Free Soul | Natasha Romanoff

Chapter 31: newfound hope could be the motto

"That'll be it for today." She said with pants that she tried to cover up by leaving the central ring, where she had been sparring for hours during a nice July morning.

"Already? Come on, Bone. One more hour? Pretty please?" And he followed close after her, with his usual whines pleading to learn more from the master.

Master, being the title he had given to her without her being aware. And Bone Master, was the name he had registered in his contacts. If she ever found out, well, he could say his final goodbye to this cruel world.

"Next time." Hyunjae still dismissed him with a sigh through her nose, a sigh of lassitude, whilst she went to retrieve her water bottle and towel. She felt particularly tired that day.

"What, did Romanoff keep you up all night? Do I need to request soundproof walls for your birthday?" Tony's tease was barely fully registered in her mind, thus explaining the frown that pulled onto her facial traits all so suddenly. Because, what the flip was he talking about?

Yeah, no, she didn't get this one.

"What?" Hyunjae was too exhausted to try and comprehend the undertone anyway.

"Thanks for the lesson, Jae." So Tony said instead, considering he saw from the corner of his eyes the very well known figure standing by the gym's doors, with red fiery hair and a pointed look to her face. Yep, no, no way he was risking his life again.

He had, once upon a dark time, attempted a terrible sexual joke in the presence of both Hyunjae and Natasha, on a simple elevator ride. It had obviously ended right there, on this ring, where Hyunjae had watched Natasha going off at a helpless Tony, all the while munching on a chocolate bar her girlfriend had the greatest kindness to buy for her— using Tony's credit card.

Bullying? No, no, I call this girlbossing!

So, yeah, no way in hell, or earth, or heaven, would he risk it again.

"Anytime..." And the confusion in Hyunjae's tone became more apparent than in her expression. The feeling became stronger when Tony abruptly left the room, without the usual iconic lines he would throw here and there out of playfulness.

Only when Hyunjae sensed that Natasha was approaching did she understand the paradoxical scene. Her bright blue eyes, which had been ablaze due to the high intensity of the sparring, seemed to have frozen once they had encountered her walking silhouette. The nice and easy smile decorating her face was where exactly they stared at, until the redhead reached her side.

"Hey." Hyunjae sheepishly greeted her, the heat of adoration swarming her cheeks once she observed how effortlessly beautiful she was. Natasha didn't need to wear any luxurious dress, nor put on a single gram of makeup to hide the, supposed, imperfections she would see on her face, for Hyunjae to feel like being in the presence of a heaven-sent woman.

How lucky was she?

Now she felt to be a horrid stain on a white drape; sweaty, smelly, and her hair a mess, the bun having lost its hold on the rebellious strands. Her bangs had also grown quite long, now fully falling in front of her pretty eyes. But that, Natasha didn't give a single damn. She felt more than happy to fix her appearance, or to simply appreciate Hyunjae as herself, in all of her shapes.

"How was it?" Natasha asked, her usual soothing voice sounding like honey to the Korean's ears. It tingled the right part of her brain and certainly switched on a lever as, anytime she was in her presence, it was as though all the fatigue vanished. The only thing which lasted was the joy, the joy of seeing Natasha's love, of hearing Natasha's voice, getting a smile from Natasha.

"Tony tony-ed today." So Hyunjae herself grinned, even relaxing noticeably as she drank some water to quench her thirst. The glimmer of her irises slowly died down, the more time passed where the adrenaline was becoming less. "It's more goofing around than lessons now." She added with a sigh, her fingers reaching up to take off her hair tie.