Unexpected

On the Reflection's Edge

I hugged both Steve and Natasha before they strode off to join Agent Rumlow and the combat task force. They were vaguely sweaty hugs thanks to Steve and my run, but none of us seemed to mind.
"You're not going to miss us too much are you?" Nat teased.

"Oh I will, I'll be crying every day!" I joked back, tightening my arms around her, "When you return I'll be a shriveled up raisin from crying so much!"

"You better be shriveled up from sweating so much during training while I'm gone, because you know we're going to pick back up on that when I return. I've got some techniques for you to master, so you better be warmed up for some serious time on the mat."

"Be safe." I mumbled into Nat's ear as she started pulling away from our embrace.

"Not likely!" She chuckled, flashing me a smile.

"You too." I said pointedly to Steve, wrapping my arms around him as he ducked into my hug. It always astounded me how gentle his hugs could be no matter how strong he was. I savored the embrace.

"Not likely," he murmured back, echoing Nat's words. "We'll be back."

I squeezed him a little tighter in response before allowing the hug to break. I smiled at the pair of them, my closest friends, "See you, then."

"See you!" they both said, turning to leave.

I watched them go for a few seconds, watching their backs before they moved around the hallway's corner. There they go, off to save the world. My heart felt heavy. I always hated goodbyes, especially when I wasn't certain how long it would be until I next saw the one I was saying farewell to. My fingers rose to my pendant, feeling the smooth gemstone resting against my chest before I let my eyes drop. Well, I suppose it's time to get back to work, but first I needed to change out of my running outfit.

Lunch that day was a much quitter affair than usual, but my work went rather smoothly with me tapping away on my keyboard, running translations. I swear Google Translate really is no use at all! Whenever people tried to use it to translate their work it ended up getting everything jumbled up and then it fell to me to figure out what the writer actually wanted to say and then translating it correctly. I brought work home that night, riffling through dictionaries and grammar guides until late in the evening.

The next morning I found myself running by myself near the Lincoln Memorial. With a threat of training with Natasha hanging over my head it wasn't like I could do much else. I must say it was not nearly as enjoyable as the day before, though I must say it was considerably more relaxing. Since I wasn't trying to keep up with Steve's superhuman pace I had no need to get a shock from my device, so I was running at a regular pace. Well... running is such a string term... I suppose I jogged... for a bit. In the end I was sort of just walking around the Reflection Pond, my music thrumming in my ears as I took in the scenery, my mind wandering.

I thought of Steve and Natasha dealing with their French pirates. I thought of how much I hated sweating, which was why I was simply walking today. I thought about the weather this morning with the dawn just barely peeking into the sky in shades of rose and lavender. It was comfortably warm, only a few clouds smudging the clearness of the early morning sky. It looked like today would be the prettiest day yet this year. Spring was definitely upon us. Soon all the students would be released from their classes for the summer and the sun would beat down.

I twisted my pendant between my fingers. Yes, summer would be here soon. In about a month or so it would be a full year since that fateful day in New York. I remembered sitting in Central Park as the sun set that night, the sky casting much the same colors as it was now. I'd been frustrated then, with my lack of a career and with my irresponsible roommate. It seemed almost silly now to me. That version of me had no idea what was coming, no hints of gods of Mischief and aliens, kidnappings and mutations, impossible missions and superpowers, secret government divisions and translations. So much had happened, and I must admit to not being the same woman as I was before. I'd matured. I was stronger now, that much was sure. I'd faced things I'd never expected. I'd experienced loneliness, grief, triumph, accomplishment... and love. I'd never meant to fall in love, let alone fall as hard as I did, but right now, the love that I felt was so confused and mixed up with my other emotions that my very heart felt like a hurricane spiraling out of control inside me.