Gone by Ghosts (Natasha Romanoff x OC)

~4~ Questionable

"Alright. Then I suggest you get to know her before your preparation time's over."

"I understand. Can I ask you another question?", she was careful. Her voice was just a rasp and her eyes rose up to look at Nick, while her head was still bowed down. She hated that feeling in her chest. Like she was wearing a corset that was tied tighter every second.

"Natasha, there's no need to look down. We're both adults. We can talk like that, too. And yes, you can ask me another question." His eyes had narrowed after watching the recruit so troubled. He had hoped that the woman was free from old patterns like these but something made her more vulnerable today. Something like the absence of Agent Barton.

"Why did you pick that girl?", she raised her head and watched Fury's reaction to her question cautiously, unsure if her question would anger him again.

"I just told you. She's a very promising agent."

"That's not what I mean. She looks too young to join S.H.I.E.L.D. just like that. Which means that you must've recruited her. Why?" she collected her courage, knowing that her follow-up questions might bring a similar result to the previous questions.

He looked a little surprised but more in a positive way than anything else. "You're right she's not originally from S.H.I.E.L.D.. I recruited her from a special military training operation. She made quick ranks and helped out when one of us ran into trouble."

"And that's it? No special skills, specific background or other qualifications? Just like that?", she poked deeper. There were no signs of discomfort in Fury's body language, that she could've detected.

"We both know that I tend to take leaps of faith as long as I believe that a person deserves it. That's it.", he smiled at her. He hoped that the hint at his trust in her would be enough for her to be satisfied.

It wasn't.

"No ulterior motive? A tactical purpose?", she kept pushing, ignoring the hint.

"No."

There it was! A light tap of his finger. He was nervous and now she saw it. She considered playing a game of power but it seemed like being honest would do the job just as well.

"Don't lie to me, Nick.", her voice displayed her determination to find an answer. It wasn't loud but the fear from earlier was nowhere to be found.

"It's classified."

"So, there is a tactical reason behind this. You're playing chess and she's one of your pawns.", she took a break but before she could continue Fury tried to start his explanation.

"It's not that simple. I-"

She wasn't done yet and just talked over him, picking up the pace."At what point do you sacrifice her to get what you want? Or do you sacrifice someone else to save her?"

"I would never play with the lives of my agents. I would never use them as a means to an end, as my pawns.", he raised his voice again.

"But there is an order to who you'd sacrifice for a mission and who you keep out of it. You can risk losing her and me for this but you wouldn't risk Hill or Coulson, now would you?"

"Natasha, I don't-"He stopped when he heard Hill's steps coming closer to the last door. „We'll talk about this later"

Before she could reply the door opened and the two women who left earlier entered the room.

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Shared POV

The room's atmosphere had shifted since Kate had run out. She could've cut the tension between the two superiors who they had obviously interrupted. She noticed how fast the wall of confidence had built up in front of Agent Romanoff even though she still felt terrible. Her knees were weak and her mind was like a highway during rush hour. Each thought that ran through her brain was chased by the next. Just rushing by without time to process any of it.

Natasha quickly ran her eyes over Agent Davis's body. She looked worn out and tired but not as sick as before. A slight feeling of relief sparked in her chest.

"How are you doing Ms. Davis?", Nick asked and the spark went out as fast as it had appeared. The heaviness of the previous conversation came back to her.

"I'm better, thank you, sir."

"Sir, a word?", Hill asked and received a nod from him.

They walked past the doors and left the two agents on their own.

Natasha watched Kate closely while Kate just stared at the floor. Something about Agent Davis's behavior was weird and unnatural. She didn't dismiss it as just being part of her being sick. No, it was something else and she hated that she couldn't tell what it was.

Kate felt those dark green eyes on her and the longer they stayed on her the more her intestines cramped. The thought of those beautiful eyes was unsettling to her. Hopefully, this feeling would subside when they start working together.

"Are you okay?", Natasha asked and put one hand on Kate's shoulder who slightly twitched at the unexpected touch. She looked up at Natasha to avoid making this any weirder than it already is.

"Oh, yeah. I just...", she wasn't sure what to say. She didn't want her to think that she was irresponsible or weak. "I just ate something bad. It's nothing really."

With a smile, Natasha took her hand off the taller woman's shoulder. "Alright then. Good to know I don't have to worry." It sounded genuine but a little bit of mischief swung with it.

"You worry?"She didn't expect herself to joke but the others present seemed to lure out a side she usually puts aside. The part that jokes around is something that she doesn't let out during work. Except maybe with Maria but that was different. That was flirting. This felt more genuine.

Natasha chuckled surprised. "Only when I want to."

They smile at each other and then both look down. Neither of them knew what to say and an awkward silence filled the room between them. It didn't have much time to settle in before Director Fury and Agent Hill reentered the office.

"Agent Davis, you're dismissed for today. Agent Hill will bring you home."

"Sir, that's really not necessary. I don't need to go home. I'm fine.", she protested. She didn't want to go home. She knew she had to sleep, but she didn't want to. She was scared her dream could return. It took the whole day for her mind not to wander back to it and she knew it was waiting for her at home.

"You have to rest to get fit for your mission. You will go home and get better. That is an order, Agent."He stared her down. There was no way she could talk her way out of this.

"Yes, sir.", she accepted her orders and turned to Agent Romanoff. "It was nice meeting you."

"Get well soon.", Natasha offered her hand and Kate took it.

She looked at Agent Hill and they walked out.

"So, about our talk earlier.", Fury started but again Natasha didn't let him finish.

"I'm sorry. It wasn't my place to say that. You have enough experience to know what you're doing. We'll see how this'll play out.", with that she turned and left.

She wasn't sure why she backed out but something about this new agent was so intriguing to her that she was fine with letting this slide. For now.

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So sorry that it took me so long to upload.

I was on a trip, then school started and I had serious trouble making these conversations work. Tbh I don't think it works that well but maybe I'll update it another time.

The next chapter will be a lot shorter but I will upload it with the following. That might take some time, too. I already wrote parts of it, so it shouldn't take as long as this.

As always thank you so much for reading my story and spending your time with it.

I hope you enjoyed it. Let me know if you did :)

~1822~