"What do you mean it was a mistake?" Kate's expression twists as her eyes snap up to Steve, seeing him shaking his head as it falls into a hand.

"I mean I didn't mean to do it, I meant to-" He gestures with a hand, unable to meet her gaze when she cuts him off.

"That's kind of a big decision to make, you can't easily just make an 'oops' while going through with it," Kate makes clear, her eyes no longer meeting Steve's as she looked down with mild frustration.

"Look I'm sorry but I'm being honest, it's best if we just… forget it" Steve responds, his voice more authoritative.

"After everything that's happened… you want to just forget about it all?" Kate demands, her voice raising.

"Kate it's just a game!" Steve's expression finally loosens amusingly.

"But I just got married and had kids! You want me to just throw away my car full of children?! The husband can go, he's dead weight but- Steve I just bought a house! How can you make a mistake-"

"College. I went to college and now I'm in debt"

"Comes with the package, Steve! Any education above that of high school does nothing but give you debt from what I've heard."

"An education is important, Kate" Steve responds, a bit more serious in terms of life outside the game board.

"Your mistake, not my problem" Kate turns her chin up with a barely recognizable smile on her lips.

Steve feels his smile grow with amusement, brow lightly knit as he eyed the teen. These moments were becoming more common. Steve found himself enjoying the moments like this, as brief as they were at times, where Kate was very relaxed and open. She had a playful personality; it was starting to peek through now and again.

In the days that had passed since were finalized, not much had happened. Clint and Natasha went out on a couple small overnight missions and had regular meetings at the base, however Steve found himself taking some time off to get Kate more comfortable. Sure, Fury could call him away at a moment's notice for something important, but he wasn't actively pursuing missions for the hell of it.

This time was vital, that Steve knew. The next few weeks - even over the next few months - Steve needed to continue solidifying the foundation of a healthy relationship with Kate; otherwise the future would be difficult to think about.

"What're you guys up to?"

Steve turns to look behind him and Kate looks passed him to see Clint exiting the elevator, Bruce along with him.

"Steve wants me to abandon my husband and kids just so he can get out of his college debt" Kate states, her serious tone causing Steve to sigh and shake his head.

"Cap'n" Clint's amusingly shocked voice causes Kate to smile along with Bruce as the scientist glances over.

"Not the whole story, she failed to mention I've been in debt since she started the game, I merely want another try" He mumbles, his eyes meeting Kate's as she narrows her gaze at him playfully.

"Makin excuses are we?" The archer smirks before heading towards the kitchen.

Steve just holds his tongue as Kate goes to make her move on the LIFE game board before he leans back into the couch with a silent sigh.

"Your turn, sir."

The words cause Steve to lift his head from the couch, eyes meeting Kate's before he sits up and goes about his turn on the board.

Kate still called him "sir" at times. At first he was a stickler for getting her to just call everyone by their names, or at least for him. But now he understood that she was getting there on her own time. He was doing his part of not drawing attention to it. Sometimes she would notice the mistake and correct herself, and other times she didn't even seem to notice the formal address slipped out.

Huffing quietly Steve looks about the bored before looking at his collection of game pieces. This was an interesting game… More complicated than the board games he played when he was younger.

"How did the debrief go?" Steve calls back over the couch, watching as Kate went about her turn.

While Natasha was still at the base, Clint had gone to SHIELD early in the morning for a mission debrief, with a departure time for the next day.

Both of them kept relatively busy when it came to SHIELD work, although Clint often took long breaks now and again. At the moment he was in New York, but within a few months he'd most likely take several months off - a sort of vacation time to get away from it all. While Steve hadn't been around for those instances yet, Natasha had told him that Clint liked to get away from it all; go stay somewhere remote to get some solitude.

"Slow," Clint responds, grabbing a bottled water from the fridge. "Pretty slow. Nothing out of the ordinary. Are you looking into any assignments yet?" He gestures towards the Captain with the bottled beverage momentarily before raising it to his lips.

