyes.

"This man isn't in Russia." It was a statement that was phrased as a question.

"No, he isn't. In fact, he is currently in America working on his doctorate degree. He has a job at Columbia University as a teacher's assistant." He flipped through the folder until he came across the pictures of the campus and the man teaching a class. "I figure this is a good in. It doesn't have to be complicated. The man isn't protected at all yet. The research company is still in a mess after Caudswell's death and won't start looking for a replacement for a little while yet."

"We are going to America?" There was a slight bit of excitement in Natasha's tone.

"Have you ever been there before?"

"No. I've never been outside of Russia before." She responded steadily. She had a bit of hesitation in her voice, almost as if she expected Harry to leave her now that he knew she had never been out of the country.

"Well, that's good." Natasha looked at Harry surprised. "The reason I decided to take the job was because it was in America. We have enough money to go there now without too much hassle and you need to have experience in other countries. Accents and languages are one tool that I could do with having and that you need to learn. It will give you a chance to practice fitting in to other cultures."

"How will we get there?"

"Bloom is footing the travel expenses so all we have to do is get paperwork and I've got a guy for that."

"I want to come." Natasha told Harry stiffly. She obviously didn't want to be left behind again.

"Fine, I was planning on taking you anyway. Rolo is going to need your picture to make proper identification papers. I was planning on doing it now, if that isn't a problem." He told her and she nodded in response. Harry picked out his jacket from the bed and threw it on. "What are you waiting for?"

Natasha scurried over to her bed and tugged on her winter jacket, the first purchase she had made with her cut of the money from the Caudswell job. She also pulled the dagger out of the tabletop and stowed it away. Harry was waiting for her by the door once she was ready.

The walk through the slums of Moscow was cold, dark, and unpleasant. They had walked for a few blocks before Harry pulled Natasha into an alleyway. He motioned for her to follow him and let her to a section of wall that looked slightly different from the rest. Harry pulled on stone out of place and pressed a button inside. A section of the wall popped out and opened, showing the two a small alcove filled with clothing, weapons, money, papers, and extraneous items.

"What is this?" Natasha asked completely shocked.

"This is one of safety deposit boxes." Harry told her while picking up a stack of Euros. "Once I started traveling around for work I realized that I would never truly know where I was going to end up. I leave these little alcoves in every city that I go to. It provides an emergency backup to anything I could possibly need. I told you about it because eventually I am going to start putting some stuff away for you as well. You never know when you are going to need a new set of clothes to change into or identification papers." Harry held up the stone and made her look at it. Marked on the surface was an Ouroboros. "There is another marking on a stone near the street. That's how I can tell where to go and which stone to dig out."

Natasha swallowed her surprise and reaffixed her emotionless mask.

"Aren't you afraid that someone else will see it and steal the stuff. It is dangerous to leave weapons lying around where anyone can get to them." Harry laughed a little.

"No one knows how to find them except for the people that I've told." The entire network of alcoves was under the best set of wards he could design. The entire thing was very clever. The Fidelius charm covered the knowledge of the alcoves, which in turn meant every alcove was covered by the exact same Fidelius charm, so that if he wanted someone to know about the network he didn't have to tell them about every alcove individually. However, if he only wanted to tell someone about one of the alcoves he could take them to it and they would remember without knowing about the rest of the system. It also had a built in detector so that if he needed something in an alcove in a hurry it would guide him to it. He was quite proud of it really. "Which is just you currently. You won't tell anyone, will you?" Harry continued. The question was innocent, but there was an edge to Harry's voice, almost a threat.

"Of course not, why give away advantages." She said with a scoff.

"Good, it might be a good idea to start making something like this yourself. The road of life is curvy, you never quite know where you are going to end up." Harry told her while closing the wall and setting the stone back in place. "Now, we are going to meet Rolo. However, before we do that I need to warn you. Rolo might seem like a nice enough guy, but you don't survive in this kind of business without being hard. Don't be fooled by his exterior that man is a monster."

"Then why do you go to him?"

"The reason that everyone else does. He is the best at what he does and being despicable doesn't impact his ability to do good work. Just watch yourself around him, okay?"

Harry walked back to the main street with Natasha following. They went further into the slums getting closer to the marketplace where Harry had met Natasha. They were a few blocks past it when Harry finally turned and walked up a stoop. Their destination building wasn't much different from the buildings surrounding it, which meant that it was pretty much decaying before their eyes. The paint was peeling off the wall and the wooden railing was rotted through. Harry didn't let the appearance stop him and knocked on the door.

"What do you want?" The surly Russian voice that called out from behind the door didn't take anyone by surprise.

