Y/n and the rest of the team were all gathered in the kitchen, chatting and eating snacks.

"So what should we do? We can't just leave them." Clint said, his mouth full of chips.

"Do you really want to get in the middle of that?" Rhodey raised an eyebrow. "I say just leave those two until one of them finally wins."

Most of them nodded and agreed. No one was willing to try and break up the fight between Nat and Tony.

"Well who do we think will win? It's obviously an equal fight." Bruce looked around the room.

They all exchanged their opinions. It was pretty even between the two.

"Natasha is more agile. Imagine Tony trying to keep up with that." Sam argued.

"Yeah not as agile as me though." Pietro jokes to which Wanda hit him in the arm.

Bucky was sitting across from Y/n next to Steve. He had stayed quiet the entire time, as did she. Sure, she got along with everyone fine, but Y/n was a closed book. She only opened up to the people she truly knew and trusted, and those people were Steve and Natasha. Talking to Steve was, to say the least, easier than it was with Nat. She was always busy with countless missions, and she wasn't exactly the one for late night talks. Their conversations were mostly about casual and girly things.

As much as Y/n liked talking to Steve, he was much closer to Bucky than anyone else in the tower. She would often hear Bucky go to Steve in the middle of the night for comfort, something she wished she had for herself. For someone, anyone, to go to when she needed it. To mask it off, she'd just try and act natural and friendly around everyone.

"Hey Y/n, you've been so quiet. Who do you think will win?" Sam sipped his drink.

"Ah don't bother her. She had come so close to winning with Parker." Thor said nudging her in the arm.

Y/n chuckled lightly. "Nah it's ok. Anyways, I think Nat's got this one."

Not a moment too soon, Natasha walks into the kitchen, seemingly untouched except for a few strands of misplaced hair.

"What's done is done." She said simply, placing the gun down on the counter. Everyone stood and watched her astounded of how nonchalant she was.

A few seconds later, Tony came crawling into the kitchen panting. "Nat how could you? What kind of bullshit was that?"

The team erupted in laughter at his current state. "Jesus Tony, did she put you through a trash compactor or something?" Rhodey laughed, pointing his beer bottle towards him.

Tony stood up and brushed himself off. "I demand a rematch. That wasn't fair." He held a fist to Natasha. "Right now let's go."

Natasha pushed his hand down from her face tiredly. "No thanks. I need a drink." Y/n laughed and poured her a glass of wine.

The team updated the two on everything that happened while they were fighting. Sam told a funny story of how he and Clint were stripped of their guns and ammo when Pietro whooshed by them. They ended up spending the last few hours of the game plotting to get their guns back instead of fighting.

Not long later, a someone walked over to join Y/n. "So, how far did you get." Natasha asked, leaning against the cupboards with her.

"Further than I expected." She smiled. "Until those two fossils over there caught us off guard." She motioned with her head to Bucky and Steve.

"Since when was Cyborg in the game?" Nat questioned confusedly.

"Apparently he joined last minute, right after the game started. Tony wasn't around to confirm anything, so FRIDAY allowed it." Y/n grumbled.

She nodded as Y/n spoke about her experience and how she and Peter managed to lose when being so close to winning the entire three day game.

Both went silent for a bit, until Natasha set down her glass and faced Y/n. "There's something I've been meaning to ask you."

Y/n met her gaze. "Is something wrong?"

"Oh, no I'm okay. It's you that I've been worried about. Are you settling in okay?" I'm not trying to push your buttons or anything but."

"I'm doing fine Nat, don't worry." Said Y/n, giving her a reassuring smile."I'd be even better if I won." She muttered looking over at the two men, toasting to their victory.

"Maybe coming to train with me tomorrow would take your mind off of it." Nat suggested.

"Good idea." Y/n sighed. "I need to get back into shape if I wanna be going on any missions any time soon."

Natasha patted her on the shoulder and told her that she was going to talk to Clint for a while.

She couldn't stop thinking about the game. She wasn't a sore loser, but she felt like an idiot for letting her ego get the best of her. After the game she had apologized and handed Steve's journal back to him, promising that she hadn't seen a thing.

She decided it was best to just go to bed.

♥︎ The next morning ♥︎

"Don't drop your hands Y/n." Natasha reminded her after landing a punch to her rib.

"Gotcha." Y/n groaned, rubbing the spot she was hit.

Natasha was the reason Y/n had become so skilled in the field, aside from her other training. She taught her to be more practical, and to plan her movements quickly but carefully.

"You can't get distracted in situations like this. Sure, you're fine right now, but out there, the world isn't all sunshine and rainbows." Nat reminded her.

She nodded, wiping the sweat off her forehead with the back of her hand. "I just don't want to hurt you... with this." She gazed down at her hands shamefully.

Natasha raised an eyebrow and smirked. "Try."

"Try what?" Y/n asked confusedly.

"Try and hurt me." Natasha motioned for her to attack. "Don't talk, just go."

Y/n got into a fighting stance, keeping her fists up in front of her. When the timing was right she lunged at Natasha and aimed a turning kick to her right. Natasha blocked it with her forearm and grabbed Y/n's leg to flip her over.
Y/n used it to her advantage and pulled her over with her leg. While on the ground, Nat aimed a low kick to knock Y/n over. She stood back up, blowing a piece of loose hair dangling in front of her face.

They circled the mat, studying each other's every move. This time, Natasha was the first to make a move. She threw an uppercut punch to Y/n's torso, which Y/n used as a leverage and sprung herself above Nat, trapping her in a headlock.

She unintentionally tightened her arm, causing Natasha to lose her breath. Natasha furiously tapped the mat with her hand, letting Y/n know she was beat.

"Y/n... stop." She said hoarsely.

"Oh my god." Y/n instantly let go and sat in front of Natasha, putting a hand on her shoulder. "I went too far didn't I... I'm so stupid I'm sorry."

Natasha shook her head and cleared her throat. "Don't be Y/n. That was a good take down."

She motioned for Y/n to pass her water bottle.

"Looks like we have an audience." Nat chuckled after downing her water. Y/n whipped her head around to see Bucky and Steve standing there, giving them impressed nods.

"Sorry, did you want the mat?" Y/n asked politely, to which Natasha scoffed and shook her head.

"No no, we're fine." Steve waved off as he and Bucky headed for the punching bags.

Y/n turned her attention back to Natasha. She grabbed Y/n's arm and lead her to the shower room.

"You've gotta stop being so nice Y/n." She said.

"What do you mean? I was just being friendly."

Nat shook her head. "They kicked your ass yesterday and you're still just going to act all nicey-nicey to them?"

Y/n shrugged and pulled out her hair-tie. "It's okay, really. I'll just have to get them back in the next crazy game that Tony organizes. That is unless he doesn't want to again, after all that."

Natasha laughed and walked over to the fountain to fill her water bottle. "I'm just saying. Try not to be a pushover, otherwise the men in this building will walk all over you. Gotta balance that raging testosterone of theirs." They shared a good laugh together and started getting ready for the day.

Y/n cranked the dial up on the shower handle, making sure it was just the right temperature. Her showers always had to be scalding hot, otherwise they just weren't that enjoyable to her. She sighed deeply as the steam filled her lungs and soothed her after a hard training session. As she ran her fingers through her wet hair, she started to think about what Natasha had told her.

"Maybe I am a pushover."