"Not right now," Steve tries to brush it off before taking his own turn on the game board once more. "Taking a break for a little longer." He adds while meeting Clint's eyes as the archer took a seat on the couch next to Kate.

"Better hope Fury doesn't come knockin," Clint chuckles while setting the now closed water bottle between his legs, leaning back against the couch.

Steve nods in agreement while waiting for Kate to take a turn.

Fury could call him off on a mission if it was dire enough. While of course he'd come running if there was another urgent and/or large threat, he'd most likely try and get out of any missions if the opportunity came.

~0~

Looking up to meet his eyes, Kate watches as Steve continues to think over his next move on the game board. He hadn't played it before. To be fair, Kate wasn't exactly an expert either, but Sam had shown her the game while she was still with the Bakers. It was part of her training to be able to get most things down to a science rather quickly, however Kate was doing her best to not do that.

Just play the game like a normal person. This isn't life or death information that could get someone killed if executed improperly. It's a board game.

Kate had essentially memorized the instructions while playing the game with Sam and her family; worried about inconveniencing them, she thoroughly read through the instructions before the scheduled board game time after dinner one of the first nights she stayed with the family.

"Alright," Steve says, causing Kate's eyes to refocus on the Captain as he gave her a smile. "I'm ready to be vaporized," He breathes before shaking his head.

"I'll go easy, sir." Kate laughs lightly before looking down at the game board, wringing her hands lightly before going to spin the small dial.

"You rising early tomorrow?" Steve asks, leaning forward, elbows positioned on his knees.

"Eh, not too bad. I'll probably head out around 7," Clint shrugs lightly, resting his arms along the back of the couch. "Chaves should be ready by the next bout of missions. He said his rehab is just about over, he's just gotta get medical to sign off." Clint explains.

Kate listens quietly as she moves her little car figurine of peg-people.

Chaves… It sounded familiar; however she couldn't quite put a face to the name. He worked on Oriah operations… the raids… That's all she could officially conclude.

"Got another team coming as back up," Clint adds. "They're a little fresh, but… They need the experience. This should serve as a good test run."

Steve nods before leans further forward, eyes narrowing a fraction as he slides the dial closer to spin it.

"Hey everyone,"

Kate looks over towards the elevator quickly to see Pepper walk out and towards the kitchen to set her handbag down on the counter. She let out a quiet sigh before smiling towards everyone, taking a couple steps towards the seating area.

"Pepper," Bruce gives her a small smile and little nod.

"How'd the conference go?" Steve asks.

Kate looks about the adults as they pick up light conversation. This was another thing she wasn't necessarily used to. Higher ups usually wouldn't make casual conversation in front of her. Then again, it was just part of a long list of things she was having to get used to.

Every now and then she'd remember that. She had to stop comparing these current experiences to the treatment she was used to getting under Doctor Gordon and his program.

"It was fine," Pepper shrugs gently. "Could it have gone better? Of course," She forces herself to relax and smile. "Afternoon, Kate." Her voice heightens, tone light.

Kate brings herself back to the present and pulls together a smile.

"Likewise, ma'am."

"What're you two doing here?" She questions, leaning against the back of the couch to eye the board game on the coffee table.

"She's kicking his ass at life." Clint mumbles.

"Clint, language." Steve mutters, brow knitting.

"I- see," Pepper cocks her head lightly to the side before meeting Kate's amused smile.

"Life as in- the board game not- never mind," Clint grumbles before lying back on the couch.

Bruce chuckles lightly before heading towards the kitchen.

The sound of a phone ringing causes Kate's ears to perk up and her eyes to snap towards the archer next to her; more specifically his jacket pocket.

"Oh what's this," Clint grumbles before digging for the device.

Pulling it from his pocket he raises the phone to his ear and answers the call.

"Sir," The drop in tone and lack of amusement or lightheartedness makes Kate realize quicker than knowing what he had said- that Clint was speaking to a superior. She suspected that he didn't have many above him.

