Second Time
The second time they meet it is significantly less dramatic. Mary, who went by Skye then – because, frankly, Mary Sue is absolutely terrible – had just turned ten. Maybe. (Who really knew?)
She was hanging out with Matty in the old skate park that had been abandoned by the actual skaters when an outreach program built a better skate park a few blocks over. Matty and Skye had spent much more time with each other after he came back from Stick – odd name but Skye wasn’t one to judge – and Skye had soon discovered that the boy liked to hang out in quiet places more than anything, due to sensory over stimulation, and recently, Skye had been of the same school of thought.
She didn’t know why, but lately everything reverberated more, sounds echoed in her head almost painfully after a while and everything seemed to blur and fuzz around the edges as if it were vibrating. She didn’t know if she was sick or just plain crazy, but she did know that being in large, bland, quiet areas didn’t give her such a bad headache. Which was why this concrete park under a disused bridge was perfect.
They wouldn’t do much often when the two orphans hung out together. Sometimes Skye would bring along the laptop she had managed to piece together from spare parts scrounged from various dumpsters behind tech shops across the city and type away at it while Matty would do weird yoga-type exercises he called “Tai Chi”. Sometimes Skye would leave her laptop at the orphanage and Matty would teach her Tai Chi, though she preferred it when he taught her to box.
Skye never questioned why Matty always knew when she went wrong or misplaced her footing and he never talked about her “vibrations” other than to ask if she was alright in a loud room from time to time. They had a good thing going and Skye discovered she was really rather adept at learning all the different movements.
This day, however, Skye had found an old, rusty skateboard in the gap between a concrete ramp and a concrete wall, then decided that skateboarding couldn’t be that hard, right?
She had fallen over ten times in the first five minutes.
She stubbornly kept getting back on the board, ignoring Matty’s raucous laughter, and set off again. Down a ramp. Not her best idea, no matter how weirdly quick she was getting the hang of it.
It was just as she placed her second foot on the board that she sensed something pulsing and alive and definitely not Matty just behind the pillar to her eleven o’clock. In her hurry not to go anywhere near this mystery creeper, Skye lost her balance and ended up semi-skating semi-tumbling right towards said pillar she wanted to stay the hell away from.
Resigning herself to her fate in an eerily familiar fashion, the brunette turned her head to shout at Matty.
“There’s someone here!” She yelped, and managed to see the blind boy shoot to his feet before she stumbled into a pair of lithe, strong arms.
The momentum Skye had should have made even a fully grown man stumble back, but instead, Skye found herself in a weird dippy motion before gracefully twirled back onto her feet.
She was met with very memorable, piercing green eyes.
“It’s you!” The brunette exclaimed, clutching at her soulmate’s upper arms to keep herself upright.
She felt something steady and strong behind her, but couldn’t make herself look away from the redhead. Though the older girl did snap a look up at the thing behind her – most likely Matty – and took up a more protective stance.
“Skye,” Yup, it was Matty, “who is this?” He placed a firm but gentle hand on her lower back, supportive but cautious.
“My soulmate.” Skye breathed, then chuckled, “What even is your name? I’ve been calling you ginger ninja in my head for the past two years.”
The redhead looked both affronted and amused and Skye moved out of her arms – it wasn’t exactly a hug, more of a steadying hold – and stood so she could face both Matty and her soulmate.
The redhead seemed to ponder the question for a few moments before coming to a decision.
“Natasha,” she said, only a faint accent detectable, “You can call me Natasha.”
Skye couldn’t sense any change in her vibrations – they always changed when someone was lying – but she still looked to Matty who, despite his blindness, seemed to be scrutinising her soulmate. Matty always, without fail, knew when someone was lying.
Matty tilted his head from side to side in thought, then turned to Skye and nodded. Skye grinned.
“Well, hello, Natasha. I’m Skye and this is Matty!” The brunette tried to tamp down her excitement, but couldn’t help slightly jumping from one foot to the other in glee.
