Disclaimer: I do not own any of the films in the MCU, nor do I own any of the comics. This is simply a work of fiction and is not meant for any monetary gain or to infringe on any copyright laws

Rating: T for violence and minor language

Author's Note: Sorry you had to wait an additional week, I had some things come up and I barely managed to update my other, shorter, fanfiction. On the upside, however, Age of Ultron is getting closer and closer! For you lucky guys in the UK, it comes out tomorrow. For those in America, we have to wait until May 1st. I, personally, already have tickets to see it on the thirtieth (in eight days!) I also appologise for the past, and any future, cut-off sentences. Those are a result of some formatting errors.

Chapter 6

Natasha held the camera up toward the base of the Stark Tower. She zoomed in, using the camera as binoculars to watch the people loitering around. It had taken about an hour to identify the patterns the AIM agents made, but as soon as she caught onto them it was easy to follow. Then again, most mundane tasks like this were easy for her.

"I can see five at the diner down the street, two walking in continuous circles around the two surrounding blocks of the tower, and I think I can see three snipers in each surrounding building."

"Only ten agents?" Steve replied. Natasha lowered the camera and looked over at him. They were disguised as tourists (thus the camera instead of real binoculars). Natasha had hidden her vibrant red hair by French braiding it down her back and pulling up the hood of her white hoodie. Steve wore his brown jacket and jeans, but he also had on a baseball cap and sunglasses. There really wasn't much disguising they could do, but it was enough. Sam, too, was riding around New York. They didn't want to appear in a group of three because the agents would be looking for that. Ideally Natasha and Sam would stay together and Steve ride so it didn't appear as though Captain America and the Black Widow were together, but Natasha and Steve were the only ones trained for a stakeout of this kind. Steve and Natasha both were also known to be huge motorcycle geeks, too.

"Of course there are only ten there. Those ten agents are trained to spot us. Once they do, they'll call in enforcement. I bet there are more agents within a few seconds of here just waiting for the word. Plus three of them are snipers, so it could be hard to get past them even if there was no enforcement. And don't you think the US government would notice several dozen spies? Even they're not that stupid."

The sun was hot overhead, casting the park bench they were sitting on and themselves warmth. It was a nice day in New York. Too bad they couldn't actually enjoy the scenery. Natasha had a drifting thought of what life would be like if she and Steve were just a normal couple soaking in the sights and sounds of New York.

"What if we were normal adults in New York?" Steve said, mirroring her thoughts. "We would stroll through the park, maybe throw a Frisbee for a dog, and eat food from the street venders. You know, I haven't seen much of New York since the Chitauri invasion, and even then all I saw was falling buildings and panicked civilians."

"Maybe when this is all over," Natasha replied. "When we contact the other Avengers and figure this all out, then we can spend some time in New York." She paused to look through the camera again, forcing the light thoughts from her mind. "For now you might be interested to know that Pepper Potts just exited the tower."

Steve leaned forward and Natasha handed him the camera. He peered through it and saw the same sight. Meanwhile, Natasha pulled out her phone and called Sam, putting the phone on speaker, though she kept the volume down on the off chance that anyone of the other tourists were actually AIM agents in disguise.

"We caught sight of target exiting the building to the left. Steve will fill you in on the details. You need to get her attention. Wait until you're a few blocks out, though. The agents are crawling in the blocks surrounding the tower. Once you make contact, contact us."

"Copy," Falcon replied. He hung up and they waited and watched in anticipation. Miss Potts had stepped into a car and roared off, but the Sam would have no trouble figuring out which was her car—the license plate said "1r0n Mans GF" on it. (Obviously a gift from Tony).

A few minutes later Natasha's cell phone buzzed.

"She's coming around back to the deli a block behind the benches. I suggest you get over there quickly."

The two Avengers quickly stood up and started walking at a fast but natural pace. As they strode onward, a man bumped into them. He wore clothes like a normal tourist, but his smile seemed forced to Natasha.

