The Book.

A/N: Not sure where this came from. But it's been tossing around in my head for a while, and I decided to finally put it down on paper.

Disclaimer: The characters used within this story are the property of their respective owners, and are being used with their express permission. No copyright infringement was intended, and no profit was made from this writing.

There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamed of in your philosophy. Hamlet act 1, scene 5.

Clint was used to be stared at.

That was a lie: no he wasn't.

At least not any longer, the days of circus performing having been purged from his system long ago. Now his place was high above reigning havoc upon his enemies, or down below in the shadows striking without being seen, and then disappearing without a trace.

'I take it you don't get many visitors in this neck of the woods?' he asked his waitress. His eyes flickered downward so he could read her name tag.

'I can count on one hand the amount of strangers we've had, and still have fingers left over,' Ruby – the waitress – said.

Her hips were cocked, and the look she was giving him reminded him of a wolf on the prowl. She was a young girl who was very obviously flirting with him, and he would have been flirting right back if it weren't for two things. The first was he was on a (sort of) mission, and second her grandmother looked like she wanted to tear him apart with her teeth.

'That's too bad,' Clint said. He handed over his menu having ordered for him and his partner. 'Storybrook is a nice little town, reminds me a little bit of my hometown.'

'Oh? So you're from a flea speck of a town too?'

Clint nodded his head, and took a long draw from coffee cup.

'So why aren't you there now? You know since it's so wonderful and all.'

The blond huffed a laugh. 'Because it's a flea speck of a town and I didn't want to die of boredom. Though the way my job's been going lately, maybe a little boredom isn't such a bad thing.'

'Really? And what – '

'Ruby! You have other customers to take care of, stop lollygagging, and get to work!'

'Yes, grandma,' the brunette said with a sigh. 'Sorry, I gotta go. Will you be around later? I get out at three. We could get drinks.'

'I'm not quite sure what my plans are,' Clint said. 'But if I am around, maybe I'll come by to see you. Now why don't you get to work before your grandmother kills us both.'

Ruby smiled, and took her leave. And if there was a little more swagger in her walk, Clint was not complaining about it. (All right he was lying, he was flirting with her a little bit.)

'New friend?' Natasha asked as she slipped into the seat across from her partner moments later.

'I'm a friendly kind of guy. Chicks dig me.'

'At least until they date you. Then the only digging they want to do is a shallow grave.'

Clint placed his hand over his heart like he was hurt. 'You hurt my very soul with your words,' he said.

'I'll hurt your nose if you don't stop being an ass.'

'Fine. So? Mission accomplished?'

The redhead nodded. 'Ordered me breakfast?'

'Strawberry pancakes, extra whipped cream, and hot chocolate with cinnamon,' Clint responded with a shake of his head. It never ceased to amaze the archer that a woman so badass, could have such a sweet tooth.

While they waited for their food, the two spies observed the coming and goings of the townsfolk in a comfortable silence. Though mostly Clint observed Ruby as she worked.

Natasha, on the other hand, stared at the patrons with a mix of relief, and sadness over the fact that they didn't recognize her, staring at her like she was a complete stranger. (Though in all honesty, she was only 10 when she saw them last.) Still, if the others knew who she was, what she had done, how her ledger was drenched in the red of blood, and lies, they would hate her.

But according to the seers she had a destiny to fulfill, and that meant swallowing her trepidations, and doing what she had to to help break the curse.

'I don't understand something,' Clint said after their food arrived, and Ruby had once again taken her leave. 'You worked, and slaved on that book for years. Why would you just give it away like that? And to someone you don't even know.'

Natasha frowned at the question, and scanned the area in the off chance that someone could overhear them, and the even more off chance that they would understand what they were talking about. Which was preposterous since the only person not under the curse was the evil queen, and it was highly doubtful she would be hanging around here.

Still, the woman had eyes, and ears everywhere, so it was best to be vigilant.

'That book wasn't for me,' Natasha finally answered quietly. 'It was never for me. It was a debt that I needed to pay back.' And a prophecy she needed to fulfill, and the person she gave it to was certainly no stranger. But she kept that information to herself, even though she would have liked to have told him that.

'Geez, Nat,' Clint said as he stabbed his scrambled eggs with a fork. 'Your whole life seems to be ruled by debts: me, this other person, your ledger. When are you going to start living your life for yourself? You don't owe me anything.'

'I owe you everything, Clint. And until I pay that back, until I wipe my ledger clean, I can't possibly just live my life.'

Clint sighed. It wasn't the first time they had this conversation, and he knew it wouldn't be the last. There was just no way of making her understand that he defied orders, risked his very career, because he believed that she deserved a chance at a life of her own. He didn't want to be owed anything.

'It's still a shame, that was a beautiful book. You're an excellent artist. You could have published it and made a mint. They'd probably make a TV show based on it.'

The redhead rolled her eyes. 'A show about fairy tales? What's next? Us as superheroes?'

'Stranger things have happened,' the blond said with a shrug.

And while they ate, Natasha couldn't help but agree with her partner. Stranger things have happened, will happen, and they were sitting in the midst of one of those strange things right now.

And that book, which he thought was nothing but words and pictures? Was actually a history of a people not unlike the ones in his world, but in some ways they were completely different, completely strange.

One day though, she would like to tell him everything. Clint was her best friend, her brother, and her savior all rolled into one. It felt wrong to keep such information from him. But he wouldn't understand, he certainly wouldn't believe her if he told him that she wasn't born in this world. That she was actually a princess.

She'd like to tell him all about her adventures in the fairy tale kingdom. That the woman he was flirting with, and her grandmother were both werewolves, and that she had hung around with Snow White, and Prince Charming. She'd like to tell him that were indeed hard working dwarfs who whistled while they worked, and an evil queen, who killed her family.

She'd also liked to tell him about portals in hats, and the prediction that that she would find her soul-mate in a land without magic.

But not today.

Today she would eat her breakfast and drink her hot chocolate. She was going to bite her tongue when she saw someone familiar, and she won't call out to them with the right/wrong name.

And maybe, just maybe, if she could screw up enough courage, when the curse was broken she would come visit them. And maybe, just maybe, they would forgive her for betraying everything they believed in.