"It's Harry." The door swung open to a face that fit the voice perfectly which wasn't a good thing.

Rolo was a sickly skinny blond man with dark rings around his eyes, sores on his face, and missing teeth. Natasha almost flinched back in disgust, but stopped herself.

"Harry! My good man, did you bring Rolo a present?" Rolo's voice was sickly sweet, broken English as his eyes undressed Natasha. Harry felt Goosebumps cover his skin, but ignored them.

"We need passports and IDs." Harry stepped closer to Rolo, grabbing his chin and forcing him to look Harry in the eyes. He whispered menacingly to Rolo, "That girl belongs to me and if you so much as look at her again I will rip your eyes out of their sockets, cut off your balls and sodomize you with them."

Rolo had the decency to look scared out of his mind for a few seconds before nodding frantically and backtracking into the apartment. "Of course, of course, my good man. Rolo does not touch that which isn't his. Come in and bring your pretty with you. Rolo will do his best work for you."

The inside of the building didn't look much different from the outside, peeling wallpaper and rotten floors. There were piles of garbage surrounding the entrance and Harry had to force Natasha into the house behind him. It wasn't until they got to the backroom that it changed. The walls became sturdy and un-warped. The floors were a nice clean tile and not a speck of dust was out of place. The entire room was filled with complicated machinery, printing machines and presses. There were cameras set up in one corner and a couple of computer's against a wall.

"United States." Harry stated to the man. Rolo just nodded and swayed in a way that made Harry think back to the Longbottoms in Saint Mungos - like he wasn't really all there.

Rolo pulled out a stool and motioned Harry forward. Harry sat on it in front of the camera stiffly.

"Good, good. I just take picture and get names and all set. United States popular destination." Rolo nodded to himself and absentmindedly pressed on the camera to take the picture. There was a flash and cranking noises before the picture popped onto the computer screen. "Now the pretty." Rolo waved Natasha forward, who looked more than a bit hesitant about getting close to him. "Come, come. More to do today."

Natasha sat gingerly on the stool and not a second after the picture was taken did she vacate it to stand next to Harry again. She was just a step behind him, but always seemed to be using him as a shield between her and Rolo. Harry didn't really mind it, Natasha could take care of herself if she really needed to and if she wanted to pretend to be the innocent lamb for a second then Harry didn't care.

"How long?" Harry kept his sentences short and to the point, the sooner they got out of this place the better.

"Thirty minutes. Sit on couch, names?" Rolo asked Harry, not even glancing in Natasha's direction.

"Harry and Natalie Granger." Harry told him and Rolo spun back around to the computer. Once he sat down he completely ignored the two of them just tapping away. Natasha looked at Harry in surprise.

"Rolo does good work." Harry said with a shrug. It was true, despite his rather low opinion of the man. Neither Harry nor Natasha sat on the grungy looking couch, but stood waiting for thirty minutes until the machines had stopped whirling.

Rolo sprang from his seat and started piling the papers that came from the machines. He held them under lights and checked every inch before turned back to Harry with a smile.

"All good. Money?" Rolo slipped the pile of papers into a folder and held out his dirty hands. Harry pulled the stack of bills from his pocket and handed it over, plucking the folder from Rolo's hands. Harry put his hand on Natasha's arm and led her from the building. He didn't stop even when they heard a moan from upstairs. He didn't let go until they were out of the house and on their way down the road.

"You never go back there, alright? Not without backup." Harry said succinctly and started walking away. Natasha stared after Harry in confusion before following.

"Why not? What was that noise from upstairs?"

"Rolo runs a brothel - of sorts - in his spare time." Harry told her without looking at her.

"Of sorts?"

The look that Harry shot Natasha made her stop in her tracks and turn around. For a few seconds it looked as if she was going to march back into the building, but Harry put a stop to that with another look.

"We don't go to the man because we like him. We go to him because he does his job better than anyone else. He made sure of that when he set up his business. He is the only forger in 300 kilometers worth the money. He is an evil man who has made himself invaluable and someday you might need him as well."

Natasha nodded slowly and Harry started walking away again, trying to get as far away from that place as possible. Natasha looked back in disgust for a moment before following him.

Columbia University was a gorgeous old university in New York State. However, just being on the campus gave Harry the creeps. Too many bad things had happened on school campuses in his lifetime for him to be comfortable on it. It didn't help the feeling of foreboding that was creeping down his spine.

"Do I look okay?" Natasha was speaking English, as she had been doing for the past few days every since they had gotten to America.

"Yep." Harry nodded to her and had to stop in shock for the hundredth time that day when he glanced at her.

