Shatter: A Marvel Fanfiction

Steve

That was too close. I really shouldn't do that. Nat would hate me if I told her I was into her right in the middle of Panera. She doesn't really seem to need or want to date. She's string by herself. That's why I like her.

"Why'd you sleep so late?" I ask changing the subject after an awkwardly long pause.

Nat just shrugs.

"Bad dream again?"

She looks up at me in shock. "How do you know about bad dreams?" she asks quickly. I think I scared her.

"On a trip or something, you fell asleep, but I was awake. You talk and move around in your sleep a little."

"What did I say?"

"Not coherent words or anything. Just noises like you were afraid of something and a couple times you yelled out a random 'No!'" She looks petrified and zoned out. I move my head to meet her eyes. "Hey." She snaps back into focus. "You okay?"

She shakes off any trace of fear. "Yeah, fine."

"What was the dream?" I ask.

She inhales a little. "I don't remember."

Natasha's lying. I can tell, but I don't press her on it. When she wants to shut someone out, she will. It's a bad idea to probe unless I want her to isolate and ignore me. That would be the opposite of progress.

"So, how's adjusting to the twenty first century going for you?" Natasha asks.

"Well these past few HYDRA free days have given me a chance to catch up on what I missed. And," I pull out my phone, "I decided to get myself an iPhone."

Nat laughs. "Well, look at you getting yourself all high tech. Good job, Steve. Have you figured it all out yet?"

"What the phone? I know how to read the manual and use the internet to look stuff up. I think I can handle it. I called you, remember?" I nudge her foot with mine.

"Well you never know!"

We eat for a few moments in silence. I am increasingly enjoying Panera. I've only eaten here one other time. Sam said it was a good place to start when it came to chain restaurants. He also suggested some place called Chick Fil A, but that's for another day.

"Hey," Natasha says between bites of food, "what else is on that list of yours? The one that's supposed to help you catch up?"

I pull it out. Everything is crossed out. "I think I sped through this one."

"If you want I can help you start a new one. Maybe one more couple friendly."

Is she flirting?

"You know. If you ever get around to asking that girl out. Maybe she will be willing to help you catch up. You need to tell me who this chick is though so maybe we can figure out if she likes anything specific."

No. She's not flirting. I am slightly disappointed. "Uh- well, sure. You can give me a few suggestions. I don't think I'm ready to reveal who yet. Just give me something you would do?"

Nat freezes. "I don't know. My opinions might not be popular."

"I need help, here."

"Okay." Natasha helps me create a nice list of things to do. The list includes places like Disney World, Gatlinburg which is a city in the Smoky Mountains, Hollywood. We also list some music and a whole lot of movies. Nat tells me that most girls will appreciate the things we laid out. They aren't too girly and aren't too masculine either.

"Thanks for your help, Nat."

"No problem! Just let me know how all this goes with your girl. Got it?"

"Sounds easy enough." This time I'm playing with her.

Natasha smiles. She opens her mouth to say something when she is interrupted by her phone.