The Spark That Never Dies Part: One

Chapter Two

"Pick up the pace!" Natasha shouted, running backwards as she watched you huff and puff.

"Slow your ass down." You mumbled under your breath.

She turned back around with a smirk that made you roll your eyes. You were getting so frustrated with falling behind, so much so that you couldn't hear what she said, only saw her mouth moving. You focused for a second and she froze on the spot, her feet glued to the ground, and it was your turn to smirk as you slowed into a walk, taking your time.

Walking by, you noticed her panicked face turned into unpleased, and you shrugged.

"Let me go." She grumbled.

"Promise to run with me and not ahead of me?" You cocked an eyebrow at her with an amused smile and she sighed.

"Fine."

"Normally, I'd require a 'please', but your little pout is just too adorable." You teased and she huffed.

"I don't beg." She told you sternly, starting to jog, and you matched it.

There was a lot of silence on the run and the quiet always made you uncomfortable, so you started talking even with the possibility of getting no response.

"It's a nice day," You observed, "So, if we had to run at all this week, I'm glad it was today."

"Mhm."

"We could probably head back; I mean we've been at it for over two hours."

"It's been twenty minutes."

"Oh, crap, really?"

"Mhm."

"So, Natasha," You smiled at her name, liking the way it sounded, "When do I get to go on a mission?"

She stopped in her tracks, and you slowed down before turning to her, not expecting that response. You watched her curiously, resisting the urge to just read her mind, while she stared back at you with utter indignation.

"You're joking, right?" She crossed her arms with a frown.

"You frown a lot," You thought out loud and then widened your eyes when you realized, "I – uh, just mean, you don't really seem to like me. Did I do something wrong? I could've ran on my own or with someone else."

"Who? Barnes?" She shot back.

"Bucky?" You asked back, confused.

"You two seemed pretty cozy at breakfast."

"He's nice." You shrugged.

"Whatever," She rolled her eyes, "Fury doesn't want you in the field until you're ready."

"I'm ready."

"So, some of us volunteered to train you in different areas," She continued, ignoring what you said, "Your boyfriend, Bucky, volunteered on firearms, Wanda took your powers, Steve chose strength training, and I got hand to hand along with some cardio."

"Strange categories," You mumbled and then added louder, "So, Nick forced you guys to pick something?"

"No, he asked for a handful of volunteers after going over your file."

"I think I'm ready to run now." You widened your eyes, assuming that everyone knew every detail about your life now and that kind of freaked you out.

The two of you stayed in complete silence for the rest of the way, even heading back. Your mind was going a million miles and you didn't even notice the soft, apologetic smiles Natasha would give you when you were zoned out. She might've felt a little guilty for overwhelming you with that small piece of information, but she honestly thought you knew. If you gave it some clear thought, you would've realized that it was to be expected at this point. They needed to know what they were walking in to and the fact that Sam didn't know about your abilities, or at least the extent of them, made you think he wasn't asked. Neither was Peter.