Soon Christmas arrived.

My first Christmas in America.

For Christmas eve Bruce and I decided to close the shop down and enjoy our time by just doing whatever we wanted.

Bruce went back to our lab/ house relaxing after weeks of working in the restaurant while I just decided to take a walk in town.

It was cold and everyone was wearing jackets covering them tightly. I ignored all of them and just sat on a bench watching people go about their lives buying last-minute Christmas gifts amongst other things.

It was fun watching people living their lives like this.

Couples holding hands with a small smile. Children's smiling or crying as they walked with their parents. The elderly walking with their partners or alone.

I just smiled at all this and appreciated the beauty of life and death.

The beauty of science and its laws.

However, my smile was soon broken by a familiar person I saw walking in casual clothes.

'HOLY SON OF A POTATO!' I screamed in my mind and nearly activated Extremis in order to kill the person getting closer to me.

'Calm mind.' I ordered and brought my smile back up, as a familiar redhead walked past me and sat beside me with her bags from shopping tiredly, while I just calmly slurped on my milkshake.

We were quiet for a while before I spoke up. "Beautiful isn't it?"

'FUUUCK! WHAT ARE YOU SAYING YOU STUPID CALM MIND?' I beat myself up mentally while my physical body calmly sat back.

Natasha just looked at me in question. "The people, how they move away from one aspect of their life to the next." Natasha looked at me as I explained to her before she turned to look at people going about their life.

'Actually no. Years of bullshitting helped me greatly. She might think I am a crazy person instead of someone who recognised her.

These agents are dangerous especially her.

Act like a crazy person. Act like a Buddhist monk.' I chanted in a corner of my mind while I displayed absolute serenity outside.

"Yeah and?" She asked back.

"Don't rush it. If you rush to see it, you will not see it. Just stay calm and enjoy it slowly." I told her.

"Try it." I persuaded her as she looked at me like a crazy person.

'Plan worked. Now I am a natural repellant. Now to hit the final nail.'

"We live in a fast-moving world where we fail to look at the world for its beauty but rather for its value.

Doing this sometimes will make your life seem so insignificant compared to the whole universe and you can sometimes even find the purpose of your life from it." I told her before I stood up and walked away with a gentle smile.

'Good thing I read up those bullshit cultivation novels in my past life.' I was so grateful for reading novels in my past life. It is true what they say. No reading ever goes to waste.

I walked away like a calm crazy chuunibyou guy who read too much cultivation novels or mangas.

I could feel my heart beating in partial excitement. 'Please let them be suspicious of me. Please let them be suspicious of me.' A part of me kept chanting subconsciously-much to my horror-, wanting some kind of excitement in my life.

I hailed a cab back home.

Once I arrived home I began examining for hidden recording devices everywhere to make sure a certain one-eyed owl didn't come in to plant his recording devices here.

Call me paranoid or whatever, but it never hurts to be sure. Besides, it can't just be a coincidence I just met the top spy for one of the top-secret organisation of MCU making casual Christmas shopping in casual clothes.

Being sure Fury or his agents hadn't sneaked into my home I quickly checked up on the Shield's database to see if they have put up any flags for me.

The only flag on me was to investigate the genius weapon manufacturer who made weapons for the Hammer industries. Nothing on David Henswick.

There was nothing else about me.

'So, it was a complete coincidence.' Phew!

I sighed in relief while a part of me was partially let down. I proceeded to exit their system without leaving any trace behind.

'Maybe I had grown too smart and Saitama'ed myself into my current state.' My mind unknowingly cursed.

'But I still cannot be sure about it with this being about Fury and Shield.' I smiled as a smile of excitement grew on my face.

I stayed home for Christmas while Bruce went out for some shopping or other things.

We reopened the restaurant after boxing day. I made sure to check the house upstairs for any bugging device as well and found none. 10 minutes before closing someone came in and made their order.

"A burger with chips please." Hearing the voice, I activated the calm mind once more.

Flippin hell this can't be a coincidence anymore.

'Oh yeah, baby! Let's dance Fury!' The bored aspect of me screamed.

'Stop thinking with your boring part and start thinking logically!' The cries from my logical part of the brain were slowly being drowned out by my excitement and adrenaline kicks.