"Isn't it lovely out here?" the man asked.

"It's simply gorgeous!" Natasha gushed, hanging onto Steve's arm. "This is our first time here, and we're not disappointed at all!"

The man nodded his head. "Not worried about an alien invasion? Or superheroes?" The way he said the words seemed to hint at a deeper meaning. Steve broke a smile to get into the act.

"I think it would be cool," he replied. "Right honey? We were just looking at the Stark Tower."

"'Stark Tower?'" the man asked. "That's what it used to be. Now it's the 'Avengers Tower.' I thought you hadn't been here before."

"I must have been thinking about the footage we've seen on TV in the past. You know, Tony Stark wasn't exactly the most subtle," Natasha fixed flawlessly. She hadn't missed a beat, though it had been stupid of the two of them to forget such a tiny detail.

"Yeah, and all the video clips from the Battle of New York," Steve added. The man nodded in understanding, though the two Avengers had figured him out: he was obvoiusly an AIM spy.

"Well, I hope you have a nice visit," the man said. "Hope you don't get into any danger, and maybe, if you're lucky, you'll get to see Mr. Stark himself." He walked away, Steve and Natasha exchanging looks. They continued walking towards the deli, talking in low tones to each other.

"That warning couldn't be mistaken," Steve murmured.

"We're going to have to change our disguise," Natasha agreed. "For right now, though, let's focus on getting to Miss Potts alive. Then we'll take it from there."

The deli had been an ideal place to meet, hidden away in a backstreet (if there were any backstreets in New York). Out of business and abandoned, the deli didn't stand out, though all around it other stores were glowing.

The white car with the more than obvious license plate pulled to the curb. The door across from the driver's side opened. Of course Pepper would have her driver. The woman hurried to the two of them. Behind the white car Sam pulled up, parking his motorcycle and also coming towards them.

Miss Potts looked a little confused, as if she didn't know who they were. She probably didn't yet. Sam had just gotten her attention, not told her details.

"Who—" her question was cut short as Steve took off his sunglasses and Natasha pulled her hood down. As soon as recognition shone in Pepper's eyes they quickly put their disguises back on.

"What are you doing here? And why didn't you just come into the tower?" The woman glanced between the two of them. "And why are you in disguise?"

"We need to talk to Tony about something very important," Steve put in. Natasha finished his thought.

"There are AIM agents all around your tower so we need a way in that won't draw attention to ourselves."

Pepper nodded, her mind already in gear. She didn't ask for the details; she knew she'd get them later. "We do have investors and reporters come in all the time. Do you think you could work something like that out?" She looked at Sam, who had recently joined them. "With a suit you could look the part of an investor. And I know Natasha can find something to make you two reporters. I'll get a suit for you, and we'll meet back here in an hour, if that's enough time for you, Natasha."

The spy nodded. "An hour."

They parted ways. Natasha and Steve decided on the journalist look, Steve carrying the camera (which had ironically been the size of a journalist's) and Natasha had a notebook with lines she scrawled into it. They'd quickly stopped at a dollar store where Natasha had purchased a cheap blonde wig. When they met back at the deli, they saw Sam had been fit into a navy blue suit with a brown briefcase.

"I'll take Sam in with me," Pepper said. "Wait a while, maybe an hour or two before you guys show up at the door. Tony has eyes everywhere, so I'll make sure he's watching in case the agents try anything. Okay?"

So once again they parted ways. Steve and Natasha walked through Central Park while they wasted time, enjoying the silence. Birds flew up into the blue sky as they walked on the path. Trees supplied sufficient shade and the birds in the trees made music. They didn't run into any suspicious tourists this time, though they kept their eyes open.

"With a world this peaceful I can't understand why anyone would want to take over the world," Steve remarked as they walked.

"It's the struggle and greed for power and money that change nice people into evil masterminds," Natasha replied.

"Some people say that greed and selfishness is human nature. Do you think that's true? I don't. Unless I've been coming off that way lately.

