o8.| NOT THAT BAD.

"WHAT THE ACTUAL HELL ARE YOU THINKING, JAMES!" Taryn snapped at the younger Stark as he leaned against the wall of his study. Taryn Nichol was pacing in front of him, trying to piece together what the hell was going through his mind and why he thought it was a great idea to ignore Nick Fury's orders regarding Natalia. James inhaled deeply as he watched her before she turned to face him head-on. "I knew that you Stark's were stubborn assholes, but really? Disobeying orders given to you by Fury? You don't do that!"

"So, I can't disobey orders, but when you do it, I should applaud you and tell you a good job?" James questioned her, and Taryn gave him an annoyed look. James dipped his head, before looking back to her. "Look, I'm giving Natalia the benefit of the doubt. She wasn't born this way. She was forced to be like it. You've read her file. The kind of training that she has. I'm keeping her alive because I don't believe that she's a horrible person."

"James," Taryn said softly as she took a step closer to him. "She has killed so many people. You can't defend someone like that."

"I can, and I will," James replied to her and she gave him a look. "Don't give me that look, Nichol. I have done some crazy shit for you when you asked, so why can't you just help me out here? I'm trying to keep her alive. Because once Fury gets ahold of her, she's not going to make it."

"What are you going to do, huh?" Taryn questioned. "Watch and monitor her, and then suggest that Fury enlist her into the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division?"

"Okay, we seriously need to find a different name or something for that," James sighed, and Taryn nodded her head, before resting her hands on her hips. "Taryn. Just, please, understand what I'm doing here with her. She's not that bad."

The woman stared at him for a few seconds, before letting out a heavy sigh, "Fine. But if anything changes, you need to call me. Fury is expecting me to inform him about what had gone down here. I'll just tell him some bullshit answer to hold him over until you and Natalia figure out what you're doing."

Taryn gave James a quick hug before she made her way out of the large house. James slipped his hands into his pockets as he walked through the halls of the large place, that he had managed to buy without his brother noticing. He pressed his lips together as he made his way back into the kitchen. His eyes landed on Natalia, who was seated at the counter, eating the dinner that they had cooked. He stared at her for a few seconds, until she felt his presence.

James took the opportunity to walk into the kitchen, standing on the other side of the counter, digging into the meal that they had made. Natalia glanced up at him through her red curls, poking her fork through the food as she stared up at him. She could tell that there was something going through his mind, but she didn't need to answer. She had a feeling that it had something to do with the fact that that woman had pulled him away for.

Natalia dipped her head and just as she did, James glanced up at her. A small smile appeared on his lips as he stared at her.

After they were done eating, James began to clean up everything that they had dirtied. Natalia stayed in her seat as she watched James curiously, wondering what was going on through his mind as he worked. She was still curious as to what James and the other woman had talked about, but even she knew that not everything had to be her business.

"If you're wondering what Taryn and I were talking about, yeah, it was you," James said to her suddenly, pulling her out of her thoughts. Natalia lifted her head and her eyes to meet his, and she watched as James gave her a small smile. "She isn't going to tell our boss that you're still alive."

"How generous," Natalia commented. "But what are your plans? Involving me?"

"Keep you here and make sure that you aren't the villain that I was sent to kill," James revealed, which made her lips part for a few seconds. "I don't believe that you're a bad person, Natalia. You were only made the way you are because of where you were trained. I'm going to keep you alive long enough to see if you're the kind of person that I believe you are."

"And what if I'm not the person you believe I am?" Natalia questioned him. "Then what would you do with me then?"

"Well, I'd have to see if you had killed me yet or not," James replied to her, and for the first time, he watched as a genuine smile appeared on her lips.

Author's Note

I thought this chapter would've been up an hour ago, but then I started watching Marvel's Inhumans and I got a little side-tracked. Because, hot damn, Inhumans is such an amazing show, so if you don't watch it, you should watch it. But back to this chapter, awe, Natalia and James are beginning to like each other and I love it so much. And yes, Taryn made an appearance!! Of course, she had to scold James about his decisions with Natalia. I mean, I would too if my friend had a job to do and yet he ignored his orders to help someone he wanted to save.

I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!

( Please refrain from commenting "update" on this chapter. I find it incredibly rude and annoying. I do have a lot of other stories to update, so please be patient with me! Thank you xx )