[Quiet in the Chaos]

~2~

                                  
                                  ~2~

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"COME IN," a deep voice responds from inside.

She swallows, stepping inside, shutting the door quickly behind her. Her eyes stare at the back of Nick Fury's bald head before her turns to face her. His eyebrows raise slightly, his hands clasped behind his back.

She hesitates. She hasn't seen the man in a year. And still, she isn't sure where he stands with her. He was good to her, gave her an out, a fresh start of sorts. But now, she isn't sure what he wants.

"I didn't know if you would come," he admits, gesturing to the seat in front of her.

She nods in thanks, slipping onto the leather chair. She tilts her head, "Neither did I."

"Did you run up ten flights of stairs?" He ponders, waving a hand at her face. Her brows furrow and he offers her the box of tissues sat at the corner of his desk.

She rolls her eyes, tugging a out two tissues and wiping her sweaty face quickly. "No. I thought you had sent Captain America to assassinate me in the elevator, so naturally, I was a little panicked."

He blows an amused breath. "He isn't the assassination type, Larson."

She nods, balling up the tissues and tossing them into the bin a few feet away. "Are you going to arrest me, Nick?"

He blinks, his eye narrowing slightly. "Did you read my letter?"

Defensively, she shifts in her seat, her brows creasing. "Yes."

"Both sides?"

"There were two sides?"

He rolls his eye. "I'm making you a job offer."

She blinks. "Steve was right I guess," she mutters.

"What was that?"

"Nothing," she shakes her head and gestures for him to continue. "What kind of job?"

"You'd work for SHIELD. A field agent. You have the skills to do it and something tells me a 'normal' life isn't what you had expected."

She glances away. "You've been spying on me?" She questions, though it's more of a statement. It would be a lie to say she hadn't noticed.

"People like you, sometimes it's hard to try and live like everyone else, when, you're not."

"People like me?" She proves evenly.

He presses his lips together. He nods stiffly. "Soldiers."

She snorts quietly. "That's... generous."