“Okay.” Nat sighed in defeat as she hung up the phone.

“Everything alright?” My question made her shake her head.

“My escort target was killed, and the Hydra agent we captured was found dead in his cell.” Her reply caused me to sigh as I hugged her.

“You successfully completed your mission, Nat. You protected him and escorted him here safely. He must have somehow revealed himself for Hydra or whoever it was that killed him.” I assured her but she was still upset.

“Do you want to hear a story?” I stroked her hair causing her to look at me.

“Once upon a time in a land far, far away…” Her emerald eyes sucked my soul in like always.

“…everyone lived happily ever after.” I quickly ended my story. Her lips twitched at hearing my story.

“That was the lamest short story I have ever heard.” She chuckled causing me to smile.

“Glad you liked it.” Kissing her cheek, we laid in each other embrace just like how we have been for the past few hours since breakfast.

“You going to make lunch?” She was reluctant to let go of me.

“Yeah.”

“Can I come?”

“I rather not move you much, especially down the stairs for at least 2 weeks.” She looked sad.

“Is there any books here for me to read? The TV is downstairs and there is no laptop here and I am so bored.” I smiled at that.

“I haven’t seen any books.”

“Uhhh… 2 weeks of sitting here like a tree.” Groaning she clutched my hand.

“We can always have a takeaway, so you don’t have to leave.”

“In a rural place like this? I doubt there would be a takeaway.” I removed her claw-like grip on my hand.

“How about some debate slash Q&A on any theoretical topic you want? This way you can increase your knowledge pool from me, and I can have fun talking to you.”

“That seems like an interesting proposition. Let me see how smart you really are.” I grinned as I saw her challenging face while I called her phone as I walked out.

2 weeks were spend like this when I had to go down to cook or water the garden.

It may seem like she was being clingy to me, but I knew more than that. She was worried that I would have some kind of mental breakdown when she was not with me. That is why she kept wanting me beside her somehow. This way even if I had a breakdown she could comfort me.

2 weeks later I started carrying Nat down to the kitchen.

“That is how you solve the Hodge conjecture.” I smiled as I poured the hot soup into a bowl while Nat stared at me blankly.

“If others knew you just solved one of the millennium prize problems while making a pot of soup so easily they would want to strangle you for not sharing it.” I chuckled.

“Trust me even Stark or Hank Pym can do it as well if they put their mind in it. They just aren’t interested in the prize money or in solving them.” I shrugged my shoulder as I took the bowl to the table.

“Well, they are rich. They don’t need the money. That is not you.” I came back to pick Nat up from the table.

“My girlfriend is well off, so I don’t need the money as long as I can leech off her.” Pulling the chair back we sat down.

“Gold digger.” I burst out laughing hearing her accusation.

Finished with lunch I carried her in my arm as we went out for a walk.

“Are you not tired?” Sweat dripped from her forehead as we walked to the shade of the grape farm.

“Carrying you around like this made my arms strong.” Sweat crawled down my back from the really hot weather.

“Then you should carry me around every day like this until I am fully healed.”

“Oh, I will.” The shadows cast by the grape farm provided a great amount of relief to us from the sun. Sitting down under a nice spot we just talked.

“You thirsty?” I asked seeing the time on my watch.

“Little bit. Why?” I grinned as I placed her down and quickly moved back.

“I am sorry Nat.” I apologised as she looked around suspiciously.

“From above.” I pointed up and she looked up, causing realisation to dawn upon her face.

“David wait…” I ran just as the sprinkler began showering the cool water.

“DAVID!” I made it to a safe area, watching her getting soaked while she looked at me helplessly.

“Hahahaha!” I laughed seeing her face as water dripped from her red hair. Her clothes were now stained with mud from the wet soil.

“You look pathetic.” I sniggered causing her to grin back.

“Mr Smarty Pants you forgot one thing when you planned this joke.” I had a terrible feeling.

“What?” I looked around to see there was nothing she could use against me.

“How will I get home?” ‘Crap!’

“Hahahaha!” Now it was her turn to laugh as I picked her muddy self up.