"Alright… Yeah I'll get them together. We'll head out as soon as possible." Hanging up as quickly as he took the call, Clint's eyes meet Steve's and then he cranes his neck to look over the couch towards Bruce.

"Fury needs us stat. We gotta go," He shrugs lightly before getting to his feet. "Guess I jinxed ya Cap. My apologies," Clint gives Steve an apologetic smile before patting the man's upper arm as he got to his feet.

Kate watches them get up and begin talking about the details.

"Did he say what it was about?"

"No, just that it was important. Don't have time to argue." Clint shrugs before jogging for the door.

Steve sighs before looking towards Kate, a sympathetic look on his face.

"Consider yourself saved, sir." Kate says.

Her voice was quiet calm and lacking in any clear emotion, however her expression hinted at a sort of hidden amusement.

Steve glances towards Pepper who looked quite amused before turning his eyes back to the teen. His eyes narrow slightly, a small smile breaking in his expression.

"Don't get cocky. I'm gonna practice and soon enough you'll have a rival," Steve makes clear, pointing lightly towards her before he heads for the door.

Kate watches them leave, and before she could process it completely, they were gone down the elevator.

"My goodness," Pepper sighs, taking a seat on the couch adjacent to Kate.

Kate pulls together a small smile before adjusting her seat on the couch before straightening her posture subconsciously.

Now with a different audience, she'd need to reevaluate.

~0~

Several Hours Later…

There was no word from the team, and while that wasn't necessarily to be expected, it kept Kate thinking about the possibilities of what could be going on. She had been around long enough to know the whole team was called out at times. Not for planet level threats, but from what she had heard, threats that considered other-worldly problems. Apparently, there were plenty of weapons and technological marvels unaccounted for from the Battle of New York. Colossal weapons, sold to the right buyer, they could wreak untold havoc and destruction for governments and civilizations across the planet. The Chitauri is what the race was called that invaded Earth a year or so ago.

Kate didn't know much about them, mostly only what the team had shared with her from the experience of saving the world together for the first time. Apparently they had their squabbles and weren't the best of pals right off the bat.

That wasn't something Kate found hard to believe. Even now, she could see the stark differences amongst the team - the polar opposite personalities and just way of doing things in general. They had appeared to have found their niche of balanced communication and action however.

Glancing up towards the television screen, Kate watches as the commercials end to get back to the normal program her and Pepper had been viewing.

It was obvious that someone like Pepper didn't usually spend her time like this. When the commercials would start, she'd hop on her laptop and do a couple work related things, or listen to some voicemails from the day before the program came back.

She wasn't one to sit still, however she appeared to overall enjoy what downtime she was allowing herself.

They had been watching the television for around an hour or so now. Kate was getting antsy. She couldn't help it. That was essentially a branch of boredom. She didn't want to admit it, but while the last few weeks were great, she already had these people pretty much figured out; she could see most of their quirks and had most of their schedules down. It was just something she was trained to do. Survey and analyze; understand everyone in the room and know their schedules and mannerisms accordingly. Treat everyone as a potential hostile until proven otherwise.

These people weren't hostiles of course. Kate still had her trust issues, but she knew that, at least on the surface, she could trust this team, as well as Pepper. They had stuck their necks out enough for Kate to understand that.

However that couldn't stop her baser instincts from telling her time and time again to just have your guard up. Despite feeling a sense of security, it's in the times when you feel safe that you should be the most ready for a situation to turn sideways. She was so used to constantly doing something. In her current situation… That seemed to be standing on the edge; remaining vigilant for anything to come.

For being kept so busy all these years, and to suddenly have it all come to a swift and ungraceful halt… The constant string of phrases would go through her mind: What now? What am I doing? What's next? What do I do? She had to keep busy. She had to find something. The team had their business, and Pepper ran a company. They all had jobs to do, and higher causes to keep them occupied. What was she doing? Well- right now nothing. That was eating away at her with more ferocity than ever.

