Infinite (buckynat/winterwidow)

The Chat

"Can someone tell the spy to stop glaring at me?" Tony asked.

Steve sighed. "Let's all try to be friendly here."

"Näme üçin bu ýerde wagtymyzy ýitirýändigimizi ýada salyň," (remind me why we're wasting our time here) Natalia said in Turkmen.

"американцы," (Americans) Wanda scoffed in Russian.

"English, please. If we are to communicate, we should speak a language that everyone here knows," Clint tried.

Pietro blinked in confusion. "But we were not communicating to you."

"Exactly, speed man!" Thor exclaimed, before adding, "Please don't show me a flying pop tart again!"

"Enough," James growled, slamming his metal fist on the table. "What do you want?"

"To offer you something better than the life you have now. Why not join us and take down HYDRA?" Clint suggested.

Natalia snorted. "Bullshit. You should know that HYDRA can't be taken down. Cut off one head and two shall take its place. Do you not think I've tried? We've tried after escaping?"

The room was filled with silence.

"But we will consider staying here and doing those strange tasks. We do want to redeem ourselves after what we've done under HYDRA," James admitted.

"Джеймс.  Это была не твоя вина," (James. It wasn't your fault.) Natalia warned.

"I know."

Tony looked at the Maximoffs. "You two want to say anything?"

Wanda glared at him and stood. "We're going to choose our rooms." She left with Pietro.

"It shouldn't be too bad joining them," Natalia muttered. "I suppose we're not staying here, but the Avengers complex?"

Wanda and Pietro stopped.

*****

"This is the complex?" Pietro marvelled. "This is not too bad."

Clint led them to their rooms. In order to let them feel comfortable, he arranged for the twins to share a room and for Barnes and Romanova to share another room.

"Thanks," James said.

After unpacking their things, James and Natalia headed to the living room for food.

Clint offered Natalia a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

"What is this?" Natalia asked.

"It's good, trust me."

James took it, inspecting it carefully before handing it to Natalia. "Nothing suspicious. You should eat."

Natalia hummed and took a bite.

She immediately rushed to Wanda, who sat on the couch. "Eat this."

Wanda frowned. "Why?"

"It is so good. It's called a peanut butter and jelly sandwich."

"I...know, I've eaten those."

Natalia raised a brow, prompting Wanda to take a bite.

"It's okay."

Natalia sat beside her. "You alright?"

"Yeah."

Tony strode in, whistling. "Never thought I'd see you settling down, Romanova."

"ублюдок," Natalia mumbled.

"It's a term for newly-found acquaintances," Wanda explained, avoiding the look that James shot at her.

When Steve walked in, Tony stated proudly to him, "Hey, did you know the redhead called me ублюдок? It's a term for friends."

"Tony, no. It means motherfu——you know what."

Tony looked at Natalia to see her hiding a smirk.

"Damn Russian......" he muttered as his mind scrambled for ideas to get her back for what she did.

"So, how are you all doing?" Steve asked.

"I was supposed to be here at 6 but I woke up two hours late," Natalia grumbled. "It won't happen again."

James took her hand gently and whispered something in her ear.

"Oh. I can wake up whenever I want?"

"Ja," he answered in German.

"Well, I will be going back to sleep after this then," Natalia decided. She glanced at Clint. "I haven't slept well in a while, so thanks for the nice bed, I guess."

Clint smiled. "Anytime."

Suddenly, a voice boomed, "Mr Stark, you have a voicemail from Fury."

Natalia looked startled before she realised it was just an artificial intelligence.

"Put it away, we're trying to enjoy a nice bonding session here."

"Sir, he insists."

"Very well."

Friday played the voicemail. "There's a mission for Romanova and Barton. We need you to infiltrate one of Hydra's small bases. It shouldn't take too long. Get out there before they call for reinforcements."

James frowned. "Why not me? Natalia has never worked with the bird man before."

Natalia hummed in agreement as she rested her head on his shoulder.

"It's to ensure that you don't change sides. Since you're new, we need a trusted member to follow you," Steve explained.

"So after I defected from Hydra, you still don't trust me," Natalia said. "That's normal."

"Well, to be fair, you did join that freak program for training young girls to become spies," Tony yawned.

Natalia went to him and threw daggers at him with deadly accuracy. They outlined his body, leaving him trapped.

"Do not pretend to know about me, you disgusting ape," she seethed. "You know nothing of what I've been through, what James had been through."

She turned and headed back to her room. "And for the record, I did not choose to join. I was taken from my mother at birth."

She slammed the door.

The living room was filled with a tense silence.

Clint sighed. "I'll talk to her."

James glared at him.

"What? I need to make sure she's in the right mind for the mission."

James grabbed him by the throat. "If you dare to lay a hand on her......"

"Hey, chill. It's not like I'm a better fighter than her, right?"

James released him before nodding towards Natalia's room. "Go then."