A/N: Hey soldiers! I know I have some chapters in stock but I suddenly got stuck in the middle. I hope we're all doing fine here.

Hope to hear from you, guys! Enjoy this very short chapter!

2: Shedding the Frog Skin at Night

"I guess we are stuck in here," Natasha said without a hint of panic. They were stuck in an isolated farmhouse as there was a sudden change in the mission plan. She looked at Steve, who was sporting a wound; fortunately, the bullet just grazed on the skin so there was no harm done... on Steve's level.

"Y-yeah," he hissed. Of course it hurt. He was only human. "I think I need a night to patch myself up."

"Patch yourself up," Natasha repeated while rolling her eyes. She pulled the tattered curtain a little bit to check on the surroundings. "Rogers, you're kinda forgetting that you have me here. Your partner, remember?"

"You don't really strike me as a cooperative teammate," he said honestly. Looking at her stoic face that was more quiet than usual, he tried to explain himself, "Don't get me wrong, Romanoff. I mean, it's a nice surprise."

He looked at her face through the small amount of moonlight passing through the window. He saw it briefly: that look of surprise. She then blinked and resumed her window surveillance. "Well, Fury's gonna fire me if I leave his best soldier in a farmhouse to rot." She walked towards him. "I actually have the ability to finish this mission alone, Rogers."

"Without a backup?"

"Who needs one?" she said, raising her eyebrows. "Anyway, I saw a light about a mile away. I can get something to patch you up."

She was about to leave when Steve caught her arm. "I... I suggest otherwise," he said in almost a murmur, his confidence going down the drain as they made eye contact. He cleared his throat before continuing. "Those men in the HYDRA base actually saw us. You might get into trouble."

"Rogers, being invisible is in my resume," Natasha smirked. She touched Steve's hand that was holding her arm to try to get off. However, both froze in an awkward silence.

"Still... I don't think that's a good idea," the captain sighed. He didn't want Natasha to be out of his sight because he would feel uneasy to let his partner off in this dangerous territory. "I'm gonna be okay..."

"With your wound wrapped in dirty linen. Riiiiight," she said with a nod. She heaved a sigh and then gave a shrug. She removed her arm from his grasp with a little bit of force (Steve admitted that it kinda stung a little) and stood up straight. "Well, in normal situations, I would be more stubborn but I'm damn tired," she said with a yawn and an arm stretch to emphasize the point. Steve watched, his hand decreasing pressure on his wound, as Natasha made herself comfortable in a corner, snoozing a little.

The super soldier could not help but look at her peaceful form. Natasha, when awake, was a walking bomb. Her glare could freeze people and a lot of her remarks were poisonous. Steve was immune to her quips, however, and he was glad that even though the spy kept on teasing about him being an old man, she could actually be dorky beyond that cold, ruthless image.

After about an hour, Steve felt the effects of exhaustion; his eyelids were heavy and fortunately or unfortunately, his injury was getting better and he could not feel it sting. Leaning on the wooden wall, he dozed off.

When he woke up, he found himself lying on the floor, on top of a white quilt that somehow made him feel comfortable. "Natasha?" he called out, sitting up. He looked at his injured arm. The dirty linen he used last night was replaced by a clean gauze and it smelled like antiseptic. Only one person could have done that.

"Hey, soldier," a voice called him, almost making him jump. He saw Natasha's radio docked on the table. "Feeling better?"

He rubbed the back of his neck while looking around anxiously. "Y-yeah," he answered. "Thanks." Steve narrowed his eyes in realization. "Where are you?" he asked, hoping that he was able to hide his worry within his commanding tone.

"Relax, lover boy. I'm up here in a tree, looking at our mission. It seemed like they thought we gave up. The level of security isn't as good as yesterday."

"W-well, that's great," he managed to answer as he tried to stand up.

"No, no, no," she said. "You're not standing up." The captain looked at the radio in disbelief.

"Romanoff, do you have a surveillance camera here or something?"

"Well, if you're stripping, that would be nice. I can sell the coverage to some SHIELD ladies."

"That's ridiculous."

"Yeah, but I can. Just sit still and I'll be back before you can say 'I'm a senile old man.'"

"Ha ha," he just replied with a shake of a head.

A few minutes later, the red-haired spy got inside the farmhouse and dropped a plastic bag. Food. "I told you I can do a lot of things while you're sleeping..." she said with a wink.