One of many stories

Chapter 34

They went out a bit earlier to see the streets of Venice one last time before finding a restaurant to eat in. They decided to take a gondola and see it all from the water instead and it was a good choice. The water somehow shone up the buildings as the afternoon sun's orange light reflected in the calm surface of the clear water. Steve sat close to Natasha. He watched her while she watched their surroundings, unaware of her loving admirer. A beautiful melody could be heard from the near streets. An old man sat with his back leaned against a house, playing on an old ukulele. His hair was light grey and he was dressed in a white shirt that was clear white once upon a time. Now it had gotten a greyer colour but the man didn't seem to bother. He didn't seem to have a care in the world. He smiled at the couple as they passed by on the water before continuing to focus on his calm tapping on his ukulele. Natasha gave the man a second look before looking at Steve, finally realising that he was already staring at her. She smiled a bit. "Imagine a life like that. I wouldn't mind being in that kind of peace." Natasha said. "To not have a care in the world." Natasha kept talking and Steve nodded. "Yeah." He said with a sigh. "That sounds pretty good." He nodded again, agreeing with her. "That kind of life wasn't meant for us though." Natasha said, grabbing his hand. "I think it would bore us to death." She said and Steve chuckled. "If I weren't with you maybe." He said and Natasha smiled softly at him. They made it to that old and almost abounded restaurant they had been eating on a few days ago. Steve was very sceptical, thinking their food was the reason Natasha got sick. Natasha ended up calling him a chicken and a coward. "A little adventure will do us good." She said and Steve just laughed. He could barley believe that this was the woman who claimed she wanted a calm ordinary life just a few minutes ago. She might have wanted to be ordinary and normal, but she would always be something beyond special to him.

Natasha convinced Steve, the way only she could and they ended up having another delicious dinner at the old restaurant. The staff was still as nice and sweet as the last time. Natasha took a fork of her pasta as Steve smiled a bit, looking at her.
"I have a question." He said and Natasha raised her eyebrows slightly and nodded.
"Spill it." She said, preparing to put another fork of spaghetti in her mouth.
"We always hang out at each other's places so I thought, why don't we just move in together?" He said and Natasha's eyes grew a little wide as she looked up at him.
"I'm not moving to your old man apartment Steve." She said seriously and Steve chuckled.
"But what if I move in with you? It'll be fun. Always having breakfast together, watching movies.." He began but Natasha interrupted him. "Countless of sex." She said, making Steve blush a bit as she laughed softly. He nodded. "Right, what do you think?" He asked, smiling warmly at her.
"We're always at each other's place anyway." She said, shrugging her shoulders. Steve smiled. "Stop pretending that you don't care about the idea." He said, grabbing her hand. Natasha caught herself smiling brightly. "Fine. I do love the idea." She said, looking up at him. "A lot." She admitted, giving him an adorable smile. Steve thought his heart was going to explode every time she gave him a smile. She was so beautiful.
After the lovely dinner, they said a last goodbye to the staff on their favourite restaurant and decided to walk home. The sunset was over long ago and the sky was pitch black, leaving space for some stars here and there that reflected in the clear water next to them. It was truly beautiful. The couple spent more time looking at each other though. Why look at the sky and surroundings when the most beautiful thing in the world walked right next to you?