The moment she allowed herself to slow down and think… Those were the moments she feared; when her mind got a little too cramped with all those random and elusive thoughts that crawled out from the darker corners of her mind. Some were a little more ominous than others; there were some that were just irritating and provocative, constantly nagging about little insecurities and peeves which kept her in a constantly altering state of mind.

Glancing out towards the wall of windows momentarily, Kate felt the sudden wave of vulnerability hit her. The world outside was dark. It was night after all. However the Tower was like a giant beacon towering over the city, she felt like she was on display. Being kept separate - hidden - all these years… It was a bit of a shock to the system at times.

Her fists clench lightly before she relaxes them, feeling sweat beading in her palms. If she could just turn the lights off… She'd feel a bit better.

That won't quiet her mind though. She needed to breathe, get some air that wasn't that of the communal floor.

How could she feel so cramped in this giant room, consisting of herself and only one other person? Pepper wasn't even paying attention to her and Kate felt like the elephant in the room.

"Miss Potts?" Kate finally clears her throat to speak, catching the attention of the Stark Industries CEO rather quickly. She seemed so relaxed; wearing some sweatpants and a loose t-shirt. Kate almost felt uncomfortable- this big CEO, a worldwide known individual just relaxing on the couch watching TV in her presence. She felt like she should be standing at attention guarding the elevator doors or something.

"I think I'll retire for the night, if you don't mind," Kate was already sitting up, ready to get to her feet once she got confirmation from the woman.

"Alright," Pepper responds gently, her brow twitching only a fraction at the way Kate worded her statement most likely. "Good night, Kate."

"Night ma'am," Kate gives her a nod and a small smile before getting her feet to head towards the stairwell.

Elevators were fine. She was used to them, however the stairwell was always cold, and there was always a subtle draft. It was relaxing, and she could use the physical activity of climbing several floors to the suites and apartments.

Getting to the right floor, Kate exits the stairwell and begins her journey down the hall, pasted Steve's quarters and down towards hers.

It still wasn't sinking in: these were her quarters. Her space. Much different from her room at Oriah, and even the Centurion installation. She still felt like she was staying at a resort or hotel. She was careful going about the space and interacting with it to a minimum. Perhaps overtime that would change, and she would make the space her own.

Thinking that far into the future wasn't a good habit. At least not one she used with SHIELD. Stay in the present, and only consider the future in analytical and theoretical scenarios. Personal habits weren't of consideration. It was all about the mission… Whatever the mission would be. She wasn't an adult; not cleared for active duty. Sure she had been on a few assignments working analytics and logistics; working in the background. Until she was an adult, or at least more trained and mission-ready she wasn't getting any action.

… Wouldn't be getting any action. She's no longer in that life. It's in the past…. That was a scary thought. Just ignore it. Think about it too long and the anxiety will be overwhelming.

Coming to the door to her quarters, Kate stands still. Her hand hadn't lifted to open the door yet, eyes unfocused on the designer wood finish. Her eyes finally turn down the rest of the hall towards the bend where she knows a door to the balcony is.

~0~

0030 Hours

Dealing with all of these Chitauri weapons and technological assets was getting rather tedious. Did Fury really need the team to take care of this? It was a known fact that the team had the most experience in dealing with these weapons. Well- experience that mattered anyway. Of course SHIELD experimented with these weapons, gave them test runs and worked with them on confidential projects. However, the Avengers were some of the few who had experienced these weapons in action- in a full out battle. That was experience you couldn't buy or get in a laboratory.

So in a way… Yeah, maybe Fury really did need the team to handle this grab of weapons. At least if he wanted the highest probability of success.

The whole team had gone. While Bruce didn't do any action-oriented assistance, he was in charge of making sure all the weapons were deactivated and placed in radiation sealed containers. If any of the Chitauri cores were exposed to any considerable level of radiation, that'd be a mess to clean up that Steve didn't want to think about.

