Third POV
There is one person in SHIELD that everyone is jealous of. She didn't need to write reports or even review other agents' reports. Her main job is to create weapons and making sure they are safe for use so she's often seen working with Tony Stark.
Everyone is envious of her because she was able to do what she liked without having to participate in the mundane process. No one has ever seen her lifting a piece of paper to read.
"Hey! Y/N! Come check this out!" Tony called out to her when he saw her swiping her card to enter the compound.
"Hi Tony." She replied with a straight face, not expressing an outwardly interest in the guy's excitement.
"Come on... it'll only take a few minutes." Regardless of the girl's protest, he dragged her to the lab where he was able to show his creation.
"Look." He showed her a bunch of sequences on the hologram and Y/N scanned through nodding her head.
"Nice Tony, but I'm here to collect the weapon Fury asked for."
"It's just over there, I'll have Happy deliver it later. Come watch this." He insisted.
"Please Tony." Y/N didn't let down.
"Alright..."
That's the thing about this Y/N, she refused to be dictated by others and to others she may seem cold.
"Thanks." Once she acquired the weapon that was the purpose of the trip, she left the lab and saw Natasha standing at the door. She greeted the higher ranking redhead before heading out.
When Y/N entered her car, she received a text message but she didn't reply and carried on her journey back to SHIELD.
"Thank you Agent Y/L/N. Hill will send over a document that requires your attention. We seem to have found a new element." Fury said after inspecting the weapon Y/N have brought over. "I expect things will start to get busy from now."
Y/N nodded and proceeded to her office where there was a thumbdrive on her table containing the document Fury was talking about. She plugged in the thumbdrive and took her earpiece and started listening to it.
As Y/N was listening to the document with her eyes closed, Natasha walked into her office after knocking. She knew Y/N was inside as she was talking to Maria earlier.
In a way, Y/N is similar to Tony. Her lab was filled with screwdrivers, holograms displaying 24/7, there's always an ongoing project somewhere. The difference is that her workspace is a lot neater compared to Tony's. There's almost nothing on her desk other than her computer and tablet. No files to be seen, only a single pen used for signing.
Some childish agent would think she used her connection to enter SHIELD and doesn't have to do anything useful.
Natasha saw Y/N with her eyes closed thinking she was having a relaxing time listening to music as nothing was showing on her screen. Quietly, she walked closer to Y/N and took one side of her earpiece trying to figure out what she was listening to.
However, before she was able to place the earpiece close to her ear, Y/N shot open her eyes, shocked at the new activity and person intruding her personal space. "Agent Romanoff." She sighed in relief. "How may I be of assistance to you?"
"Oh nothing. I was just popping by to see you."
"I'm kinda busy, if you could come back later, I may be free then." Y/N replied. Natasha respected her space and slowly stepped back exiting her office. When she left, Y/N continued with her listening until she got enough information to start working.
"Don't scream. Quietly come with us." Y/N felt something metal on her back and dropped whatever she was doing and followed their instructions. They must have planned this for a while as they moved smoothly avoiding the majority of people and leaving the building expertly without raising anyone's suspicion.
Once they were out of the building, more men came and placed a bag over Y/N's head and knocked her out.
Natasha POV
Y/N is an interesting character, I've never seen someone so strict in following the rules. She only interacts with someone for work and pushes everything else until the end. It's finally 6pm and that's when she usually leaves work. I went to find her again but she was not there.
Strange... if she were to leave, she would have switched off the lights but she also was not in her office. I checked with Maria but she didn't see her either. Maybe it was a one off thing. I helped her switch off the lights and went back to the compound.
The next morning, I went to Y/N's office early, hoping to be able to catch her before she started work but she was not there either. Just as I was wondering if she got the day off, Tony called me asking where Y/N was as she was supposed to be working with him today.
Natasha:
I have no idea, Tony. I haven't seen her since yesterday afternoon.
Tony:
Well, if you see her. Tell her to come quickly.
I have something exciting to show her.
Before waiting for my reply, he hung up his phone. I sighed, shaking my head. I only managed to take a few steps before I saw Tony calling me again.
Natasha:
Tony... I told you I don't know where she is...
Tony:
Come to the compound quickly.
It's serious, it's Y/N.
Natasha:
What?!
He didn't reply and hung up on me again. "Seriously!" I ran out of SHIELD and floor my corvette all the way through until I reached the compound. Everyone was already crowding around in the meeting room watching a clip.
*in the clip*
"Read the manual and operate it!" The guy screamed at her.
