Rhodey politely excuses himself from yet another mind-numbing conversation with a politician, begging off to refresh his drink. While his aim had been to get out of the conversation, his glass of whiskey was starting to get a little low, so it wasn't entirely a lie. Thank God, he didn't ask me to get a refill for him as well, he thinks gratefully. He makes a pit stop at the bar to get a fresh whiskey before making his way over to the door that leads up to the roof of the building. After a quick glance around to make sure he's not being watched by any significant attendee of the event, he slips through the door and closes it quietly behind him. The event is being held on an upper floor of the building, so the climb up the stairs is a thankfully short one before he reaches the door leading out to the roof. He pushes the door open and after glancing around to make sure he's alone, props it open with a nearby rock that he's pretty sure is there for that exact purpose. There's a small terrace, some wooden benches and chairs surrounding a few small tables, and some small, raised gardens. It's...cozy in a way he hadn't expected for a corporate building. The building overlooks a massive greenspace on the side opposite the door, so he makes his way over and then leans against the railing as he lets out a sigh of relief. He's used to dealing with politicians and high-ranking officials posturing for favours and publicity, but there's only so much of it he can take in one evening. He'll support Sam, no question, but he needs a bit of space to recharge before he can rejoin the party.
He takes a sip of his whiskey as he lets his gaze drift over the scenery below him. The building they'd chosen to host the event for the official rollout of Sam as Captain America ( because apparently his speech on live TV wasn't enough , he thinks dryly) isn't huge by any means, and he supposes the organizers chose it to allow a more intimate venue. It's a bit outside the city centre and is bordered on one side by a large grassy area just in front of a small forest. The air is crisp, and the sight of dusk filtering over the grass and nearby forested area is, admittedly, beautiful. He closes his eyes and breathes in a few deep breaths, reveling in the freshness of the air. He opens his eyes again and as he allows his gaze to wander to the edge of the forest, he realizes there are hundreds of fireflies flashing just above the grass. A fond smile stretches on his face as he remembers standing out on the balcony at the Avengers Compound with Natasha, after he'd joined the team officially following the battle with Ultron in Sokovia.
"Some party, huh?" Rhodey says as he walks over to where Nat is leaning on the railing. She'd disappeared from the party a while before it wound down, and he'd been surprised not to find her in her office, but out on the balcony instead.
"Yeah. I guess Tony missed us," she quips with a glance over her shoulder to meet his gaze.
"He does," Rhodey assures. "I don't think he knows what to do with himself these days now that he's 'Active Duty, Non-Combatant' as he likes to put it."
"He and Pepper take off?" she asks as he reaches the railing and leans back against it while she continues looking out.
"Yeah, Happy came and got 'em."
"Good," she says with a nod.
"Any leads?" he asks knowingly, nodding toward the phone she'd hastily turned off when he'd found her. She smiles sheepishly. "You're a workaholic, Romanoff," he accuses.
"Pot, meet kettle," she counters boldly, and yeah, okay, maybe she had a bit of a point.
"Yeah, yeah. Any chatter? Op coming down for us?"
She shakes her head. "Nah, nothing major. I'm keeping tabs on a couple leads, but nothing concrete yet."
"Then put that thing away, Nat. Enjoy a night off for once," he says, holding out his arms to gesture to the beautifully clear sky dotted with stars. It was a rare night off for the new roster of the Avengers team after Steve and Nat had agreed to skip training for the week and relented to Tony's pleas to hold a party.
"I know, I know," she says with a smile. "I was just checking my email and I got sidetracked. I didn't mean to delve into it too deeply."
"Barton sending you more updates on your namesake?" he asks knowingly.
She grins again. "Well, his wife actually, but yes."
Rhodey nods and offers a smile. He had yet to see the famed Auntie Nat in action, but he could tell from the smiles she sported whenever she talked about them or got a message from them that the Bartons were incredibly important to her. Given that they named the kid after her, he wasn't surprised she was invested in the family.
"Nice night," he offers conversationally.
"Yeah," she agrees. "Came out to get some fresh air, but the clear sky and light show down there were nice bonuses."
He follows the direction of her nod and turns around to let his gaze drift toward where she'd gestured, finding fireflies floating above the grass down below them. "Oh, wow. I can't remember the last time I saw fireflies."
