A/N: Been a while since I've written an AOS story. This is a request by Darkmystery1, to whom I apologize profusely for the many, many delays. You already know why, but still, sorry it's taken so long to get out. But, here it is, and I hope you and everyone else reading enjoy.
Rooskaya
Arrival
It had been nearly a year since the battle with Ultron in Sokovia ended. The Avengers were victorious, but it hardly felt like a win. Pietro, Wanda's twin brother, had been killed saving Clint and a little boy's life. The entire country was in ruin – even more so than it already had been, thanks to the protests and poverty that had gripped the land for so long. Bruce, feeling overwhelmed by the guilt that had accumulated over the last decade of Hulk rampages, disappeared without a trace inside a quinjet. The only clue to his whereabouts was that the jet had crashed hours later in the ocean.
The Avengers team was radically different. Gone were Thor, Hulk, Hawkeye and Iron Man. In their places were Scarlet Witch, Vision, Falcon and War Machine. It was good to have another woman and a more diverse roster of heroes. It was 2016, after all.
Captain America made Black Widow his second in command. She felt more honored than she let on. It said a lot that the preeminent American hero wanted a former soviet spy and assassin to lead shoulder to shoulder with him. Even if she felt she didn't deserve the honor, she was determined to do her best.
Together, they whipped the new recruits into shape, making them worthy heirs to the Avengers name. In a lot of ways, they were better than they were before. Vision was just as powerful as Thor, if not slightly less versatile than Mjolnir, and Wanda's magic added an entirely different element to their battle strategy.
However, no matter how successful this new team of Avengers was, it could never replace the original roster in her heart. She would never enunciate it out loud, even if she was tortured for days on end, but that team of unstable heroes had become a family to her. They were her rock, no matter how much they aggravated her. Even Tony had become a close friend for her.
And then there was Bruce. She wouldn't lie and say that they weren't close. They were; he was the third closest friend she had on the team, behind Clint and Steve. She didn't know if what they had was love or not, but perhaps it was the closest she would ever get to having a genuine lover; a man who loved her, not for her body or because of the deceptive tactics she used to get information out of them, but because of who she was as a person. Not to mention that she and the Hulk had quite the connection; something she did not see coming, given their very first encounter.
When he vanished, she felt a piece of herself vanish with him. She didn't know what it was, but she felt whole with him around. Then, he was gone, and she suddenly felt a void inside her that couldn't be filled by anyone else. Whether it was because she could depend on his forthright honesty or that sheepish demeanor of his, or even his sense of humor, she found that she missed his presence on the team more than Thor or Tony. Not to say that she didn't miss either of them; she just missed Bruce more.
She, of course, kept all of that to herself. The team was all dealing with their own issues, and they didn't need her relatively small problem to bog them down even further. So, she kept it to herself and expended herself as much as possible when they found the time to search for him.
They found the quinjet he had used to run away a few hours after the Battle of Sokovia. It was, of course, empty. Fury said it crashed in the ocean. Something that couldn't come close to killing the Hulk, so she knew he was still out there, somewhere.
They looked everywhere. They asked all of his known associates – Betty Ross, Leonard Sampson, Rick Jones, everyone. No one had seen him or even heard a peep from him.
The days rolled by, eventually turning into weeks, then to months, which ticked by quickly one by one. Not one word from Bruce. She was starting to believe that he was dead. There was no way he wouldn't have found some way to contact them, to, at the very least, tell them to stop looking for him. No such call ever came.
Even Friday couldn't find him using satellite imaging and tapping into various security cameras around the world. The last time he was hiding out, SHIELD was more than capable of keeping tabs on him. But even they had no luck. It was as if he had dropped off the face of the planet.
Natasha was at her wit's end. She had pulled every available string, followed every possible lead and gone on every wild goose chase that had presented itself. Still, nothing. It was like he was gone for good.
But still, Natasha persisted. She wasn't going to give up until she found out, one way or the other, Bruce's whereabouts and his condition. To that end, she was both dreading and awaiting the fateful phone call she was sure to receive.