“Can I ask you to not wipe your muddy hands on my face?” I requested as her hands spread the mud across my face and neck.

“You should have thought it through before you planned this.” ‘I really should have.’ By the time I got back home, the sun had partially dried the mud on my face and neck. It was really annoying having to feel something crawling on the face, only to realise it was parts of mud rolling off.

Washing up we both sat down on the couch watching the TV tiredly.

“For someone so smart you make the silliest of mistakes.” Nat began flicking through channels.

“There are different kinds of smart. Street smart, socially smart, studious smart, strategist smart etc. I belong to the studious smart kind of smart. I am not a great strategist or planner.” I defended myself.

“Still. I outwitted a genius rivalling Tony Stark.” She proudly smiled just as something caught our attention on the news channel.

“The Defender of America is back after his not so good long vacation.” Tony Stark was back in America.

“Uh!” Nat groaned as she flicked to a different channel hearing that.

“You really don’t like him do you?”

“Did you have to go through the list of all possible women he slept with to see if there was a minute chance where he was?”

“Well no.”

“Did he sabotage your girlfriend's job?” I couldn’t help but laugh hearing that.

“No.”

“There we go then.” I smiled hearing that as I kissed her cheek.

*Beep* I looked at my phone to see a message. [Thanks] It was from Pepper.

[No problem, Ms Potts] I placed the phone back. Nat as always ignored what I was doing, not bothering to see too deeply into my private life.

“I love you.” I hugged her causing her to smile as she hugged me back while we watched TV.

Watching the TV until dinner, we then went up to sleep. “Good night.”

“Sweet dreams.” She kissed my cheek as I fell asleep in her embrace.

Someone was shaking me.

“David…” I opened my eyes to see Nat looking at me in worry from the side.

“You okay?” I asked her as I sat up carefully so that I won’t move her around much.

“You were crying in your sleep again.” I frowned as I suddenly realised my cheeks were wet.

“Did you have a nightmare?” It had been 2 weeks since we have been here, and after I told her about my mental state of killing people. Till this time, I haven’t had a nightmare thanks to Nat.

“No…I... don’t know.” I shook my head. This was the 2nd time it had happened.

“Can’t remember?” Nat frowned as she asked me to which I nodded.

“It’s strange.” I mused as I tried hard to remember what I saw in my sleep to make me cry.

“Did I say anything that might give a clue as to what I was dreaming?” I asked her.

“You were crying saying the numbers ‘95489’.”

“What?” I was fully awake now as I felt sorrow hearing those numbers.

“Yeah, you kept mumbling those numbers. At first, you were simply crying like before then as I was about to wake you up, I noticed you were starting to mumble these number. You kept going for nearly 10 minutes before I woke you up.”

“That is creepy.” I shuddered wondering if it was a case of haunting, magic or anything else.

“Do those numbers mean anything to you?” She asked me.

“No, nothing. But hearing those number makes me feel sad, I don’t know why.” This was fucking confusing.

Could this be one of those cases where messages are given through dreams or something? Or could it be someone is trying to hijack my mind through magic?

“One moment Nat. I am going to meditate.” Nat nodded and I closed my eyes.

‘Calm mind’ I activated calm mind on both rooted potatoes.

I felt no emotions at this moment and felt empty and clear.

I began thinking about the numbers ‘95489’. Sadness overtook me as soon as the numbers were put together in my head.

I opened my eyes in shock but that instantly faded as calm mind was active.

‘Off calm minds’ Returning the previous jobs back to the rooted potato the feeling of shock and surprise returned to me.

“What the hell?” I couldn’t help exclaiming.

“What happened?” Nat looked at me in concern.

“I can feel emotions for the first time when I am meditating,” I said in worry.

“I am confused.” She shook her head not understanding me.

“I am able to enter a state of absolute calm when I meditate. During that time, I can suppress my emotions. This helps me focus when I am doing anything stressful like operating on you or …”

“Fighting?” I nodded to her guess.

“Remember how I said my logical side took over when I fought those guys?” Nat nodded.