Walking out of the stairwell and onto the communal floor, Steve quickly let his eyes bounce around the space, noticing rather quickly that Kate wasn't present. He liked to keep tabs on her. While she never outright said it, he suspected she didn't like the whole team going out, leaving her at the Tower. Whether it was an anxiety, or just a cue for boredom and lack of company, Steve remembered being a teenager. Depending on who you asked, Steve was a sort of trouble maker in his teen years. While he wouldn't project that opinion onto Kate, he suspected there was still a string of mischief and/or subtle defiance for staying out of trouble in her somewhere.

"Hey," Pepper smiles, standing on the opposite side of the kitchen island, a small cup in her hand as she was dipping a tea bag in and out of the steaming water. "How'd it go, everyone okay?"

"Yeah we're all fine," Steve smiles. "Tony's on his way up." He nods towards the elevator. "Kate around?"

"She went upstairs; planned on calling it a night I believe. She was getting antsy," Pepper chuckles lightly, grasping the small mug in both hands. "Reminds me of Tony. He can't sit still for very long without tinkering or doing something to fully occupy himself."

Steve smiles lightly before nodding.

That was another thing he noticed about Kate. She liked being kept busy. And if she wasn't busy, she got anxious. There had been a couple instances over the last few days where she'd ask someone if there was anything she could do. Something told Steve that would be a problem, the second or third time he heard it. She was looking for things to occupy herself with.

Maybe Tony was right… This was kind of like parenting. He had to keep the kid busy. But this wasn't just a kid. This was a teenager; a highly skilled - trained to do a whole number of things - teenager. He could only imagine the type of training she had; the things she was capable of. He knew what she was capable of.

The conversation with Tony comes back… Her escape from SHIELD. How do you keep a teenager busy and happy? Add on top of that a teenager like Kate? He couldn't order her around to keep her busy; although he had a sneaking suspicion she'd respond the best to that sort of treatment as opposed to anything else.

"What do you think of Kate?" Steve finds himself asking.

Pepper meets the Captain's eyes and processes his words quietly for a moment while lowering her mug.

"Be more specific,"

"I admit this is all- very new territory for me." Steve begins, rubbing the back of his neck lightly before resting both hands on the edge of the counter opposite the Stark Industries CEO. "She's a teenager. That in itself is a complicated stage of adolescence… I'm finding myself a loss for how to help her. I know this is still a long adjustment period. However she's… Without much to do. It's something I didn't originally consider." Steve shakes his head. "... How does she seem to you?"

Pepper remains silent for a moment following the man's explanation, thinking back on her interactions with the teen.

Steve was right; there wasn't much for Kate to do around the Tower. While she found things to keep her busy, even once resorting to cleaning off the kitchen counters at one point, they had staff that took care of the majority of the maintenance and upkeep.

Kate was a teenager. It was a complex time for any child; however Kate was a special instance. There was no book or debrief that could prepare someone for that; especially Steve, which Pepper finds the least bit amusing. He was a doer; he'd do almost anything to keep the balance, do right by others. However with someone like Kate, Pepper sensed there was a certain independence and distance Steve would need be prepared to get used to.

"Well I think talking to her about this would be beneficial," Pepper nods gently. "See exactly where she is. Don't get into the habit of making too many assumptions about her this early." She smiles.

Steve nods lightly before looking down at the counter.

"Alright, I'm gonna call in for the night," Pepper sighs lightly before giving Rogers a gentle smile. "Don't think about it too hard, Steve. She went to her room around an hour ago if you wanna check on her."

Steve returns the smile and steps to the side as Pepper went to walk past him towards the elevator with her tea.

Waiting only a minute or so before heading upstairs to call it a night himself, it isn't too long before he exits the elevator and begins walking down the hall towards his room.

He bypasses his own however and continues on towards Kate's.

Stopping in front of her door, Steve knocks lightly and waits momentarily. Silence follows.