So far, both thankfully and regrettably, the only phone calls she received were from her teammates. The only SHIELD call she got was from Coulson asking her if she could assist them with an operation. Since she was sure she owed him some favor from years ago, and since it was an excuse to see the man everyone but the Avengers knew was alive, she obliged.
It was no trouble to get a week off from the Avengers, and she was on a quinjet headed for a set of coordinates given to her in a doubly encrypted message that self-destructed fifteen seconds after she opened it.
"Has SHIELD always been this secretive?" she asked him as soon as she stepped foot inside the base. It wasn't nearly as glamorous as the helicarrier, but then, after Hydra, she had had her fill of helicarriers to last a lifetime.
Coulson smiled wryly. "Sorry. You just never know who's a Skrull nowadays."
"A what?"
"Sorry, just a joke. A bad one."
She noted that he was lying, but decided to keep that to herself. "Don't worry about it. Where's my bunk?"
He cocked his head so she would follow him.
As they walked, she briefly glanced at her surroundings. Instinctively, she noted all possible escape routes and located the weapons cache. She also noted that she barely recognized anyone on the team. There was Bobbi Morse, Leo Fitz and Jemma Simmons, all of whom she knew from the old days. Also, she was certain that May was stalking around somewhere, waiting to put her fist through someone's skull. But those were the only ones. Everyone else might as well have been a stranger. Even the ones she knew were different. Everyone seemed… she didn't know. Jaded didn't seem to be the right word, but it was the closest thing she could think of.
Granted, old SHIELD wasn't exactly a ray of sunshine, either.
Coulson noticed her looking around and smiled softly. "It isn't much, but it gets the job done."
"I've worked with less. This will do just fine. If not, then you can just dust off that old helicarrier you found."
He smirked. "You're welcome, by the way."
"Thanks. We managed to save a lot of people that day because of it." 'All but one' died on her tongue just before it was spoken.
It appeared that he perceived that she held it back, given his pensive frown. "I assume Ms. Maximoff is holding up well?"
"As well as someone can after losing her only family," she replied with a sigh. "It was a no-win situation." It was either him or Clint and that kid. Pietro made the only decision a good man could make. It was just one that cost him everything.
"Yeah." It was left at that.
The hallway they were walked down gave way to a row of doors that obviously contained the bunks. He continued walking until he stopped at an empty one. "Home sweet home, Romanoff. We can discuss how you'll be paying your rent later."
"Just put it on my tab."
His wry smile returned. "Duly noted. Briefing is in twenty minutes, so get yourself situated by then."
She nodded and stepped inside. The bunk was barren, consisting of a bed, dresser, and a closet. She supposed SHIELD, with most of its assets still frozen, would be unable to afford anything more than the necessities. Then again, it never splurged on anything beyond the necessities for its agents.
It felt odd being back at SHIELD. It had only been two years since it fell, but that seemed like an eternity given how different her former compatriots were. She felt like a stranger in her old neighborhood. Everyone had moved on without her. New members were added, new relationships were forged, new connections were discovered. It was an awkward position to be in, for sure. But, luckily, it was one that she only had to endure for a week, two weeks at most.
Natasha didn't bother to unpack, but did place her handgun on top of the bedside table, along with both knives she kept on her person. She kept her Widow's Bite bracelets and the combat knife in her boot before turning to leave.
Fitz and Simmons were standing in her doorway, wearing matching smiles. "Welcome back, Agent Romanoff," the latter said amicably. The former bobbed his head in agreement.
She couldn't help but smile. Despite everything, they still had a little of their earnestness. "Thanks, FitzSimmons. I'm not technically back home, just visiting."
"At any rate, it's good to see you again, Agen—ah, Natasha." They took their leave with a final nod, leaving Natasha stunned.
She had been expecting them to remain there for a few more seconds, trying not to stare at her before awkwardly taking their leave. They had grown up quite a bit since the last time she saw them. She supposed given all that they've been through the last two years – especially Fitz – that was inevitable. It was still jarring to see in person. SHIELD, her home, had changed. She had changed, also. It was like two old friends who had lost touch for years suddenly reuniting and trying to continue their friendship. Sometimes it worked, other times it didn't.
They were all professionals; they could make this work.
With that in mind, she left her bunk to head to briefing.
