You Know How Awkward It Is When Your Friend Groups Meet Each Other?
“Did you know about this?”
“No,”
“Barton,”
“Steve, I can promise you, Nat never told me that she knew the guy,”
Oh, this just kept getting more uncomfortable.
“You’re the only person she trusts, you know more about her and her past than anyone. You’re telling me you had no idea about any of this,”
Clint crossed his arms and settled into his stance, “I said she didn’t tell me, not that I had no idea,”
Sam leaned on the kitchen counter, “What the hell does that mean,”
The only response Clint gave him was a belligerent look.
“You suspected something, didn’t you?” She asked.
He deigned to respond to her, “Like the Captain said, I know Nat better than anyone,”
Rogers really looked like he wanted to say something else, but wisely abstained. Sam just shook his head. All three of them were a little pissed that Natasha had kept this from them. The boys’ anger was justified, whatever Natasha knew about the Winter Soldier would have helped them a lot in DC. Ren's anger was less reasonable. Until Czechia, she’d had no reason to care about the Widow’s apparent relationship with the Winter Soldier.
But Nat was her friend. She knew how close Ren and Barnes had been getting, but hadn’t said anything. Now her weirdness about him made sense, why she had stayed away from the tower for so long.
With a silent nod, Clint slipped out of the room.
“Who wants to go hit something?” Ren asked.
…
Sweaty and somewhat calmed down, the three of them were chatting as they unwrapped their hands and grabbed some water.
“So,” Ren started, “S.H.I.E.L.D…. and Hydra… back in the game,”
Sam raised an eyebrow at her, “Is that your way of asking how the meeting went?”
“Yeah,” She said with a little smile.
Steve finished rolling up his hand wraps and walked over to his locker, “You know, you wouldn’t have to ask about the meetings if you attended,”
“Ah, but I thought those meetings were agents only,”
“They are,” He replied, leaning against the closed metal doors with a pointed look.
Containing her laughter was impossible, “You want me to be an agent? To join S.H.I.E.L.D.? Dude I hated them before I even knew they were Hydra, and I can barely stand to be in the same room as Fury,”
“You like Maria though,” Sam interjected.
“That’s because she’s cool,”
Steve drove the conversation back on track, standing in front of her, “Listen, Ren, I know how you feel about S.H.I.E.L.D., you’ve made your feelings clear. But it’s not going to be like it was, it’s going to be better. We’re making sure of that. If you’re with us, you can make sure of it too,”
He was actually serious. Captain America wanted her to join S.H.I.E.L.D.. Despite her usual reservations, he was really good at that whole rousing speech thing. Not good enough to get her on board. But, maybe good enough to make her think. Ren wasn’t hotheaded enough to make a choice this big right now. Not while she was still reeling from the Barnes and Natasha things, not to mention starving after working out.
Still, maybe she should spend some more time with Steve, see what this new S.H.I.E.L.D. was all about. But she wasn’t gonna give him the satisfaction of admitting he had a good point.
“Well, until I start joining up, why don’t you tell me about this new intel?”
He shook his head and sat back on the bench with her and Sam, who took over.
“It sounds like the spy and the bird guy found the location of some old Hydra bases. More than a few of them are still operational,”
“A concerning number, are still operational,” Rogers continued, “Even more concerning is the number of running bases on American soil. We’re going after those first. While we don’t have the specifics on the sort of projects they’re running… it isn’t hard to guess,”
No, it wasn’t. “When are you guys heading out?” She asked quietly.
“We’re not sure. Soon,”
“Soon,” Ren repeated, nodding, “Guess I’ll have to see if Tony can fix my suit,”
…
After more or less volunteering for the next mission, Steve kept trying to convince her to come to the next S.H.I.E.L.D. meeting. While she had no intention of accepting, his enthusiasm was adorable.
Still in her training clothes she washed her face and took her hair down. She massaged her scalp until it lost that ponytail shape and brushed it out. Jumping into the scalding hot shower, she was in and out in about five minutes. Hair washed and ready for bed, she threw on a maroon set of shorts and a tank top. The PJ set had been a gift from Pepper.
Finally situated on the plush (new) bed, she turned on the TV. The news caster's generic voice was droning on about another freak explosion. Before she could really process what they were saying, a familiar knock sounded at the door.
There was a moment's hesitation before muting the television and getting out of bed. Funny enough, it was Starks face that popped up as she padded over to the door, bracing as she grabbed the handle. Looking remorseful in the corridor was Barnes. A part of her wanted to yell at him for the secret he’d kept. Most of her just wanted to ask if he was alright. Instead of doing either, she just stepped back and opened the door wider.
He ducked his head as he entered. Ren followed close behind and perched herself on the edge of her bed. Barnes just stood there, looking sort of lost, so she patted the spot next to her in invitation. His weight pressed into the bed, making her lean toward him.
Staying silent, she let him talk first.
“I didn’t know who else to talk to,”
“Well everyone's a little shocked right now,” He cringed, “But I think Steve would still be willing to listen,”
“I don’t wanna talk to Steve,”
“Alright, talk to me then,”