Natasha willingly joined the forest exploration team, so as usual, Natasha, Nick, and Steve headed to the nearby woods in search of wood and stones, while the rest stayed behind to handle the food.
Nick, who was leading the group, glanced back at the clearly troubled Natasha, and cleared his throat before saying,"Natasha, I've no intention of criticizing you, nor do I wish to kill the mood, but you still rember you promised to help , right?"
Natasha snapped back to reality, then sighed deeply: "I believe I did help you, but alas, you can't actually accept the kind of help I gave."
"You've got confused, ma'am." Steve, who was walking up front, also turned to Natasha: "Just speak up about what happened in the past few hours, you've been acting weird."
Natasha swallowed hard, now realizing Shiller's intention to pass on his trouble to others. Whenever Shiller held a secret, people would bother him, but once Shiller told another person with more chances of blowing his cover, then they would beco the ones getting bothered.
Clearly, at this stage, the person in question is Natasha.
"Fair point." Natasha huffed: "I'm just deep in thought, because I rarely think, thus you guys find my current behaviour strange."
"Strange?" Nick raised his tone: "So strange that it's indescribable! Who has ever seen the great Black Widow zoned out so many tis within an hour, what happened to staying alert and vigilant at all tis?"
"It's just..." Natasha sighed deeply again, Nick and Steve exchanged a look, sensing sothing was off, but knew better than to push.
If Shiller's caution ca from his own secrets, maintaining alertness when others pry, then Natasha's silence was entirely out of professional habit. If she doesn't wish to speak, no one could draw the truth out of her - and no one knew this better than Nick.
"You're worried about this Shiller situation, aren't you?" Nick guessed with so probing, worthy of his reputation as the King of Special Agents, "About Shiller."
"Who isn't worried about him?" Natasha responded as diplomatically as ever, seemingly answering the question, but eventually leading back to square one.
But Natasha was indeed worried about Shiller, particularly about the fish he intended to hook.
This concern wasn't coming from a personal sense of crisis, because Natasha doesn't view herself as the fish. Just as Shiller said, fishing concealed a form of violence under the guise of civility, everything remained hidden under the water surface until the fish took the bait.
However, currently, Shiller and Natasha were face to face - hardly an apt fishing scenario— no one was under the water surface, not the characteristic fishing dynamic at all.
Natasha had always been guessing at who Shiller was trying to hook, but she couldn't discuss this with Nick or Steve. Because if she were to do so, Shiller might kick her under the water surface. Natasha had no intention of having high expectations of Shiller's moral compass.
Natasha looked anxious, and Nick and Steve, who had never seen her in such a state, each had their own interpretations. While they were sawing a tree together, Nick glanced at Natasha, who was searching for appropriate stones among the bushes, and remarked, "Shiller must have told her sothing."
"I'm well aware, but didn't you hear what Professor Charles just said? My god, fish and chips aren't just fish with chips -- it's a complex dish that involves integrating fish into the dough, which then requires leavening and deep-frying. It sounds troubleso just thinking about it, but Shiller claid it's all to please Natasha. When did they get so close?"
"If a man and woman suddenly beco intimate, is there any other reason?" Nick sneered. His remaining eye whirled a bit, and Steve gaped at him: "No way, how can there be nothing at first and now... What I an is, I know Natasha. If she doesn't hint at sleeping with a man the first ti she ets him, it ans he's not attractive to her, not one of her collection."
"Did Agent Carter not teach you to temper your expectations of won's fickle nature?" Nick remarked, not without a hint of mockery.
Steve coughed awkwardly, he knew Nick was unhappy about him winning over Agent Carter -- after all, Nick didn't have many diligent agents under his command, and those who were gullible yet hardworking were even fewer, like Sharon Carter only.
"What I an is they couldn't just suddenly... There must be sothing we don't know." Steve also glanced at Natasha.
"Passionate affairs usually don't require reasons." Nick huffed coldly, before adding: "Perhaps it's just an overwhelming heartbeat during an eye-contact, soon followed by restlessness, so physical contacts inevitably develop into further explorations. This entire process could take fewer than a few hours."
"Which is why I often feel despair towards these philanderers in the world," Steve half-jokingly, half-seriously said: "I've heard more than once about how Tony Stark only needs an hour from eting a cover model to bed."
