Chapter Seventeen

The mornings were always the hardest.

Once Natasha was ready for work, there was little time left to dash down to the basement and see Fury. Usually, she only had a chance to glance at him in his cell before she left for the day. It wasn’t worth it to activate him so she could say goodbye, then be forced to turn him off again. It wouldn’t be fair.

This day was different.

Natasha had set her alarm an hour early to make sure she had enough time, even though she knew it would be a struggle to go to work. She rushed through the shower, omitting the deep conditioner and forgetting to shave one leg in a hurry to get dressed. Her hair was still dripping wet when she entered the kitchen to scramble several eggs and put four slices of bread into the toaster.

She had agreed to let Fury stay outside of his cell for the entire day. He had been spending longer and longer periods of time disconnected and with Natasha when she was home in the evenings. Rehabilitation required him to learn how to live like a regular human. Sleeping in a box like a vampire all day was not normal. The two of them had explored the entire house, with Fury asking more questions than she could answer.

“How does a microwave work?” Fury asked one day after Natasha heated up some burritos.

“I have no idea. It just does what I need. Kind of like you.” The cyborg scowled at her, but Natasha wasn’t going to learn the inner workings of every appliance just to satisfy his curiosity. She did, however, make a mental note to look it up later.

After that came the dishwasher, the oven, the coffee pot, the alarm clock, and her phone. Fury looked at each of them closely and carefully with a look in his eyes that suggested he was analyzing them.

This morning, she called down the stairs, “Breakfast is ready!”

It always sounded like a herd of elephants had entered the house when Fury came up the wooden steps from the basement. He was an enormous man wearing military boots, and he planted each foot firmly as he moved through the house. Natasha was going to have to replace the stairs soon.

Fury threw open the basement door and stood uncertainly at the top of the steps. He had always ascended with Natasha before, and it threw him off to climb by himself even though that was part of the plan. The cyborg crossed the room awkwardly and sat down in a dining chair.

Natasha set a plate of eggs and toast in front of him then retreated into the kitchen to fetch a steaming mug of coffee. At some point, she would have to make him get it on his own. Natasha told herself that she didn’t want to make things too difficult for him. After all, he was already eating in a different part of the house and using a fork.

She was aware of cyborg eyes watching her as she gently stabbed a bit of egg and put it into her mouth. Fury hesitantly copied her, holding the fork awkwardly in a meaty fist and scowling at the plate. The redhead peeked through her eyelashes to see his reaction.

Fury chewed the egg for a moment before sitting up in his chair. He stared down at the plate in awe and then quickly jabbed at the eggs again. His fork clanked loudly against the plate and sent some of the food flying off onto the placemat. The cyborg didn’t care about making a mess. He enthusiastically started to shovel food into his mouth.

“Those are called eggs,” Natasha explained, feeling her heart rise in her chest to see Fury enjoying breakfast. “They’re scrambled with a little bit of milk and cooked on the stove. You should try the toast, too.”

The soldier nodded and stabbed a fork into the crusty bread. Fury managed to pick it up, but before he could take a bite, the toast tumbled back down onto the plate.

“You can pick it up with your hands,” the nurse clarified. “Like this. See?” She grabbed her piece of toast and took a bite, watching as Fury mimicked her actions. “Do you think everything will be okay if you’re by yourself? I know you’ve probably been feeling trapped down in the basement, but it’s going to be very different from what you’re used to.”

Fury shook his head and swallowed. “Different is good.”

“Do you remember what I said about going outside?”

He had a blank look on his face. Natasha guessed that he remembered a time when they had looked through every window in the house. Fury had been interested in each one and eagerly moved to each window to see how the view changed. He was loading the information into his internal maps, figuring out his location and trying to relate it to Cyborg Sector. He had put a hand on the front door and was about to go outside before she had stopped him.

“I remember you said don’t do it.” He filled his mouth with a bit of egg.

“That’s right. You’ll have to stay indoors. I know it looks exciting, but if someone finds out about you, we will both be in big trouble.” In her head, Natasha scolded herself for sounding like a parent talking to a child. Fury was going to remember what it was like to be human soon enough, and he might already detect her condescending tone.

Finishing up breakfast and putting the plates in the sink, Natasha picked up her purse and keys. “I’ve made you a few sandwiches; they’re in the refrigerator. Help yourself to anything else you want to eat. Do you remember how to use the phone if you need to call me?” She had shown him how to use the old landline her dad had insisted on keeping around and programmed her phone number on speed dial. She refused to leave him here without a way to reach her if something went wrong.

The soldier nodded as he polished off his meal and swallowed a final gulp of coffee.

“I’ll come home right after work, I promise.” Her chest felt like it was made out of lead. The closer she got to the door, the harder it was to breathe. It was going to be a long day.

The commute to work, an early morning meeting, and the first few appointments for the day dragged by interminably. Natasha wanted to go home and check on Fury. She felt compelled to make sure he hadn’t burned down the house or gone hungry. Natasha had already taken several days off. The administrators would put her on probation if she turned around and asked for vacation days on top of her bereavement leave. Her only choice was to muddle through her day and wait. She kept checking her phone to make sure she hadn’t missed a call.

While she was staring off into space in the lunch room, imagining Fury ripping all of her kitchen cabinets off the walls, the clunk of a full soda can landing on the table next to her brought her back to reality. Blinking, Natasha realized that John had come to sit next to her.

“Oh, hey,” she said weakly. Someone who had helped her out so much deserved a warmer greeting, but she was too tired to give it.

“How are things going?” It was a simple question, but it was loaded with more than an eavesdropper might guess.

“Quite well, actually.” The nurse smiled for the first time since she had arrived at work. “You’d be surprised.”

John nodded and began pulling his lunch out of a small cooler. “Good. Listen, I’m sorry to bother you here. I know you probably don’t want to be seen with me.”

“Don’t say that, John. It’s not true.”

He shrugged. “I know that rumors are going around. I don’t want to cause you any trouble. I just wanted to make sure you were okay after that go-round with your husband a few nights ago. He’s a real piece of work.”

Natasha realized she had been an ass. John had stood up for her and even taken a punch. She had barely spoken to him since then. Rehabilitating a cyborg in her spare time was taking a lot out of her. “Yes, I’m fine. I’m sorry.”

“I didn’t come here for apologies,” the tech insisted. “You know that I’m here for you, right? If that means being a person to talk to or a shoulder to cry on, as friends, I’m glad to do it. If you ever decide I’m worth something more, I’m ready for that, too. I’ll be whatever you want me to be.”

John certainly knew how to make her feel bad. “I’m not in a place for that right now. You’re a wonderful guy, but I just don’t think it’s going to work.”

Surprisingly, he smiled at her. “That’s okay. I would still love to take you out for a drink tonight. No offense, but you look like you could use it.”

Natasha laughed. It was only a small laugh, but it was huge compared to how she was feeling that day. He was right. She needed a drink. “Yes, I think I could. Why don’t you come to my place tonight? I have something I’d like to show you.” It probably sounded like an innuendo to anyone else in the break room, but she didn’t care what other people thought.

“I’d love to.”