HUMAN CONDITION | ❝There's bones in my closet, but you hang stuff anyway.❞
PRE-CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER | NATASHA ROMANOFF
A HERO OF HEROES BOOK
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TERRAN DIDN'T REALIZE HE HAD FALLEN ASLEEP UNTIL HE WAS THROWN ONTO THE GROUND.
"Ow, what the hell?" he demanded, trying to get his bearings despite being jolted from sleep.
He whirled around to take in his surroundings, unaware he was still sprawled out the concrete of the parking lot, only pausing when a small frame blocked out the sun, forcing him to squint up. He couldn't really make out any features, but from the flashes of auburn and disapproving stance, he had a pretty solid guess who was in front of him.
"I could have killed you at any moment," Natasha said, holding her hand out to help him up.
Terran couldn't find it within himself to be surprised at her strength; he wanted to be surprised, wanted to pretend like he didn't know exactly what this woman was capable of and why, but he had never been able to convince himself to be something he wasn't, and, unfortunately, Terran was himself.
"I've spent the majority of my time in the states unlearning all of my training, so forgive me for surrounding myself with people I trust not to kill me," he said, dusting off the gravel digging into his palms, only sparing her a glance before continuing his assessment of their new location.
He motioned to the derelict laundromat that they were parked inside of with a bemused expression. "I gotta say, I expected a classier safe house. But, you know, times are tough..."
Natasha rolled her eyes, shoving his suitcase in his arms as she approached from the back of the van. "We're on our own from here on. You're gonna need to stay awake, it'll be a while before we can actually rest."
Terran's lips curled into a wry smile as he trailed behind her. "I didn't realize you did that kind of thing."
"Rest?" Natasha asked, pausing to look over her shoulder, not bothering to hide her judgement.
Terran, used to people thinking he was an idiot, just grinned, jogging to catch up with her. "Yeah! Or do you mean rest as in sleeping with just one eye open instead of two?"
Natasha scoffed and rolled her eyes, continuing to walk without a second glance, and while any other person would have seen only her blatant dismissal, Terran had caught something just before she schooled her features, a flicker so quick it was as if it never happened, but he saw it clear as day:
Natasha had smiled.
His grin widened and he took a sizable leap, long legs making it easy to fall into perfect step with the much shorter woman. She spared him a glance, lips quirked into a false smile, and he gave her one of his own, though he wasn't sure how false he could make it, as he was feeling rather proud of himself at the moment.
They walked for four blocks in silence before Natasha finally deviated from the empty streets—Terran had to wonder what had happened to result in such a desolate town—grabbing his arm to get his attention, leading him to another car in an empty lot.
