Chapter Text
The clouds drift across the sky blocking out the rays of sunlight from the overcast weather. Just outside the hospital lays a woman with fiery red hair as she rests her eyes. A blonde man makes his way to her to lay a comfortable distance away from her on the green grass. He closes his eyes as well. The woman feels the presence of another person invading her quiet time, she turns ready to scare them away, but her expression softens when she recognizes him as the doctor she saw running down the hall earlier. She takes in his appearance, he looks tired almost falling asleep out on the lawn, they were similar in height though she wonders how he was able to keep going in that tiny frame of his. He should’ve run out of energy by now from the amount of hours he’s logged, but he still persisted. His blue eyes open as he shifts his position to face her, he gives her a shy smile.
“Sorry if I’m bothering you ma’am. I just needed to be outside for a bit.”
“This is your turf, I should be the one apologizing for being in your space. You seem very familiar with this spot.”
“... I usually come out here when things get a little too hectic…”
His eyes are downcast avoiding her gaze, she knows the expression all too well. She used to wear the same one when she would lose a man on the battlefield. She thought after the war, it would be over, but she’s still haunted by the memories.
“... she didn’t make it Doc?”
“... no she didn’t…”
“It’s not your fault Rogers… it isn’t your fault…”
“It doesn’t make it any easier.”
“I know.”
They two stay silent for a moment as they both think back to all the horrors they witnessed. He with his many patients succumbing to the virus unable to say their last goodbyes to loved ones. Her with her comrades falling from bullets across the field without any warning.
“Do you want to talk about it Miss Romanoff?”
“... we were on the beach… I was shot through near my hip… I told them it was just a flesh wound and to keep going… they didn’t leave me behind… we had to leave them instead…”
“... it’s not your fault either.”
“Somethings you just can’t unsee… what about you? Do you want to talk about it?”
“... she was an old friend… she lived a good life but… her family wasn’t allowed to see her… her last moments were spent with me… her lungs were already too damaged… I held her hand through the plastic…”
Some things are meant to be locked away and never spoken of or acknowledged. Yet there was something comforting in sharing secret burdens with a stranger seeking solace in the same spot under the drifting clouds. They both meant to catch up on some sleep, to just nap outside for twenty minutes with the gentle breeze of the wind as a blanket. Just a moment of relief, to make sense of all that they’ve seen.
“I should leave. Thank you for the company Miss Romanoff.”
“Natasha. You can call me Natasha.”
“Nice to meet you Natasha, I’m Steve.”
Steve gets up to head back inside the hospital for the rest of his never ending shift. Natasha smiles as she gazes up at the clouds, a peak of sunlight escaping from behind. She remembers Clint’s words as he called her from his bed connected to an oxygen tank.
“I’m recovering Nat, don’t worry. I have a great doctor, his name is Steve. He may not look it, standing just over five feet and weighing maybe a hundred pounds, but he’s a fighter. He’s keeping me alive. I’ll be out of here in no time.”
She closes her eyes once more as she steadies her breathing. A sense of peace washes over her, something she hasn’t felt in all the years she’s been alive. Inside the building, Steve feels the same. A calming energy surrounds him as he continues to tend to his patients.
Only twenty minutes to sleep
But you dream of some epiphany
Just one single glimpse of relief
To make some sense of what you've seen