Nina
Avengers/Clintasha fic
1,346 words
Part 2
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The observation deck can be fun, especially when the new recruits are training. The evening is winding on towards dinner, which will be called in just under two hours. Natasha leans on the rail, watching from her unlit spot. It suits her to be invisible.
Below her, they are scattered around the weights, agility courses, and sparring mats. There are almost thirty of them altogether. Though she knows she should focus on a range of things, Natasha finds her eyes invariably drawn back to the sparring mats.
There are four bouts happening at once. Two pairs of boys are fighting, and one pair of girls. The fourth pair is split, one boy on one girl. They are not evenly matched. Natasha watches them closely for a moment. The male rookie has about half a foot on the girl. He is lunging and swinging aggressively, and she is doing her best to dodge his strikes, but every third hit or so is landing hard. Natasha winces as a foot connects with the girls ribs, sending her staggering backwards. She is nimble, but outmatched, and she isn’t using her speed and her size to her advantage.
“I thought I’d find you lurking up here.”
She is so engrossed in the fight that she hasn’t heard Clint appear behind her. Natasha turns her head briefly to acknowledge him, then returns her attention to the losing battle being fought below her.
“Watching someone?” He moves over to the railing beside her.
“Top right mat,” she says, and points. “The girl.”
Clint watches for a few moments, and she feels him tense as another strike lands.
“He should know better,” he mutters. “What’s he fighting a tiny girl like that for?”
Natasha watches in silence as the girl cedes the fight and stumbles off the mats to sit by the wall. The assassin isn’t sure if the girl is wiping sweat or tears from her face, but she wants to run down to the floor and pull her from the fray.
“Nina Orlov,” Clint says. Natasha glances over, and sees that he’s pulled out a tablet. She takes it from him, and reads through the profile on the screen.
“Seventeen,” she murmurs. “They’re starting her at seventeen now?”
“She scored higher than anyone else on every exam, and she’s already fluent in four languages. Guess she was too valuable to keep in training for much longer.”
“She’s so young,” Natasha sighs.
Clint arches an eyebrow. “You’re going to do something stupid, aren’t you?” he mutters. Natasha nods. “Be careful,” he tells her.
“Always am,” she replies.
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Natasha accesses the system finds a copy of Nina’s timetable. The rookies have dinner for another twenty minutes, and then the girl is scheduled for an evening group session with a weapons specialist. Natasha calls the instructor and swiftly informs him that Nina won’t be there. The man doesn’t argue with her, but he sounds confused. Natasha has neither the time not the patience to explain things to him, so she hangs up.
A group of boys are emerging from the cafeteria as she arrives. They are elbowing each other and laughing about something, but the laughter stops dead as they see the agent come to a halt in front of them. She eyes them coolly, and they scurry off, trying not to glance back over their shoulders. She waits, and soon she spots the person she’s after.
“Orlov,” she calls. The girl jump, and flushes when she sees who has called her name.
“I’m Romanoff,” Natasha says.
“I… I know,” Nina manages. “I… have I done something wrong?”
Natasha shakes her head. “You’re not in trouble. I want to talk to you about your training session today.”
Nina blushes. “You saw that?” Natasha nods, and her blush deepens. “I’m sorry. I’ll… I’ll work harder.”
“Come with me,” Natasha says. She turns and walks away. She has a reputation to maintain, after all, and it won’t do to let any protectiveness show in public. She doesn’t have to wonder if the recruit is following her. They make their way through several restricted doors, and she can feel the poor girl getting more and more nervous the further they go. Eventually, Natasha opens the door to her own quarters, and ushers Nina inside. The girl looks around in awe, clearly aware of where she is. Natasha closes the door, and finally lets her expression soften a little.
“I’m making tea,” she says. “Do you want some?”
Nina looks bewildered, and Natasha gestures for her to sit on one of the couches. Nina does, and Natasha goes into her kitchen and makes two mugs of tea, which she brings back to the lounge. Nina accepts a mug from the assassin, and now she is as confused as she is awestruck.
“How are you feeling?” Natasha asks, as she sits opposite the girl.
“Tired,” Nina answers, carefully. Natasha sighs, and wraps her hands around her hot mug.
“This isn’t a test,” she tells the girl. “I saw your session today, and I wanted to make sure you were okay. It can be hard, being somewhere new. Especially for someone as young as you.”
Nina bristles. “I’m only two years younger than most of them.”
Natasha laughs, but softly, gently. “Don’t take it as an insult. We both know it’s impressive for you to have been brought up from training so young. I just know that it can be hard.”
“I’m sorry,” Nina says. “I’m used to having to defend myself.”
“The others will be jealous,” Natasha says. “They’ll use your age as an excuse to single you out.”
“You singled me out,” Nina observes.
“Because I wanted to talk to you.” Natasha pauses for a moment. “I’m going to request that you be removed from the cadet program.”
Nina gapes at her, horrified. “No!” she exclaims, looking panicked. “You can’t! I know… I know I’m young, and I’m not as strong as some of the others, but I’m trying, I’ll get better-”
“Nina,” Natasha interrupts, laying a hand on the girls arm. “Calm down. I want to remove you from the program so I can take on your training myself.”
Nina glances around her, as if trying to work out whether she’s being set up for some joke.
“Why?” she asks softly, after a long silence. “I’m… I’m just… and you’re…”
“SHIELD needs more agents like you,” Natasha says. “You’re wasting your time with people like that boy in the training centre.”
“He’s not that bad,” Nina protests. “He’s just insecure. He wanted an easy win after being dropped about six times in a row.”
Natasha eyes her approvingly. “You’re good with people, aren’t you?”
Nina blushes again, and shrugs. Natasha smiles.
“Think it over,” she says. “I’ll come and find you in a few days, and you can let me know what you decide then.”
Nina finishes her tea, and Natasha takes the mug for her. She walks the girl to the door, and pauses for a moment, keying a few things into the access panel.
“This will give you access through the way you came if you want to come and see me,” she says. Nina looks astonished, and Natasha resists the strong temptation to give her a hug.
“Thank you,” Nina says. Natasha nods, and opens the door for her. She watches the girl go, and then flops onto the couch.
Clint arrives ten minutes after she messages him.
“How did you go?” he asks. “Adopted her yet?”
“Almost,” she sighs. “I think she has real potential. She’s smart. Intuitive.”
“Plus, her name starts with the same letter as yours.”
She laughs. “Shut up.”
“I’m just preparing you. That’s the first thing that Tony’s going to make fun of.”
She thinks for a moment. “Maybe she should meet the team.”
Clint frowns. “You really think she’s this good?”
Natasha nods, and her partner sighs. “Fine. I know if you like her I’ll like her. Let’s take her upstate the next time we go. Call it work experience.”
Natasha smiles at him. “Steve’s gonna love her.”
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