Forgotten Ghost | Natasha Romanoff

Chapter 64: Hunting Season

''Should have known I would find you here.'' Natasha leaned against the doorpost of the gym door, arms loosely crossed over each other and a smile on her face.

Katya helped Wanda up from the mat, giving the woman a hand without thinking about it anymore. A year ago, she wouldn't have even thought about standing close to her. 

''Please tell me you need her. I could really use a break.'' Wanda's Sokovian accent was a lot less audible than before. She had trained for hours, doing different vocal exercises to get rid of it or at least to hide it as much as possible. A spy shouldn't have a distinguishable voice. Blending in, that's what it was all about.

Katya chuckled between the sips she took from her water, the brown strands from her hair sticking to her forehead. ''Oh come on, you're doing great.''

Wanda sent her a glare, her chest going up and down quickly because she was so exhausted. ''I haven't been able to knock you down once. Not once in an entire year.''

An entire, exhausting, long year full off ups and downs. It took a lot of getting used to the new team. The original Avengers had been so well-adapted to each other, knowing each other through and through. Katya liked her new team, but she still didn't trust everyone as much as she should. Vision, for example, was still a big question mark. Something about his being made her nervous.

''I have trained my entire life, Wanda,'' Katya once again reminded her. The Sokovian was full of doubt and speeches like these weren't unusual. ''You have only just begun. Trust me, when I say you're doing great, you are.''

Wanda nodded in thanks, sitting down on one of the benches along the wall. Training was tiring, but she liked it. She had to learn to fight without her powers. Who knew, maybe one day she would have to do without. ''Are we still doing movie night tonight? I saw this horror movie the other day which I think you'll like.''

''That depends on what Romanoff is here for,'' Katya responded, raising an eyebrow to the woman in question. Natasha's hair had grown so long it reached far past her shoulders. It was no longer in tighter curls, but instead looser ones. Katya liked it, but preferred her shorter hair.

Her own was still as short as it always was, just above her shoulders. It wasn't smart, a spy should change their looks every few months, but she liked it this way.

Natasha shrugged as she sat next to Wanda on the bench, her back against the wall. She looked tired, but that may have had something to do with the mission from two days ago. ''Nothing really, I needed to get away from the guys.''

''What are they arguing about this time?'' Wanda laughed. Sam, Steve, Rhodey and Vision were always bickering about random stuff. It was light-hearted but it did get very loud sometimes. 

''Sam convinced Steve he doesn't vote.'' It was extremely funny to see Steve get riled up and hear him talk about the importance of democracy and how dangerous it is if citizens don't take their rights to vote.

Katya chuckled, sitting down in front of the two women on the mat, leaning back on her hands. ''He jumped into one of his patriotic speeches again?''

''Uhu,'' Natasha hummed amused, ''Rhodey is team Sam, Vision is citing all the reasons why voting is important.'' 

A comfortable silence fell between the three of them when the laughing subsided. They had become very close. Being the only three women on the team, you had to stick together. 

Natasha watched Katya as the brunette crossed her legs and studied her nails. They were short, but she had stopped biting them off months ago.

Luckily, she was doing a lot better. Therapy had helped a lot and so had the two team mates in front of her. They had both gotten a lot healthier mentally too. Wanda thought about her brother every day and missed him heavily, but her new friends had made life a lot easier. She didn't know what she would have done without Katya's help and midnight hugs when her crying woke her up.