Steve's POV

Steve's POV

It had been an hour or so after Scarrlet had come to me. I sat outside on the lawn tossing rocks as far as I could. She was right, Nat needed help, but how?Absorbed in my thoughts I leaned back to look at the stars. They were extremely bright here without the polluted air. Purples, blues, andblacks cloaked the dancing stars and it was hard not to wonder what was up there. Gazing I studied the few constellations I knew, my favorite was Orion. Tony used to joke that the constellation was created after I supposedly passed away. I had laughed and tossed the idea away, remembering it just now brought a smile to my face.

Realizing it was late I got to my feet dusting off my hands and tossing one last rock that disappeared into the tree line. Letting the grass brush my ankles I headed back to the guest house where the lights were off and the others were asleep. Lately it seemed my past experiences were the only things that worked their way into my thoughts at night. Then again night mares weren't that uncommon with me. Taking one last fleeting glance at the sky as I headed to my destination I noticed a shadowy figure teetering on the edge of the roof. Groaning I refocused my gaze and my eyes adjusted. Whoever it was, walked precariously on the edge walking back and forth before performing an elegant spin. The process repeated with only a few differences an extra twirl or slight dip. Sometimes it was an added step, what was mesmerising was how fluent and smooth it was.

"What do you think you're doing Romanoff?" I called my voice carried away in the silence the wind stealing my breath. The faint sound of rustling leaves and grass greeted my ears.

"Dancing." She called. Shaking my head I circled the house noticing an open window and leaping. I easily reached it hoisting myself up and onto the window sill before jumping again and snagging the roof. Getting a solid footing I walked across the plaster before stopping next to her and following her movements.

"On what?" I asked. Pointing to the edge of the roof. She leaned over on one foot so that most of her body was over the edge. Peeking at the ground below and settled back on both feet. Performing a graceful turn she smiled leaning in close to me so that her lips were next to my ear.

"The edge." She whispered eerily. Hopping down and landing lightly on her feet she sauntered over to the other side of the building before casually jumping over the edge. Walking over I glanced over the edge to see her standing at the bottom uninjured. Smiling I jumped off as well landing lightly on my feet barely making a sound. "Sometimes you fall."She smiled and it looked a little unerving in the dark but I brushed the thought away.

" So what brings you out on this fine night? " She asked and I could practically see her raising an eyebrow.

"I couldn't sleep." I mumbled. She laughed slinging an arm around my waist before pulling me towards the grass. She pushed me down into a sitting position before gesturing for me to lay down. She plopped down across from me.

"The doc.  is in." I sighed sitting up.

"Nat I don't really want to-" She cut me off with a raise of her hand.

"Sir, you'll have to lay down for this to work." She said mimicking my voice in a very bad way. "Okay, now close your eyes and visualize what happened. Describe it to me."

Groaning I rested my head in the soft pillow of grass and closed my eyes blocking out the singing stars. Taking a few deep breathes I forced everything out of my mind. Well, almost everything. Calling forth the dream that had been bugging me the most I let it take shape. It formed starting out as a small fuzzy image before growing at once into something horrifying and familiar.

I was slumped in a chair my body exhausted and tired. I could feel something warm and slick sliding down my hands and forming drops on my fingers that splattered the floor. A shiver racked my body and my head rolled lazily so that I was staring at the shadows. Though nothing could be seen I knew something was there. My head throbbed along with my thoughts, fleeting images of rugged terrain covered in mud. Lightning flashed in the distance and thunder shook the heavens. The howls of creatures mixed with cries that were familiar to me. I saw Clint struggling against some blurry form his forehead running with rivulets  of blood that slid down his face.

Back in the present I stared down the shadows. Trying desperately to peel them away, to rip the mask off the phantom. Who was hiding in the shadows? Laughing I forced a smile on my face causing my lips to stretch painfully.

"You can't break me." I slurred. For the first time I noticed the blood running from my mouth. A gravely laugh sounded in the darkness.

"Soon. I can promise you." With another chuckle the sound of shuffling occurred. A few minutes passed before the noises stopped. When they did the squealing of a microphone and the beep of the recorder echoed. "Falcon proceed with task 217." The voice said. There was a pause that seemed to last a lifetime when a shrill scream flooded my senses. I knew that noise. It caused the hairs on my arms to stand at attention and I shivered in horror, my head pounding.

"No! Stop it! Leave them alone!" I yelled struggling against my bonds. Rocking in my seat I noticed something morph from the shadows. A tall silhouette was born and it stocked closer with every tap of a footstep. Soon, though I could hardly see the figure, they stopped in front of me. The feeling of cold fingers wrapped around my chin. They squeezed until the nails bit my skin.

"This is only the beginning."

