Venomous

9. Secrets

a/n: things are about to get a little complicated. Are we ready? This is your Captain speaking. Buckle in for the ride and please return all tray tables and seats to their upright and locked position

I had a long habit of strange sleep patterns. It started when Natalia and I were dating, shortly before we moved in together. It became far more consistent once we lived together. Natalasha (I smirk every time) had a lot of nightmares. And I mean a lot. She never really spoke about them, but I could tell hey were bad by the way she would wake up, sit bolt upright in bed, breathing hard and covered in sweat. After one of her episodes, Natalasha's typical routine was to go for a walk, and I'd always go with her, so I'm accustomed to being up at odd hours.

Unfortunately for me – and possibly for her as well – our patterns were still apparently in sync. I stared at the ceiling of my new room until around 2am, and then I gave up. I got up, threw on some sweats and decided to make my way to the training room (it was really a training floor) that had been pointed out as a part of the impromptu tour. And by tour, I mean Tony and Steve were already in the process of walking away from me and vaguely pointing in different directions while speaking simultaneously so I couldn't clearly hear what either were saying. Felt right at home.

I realized almost immediately that I was not the only one for a penchant for late-night training, and I really shouldn't have been surprised. I heard the steady hum of a motor and footsteps moving at an easy jog. I rounded the corner and say familiar red hair, tied in a high ponytail, swaying side to side. Natalasha was complexly zoned out, her eyes straight ahead as she jogged, earplugs in. I sighed, unwilling to go all the way back to my room for nothing, but not wanting to stay and be forced to potentially make small talk with my ex so I backed into the elevator again as quietly as possible, hitting the button for the main living floor.

I wasn't alone in the kitchen, either. Was there any place here that I could go for some peace and quiet?

"You could always try your room. That's what it's there for." I blinked at the soft voice which seemed to be emanating from the brown-haired woman in the corner, who was sipping on a cup of tea. I blinked at her.

"Did you just..."

"Read your mind? Yeah, sorry. You were loud." I gaped at her in surprise. Wanda stood suddenly, pulling her hoodie more tightly around her shoulders but as she moved, she knocked her tea mug that went careening off the edge of the table. Without a moment's thought or hesitation, a white tendril shot up, catching the mug by the handle and keeping it from smashing into a million pieces on the floor. Shit. Probably shouldn't have done that. I looked up, noticing that now it was Wanda who was staring at me flabbergasted.

"I, uh..." the corners of her mouth began turning upward in a smirk.

"You like that mug? That's the best you could come up with?" I flushed red. The mind reading thing was going to be potentially problematic, especially knowing my brain and all of the dirty....nope. I clamped a mental lock on my thoughts, triggering another laugh in the woman in front of me. She studied me, all her weight on one leg as her hip rested against the counter. "What are you?" I smirked.

"Trouble. And it would seem, Ms. Maximoff, that I am in good company with that classification." Wanda smiled at me – a real, genuine smile that lit up her whole face and showed her perfectly white teeth.

"I guess we'll see," she murmured softly as she maneuvered between me and the table heading towards the exit and the hallway. I watched her walk away, trying not to look at her...Wanda spun back around towards me, a small smile teasing the corner of her full, pink lips. "It didn't work." I gulped as she chuckled, heading back off towards I'm guessing her room. I took a deep breath and dropped the coffee mug that I had saved from Wanda when a new voice spoke behind me.

"You're up late." I spun around in place to see Agent Hill standing behind me, a smirk on her face.

"Couldn't sleep." She looked at me knowingly.

"Bad dreams?" I shrugged.

"Not mine." She frowned and as she was distracted, I bent down and picked up the larger pieces of glass from the floor, staring forlornly at the coffee cup, now in pieces. Agent Hill seemed to physically pull herself together as she folded her arms across her chest, appraising me. "Can I help you?" She smirked.

"I know you probably have some...aggression...to get out, and since you can't really tell the team yet, I thought you might want to train. With me." I jutted my chin towards the door.

"Let's go."

10 minutes later, Agent Hill had thrown everything that was in reach at me, and white tendrils had caught it all. At the moment, I currently looked like – well, I didn't want to know what I looked like. I had literally 20+ appendages now, and Agent Hill was studying me again. I tossed all of the items to the ground, minus a pair of handcuffs, which I willed the tendril over to hand back to Agent Hill directly.

"What's going on out here?" A tired, familiar voice sounded by the door. Natalasha. She was sipping her coffee, no-doubt black, watching us with amusement. I smirked and handed the handcuffs back to Maria.

"You know, there are better uses for these." Maria smirked at me, and I heard Natasha scoffing from the doorway. I smirked to myself again, liking the fact that I hit a nerve on the first try. Gotcha. Natalie always had a pretty severe jealousy and protective streak, and it was only a matter of tapping into it. I was proud to note that I hadn't lost my touch, and that these two personality traits, at least, seemed to be a fixture of the real person, not the person she pretended to be so many years ago. Maria, to her credit, simply gave me a vacant expression before rolling her eyes. Oh well. Couldn't blame a girl for trying. I pushed past Natalasha heading back inside, once determining that 'training' was over for the evening. My eyelids were finally starting to become heavier, and I almost thought that sleep might be possible. And who knows what tomorrow would bring?