"Keep an eye on them." Nick leaned in, looking into Steve's eyes with his remaining one: "The intuition of the King of Special Agents tells , their story won't just end with one-night stand, Shiller is particularly skilled at complicating matters."
Natasha returned, and she helped the two n lift the sawn trees, chopped them into small pieces to be used as chopping boards. This was agreed before they departed -- they tried to bring as few items as possible if they could be found in nature.
Then they made two trips to bring the rocks they'd use to build the fire back to the ice surface. They got a roaring fire going, while the rest of them began preparing the al.
Grilling fish is the simplest dish, it's just troubleso as it needs constant attention. Ivan was just as adept at gutting the large fish, but this scene could only remind Natasha of not so clean back kitchen.
Usually, the process of dealing with fish won't look pleasant. An aspect of this is because fish still have muscle reflexes after death or fainting. The one who kills the fish looks cruel, as if they're still alive.
Another aspect is that the sll of fish's entrails are unpleasant, even if it's a fresh fish. Natasha, sitting downwind of Ivan, could barely stand the fishy sll of the large fish's guts.
"We can't just throw these entrails into the fire, as it could affect the burning of the flas, but burying it also isn't a good idea, it could attract bears." Ivan, while handling the ssy entrails, spoke: "In the wild, humans must be extrely careful. The common ways of dealing with things in civilized societies can bring great dangers."
"I agree with that. Starving people can easily get carried away by the joy of a successful hunt, oblivious to the beast that may be stalking them for a double al."
"How do you plan to deal with the entrails?" Professor Charles asked.
"I'll throw them back into the water. The water beneath the ice is safe, and even from a humanitarian perspective, parts that humans cannot eat should not be wasted. To give back to nature is a good choice."
Erik, as if eting Ivan for the first ti, glanced at him with surprise, seemingly not expecting him to say such words. anwhile, Ivan continued scraping the fish's stomach: "In harsher regions, people understand the concept of coexisting with nature better. We don't have the luxury this vast and warm plain offers. A small mistake could lead to an entire tribe starving to death the night before the arrival of spring."
"That's a literary irony." Shiller comnted.
"Everything that happens there is." Natasha couldn't stop herself from saying: "Cold and dry, filled with an absurd sense of dramatic irony."
"Just like you, ma'am." Nick smirked, while grinding his pepper, "You have no idea how dull her daily life is."
"Nick Fury." Natasha's tone was a warning.
"Working year-round, hitting the gym afterward, practicing her shooting at the range every weekend, and getting drunk every Tuesday night. I have to go to her house to fish her out from the sofa."
As Nick spoke, Shiller glanced at Natasha with a look that was sharply caught by Nick, the King of Special Agents. He decided to poke further.
"anwhile, the love life of our Mrs. Romanoff is filled with ridiculous cody. Her male companions are usually picked from concerts, nightclubs, or stadiums."
"Nick Fury." Natasha's tone intensified, but her desire to stop him wasn't that strong because she knew very well what Nick was trying to find out. She was also curious about the answers to these questions and hoped the information revealed in the probing could prevent Shiller from considering dumping her into the water.
"Unsurprising." Shiller responded, while pouring flour into the bowl: "No one would expect a forr Soviet female agent to be shopping luxuriously every day or playing a nocturne in a cave in self-loathing. Our present selves are but lingering shadows of our past habits."
"I agree with you as well." Ivan said.
"So I guess we can talk about you too, Director Fury." Natasha retaliated unwillingly and said: "Do you ever have ti out of the office?"
"Sure. I go grocery shopping every Friday evening, and sotis even go ho to take a shower on the sa night."
Nick's odd expression made everyone laugh, but Steve knew that he wasn't exaggerating. It was clear to everyone that the S.H.I.E.L.D. director was a workaholic.
"When was your last relationship?" Shiller asked curiously.
"Back in school." Nick put the ground pepper into a jar and started trimming the parsley leaves still planted in a mud pot. He had no idea how these things ca over.
"So girls pursued and I pursued them too. I had passionate indulgence with one or two. Don't worry about ; my past is plainly boring. What about you, Doctor?"
"It's been a while. As I say this, don't stare at my ring. I've explained that many tis already."
Nick and Steve were both surprised to see real annoyance on Shiller's face. It broke like a clap of thunder into their minds. Then, they spent all of the ntal willpower they had accrued in their lives, resisting the urge to turn their heads to look at Natasha.
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