Natasha did her disguise very well. The makeup that she had applied made her look like a small women of college age than the girl she actually was. The outfit and the way that she moved all indicated a woman and it was a little unsettling to Harry. Natasha's short skirt and low cut shirt showed off the baby smooth skin that real women would die to have. Her books and glasses also made her look like the student she was supposed to be.

Harry's disguise was a little less intense. His clothes and hair was rumpled. His bag over one shoulder was close to falling apart and it fit well with the image he was trying to play. Natasha had informed him after two days of observation on the campus that it was what most of the guys were wearing. Harry thought it was a little goofy to wear unwashed clothes outside, but deferred to Natasha's assessment.

"vhere are we going?" Natasha said in the still accented English. She was getting better at it over the past few days, but it was still fairly obvious where she came from.

"That building over there." Harry pointed to the white stoned building next to them. "Malville is helping with a class in there. We should be able to catch him as he is leaving or going in. Let's go."

Harry's eyes were hard as he pushed through the students into the building, Natasha next to him. Harry's eyes scanned the crowd looking for the brown hair from the photos. He noticed more than a few stray eyes locking onto Natasha and with a flick of the wand in his pocket the eyes turned away. A pretty woman was always good distraction, but not when the woman was about to kill someone.

Harry caught sight of the right hair and body just as it entered a classroom.

"Shit, he's inside the class. We need to be careful. You should do the glide by. You have your needle?" Harry questioned her while never looking away from the door.

"Yes."

"Then go." Harry pointed to the room. It shouldn't take her more than a second. It was a quick glide by, walk past the target and prick him. It was a nothing move and she would be out of there in a second. They would pick up their money and move onto the next target. Harry told himself this as he waited by the wall outside the door. There was no reason to get involved and Natasha needed experience. Harry tensely waited there until he heard a voice call out from behind the door.

"If everyone could just take their seats please." That was the voice of the professor, which meant the class was starting, which was wrong because Natasha should have been out of there by now. Harry sprang to the door and looked inside.

Crouched on the floor close to the target was Natasha. She seemed to be looking frantically for something on the floor and Harry's heart sank. There was only one thing that Natasha would look for, the needle. Natasha had dropped her needle. Harry started to open the door, but before he could get very far a body stepped in front of it.

"Sorry, young man, but if you want to be in my class you must get here on time." The Professor that stood in front of the door was an old, white haired gentleman that just shook his head sadly and closed the door before Harry could respond.

"No, wait... shit." The door was locked, there was no way he was getting in that room. "Bloody dumbass." Harry scowled at the door before he took in deep breath. This shouldn't be too hard, just wait for the class to be over with and get him then. Natasha would have to sit through a boring lecture on particle physics -whatever that was- but otherwise everything would be exactly the same.

Harry kept repeating this to himself as he glared at the offending door. He didn't need to burst into that room because Natasha wasn't in danger. It was a college classroom, not the middle of a warzone. Their target was barely past pubescence, not a militant solider. This was an easy target.

However, no matter how many times the words repeated themselves in his head it didn't make the hour go by any faster. The seconds crept by like snails and by the time students started trickling out of the classroom he could already feel grey hairs start to grow on his head.

Harry's eyes moved crazily through the oncoming mob of student trying to spot familiar red hair. It didn't help though, because Natasha was shorter than everyone else anyway, he wouldn't be able to see her. Harry squashed the fear that rose in his chest and stood still. He concentrated on the noises that surrounded him until he heard the right one.

"Hello there, I was just wondering if I could ask you for some help on a homework question." Natasha's voice flowed through the crowd. She was talking to someone, the target?

"Are you from Russia? I spent a few years there at a job. Your accent sounds ... follow me to my office." The voices were cutting out now, getting further away. Harry's head turned frantically trying to spot them.

"Thank you, I would...born there...study abroad." Natasha kept character well, but this wouldn't have been necessary if everything had just gone according to plan.

Harry squashed a sigh of relief when he finally spotted dark red curly hair as it was about to turn a corner next to a brown haired figure. he pushed his way through the crowd of students without remorse. His entire mind was focused on Natasha.

He moved through the hallways following Natasha and Malville slowly. There wasn't much that could be done to get to them any faster and despite his minor heart attack earlier, Natasha wasn't in any trouble. It was only once Natasha and Malville entered a room that Harry stopped rushing forward. He moved slowly now getting closer to the door gradually. Once he got outside of the room he stood next to the door and started listening to the conversation.

Natasha didn't need any help yet and no doubt she wanted to do this job herself, so Harry contained his desire to burst through the door and waited for her.

"You lived in Russia?" Natasha's voice floated through the door.

