Agent Alex

Chapter 1//In which bestie returns

"Hey Nick!" I yell, washing my hands. "Nick!" I yell louder, sticking my head into the hall. "Dammit, Nick Fury." I mutter, drying my hands off. "I will fucking do it, Fury!" I yell, and hear groans from the offices off the hall. I smile, taking a deep breath.

"You are the dancing queen! Young and sweet, only seventeen!" I yell, and hear the running footsteps that signaled Fury. "Dancing queen! Feel the beat from the tambourine, oh yeah! You can dance, you can jive! Having the time of your life!"

"ALEXANDRA AVERY MILLER!" I laugh, hearing Fury yell. "Stop that right now! You are 18!" I keel over, tears streaming down my face. "Stop laughing. It's not funny." Nick says, looking down at me, laying on the floor.

"Yes it is." I say between gasps for air.

"Oh my god, you're 18 for god's sake! Grow up!" Nick says, and I shake my head.

"I am still a 6 year old at heart." I say, getting up.

"I have news for you if you'll stop being immature for 5 minutes." Fury says, and I nod, shutting my mouth firmly. "Why am I telling you this?" I hear Fury mutter to himself. Fury sighs, but I stand still, biting my tongue.

"Natasha should be back from her mission with Clint in the next few days." I feel my jaw drop, a happy scream bubbling in my chest. Instead of letting the scream out, I settle for bouncing on my toes, squealing like a schoolgirl whose crush had just asked her out. "Oh my lord, chill out!" Fury says, but I ignore him, excited to see Natasha.

"One last thing." I turn to Nick, suddenly quiet. "I need you and Natasha to go on a mission together. I know it's horrible timing, but Clint wouldn't be of much help on the one that you two are going on." I nod, listening intently. "You'll get a more in depth debrief when Natasha and Clint get back."

"Ok. Thank you." I finally manage to reign in my emotions, embarrassed about how I let them get the better of me.

The next few days dragged by slowly, my anticipation growing bigger each second, along with my worry. Finally, after almost 3 days, Natasha and Clint arrive back at headquarters. As soon as I hear the news, I run down to the main hall, seeing Clint leaning heavily on Natasha.

"Hey- Alex." Clint says, and I hear how much pain he is in through his voice.

"Hey yourself. What happened?" I ask, taking some of the weight off Natasha and helping carry/drag Clint to the elevator.

"Had to cut the mission short. We got made." Natasha answers for Clint, and I nod.

"Would have gone a lot smoother if Natasha hadn't karate chopped the guys head off."

"Clint, you did not see the knife in his hands. He was about to fucking kill you. He would have if I hadn't stepped in." Natasha retorts.

"Ok, stop bickering like an old married couple. It's weird." I say, effectively shutting both Natasha and Clint up. I press the button for the medical office, and when we reach it, both Natasha and I drop Clint on the floor.

"I mean, why does he always get injured? I think he needs to go on some easier missions." I tease, and Natasha laughs.

"Oh, haha, Alex. You're always getting hurt too."

"Yeah, but I've been hurt less, and I've been on less missions than Clint." I say. That last part was a lie. I'm almost always on a mission, and most of them are solo missions. Nobody really notices when I'm missing from HQ except Fury, because then I'm not screaming 'Dancing Queen' at the top of my lungs almost every day.

I think I've been on almost as many missions Clint has. Only Fury and I know this, because I've only been made a total of 1 time. Clint gets made at least once a year.

"Oh, Fury told me he had a mission for the two of us." I say, walking with Natasha to Fury's office.

"So soon? Why couldn't he send somebody else with you?" Natasha asks, and I try to not let her see how I deflate. "I mean, it's not that I don't want to go with you, but I just got back from one with Clint." I nod, still hurt.

I've liked Natasha almost since the day I saw her, and I think the only person that doesn't know is Natasha. I'm always trying to be careful around her, because I don't want to mess up our friendship. She's one of the few friends I have, and I don't want to lose that.

"He said he knew it was horrible timing, but I think it must be urgent, if he's sending you so soon after you came back." I say, and Natasha nods.

About 30 minutes later, we've been debriefed, and we start packing. "Lordy mae, why are we leaving in an hour?" I mutter, trying to shove everything I might need. You never know what a mission might entail. I always pack something for all kinds of situations. I grab my first aid kit from under my sink, tossing it in my bag.

"Come on! We gotta go, Alex!" Natasha yells, pounding on my door.

"I'll be right out! Give me a minute!" I shout back, grabbing a picture of my parents and my phone, shoving both in my pocket.

I pick up my bag and walk out of my room, colliding with Natasha. "I am so sorry-"

"Come on, let's go." Natasha says, grabbing my hand and dragging me towards the roof.