T MINUS 22 HOURS

Bucky and Tony took the Quinjet, as per popular consensus. Steve saw them off from the landing pad on the side of the Tower, and watched even as the jet became a thin line on the horizon.

Then he turned, stepped into the elevator, and asked JARVIS for the parking garage in the basement.

He already had a duffel bag packed. He slung it off his shoulder and onto the back of his motorcycle, mounted the bike, knocked the kickstand back, and began to roll towards the exit ramp.

And then, he stopped, lifted his head in resignation, smiled, and sighed.

There, silhouetted in the bright square of sunlight, was a familiar figure.

"Can I help you?" asked Steve.

Natasha smiled, but it was melancholy. "You're going after them."

He dropped his head. "Was I that obvious?"

"I consider myself a good reader of people."

He smiled thinly. "Are you here to stop me?"

She mirrored it. "Not exactly."

"I thought you said we should let them go."

"I said," she retorted, choosing her words carefully, "in this circumstance, a little revenge might be justified." A glint came to her green eyes. "I didn't say we should let them run alone."

Steve shook his head. Just like Natasha, to pick her words like that. Spy training never dies.

Natasha tipped her head. "Stark is...emotional, Barnes is..."

"Unstable?" asked Steve, suddenly feeling a little defensive.

"I was going to say 'unpredictable'." She looked at him and smiled indulgently. "And you are a horrible spy."

Steve shrugged. He couldn't deny that. "What do you suggest?"

Natasha strode forward, reached behind a concrete pillar, and pulled out a duffel bag. "Take me with you," she said, swinging it over her shoulder, and added wryly, "I've always wanted to visit Cleveland."

He shook his head. "I booked a commercial flight."

"Oh wow," she said casually, "that's so weird, so did I."

Steve put down the kickstand so she could climb onto the bike behind him. "I guess I really do have a lot to learn."

"I'll make a dishonest man of you yet," she smirked, her arms around his waist.

He smiled. "Don't count on it."