Chapter Text
Tired, hot and hungry; Natasha stepped off the ferry, swinging her heavy backpack up onto her shoulders and gladly stepped away from the crowd of people heading in one direction. Large groups of friends and families, laden down luggage, strollers and excitable, restless children. They moved as one group, following the signs guiding tourists over to the left and towards the monorail for what would thankfully be the final part of their journey into Jurassic World.
She pulled her phone from her pocket, dismissing the weather app and pending update notification to see a single message;
[ Just remember, you promised to keep an open mind. Love, Phil]
Natasha smiled to herself as she slipped her phone away, wishing there was some shade out here while she waited; the midday sun beating down on her pale skin.
"Ms Romanoff? I'm glad you're here" a woman approached, greeting her with a smile. She stood taller than Natasha, though her heels added to the height difference; she looked immaculate in her white skirt suit; strawberry blonde hair perfectly held in place in a neat bun. "I'm Pepper Potts, Tony Stark's Personal Assistant" she introduced herself as she held out her hand in greeting.
Ms Potts. This was who she had been told would be here to greet her. "Please, call me Natasha" she replied as she took her outstretched hand; her own red curls wild in the incoming breeze from the ocean while her black jeans and green shirt were creased, her converse dusty from her days travel.
"Natasha" Pepper corrected herself with a small nod of acknowledgement as she led her over to the private transport and waiting driver she'd brought with her. "I hope the journey was pleasant"
Natasha smiled and nodded politely, it was far easier than going into the details. Her journey had begun with Phil waking her up at three thirty this morning after she'd slept through her alarm. He drove her to their airport after her pre-booked taxi had given up waiting and left without her. Following that, she had sat through a five hour flight to Costa Rica, an hour and a half bus journey from San Jose to the port at Puntarenas and a three hour ferry journey surrounded by excitable and sea sick children, and their stressed, tired parents before finally reaching Isla Nubla. None of it had been pleasant, Natasha was sure she smelled, she was tired and hungry and on top of all of that; she wasn't completely sure she even wanted to be here...
"Mr Stark would like me to thank you for agreeing to take this position here at Jurassic World, Natasha" Pepper smiled over at her as the car moved through the back roads around the park. The path they took was hidden from view by the parkgoers; shaded by the trees, and the open windows brought in a pleasant breeze which Natasha was more than grateful for. Pepper leaned forward to point out a passing Triceratops on the other side of the tree line and Natasha found herself in momentarily distracted from her train of thought.
But, it was time to lay her cards on the table. "Actually, Ms Potts, I'm not actually sure I'm going to accept this position" Natasha sounded apologetic already, and it didn't escape Pepper's attention that that probably meant she was closer to making a decision than she was letting on.
"Then, Ms Romanoff, it's my job to make you sure" Pepper replied with a friendly smile
"I'm not sure that's going to be an easy job"
"I'll accept the challenge" Pepper laughed a little, good-naturedly, and Natasha decided that she liked her. She could see why Mr Stark sent Pepper out to meet his new recruits. Their car came to a stop outside the Operations Centre and the pair climbed out.
Leading her through the building and past the security checkpoints, Pepper got them each a bottle of iced water and a coffee and they took a seat in her office. "So, I'm going to talk to you as if you've accepted the job, give you all the information and then you can make a fully informed decision. Okay?" Natasha nodded as she sipped her coffee, listening as Pepper carefully laid out the general day to day operations and running of the park, before outlining the job role Natasha had been offered.
As a security officer on site she would be tasked with anything and everything from general parole, working at the entrance of the park with admissions, manning the security room and occasionally assisting as back up for Asset Containment Unit should they need it. Security was not taken lightly at Jurassic World, Pepper assured her. Running the park came with all the problems and issues any major theme park came across, with the added stress and problems of dealing with live, uncontrollable, deadly animals. "I know this seems basic compared to what you were doing before, a step backwards" the look on Natasha's face caused Pepper to add "or several, but there are plenty of opportunities to progress. Mr Stark likes to invest in his staff and ASU could be a good fit for you" she smiled encouragingly.
Pepper then apologised and explained she was required to show all applicants a staff welcome video, and to make up for it, she would go and refill Natasha's coffee. Natasha sat and watched the short film; which explained how Jurassic World came to be following the disasters of the first park. It laid out the companies aims and its commitment to education and conservation. The ideal staff member was described as dedicated, skilled and dependable. The voice-over played as idyllic photos of the park, rides, dinosaurs and guests scrolled across the screen. Finally, the video listed out the benefits that came along with employment; a competitive wage, free park entrance for your days off, discounted vacation for friends and family, and best of all; all accommodation and food on the Island was included for each employee. The video signed off over a press clip of Tony Stark opening the park three years ago, with a cheery exclamation of 'We hope you enjoy working here at Jurassic World'.
"Well, what do you think?" Pepper asked, smiling brightly as she reappeared with the promised coffee.
"It's- certainly something..." Natasha replied, accepting the fresh coffee and hoping Pepper wasn't relying on that video in order to convince her to take this job.
Pepper took the seat opposite her again, clearly considering what to say next. "Natasha, Mr Stark is a lot of things. Some of them good, a lot of them not... But one thing he is, is an unfathomably good judge of character. He handpicked you for this position, after I personally shortlisted 27 highly qualified individuals, from over 100 impressive applications. If he think you belong here, for whatever reason, he's usually right"
Natasha glanced out of the window over the view of Isla Nublar, wondering just what that reason might be.
"Why did you shortlist me?" she asked the other woman eventually. Maybe Pepper could shed some light on what it was that separated her from the hundreds of other applicants desperate to work at Jurassic World.
Pepper gave her a small, gentle smile and shrugged, "I didn't..."