"I see them at Clint's farm quite a bit when I visit."
Rhodey rubs his chin thoughtfully. "We had 'em growing up, and I'm sure I've seen them while camping, but I honestly don't know the last time." He pauses for a beat. "They have 'em in Russia?"
"I honestly don't know," she replies with a shrug. "Probably. There's a bunch of different types, right?"
He frowns at her. "Why are you asking me like I'm some sort of expert in bugs?"
"Beetles," she corrects, almost reflexively he thinks.
He rolls his eyes. "Okay, Dr. Romanoff. You wanna give a lecture?"
She laughs and shakes her head. "Oh, I'd be an awful professor."
"I don't know about that. You've been a pretty good instructor so far," he says honestly. The sheer amount of knowledge she has on different hand to hand combat techniques is beyond impressive, though given the little he knows of her upbringing maybe not surprising. She's also been a good teacher to him and Sam to update them on not only those techniques, but tactics too. And he knows she's been working with Wanda one on one to help her get a handle on some control of her powers. "And besides, the way Steve tells it, you were a pretty good teacher for him in his early days at SHIELD."
"You never saw me on babysitting duty at SHIELD," she counters with a smirk.
"You scared the poor rookies shitless, didn't you?"
"Only the guys. The ladies were usually smart enough to realize antagonizing me wasn't wise."
He shakes his head in amusement. "Man, the egos you must've destroyed back then… Any footage of that in the info dump?"
She chuckles. "Maybe. I never looked."
"Well, I know what I'm looking up next time I have some free time."
"When do any of us actually have any free time?"
"You say that like we didn't just have a full-on party," he points out.
"Yeah, a scheduledparty. Like I said, we don't have free time."
"Hey, man. There you are."
Sam's voice startles him out of his memory. "Sorry, just needed some fresh air. Gets stuffy in there with the politicians blowing nothing but hot air."
Sam laughs. "Oh, I know what you mean," he says as he comes to stand next to Rhodey and lean on the railing.
"I think I can get away with sneaking off, but this whole shindig is for you , so I think they're gonna notice you're missing."
Sam shrugs and flashes a grin. "Then they can wait 'til I get back. The fresh air is nice."
"Yeah."
"You know," he says with a smile as his gaze finds the pulsing lights below them, "the safehouse Nat took us to after she and Steve broke us outta the Raft, there were these lightning bugs everywhere. Wanda had never seen them before, and Nat was explaining what they were to her. I don't think I'd ever seen that many of them in one place before."
Rhodey smiles at the callback to Natasha. Apparently, her fondness of fireflies had been more significant than he'd thought. "Yeah, she liked them, I think."
Sam nods. "Yeah, seemed to. She would've joined me and Wanda in catching them in a jar, but she was absolutely covered in bruises. Looked like a damn Picasso painting."
"Let me guess, she said it was 'nothing major' and brushed it off," Rhodey says, using air quotes and rolling his eyes. Nat had never been one to put much emphasis on her injuries, and usually outright ignored them if they weren't what she deemed serious. According to Clint, there were only a few instances he'd been present for where she'd consented to seeking medical care immediately.
"Of course. Typical Nat. Never did find out what those bruises were from though. I don't know what she got up to after Germany before she broke us outta the Raft."
"I have no idea either," Rhodey admits. That time had been a bit of a mystery, and even in all their conversations after Thanos snapped away half of the universe's living things, she'd never told him what she'd done after Germany before she met up with Steve. He'd always put it down to Nat just being Nat - mysterious and private. He wonders for a moment if FRIDAY might have any sort of data on it, before dismissing the thought. There was no way Nat would be that sloppy. "Knowing Nat...she probably took down a whole rogue Hydra cell by herself."
"Or sabotaged an undercover arms operation with no backup."
Rhodey thinks for a moment. "Infiltrated a base of private security working for a seedy mob boss."
Sam nods appreciatively. "Okay, okay. How about...broke into a highly secure lab and secured stolen technology."
"Yeah, yeah, I can see that. Brought down a shadowy organization involved in trafficking."
"Oh, definitely up her alley. Infiltrated a military base to recover highly advanced tech."
"Hang on, isn't that how you got your wings in the first place?"
