I paced up and down the office silently, seething with anger. When the door opened behind me, I wheeled to face Fury, my small hands balled into fists.

"What the hell are you thinking?" I demanded, taking an angry step towards him. "This is ridiculous."

Fury had called us all to a meeting and announced that they had finally gotten a lock on Prothmore's location. He had proceeded to order everyone except Bruce and I to prepare to leave immediately.

I hadn't been able to help myself, had gotten angry and made a bit of a scene.

He ignored my question and brushed past me to sit behind his desk. He motioned for me to sit across from him. I did so reluctantly, crossing my arms over my chest and huffing indignantly.

"We need you here at base. If anything were to happen here, I need someone here I can trust."

I scoffed, rolling my eyes. Nick Fury had never trusted anyone a day in his life.

"You don't trust me. That's why you won't send me out! You want me here where you can keep your eye on me!" I retorted, my voice taking on an accusatory tone.

Fury was usually a master at masking his emotions, but I caught the look of guilt that flashed in his eyes before he leaned back and crossed his arms, glaring at me with his one eye.

"I was there, Fury! I was in New York when Loki brought in that army! I-"

"Need I remind you that you weren't even supposed to be there?" Fury interrupted in a stern voice. "Your orders that day were to stay on this aircraft, agent!" He continued, raising out of his chair and raising his voice simultaneously.

"And what if I hadn't been there?! What then? This place could be overrun with those damn slugs if it hasn't been for me!"

I let out a growl of frustration and sprang up out of my seat, resuming my pacing.

"What the hell do I have to do to prove to you that I'm a valuable part of this team?!" I demanded, running a hand through my hair in exasperation. "I deserve to fight!"

"And you will. If anything happens here, at base."

"But-"

"That's final, Agent Barton!" He shouted, slamming his fist down hard on the desk in front of him.

Fury and I glared at each other for a few tension ridden moments. I finally wheeled around to leave and slammed the door behind me.

"How'd it go?" Steve asked as soon as I left Fury's office.

He had been waiting outside since I had entered the office.

"It was a no go." I sighed, shrugging my shoulders. "You know, I deserve to fight just as much as any of you." I grumbled as we set off towards the housing units.

"Well maybe it's for the best that a couple of us stay here. Just in case something does happen while the rest of us are gone." He condoned, slinging his arm over my shoulders.

"Well yeah, but why not Natasha? I could help. I've got all of these new powers and I'm not allowed to do anything with them!"

"I suppose Fury just thinks they need you here more."

I ducked out from under his shoulder and glared up at him, jabbing him in the chest.

"You WANT me to stay here, don't you?" I demanded indignantly. "Don't you?!"

"Well I-"

"You are... UGH!" I growled, flinging my hands up and wheeling around to go to my room. "Impossible!"

"Now Amanda, wait just a second." Steve admonished, catching my elbow before I could escape. "I never said I wanted you to stay here." He continued in that infuriatingly calm voice.

"But you do, don't you?"

"I can't deny that I'd feel better knowing you're here instead of out there with us." He admitted with a shrug of his shoulders.

"I can't believe you! Have you ever even stopped to think what might have happened if I hadn't been there when Loki brought that army in? Who knows if you guys would have even lived if I hadn't showed up?" I snarled, planting my hands on my hips and glaring up at him.

"Dammit Amanda! You almost got yourself killed that day!" Steve spat, raising his voice for the first time.

"Well since when did you care?" I demanded quietly, crossing my arms over my chest defensively.

"Are you crazy? I've always cared!"

"Don't call me crazy." I hissed, narrowing my eyes at the super soldier.

"I'm never going to be good enough for you, am I?!"

"You idiot!" I screeched, shoving him in the chest as hard as I could to no avail. "It's the other way around!"

That stopped him in his tracks. His mouth flapped open and closed for a moment. He finally composed himself and his mouth set into a hard line.

"How am I ever going to be good enough for you if I'm not even given the chance to prove myself?" I muttered, feeling ashamed.

He raked his hands down his face before tugging at his hair. He set his gaze on me and the hard line of his mouth softened.

"You idiotic woman." He sighed, taking a step closer to me. "You don't have to prove anything to me." He said through a chuckle, grasping my arms and shaking me softly.

Despite my anger at him calling me crazy and an idiot, I couldn't help but melt when he cupped my face in his hands and kissed me.

Notes

Well that's it. I've caught up to what I've got up on mibba. Sorry this one was kinda a filler. The next one is action packed!
I'm not sure when I'll get to update again. I'm moving back to college tomorrow and have resident advisor training all weekend and start classes on Monday. Hopefully sometime next week :)

Check out my Jeremy Renner fic on mibba, The Truth About Love, if you're interested :)