Jolting up It took me a moment to shake away the foginess of my mind. Nat laughed punching me lightly in the shoulder. Her eyes twinkled in the light and I could see a small twinge of belief in them.

"Nice story but you can't scare me." I laughed though it wasn't natural. I knew what I had seen.

"Well, I guess I should have known that." We sat in silence for a moment until I remembered what I had been meaning to talk to her about."Come on. I have an idea."

This time it was my turn to drag her along. Stopping just in front of the garage I opened it as quietly as I could. With it open I jogged over slinging a leg over my vehicle and straddling my motorcycle. Patting the spot being me Natasha rolled her eyes before taking her seat. With a warning I started the engine pulling out slow at first before increasing in  speed. Noticing that she wasn't holding on to anything  I looked back only to realized she was holding the lip of the seat. With a smile I turned picking up the speed. The hum of the engine was soothing and chased my thoughts away. The speed mixed with the wind whipped my face making my eyes water slightly.

"Where are we going?" She half laughed half yelled.

"A place that I found not to long after we got here. I think you'll like it." She laughed.

"We'll see." Glancing  over my shoulder I could barely make out here  silhouette. Turning back to the road, well grass, I kept my focus on where I was going like all good drivers should. Silence ensued and it wasn't long before we arrived at our destination. A clump of trees rested in front of us there limbs mingling with the shadows and making them appear to be thicker. The sound of animals rustling amongst the fallen leaves joined the chorus of the night.

"Well done. I love looking at trees." Natasha quipped.

"Ha-ha. Very funny." Rolling my eyes I stepped onto the moist dew ridden ground my foot sinking in slightly. Slowly feeling my way forward I reached one of the first trees without injury and stepped under the branch. Waving Natasha over I watched as she took a less careful approach. Okay, she wasn't careful at all. Walking quickly towards me she covered the distance in less than half the time I had.

"Drama Queen." She whispered pushing past me and weaving in and put of the branches like an expert. Sighing I followed with a shake of the head. It took little time but eventually we broke through the brush and arrived at the destination. The scene before was hard to decipher, it all looked like a big black blob. "Uh...is this, is this it?"

"Yes." Was my reply.

"Okay, we have very different definitions of cool things to see." Natasha snickered.

"It doesn't look like this all the time. When the moon reaches a certain point things change." Stepping forward I watched as she turned to step when a splash followed.

"Is that a lake?" She asked sounding slightly annoyed that her shoe was now filled with water.

"Yeah." I laughed. Not expecting what she did next it took me a second to realize she was wading into the water.

"What are you trying to do?" I asked. She wheeled around to face me, the water just reaching her knees.

"Trying to catch a fish dumby."

"A fish?" I inquired. She took a few more steps causing ripples to skim the surface of the water. "I don't think this lake has any fish."

"It's a fact that almost all lakes have fish whether they are known or not. Like the big lakes, they have fish. Or if you care to visit any other place and stumble upon a stream or lake, there are fish. It's the natural order of things." She informed before diving beneath the water's surface. I waited for her to resurface and searched for bubbles as an indicator of her location. When nothing happened I started to get worried. Biting my lip I started forward when something wet and slimy brushed against my arm. Looking down I saw something wriggling on the ground making a wet smacking sound each time it moved. "Fish." Came a smug voice.

"Yeah, but why?" I asked picking it up and walking to the edge of the lake before tossing him back in.

"Well, it's a funny thing. The way fish work. to catch a fish  people use bait and a fishing pole. Now the fish has a choice, they can take it or leave it. Now the problem is the fish always bites the bait. When it does, two things can happen. The fish can be lifted from the water, it'll struggle but in the end it's simply thrown back into the lake. Or the fish will be pulled from its home where it is left to gasp at the usless air around it. In the end the fish is dead and it gets eaten." A chill spread through me at her words. I wasn't sure what caused it. "So how do you solve the problem?"

I paused for a moment. It was clear wasn't it? "They shouldn't bite the bait?"

"See, that's what everyone thinks. The point is that you can't avoid the decision. Eventually the fish will gro hungry, eventually it will bite. In the end there is no way to solve the problem. It simply matters whose on the other end of the line." Swallowing I shook my head.

"Why did you ask me that?" My voice barely being audible. Looking up I noticed the moon peeking over the trees and it slowly cast everything in a silver light. I studied the lake and I could see her sitting on the far edge of it sopping wet. Her eyes were cast down and she studied the water's surface.

"Steve, have you ever been in that position? Where you're stuck in the middle of two unavoidable decisions? When it feels like no matter which line you bite it'll only end in your pain?" She met my gaze her eyes asking a serious question. She didn't sound sad or timind it was almost as if she was genuinely curious.

"Yeah, and it never gets easier." I answered making my way towards her with the help of the growing light.

"Then I expect you to understand why I haven't been myself lately."

