▌𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞 ━︎━︎ 𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭 ▌

━︎━︎━︎━︎𝐓𝐖𝐎 𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐊𝐒. 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓'𝐒 how long Natasha had been trained between Clint and Olivia, and the rivalry between the two women only seemed to grow worse and worse. Glares were thrown towards one another, snide comments and training sessions became rougher and rougher until Clint forced them away from each other. Now, he was standing there with his hands on his hips as he watched Olivia abuse the punching bag.

     "I don't understand what you have against her, Liv." Clint sighed as Olivia kicked the punching bag, spinning to glance at him before going back to the thing that was allowing her to let out her anger.

     "Don't understand?" Olivia asked, her breath heavy as she spoke. "Do you. . . not understand. . . what this woman has done?" She let out an annoyed huff as she slammed her fist against the bag, stopping only when Clint stood behind it to hold it still. Her fists were still up in front of her as she looked at the man. After a moment, she let out a sigh before putting her hands down to her hips. "What?"

     "I brought her here so that she could get a fresh start, Olivia." The girl winced at the use of her full name―︎something that wasn't often used by Clint unless he was upset or angry with her. "I didn't bring her here so that you could harass her about things she has done in the past. She's trying to become a better person, Olivia, and you're not giving her a chance to do so."

     "Clint, she's a Red Room assassin that's Russian and knows how to kill me with a simple punch. You don't trust people that are assassins, especially not Russian assassins." Olivia chastised, rolling her eyes.

     "Olivia, I'm being serious. Give her a chance, that's all I'm asking." Clint said with a soft sigh. Olivia looked at him, her eyes running over his face. She could tell he really wanted this to work out. He really wanted Natasha Romanoff to become good, to get off of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s radar in a bad way. He wanted to give her a second chance, and Olivia was standing in the way of that. Olivia let out a soft sigh, running a hand through her hair.

     "Fine." She watched as his face almost instantly brightened up. "I'll try to give her a chance, but if she even steps a toe out of line. . ."

     "That's all I'm asking." He nodded his head in understanding. She let out a scoff, a joking smile forming on her lips as she playfully sent a punch to his shoulder.

     "You're lucky I love you."

     "Love you too." He smiled. She shook her head as she started to walk away, the smile never leaving her face. She enjoyed to make Clint happy, she owed it to him after all. He had saved her from her eternal doom and she would forever owe him for that. She walked down the hall, her heeled combat boots clicking against the floor. She entered the training room Natasha was situated in, Olivia having caught her just as she was taking a sip from her water bottle.

Knowing the girl's presence by heart now that she's known her for two weeks, Natasha closed her eyes, almost dreading the fact that the other woman was there. She opened her eyes again, allowing her shoulders to relax as she let out a breath. She moved her long red hair from her shoulder as she turned her head to look at Olivia, her forest eyes meeting Olivia's chocolate ones. She cocked an eyebrow at the brunette before turning her head away to look down at her water bottle that was still placed in her hands.

     "Come here to torture me about my past a little more?" Natasha quizzed before taking another sip of the cool liquid. It moisturized her suddenly dry mouth, forcing her to take a few more sips in slight satisfaction.

     Olivia smirked, taking a few steps closer into the room, shaking her head slightly. She let out a joking sigh before speaking. "Not today, I'm afraid." Natasha put down the water bottle, turning towards the girl with a raised eyebrow.

     "This is a first." Natasha mused, her arms crossing over her chest as Olivia continued closer. Olivia rolled her eyes at the female.

     "Don't sound so disappointed, sweetheart."

Natasha clenched her jaw at the pet name, though it wasn't because the pet name annoyed her or bothered her, it was because she found herself enjoying the name when it came from Olivia's mouth. It filled her body with a sense dopamine, something Natasha has never experienced before. Why it did that, she would never know. Dopamine was a love drug, per say, and Natasha had known the woman for two weeks―︎it wasn't possible for her to ever love someone, was it? Love was a weakness. It was for children, and she wasn't a child, and she knew Olivia wasn't either.

     Natasha rolled her eyes at the woman, sighing. "What do you need then?"

     "Skipping the hi, how are you's are we? Alright then." Olivia shrugged her shoulders, an amused smirk falling on her face as she saw annoyance flash through the redhead's eyes before it quickly faded. "Well, today's shooting range day. So, follow me." She turned around and walked out of the training room with Natasha following her closely behind. They entered the shooting range, and much to Olivia's demise, it was empty.

