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Chapter 22: Together
6 tables wide, 3 rows, lunch special. Offer the lunch special. Focus on your tables but nod to the others. Remember to breath. Balance the plates. DON'T spill drinks on customers. Always bring bread right away. Smile. Don't look panicked. You can do this.
Mirna smiled at him while giving him the bill for table 10. She nodded to a couple behind him and told him to check their table right away, smirking at him.
She was a nice lady, reminded him of his aunt. She was widow like her, with a hotshot kid at a Boston college and another other one waitressing the rest of the tables. Only she was a bit rounder around the edges, older than aunt May, with a thick German accent. The other side of the Wall by the looks of the giant "East Berlin" made clock behind the counter.
They were struggling for money but had a few good ideas to bring more people into the restaurant. And they seemed to be working, at least in the back with louder music and, right, his girlfriend and her new college pals. So not cool.
Harry Osborn kept on giving him an ear-to-ear grin that only caused him to be more embarrassed. This was Gwen's idea of being a supportive girlfriend. Stay in the back table of the restaurant he had JUST started working with her new BFF from college and the richest guy in campus. Right. Well, she had to made up after snapping to me for considering working for SHIELD or how I'd call Penny because of my arm and oh sh-
"Peter, what are you doing here?! " Frak it frak it frak it.
"Oh hi Pen-Dr. Morse, I um, I, I'm working here. First day today" She smiled at him, seeming pleased. The guy sitting with her gave him a look. A nasty look. Fishy, he's fishy.
Penny saw how they looked at each other and gave Steve a questioning eyebrow. "Right, well, this is Steve Rogers, we work together and this is Peter Parker, he's a very promising student. I'm helping him with… college applications. How's your arm? You shouldn't be carrying things"
"Yeah, well, I need to work, and I'm almost healed, look!" He raised his t-shirt sleeve and Steve recognized highly skilled stitches in a cut that seemed completely healed. He also noticed Penny's surprised look "You do heal fast"
A loud clearing of throat from Mirna on the back of the counter made him remember he was working, not chatting "So, what can I get you? You wanna hear the specials or should I get you ribs?" So the guy is now clenching his jaw. Yeah, ribs. She likes ribs, I bet you didn't know that tough guy.
The guy spoke "Why don't you bring us the menu and then we'll tell you? Sound okay son?" Son? Who says "son"? Peter nodded leaving the menus and Penny asked him for a beer. Both he and the guy seemed baffled.
"Hey, it's my first day off in I don't know how long, I had a really tough week, I need a beer. Don't judge. I can see you judging." The tough guy smiled. Smooth, he's smooth. And she's giggling. Giggling.
The guy spoke "Make that 2 beers then son" and smiled at him. If he says son one more time…
Suddenly the table in the back started making way too much noise for a family restaurant, calling everyone's attention and also making Peter get in a tough spot between her new boss and his girlfriend. "Guys, please, could you keep it quiet?"
Steve and Penny watched a cocky brunette guy and a red haired making non-funny jokes and acting drunk. It wasn't even one pm yet: teenage drinking at its finest. Penny was visibly upset about the kid mocking Peter "in a friendly way" and was getting up when Steve grabbed her by the arm. "Don't." She looked at him. "It's his first day and that guy is a jerk yes, but if you go there and you do your "scare him off" routine, you're going to make the kid feel even worse."
She took a deep breath and sat back down, he was right. Steve's hand stayed in her arm though, and then brushed it slowly towards her hand, caressing it slowly. "Peter is 10 thousand times better than that Osborn kid and the asshole comes in here being all big and cool and mocks him! It's just-"
"Let the kid handle it Penn"
"The kid has a name. Peter. His name is Peter."
"You seem to be close to Peter, those stitches… Was him on the phone yesterday?" She took a deep breath and didn't have to answer. "He's a very good kid and he's struggling with a lot of things right now. He's brilliant and he deserves the future that the shitty Osborn kid is taking for granted. And it pisses me off"
Then they heard Peter, "Some of us need to work for a living Harry. Anything else you want or should I get you the check?" The red haired evidently hit Harry behind the table to make him shut up "Just the check and we'll go. Thanks Pete"
Gwen was upset too, this wasn't working as expected at all. She followed her boyfriend with her eyes when she saw Penny looking right back at her. And then she saw the guy she was sitting with. Kinda cute, if you go for… that type.
Steve looked at Penny "And I assume that's the jealous girlfriend who doesn't really like you. Shocking!" Penny giggled again at this playful version of Rogers. And he hadn't even started drinking yet. Oh right, he can't get drunk.
"Why wouldn't she like me? I'm coaching her boyfriend to get into college. I mean, he wrote his application essay based on my research. If he was my boyfriend, I'd feel happy that the person he looks up to is helping him get there."
"Sure, if the guy you're with has a good looking woman he looks up to on speed dial you'd be thrilled for him. You wouldn't feel threatened at all." Penny sighed and half smiled looking at their fingers entwined.
"Good looking woman? Wow, and you hadn't even started drinking yet. I'm impressed." He couldn't help blushing.
