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Author's Note: Thank you all for your reviews/ follows/ etc! Enjoy the read!

Chapter 11

Steve Rogers did not question Fury when the one-eyed man assigned him to work with Agent Romanoff. He relied on his military bearing so as to not show surprise when FUry suggested that if they worked well together, they would be permanently paired up with one another.

Steve heard a lot about Strike Team Delta while digging up intel on SHIELD and its trustworthiness as well as about his team. He saw the footage and heard the rumors that aside from being SHIELD's best team, the Strike Team also shared a level of intimacy that surpassed partners. He thought it was something that he and the rest of the Avengers saw when the redhead searched every corner of the world to get her partner back. It was not unlike what he knew Peggy did for him when he went down in the ice. So, imagine his surprise when he asked Fury about the previous Strike Team Delta.

"Agent Barton has taken a leave of absence, and indefinite one," Fury stated nonchalantly. "Is there a problem with your paired up with Romanoff?"

"Not at all, sir," Steve replied before about facing out of the room.

He never pictured the stoic woman who he met almost two years ago to be someone who would become one of his greatest confidants in this new reality. His first impression of her was that she was loyal to SHIELD, if they asked her to jump, she would jump. His first impression of the Black Widow was not an accurate portrayal of Natasha Romanoff.

Natasha Romanoff took risks, she was intelligent, smart, and manipulative. He could see that with her stature just above five feet tall, many easily underestimated her as fragile, something that she was not. Truth be told, she reminded him a lot of Peggy, strong and determined, one who would not let the fact that she was a woman deter her from getting what she wanted. In fact, she played on that gender-bias.

In her personal life, Steve noticed, she was closed of. Always looking longingly for a moment at the door, at an object, but just for a moment. It was something he overlooked on their initial missions but as he got to know her, he saw a glimpse of sadness. He wondered who she was thinking of those split seconds before she plastered a smile on her face and shook it off, he knew how she felt thinking about the past and memories of people who he could never share the same experiences with. They were kindred spirits, he realized the more he got to know her. But it seemed the more he was exposed to, the more questions he had about her.

Like the fact that she had a faint line around her left ring finger.

"So, Rogers, did you finally get the guts to ask that nurse on your floor on a date?" Natasha asked slipping on the stool beside him at the bar they, and much of SHIELD DC frequented. She nodded at the bartender who poured her a beer from the tap with a smile.

Steve scoffed at her. "Natasha, how many times do I have to tell you that I don't need your help in that area?"

She smiled at him. "Sure you do! Research has proven that if you are happy in your personal life, then your performance in the work place will also improve."

He frowned. "Are you telling me that I need to improve?"

"Well I didn't say that but you need to brush up on your pop culture and increasing your interaction with this century if you ever want to get into the good parts of the job."

"I don't need any of that to do my job. You're the up close one," Steve pointed out.

"Okay, here's the deal. Until you can properly blend into the new century, Fury won't be giving me any undercover missions because my partner won't be ready."

Steve felt bad about the fact that she was essentially grounded until he got his act together. Never in his life did he want to be a burden on someone, especially his team.

"Fine, I'll work on it," Steve muttered to her.

"Great! But first we have that mission tomorrow. Urgent according to Fury, we're going out with Rumlow's team as back up."

"They still don't trust us with each other?"

"We're a trial case, Cap. But we're their best," Natasha replied swallowing the feeling she got telling Steve that they were the best. Once upon a time, she was part of the best team SHIELD created in its short history; once upon a time, she was a part of a marriage.

"How is Hawkeye?" Steve asked her, just as he visited Peggy through alzehimer no matter how much it hurt his heart to know that she found a love other than theirs, he knew Natasha kept in contact with the former agent. It was the only way that the tam was able to talk to the man and update him with what was going on.

She met Steve's gaze, took a sip of her beer, then replied. "He's doing fine, enjoying his last few days as an agent."

In truth, she visited the farm, met Laura and her children with Clint's persuasion. It was therapeutic for her as it was for him. She knew without a doubt that the woman and her family loved Clint, that they would not break his heart. Natasha did not take for granted that their friendship remained in tact, it was true that she refused to stay over at the Brown-Barton farm. She opted instead to camp out near the farm that was half her own. The tent positioned so the back of the tent faced towards the farmhouse, she did not want to look at her past. Her future was a strong friendship with Clint as they had before they were married.

"Glad to hear."

"How is Director Carter?" she inquired. Natasha was the one who found out the information of Peggy's whereabouts - which was above her pay grade - to give to Steve for his peace of mind. Natasha arranged the first visit, talked to her relatives to let him see her, to say goodbye. Maybe to trigger her memory that she refused SHIELD care for. She wanted her mind to be hers on her last few years, she made sure Fury gave her that - the world owed her that.

"Beautiful as the day I met her."

There was a pause in their conversation, each nursing the drink in front of them.

"So, I met this girl who would be perfect for you..."

Steve shook his head with a smile at Natasha's attempt at light heartedness. He enjoyed her company. She was like the little sister which he never had, which is why he felt the need to protect her - though he would never tell her that for fear that she would kick him further down in time when technology ruled everything. It was why he went through great lengths to shield her on the nuclear bomb that SHIELD sent their way. It was why she allowed her to tease him about the last time he kissed someone (and yes, the last person he's kissed may have been Peggy, because in between figuring out the new century and Avenging, getting read up on SHEILD, he did not have time.) Natasha Romanoff gave him a family to fight for, it was a feeling he had not felt since Bucky.

Bucky.

The Winter Solider who uncovered the layers of SHIELD for the snake that it was.

Hydra.

The most recognizable Avenger did not mention the arrow necklace he saw hanging around her neck on the day that she finally shed her Black Widow persona for Natasha Romanoff. He never noticed that Natasha always covered her neck whether with a t-shirt or her suit. He would have made a comment, but finding out about Hydra was not the time nor the place to talk about the undeniable symbol she wore on her chest. He vowed he would ask her about it when it was all over, but the issue of Bucky became his integral focus.

Now, Natasha Romanoff was on the run, a fugitive as she had been many years before technology ruled the world and a man named Hawkeye found her and saved her from herself. In the wake of leaving Sam and Steve to their hunt for the past, she tried to find herself to no avail because the one person who grounded her was in a farm in Iowa. So in the darkest of the nights, as she had left the state, she came back and entered the place SHIELD has never been.

The farm she once shared, and left.

She entered the farm with the certainty that Clint would have changed all the pass codes and security measures. For a second time that month, she was wrong. She entered with ease.

"Welcome home, Nat," Clint's voice greeted her on the loud speaker, just as it had every time she walked into the farm.

She sighed, shedding the days old clothing she wore and collapsed onto the couch exhausted in the one place she could be herself.

A day late but I think that's pretty good considering I'm on vacation and don't have the outline for the update! (Which means that when I go back and re-read this with the timeline, some of the details may change, but it should stick to the story line).

Up next: Clint helps Natasha find herself again.

Comments and criticisms are desired.