Tony was treating Kerry a bit better, but he was still as dismissive of Avery as ever, and she had no idea what to do about it. It was pissing her off, because she had hoped that she'd earned at least a little bit of trust by now, even if he didn't particularly like magic, or SHIELD agents, or nonhumans.

Tony really didn't care about her, so he treated her like any other agent. So far she hadn't done anything to earn anything, after all. Besides, he was waiting to see if Clint and Natasha would give the two a chance.

Avery got frustrated enough with it that she ended up using the SHIELD gym to blow off some steam. She usually hit up the gym in the middle of the night, when it was empty, and set up a bunch of targets at one end. Then she started blasting them with bolts of energy, just taking out her frustrations on the targets. Stark had told her no magic in the tower, after all, so she was trying to stick to that.

Natasha had followed her to see what she was up to and how she was handling the stress. Everyone had their own stress relief, she knew. Now she just had to see how effective it was for Avery.

Avery kept working off energy and frustration until all of the targets were gone. Then she cracked open a bottle of water and sat down for a few minutes. Her hands still smoked slightly as she moved, the last of the magic burning off.

Natasha eyed her. That would be valuable in a fight, definitely. Although it did make sense that Tony would distrust her; he always distrusted magic.

Avery turned around and paused when she sat Natasha.

"Agent Romanov," she greeted evenly. At the tower, Avery was the handler. At SHIELD, they were both just agents. "I'm just about done here, if you wanted the gym. I didn't think anyone else would be down here this time of night."

Natasha shrugged. "Felt like going for a walk," she said, her voice casual. "It can get stuffy in the tower sometimes."

"I hear that," Avery muttered. She grabbed her towel and capped her water bottle. "I'll get our of your way, then. I was just finishing up anyways."

"No need to rush on my account." Natasha moved into the room but didn't immediately head to any of the areas. Coulson had finally sort of gotten through to her, so she had to reevaluate both potential handlers.

"I'm not," Avery said. "I've been here for a couple hours already. Though I'm going to assume you already knew that. I know you like to keep tabs on people." She didn't sound bitter about it. It was a well-known fact that Natasha Romanov kept tabs on everyone she interacted with regularly.

Natasha just smiled a bit, no more than a faint quirk of her lips. But she didn't actually respond, instead going over to examine some of the targets that Avery had blasted.

Avery let her, heading over to the fountain to refill her water. She'd dispose of the targets once Natasha was done looking at them.

She did have quite the talent, after all, Natasha mused. Which would almost make more sense for a field agent.

"Why are you a handler?"

That made Avery pause. She hadn't been asked that before.

"Because I was asked," she said after a moment. "I'd be more useful that way, and I've got some experience with the weird shit you all have been running into lately."

Which confirmed what Coulson had said about them being asked, rather than them volunteering. Natasha nodded once and picked up a target with marks all off to the side.

"Your aim could use some work."

"I pull a bit to the right," Avery admitted. "There's a little bit of recoil, and I'm right-handed."

Natasha nodded. "With enough practice, you could hit the center every time," she said, eyeing some of the other targets critically.

"I know," Avery replied. It was just hard for her to get practice time in; the agents who ran the firing range didn't like her using magic there, and she'd been forbidden from magic at the tower. The gym was one of her last options.

Natasha eyed her for a moment before she handed over the targets. Well, she still wasn't a big fan of Avery, but she did have a plan. If Coulson wanted her to try bonding, fine, she'd give Avery a chance. In training.

Avery took the targets, throwing them out. She'd get new ones next time she showed up to the gym.

"Heading back to the tower?" Natasha had already started down the hallway, though she was taking her time.

"My apartment," Avery replied. "I was at the tower today, I don't need to be there again until the day after tomorrow, unless something comes up."

Natasha nodded. She wasn't big on saying bye, so she just nodded to Avery before heading her own way.

But it was progress.

Avery noticed the slight, but steady, progress. Natasha seemed willing to give her a chance, that was something. And if Natasha did, then Clint would come around soon enough.