Chapter 7 - New beginnings
"Nobody's a picture perfect
But we're worth it
You know that we're worth it"
Natasha was slowly walking down the busy New York street on a Sunday afternoon. Barton somehow managed to get SHIELD to give them a whole day off and now she was supposed to meet him at a little bakery he wanted to show her the other day.
"Come on! You'll love it! You've been in America for how long and you haven't even had cheesecake?" Clint said shaking his head at his unbelievable partner. She rolled her eyes at his childishness.
"I guess it's now on my bucket list?" she asked warily. He snorted.
"Girl you have the worst bucket list in the world - it's full of boring normal things," Clint said looking up at the sky and shaking his hands silently mouthing 'why me?' Natasha raised an eyebrow at his antics.
"Will you stop the dramatics if I try some cheesecake?" she asked warily.
"YES!" he exclaimed with way too much excitement. She sighed.
"Barton you're a child," Natasha said plainly.
"Yes I know – are you envious?" he asked playfully. She glanced up at his eyes - he was only half joking.
Natasha glanced around the neighborhood street filled with kids of all ages playing basketball to hop scotch to tag. She was so preoccupied with the surreal image of laughing children having fun together that she didn't see where she was going and suddenly tripped over a pair of little feet.
OHPH!
"Ahhh! My picture!" A little girl shrieked. Natasha winced as she lifted herself off the hard concrete and stared at a tiny dark haired girl who looked like she was about to cry. Natasha glanced down at the half ripped piece of paper in the girl's little hands.
"Oh…I'm sorry," Natasha apologized. She winced internally – great first day off the job and she practically made a child cry.
"I-it's okay. It wasn't coming out how I wanted it to anyway," the little girl said sadly. Natasha paused.
"What were you trying to draw?" she asked tilting her head to the side trying to make out the little scribbles on the ripped sheet of paper.
"Everything," the girl said with a sigh. Natasha had to cover her mouth to stop herself from smiling.
"Yeah, yeah missy. I know what you're thinking. But it's not impossible! I just have to get everyone on the street and all the stuff they are doing on this piece of paper!" the girl said holding up a fresh white sheet of paper and a pencil with a determined look on her face.
"Would you like me to give it a shot?" Natasha found herself asking before the thought had fully registered in her mind. The little girl seemed to consider that offer very seriously and finally came to a decision.
"Okay – but I'm going to sit here and make sure you did it right!" the girl said in compromise. Natasha laughed. She sat down beside the little artist and held out her hand for the pencil.
The next thing she knew 20 minutes had flown by.
"How does this look?" Natasha asked showing the little girl her detailed work. The girl gasped.
"It's perfect!" she squealed. Natasha looked up to see if she missed anything and finally noticed a new figure dressed in a loose blue shirt and dark jeans leaning against a car and watching her with a small smile on his face.
She made sure to draw him really well on the page with extra care.
A/N: Continue or not to continue? That is the question.