Glancing down towards the floor, light was streaming out from inside the room. If she was asleep he'd assume she would turn the lights off.

"Kate?" Steve tries once more, knocking a little louder.

More silence.

Knitting his brow, Steve looks around, up and down the hall momentarily before looking towards where the hall continued. Maybe she was on their balcony. It wasn't accessible from the rooms themselves, but there was a balcony down the hall they could go out on.

Leaning away from the door, Steve goes to take a few steps down the hall when he turns a casual look over his shoulder, seeing someone standing behind him.

"Oh- wow," The jump is enough to make Kate step backwards in surprise as Steve's hand swung unceremoniously about, grasping the edge of her door frame for support as he turns to face her.

"Sorry, sir." Kate gets out quickly, eyes widened with mild surprise at realizing she had startled him.

"You're very quiet on your feet." Steve breathes lightly, trying to calm the thumbing in his chest.

He wasn't easy to sneak up on. The serum enhanced his senses just as it did his strength and agility, he could usually pick up on someone walking in the stairwell, not to mention someone walking right up behind him.

"Sorry," Kate repeats gently, eyes dotting about him as if she could see his muscle tension as he tried to calm his nerves. "Were you looking for me?"

"Uh, yeah." Steve nods. "Pepper said you called in for the night. Just wanted to check on you, let you know we were back."

Kate nods quickly in response to his words, posture somewhat straight and attentive, yet relaxed too. She seemed calm.

"Went for a walk," She shrugs. "Didn't get too much physical exercise today."

"Outside?" Steve questions, a little surprised. Actually a lot surprised.

He remembered how Kate was the first time Steve took her outside. She was terrified, on guard, and hard to talk to. This "walk" was unexpected to say the least.

"Oh- no," Kate's brow knits after a moment of realizing where Steve was coming from. "Just… around the- Tower," Kate puts together.

"Oh," Steve nods.

That made much more sense. Not that she wasn't allowed outside. If she wanted to, there was no one stopping her from going outside. However as far as anyone knew, she didn't like going out without someone with her.

Kate pulls together a small smile before her eyes slowly graze the door to her quarters.

"Well I'll- let you go," Steve quickly steps to the side and allows Kate to enter her room.

"Night sir," Kate calls before closing her door.

Steve smiles lightly and lets his own acknowledgement in response slip out before he heads to his own room.

~0~

The Next Day…

Walking down the hallway towards one of the conference rooms at the New York SHIELD location, Kate's eyes skim numerous agents as they walk by.

Steve is walking beside her as they head down the hall, eyes ahead and pace quick enough to be considered that of a working pace. She was a fast walker too, so it wasn't too much of a stretch; he just had longer legs than her, so she had to walk a bit faster than him.

It was the first of many check ins at SHIELD to come. They had decided on a day of each month to aim to come in, and Kate found some comfort in that small scheduled event for the future. Order, structure, schedule… Those were things Kate found comfort in. This monthly meeting at SHIELD was not the only solid structure she had to look forward to. Sure there were morning runs and other daily events that happened. But on a weekly or monthly basis for the future, this was all the stability she had.

Coming to the entrance of the conference room, Steve comes to a stop next to Kate and turns to her.

"I'm gonna head down to archives. I've got to catalog some reports. Give me a cal once you're done okay?" Steve questions, voice light and reassuring.

Kate gives him a brief smile and a nod before he walks away.

Turning her eyes back towards the door to the conference room, Kate grips the handle and opens the door. Stepping into the well-light space, Kate's eyes find a line of windows on the opposite wall, and a long table feet in front of her.

Walking further into the space, Kate fully expects to see Agent Hill waiting, only to see the SHIELD Director standing near the end of the row of windows, a file in hand.

"Sanders," Fury greets, voice monotone and unreadable.

Kate finds her posture subtly straightening, hands gently swinging behind her back.

"Sir," Kate voices, the uncertainty was laced into her voice, but she did her best to keep it controlled.

