A Bolt from the Blue

Chapter 10

Back to S.H.I.E.L.D., Steve and Natasha were making their way out of Fury's office to give their verbal report. As they stepped out, they found Bucky walking up to them.

"Seriously, guys? You are sent to search a vehicle and you come back with the money and the criminals? So cocky," he said.

"Why? You intended to impress Fury yourself?" Natasha retorted with a smirk on.

Bucky cast a glance on her and dodged the remark with an apathetic look.

"How did you know where to find them?" he asked, looking at Steve.

He shrugged. "We just followed a hunch," he answered.

His friend nodded, paused then probed them both; his expression changed noticeably.

"And how did it go for you two?" he interrogated with a feigned casual expression, slightly emphasizing the last word.

Steve tried to hold back a sigh. Not subtle, not subtle.

"Smooth, as always," Natasha replied with even more nonchalance, an attitude she mastered without a wrong note. Her voice subtly modulated one octave down. "Actually, we thought about celebrating the success of our mission with a doughnut but we realized it would be indecent to do it with the other agents around."

Bucky remained neutral, or so he attempted, but his pupils quivered slightly, betraying his consternation and curiosity.

As for Natasha, she acted perfectly stoic about her innocent comment. She turned to Steve, letting a smirk dwell on her lips long enough for Bucky to notice it but brief enough to appear genuine and spontaneous.

It seemed she sashayed her way down the corridor and turned at the corner, throwing one amused glimpse in Steve's direction.

"What is she talking about?" Bucky fired away the instant she walked out of their line of sight.

Steve turned to his friend and smiled a little. "Like she said, we almost had a doughnut."

He couldn't lie –he was enjoying this greatly. He walked away casually too, to let Bucky alone with his wild imagination.

When Steve walked into his office, he found a large, light brown envelope lying on the desk. He picked it up and his heartbeat quickened when he read the name written on it. The photographer's name. He hastily went and closed the door of his office like someone guilty of sinister acts and sat in his chair. His first instinct was to tear the envelope open but his fingers unglued the band with delicacy as the prospect that a photograph (or more) of Natalie could be inside. He pulled the pictures out carefully and his heart glowed when he noticed how thick the stack was, therefore increasing the chances to find something.

The first picture at the top of the pile showed him standing on stage in his old costume, surrounded by his dancers, the Star-Spangled singers as they were called. He recognized Lizzie, Susan, Dorothy, and Jemma. He hadn't expected it but looking at this photograph raised a wave of nostalgia within him like a low tide ascending, unnoticeably but inevitably.

He realized how long it had been since the last time he had thought about his time in the USO shows. In retrospect, it hit him he had actually grown a soft spot for that part of his life.

He looked at the background and saw the large glittery banner reading Ultimate show before national tour and he felt like his heart wanted to jump out of his chest. This wasn't just any show; it was the show where he had met her for the first time.

The nostalgia faded, overcome by frantic eagerness. He put the photograph down on the desk and proceeded to look at the rest of the stack. He flipped through the pictures, first slowly, dissecting every face closely, then more quickly as impatience and the growing fear of not finding her at all progressively took hold of him.