“That was basically me fighting by meditation. It was the reason why I was able to suppress my repulsiveness to killing until I made sure we were safe.”

“So what? Even I lose my concentration when I am focusing.”

I shook my head. “Not for me Nat. Once I enter my calm state no emotions get through me unless I stop my meditation.” She looked at me in disbelief.

“Even if you are hurt before me I won’t flinch during my calm state unless I actively stop meditating.” She had a worried look.

“So those number then…?”

I nodded. “It overrode my calm mind and made me feel sad.” It was like something was forcing a block of ice to feel emotions. Not with magic, not with science, not with any supernatural event but just using 5 digits. It was like telling a block of ice 5 digits of numbers and getting the ice to cry. That was my state now.

“How is that bad?”

“I don’t know.” I sighed. It was bad alright. I have to find out what is invading through the defence of my calm mind. If there is something that can crush the defence of my mind then I have to prepare for it.

“My meditation never failed me so far. I am facing proper defeat for the first time in my life. So, I am kind of lost.” Nat smiled as she hugged me.

“Turn your weakness into strength and your failure into success.” She advised me as I rested my head on her shoulders.

“I will,” I promised herself and me. I will find the root cause and my best bet is using the mind stone and magic to find it.

“Hmmm…” I fell asleep hearing her sweet soothing lullaby.

Life was pretty much the same after that night except that the crying while sleeping event never cropped up again.

I didn't worry about it now because I couldn't do anything now. So I enjoyed my time here with Nat as much as possible instead of worrying.

We occasionally argued and fought but the contents of our arguments were a strange one for most people. “Please let me at least masturbate.” She begged to which I simply shook my head.

“Nope.” I smiled as I held her hands and stopped her from touching herself.

“Why? You won’t do it, at least let me do it.” She stated in anger.

We were becoming a normal couple.

“I am abstaining so you should as well. I don’t want your wound to open up after it’s healed up so far just from you masturbating.” Her fading anger lasted longer now.

It was irresistible for both her and me while being in each other’s presence to control our libido. I took control by activating my ‘Calm mind’ just in time. Then I used that moment to help her not lose control.

*Muah* Finding her angry face cute I kissed her on the cheek. “Go away. I don’t want to talk to you.” She said in anger, but I just ignored that and kept hugging her from behind.

We are normal at this point at this farm no matter who we really were. We had normal desires for each other just like every couple. There was no need to use our years of training or willpower inside this farm. We can act and behave as just David and Natalia, instead of trained peak humans.

“I told you, I will have sex with you every day for the days we missed out on until you tell me to stop when you are healed.” I tried to reason.

We can be selfish, we can be lustful, we can be anything we could never have or be, in here, especially Nat.

“Don’t talk to me.” She said as she tried to wiggle from my grasp but found it not possible. Hearing her immature angry voice was funny.

“Don’t struggle. You will open up your wound.” Hearing that she sat still.

Neither she nor I wanted that to happen.

6 weeks passed by before she was well enough to have sex.

She just wouldn’t have enough and kept wanting to have more and more of me inside her. On the first day itself, we went for at least a few hours before she was tired.

Obviously, I had to make sure she didn’t move, and it was all me doing the action. I occasionally used HE serum to bring my tired self-back into action after going with her numerous times.

“HGNNNNN!” Her body trembled for the 5th time as she faded into bliss. I pulled back and laid by her side.

Propping my head with my left hand I watched her recovering slowly. “You really are insatiable.” Moving the few strands of red hair away from her face I could see her face again.

“Well, you satiated me. So that is enough.” She looked at me with a slight blush during which I kissed her head. We were true to our emotions here. There was no need to hold back, restrain or hide anything.

After a while, she asked me just as I was about to fall asleep. “Can we do it one more time?”

I smiled as I nodded. “Where are you getting the energy for all this?” I wondered as I got up ready, but she stopped me suddenly.

“Can we do it in the grape farm?” I chuckled hearing that.

“Anything for my patient.” I lifted her out of bed and headed to the grape farm in the middle of the night.