"Dave burger with chips," Bruce shouted out the order.

I calmly prepared the order and took it out to Natasha.

"Hello, we meet once again." I smiled towards a tired Natasha who looked surprised to see me.

"Did you try what I told you?" I asked her to which she shook her head.

'No you fucker! Stop putting yourself in a clear shot of bullets!' My logical side did a last-ditch effort.

'Keep going! Make her more suspicious and thus make Fury more suspicious. Soon every organisation will be after you! That is what you want isn't it?' My adrenaline fuelled mind replied in excitement.

"Nope, had better things to do like enjoying Christmas." She replied coldly.

*Snicker* I could hear Bruce chuckling from the side as I just shrugged my shoulders.

'Yes! Yes! Take that you fucking boredom! Haha!' My logical part became vitalised and began drowning my despaired bored part of the brain.

"Then it's your loss," I told her with a smile.

She carried on eating the food, enjoying it before she paid and left with a smile towards Bruce.

Before Bruce could say anything with a sneaky smile, I warned him. "Don't even think about it." He shut up hearing me with his playful smile that suggested something between me and her.

From that day forth Natasha would occasionally come into my restaurant just before closing time while I regularly checked the shields database if they had updated anything about me and Bruce. Mine came back empty as usual while Bruce's came back with 'Missing- Locate ASAP'.

My boring part of the brain grew desperate with the passing days while my logical part grew triumphant when it recognised meeting Natasha in town and in the restaurant was pure coincidence.

After a few days, I just accepted it was all just coincidence and she came here after hearing about the popularity of our store and not me along with just liking our food, but I always kept up my calm mind in front of her.

We never talked after that day other than me serving her food.

A few weeks later she finally spoke to me. "Hey Dave, thanks."

I turned around in confusion.

'Don't you do it you potato fucker!' My logical side pleaded.

'Yesss! Come to the dark side!' My bored side began preparing for round 2 with its hissing sound.

"So, you can speak nice words!" I stated which earned a chuckle from Bruce and a small smile from Natasha.

'Yes!' My bored side of the brain celebrated.

'Nooo! You are fucking potatoes.

You know what I quit! Go fuck yourself! When Fury, Hydra and Shield come with their thick rod and shoves it up to your ass I will watch you cry in pain happily.' My logical side threw a book at my mental image before it became silent and disappeared.

"I tried out what you told me before Christmas and it kind of worked. Works bit like meditation." She said.

"Oh? Have you tried meditation before?" I asked her curiously.

'Please take the bait that I am a threat.' I prayed.

"Yeah, kind of have to, in order to cope with my stressful job." She smiled as she ate.

"What about you? Why would you need meditation when running a restaurant?" She asked me.

'Yes! Yes! Yes!' My mental self jumped around in joy.

I just chuckled hearing that. "I don't." Natasha eyebrows raised while Bruce just watched quietly from the side.

"I used to learn a few martial arts a long time ago and learned meditation on the side thinking it would be cool like those Chinese novels.

But more than martial arts, meditation has been more useful in my life so far." I told her.

'Take...the...bait! Take...the...bait! Take...the...bait! Take...the...bait! Take...the...bait!' My mind chanted.

"Martial 'arts'? As in multiple styles?" She asked me to which I nodded.

'Yes! I will actually kill of few Hydra agents for Shield as a show of my thanks, Fury!'

"Quite a few actually, since I am a good learner. Such as Jujutsu, Taekwondo, Karate, Tai Chi, Boxing etc." I told her to which she nodded.

'You are a junkie! An adrenaline junkie potato fucker!' My logical side cursed while my excited part moonwalked while doing constant dabs.

"I know few as well sambo, hapkido, Lucha libre-style wrestling, Krav Maga." She listed as well.

"Oh, I have learned Krav Maga too." I inputted.

"I am learning Tai Chi." We both turned to look at Bruce who was watching us in boredom.

"If anyone wanted to know." He spoke which earned a chuckle from Natasha.

"Natalie." Natasha offered her name to us.

"David," I told her my name.

"Jeff." Bruce introduced himself.

Out of all 3 of us, only 1 person answered their name honestly and that was me. Although Natasha partially gave us her true name as well, but Natalie was not the same as Natalia if I remembered correctly.