The spy smiled. "Not everyone can be as perfect as you, Steve. You see, some people say that you were made a hero. I don't believe that. I believe you were born with a hero's heart and your body was later made a hero. If you weren't born a hero then why would you have picked hopeless fights with the neighborhood bullies? That takes guts."

Steve looked down at her and the corners of his mouth curled up a little bit. "Thanks, Nat. But I still don't understand. Is it human nature to be greedy? If not, why do people choose to be like that?"

"Everybody just wants a happy ending," Natasha answered. "Sometimes people will go to extreme lengths to achieve it, and more often than not they end up successful but not in the way they imagined it."

Steve nodded, and sunk back into his thoughts. Her statement did explain a lot of things and people he had encountered or heard about.

After a few hours of wandering they began to pick up their act and stride purposefully towards the Stark Tower. They made it all the way towards the door at the bottom without incident. Natasha glanced at the earlier identified agents out of the corner of her eye and saw with satisfaction that they didn't suspect a thing. Some agents. Or maybe they were waiting until later to make their move, but that would still be stupid.

Pepper let them in, making a show about complaining that she didn't think Tony would have the time for an interview. Once they were in, they rode an elevator up a few floors to a hallway with guest rooms. Sam already had one so the other two fugitives picked rooms close to his. The rooms were huge, easily twice the size and fancier than hotel suites.

Pepper came up with extra clothes for Natasha and the spy changed into sweatpants and a t-shirt. Not her normal style, but the the comfort would be irresistable.

Miss Potts sent a message through JARVIS to them that Tony was busy this afternoon and that they had plenty of time to settle in before they talked to him. Natasha and Steve slept in their rooms and the Falcon examined his room, taking stock of everything and making of mental list of the things he needed in his apartment back in New Jersey.

When Tony was finally finished in his workshop the three guests met him and Pepper in one of the many dining rooms. It had a buffet and the guests ate heartily before explaining what had happened to Stark.

"AIM and the remains of SHIELD joined forces and kidnapped Steve," Natasha said. "Fury turned sides and is with AIM, too. Haven't heard about Hill, but I assume she left. She's too smart and loyal to what SHIELD represented to turn her back."

"Fury changed sides? Never saw that coming," Tony said as he pushed his food around his plate. "So you came on this dangerous and long journey just to tell me not to listen to our pal? Seems like a waste of time. Unless you came here to also take advantage of my riches. Which is fine by me, I have more than enough to sponsor your ambitions."

"Tony! This is important. We need to inform the other Avengers before it is too late. They don't know Fury is bad, and if they follow something he says and they end up putting the world in danger then things could be bad. We also need to shut down the AIM facility. They have all of SHIELD's files, and they know our strengths and weaknesses. If we don't take care of that all of us are in danger."

Tony nodded and then pointed at Sam. "And what's his part in all of this?"

"He's the Falcon," Steve replied. "The one who helped me and Natasha shut down those carriers. You know, the Winter Soldier thing?"

"Right. I still don't get what he's here for." Could Tony be ruder? For someone who was a genius inventor he could be completely stupid at times. And disrespectful.

"He helped us get here and offered his place to us, plus he's willing to come with us and help find the Avengers." Natasha folded her hands on top of the table. "Think of him as a seventh Avenger."

"Do you have your wings?" Tony asked Sam. Finally he was focusing and getting into things.

"No, that's why we came to you first. I need a new pair. There are no more in existence."

Tony zoned out, trying in his mind to bring up an image of the wings. "Do you have anything to help me? 'Cause I can rebuild them without any information, but it will take more time than we have."

Sam handed the billionaire the file on the Falcon. "That's all I have. There should be a diagram of the suit in there, though, and that should help."

"Fantastic. That's all I need." Tony skimmed through the file before he pushed his chair out and stood up. "I'll have them done by lunch tomorrow, maybe earlier. Also, you mind if I upgrade them a bit?" Tony didn't wait for an answer. "Good." He walked out, mumbling to JARVIS about what he would need.