Few weeks passed like this before she was well enough to start walking with my help.

“Thank you.” She said one day as we were sitting under the shade of a tree, with my head on her lap while she caressed my head.

“For what?” I asked her.

“For coming into my life.” She said as she kissed my forehead.

“Thank you for coming into my life as well,” I said as I grabbed her hand and kissed it.

A few months later Natasha was well enough to do everything on her own, so we decided to go back to Manhattan.

"I will miss this place." Nat leaned on me as we watched the house we have been living in the past few months. We could be ourselves here.

"If you want we can one day buy a farm like this and live just like how we lived here for the past few months." She smiled as she shook her head sadly.

Knowing what was going through her mind I assured her. "I didn't mean now or in the near future Nat. I meant way into the future, possibly even during the time of your retirement." Seeing her sadness transforming into happiness completed me.

"That would be nice." I left the farm.

I drove all the way and parked the car by her house’s garage. She would probably take it back when she starts going back to work again after a while.

We got in to see everything was where it was supposed to be.

Opening our laptop all the software and everything was wiped from it, leaving it in a blank state.

“Hahaha!” I laughed which confused Nat.

“What happened?”

“Looks like some fool tried to log in to the laptop which activated the failsafe, causing everything in it to be erased.” Nat frowned as she tried turning it on causing nothing but a blank screen to appear.

“Now I know how people feel when we take everything from them.” She was gloomy.

“No problem, I can get this baby up and running in a few days,” I promised her to which she nodded.

Walking towards the kitchen I opened the fridge and shelves to see it was all thankfully empty. It would have been horrible to see rotten stuff inside the fridge and shelves. Luckily, either Bart or Shield must have thrown everything out.

“I will go get something for dinner,” I told her seeing her wiping the dust off the table.

“I want lasagne today.” She shouted out just as I was about to close the door.

“Sure.” I went out.

*Beep* Looking down on my phone it was an alert notifying me the climax of Iron Man 1 was about to begin.

Walking towards my mansion I went in. “Bruce?” I called out seeing the lights downstairs were off.

“Where did he go?” I wondered as I fetched some tools I might need from my emergency stash.

Walking out I locked the door again and left for shopping.

As I was waiting at the checkout, I received a call.

“Dave, how much do you want to keep Tony safe?” Pepper seemed to be running.

“$75 million Ms Potts.” The lady at the checkout raised her eyebrows to which I simply smiled.

“That is a lot.” She said with worry while I began placing everything in the bag.

“Enough to make sure Mr Stane wouldn’t end up…killing him,” I whispered the last part which caught her to be silent.

“You knew?” She asked in anger.

“Again, there is very little I don’t. All information passes through me before it even reaches their recipient.” Paying the money, I nodded at the lady at the till in thanks as I walked out with 2 bags of groceries while my phone rested between my right ear and right shoulder.

“For example, you could have simply come to me for evidence against Stane, instead of going to his office and making him suspicious of you, which caused him to panic and take the arc reactor out of Tony.” Walking out I chose a perfectly abandoned alleyway.

“How…wait WHAT!?” She shouted as I heard, Phil Coulson beside her giving orders to his agents.

I jumped with the help of HE serum on top of one of the roofs of the buildings.

“Do you accept the contract or not Ms Potts? I can save Mr Stark right now if you agree to it.” I hung the bag on top of a rooftop so that no one will take it.

“I AGREE! Save him! I will deposit the money immediately!” Pepper shouted.

“No need Ms Potts. I will collect the money after the deed is done as usual.” I said as I began my preparation. Pressing the buttons on my watch manually the colours of the clothes I wore changed. This was an inspiration I took from B.A.R.F.

“Pepper is everything ok?” I heard Phil ask her.

“It’s Tony. Stane took out his hear… I mean his reactor.” Pepper said in worry.

“See you soon Ms Potts.” I hung up.

I took the nano mask from my pocket and covered my face before activating the magnetic field and around myself with my watch.

‘To Tony Stark, ASAP’ I ordered my ability.

*Bam* I leapt off into the night sky.