"I can't..." Y/N shook her head. "I really can't... I want to but I really can't." She's on the verge of crying with the stack of papers in front of her.
"Why did we kidnap a useless engineer who can't even read?" He screamed and
"What is she doing? Why isn't she reading to buy us some time?" I asked frantically. Once she started trying to operate the machine, she would be safer as they'll need her.
"We've already got her location. Let's go." Tony said and the team headed towards the quinjet.
"She'll be alright Nat." Clint said as I paced around the jet thinking of the worst possibilities that could happen to her. I shook my head not knowing how to reply.
"These idiots." I mumbled when we got to Y/N. The culprits have been taken away and she was left on the ground beaten. I immediately went to check on her and thankfully she didn't sustain any drastic injury. Clint helped me to carry her back in the quinjet before sending her to the medbay to check things out.
I was fuming at those that did this to her. After Bruce was done checking and making sure she was fine, I went to search for those that were responsible for this. Maria had already interrogated them and they were a part of a no-name gang that heard about Hydra and its possible weapons at a cafe. SHIELD needs to tighten their security and tell their agents not to talk about their work outside of SHIELD or the compound.
"What are we going to do about them?" I asked when Maria came out.
"We're going to just pass them off to the police and close this as a kidnapping and assault case." She said.
"Nat, she is awake." Clint came to tell me before I was able to protest that more should be done instead of having them sent to prison where they would only be spending 20 years of their life there.
"Hey Y/N, I heard you were awake." I tried to act normal when I entered her room.
"Hi Natasha." Y/N said as her bed was already propped up at an angle.
"Are you feeling better?" I asked as I took a seat next to her. She nodded her head and played with her fingers for a bit.
"Can I ask why you didn't read the manual for them? You would have sustained a lot less injuries if you did." She nodded her head once again but I wasn't sure if it was a reply to my first question or the statement. I figured I was pushing too far when I didn't get a reply and was going to move onto another topic until she opened her mouth to reply.
"I was kidnapped when I was younger..." She said after taking a deep breath.
"This is not mandatory, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to." I told her to make sure and let her know I wasn't forcing her to tell me.
It took a little longer before she continued. "They'll beat me up slightly but it wasn't anything serious. I don't know if it was their sadistic feeling or what. But I was placed in front of a desk and told to recite the storybook from cover to cover." She swallowed before continuing. "Every other chapter there would be people dying. I kept reading and reading, characters kept dying and dying. Every page I flip I think the next one would be me."
I held onto Y/N's hand letting her know she's no longer there. I could tell her heart was beating faster with the machine next to her. "After I got rescued, I didn't dare to read. I couldn't see the words, they were all in a blur."
I processed her situation in my head, so that's why she's never seen reading. "But how do you sign and authorise things then?" I asked as I've definitely seen her signature on papers.
"I only trust Commander Hill to give the right paper after listening to the recordings of it." I raised my eyebrow nodding. "It's not a nice experience really, the robot sounds really dry. I often fall asleep listening."
"I could read for you next time. That way you can sign on the paper immediately." I suggested it without thinking. "I- I mean, if you don't mind." I added after realising what I said.
Y/N shook her head. "I don't want to intrude into your time. Some documents can take really long to read."
"I want to help. Please?" I gently held her hand and rubbed my thumb over her knuckles.
"Alright then."
Your POV
Ever since the kidnapping, Natasha has been helping me read the documents. I tried hiding some from her, especially the manuals as it can be very technical and boring but somehow she would find out and barge into my office scolding me for not telling her. I have no idea how she heard I have something to read so quickly, don't she have her own things to do? Don't get me wrong, she has a really nice voice which I'm sure if she no longer works as an Avenger or SHIELD agent, she can go be a voice actor or audio book reader and be really successful.
Currently, we are at my house after having dinner at one of the cafes nearby. Other than helping me read, she has been trying to conquer my fears of reading by reintroducing children's books to me. There were more pictures than words but it was still tough looking at the words. I take a long time trying to read through the blur.
"Don't bite your lips." Natasha pulled my bottom lips out between my teeth. I froze when I felt her fingers on my chin.
"Sorry, Natasha..."
"I told you many times to call me Nat. I'm sure we're past that stage now."
"Right. Sorry, Nat." I corrected it.
We spent weeks trying to improve my reading but I could only read a couple of words each session. Not even enough to finish reading one children's book.
Written on 8 Aug 2022
Posted on 23 Oct 2022
Inspired by The Master's Sun Korean Drama.