She gave Natasha a minute for her comment to sink in before she moved to lead her out of her office to continue the tour of the Operations Centre.
"You didn't?" Natasha asked, standing to follow, slightly confused.
"No. In fact I advised Mr Stark against your appointment to this position"
Natasha wasn't offended, but she was impressed with her honesty. Natasha knew she was beyond qualified for this position; it would be like hiring a Physics professor to teach pre-schoolers. Yet here she was anyway. Mr Stark had offered her the position, and Natasha had almost accepted. She'd at the very least, come all the way here.
"I looked into your record" Pepper admitted, "the same record which led Mr Stark to offer you this position"
"My record is-"
"Colourful" Pepper interrupted and Natasha smirked slightly as they walked together.
"Colourful" Natasha agreed with a thoughtful nod "but-"
"But you were still fired from the FBI, Ms Romanoff"
"I was not fired, I'm on medical leave" she said defensively, not entirely sure how this woman had managed to access her FBI personnel file that was not only supposed to be private, but classified.
"Permanent medical leave" Pepper pointed out, revealing just how deep she'd delved with her research. "None of this goes against you as an applicant here, Natasha. Mr Stark was very impressed... But you're over qualified, you know as well as I do that Security Officer is way below what you're looking for in a job. When we hire staff we look for those who will be here for the long term. I didn't shortlist you because the only reason you're here is because you need a job, you're here because you previous Supervising Officer Agent Coulson suggested you apply and lastly, you're only here until you find what you deem to be a better job"
Pepper had hit the nail on the head. Natasha didn't want to be here, she'd admitted this much already. Phil hadn't just suggested she apply, he'd filled out the job application on her behalf behind her back, and she was already actively looking for jobs with better prospects.
"But Mr Stark doesn't want the other hundred and fifty four people who applied for this position, he wants you. And it's my job to convince you that this job is where you're supposed to be" Pepper added, carefully watching the expression on Natasha's face.
The tour of the Operations Centre didn't take long and was definitely impressive, but it was what Pepper had said that had stuck with Natasha most.
"We'll get you over to the staff accommodation now so you can get some food and sleep" Pepper told Natasha, "there's a small staff meet and greet with some people from different departments tomorrow and if I still haven't convinced you by then, I have a seat reserved for you on the evening ferry"
Natasha nodded, thanking her for her help and for all the coffee before they parted ways for the evening.
Following a cool shower and a heavy dosing of after sun, Natasha lay on her bed wrapped in a towel, looking at her phone. She scrolled through the news reports she'd saved to her phone, covering the incident that had eventually led to her untimely unemployment. She logged into her account tracking the seventeen jobs she'd applied for in the last week; 0 interview requests.
With a sigh she sat up and finally sent a message to Phil
[ Why are you convinced this is such a good idea? ]
While waiting for his reply Natasha got up and pulled on some clean clothes, ran a brush through her damp hair and glanced over the 'New Starters Welcome Pack' for directions to the staff canteen. It wasn't far, and on her way down the corridor Phil's reply appeared on her screen.
[ You need something different. You deserve to enjoy yourself for a while ]
Natasha rolled her eyes at his response and grabbed a tray.
The cafeteria was fairly empty, it was probably too early for most of the staff working today. She grabbed a plate of lasagne, a Pepsi and remembering it was free, a slice of chocolate cake, before making her way over to a table in the corner.
She sat, picking at her meal, trying to decipher what it was about Pepper's comments earlier that bothered her most; was it that she'd had access to her files? Or was it that despite the fact she was totally wrong for this position, Tony Stark wanted her for it anyway... A few moments later an unfamiliar voice distracted her from her thoughts
"Hey, you mind if I sit here?"
The man was tall, muscular, with sandy blond hair and a charming smile. Natasha glanced briefly at all the other empty tables he could have chosen before looking back up to him and nudging out the chair opposite her with her foot.
He slid into the offered seat with a mischievous grin on his face. "I'm Clint" he introduced himself
"Natasha"
"You the new security officer?" he asked, taking a bite out of his grilled cheese sandwich
"I haven't decided yet" Natasha admitted, watching the curious expression on his face
"Well, I know we just met, but I think you'd be great"
Natasha laughed a little, "Oh yeah?"
"Absolutely. I'm sure Pepper already told you this, but Tony is very specific when choosing his staff"
"So I'm told"
Clint smiled and Natasha couldn't help but smile back.
They spoke for a solid two hours, only leaving once the canteen was too busy for them to justify taking up a table any longer.
Natasha learned that he had an older brother in rehab, though Clint was hoping he'd get clean and come to visit the park soon. He was happily divorced, an animal lover, played guitar and currently worked at the Gentle Giants Petting Zoo area of the park. While he admitted this might not be as cool as other areas of the park, it was where he got the most contact with the dinosaurs and he enjoyed working with kids. In return, Clint learned that Natasha played the piano, she liked to dance and wanted to be a ballerina when she was a child. She loved to read, and she eventually admitted to being a former police officer, though she didn't go into too many details there.
By the time he walked her back to her apartment, Natasha realised it was the longest conversation she'd had with anyone that wasn't about work in years... She thought briefly back to a conversation she'd had with Phil before she'd left for Costa Rica:
"You need to make some friends, Natasha..."
"I don't need friends. I need my job"
"Nat, when was the last time you had a conversation which didn't resolve around a case?"
...
"Exactly"
"Hey look at that..." Clint smiled, interrupting her thoughts once again as they reached her door. Natasha looked at him questioningly as he pulled out his own key. "Neighbours" he smiled, unlocking the door next to hers. "It was really nice to meet you, Natasha" Clint said before disappearing inside his apartment.