Thanks to all of you who still stick with me and read this.

As you can see, the next chapter is up. Sorry for the delay, I have a lot of schoolwork now.

This is the last chapter before the movie events come up, so enjoy. Expect some action and some sweet moments. Check out my Black Widow one-shot Widow's Farewell and please review.

Chapter 9: There are always men like you

"Who is alive?"

But Clint didn't get his answer. He was sent to the briefing room and when he saw who was there, he smiled as broadly as Coulson. Natasha smiled back, but before they could say anything, Fury came in with Hill and Coulson.

"There has been an unexpected turn of the events," said Fury. "We have discovered Steve Rogers, also known as Captain America. He was perfectly preserved in ice and against all odds he's still alive."

"Alive? After sixty years as an iceberg?" Natasha looked impressed. "I wonder what would kill this guy."

"He woke up yesterday," Fury added.

"Woke up?" Clint was astonished. "You mean we have a walking and talking Captain America?"

"Oh yes," said Coulson, who was probably going to explode soon.

"And we have another Avenger, who is available and mentally stable," Hill pointed out. "Please, read Rogers' file. If we're ever going to need a team leader, this is it."

"Team leader? You mean Rogers would give orders to Tony Stark?" Natasha laughed. "He might have been friends with his dad, but Tony is a completely different story. It's not going to work."

"Don't be so pessimistic, agent Romanoff. I believe that in the right circumstances it can work just fine," Fury assured her. "How is your mission going?"

"We're getting closer, but it's going to take a little more time," Natasha replied briefly.

"Good. Agent Barton?"

"I am training for the next World Championship in Sudoku, but besides that everything is nice and quiet," Clint made a bored face.

Fury didn't say anything and after some additional information about Rogers he dismissed them. Clint took the opportunity to invite Natasha for a coffee.

"I have to go soon," she said when they sat down. "We have a major raid tomorrow and I can't leave it to Warner."

"So, you're enjoying the leadership?"

She stirred her coffee. "Sort of. I miss you. They are all scared of me, of course. But I would never get that far without them. Fury wants Terence close, but he lets me borrow him from time to time. I got May Wotton and she has excellent eye for detail. Verity Sherman is there too, she is our negotiator when we need something from the Russian government. It was hard, but I learned to trust them with some things. Trust them that they can do their job."

And suddenly Clint realized what he wanted to tell her when he was writing all those letters and at the same time he realized that he mustn't say a word. She was in the middle of something she needed to do and he had no right to pull her out of there. Even though all the time he wanted her to come back to him.

"I am taking point," Natasha said and her tone hinted that there was no point in arguing. "Warner, I need you in the headquarters, in case something happens to me, you take the command."

She didn't like the decision. Natasha still didn't trust him, but Warner was the senior agent here and he had proven himself a good commander and a loyal agent.

So, this was it. They had chased Scorpio all over the world and they finally found his lair in Madagascar. Tonight she was going to find out who Scorpio really was.

"With all due respect," said Warner, "we should wait for the backup."

"I'm not letting him get away again. You know what to do if the backup arrives. Agent Wei, you will guard the back door, agent Gardner, you will protect agent Holzmann. Terence, give us a sign when you cut off the communication. Any questions? Good, let's go."

The sun was setting and it painted the jungle gold. Natasha walked out of the headquarters and went down to the beach, her favorite place. On her first day she had ditched the headquarters and lain in the sand for hours, pretending she was in Brazil. A small part of her wished to do it again, but there was no time for that.

She relied on a small team, only her and four others, all good fighters. Natasha presumed it would be enough. Scorpio's mansion resembled the one he had in Detroit - big, luxurious and difficult to protect. It was a hideout, not a fortress. Terence gave them the sign to attack and Natasha kicked down the front door. Scorpio's guards tried to stop them, but her team sliced through them. They moved through the house, looking for their man.

Natasha was the first who entered the huge living room. It looked empty, but she wasn't going to rely on one glance. She made two steps forward when she heard movement behind her.

"Hello, Natasha," said a familiar voice behind them. She turned and there he was with about a dozen of his biggest bodyguards.

Today Scorpio left his usual suit in the wardrobe. He was dressed for combat and armed only with a long hunting knife. Somehow Natasha guessed that the blade would be poisoned. Before she could do anything, he attacked.

