A Bolt from the Blue

Chapter 13

It had all started like a regular mission. A regular mission that had turned to be a complete fiasco with Steve and Natasha trapped in a forest with a crashed quinjet, no back-up, no radio to ask for some and no signal. As they were flying over a supposedly safe zone, their jet had been hit by hostile shots, and after Natasha had managed to land safely, a 'welcoming' committee was waiting in the woods to neutralize them.

They had taken down many men but, as they ran out of munitions, they had no choice but to retreat deep into the woods.

Steve and Natasha had trudged all day and the foliage, the thirst, and exhaustion had taken the best of them.

"Romanoff to headquarters. Romanoff to headquarters. We need assistance. Do you copy?" Natasha breathed out into her transmitter for the nth time. The silence was the only response she got.

She grunted and turned to him. "Any chance you're going to break into a confession and admit what would normally be awkward but in this context would actually be considered salutary hidden talent for smoke signal any minute now?"

He frowned.

"What?" she defended herself with an innocent look. "I'm just asking. Knowing your date of birth it wouldn't so far-fetched to assume you're familiar with these Amerindian techniques."

He kept a straight face but the corner of his mouth rose slightly into an amused smile.

"I'm sure you've had worse," he commented as he kept leading through the foliage.

Natasha was following right behind.

"Oh, I've had worse,' she said matter-of-factly. "It's just that I didn't think my first mission after my convalescence would have me trekking across a forest until dawn."

"You're the one who begged Fury to let you resume work."

"Clearly the request of a delirious person drugged with too much medication," she commented and he heard a smirk in the tone of her voice.

"S.H.I.E.L.D will issue the alert when we don't report back in due time. From there, they should locate our last position and send back-up in less than 12 hours."

"Lovely. The humidity and the foam have started growing on me anyway," she said sarcastically

She then looked up.

"It's almost night. We need to find a safe place to stay for the night before it gets dark."

He nodded and resumed walking. They eventually found an isolated cave covered behind thick trees.

They entered and found a dark space hardly lit by the ray of light that could slip through from the top and dry ground. For both of them, it was the quintessence of a decent makeshift shelter.

"It's probably not safe to start a fire," he said, referring to the possible enemies wandering out there and sighed internally. It looked like a delightful night was awaiting them.

They went out again and parted searching for supplies. Steve and Natasha came back with a few fruits they had had a hard time to find and that would have to quench their thirst for the night as well.

When it went completely dark, they were both plunged into obscurity with a shimmer of light coming from the full moon hanging above them in the sky.
Leaning their backs on a hard and uncomfortable rock; they both looked into the dark.

"This may sound incredibly out of place," Natasha started and a snort slipped between her lips. "But I would kill for a doughnut."

Exhaustion and probably the ridiculousness of the whole situation put him into an unexpected giggly mood. He chuckled at her comment.