They are. Natasha was very good at that. Knowing the right words; not exactly something I picked up on, though. [For Natasha it was less of a skill, not muscle memory or knowledge, but just something she could pick up on, something intrinsic to Natasha and the way she saw the world. Ava was sharper, more angry, quicker to hit back rather than use the violence to twist the situation. Natasha loved being under-estimated and Ava hated it.

He's not wrong about her. In fact, probably sees more of her than Coulson or Natasha or anyone other than Sana or maybe Alexei have. But Alexei is a hard subject for her, why she hasn't talked about him much. There are questions that she still hasn't entirely parsed out for herself.] I'm not dense, thank you. I just would rather someone that can speak up for what they want, without being gross about it. [She laughs a little, a curl of her lips as she looks up at him.] And it was fine. You told me what I wanted mattered.

[She shrugs her shoulders a little, but the truth is that was an important thing for a girl raised as she had been. Was probably part of why she's always been pretty good about setting boundaries and fuck anyone that crossed them. It wasn't until she was fencing with a boy at a tournament that anyone had really caught her eye. Rumlow raises an eyebrow at her and she meets his gaze, looking up into his eyes with a smile. She likes the way that he looks at her- like he's seeing her for real. Who she is now instead of who she was. As an adult and not a child.]

Well, it wasn't just because I had an agenda. But yes, I'd like that.