Fatal Desires | 𝘕. 𝘙𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘧𝘧

seventeen.

WHEN SHE WOKE, ISABELLA HAD GONE TRAIN IN THE EARLY HOURS OF THE MORNING. The base was quiet and serene when she was first woke up, the only sounds being the howling wind outside the base and the echoing sound of her own footsteps. Isabella had always been an early bird, in fact, going to the gym in the mornings was her favorite thing to do. It always was her favorite stress reliever, that, and the peace and quiet. Isabella set her bags down onto the floor of the gym and her eyes set on Natasha, who was punching the bag in the corner. "Here I thought I was the only one who actually enjoyed getting up this early to train." The blonde said, smiling at the ground as she approached Nat, who's attention was already focused on Isabella.

"Yeah, well my days tend to get pretty busy. Mornings are just more convenient." Natasha said, taking her gloves off and setting them onto the bench, then sitting beside Isabella. There was a short pause before either of them spoke again. "This threat, it's bad, isn't it?" Isabella questioned, her voice just above a whisper. Her eyes darted between the red head beside her and her own feet. Romanoff drew her breath. "Yeah, it is. I'm afraid this might be it for the Avengers, Bells." Isabella furrowed her brows at the statement. If Nat was scared, then the threat must be serious. "What exactly is happening? You didn't tell me the specifics." 

"It's the government. They're getting involved, pushing a new movement called the Sokovian Accords on us." Natasha sighed. "They wanna control us." Isabella interjected. Natasha nodded. "After the battle with Ultron, people are scared. Collateral damage has been too high, we destroyed cities.. and the government had to pay for it. Cap and Tony disagreed, and the rest of the team divided into sides." Isabella shook her head slightly, a look of dissent on her face. "And you? What side are you on?" Natasha looked down for a second, deep in thought. "The right one." 

Isabella looked down, licked her lips, and took a drink out of her SHIELD issued water bottle. After setting it back down on the bench, she pushed herself up from her comfortable spot next to Natasha. "I could use a sparring partner, you up for it?" Isabella asked, a slight smirk on her face. Her hand was outstretched toward the red head, who put on a straight face. Though that expression quickly formed into a sly one when she made elongated eye contact with the blonde. She tilted her head to the side quickly, and placed her hand in Isabella's, pulling herself up from the bench. "Okay, but don't think I'm taking it easy on you." Natasha cooed. Isabella scoffed. "I could say the same to you." 

As they assumed positions across from each other on the black mat in the center of the gym, both women's eyes locked onto the other's. Isabella could feel her heart start to beat a little faster as Natasha's eyes narrowed slightly, and a small smirk appeared on her perfectly shaped lips. She always tried her best not to get distracted by Natasha, but in the end, she almost always failed- and the black widow knew that. Both of them held batons in their hands, Natasha's choice. They were more her specialty than Isabella's, but the blonde SHIELD agent was trying to branch out her fighting style. 

Isabella clutched the batons in her hands, trying to keep her gaze on Natasha's face, rather than the places they actually wanted to go. The last thing she needed was to give Natasha more things to tease her about. Nat made the first move, swiftly colliding batons with Isabella. They went back and forth with the sticks for a while, the sound of the metal clanging together in harmony echoed through the empty room. Natasha's fighting style was always something Isabella envied. The way she moved so fluently, so swift and smooth. Her moved were sharp and well thought out, making it hard to gain the upper hand in most situations. 

Though Isabella had a few tricks up her sleeve. As Knocked one baton out of Isabella's hands, the red head smirked- letting her ego disrupt her focused demeanor. Isabella used that to her advantage. Quickly gaining the upper hand, Isabella grabbed used her one baton left to knock one of Natasha's batons from her tight grip- then gripped the wrist of the hand that still had a baton in it. She twisted Natasha's wrist just slightly, giving instantaneous pressure that made the black widow drop her other weapon. She then that arm to get behind the red head quickly and grip her tightly, a baton pressed to her throat. 

"Impressive. Don't tell me-" Natasha paused mid sentence, swiftly turning around and gripping Isabella's arm. She twisted it just enough, and the blonde let go of her one baton left. The weapon clattered to the ground beside them, and in one swift move, Natasha had Isabella flipped over her head of red hair and on the ground in a matter of seconds. Natasha climbed on top of her, the woman's face mere inches from Isabella's. Bella's breathing was rough, and came out in increments. Her chest heaved quickly up and down as her back was laid up against the rough material of the mat. 

"you've been taking self defense classes?" Natasha finished her previous snarky comment. Isabella could feel Natasha's hot breath on her face as she spoke, their lips far too close together. Isabella said nothing, but she could feel her cheeks heat up as she made direct eye contact with her. Natasha examined the blonde's expression for a minute, and slowly started to lean into her, their lips losing distance quickly. Though, before they could come together, a loud cough came from the doorway. Natasha looked up, and quickly jumped to her feet- Isabella wasn't too far behind. 

Her lips smacked apart and then back together as she locked eyes with her trainee, Maven standing in the doorway. She had a slick expression on her face, and the golden skinned girl had her arms over her chest. "Sorry, I didn't think the gym would be occupied this early.." She said. "Maven. Good morning, and it's not. We were just leaving." Isabella said, hoping the 16 year old hadn't seen too much. "That's not what it looked like."  Maven mumbled as Natasha brushed past the girl, and Isabella could tell Natasha had a smile on her face. The red head stopped at the door, turning around. "We leave in an hour, the jet is outside." Isabella nodded, and Natasha left the room. 

Maven furrowed her brows. "You're leaving?" Shit. She had forgotten to tell Maven. Isabella inhaled some oxygen, and forced her eyes to meet the girl's. "I was gonna tell you, I just-" Maven interrupted her. "Don't worry about it, B. I understand. You're an avenger, you have more important things to do than train some wannabe SHIELD agent to fight." Maven grumbled, brushing past her and sitting on the bench. Isabella sighed, and scrambled to sit next to her. "Hey." Her voice was practically a whisper. "It's not like that, okay? I promise. It's just- this time, it's different. Nat told me that we're not fighting aliens, or gods this time." Isabella sighed again, now staring down the wall a few feet in front of her.

Maven's watchful eyes were focused on Isabella. "The team, they've split up. They let the government get between them, and I'm honestly terrified that I won't be able to choose a side. The avengers, they're all I've got left. And If I choose wrong, I might lose them." She said, her breath shaky and uneven. Maven stayed silent. "You'll choose right." She said. Isabella looked at her. "You always do. When the time comes, my dear trainer, you'll make the right decision. I just know it." Isabella looked down, taking in the advice she just received from a 16 year old. She smiled to herself, and brought Maven in for a short hug. "Thanks, kid."