"You should come with me to Stark's New Years party," Natasha says as we're finishing up our workout.
I give her a skeptical look. "But I'm not part of the team," I say.
She shrugs. "I'm allowed to bring a friend with me," she responds, smiling. "Also, a bunch of rich people get invited by Stark. It's not exclusively the Avengers."
"Uhm... then I guess I'll come with you," I say finally.
"Great! We should go shopping. I'm bound for a wardrobe update." We both laugh quietly.
"How about some time in the next few weeks?"
"Sure. I'll try finding a day that works for both of us."
"Okay. Bye," I say, walking toward the stairs.
I go back to my room and take a brief shower before heading down to the pool. I change into my swimsuit, put my hair into a bun, cover it with a swim cap, and grab my goggles. I quickly check myself in one of the mirrors. Satisfied, I walk out of the changing room and walk to the pool.
I glance around and notice that no one else is here. Good. I look over at the lifeguard's little office and confirm that someone is there before pulling on my goggles. I step onto one of the starting platforms and inhale before diving.
The steady rhythm and repeated motion of my arms and legs help to still my mind and ease the tension I'm holding. After nearly half an hour I take a small break and tread water for a few minutes before continuing to do laps.
/|Two weeks later|\
"Astrid!"
"Give me a second," I yell, brushing through my hair. I toss my brush onto my bed before hurrying through the kitchen to the door and opening it.
"There you are," Natasha exclaims. "Are you ready?" she asks, looking over my outfit.
"Nearly," I respond, glancing over her outfit. She's wearing jeans, a black shirt, a grey jacket, and a nice pair of boots.
I let her in and shut the door behind her before going back into my bedroom. I finish putting in my earrings before stepping in front of the mirror and looking over what I'm wearing.
My black boots, black jeans, and a dark green hoodie with a tank top underneath. Before exiting my bedroom I grab a dark grey jacket and pull it on.
"Okay. I'm ready now," I say, grabbing my phone and wallet.
"Great!" Natasha leads me out of the building and I pause when I see the red Mercedes-Benz sitting on the road, its engine still on.
I recover quickly and walk to the passenger's side. I get in and Natasha gets into the driver's seat. "Ready?" she asks, a concerning smirk on her face.
I click my seatbelt into place and glance at her. "Yes," I say.
She speeds down the road, a few inches of snow on it with more along the sides of the road. As we drive through the heavily guarded gate entrance onto the premises I realize this is my first time out without an actual security detail.
"Why am I given security when I go out?" I ask as we speed down the highway.
"One reason is that you're kind of important at the moment and a second reason is that they don't want you running off with the information you have," Natasha responds.
"How reassuring to know they trust me so much," I mutter sarcastically. I don't ask where we're going and Natasha doesn't tell me, which is fine since I don't care that much. I'm just happy to be away from that place for a while.
About twenty minutes later we arrive at a town and Natasha pulls into the parking lot for the little mall they have.
"Let's go," she says, getting out of the car. I follow her since she seems to know where she's going and she brings us to a formal wear clothing store.
"Is the party formal?" I ask, glancing around.
"Sorta. Most of them are actually," Natasha responds, also looking around.
We split up and look around. I look at a few options, holding them up to get a better look at them but it takes me a while to find something I like.
Since we have time, both Natasha and I get our outfits tailored so that they fit correctly. While the tailoring is happening we look through shoes and accessories.
Eventually, our outfits are ready and we pay for them along with shoes and jewelry before walking back out to the car and driving back.
"Do you want a tour of the Avengers' building?" Natasha asks as we turn off onto the road leading into the property.
"Am I allowed to see it?" I ask.
"Yeah, of course. Also, most of the team isn't even there right now," she responds as we pass through the gate.
"Sure," I respond with a shrug. Natasha parks the car in the very large garage and we both get out.
YOU ARE READING
The Grey Raven // Bucky X Oc (Discontinued For Now)
FanfictionAs of now I've stopped adding to this, I'm not sure if I'll come back later but for now this is all I'm writing. ~~~~~~~ She's normal, just with a small bit of enhanced hearing. He's an ex-assassin with a vibranium arm. And guess what? They're roomm...