Her team was busy with the bodyguards so Natasha faced Scorpio alone. He was a little stronger and a little slower, but he knew too well how to use his advantages. Natasha had met only three people who were his equals. First was Irina and Natasha had had Clint to help her in that fight. Second was Sonya and she died because Natasha went a little berserk in that fight. And Natasha had never really beaten the last one – Clint himself. So what chances did she have against Scorpio?

She held her ground well and her only hope was to hold on until one of her team was free to help her. Unfortunately, Scorpio could use the environment just as well as she could, which she found out when he kicked a Ming Dynasty vase under her feet. She tripped and before she could roll away, he knelt on her arms and raised his knife.

But instead of a killing blow the knife fell on the floor. Both Scorpio and Natasha were staring at his hand, which was pierced by an arrow.

Clint. He was there, already reaching for another arrow and his eyes burned with anger. He was going to shoot to kill.

Scorpio snatched his knife but, instead of killing Natasha or going after Clint, he slashed his own chest. The cut was not too deep, certainly not fatal, but the poison would do it's work.

"No!" It was the first word Natasha said aloud since she had entered the house. She needed to hear what he knew about Dreykov. Scorpio collapsed on the floor and she knelt next to him.

"I thought you didn't break free from Konstantin," Scorpio told her. "But you did – just in a different way. We would have made quite a team – the Black Widow and the Kingfisher."

You haven't heard the codename Kingfisher, have you? His words, just before he left them to burn, had been bothering Natasha for almost two years. Until now.

"You are Kingfisher? You were one of Dreykov's kids, weren't you?"

"Yes. I ran away, just like you. Built my own little empire. After many years I reappeared as Scorpio and offered Konstantin cooperation. He never found out who I was. And when you escaped, I tried to help you. I did all I could to keep Konstantin and Irina off your trail. I wanted to find you later, and make you my partner. Only he got there first," he glanced at Clint.

"I see," whispered Natasha. "You thought I would become something more than a spy."

"Clever girl. You are still the Black Widow, but it doesn't have to be so bad, does it?" Scorpio grasped her hand. His speech was already slurry like he was drunk or very sleepy. "Even a Dreykov's assassin can have a good life, right?"

"Only if he runs away," she said. "But it doesn't have to be so bad."

It was absurd. She had been ready to kill him and she would have, if she had had her chance. He was another man who wanted to use her for his own purposes. And yet here she was, holding his hand in his last moments.

Scorpio was wrong. She wasn't free. The monster Dreykov made was still there, waiting for it's chance. It would love to go on a killing spree, just like after the hospital fire. And it saved lives from time to time. She had always known it, but only then she accepted it. Finally, after all those years, she found peace.

She couldn't just stop being the Black Widow, but it didn't have to be so bad, did it?

The next morning Clint and Natasha walked on the beach. They could see the outline of the Helicarrier far from the shore. This was its maiden voyage as a ship, but it had yet to wait for its first flight.

"It would be great to be there when it takes off," said Clint with a dreamy look in his eyes. "I'm still not sure something this big can fly, but Stark and Terence swear that it's going to work."

"Hill should let you. They can't keep you underground forever," said Natasha.

"It's not all horrible. Selvig has some pretty interesting stories. After I heard all about Thor four times, he started teaching me astrophysics at lunch. Coulson drops by from time to time. And... yeah, that's about it."

Natasha smiled and Clint's heart leaped. She looked so beautiful. All her scars healed and her hair reached her shoulders now. Her smile might have been a little sadder and a little more rare, but it still made her look radiant. And moments like these were the most precious because she smiled like this only when they were alone.

"I need to go back to Russia," she said and the little smile faded. "I must unravel the rest of Scorpio's net and destroy it. And I should make sure that there are no other Dreykov's kids running around."

"And I have my glowing blue cube to guard," Clint sighed. He hated when they were separated.

There was a moment of silence. Clint wanted to ask her something and found out that he needed more courage for a simple question than he needed for a fight.

"Nat? Back when we were in Scorpio's prison... right before we passed out... I didn't imagine that kiss, did I?" he said finally and held his breath.

She avoided his gaze. "I thought we were going to die."

"Did I?" he pressed.

It was her turn to be brave. After what seemed like an eternity she shook her head. "No, you didn't imagine anything."

He caught her hand and it was a good sign that she didn't pull away.

"When you're back from Russia and I'm back from New Mexico, we should talk."

"Yes, I think we should. And it's going to be a long talk."

And there it was, the little smile only for him.