"If you need anything we can help you. Clint, Scarlett, me, even Tony." She laughed tossing a rock into the small lake.

"Steve when fish get hooked can another fish un-snag him?" This time it was my turn to laugh. My mind had decided to produce a ridiculous image of her question.

"I guess not." We sat in silence for a moment before she leaned back in the damp grass to gaze at the stars. She was quiet and I knew she was thinking I only wished I knew what was going on in her mind. Minutes passed and the moon continued to drift steadily towards us illuminating the dark.

"Steve?" She asked looking at me with one of the sincerest expressions I had ever seen. " Can I tell you something?"

"Sure, anything, and I promise I won't tell another soul." She gave me a warm smile.

"I know." She replied followed with a deep breath and continued. "The day I opened that box was one of the worst days of my life."

It was almost hard for me to contain my surprise. Where had this come from? "Nat you don't have to- I was just making a suggestion."

She rolled her eyes before giving me a half smile. " I know, it's been bugging me, now listen. The thing you have to understand is that I never thought I would see those items again. I thought they were gone hidden away from the world. I locked them away in my heart and my mind. I convinced myself that I was leaving all of that behind forever. When I realized what they were it was like all of my locked up thoughts and memories poored through this dam I had built. I was overwhelmed and I wanted to chase them away but I couldn't. They stirred feelings inside of me that I hadn't felt in a long time. Every night when I'm to exhausted to fight sleep they come back. The thing is I know I shouldn't be afraid of them but I can't help it."

Her fingers fidgeted and I notice she was pulling out sprouts of grass. There was almost a pile surrounding her hand and I noticed the specks of dirt that dotted her pale skin. She was nervous, maybe even unsure. It soon became clear to me that she wasn't talking to me directly, it was almost as if she was talking to everything. Like she wanted the world to know what she was saying. As I followed her gaze I realized she was staring almost fondly at the moon.

"Every time I wake up I feel even more tired than the night before. That's why I get so upset, it's because I don't have the strength to keep myself in check any more. Like I'm teetering on a strip of land where one side is a never ending chasm, the other is a city that looks like it's made of gold." She whispered.

"Like you're dancing on the edge." I noted. She smiled giving a small nod.

"Yeah, kind of like that." With that I got to my feet gazing at the still water and letting a smile stretch across my face.

"Hey Nat, I think that's enough for tonight. Besides you should come look at this." She popped to her feet almost instantly and her expression was priceless. We had been wrapped up in our own little world I hadn't noticed that what I wanted to show her had finally appeared. The moon made the water flow with silver light. The trees that hung low allowing there leaves to touch the water seemed to have an other wordly going to them. The sounds of the woods surrounding us increased and not soon after a single white doe crept from the bushses. She looked timid as she scanned the area before noticing us. I stood dead in my tracks half crouched as she regarded us. With a bit of hesitation the doe looked away lowering her head to drink the water of the silver lake. "Look."

Natasha's  gaze landed on the spot where I was pointing. Two fish were swimming in a circle in the center of the lake. She gasped her eyes filling with wonder and awe. It really was beautiful here and I came often when my thoughts troubled me. It was soothing in a way.

"You told me there weren't fish. Now I feel bad." She teased quietly. With a laugh I replied.

"I lied." There we sat in the grass watching animals come and go or the fish that continued to swim. It was a magical place and I new this was something only the two of us would know. In that moment it was almost as if I could feel her restless spirit relax, her defenses were gone, and I hoped they stayed like that. As the sun began to rise we were forced to leave neither one of us caring about our missed night of sleep. Standing next to my motorcycle Natasha sat in the front.

"What do you think you're doing?" I asked getting on behind her.

"Driving." Without much of a warning and revved the engine and gunned it forward. Nearly falling off I clutched the seat with one hand while holding onto her with the other. The wind whipped her hair causing it to fly in my face. To worried about flying off of the back I didn't brush it away.

"Why did I let you do this?" I shouted over the wind. She let loose an evil sounding laugh.

"You didn't." That's when she speed up to an even quicker speed. My constant worry of dying never fleeing my mind until she expertly pulled up to the house. Getting off she grinned from ear to ear her hair a mess. Flustered I followed Natasha up the stairs both of us pausing just before the door.

"So there you have it." I told Scarlett.

"You two took a mid night motorcycle ride and you let her drive?" She asked pointing to Natasha who was laughing at something Laura had said.

"Biggest mistake of my life." Scarlett laughed shaking her head and turning back to her food. I laughed meeting Natasha's gaze from across the table, she leaned in and whispered something to Clint who laughed followed by one of her trade marked winks. Smiling I winked back and delved into my food yet again one thought crossing my mind in a fleeting moment. What Natasha had said just before we came inside.

"I bit a line Steve, I hope you're the one pulling me out."