Fury looks up, file loosely in one hand before he uses it to gesture towards the table.

"Have a seat."

Kate hesitates a moment following the Director's words. Not out of disrespect, but to gauge where he was. Agent Hill was usually the one she reported to on these check ins. The Director of SHIELD didn't do this for just anyone… She knew this…. And it didn't surprise her all that much either.

It was hard to remember a time when she didn't know the Director. Of course not before she came to SHIELD, but even then, her memories were blurry and she often found herself questioning certain recollections.

Pulling out one of the chairs adjacent to the chair at the head of the table, Kate slowly eases down into a seat, scooting forward to the edge of the black leather office chair. Following the Director with her eyes, Fury goes to take a seat at the chair at the head of the table adjacent to her. He lets the file slide from his hand and onto the table surface as he sinks into the chair with a sigh.

Seconds of silence follow, and Kate watches the Director closely. Any other circumstance, and she'd probably make an effort not to meet his eyes. Prolonged eye contact can be taken as aggressive, and while avoiding eye contact was also rude, there was a fine line she knew to follow.

It had been a couple weeks since she'd last seen Fury. It felt like longer. She didn't used to see Fury too often, but she still saw him. Before her transfer to the Centurion installation, she met with Fury every several months. Then she always found their meetings odd. She eventually just found it to be part of her routine, didn't think too much of it, however, now… Now she was more aware of her interactions with the Director of SHIELD. Not just anyone knew who Fury even was; got a chance to regularly interact with him.

"I've got a sheet here that Agent Hill gave me… Detailing what questions to ask, what we should discuss," Fury begins.

Kate gives a small nod in response, and in the following hour or so, they go through the list of questions and topics to discuss.

The sort of session wasn't too different from the one's she'd had with Agent Hill. He stuck well to the sheet in front of him and only diverged off of it to ask for her to elaborate on certain topics of discussion.

"Alright," Fury sighs lightly, letting the paper sit on the surface of the table before he meets Kate's eyes.

"Any questions? Concerns?"

Kate hesitates momentarily but shakes her head. She didn't really process the action, it was like an automated response.

The Director's expression doesn't change as he eyes her, the fingers of one hand forming a sort of tent formation on top of the question sheet sitting on the table.

"You seem… bored, Sanders."

"Excuse me, sir?" Kate is quick to speak up at the man's words.

Bored? How could he make that deduction?

"We've spoken multiple times over the past few years. Most meetings were similar, however this one is different. You seem somewhat distracted," He furthers, letting his one hand slide into his lap to join the other as he clasps them together.

Kate searches Fury's expression for something more. Where was he coming from? Why was he asking to begin with?

"You don't have to answer that question." Fury finally says, sitting up in the chair slightly. "However, I know a restless individual when I see one."

Kate's eyes had since met the table, thinking over the changing situation. The longer she kept quiet, the more she was probably giving Fury. Her training only stretched so far. Masking certain emotions, expressions and facial quirks to keep others from reading you wasn't something she was taught.

"If the time were to ever come," Kate looks up to meet the Director's eyes, his words breaking her from her thoughts. "There are opportunities for you here. Arrangements that can be made for you to receive more… normalized education and training for an agent position."

Kate's brow knits tightly at his words, but continues to listen as Fury begins outlining possibilities she could take advantage of whenever she wanted to.

Part of her wanted to give a sigh of relief; however another part of her was tightening up. This was a decision. A decision for her and her alone to make. For as long as she could remember, she was denied that ability. Not only that- she wasn't aware or conscious of the fact that she was without choice. She went so long being treated like an object she didn't feel like she was lacking something of that sort.

"I know such decisions are probably not something you'll be eager to confront; however by putting the options on the table, I hope you'll take the time you have to at least consider some of them when and if you're ever ready."

Kate gives a small, somewhat numb, nod before meeting the Director's eyes.

