Changes (A Prequel to "Through, Together")

The Past Comes Back

Staying in a house with three other people was a strange scenario for Natasha. She felt like she was on one of those reality TV shows, where grown adults had to coexist in confined quarters for ratings. Of course, this didn't entail near the amount of drama those shows did, but it was still a bit awkward. Sharing a bed with Wanda was... interesting. The poor woman had worse nightmares than Natasha did. The first night, she'd been so embarrassed over accidentally throwing a lamp against the wall in her sleep that she'd opted to move out to the front room and spend the rest of her evening on the sofa. Even after Wanda left, Natasha hadn't slept great that night. She was too restless over thinking about Garrett, and what his next move might be. She didn't do well with idle time, even though she needed it to heal.

She did feel better, though, having taken some downtime. Those first twenty-four hours were critical in her recovery. Natasha was hardier than most, but she wasn't the super soldier that Steve was. Her bones broke a lot more easily than his. Though, she discovered that Steve hadn't made it out of the explosion unscathed. While walking past his room one day, Natasha caught sight of him through the slightly open door. His back was to the door, and he'd been putting on a clean shirt. It was only a glimpse, but Natasha saw faded bruising down the right side of his back, where he'd impacted the metal container so Natasha didn't have to. The sight of it pulled at her chest, making it tighten painfully in guilt and regret. She knew Steve could handle far more than she could, but it didn't make it any easier to witness. Seeing someone she cared about in pain was not something she'd ever get used to.

Steve seemed to be doing okay, though. He didn't seem to mind the close-quarter living arrangements. There was something oddly comforting about it, really. They were far from normal, but Sam, Wanda, Natasha and himself were a team. They were a single, cohesive unit. They were a family, and he was grateful to have them. Even if Sam watched TV with the volume up entirely too loud, and Natasha put more sugar in her coffee than any person should. He was glad to have them around.

Of course, it wasn't all family dinners and TV watching. They worked, too. Natasha spent a lot of time poring over a variety of information sources on her computer. She was able to hack into some S.H.I.E.L.D. databases and get some clues as to where the men and women responsible for Project Deathlok were held following their arrest. There were no solid locations as of yet, but she had some leads. She also found out that Coulson's transfer request had yet to be granted. That meant they had some time, but it meant Garrett did, too. He would, no doubt, be licking his wounds (not that he really had any) and rallying whatever forces he may have had in his employ.

Aside from information gathering and brainstorming sessions, the four of them also did what they could to stay in shape and primed for the missions ahead. Steve and Sam trained often, utilizing the small backyard as a sparring space. Wanda was usually out there, too, practicing her control over her abilities. Natasha was back into it, as well. She trained with Sam and Steve, getting her body back into prime condition after having taken some time to recover. Most of her stiffness and soreness had subsided, and her cuts and bruises had all healed nicely. She was back to being perfectly capable of wiping the floor with Sam and giving Steve an honest run for his money. She never failed to impress him when it came to her skills.

On their second day at the safehouse, Natasha was sitting out back in a kitchen chair she'd dragged outside. She had her laptop resting atop her thighs as her fingers busily clicked across the keyboard. Out in the small yard, Steve and Sam were throwing and dodging punches and kicks, working up a sweat in the afternoon sun. They looked like opposites of each other, Sam in blue pants and a black compression shirt, and Steve in black pants and a blue compression shirt. Beside Natasha, Wanda was sitting and reading a book, taking a break from her own training.