Free Soul | Natasha Romanoff

Chapter 15: people come, people go, people survive

Special forces came to take Loki from the Avengers a little while later. Being taken a weight off their shoulders was enough to give them a small break, the break that they fully deserved after such a ruthless battle. They let down their hardened masks, and finally liberated their chest from that excruciating pressure, by breathing in and out deeply that clear air of victory.

Victory, such a sweet word on the lips.

"Holy shit, you look like you saw a ghost or something."

Hyunjae sighed deeply, having no energy left for conversing but only just enough to take a few shaky steps toward Clint and Natasha, and falling into their reassuring arms. They held her close per instinct, their warmth replacing that nagging anxiety in the pit of their chest, and their faint chuckles vibrating all throughout their bodies pressed together, allowing some relief to slip in.

"I'm fine."

Hyunjae, with the amount of exhaustion weighing on her body, could fall unconscious like that. In their warmth, safe, with no threat looming over and casting its shadow onto them. Hyunjae could fall asleep without any nightmare, she was certain of it. Even if this place didn't offer her the adequate setup for Morpheus to take her, even if she was too distrustful of the world.

She was just this exhausted that she could fall asleep right there and then.

"Don't drool on my suit." Clint deadpanned, which earned him a weak slap on his shoulder from Hyunjae.

She was this exhausted, but could still raise her limb.

But it hurted like a bitch.

Soon after, while Hyunjae was fighting off the urge to just find some sleep in their arms, SHIELD agents came to retrieve Loki's scepter as well as the Tesseract. Thor protested vehemently, saying that no human should be in possession of such mighty objects. But they tactically assured him that they would return the cube back to him once everything was settled.

And since his naivety had always been his very one weakness, the god entrusted them with the Tesseract. For now.

Thus, the improvised team shared a look, a meaningful one, although their vision could spin or turn blurry at times. Nevertheless, they acknowledged the value of each other, and were silently grateful to have come together like that— even if the sweet beginnings had nothing of sweet ones. The blood, sweat and tears they had shed were still worth a billion dollars and more.

Because they won the survival of earth, for this one time.

Their legs were wobbly when they decided to take the elevator down the destroyed Stark Tower; it was a great surprise that it could still function, after destruction was brought upon it. It was also the moment during which they began to assess their injuries, as the adrenaline was finally wearing off. Their bodies began to burn and sting, their relaxed traits turning into a strained one.

Bruce reverted back to his human form after Tony had brought him, with some difficulties, spare clothes he had found lying somewhere in the Tower. Bruce, as the introverted and unconfident man that he was, asked for a little privacy, which everybody in the team granted to him by turning around hastily. Because none of them was interested in seeing the doctor half naked.

Still, it seemed that they were slowly getting closer, more than just business partners. The three SHIELD agents of course had set their tight bond a long time ago, but they started to tolerate a little more the four others who had fought alongside them. It was actually quite shocking how their synergy had been so great, utilizing  each other's qualities to their fullest during the fight.

All Hyunjae thought she was feeling until then were the waters of indifference, where the lightless depths hid her caring nature. But it was only the emerged part of the iceberg; submerged was the melting coldness, mixing little by little with the warmth sent by the sun, heating up the ocean ripples. Hyunjae was warming up to the outside world, underwater.