As promised, here's the companion chapter to the last one where we get to see the 'other' side of the civil war.

Enjoy!

"You know, after all this time working with me, I'm actually a bit offended by how bad your disguise is."

Steve couldn't help but whip around at the familiar, but very unexpected voice. "Nat?"

Natasha tutted out a scolding sound as she shook her head at his not-at-all-subtle reaction. "Did you learn nothing from me these past few years?"

Steve pulled off his sunglasses as he stared. His gaze flicked from her decidedly-not-red hair, to the tiredness in her eyes, and finally to the playful smirk on her lips.

"What are you doing here?"

Her eyebrow arched as she tilted her head and shot him a look that said 'Really? You're gonna ask me that?'

"I asked what you're doing here, not how you got here," he replied, feigning disappointment in her unspoken accusation. Even after everything it was easy to fall back into their back and forth banter.

She tilted her head the other way as she offered a nonchalant shrug. "Thought you might be thinking about meeting up with some mutual friends."

Of course she knew what he was planning. "Well I thought I owed them a visit," he quipped back.

"You and me both," she agreed quietly.

It was unexpected, but not altogether surprising to him that she'd be there, offering her help to break them out of prison. He knew how close she was with Clint, and her friendships with Sam and Wanda had grown over their time in the Avengers. Even if she'd sided with Tony on the Accords, there was no way she would stand by and let them sit in there.

"What gave it away?" Steve asked after a moment, a sliver of worry forming in his gut as he considered that his discreet inquiries might not be so discreet after all.

"You once went into a Hydra stronghold behind enemy lines, alone, to free captured soldiers. There's no way you would leave your friends in there."

Steve's gaze dropped to the pair of sunglasses held in his hands, as though caught red-handed. They didn't deserve to be in there. Not when they'd fought because he'd asked them to. Not when they'd fought against their own friends because of their loyalty to him.

"Plus Maria confirmed it," she added casually, a smirk tugging at the corner of her mouth again.

Steve shook his head and chuckled in disbelief. "So how do we do this?"

"You're asking me? And here I thought you were the man with the plan."

"Nat," he warned. She was still hiding behind smirks and deflections, and as nice as it was to see her safe and in one piece, he didn't have time for games.

"Okay, okay," she said, holding up her hands and protesting her innocence. "You got a place here? I'd rather not have this conversation in a coffee shop."

He shrugged. "Hotel room." She grimaced. "It's safe," he assured, knowing exactly where her mind had gone.

"It'll have to do," she said. "Let's go."

"Wait," Steve said, holding up a hand. Her eyes widened fractionally. "You hungry?"

Nat held his gaze for just a moment as her expression relaxed once more. "Not really, but I should probably eat."

"Let's grab some food then."

She shrugged. "Your show, Rogers."

He let out a frustrated sigh and she grinned.

"You want to go over it one more time?"

Steve shook his head. They'd gone over it, and over it, and over it. Neither of them was going to remember any more details than they already knew. Nat had come in with a pretty solid plan, and he'd added bits here and there. All that was left was to execute it, and their timeline dictated they had to wait until the following day for the Raft to be above water anyway.

He believed wholeheartedly that if there were anyone who could pull off this prison break, it was him and Nat...but still he felt the fear tugging at him that they would fail. That he would fail. That the team was broken beyond repair. That his unwavering loyalty to his best friend had been the domino to topple the Avengers.

And then there was Nat. Her appearance had been unexpected, but welcomed. He didn't understand why she'd chosen to let them go, but he knew that it had come at great cost to her to do so. He knew Ross was aware of her actions - T'Challa had told him as much - and was probably gunning for her. Maybe more for her than for him, even.

"I can hear the gears grinding in your head," Nat said softly, interrupting his spiraling thoughts. "What's up?"

Steve paused and held her gaze. Her expression was patient, and kind. She was known for her more aggressive and intense interrogation skills, but she also had an unparalleled understanding of how to get people to talk in more subtle ways. In his case, as their friendship and partnership had grown, she'd become adept at getting him to relax into conversations. She was easy to talk to, and she listened better than anyone he knew.

"You gave up everything for me and Bucky," he said, his tone unsure but not wavering. It was an unsaid question rolled into a statement.

Nat sighed. "It was my decision to make, Steve. It's not on you."

"But you were on the side of the Accords-"

"It's not about sides, Steve. It never was," she replied, shaking her head vehemently. "We got played by scared politicians, and we reacted badly. All of us."

"But why let us go?"

"I was trying to protect the team," she said, and Steve couldn't help but notice that her tone had softened and quieted. "You weren't going to stop, and neither was Tony. I meant what I said in the church, Steve. Staying together was more important than how we stayed together."

Steve let out a sad sigh. "Things didn't turn out that way."

"No," she replied with a thoughtful expression, "but it doesn't mean things can't be fixed. I know a thing or two about broken beyond repair, and this isn't that."