~0~

The car ride had been quiet. Kate wasn't usually that quiet. She was chipper this morning however since they'd left the base she seemed… distant.

Letting his eyes jump away from the road for a moment, Steve looks towards Kate, seeing her gaze zoned out towards the window.

He wants to speak up but… He struggled with knowing when he should try to pull a conversation from her and when not to.

"Everything go okay?" The words come out before Steve can control them. The atmosphere was beyond uncomfortable.

Kate breathes in, shoulders tightening before she breathes out and relaxes them, turning to meet Steve's eyes with a quick smile.

"Yeah," She nods before looking out the front window of the car. "Yeah it went good." She continues to nod lightly.

Steve slowly tilts his chin down, a sort of half-nod as he processes her response.

It was better than nothing but she seemed distracted nonetheless.

Eyes returning to the road, Steve finds himself growing quiet. He wanted to pry further, but… It probably wasn't the best move.

Something was off, but… They were still in the very early stages of developing a trustworthy bond, and he couldn't threaten that.

"If you have any questions about anything, let me know okay?" He adds.

It takes a few seconds but Kate looks over to meet his eyes and pulls together a small smile and a nod.

"Course sir,"

~0~

Why had she agreed to this…? It was a small moment of vulnerability where her guard was down and she was just comfortable enough.

"Nice!" Clint laughs, having stumbled out of the way of the series of throws and kicks she had put towards him. "Wow, felt the wind on those," Clint breathes, turning towards Natasha who was doing some mild stretching off to the side of the mats.

Clint had somehow convinced her to do a light spar with him. How had she gotten here? Sparring… training wasn't friendly. Not from what she was used to. Her training was hard and brutal - unforgiving.

Natasha grins lightly before shaking her head.

"Little out of your comfort zone, Barton?" Natasha questions, a sculpted eyebrow raised teasingly.

"Eh, I'm not that rusty." Clint makes clear before rocking on his heels lightly, rolling his shoulders before adjusting the gloves on his hands.

They were wearing adequate protection; sparring gloves and padded shin guards. Kate had never seen the protective head equipment before and preferred not to wear it.

"You pack a bigger punch than I'd expect, kid." Clint points at her with a gloved hand, smirking lightly.

Kate swallows lightly and forces a small smile and a stiff nod.

"Don't need a psychic to tell how uncomfortable you are," Clint chuckles lightly before getting back into a loose fighting position. "Breathe." His tone softens slightly and Kate forces herself to follow his advice.

In… and out. You can't possibly hurt him by sparring lightly like this. They exchanged a couple moves on and off, however Clint would stop and talk often enough that Kate almost didn't consider it a "sparring session" at all.

While Kate knew they were just finding opportunities to "bond" with and get to know her, Kate also knew they were agents. They had a knack for wanting to get to know people; their quirks - their behavior.

Agents…

Kate's mind wanders back to what Fury had offered her. He somehow saw what she was struggling with; the restlessness and just overall lack of action. She couldn't take him up on that offer…. Could she?

No… No that couldn't happen. Steve didn't trust SHIELD, and Kate shouldn't either. But- it was all she knew. Maybe that's why she wasn't as off put as she probably should be.

Regardless of her feelings towards SHIELD… The team's feelings towards SHIELD… Fury was offering her something. The way he explained it, like she would have the opportunity to experience SHIELD from a different perspective. He had mentioned schooling… Like that of what normal young adults attended. Apparently SHIELD had schools, colleges he called them.

He had told her she could have a guaranteed spot at any of the SHIELD schools if she desired to continue her training to become an agent on that path.

"Kid, you still with me?"

Kate shakes her head lightly and meets Clint's eyes, the archer smirking playfully while in a somewhat challenging stance.

"Wanna keep going?"

Swallowing her nerves Kate nods and eases herself into a sort of prep position for the fight.

Sorry for the delay everyone; had some personal matters which overwhelmed the end of my week. Hope the chapter is enjoyed.