Orangefire22 requested a beach scene, so this idea came to me in the night. ENJOY!

The Beach

Natasha Romanoff had been many places, most of which were classified, and the others she couldn't quiet remember vaguely enough to count, but on the rare occasion when she did get to go on a "vacation" what better place to do that than a beach. Anyways when the place that you've been working for turns out to be some evil cooperation it is nice to finally be able to relax, and not have Hydra and KGB agents coming after you left and right.

It was hot outside, but not too hot, and she had just ditched her bag at some hotel. She was quite exhausted from the ride to Cadiz, Spain because just hours before she had discovered she was being tailed, and it goes without saying what happened next.

But now here she was, sitting on some beach. It's hard to relax when you are a trained spy, even harder when people are trying to kill you, so even with Natasha's eyes closed as she played on a beach chair in the sand, she still made sure to observe every noise and the movement around her. It's when you have your guard down that gets you killed because that's the worst mistake that you can make; not being prepared.

She felt the sand around her toes, she breathed the quiet ocean air, and she heard the children's laughter as they built sand castles and lived in their own little world. Apart of her felt like she had missed out on this experience, that she had missed out on being a child, coming to a beach, and playing until she couldn't keep her eyes open anymore. But she had missed out on it, and as much as that made her angry beyond compare, with each wave she felt the red of her ledger get lesser, not by much, but by enough.

Natasha never swam. It wasn't because she didn't know how to, because she remembered swim lessons being drilled into her from an early age, but it was because in the vast, and strong ocean, she didn't have any control. The tide would pull in and out despite what she did, and the waves would always be stronger. Also she had too many memories of water boarding and drowning to be able to enjoy the sort of peacefulness that the beautiful ocean should bring.

The sunset was amazing. It was a site to be scene. The way the orange met with the red, as the yellow ate it all up in the center; the way it all seemed to be drowning in the horizon of the water, yet it still shined so bright. The view was something to be admired, and Natasha Romanoff made sure to do just that.

She was resting peacefully, when she felt a shadow come over her. She paused, mentally reminded herself where all her weapons were stashed secretly, and as she opened her eyes she was surprisingly meant with the face of Steve Rogers.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, not really caring though.

"I heard that the sunset on this beach is quite the site to see; thought I'd come and draw it, maybe take a little break," he said.

Steve then sat down on the sand next to her, and she tried not to show her muscles tense. She was a spy for god sakes, yet she couldn't quite hide the way she felt about him seeing her so bare, in nothing but a bikini. Her scars were private things, she was good at her job so she didn't get many, but the ones she had left a pain in her chest that she couldn't quite identify. Natasha didn't care if strangers saw her scars, because they would never see her again, and she was trained to blend in with the environment, to adapt wherever she went, but Steve was a whole new story. He saw her vulnerable, in a way that no one has seen her in a long while. She knew that he saw the way that her bathing suit didn't quite cover the scar she got from the Winter Soldier – from his old friend, and when he looked at her, she felt herself be the cause of his guilt, instead of the other way around.

"The beach almost reminds me of the way things could have turned out," he said after a long silence.

"You mean if we were normal people?" she said.

"Yeah, something like that."

There was another long pause when Natasha said, "Steve there's still hope for you; you could still have all you've ever wanted."

"I know, it's just easier said than done," he said and she didn't miss the way his eyebrows furrowed in frustration.

Natasha knew that he was just afraid that if he got his life back, if he got the future he deserved it would all be taken away from him again, and she wished she could tell him that it wouldn't happen, but she wasn't certain that would be the truth.

The two of them sat there on the beach for who knows how long. They sat as the children stopped playing, as the waves became softer, and as the sunset finally set. They sat not saying anything about the Winter Soldier, or Hydra, or missions; they just sat and enjoyed each other's presence.

Her head leaned against his firm shoulder, and she let him wrap his arm around her, neither of them saying a word. She closed her eyes to the smell of gunpowder and sunshine that laced his shirt, and for the first time all day she relaxed.

This was actually really fun to write. Knowing me though I had to add some angst in there, but I tried more to end it on a beautiful note, just like the beautiful beach;)

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