Settling in
A week into December and Tony had the communication network fixed. Well, not fixed. He’d made an entirely new system with security protocols she couldn’t even begin to understand, plus a new set of earbuds for missions. Ren was grateful and glad to talk to the rest of the team again, but the fact that he’d gotten it done so fast was a little concerning. But even with the system clear, Tony wasn’t picking up on anyone's calls.
Nat was though. She and Ren had been catching up for the last half hour. She had been proud of how Ren had handled herself in Europe and promised more lessons when she got back. When asked about her and Clint's mission, Natasha was cagey with the details.
“We got to the package in time,” Nat told her, “Clint and I are just getting it ‘settled in’ right now,”
Whatever that meant, she thought, “I can’t wait for you guys to get back here, Steve has been torturing me in the mornings and Wilson and Barnes are fighting like toddlers,”
“Barnes is there?” Nat asked.
For once she sounded a little surprised, “Oh yeah, Steve wanted to keep him close while we get his head sorted out,”
“Huh,”
“Huh?”
“Nothing, I just thought you guys would be a little more wary of someone like him,”
“You mean an ex-assassin who used to work for the other side?” Ren questioned her, she was feeling strangely defensive, “Listen, Nat, he’s already saved my life more than a few times. Whoever or whatever he used to be, I trust him. So does Steve,”
Romanov was quiet for several moments. “As much as I want to get back to the tower, Ren, if Hydra is still active, maybe it would be better if I stayed out in the field. Someone's got to go after these guys,”
“I’d join you if I could,” Ren sighed, “But I think I’ll be more useful back here,”
They chatted for a few minutes before Natasha had to go. It was only 10am but Ren had been up for hours. Steve had been dragging her out of bed at 6:30 every morning for his hellish training regime. Sam usually joined them, Barnes had only appeared once so far. Despite the two hours spent abusing her body this morning, Rogers also wanted to go over some fight training this afternoon. There was enough time for her to relax a little before she had to be down in the gym.
However Ren had other ideas.
…
At noon exactly she was down in the gym. Steve wasn’t too strict about training, but he appreciated punctuality. As much as she liked to protest his intense regiment Ren actually didn’t mind his pushing her. It felt nice to work so hard. When she wasn’t training with Steve, she was usually in the reinforced room designed for power usage.
The main gym was open and airy. One wall of pure windows overlooked the city, and the wall adjacent was covered in mirrors reflecting the view. The two walls perpendicular were brick on one end and glass on the other. Most of the equipment was black or a modern chrome. Everything an Avenger could want - a wide variety of punching bags, weights, and workout equipment. Down the hall was a dance studio that Natasha often used. A few floors below were the specialized training rooms.
In the boxing ring Rogers had a rubber knife in his hand and was walking her through different techniques. “So,” She gasped as she lunged at him, “Since I’m already trying to kill you, do you wanna talk about S.H.I.E.L.D?”
He nimbly dodged her attack, “Are you sure we should be talking about that right now?”
“I don’t see a better time,”
Swiftly grabbing her wrist, he twisted her arm and hooked his foot around her ankle. She fell to the ground but caught herself on one knee. Not great, but she was getting better. “Why would you want to bring them back, Steve?”
“S.H.I.E.L.D. was founded on good ideas Ren, and it was started by good people,”
“I know, I know that they were your friends. But S.H.I.E.LD. was never good.”
He put his hands on his hips and gave her the ‘Righteous Man’ look, “But they could be,”
Glaring at him as she stood, Ren said nothing.
“Peggy and Howard wanted to help people, I want the same thing. I know you don’t like him, but so does Fury,” She stayed quiet, “I don’t want this to be their legacy, Ren. S.H.I.E.L.D. could finally do what was created for without being tainted by Hydra,”
She did her best to hold her tongue. Her own feelings aside, his argument made sense, and it was important to him. Who knows, maybe Rogers could do it. Who was she to stop him, even if it made her skin crawl?
“How far along are you guys? With the rebuilding,” She tried to sound genuine.
A small smile and a sigh, “Do you really want to know?”
“No,”
Wilson broke the tension by entering the gym, “I thought you two were supposed to be training not chatting,”
“We were just taking a breather,” Steve told him.
“I thought you fancy super soldiers didn’t need those,”
“He’s the only super soldier,”
“Yeah, well whatever enhanced fire-girl bullshit you are,” Sam said, “You guys are built like Greek gods without having to do anything,”
Now Steve looked offended, “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize training for hours everyday was nothing,”
“Oh you know what I mean,”
“No Sam,” Ren crossed her arms, “Please explain,”
Sam put his hands up in mock surrender, “Alright, I rescind my original statement,”
After he admitted he was wrong they began running three man drills. Alternating who took on the other two. It was nice to practice fighting multiple opponents, a skill that would’ve been helpful in Europe. By the time the clock struck two, the trio finished up and went to get lunch. Ren was busy thinking about her conversation with Nat when she overheard Sam ask Steve a question.
“Yeah,” Steve replied, “I was thinking of bringing him by next week,”
“Are you sure he’s ready for that,” Sam questioned.
“No. But I think it might be good for both of them,”
“Both of who?” Ren asked.
Rogers turned to her, “Peggy and Buck,”
Her eyebrows rose, “Peggy as in your Peggy?”
“One and the same,”
“Oh,” She paused, “Are… are you sure he’s ready for that?”
“Now that you two are both asking, not really,”
The conversation halted when the elevator doors opened to the common room. Barnes was sitting on the couch. Steve gave him a quick hello before him and Sam went to go shower. Ren made to do the same when Barnes called her name.
“Yeah,” She said, walking over to him, “What’s up?”
“Uh, not much,” He said, rubbing the back of his neck, “I was just wondering… if you would want to work on your gunmanship sometime?”
She’d totally forgotten about that, “Absolutely, when would you want to start?”
“Today… if that works for you,”
“Sounds good, we could head down to the range right now if you wanted too,”
Truth be told, she hadn’t seen as much of Barnes since he moved in. Whenever she wasn’t training or pursuing other projects, he was with Steve in the lab or otherwise in his room. It would be nice to spend some time with him again.
…
That night she fell into bed exhausted. Training with Bucky had gone well even though she needed a lot more work. He was a good teacher, patient. Conversation had flowed easily and they’d gotten takeout again afterward. This time it was Indian food. He had liked it even more than the tacos.
They decided to go to the range tomorrow at the same time. The day after that she would be gone, meeting up with Bradley for coffee. Things finally felt like they were getting back to normal, and Ren was finally feeling… satisfied.