𝑯𝑬𝒀 𝑨𝑴𝑬𝑹𝑰𝑪𝑨 | in which a normal, dreary, woman has greatness thrust upon her, and with it an instructor who is not a perfect soldier but a good man.
Join Quinn, a lowly I.T. at S.H.I.E.L.D., as her already chaotic domestic life gets throw...
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QUINN HAD BECOME accustomed to the strict regiment of the academy. No talking out of turn, no sneaking out, no fighting. Get the best scores in the class. That was the main goal of every cadet. The constant sound of gunfire was a new norm to her. If she closed her eyes she could imagine that there was a distant battle of good versus evil happening. Luckily, it was just the firearm's course. Something she hadn't excelled at. Hitting targets was a lot harder than what they appeared to be.
Natasha and Blair made it look so easy in the archived footage of the S.H.I.E.L.D. website. To her it just was unnatural. The targets were too real for her, even if they were made out of wood and paper. The worst kind of target practice was when they used dummies. Something about it didn't settle well in her stomach. Especially since she envisioned most of them being actual targets, living, and breathing people. Of course, they were trained to never engage in any hostile activity with their guns ablaze but there were always the rare times that they could. She still couldn't imagine shooting anything, let alone a human being.
Although, from the stories she's been told, she had taken a few shots at Natasha when she was under Hydra's control. This was also a fear of hers. If she actually did become a good shooter, if Hydra came back she'd be even more dangerous as before. Hopefully they wouldn't find her but since she was with Steve there is always a high probability that they might and that they will approach her. There was an upside to her training. If Hydra did find her, she would be ready, or else she would go down in a fight. She could never be the helpless damsel once again, she would rather die than have Hydra be in control. It's not like Steve would ever let her out of his sight for Hydra to take over as well.
Even being at the academy for the past couple of weeks he's managed to call her almost everyday to give her an update on what happened and how Rudolph was managing. According to him she had let Rudolph go soft, and grow a little belly. Steve has been taking him on jogs through Central Park, carrying him back home after he was tired. She couldn't understand how Rudolph kept pace with him. Maybe Steve actually slowed down for a change, it must drive him nuts.
He'd tell her how much he's missed her and she'd return the gesture but at this point everything was just words, she couldn't help but wonder if he actually missed her. He definitely wasn't missing the paparazzi following him around and being a nuisance in their relationship and it seemed like the eye catching articles about their relationship ceased after that night. There was no need information to feed to those vultures. This was the right time to let their relationship grow, flourish even.
Why did it feel strained? Was it the distance? Was it the constant communication? Could this have been just a fling?
The butterflies in her stomach told her no but her mind screamed a solid maybe. She just wished that she hadn't left so soon. Maybe that's what put the strain on them. They hadn't even been together for a couple weeks before she was shipped off to Quantico. It wasn't like she wanted to talk that much after her day. Most of her classmates disliked her being there, especially Rome who liked to make her life hell. Whether it be just insulting her under his breath in class or just giving her snide looks every time she spoke in class, something about him made her feel unsettled. She hadn't told Steve about it although a part of her desperately wanted. Yet a small voice in the back of her mind told her not to, that she'd just sound annoying if she were to tattle on Rome.
