The Girl & The Hound | Winter Soldier

ELEVEN

❝SHE HEALED THE BROKEN PIECES WITHOUT KNOWING OF THEIR EXISTENCE.❞

Natasha began to unravel the contents within the bags, Sawyer placing two bags onto her kitchen counter before Natasha suddenly threw three DVD cases to her, Sawyer just catching them in time with a winded yelp, "I didn't know which one to choose so you choose, I'm a sucker for all of them," she explained as Sawyer glanced down at them.

Nodding slowly, Sawyer tucked a strand of hair behind her left ear and leant against the counter, sliding the DVD's into a fan to see them all; INSIDIOUS, THE CONJURING and THE GRUDGE. Sawyer furrowed her eyebrows instinctively, glancing up to Natasha who stared back expectedly before clearing her throat, "I was personally thinking more along the lines of Finding Nemo?"

Natasha stared at her for a moment, processing what Sawyer had suggested before crossing her arms over her chest and pursing her lips in slight disbelief that she'd misheard, "you're telling me you would rather watch a kids movie over a horror movie?"

"Well..." Sawyer quietly trailed off, placing the DVD's back into a neatly compiled stack on the counter as she sheepishly averted her gaze, "yeah."

"I have Chucky if you'd prefer to watch that?"

Sawyer grimaced appreciatively as she shook her head slightly, grateful for her suggestion but not grateful enough to scare herself to death. Natasha stared at her again in disbelief, muttering a Russian phrase under her breath as Sawyer furrowed her eyebrows in bewilderment, Natasha suddenly adding, "you're trying to chase me off."

Sawyer breathed, "in all honesty, that's kinda the plan," she nonchalantly replied as she stretched on the spot, arching her back with her hands on her hips with a dorky smile on her face, Natasha suddenly smirking at the challenge.

"All the more reason to stay then," Natasha smugly chortled as she tipped the bag upside down, sweets and chocolate spilling out on the counter as Sawyer glanced in awe at the amount, composing her posture, "now are you going to tell me something stupid like you don't like candy?"

⌁

Sawyer was sprawled along the sofa, Gunner laying across her lap as she shovelled skittles into her mouth, content as WALL-E played on the television as Natasha laid upside down, her head dangling off the edge with her feet in the air as she stared incredulously at the film, scoffing chocolate.

With a mouth full of skittles, Sawyer glanced to a bored Natasha, "don't pretend you're not enjoying, Nat," she blurted, munching on the treats as Natasha glanced to Sawyer, "I've got a very specific skill set, don't test me Sawyer," she replied as Sawyer rolled her eyes, weirdly not intimidated by her in the slightest.

"This is art, you're just masking the enjoyment," Sawyer mused, watching excitedly as Eva politely greeted WALL-E as Natasha stared boringly, swinging her legs in the air carelessly as she acknowledged Sawyer's undying attempts to get her to leave her apartment.

A sudden beam of light from Natasha's phone instantly caught Sawyer's eye, Natasha curiously fishing out her phone as she was notified she had a message. Sawyer politely averted her attention back to the television, Natasha unlocking her phone to read the message from Steve:

Natasha I have been compromised, we need to go. This is from Steve.

Natasha rolled her eyes momentarily, not bothering to remind him that she knew it was from Steve from the identification at the top of her screen before quickly typing a response, glancing to a captivated Sawyer and quickly mustering up an idea to distract her from leaving the apartment.

"Are they split ends?" Natasha questioned as Sawyer glanced to her, furrowing her eyebrows as she grabbed some of her hair and glanced down at the tips of her hair. She shrugged her shoulders at the evident sight of them, diverting her attention back to the television as Natasha pried on, "you can't just ignore them?"

Sawyer glanced in her direction, slightly confused, "why not?"

"Because Steve is coming over and I think he has an old man crush on you, split ends are a turn off," Natasha assured her as Sawyer blurted out in laughter before Natasha added, "and is that a unibrow?"

Sawyer's expression fell seriously still, her fingers reaching to trace her eyebrows before pursing her lips with a shrug, slightly furrowing her eyebrows at the presence of a unibrow, "I don't intend on turning on old men anyhow," she replied as Natasha stared boringly, "I'm content with WALL-E for now," she added, diverting her attention back to the television as Natasha merely ignored the urge to sedate Sawyer into a deep sleep.

"Sawyer, I think you should just go cut your hair," Natasha demanded, turning off the television as Sawyer glanced to her in bewilderment, "like now."

"Okay fine," she exasparated, dragging herself from the chair in surprise but intending not to test Natasha. Glancing one last time to a defiantly contorted Natasha, Sawyer walked slowly in confusion to the bathroom, running a bubble bath as her front door sounded.

She listen to the muffled talking inside her seemingly free-to-all apartment whilst the bath filled up with thick, white bubbles as her front door shut, Sawyer turning her head to its direction as she opened her top bathroom window to let out the steam. Curiously, Sawyer then popped her head out of the bathroom door to find her living room empty.

"Sawyer-" she yelped, startled by Steve standing to the left of her, clutching at her heart as Steve apologised whilst ushering to her aid as she caught her breath, acknowledging him that she was alright.

"You just scared me, no worries," she beamed into a laugh, still gushing with adrenaline as Steve blushed awkwardly, unsure of how to consolidate her for scaring the life out of here.

"I just came to say thank you for co-operating, it's not going to get easier so thank you," he smiled as she nodded, smiling gently to him as he nodded to her in appreciation whilst an awkward silence succumbed the pair.

"So uh yeah, I mean I've got a bath to get into and yeah-" she awkwardly laughed, pointing back into the bathroom as he held his hands up, laughing with an apology for holding her up before alerting her that he could let himself out. With his reply, she stepped into the bathroom slowly, chuckling to herself, her front door shutting as she was finally alone in the apartment.

Closing her bathroom door, she sighed before she stepped out of her baggy, casual clothes and into her bath, the scolding water merely reminding her she was alive as it scorched against her skin. Bracing, she put her other leg in, accepting the blazing sensation before laying into the bath, completely inundated with bubbles as she blew on some, giggling as some bubbles spurted into the air.

The scissors sat on the ledge, glinting in the light as she ignored their presence for the moment, resting blissfully in the bath as she closed her eyes. Time blurred as she felt the scolding but oddly soothing heat blare against her skin, her eyes however, suddenly popping open at the sound of Gunner growling in her living room.

She paused, listening intently as she snatched the scissors off the ledge, sounds of three pairs of footsteps outside her door aching through the house before Gunner's growls grew violent, Sawyers heart throbbing in her throat as she clutched the scissors.

However, then everything suddenly fell silent whilst Sawyer's heart beat rang in her ears. She froze, terrified to move and make the water swish before in the blink of an eye, her bathroom door was suddenly kicked wide open, a gunshot piercing the air as Gunner squealed outside and she was suddenly unable to breathe under the water through being held under by her throat, her last breath having been used up in screaming for Steve.