Swapping Sides

Drowned Rats

All I could smell was burning when I woke up. Dammit I missed the fireworks. My eyes wouldn't open and I'm pretty sure Natasha was stood on my head. I just stayed on the floor for a while. Wait I'm on the floor, not in the lake, she must have got us out. She better not be taking me prisoner after I saved her stupid ass. I kept trying to make my eyes work but they just wouldn't open. I gave up and started working on other parts of my body. I was going to need my legs moving if I was about to outrun Romanoff. 

"Will you stay still you idiot." Natasha was very close to my face. Too close. Come on eye balls. open. "Your head is bleeding I'm trying to stop it."

"My eyes won't work" I croaked. 

"Well they're both still there" she snapped back. Wow. No need to be so moody, I just saved your life. Maybe right now wasn't the best time to argue with miss super spy. Especially since I was pretty sure her foot was still on my head. 

My eyes finally opened. It was still pitch black aside from a orange glow that probably was coming from quite an impressive fire I missed. Everything still felt too bright but stopped caring about that the second I looked ahead of me. Her face was inches from mine, she was bent over me... no scratch that. She was straddling me. Her foot definitely wasn't pinning my head down but she was holding something against my head. She hadn't noticed I was staring at her so I spent some time really looking at her. I'd never been this close to her before. She was really quite beautiful when she wasn't trying to lock me up, her eyelashes were so full, shit why am I looking at her eyelashes. I was looking at the way I could see her jaw muscles bunch as she focused and the hint of her tongue trying her lower lip. I think I forgot breath when I thought about how she was sat on me, she looked down and saw my eyes were open. 

"Told you, your eyes are still there." There was a lack of sympathy in her voice. 

I swallowed. Wow her eyes are so green... so perfect. 

"Thanks" No... I did not just say that out loud. "Yup you did. and that...I think you hit your head pretty hard on something in the water." I groaned from embarrassment, why couldn't I just keep my thoughts in my head.

"What? Impossible my powers should kick in they normally protect my head at least" 

"You blacked out when we hit the water... Actually, I think you blacked out before we even left the building. You just shouted something about water and your eyes rolled back, we basically fell through the last wall" She was still very close to my face. I was trying so hard to keep my thoughts in check so I didn't say anything else embarrassing, but part of me wondered what would happen if I just lent up and kissed her.

I noticed she was staring at me with an eyebrow raised. "What? I didn't say anything..did I?"

"I know, but you'd be a terrible poker player" She smirked and went back to looking at my head and was mumbling about stitches when I noticed her arms. They weren't covered in her usual all black suit...neither were her shoulders...or her chest...oh boy. Why is she just in her underwear. I looked at the swell of her breasts in her bra and bit my lip. I tried to swallow but nearly choked. Smooth. 

"Question...where are your clothes?" I lifted my arm into my line of sight, she still had a tight grip on my head so I couldn't move that, "Question again... where are my clothes"

"Are you being serious right now?" She snapped once again, "You throw us into a lake that might as well have been frozen it was that cold and then think we'd still have our clothes on?! Do you have any survival knowledge?"

Ok didn't know I'd signed up for survival 101. "It was the quickest way to get us out. In case you didn't notice the bomb." I rolled my eyes but regretted it instantly. My eyes hurt so much it must of been the way I had channeled my powers...well no way to research that issue now the lab had been destroyed. 

"You shouldn't have set a bomb in the first place. People could have been hurt" she didn't ask why I'd set the bomb, odd, "now here I am covered in your blood, looking like a drowned rat."

I started laughing. I couldn't stop. Maybe it was the concussion or loss of blood but nothing had ever been so funny in my entire life. Here was this usually pristine spy who had never managed to get within touching distance of me, no covered in mud and blood and who knows what else with twigs in her hair pinning me to the ground and probably saving my life. 

"Will you just stay still!" she grabbed my chin with one hand. My breath caught, "I just need to check its not bleeding and you can sit up...slowly" She leant over me a bit more and peered under whatever she was using as a bandage. I tried to keep my eyes up but her chest was right above me. My eyes couldn't help themselves I kept glancing down as her cleavage hovered above me. I wondered if I could... "Pervert" my eyes shot back up to her and she was smirking. 

"You can't blame a girl for looking" Rather do more than look. How had I never noticed how attractive she was before, was this the blood loss? Am I delirious?

"Come on. Our clothes are by the fire. Hopefully they're dry-ish. Better get dressed before your eyes fall out from staring at me so much." She spoke as she helped me sit-up. She was surprisingly gentle and patient as I sat up slowly and staggered to my clothes. My head was swimming. There was no way I was making a run for it now. "I think you need stitches, and I'm kinda worried about your ribs" she nodded her head towards my body and I looked down and noticed one hell of a bruise forming. 

We sat in silence for a while. I knew I was fucked this time. I needed help, even more help than she'd already given me. I didn't want to go back to Avenger central but I doubted she'd help me disappear again. I could go underground. Literally. Bad idea, if your power gives out again you'll suffocate idiot. Glad to see my inner monologue was damaged in the fall. I rolled my eyes to myself. 

"What?" she looked up from the fire, "you look like your chewing a wasp"

I laughed, "Yeah well that would be more enjoyable than feeling like I've been hit by a truck." It was time to try my luck. "Nat..asha" Why did I nearly call her Nat... who do I think I am using her first name...I normally only say Romanoff  "I'm in no shape to run but I did save your life. Sooo how about a deal?" I asked hopefully. 

"One week" 

"Excuse me?" Was this real? Romanoff was actually going to help me? I must really look like shit.

"A week is fair. If you can't hide in a week then I bring you in." She was pulling her clothes on, "and you are shit at hiding, just good at running." Was that almost a compliment from the great super spy herself. She was glaring at me again, had I spoken out loud?  

"Can you help me to a hospital?" Might as well try and get all I can out of the deal. Plus the sun had started to come up I couldn't just wait here until I felt better, someone would find me.

She just kept dressing and didn't speak. Since the underwear party was clearly over I started pulling my clothes back on too. Everything was going well until I tried to put my t-shirt back on my ribs felt like they had exploded in my chest. I took a sharp breath and nearly started crying. 

"Fine. But you owe me." I made a mental note to send her a Christmas card with my medical bill in since I was planning on staying out of her way for the next ever. I knew it would piss her off but it would be funny. "My car is that way somewhere can you make it" she said it quite softly as she gestured through the forest "this counts as part of your week by the way" and the sharp tone returned. 

I took a quick glance at the smoke that was coming up from where the facility used to be. My mind felt calm despite everything else. 1 down 5 more to go. I followed Nat into the forest.