"Sorry about his hospitality issues," Pepper apologised. "When he gets a project he can be closed-minded." She paused. "And…thanks for bringing a project. I know he's taking Fury's betrayal hard, and working is how he deals with pain. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a meeting to attend." She walked out of the room, her heels clicking on the tiles. The three remaining friends sat in silence for a while. Sam turned on the news on the TV and they watched until late at night. Tired, they slunk off to their rooms.

Steve laid in the king sized bed, thinking of how big it was. He had become used to the small bunks used in the army, or bedrolls while on a mission. Back seats and hotel rooms had also become a norm.

The quietness also had an unusual quality to it. They were high enough in the tower that the noises of the city were nonexistent, lost in the wind. The hum of air conditioner was all that filled the empty room(s) and Steve found he couldn't sleep. Buried under the rich quilt, he laid with his hands behind his back, staring up at the ceiling.

When he'd been in the army there had always been noise, always been people, friends, around. In the first months from when he'd awoken from his deep slumber he'd stayed on the SHIELD helicarrier, surrounded by the loud thrum of the engines and the noises of shoes clicking on the steel walkways at all times of day and night.

When he'd moved into his own apartment in DC it had been so quiet that he had always turned up either the heater or the fan, and he washed his clothes at night so the sound of the sloshing water in the washer and the cyclone in the dryer had kept him from noticing the stark loneliness (no pun intended). Now he was all alone with little sound.

JARVIS must have been sensing his mood because the A1 asked if Steve would like some music played.

"No, thanks, JARVIS." Steve didn't want music to ease his emptiness. He needed something stronger, though he was touched that a computer could sense emotions so well. Maybe he had turned human in a way because Tony treated him like a human. Or maybe Tony had programmed him so humanlike because there had been a time when he himself had been lonely.

"As you wish, sir." The computer system left, leaving Steve completely alone again. He continued staring at the ceiling for another hour, trying to imagine what the stars looked like. Even if the super soldier could see the sky he knew seeing the stars was out of hand, since the smog and pollution blocked out the glorious sight.

New York hadn't always been this way. Steve had been here once when he was younger, before his time in the ice. You could see the stars back then, though even at the time they were faint. He missed the familiar sight and felt a pang of regret that things weren't what they used to be.

Everything must change, he thought. People change, things change, times change. That's why humans are survivors; we manage to cope with the changes and move on. We adapt.

It was true that most people didn't have to experience as much change as himself, though. He had went from World War II era America to the twenty first century in the blink of an eye. All the changes were dramatically different and he had been scared at first to live in this new, always busy, world. Sometimes he longed for the old days when things were simpler. None of this new technology to keep kids inside the house on a sunny day, nothing to make people anti-social.

It also frustrated the soldier when he didn't understand the technology. He'd achieved a pretty basic level of understanding on many devices, but here at the Stark Tower everything was much further advanced due to Tony's work. He knew the others liked to tease him about his incompetence and that it was only friendly banter, but it still irritated him to no end that he couldn't get it. His mind had been advanced by the super soldier serum, helping him become smarter and more observant. If he didn't have that heaven knows where he would be now.

So he continued laying in the silence. Part of him wanted to scream, to make some noise. That would only make the others wake and rush to make sure he was okay, so he didn't scream. He decided on making JARVIS turn on some music and was just about to ask the A1 when quiet footsteps padded across the hall.

The footsteps were so quiet that only Steve with his enhanced senses could hear them. He also knew only one person in the Stark Tower was trained enough to walk that way. When his door opened and the moonlight streaming through the window fell on a head of red hair Steve's suspicions were confirmed.

"Hey, Nat," he said quietly from his bed. He pushed himself into a sitting position. The spy wordlessly sat on the edge of his bed.

"It's too quiet. This silence is making me jumpy." So Steve wasn't the only one who thought that way. He felt oddly comforted by that.

"How does Stark sleep here?" Steve asked, though he doubted she had an answer.