She saw Natasha smile – a small, unfamiliar little thing, as if she didn’t do it often – before she looked Matty up and down, as if unsure of something. Her turmoil was solved when Matty offered his hand in greeting. They shared a brief but firm handshake, it was stiff and professional and Skye couldn’t help but think it was a little bit ridiculous for two teenagers, but hey. Whatever floated their boat, right?
“What’cha doin’ here, Nat? Tasha? Natasha?” Skye pondered aloud, “Yeah, no, Nat. I like Nat.”
Natasha smiled that small smile again when she turned to Skye. She didn’t want to hide it either, especially because the other kid was blind. Maybe. He seemed a little too sure to be completely blind.
“I like Nat, too.” The redhead spoke softly, “And I was just cutting through here on my way… home, when I saw you.”
“Really?” Skye gasped. Natasha had actually wanted to see her? “Do you know how to skateboard? ‘Cos I would ask Matty to teach me but that’s a disaster waiting to happen.”
Matt shot Skye a wounded look, then Natasha one as she softly snorted in amusement.
“Sure, I can stick around for a bit.”
So, Matty went back to his quite place at the top of a short flight of concrete steps and started his Tai Chi movement and Natasha helped Skye balance her body weight properly on the board, glancing interestedly at Matt occasionally.
By the time a few hours had passed and the sun was setting below the low skyline, Skye was zooming deftly around the skate park, even doing some rudimentary tricks and Natasha was slightly astounded at how quickly the younger girl had picked the skill up, especially when she had divulged that she had only ever watched others do it.
Natasha checked her KGB issue watch – equipped with such luxuries as: a short range receiver and scrambler, a cyanide pill and even a small explosive device – and saw that she only had half an hour before she had to report back to her handler in Manhattan.
Sighing, she weighed the merits of stopping her soulmate to say goodbye or just sneaking off without being seen. Unfortunately – or fortunately, depending on one’s point of view – she felt someone behind her before she could make either move.
“I don’t know who you are or what your aim is, but Skye is my friend, my sister, and if you even try to hurt her by continuing to lie or hiding things or refusing to see her for another two years, I will do my very best to make you regret it. I know you’re not just another fourteen year old, but neither am I, understand?” Matt threatened in a low voice, just at her ear.
Natasha instinctively tensed for attack at the threat and his proximity, but forced herself to calm. She knew there was something about him that wasn’t settling right, and he just confirmed it, but all he was doing was trying to protect her soulmate and if she couldn’t be there to do it, she was glad he was.
“I don’t want to hurt her,” She stated in a low whisper, “but sometimes pain follows me and I can’t stop it.”
“Then you better be willing to fight for her.” The taller boy informed her.
“I am.”
“Good.” He nodded, then took a few steps back, “Don’t forget to say goodbye.” Matt intoned as he pivoted on his heel and walked back to the exit he would take home, and waited there for Skye.
The brunette in question saw the last part of the exchange, then looked up at the dimming sky, and guessed it was time to go back to the orphanage. School tomorrow, she thought morosely, then looked back at her soulmate. They locked eyes as Skye made her way over.
“You leaving again?” She asked monotonously.
“Yeah, but I’ll come back. I don’t know when, but I will see you again.” The redhead almost ended with ‘I promise’ but nothing in her life was a guarantee and it would be unfair to Skye to promise anything.
“Okay.” Skye replied, perking up a bit.
“Okay.” The spy echoed.
Suddenly, and Natasha wasn’t quite sure how she could be taken off guard by this grinning ball of sunshine, she was attacked in a hug. Natasha stumbled back half a step, wind milling her forearms where her elbows were trapped to her sides, then returned the embrace. Skye’s head barely tucked under her chin.
They stood like that, gently swaying, for a few moments before Matty pointedly cleared his throat and Skye pranced off, picking up her manky skateboard and shooting Natasha a grin over her shoulder as the two orphans disappeared out of sight.
Natasha looked back at her watch. Twenty minutes to check in.
With a dejected sigh, Natasha slipped into the shadows of New York’s back alleys, steadily making her was back to her handler. Not for the first time did she wish the Red Room had just left in that burning building with her parents, especially if they made it their missions to kill all asset’s soulmates.