Venomous

37. Unleashed

"You know she was talking about you, right?" Tony's voice was full of his teasing humor that I had quickly acclimated to. I quirked my eyebrows, glancing at him over my shoulder as we ran a few more tests on his new suits.

"How do you get so much work done, given how much you talk?" The retort was easy, friendly. Tony respected people who could give it back to him, and I had earned his trust.

"Natasha. She still likes you." I chuckled under my breath, shaking my head going back to work on the plate of armor in front of me.

"Tony, that train left the station five years ago," I laughed, banging down on a stubborn indent in the material with my hammer. Tony's laugh echoed throughout the room. I rolled my eyes.

"You know, I'm not surprised Wanda was jealous of you two," he continued, completely ignoring my previous comment.

"You're full of it Stark, now do you want my help or not?" I turned towards him, crossing my arms and giving him my best imitation of Natasha's glare that – somehow – seemed to shut him up. Tony scoffed dramatically and rolled his eyes.

"First, that doesn't work on me," he gestured as he spoke, prancing like a prince in his palace. It was kind of fun to watch. "Second, how are you THIS smart, but THAT stupid?" I frowned. Out of the many things I had been called in my life, I couldn't remember the last time somebody called me stupid. And walked away.

"First, yes it does," I glanced up and Tony spun around towards the new voice entering through the doorway. Natasha glared at him, and Tony gulped audibly. Natasha smirked. "Second, Parker I thought I was taking your teammate out this afternoon." Her eyes were twinkling with amusement, and I wondered suddenly how much of that conversation she had heard before she decided to let us know of her presence. She was sneaky that way. Fucking spies.

I pushed myself off the table, wiping my hands on the rag sitting beside me. "That's my cue to leave, Stark," I chuckled as I brushed past him.

"Go get her, kid," he muttered in my ear. I glared at him and he backed away appropriately.

...

Natasha and I had decided to start the afternoon in the woods around the compound, out of sight where no one was likely to stumble onto us, except a possible hunter. And if they did, they were in for a rude surprise. AV was remarkably fond of woodland creatures. I hoped for my sake – and Natasha's – that wasn't going to be an issue tonight. I had a feeling that one would be difficult to explain. We walked together towards the tree line, glancing over at me every so often with a playful smirk.

Halfway there, we both broke into a jog at the same time. I tensed my stomach muscles, feeling them ripple beneath my skin as white began to gradually appear from my chest outwards. The in-progress change had slowed the movement of my legs, allowing Natasha to pull ahead.

"Is that the best you've got?" She called over her shoulder, laughing as AV's form fully materialized, longer arms and legs already making progress in catching up.

We laughed as we bounded past her, shooting a white tendril at the nearest tree branch once we were with in range. Natasha's laugh echoed loudly into the woods as we swung from branch to branch.

"Monkeys are cute, I guess," Natasha called, cupping her hands over her mouth to increase her range, not knowing exactly where we had gone. We growled, huffing indignantly at the sarcasm.

"Cuter than you," we retorted, our voice echoing and bouncing off the trees as we slipped quietly between two branches over her head. She glanced up, catching us and we grinned at her, teeth flashing in the receding daylight. Natasha smirked.

"In your dreams," she crossed her arms over her chest, smirking up at us, perched above her easily.

"Are you coming?" we hissed. Natasha frowned, not quite catching on until white tendrils threaded their way down in her direction. Her eyes widened only slightly as we wrapped them around her, yanking her off the ground towards us. We set her down on the branch beside us, within reach of the trunk should she need it for balance. Natasha glanced down before smirking at us wryly.

"How good are your reflexes, bub?" She said softly. Our smile widened as our tongue licked eagerly over our sharp teeth. I didn't have to answer as Natasha spread her arms wide and jumped from the branch, laughing as she rapidly descended. We caught her easily, dangling her briefly upside down just above the ground, which she found uproariously funny before lifting her back up.

Slightly unsteady on her feet from the sudden abrupt movements, Natasha took a moment to regain her footing, and her hand landed on our chest as she caught her balance. We glanced down, growling softly and Natasha smirked, giving us a small pet.

"They still could use some work," she mumbled as she stared down at the ground, far below. I shrugged as I grabbed her with one arm, jumping to a nearby branch without warning. She tensed only slightly before squinting at the ground. "This is awesome!" She was practically shrieking after a particularly long drop, a sudden stop, and rapid upward swinging. After a few minutes, we landed us both on the ground.

For a while, Natasha amused herself by throwing random objects at us, trying to catch us off guard. She chuckled when we began throwing them back after catching them easily. Then we sparred a little, keeping our distance but testing each other's limits. Without anyone watching, it was exhilarating fighting her one on one.

Her moves were famous, and the way she adapted to fighting such a flexible and empowered figure easily was impressive, adjusting her signature moves in-progress. Every time one of us would get close to a take-down, we'd push each other way, preferring to look for openings and studying patterns rather than taking advantage of them.

We have no concept of how long we sparred, but by the time we each retreated to different trees to catch our breaths, night had fallen. Natasha looked up at the blackened sky, a playful smirk dancing across her lips.

"Want to go for a ride?"