Something Different

6: The Grind Never Stops

Y/n's POV:

"Hold on!" I shouted from my bed, papers flying around as I got up to answer the soft knocking on my door.

"Oh hey," I whispered slightly out of breath.

Nat peers behind me to see the floor scattered with everything mechanical you can think of. "Didn't wanna wait until dinner's settled in your stomach?"

I shrugged, chuckling nervously as I let her in. She stepped over a few piles of my equipment before picking up the pieces of paper.

"Sorry, I'd normally write them in my notebook but I couldn't find it anywhere." I apologized as I closed the door, watching as she sat down on my bed.

She reached into her pocket and pulled out my notebook, surprising me. "It was at the lab, Bruce told me to give it to you when I passed by there."

"Ah, I must've forgotten it." I thanked her, scanning through my notes and bookmarking certain pages before placing it on my table.

"So. How are you feeling?" She asks as she flips through the papers she was holding, filled with various sketches and calculations.

"Tired? I guess." I shrug, falling back to the rolling chair I was previously sitting in. Lightly bumping my table with the knives I was currently working on for my suit.

Nat lightly scoffed before compiling all the papers, placing them neatly on the bed. She looks at me with narrowed eyes, expecting a different answer than what I have supplied her.

"Tired." she reiterates, gesturing at her surroundings before raising her eyebrow. "Yet you're still working." She continues in a monotonous tone.

"Th- There's still some residual excitement in me, Ya know? What else am I gonna do?" I stutter, hunching back over the table.

Nat nods, humming just under the volume where I could barely hear her. "I could think of something."

"Hm? Sorry I didn't catch that." I ask over my shoulder preoccupied with finalizing the catch mechanism of my blade.

She snickers before clearing her throat. "Nothin'. What are you working on?" She asks, moving closer so she's beside me.

"Look," I strap the blades to my forearm before facing her, adjusting it so it sits comfortably. I motion for her to step back, extending my arms so she could see my weapons.

"Bracers? Wha—"

I flick my wrist, cutting her off mid-sentence. Blades spring out from each of my forearms. "Eh? Cool?" I grin, wiggling my eyebrows.

"Pretty cool, but... You know our enemies have guns right?" She unbuckled the strap that was holding the mechanism to my arm, examining the bracers and the blades.

"Oh? They don't fight with long sticks and throw rocks at a distance? My, my, that might be a problem." I thought, tilting my head and scratching my chin. Nat stared at me, forming a tight-lipped smile before dropping all her weight onto one leg.

"Don't worry, I'll have a gun. Plus, I'm technically just a battle medic, so I'll be at the back" I joke trying to lighten the mood. Nat just shook her head and laughed, passing my gear back to me.

"Which reminds me..." I squeeze past her and rummage through a pile dedicated to my medical tech. After a couple of seconds, I found it along with a screen currently displaying NO DATA.

"Aha! Here, put this on the inside of your wrist and press lightly." I pass her a small octagonal metal disc; about the size of two quarters stacked together and slid the screen into a pocket on the top of my bracer.

Nat laid the disc while holding the center. The small arc reactor I borrowed from Tony lit up, the edges flipped open before collapsing onto its back. Finally exposing the vials they protected. The chip's locking mechanism tightened around her arm, causing her to wince a little bit before it loosened.

"It's the Az-01's mini, but I just call it MINI cause it's faster. There's currently only one right now but I'm working on the others," I said motioning for her to raise her arm. I hover the screen near the chip which automatically logs her data.

"Anywhere you guys are on the field... I'll be able to monitor your status. The mini releases the serum immediately, but it alerts me beforehand. It filters different intensities of damage so I won't get bombarded with just paper cuts." I explained, showing her the screen displaying her heart rate, oxygen levels, sites of repair, and the mini's activity.

"It can be used multiple times. But if it's something as heavy as a deep bullet wound or a stab, it can only plug the hole long enough so you can seek proper medical attention. I'll be connecting it as well to the Quinjet so Bruce can see it." I continue, walking around and bending over as I rummage through my things looking for the Az-01.

"Huh. You really thought of everything." Nat murmurs, bringing her arm closer to her face. The liquid sloshing around the eight small tubes that surround the edges.

"Speaking of Bruce," I spot the regularly sized Az-01 under the bed. "He helped me upgrade the one you saw this morning." I huff as I bend down to get it, not missing Nat's not-so-subtle glances towards me. As I resurfaced and continued speaking, Nat double-tapped the device; powering it down and passing it back to me.

"This baby– Thanks. The Az-01 or is it the Az-02 now? You know what let's just call it Az it's faster than–" Nat slowly nodded as I rambled on, exaggerating deep breaths causing me to stop and calm down.

"It... can heal... multiple... bullet wounds." I enunciated, breathing in between the words. I paused for a while, remembering to slow down before I continued speaking. "As long as it's not all over your body, then we might have a problem. I'm not sure if the Az can handle that– I mean sometimes doctors can't handle that either! That's a lot of holes to plug–"

"Breathe! Y/n," Nat interjected, startling me as she grasped my shoulders. "It's not the end of the world." She continued, chuckling as she spoke. I stared at her with wide eyes,  my body immediately shrinking when I figured out what was up.

"Ah— yeah, it's— uh... Sorry. I get antsy while running on residual fumes." I winced, quickly looking down and wiping my hands on my pants.

"So I've heard," She commented making me look back towards her. Her lips formed a smile that crinkled the corner of her eyes before she continued "Don't worry, it's cute." She consoled, moving to sit on the edge of my bed.

I sat back down on my chair and continued what I was previously working on, letting Nat just do her thing. As hours pass by the ticking of the clock filled the noisy void of my room. I check my watch, noticing it's 1:26 am.

"Any reason why you're still here, Ms. Romanoff?" I asked, still feeling her eyes burn into the back of my head. I hear the bed creak as Nat stands up and slowly saunters towards me. She turns my chair forcing me to look up towards her.

"Any reason why you're still awake, Ms. L/n?" She jabbed,

"My mind works best at night." I shrug, getting lost in her green eyes that seem to pierce my very soul.

"Likewise," she smiles, quickly glancing down to my lips before looking back up.

The silence that followed was deafening as we stared at each other, our eyes seemingly having a conversation on their own.

"Lost for words, Красавица?" She whispers, lowering her face now mere inches in front of me.

"Are you always this friendly towards newcomers?" I ask, lightly pushing her chest so I can stand.

"Why? Can't keep up?" Nat responds, smirking at my useless attempt to mask the blush forming on my face. It was short-lived however as her phone suddenly rang in her pocket.

"You should probably get that," I comment, thankful of the distraction. She sighs and checks who's calling her at this hour.

"Don't sleep too late Y/n," Nat reminds me, opening my door to head back to her room.

"No promises." I smile, winking at her as she closes the door. I immediately sigh once she's gone and plop on my bed.

I've got a long week ahead of me.