"Yeah, for a couple of years actually. I worked as an assistant to a research scientist there. It is actually pretty crazy because just a day ago I got the call that he had died in some sort of freak heart attack. It was crazy because I always remember him being so healthy, but things like that happen I suppose."

"I am sorry to hear that." Natasha actually sounded sorry which made Harry smile a little at the absurdity of it.

"Don't worry about that now. I was just wondering what it was you were looking for."

"What do you mean?"

"Don't play coy. I saw you looking at me all throughout the class, I couldn't keep my eyes off of you myself.

"No, I just..."

Harry didn't hear the rest of the sentence because in that moment his rage overtook him completely. Before he really understood what was happening he burst through the door, slamming it against the wall. Natasha and Malville looked at him surprised. Harry quickly took in their appearance and his vision went red. Natasha was pressed against the desk, Malville in front of her with his hand on her thigh. Natasha looked shocked at his entrance, but didn't remove the hand from her thigh.

Harry didn't remember the few seconds after that, but came back to himself standing over the body of Walter Malville. Malville had a large dagger sticking out of his chest and a slash across his throat poring blood onto the floor. Harry pulled the dagger from him with a tug and grabbed Natasha by the arm to lead her away.

"Harry, what are you..." Natasha shut up at the angry look that Harry shot at her.

They stalked through the campus quickly and before he knew it they were in the car driving away. Harry sped into the parking lot of their hotel and got out quickly. He snapped at Natasha when she was moving to slow out of the car and glared at anyone else that came close. It was barely another minute before they were in their hotel room and Harry was glaring at Natasha.

Natasha refused to buckle under the pressure of his gaze and glared at him. "What was all that? I had him exactly where I wanted him until you came bursting in to the room. You killed the target without getting any information from him. Didn't you want to know what Caudswell was up to that got him killed."

"NO." Harry shouted at her. "And neither should you. Our job is not to know what bloody stupid thing someone has done to get them killed. Our job is to kill the people."

"Did you say that we should know our clients."

"Natasha," Harry growled at her, "I do not care what Caudswell was doing, all I care about is getting the job done and protecting myself from fallout. I study my clients because I want to know if someone is going to stab me in the back. I care to know just enough about the target to kill him, as should you. Don't get caught up in politics that don't concern you, it will just get you killed."

"Fine. That still doesn't explain the completely unprofessional behavior that you displayed in that..." Harry cut her off.

"You broke a rule."

"What?" Natasha looked at him shocked.

"You broke a rule. Specifically, rule number three. Do you remember it?" Harry asked with a growl. Natasha looked baffled. "Don't follow potential hostiles into enclosed spaces without backup."

"That's not...I mean...Malville wasn't a dangerous criminal. You said it yourself, he was a nothing target, not dangerous."

"That's not the impression I got when I walked in on you two." Harry snarled at her.

"I am not a child, Harry." Natasha spat. "You don't have to protect me from all men. I know exactly what they want and how to use it against them, it is my greatest strength. I can't do my job with an overprotective brother looking over my shoulder all the time. I don't need to be protected."

"That's not really what it looked like to me. You are fourteen years old, Natasha. I don't care if the pope himself wants to screw you, I am not going to let him touch you."

"I'm not a CHILD!" Natasha screamed at Harry.

"YOU ARE TOO!" Harry screamed back.

"I AM YOUR PARTNER!" Natasha yelled at Harry. "If you want it to stay that way than stop this overprotective act and let me do my job." The tense silence that filled the room lasted for several minutes. The two partners glared at each other, neither willing to give first. Natasha finally asked a question that broke the silence. "What happened to your eyes?"

Harry shot back, surprised. "What?"

"In the room, after you killed Malville, your eyes went red for a second." Natasha told him. Harry shook his head and turned around.

"No, they didn't. Trick of the light." Harry pulled off his shirt and headed to the bathroom. "I'm going to take a shower." Harry only stopped at Natasha's soft words.

"Harry, if you can't trust me to protect myself with the most naive client we will probably every get, then this partnership will not work."

"Fine." Harry snapped angrily. He didn't like it one bit. "I will let you do your job as long as you aren't in immediate danger, but you can't forget Rule three again. Do we understand each other? You always let me provide backup." It was said as a statement and Harry meant it. He was getting to emotional over this girl, this couldn't happen again or he would break it off himself.

"Fine."

Harry nodded and disappeared into the bathroom.

Kill two complete.

AN: Hello everyone. Thanks to those that reviewed last chapter. This one took me a little longer because I had some tests this past week. As per usual if you like what you read then please review. It makes me feel good which in turn makes me write faster. If you notice any errors please point them out to me, that would be a huge help.

Thanks all,

~Rain