Steve woke up the third morning he and Natasha were alone to a rumbling sound. He rushed outside. The volcano was smoking. It was pretty obvious it had just had a minor eruption. He sighed. This was terrible timing. With the quinjet gone, all they had for transportation was an old beat up pickup truck.

He knocked on the bedroom door before entering to give Natasha a little warning. She looked so peaceful lying there in the early morning light. "Nat," he whispered as he put his hand on her shoulder, "looks like it's time to go."

Natasha's eyes opened quickly. "Ross?" she asked, throwing the covers from her body.

"Not Ross. It's Klyuchevskaya Sopka. It just erupted. We are safe for now, but-"

"Who knows how soon it'll erupt again?" Natasha said with a nod. "And, if the volcano is becoming more active, the volcanologists will be coming."

"I think it would be best if we weren't here when they arrived. Pack up in here, and I'll take the main room," Steve replied. "We can let Sam know where we're going once we have a plan."

They packed quickly and were getting into the truck when they saw the second eruption of the morning. "Definitely time to go," Steve said under his breath. "Got us a plan yet?"

"We could go to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. There are nearly 200,000 people there, and it's a little over 200 miles away. There are some nice ski slopes. Want to pretend to be tourists until Sam and Wanda get here?"

"I've never been skiing. It could be fun," Steve smiled.

"Tourists it is," Natasha grinned. "You drive. I'll work on our reservations and make sure we have passable paperwork."

The resort wasn't very crowded when Steve and Natasha arrived, and Steve was grateful. Hopefully, Natasha's blonde hair and his beard would make them look different enough they wouldn't be recognized. It had worked in Moscow, but this seemed different. They weren't on a mission. They were just laying low. It didn't help that now Steve knew Natasha returned his feelings. If anything, it made their current predicament even more awkward.

Steve dutifully carried their luggage and followed Natasha to the front desk. Soon, they were checked in as Mr. And Mrs. Grant. Their room was nice. It had a view of the powdery white snow-covered mountain and so many amenities they hadn't had in their little cabin. Steve sat their luggage on the solitary bed in the room and took a deep breath. One bed wouldn't have been an issue six months ago, but at the moment, it represented more temptation than he thought he could handle.

Steve watched as Natasha curled up in the chair with the room service menu in hand. She caught him looking. "What? After a month of cooking our own meals, I'm craving something really good. Ever tried shashlik?"

"Can't say that I have."

"Alright, Rogers, tonight, you are going to taste true Russian cuisine and tomorrow we hit the slopes," Natasha said with a grin. "I'm going to order. You get a shower, because when I get in there, I'm taking a really long bath."

Steve groaned. "I really didn't need that visual, Nat, not if we are going to wait."

Natasha's smile faded slightly. "Sorry, it's not that I don't want to-"

"It's about the safety of our team. I get it. And, I love that about you. It's just, well, this feels kind of intimate. I'm only human, Nat."

Natasha laughed. "Steve, it's okay. I get it. I'm human, too. This whole thing is weird for me. I haven't ever really felt this way before. It's not easy for someone like me. For years, I thought love was not something someone like me could feel. I thought I could with Bruce, but it wouldn't have worked. We wanted different things. I know you had something special with Peggy. I've never had that, but I want it. For the first time in my life, I really want it. But, it can't be at the cost of the team, Steve. They are the only family I have. I can't risk losing anyone else," Natasha finished with a shaky voice.

Steve pulled her out of the chair and into a hug. "I get it. It's okay, Nat. Of course, our responsibilities come first. That's the only way we could ever work. It's how we are wired. This is just hard."

"I know," Natasha whispered. "Maybe we can just pretend for a few days. Can we just pretend there's nothing stopping us while we are here then go back to the way we have to be when the quinjet gets here?"

"As much as I want to say yes-"

"We'd never be able to go back," Natasha finished. "So what do we do?"

"You order dinner, I take a shower, and tomorrow we ski. And, we just deal with the awkward parts as they turn up," Steve said, giving her a chaste kiss on the forehead. "I'll tell Sam to hurry Wanda along. No reason to torture ourselves too long."

Natasha laughed. "Whoever thought we'd consider a vacation torture?"

The rest of the night went by easy enough, and Steve actually enjoyed everything Natasha ordered. It was nice hearing her talk about Russia in a positive way. The few conversations they'd had about Natasha's homeland had always been strained. He'd grown to hate them for what they'd done to her. Seeing her talk about favorite meals and favorite places made him smile.

Bedtime wasn't as uncomfortable as he'd feared either. They talked until the wee hours of the morning before falling asleep side by side. Steve was fairly certain he was even deeper in love with Natasha by the time the alarm clock went off the next morning.

Natasha couldn't stop laughing from the side lines while he took a class on the bunny slope with some kids who couldn't have been finished with kindergarten, but he was a fast learner and soon he was keeping up with her on the slopes. By the time Sam and Wanda arrived the following evening, they were both refreshed.

"Vision has a solution to our little terrorist problem," Sam informed them as the group assembled on the quinjet. "You probably aren't going to like it," he said as he looked Steve's direction.

"We need an option. Let's hear it."

"Rhodey is recovering. The joint chiefs have put him in charge of a task force to deal with leftover Chitari tech. With our intel and his help, we can bring these guys to trial."

"Rhodey is by the books, Sam. He'll never go for it. He would be aiding known fugitives."

"He's already agreed, and, before you ask, Tony knows. Their opinion of the Accords has changed, Cap. Rhodey has seen the way they've treated registered inhumans. He understands why we didn't sign. Tony's still angry with you, but he knows he made a mistake. This is our best option."

Steve and Natasha locked eyes. "It's better than the way we've been handling it," she finally agreed.

"And, he won't turn us over to the authorities?"

"No," both Sam and Wanda said simultaneously.

"We are all still on the same team," Wanda added. "Vision told me Tony was working on a new shield for you, just in case you were ever needed. He said he's seen Tony pull out the phone you sent and just stare at it. It's always with him. We can trust them, Steve."

Steve nodded slowly. "So, what does that make us? The secret Avengers? Seems even riskier than working on our own, but it just might work. We only do this if we are all in agreement."

Wanda smiled. "I'm in."

"It sure beats assassination," Sam added.

"Nat?" Steve questioned.

"We should do it. It's an olive branch. We can't just turn it down."

"Okay, I guess that settles it." He looked Wanda in the eye and spoke softly. "Did you do what you needed to do? Are you ready to get back to work?"

"I did. I'm ready. I don't suppose you did what you needed to do while we were away," Wanda replied.

"Let's call it a work in progress," Steve answered, stealing a glance at Natasha. "We talked."

"Talking wasn't exactly what I had in mind," Wanda smiled.

"It's enough for now," Steve said cryptically then he gave Wanda a smile. They were ready to get back to work, and Steve had a feeling things were going to be better than they'd been in a long time.