Peter came back to their table clenching his teeth and bringing the beers, "Ready to order?" she half smiled at him for showing up at the perfect time. "Maybe we could have pizza? Goes well with beer" Steve smiled in agreement and then added "Can you get us fries in the meantime? And another round"
Peter nodded and was about to leave for the kitchen when he remembered something and came back "I was gonna call you later. I know how much you like Green Hornet and there's this thing going on tomorrow at ESU campus" he handed over a flyer to her "Mary Jane, the red-haired there, she's gonna be in it. They're acting up old radio shows, putting up the setting as if they were in the 40s or something. I thought you may-"
"Wanna go? Are you kidding? This is awesome, thanks Pete! Wanna go Steve? It's old radio shows, just like in the 40s!" I'm clearly missing the joke here. Well, she seems happy enough with this jog. Ok, you're not disappointed. Well, maybe a bit. I mean, he must be smart, she wouldn't go for that type. She likes Helo for Gods' sake, she wouldn't go for the jog. No, there has to be something else going on about this guy. He took off before hearing Steve's answer to Penny.
"So would this outing be part of my adjustment training agent Bobbi?" He leaned over the table nearer her, looking amused. "You're never gonna stop calling me that now, are you?"
"Nope" She sighed and gave him a questioning eyebrow. "It kinda brings bad memories" He reached for her hand again "I'm sorry, I didn't know"
She gave him a timid smile "It's okay, it's time to stop whining about it, it's my name after all. So, you don't have an embarrassing middle name I can retort with, do you?" He half smiled keeping her hand on his and caressing it slowly "Nope I don't miss Morse. So, where is this place?" he grabbed the flyer to read it.
"ESU campus. They have a good art program, maybe you could take classes there, get an art degree. It could help with your cover."
"Cover?"
"You know how I wrote papers and I'm heading to ESU to teach next year? That's my cover. You build something believable and stick to it. And when you have a rough spy day, you wish that the cover would be your real life. That is, until you get burnt and your wish comes true" she took a sip of beer suddenly looking pissed and disappointed.
"But now you're my active handler agent Morse, and you're asking me on a date to watch radio shows"
"It's not a date Rogers, don't get ahead of yourself. I just love radio shows! And these were happening back when you were back there"
"I know you love radio shows, you told me a while ago. What I don't get is why" She was starting to get anxious about his grin right now. What wasn't she remembering? "When did I-?"
"Oh that day, when you were at the beach" He laughed wholeheartedly and she couldn't stop looking at his lips when he talked, she didn't even realize she was biting her own. "Cheers Dr. Morse. Here's to… What should we toast to?"
She grabbed her own beer and leaned on the table as well, "Well, to your newly found almost freedom"
"At least I don't have a Cinderella clause anymore"
"I'll drink to that" they toasted and took a long sip. She leaned back on the booth, hanging on to the little bottle. "You gotta tell me what I said that day one of these days" he chuckled,
"Not a chance, this is much too fun Doctor!" He took a sip while lowering his gaze from her eyes to her full lips. She realized she was biting them and cleared her throat taking another sip. "So, wanna go to this thing?" He smiled leaving the Bud on the table "Sure, I'll be at your doorstep at 8"
"Don't you need my address for that?" He grabbed the Bluetooth from his pocket and placed it on the table. She nodded with a half smile. He leaned back on his own booth and they shared a long quiet stare while they kept on sipping quietly and smiling to each other.
"Hey beautiful, how you feeling?" Clint was brushing her cheek slowly and she smiled at him. She could see his swallowed eyes from crying. "You gave me quite a scare you know"
"I told him not to call you" her voice was rougher than usual and she seemed a bit sad. He didn't like what he was seeing in her. "Well, you know how Captain Tightpants is. So I borrowed a Quinjet and got here."
She sighed. She was expecting him to ask what was going on, but she figured he wouldn't. "I'm a bit thirsty, could you get- thanks" he put a straw in her mouth and she started drinking slowly "You shouldn't drink much, doctor's orders"
"Where is she?" Clint frowned puzzled at her. "She has the weekend off, met Fury and then left"
"Oh, okay"
"Tash, what's going on?"
"I just had surgery Clint, everything's fuzzy. A little understanding wouldn't hurt" she tried to move from the bed but he held her down. "You need to rest, you're to stay here tonight and possibly tomorrow, and then rest for another 2 weeks."
"WHAT? We have Mandarin on the loose and a billion other things, she can't expect me to just sit here and do nothing!"
"Now that sounds more like you. For the record, Hoban's the one who said that"
"Does Fury know this? He-"
"He cleared you for the next month and more if you don't cooperate. He also gave me a week off to make sure you follow suit." She stopped fighting getting off the bed; mainly because her IV was moving and she started feeling what her tummy felt like without a steady dosage of painkillers.
"Does that mean we're partners again?" her IV hand reached for his, and he caressed it slowly while gesturing a no with his head. His eyes were suddenly teary.
"You scared me Natasha. Don't ever do that again" and there she felt her own tears piling up in the back of her eyes and the choke in her throat. It was over, it was over now, why was she still acting like this fragile little shit?
In a swift move, Clint shaded the glass walls, locked the door and came to lie in bed next to her. She moved a bit to the side and rested her head on his arm, still holding her tears.
"You can cry Tash, I won't tell" he placed his other arm around her and started kissing her hair softly. She took a deep breath and came nearer him but her tummy ached too much. He moved his arm towards her belly and started touching it slowly over the sheets, but Natasha stiffened.
"Don't do that"
"You were pregnant, weren't you? The other thing, that's a cooked up story." Tasha's clenched jaw gave her away. "What makes you think that?"
"Don't lie to me Tash, just don't. I'm here for you. Don't ever forget that"
"I'd like to be alone"
"That's too bad, cos I'm not going anywhere. Now get some sleep" he kept hugging her and kissing her hair slowly. She hated feeling like this. She hated even more knowing that he was right. She needed him with her, like the air she was breathing.
But needing someone gets you reckless. It gets you pregnant. It gets you killed.