     "So, it's simple really." Olivia sighed, walking over to the middle section where Natasha would stand and shoot. "You take the gun, make sure it's loaded, cocking it, aim, pull the trigger. But I'm sure you already know how to do that, you've done it many times before." She gave Natasha a sarcastic smile as she showed the woman how to do it. Natasha placed headphones on her head as well as safety goggles, Olivia doing the same. Olivia watched as Natasha picked up the gun, doing everything Olivia had told her to do in a much quicker fashion―︎had Olivia blinked she would have missed it.

Natasha aimed and shot eight rounds, hitting the target every time. The poster shot forward once Natasha used all her bullets and Olivia grabbed it and examined it. She nodded her head before putting a fresh one up and sending it farther away. Natasha loaded the gun, cocked it, aimed, and fired eight rounds. It was the same result as last time.

     "One more time, one hand. Four shots for left, four shots for right." Olivia instructed, once again placing a new poster up and sending it as far away as it could go. Natasha loaded the gun and cocked it before placing it in her left hand and aiming. She fired four times before switching hands and doing the same thing. Once she was done, she sat the gun down and took off the glasses and headphones whilst Olivia examined the poster. The woman nodded in approval before throwing it away, taking off the glasses and headphones as well.  

     Olivia sighed before saying, "Well, that's all for today. Adiós." Olivia turned on her heel and started towards the door, stopping only when Natasha's voice echoed throughout the quiet room.

     "Olivia?" Her name rolled off of Natasha's tongue so smoothly and delicately it sent shivers down her spine. She held onto the door, pausing and turning her head to look at the assassin. There was a moment of silence as Natasha held Olivia's eyes, searching for something that she couldn't seem to find. "Why do you hate me so much?" The question caught Olivia off guard and she opened her mouth to respond, but Natasha cut her off by taking a few steps closer. "What did I ever do to you to make you have this rivalry with me? I know that I've done things, but that's not me anymore. At least, I hope that's not me anymore." She paused, a soft sigh leaving her mouth. "Look all I want, is to be acquaintances, if not friends. I don't. . . " She hesitated, swallowing thickly. "I don't want to be seen as the bad guy anymore."

     Olivia looked at the girl, turning away as she bit her lip as a frown formed on her face. She glanced at her sideways before sighing. "I think the real question you're trying to ask is why don't I trust you like everyone else does." Olivia turned her head to fully look at the redhead, noting that she had her full attention. "There are reasons for that, reasons I'm not comfortable with sharing with you, not yet anyways. I don't trust easy, I never have. I judge people on things they've done, and their background, it's a bad habit but it's also something that keeps me safe from harm. I'm sure you'll get there, if you really try." Olivia turned her head and quickly left the room, leaving Natasha to stand there and watch her leave.

Olivia walked down the hall, her jaw clenched as she headed towards her room. Just before she could close the door, Clint caught it and looked at the girl in worry. He furrowed his eyebrows, a frown pulling at his features.

     "Liv, what's wrong?" He asked, grabbing her attention. Olivia turned to face him, her eyes locking with his before she closed her eyes and let out a sigh.

     "She wants me to trust her. She wants to be the good guy. She said she wanted to be friends with me." Olivia rambled, her hands coming to her head as she rubbed circles on her temples.

     "Why can't you trust her?" Clint asked her. "If she seems so sincere, then why can't you let your guard down just a little?"

     "You know damn well why I can't trust her." Olivia snapped. "Why I can't trust any of them." It was a known fact that the only person Olivia trusted in the entire S.H.I.E.L.D. facility was Clint Barton and only Clint Barton. She didn't even trust Nick Fury.  She trusted Maria, but not as much as she trusted Clint. He had saved her, she owed him his trust.

     "You trust me." He pointed out.

     "Clint, if you hadn't saved me that night, I wouldn't be standing here right now. I probably wouldn't even be alive. I trust you because you gave me more than enough reasons to. I barely know Natasha. I can't trust her."

     "Can't, or won't?" He asked, cocking his head slightly with a raised eyebrow.

     "I-" She stuttered. She sighed, knowing he was right. She nodded her head before saying, "I promised I would try, and this is me trying. Give me a few more weeks."

     "Liv, I'm not trying to rush you into something you aren't comfortable with. I'm just trying to say, is that it's okay to let your guard down sometimes. That it's okay to trust people, even when they don't seem to be the type of person to trust." He told her, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Trust me on this one, alright?"

     "Alright."