Venomous

15. Assignments

We didn't have a lot of time after the mission to celebrate a job well done. Wanda kissed me after asking to see my face instead of AV's, and I still felt like I was floating. Truth be told, I was – the quinjet took off as soon as everybody got back, their various missions complete. About an hour after takeoff, however, Tony came up to me and squeezed into the seat on my left side. Wanda was asleep on my right shoulder, her fingers still intwined with mine as she slept. I smiled at the witch as she slept sweetly before turning my attention towards Tony, trying to avoid eye contact with Natalie who was shooting daggers in our direction. "Good job not dying today, kid," the older man smirked at me. I decided to take the compliment, it was probably as good as it was going to get from someone like Stark.

"Well thank you, Tin Man. I appreciate it." Tony grinned and rolled his eyes.

"Iron...it's Iron...nevermind, not important. I've got a mission for you and you're leaving as soon as we get back." I blinked at him. Nothing like all work and no play.

"Really, just me?" I grinned. The smile suddenly became much less pronounced when Tony completed his information.

"No, not just you, newbie. You're going with one of our best. Natasha." I raised my eyebrows.

"Tony!" I hissed at him. "Come on, man – you can't do this to me." I wanted to punch the self-satisfied smirk right off of his face, but knowing my luck I would hit the edge of his helmet instead and probably break my hand. Tony shrugged.

"What can I say? It's nothing personal." I huffed and folded my free hand arm across my chest. The other one was still being held captive by a sleeping witch that I didn't particularly feel like waking up.

"It kind of feels personal," I muttered under my breath. Tony had ears like a bat, though.

"Ok, kid. Let's think about this." I rolled my eyes and geared up for his planned hero speech. "You are, without hesitation – one of the best martial artists that shield has produced. He leaned forward so he could whisper in my ear "and you turn into a spooky white, inky, rage monster that can literally rip people limb from limb." I had to give him that one – he wasn't, technically speaking, wrong. "Natasha is a weapon all on her own – she was trained for distance and close-combat fighting. We need both of your skills to get in and get out without making a scene." I glanced across the cabin at Natalie, who was currently occupying the co-pilot's seat. Clint was sleeping in the pilot's. I hated to admit it, but she could fly. I exhaled slowly. Truth be told, there really didn't seem to be a lot that the woman couldn't do. Tony moved from my side as Wanda began stirring against my shoulder. "I'm going to go let the woman know," he chuckled, glancing back at me. "I expect she'll take it just about as well as you did." Tony went and stood beside Natalie, and I tried not to pay attention as the two whisper-shouted at each other. I smirked as Natalie switched to Russian.

"фигня, Stark. ни хрена." I smirked. Her range had increased since the last time she was speaking to me that way. At least I wasn't fielding the outrage currently. I sighed again. That was most likely short-lived before all of her hyper focus was once more fixated on me.

"What was all that about?" Wanda asked sleepily as she readjusted her head on my shoulder, squeezing my fingers lightly. I smiled down at her.

"Tony is sending me on a mission with Natal...Natasha when we get back to the compound." Wanda pulled away from my shoulder as she looked up at me, her green eyes wide with worry.

"Are you okay? Small team missions are a lot more intense, and if you're not ready, I can..." I smiled and kissed the top of her head reassuringly.

"It's going to be fine," I smiled. She grabbed my hand and pulled it around her shoulders so she could snuggle into my chest.

"You're warm," she mumbled as she nuzzled against my chest. I ran my fingers lightly through her hair, trying to lull her back to sleep. I glanced up as Tony and Natalie switched places, the redhead approaching the rear of the jet, sitting across from me expectantly. She glanced at Wanda, watching carefully until she was satisfied the other woman was asleep.

"Are you okay with this Brock?" She asked me, a snarky tone evident in her voice. I glanced at her properly for the first time in a while. She had worry lines on her forehead, and I was no longer entirely convinced that she was inquiring after my competence. It almost sounded like she was concerned with me.

"I can hold my own, Natalie." She scoffed and looked off towards the cockpit again.

"I'm not worried about that." I stared at her, unsure of what she was referring to.

"What then?" My answer was far sharper and more pointed than I had intended originally, and Natalie withdrew a little bit internally even if physically she didn't move a muscle.

"I just need to know you have my back." My eyes opened wide, and I blinked at her for a few moments before I trusted myself to speak in anything but a scream of outrage.

"I always had your back, Natasha." I spat her name at her like it was poisonous. Her eyes narrowed slightly as she stared back, refusing to break contact first. "Turns out, I just didn't know whose back I had." I watched as she shook her head.

"Forget about it." She got up, moving towards the rear of the jet where she settled into a comfortable position and pulled out her ipod, inserting the pods in her ears and effectively tuning out the world around her as she stared off into space. I settled back in my seat trying to get as comfortable as possible for the duration of the flight. I wasn't sure where we were headed, or what we were going to be doing exactly, so I wanted to rest up when I knew I had the opportunity. Something told me that I wouldn't be getting a lot of rest for the next couple of days – mentally or physically, let alone emotionally. I allowed my thoughts to drift off as I closed my eyes, pulling Wanda closer as I drifted off to an uneasy, dreamless, sleep.