To Neptune And Back

Stargazing (Chapter 8)

It's officially been 6 weeks since you moved into the Avengers compound. To say it's been a calm and easy-going experience would be a complete lie. Nothing is calm with this group. The days have consisted of movie marathons with Kate and Yelena, cooking with Wanda, tinkering in your lab for hours on end, pranks with Sam and Bucky, lots of training (so much for just being a consultant who sits behind a computer), to your consistent 2am run-ins with Natasha. Though, somewhere along the way those 2am rendezvous became both more planned and more frequent.

It took you a bit to find where you fit in with the group but it's starting to finally feel like you don't painfully stick out any longer. Though the constant buzz of people always being around is starting to take a toll on you. As someone who likes to have time to themselves, to just lay in their room and listen to music or watch tv alone, always having people around has not been the most ideal. Even Buddy is starting to get on your nerves just by him being there when you are trying to grasp onto the few and fleeting moments of alone time that you barely seem to find for yourself nowadays.

Which is why being out on the other side of the lake somewhere in the small wooded area behind the compound is exactly where you are meant to be right now. The fall air is crisp but you don't mind, liking the coolness on your face while the rest of your body stays warm under your layers. The crunch of each step you take helps you to relax as you realize for the first time in a long time the only noises you can hear are the ones you make yourself as you continue your descent into the woods.

About an hour ago you decided you needed to take some time for yourself. Nothing in particular happened but you simply have been missing your alone time. Quickly picking up the coin sized gadget off of your bedside table, you made your way out the backdoor and brought your hoverboard to life. Easily flying yourself over the lake you jumped off the board and walked the rest of the ways to the spot where you stand now. Looking up at the setting sun that is now hidden behind the trees you are surrounded by. With your eyes closed, you take a deep breath, feeling the tension and once building anxiety slowly melt away.

"We've got to stop bumping into each other like this."

A small smile ghosts your face but from your position she can't see it. The sound of her voice didn't startle you, the new addition to your watch helped you with that. It's able to detect even the slightest change in the CO2 levels in a nearby area, alerting you if someone else is around. About 30 seconds ago you got the alert and had a hunch who it would be.

"It seems like you are the one who is always conveniently bumping into me. So maybe we aren't actually accidentally bumping into each other at all, Natasha."

You turn around to face the smug looking woman standing with her arms crossed a few feet in front of you, leaning against a tree. She pushes herself off and walks closer to you. "Didn't know you were such a nature person. This is at least a 2 hour trek from the compound."

"That's if you walk the 3 and a half miles around the lake to get to the edge of the woods. If you go over the lake it's only a–" You look down at your watch to check the time, "–30 minute walk." Natasha looks at you confused before glancing around the area you are standing clearly looking for your hoverboard which is currently sitting coin sized in your pocket.

"Why are you following me, Natasha?" Wandering to a fallen log, you take a seat and gesture for her to join you.

"I don't care enough to follow you, y/n." She takes a seat next to you and slides her hands in her pockets, clearly a bit cold. Since the sun started setting the temperature has started to drastically decrease.

"Ouch. And to think I thought we were becoming friends."

"Well I guess you thought wrong."

A small silence falls between you two. Over the last few weeks you have been spending more time around Natasha, and slowly but surely it seems that the redhead has started to dislike you less and less. Though she has her moments where she reminds you that the two of you are in fact simply acquaintances and nothing more.