Widow's Shield

Beach Day

Ana sat in the of the van with Morgan who was busy reading a book and Nathan who was playing with his phone. Ana was listening to music as the car hit the Brooklyn Traffic.

"When I was younger," Ana began to sing to herself, "I saw my daddy cry and curse at the wind…"

Morgan sat up and continued the song:

He broke his own heart
And I watched
As he tried to reassemble it

Ana looks at Morgan just as Lila started:

And my momma swore
That she would never let herself forget

Ana smirks at the two, "Okay all together now!"

And that was the day that I promised
I'd never sing of love
If it does not exist, but darlin'

You are, the only exception
You are, the only exception
You are, the only exception
You are, the only exception

Maybe I know, somewhere
Deep in my soul
That love never lasts
And we've got to find other ways
To make it alone
But keep a straight face

And I've always lived like this
Keeping a comfortable, distance
And up until now
I had sworn to myself that I'm content
With loneliness

Because none of it was ever worth the risk

But, you are, the only exception
You are, the only exception
You are, the only exception
You are, the only exception

I've got a tight grip on reality
But I can't let go of what's in front of me here
I know your leaving in the morning, when you wake up
Leave me with some kind of proof it's not a dream, oh

You are, the only exception
You are, the only exception
You are, the only exception
You are, the only exception

You are, the only exception
You are, the only exception
You are, the only exception
You are, the only exception

And I'm on my way to believing
Oh, and I'm on my way to believing

"You girls, alright?" Natasha asked.

"Um… yeah." Ana chuckles, "Just singing about lost love, you know normal shit?"

"Language!" Cooper scolded.

Ana glared at him, "Don't start with me, おじいさん."

"Okay," Cooper smirked playfully, "you wanna play, old lady?"

"By calling me 'old'," Ana smiles, "you are literally calling everyone in this van, ancient."

"We're here!" Bruce announces as he parked the van.

"Oh lovely!" Ana enthusiastically with a tone of sarcasm.

Everyone knows that Anastasia Mary Romanoff Rogers hates the beach and no one really knows why.

As Ana and Morgan stood beside the van helping with the unloading, everyones eyes were on them… Ana felt a bit self- conscious she pulled on her sweatshirt sleeves. One thing was for sure, everyone in that beach was either imagining Ana in a black bikini like what her mother was wearing or imagining her getting burned alive.

" Dami natin manli ha?" Morgan laughed.

"Manli o' manlo?" Ana stood up carrying a case of bottled water.

"Manli."

"Manli?" Natasha asked.

Morgan chuckles, "Short for manliligaw, which translates to suitors… and Ana has a lot of those. Like boatloads."

Ana rolled eyes, Lila corrects, "Space shipload, cause let's be real her beauty is out of this world."

"Stop it, you two are making me blush." Ana placed her hands on her cheeks.