His gaze held hers and he was struck by the honesty she was offering. While they had long since moved past the outright deception - recent events notwithstanding - it was rare for her to open up like this. She'd told him once that before Clint and his family wormed their way into her life, she'd never known anything but keeping things impossibly close to her chest.

"T'Challa told Ross what you did…" he said delicately. "He's after you too, now."

Nat shrugged. "I've had people after me in one way or another my whole life. He's just another name to add to the list." Her tone wasn't bitter or frustrated; it was matter of fact, and that made his heart ache for her.

"Nat…"

"Don't do that, Steve. It was my choice, and I don't regret it," she said firmly. He didn't respond, and so she pressed on. "You want to tell me what the hell happened in Siberia?"

Steve blew out a breath. That was a can of worms he wasn't emotionally ready to open. But she'd given up her freedom for him, so the least he could do was give her an answer.

"Steve…" she prompted, and he knew from their years working together that she wasn't going to let him shrug it off.

"Zemo showed us the video of Bucky- No, the Winter Soldier killing his parents, and Tony saw red."

Nat's stare was unwavering. Her silence prompted him to continue.

"He came after Bucky, and I-" he stopped abruptly as he blew out another breath. "He's my best friend. He remembers me. And it wasn't him that did it, it was Hydra. I couldn't let Tony kill him."

Nat stayed quiet, processing his words. "But you knew it was him. And you didn't tell Tony."

Steve looked down. "I didn't want to hurt him. He shouldn't have had to go through-"

"That's a cop out, Steve. You didn't want to tell him," she said firmly, interrupting his explanation of his inaction.

Her words stung because of their truth. "I guess so. But Tony was wrong to-"

"Don't, Steve," she said, holding up a hand. "You made your choice. You left him for dead in that base."

"He had his suit-"

"But you killed the reactor, so he had no power, and was in no shape to try and walk in it. If I hadn't followed you idiots there, he would've died of hypothermia."

Steve's eyes widened. "You went to-"

"Yes," she interrupted coolly. "And I don't regret that either. I wasn't kidding when I said this wasn't about sides. You two fought alongside each other for years, and had always managed to put aside your differences of opinion. But this time you both took it too far."

"I'm sor-"

"I'm not the one who deserves an apology. You can disagree on the Accords, but still be civil with each other. The Avengers were formed to make the world a safer place, and at some point some shit is going to go down that's going to require more than half of our team to fight. We need to be in a position where we can make that happen."

Steve was stunned and didn't know what to say.

"Look, I know I'm not innocent in all of this. None of us are. But you and Tony are the leaders of this team, and if you two can't work this out then the worst case scenario is going to be with much, much bigger stakes. And that might be something that we can't come back from."

He let her words sink in and watched as she grabbed a phone and stepped outside onto the balcony to make a call. He knew she was right. But the rift between him and Tony had been blown wide open, and he wasn't sure how to take a step toward closing it.

They would never agree on the Accords, but Steve knew that Tony was doing what he thought was right...just as he was. And really, there wasn't much more you could ask of someone. For all his flippant remarks and laissez-faire attitude, Steve knew that Tony, at his core, believed strongly in the Avengers. He poured his heart and soul into them, funding the tech, the equipment, the compound, and the relief efforts that followed in their wake. And he cared about his teammates deeply.

Nat's voice drifted in on the slight breeze coming in through the crack of the balcony doors, and Steve's thoughts turned back to her once more. She'd spent time training with him, teaching him new fighting styles, and going over standard SHIELD tactical maneuvers. And she'd contributed many items to his ongoing list of what to get caught up on. He counted her as one of his closest friends, probably the closest outside of Bucky. But she'd lost so much because of this rift between him and Tony.

He'd been surprised by her decision to sign the Accords, especially given her rocky history with controlling governments and agencies in her past. But when she'd explained that staying together was more important than how they stayed together, her motivations fell into place. She'd been trying to keep the family from being torn apart. The only family, outside of the Bartons, that she'd ever really had.

He thought back to her words. She was right. He had to find a way to fix this. He may not agree with Tony on the Accords, but without the Avengers intact, the world was a more dangerous place. And all things considered, she was right to assume that something would come along that required a full team to defend the Earth.

He let out a heavy exhale and rubbed his hands over his face. He had to try to fix this...somehow.

His eyes landed on the spare pieces of paper leftover from the sheets Nat had snagged from the business centre of the hotel for their planning session. There was no way Tony would take a call...but maybe a letter...

Time for writing has been slim as of late, so updates will likely slow down from weekly (as they clearly already have, haha). Definitely not abandoning this or my other story - just need to get some writing in now that I've exhausted my drafts folder!

As always, please do let me know your thoughts. Did you enjoy Nat calling bullshit on Steve's excuses? Spot the allusions to the team being separated when Thanos ultimately comes around?

I always love seeing what y'all think. And of course, suggestions for future are always welcomed. You never know when one is going to spark the muse.