Frail heart

Treading dangerous waters

Chapter seven

2 months later

"Sucks for you, Rogers. You gotta be quicker than that." Natasha smirks, stepping back to watch as Steve shakes off her previous kick to his shin.

Steve chuckles, straightening his posture and rolling his shoulders, "Alright, Romanoff."

Natasha ducks under his punch, grabbing his arm and twisting it behind his back, kicking the backs of his legs so that he falls to his knees, "You're getting rusty.", she hums.

Steve lowers his head, smiling, "Guess I'm a little distracted."

Natasha releases his arm, watching as he turns to face her and catching his gaze. After a brief second, she looks away and walks over to her water bottle, "You couldn't beat me anyways."

Steve only laughs, standing and grabbing his own water bottle before leaving the training room behind Natasha.

The air had been a lot lighter in the compound lately, after turning in the commander to Shield, knowing he was in good hands and couldn't hurt anyone ever again, and having you over in Wakanda, things were looking up. Steve had become a lot more carefree, of course his training schedule was just as gruelling, but he spent considerably less time worrying about everything.

Clint had returned from his break, spending all his time in the compound and getting on Natasha's last nerve whenever he could. Aside from a few simple missions here and there, the Avengers were enjoying not having to save the world from any major level threats and they had been checking in with Wakanda, making sure everything and everyone was okay.

They were glad to hear you were making progress, there had been a few mishaps so far but other than that; things were good, good as they could be considering the situation.

Steve had arranged for Natasha to fly to Wakanda to check on you, he would do it himself but he had some things to deal with and he trusted her to know what she was doing.

The Quinjet was scheduled to leave in the early morning and Steve wanted to get some training in with Natasha so that she was ready for anything.

//

"Just remember, he might be better than he was before, but he still doesn't trust us, so be careful."

Natasha smiled at Steve's concern and nodded to the Quinjet's built in screen which showed his apprehensive expression on the other end of the video call, "Stop worrying, I'll be fine."

Steve sighed, nodding and ending the call which left Natasha to stand from her seat and make her way out the Quinjet, greeting T'Challa with an easy smile.

"It Is a pleasure to see you again, Miss Romanoff."

"You too, T'Challa, thank you for having me."

"It is no worry, I hear you've come to see the soldier.", He asks, leading her towards where they were keeping you.

"I know it's usually Steve's gig but, I thought I'd give it a try.", she explains, looking around at the beautiful architecture, the walls shimmering in an array of bright colours and wondrous art.

"He has improved greatly but he is still dangerous. I can arrange for the Dora Milaje to accompany you.", he proposes.

"Thank you but that shouldn't be necessary, I won't be long."

"As you wish, I will have them await your exit but if he grows agitated, they will be there to protect you."

Natasha smiled gratefully at the man before taking the elevator down to your quarters, guards littering the place with shiny spears in their grasp. She walks down the brightly lit halls to your door, watching it open with a swoosh of air to reveal you seated at a table in the middle of the room. Your head doesn't turn when she enters, and she supposes it's because you think it's just Steve again, but her lighter footsteps seem to be enough for you to tell that something's different. You spin your head towards her, and a frown makes its way onto your face.