"He doesn't. He's in his workshop all night and when he desperately needs sleep he has Pepper."

They sat in silence for another few minutes. This silence they could handle, for it wasn't lonely. The blinking clock in the corner of the stand by the bed blinked: 12:00. If they were going to be busy getting ready to find the Avengers in the morning they would have to get some sleep.

"I need some sleep," Steve said. "You can stay here if you want to." He rolled over to the far side of the bed. Natasha glanced down at him.

"You're alright with that?" she asked, a little surprised. Steve shrugged. Simply sleeping in the same bed didn't mean anything. He wasn't quite as stiff as she thought he was.

The spy slipped in between the sheets a few inches away from the super soldier. The sheets were still warm and they smelled like him. Natasha had to try to keep the satisfied smile off of her face. She fell asleep quickly, the sound of their breathing filling in the empty spaces in the room.

When Natasha woke a warm and heavy arm was flung over her hip. She took a deep breath and the scent of Steve filled her. She knew it was him, pressed against her back, still sleeping deeply. He was keeping her warm, for wherever their bodies weren't touching it the cold had reached.

It took her a while to remember that they were at the Stark Tower. She wondered what time it was, but didn't want to move because she didn't want to wake Steve up. So she ended up closing her eyes and just enjoying the moment.

The spy could tell when Steve woke up for his stomach, touching her back, changed its breathing rhythms. She could also tell because the breath that used to whisper across her neck changed pace too. He stayed in the position for a few seconds before lifting his arm and rolling over.

"You awake, Nat?" he asked, his words a little slurred. So even Captain America has trouble waking up, she thought, oddly satisfied with that little piece of unimportant information.

"Yes." She turned on her other side and propped an elbow up on the pillow so she was looking at him. As he looked at her he suddenly smiled. "What?" she asked.

"Your hair is messy," he teased. "I've never seen it messy."

Natasha rolled her eyes. He was such a dork sometimes.

"I'm kind of hungry, actually," she replied. "Want to get something to eat?"

"Sure."

They didn't move for a few more minutes; finally they slid out of the bed. Natasha was wearing the sweatpants and tank top from the night before, and Steve was in shorts and a t-shirt.

The spy crossed the hall back to her bedroom, closing the door softly. She took a shower and dressed in some of the clothes Pepper had folded on her bed. It still astounded Natasha that Pepper could do so much work and still dedicate time to show kindness nad hospitality. She guessed that if you were friends with Stark then you'd get used to it.

Natasha met Steve in the hall between their rooms. He had showered and dressed also, and they headed down to the main dining hall. They were lost once, but JARVIS helped them find the room again.

By the time they had arrived Sam had already begun eating. He had the TV turned on to a news channel. The two Avengers froze when they heard and saw what was being broadcasted to the entire nation.

"It seems that Captain America is on the run again," the lady said. The TV switched to blurry video of Steve and Natasha running in and out of the hotel in Coldwater. "He was joined by the infamous spy, Black Widow. This video was taken a few days ago and reporters all over America are trying to find out where the two Avengers are now. Rumors are also spreading that they are closer than partners, maybe even too close. Is Captain America really as pure as we thought he was now that he is on the run with a manipulating—"

Natasha reached over the couch, picked up the remote, and clicked the power button.

Sam didn't say anything about the TV, but he turned around. "JARVIS sent me a message from Stark. Said he had the wings almost ready and that we are to meet him on the helipad above the tower in an hour." The man glanced at his watch. "That was thirty minutes ago. If you're going to eat, you better eat now."

The two Avengers piled their plates, their appetites not affected in the least by the news, and ate quickly. When they shoved their plates into the dirty dish bin it was almost time to go. Even though it was a serious time, what with world-domination possibly occurring as they walked, Sam's eyes were bright at the prospect of getting his new wings. He'd been without them so long that he could hardly remember the feeling of flight. He did, however, recall how amazing he felt when he did fly, even if there were enemies with big guns aimed at you.

"Let's go, guys." And so the small team started towards the elevator.