Shadows of the Past

Part 1

You take a deep breath to steady yourself, leaning on the crosswalk signal with your eyes closed. You missed the sounds of the city while you were at rehab. You hear the chirping of the signal indicating that the light changed. Slowly, you open your eyes and step out into the street with the rest of the crowd, your eyes now fixed on the Avengers Tower across the street.

Its your first day back as a SHIELD agent, even though you haven't been cleared for the field you didn't want to miss another day of work. You walk through the revolving doors and into the lobby where you meet Happy. You follow him over to the security office to fill out some last minute paper work before you pick up your new ID badge.

As the two of you leave the security office he offers to give you a tour of the new tower but then you see her... "Sarah!!!" you scream, louder than you had meant to.

She turns around and sees you, "Y/N!!!" The tall woman with shoulder length red hair turns from the group of people she was talking to and runs towards you. You hug each other tight and giggle, not caring how crazy you both must look.

Sarah has been your best friend since freshman year at college. You were randomly assigned as roommates and hit it off from the get go. You had similar tastes in movies and books and you both had a strong desire to become SHIELD agents. After finishing college, you both enrolled in the training program for SHEID and moved into a small apartment in Brooklyn together. You were inseparable, even managing to get posted on the same Helicarrier after completing your training.

When you were first in the hospital she practically lived in your room. She would sleep curled up on the chair for visitors, ignoring the nurses when they told her it was time to leave. When you were sent to rehab almost six months, she visited almost once a week but over the last few months her visits started to have more time in between them. You knew she had gone back to work so she was busier and you didn't fault her for that. What did annoy you was that she was seeing someone and she wouldn't tell you who. You know it frowned upon for agents to date each other, but that never stopped anyone.

Sarah finally let you go and took a small step back. She smiled brightly at you, you had seen her a week ago when you were discharged from rehab. She had moved into the new tower with most of the other SHIELD agents who worked in the field, which meant you had to move into a smaller apartment.

You link arms with her and pull her towards the elevator. "Come give me a tour, I'm dying to see this place."

You smile at her, "Whichever tour comes with the name of this guy you are seeing."

You notice a slight blush on her cheeks as she looks down and giggles. "I can't tell you quite yet, but I can give you a few hints," she whispers as the elevator finally opens. The two of you get in and she pushes the button for the 10th floor.

"Soooo.... can I have some hints now??" you nudge her as the door shuts.

"Hmmm... he works here," she says.

"Mmhmm, yes that's very helpful haha," you answer back, rolling your eyes. "Can I have another hint? Maybe a useful one if that's not too much trouble?"

She thinks for a second, "Well... he's a pri-"

Sarah is cut off from finishing her thought as the doors open. Standing in the hall in front of the elevator are some incredibly familiar faces. "Nat! Clint!" you yell, completely forgetting about Sarah's secret boyfriend for a second. They both hug you tight and ask how you are. "I'm good, the leg is barely bothering me anymore unless I push myself too hard," you say gently rubbing your left thigh. Between the scars from the shrapnel and the multiple surgeries you doubted you would be wearing shorts anytime soon but you were thankful it wasn't worse. Originally the doctors were concerned you would lose your leg but they were able to save it and after months and months of painful rehab you were almost back to where you used to be.