Sam chuckles. "Yeah. Steve asked me where we could find one and I told him the last one was at Fort Meade behind multiple guarded gates and a massive steel wall. He deferred to Nat, and she just shrugged. Shrugged! Like it was child's play or something." Rhodey huffs out a laugh because it was so Nat to be nonchalant about breaking into such a heavily guarded palace with ease. "Damn, she was good, huh?" Sam adds after a beat and Rhodey can hear the bittersweetness in his tone. He knows Sam had been close with Nat too, especially after spending so much time together in those years as fugitives with Wanda and Steve.
"The best," Rhodey agrees.
Sam is quiet for a beat and then he says what they're both thinking. "I miss her."
"Me too," Rhodey agrees with a nod. He'd known her a long time and it hadn't surprised him in the least that she'd made the choice on Vormir that she did; he'd always known she was far more of a hero than she was ever given credit for. Those last five years had weighed heavily on them all, and he'd watched her struggle to shoulder that responsibility she assigned herself, but in the end, she achieved what she'd set her mind to after they lost in Wakanda - doing something to get everybody back.
"You think she'd have approved of Cap passing his shield on?" Sam asks.
Rhodey can tell he's not fishing for assurance, he's more curious than anything. "Definitely," he replies easily with a nod. "She always teased Steve that he needed to get a life outside of the Avengers stuff. And you already know she liked you, so it's a no brainer, really."
Sam smiles and chuckles. "I guess so."
His grin fades as he turns to face Sam again, this time more serious because he knows the words will carry weight with him. "She always said you were a good guy, and for Nat to say that you gotta know it's true, because she did not give out her trust easily."
"Yeah."
"I mean it, Sam," he presses. "She would have been 100% in your corner, and I think she would have understood better than most that the world needs a different kind of Captain America now."
"You think?"
"I do," Rhodey agrees firmly. "And if she were here, I think she would gladly have followed your lead into battle. Not to mention she'd probably have a field day taking on reporters who talked shit about you. She did love a good verbal takedown."
Sam chuckles. "Yeah, I was thankfully never on the receiving end, but I've heard stories."
"I watched her eviscerate Tony once. I don't even remember what he did, but even he agreed with her in the end." Sam chuckles. "And you just know she'd dig up some sort of dirt on the reporters who didn't play ball to keep them from publishing all that absolute shit they make up."
Sam nods with a smile. "You know if they have any memorials for her around here? I've seen some in New York, not as many as Stark, mind you, but still."
Rhodey shakes his head. "I'm not sure. They're probably around. For as much as some people hated her, she had a pretty solid fan base too. I've seen lots of girls wearing Black Widow t-shirts over the years," he replies.
"Yeah, I just- Sometimes it seems like the world's not really appreciating what she did for them, you know?"
Rhodey nods because he knows what Sam means. Tony's role in their victory was obvious and reported widely. He was heralded as a hero, and rightly so for what he'd done. But Natasha...her role fell into a greyer area in terms of what information they could release to the public. They'd released a statement informing people that she'd been integral to their victory and that she'd given her life to allow everyone who'd been a part of the Blip to be brought back, but because it wasn't as flashy as Tony's act, it had been glossed over a bit. Logically he knows Nat would have said she didn't care what people thought and whether she was being memorialized by people she'd never met. Still, he can't help but agree with Sam at least a little. He thinks Nat, who'd spent her life trying to make up for the horrors she'd been forced to dole out while under the Red Room's thumb, might've secretly wanted to know that the world had absolved her of that red in her ledger too.
"Well," Rhodey begins slowly, thoughtfully, "we appreciate what she did. I think that's what she would have cared about - that her friends and family aren't forgetting her."
Sam nods seriously. He watches the fireflies for another moment before he holds up his glass in a toast. "To Natasha."
Rhodey raises his glass and echoes the toast. "To Natasha," he says with a nod before clinking his glass to Sam's.
Amused by the two of them trading possible reasons for Nat's bruising? Enjoy the banter between Rhodey and Nat? Have a suggestion for a character to focus on in future? Let me know your thoughts. 😊
For those interested, I posted a new story last week, 'The Way It Was Supposed To' which is a Nat and Tony one shot. Check it out if you're so inclined.
More to come...