They slowly walked the streets of Venice, not wanting to stress their way through the night. Every small moment they shared together felt so special even if they didn't do anything special. Being together was enough for them. Steve suddenly stopped walking and squeezed Natasha's hand. "What?" She asked as Steve pointed at a sign. The sign read 'Chiromante' and below it was a small translation to english reading 'fortune teller'.  Natasha almost laughed. "It's all crap, Steve. They just take your money and tell you what you want to hear." Natasha said. "Oh come on, let's try it. For fun!" He said eagerly and Natasha sighed. "Fine." She said, following Steve as he opened the door to the small house and they entered. They barley had time to take a few steps inside when an old lady walked up to them. "I was wondering when you'd come." She said and Steve look surprised. Natasha rolled her eyes when the lady looked away. "It's probably cameras." She whispered in his ear,  knowing that there wasn't a chance that she'd know that they were coming, since they hadn't even known. They followed the lady into a smaller room and sat down in a couch in front of the lady. "Wait.." Natasha said suddenly. "We've met before." Natasha said and the lady smiled a bit. "Yes we have." She said, nodding in agreement. Steve raised his eyebrows. "Oh, you're that lady with the flowers. Thank you so much again for that." Steve said, smiling. "I prefer to be called Edith, and you're very welcome. Now let's get started now, shall we?" Edith asked and Steve nodded. "May I have your hand sir?" She asked Steve who stretched out his hand. Edith gently touched his hand, following the lines in his palm with her fingers. "Oh dear." She mumbled. "So much goodness." She said. "So much pain." She added before she turned her look to Natasha. "My girl, you should now that you're all he has." Edith said seriously and Natasha frowned a bit, staring at the woman. Edith looked back at Steve again. "I know you're confused. You've felt loss. The future scares you and I think that's because you never thought you'd even get one. But it's up to you to decide how to go from here." Edith said. "What am I supposed to decide?" Steve asked. "You'll see eventually. It won't be easy. It will never be easy. But it's all up to you." She continued. "I don't mean to be rude, but anyone could make that up." Natasha said and the woman turned to look at Natasha again. She smiled softly. "Bucky. James. Dream." The woman said and Natasha felt Steve tense beside her. He got goosebumps over his arms and Natasha frowned. Steve thought back at the dream he had had on the plane. How did she know?
"Keep them safe and everything will be alright." Edith said and Steve now frowned. "Keep who safe? Natasha?" He asked but Edith ignored him. "May I have your hand miss?" She asked Natasha who hesitated before stretching out her hand. As Edith grabbed it, she quickly let it go again, almost gasping a bit. Natasha's eyes grew wide as she looked at the woman. Steve's eyes grew even wider. "I'm.. I'm sorry." Edith said. "I didn't expect.. I didn't expect so much darkness." She said and Natasha glared at her. "Just continue." Natasha said and Edith grabbed her hand again before closing her eyes. Natasha gave Steve a look. "So many years.." Edith mumbled. "So many years of what?" Steve asked and Edith opened her eyes to look at Natasha. "Pain. And it doesn't seem to stop." Edith said and Natasha looked at Steve. "This is why I don't do stuff like this." Natasha said, almost laughing at how ridiculous it all was, not even caring if the woman's words were true or not. "This is a waste of time." Natasha said, getting prepared to leave. "You can't keep running away from everything that scares you." Edith said and the words were left hanging in the air as Natasha lost her breath for a few seconds. "It will leave you even more hurt and alone. And you know it." Edith said calmly and Natasha bit her teeth together. "My girl, why are you closing your eyes for the obvious? Your road to happiness is in what you want the most." Edith continued.
"But what if I can't have what I want the most?" Natasha asked seriously as Edith didn't take her eyes of her. They were quiet for a while before Edith suddenly smiled a bit. "Something tells me it will work out." She said and Natasha frowned.
"Thank you for the flowers, but we're leaving now." Natasha said, standing up. She walked out of the room with quick steps and Steve stood up at the same time as Edith.
"Thank you for your time." Steve said, grabbing his wallet from his back pocket. "Oh no, I don't want your money." Edith said and Steve looked up at her. "No really, take it." He said but she refused. "She's a lost soul. She needs you." Edith said, looking at him seriously. "I'll always be here for her." Steve said, frowning. "But why do you keep telling me that? What did you see?" He asked but Edith shook her head. "It was very nice to meet you two but now, I need to go to bed." She said. Steve walked out of the room, his mind was a blur. Natasha stood out on the street, waiting for him. "I told you this was a bad idea." Natasha said and Steve nodded. "Yeah, maybe you were right." He said. "Maybe?" She said, raising an eyebrow.
The couple walked towards the hotel. For a few minutes, their thoughts surrounded Edith's words, trying to understand if it at all made sense or if it was all crap. It didn't take that much long until both of them forgot about it and only remembered each other. It's funny how love can make people blind.