THINKING OUT LOUD || Avengers

-)Six: Sick Beets of the Garden Variety(-

21:40

"Kitchen. Avoid. Secret kitchen. Also avoid. Secret secret kitchen. Safe for now."

Dani frowned as she scampered to keep up with Nat, "Why all the kitchens?"

The assassins only response was a dark expression, "Steve keeps trying to cook. No one has the heart to lock him out and bar the door, so Tony keeps making new ones, and Steve keeps finding them."

"Why is Captain America trying to cook?" Dani asked curiously, "He's super. Doesn't food just... happen?"

Nat gave her a strange look. Dani got the impression that the assassin was expecting someone different, and couldn't help the pinch of disappointment in her chest. The infamous Black Widow was who she had been trained to mirror. It was bad enough they weren't on the same side, but for her childhood hero to give her the same mix of disappointment and disbelief that almost every superior had possessed stung with a childish ache, like she was back in the Academy.

"No." Natasha Romanoff enunciated slowly, "And neither does the washing up or laundry, although it would be nice of someone to tell Stark that. His floor is beginning to smell."

"His floor?" Dani repeated, eyes wide. She stumbled a bit over the frayed edge of a carpet.

Natasha rolled her eyes, "Stark doesn't do people 'invading his space'. Now, I have a question."

"Cool. I can do questions." Dani beamed happily.

"Well, this one's just a word," Nat stopped, and turned, leaning close to Dan's face, "HYDRA."

Dani nodded.

Nat sighed, "What does the nod mean?"

"Yes?" Dani questioned uncertainly, "I'm not really sure about the question."

"Do you work for HYDRA?" Nat asked explicitly.

"Oh." Dani nodded again, "Yes. I think. I mean, I don't get paid, but they're my... Um, I don't know the word."

A sinking feeling started in Natasha's stomach, "They trained you?"

The girl nodded again, more enthusiastically this time.

"Why would you tell me that?" Nat asked again, more suspicious now.

Dani shrugged, "Because you asked."

"You didn't have to tell me. You should have lied." Natasha sounded equally as confused.

Somewhere in the foggy depths of Dani's memory, she knew that. But, like everything else that had fallen into the whirlpool at the back of her mind, it was trapped beneath all of the things she wanted to remember, things like stars over English fields when they ran away from camp at night into the nearest village, huddling close to four or so other kids that became her family. Her team. And the team looks after its own.

HYDRA had taught her loyalty, but it had founded itself in the wrong place. The ideals weren't her own, but her squad was. They belonged, totally and completely, to each other, stronger than family. Only they were all gone now, all but two.

And Watson.

There was nothing remarkable about Watson, other than his unparalleled grouchiness and incredible ability to begin yowling at exactly seven-oh-seven in the morning, which was when he got fed. He was just Watson, in the same way that Dani was Just Dani in a building full of Avengers. He was all Dani had left of a life that she had understood.

"Oh." She looked down at the cat in her arms, "I think I remember that."

Nat shot her another odd look, but kept moving. Dani understood, when it came to being an agent, you didn't 'think you remember' anything. The job was practically printed into your DNA. Truth is, Daniella Atteberry was pretty terrible at her job.