Disclaimer: The Avengers, its characters and The Marvel Cinematic Universe belong to Marvel Studios and The Walt Disney Company, among many others. I'm only a fan, writing this for love of this film franchise and personal pleasure.

A.N.: Thank you all for the lovely reviews and encouraging words! I'm still here, I'm alive and well, and getting my writing rhythm back (and getting sidetracked by other fandoms, as usual), but I've updated my outline and I'm nearly certain we have five more chapters to go to finalize this Romanogers saga and I'm glad people are still sticking with it. :)

This is set right before Endgame starts, following the last chapter.


To Build a Home

20. Heroes

It had been a few days now since Carol Danvers had suddenly come into their lives, bringing with her a new hope that something could be done to resolve this mess they'd gotten themselves into and reenergizing the team. With Captain Marvel out in space looking for their missing friends and Pepper's presence at the compound, Natasha started to feel there was a glimmer of light at the end of this very dark tunnel that currently encompassed their lives.

Her conversations with Pepper had been vital to give her some much needed perspective. In addition to having a heavy weight lifted off her shoulders by knowing her friend didn't fault her for past actions that had constantly plagued her mind over the last couple of years, Pepper's words on how the world needed heroes, now more than ever, had been stuck in her mind.

The world was still reeling after the sudden disappearance of billions, yet over the course of their history, it was clear that humans were nothing if not highly resilient and adaptable. All over the globe people were starting to rally and do what they could to pick up the pieces and get life back to some semblance of normalcy. But there were also those taking advantage of the state of disarray to put forth their own agendas, gaining power over others, instilling dominance through fear and violence. And those people needed to be stopped.

The team was focusing their efforts on looking for Tony and Thanos for now, but Natasha had already set in motion a few things in the background for when they'd be able to give some attention to these issues later on. After all, Avenging was a 24/7 type of job and even with half the people gone, the world kept on spinning.

But that was for later, if ─ when ─ they were able to solve the biggest of their problems. Right now she needed to deal with something else entirely revolving around convincing Steve to don his Captain America uniform once more.

When they'd come back stateside it had all been sort of a mad rush ─ Natasha had flown over to the Barton's family farm while Steve and Rhodey set off to aid in several rescue efforts along cities of the east coast. There had been some talk from the President's office that it would be better for optics if they wore the official Captain America and Iron Patriot uniforms, but both men had brushed it off, saying it was more important to help straight away in order to save lives than worry about what they were wearing ─ and it had been such a poignant statement in face of such tragedy that no one argued back on that. But now Natasha could actually see there was a point to what the White House had said.

Since the world needed heroes, it made sense that it would be good for morale if people could rally behind a symbol and who would be better than their original national hero? Even if Tony's Iron Man had also become an icon for those fighting the good fight, he was missing at the moment and out of everyone in the Avengers there was no one quite as inspirational as Steve Rogers. And that was exactly what Natasha planned on telling him now.

Night had fallen long ago and in the dark she roamed the halls in search of him, finding Steve sitting by himself at a table in the common kitchen with a half eaten peanut butter and jelly sandwich in front of him, a slight frown present between his eyebrows and his eyes staring down at the table yet seeming so far away. She quietly approached and sat down next to him, waiting until he noticed her presence.

After a few moments, he blinked up and looked at her, a near smile tugging at the corners of his mouth before disappearing altogether. "Hungry?" Steve asked her quietly with raised eyebrows, looking as if he'd slide the plate with half of his sandwich over to her or maybe even get up to get her something from the kitchen.

However Natasha only shook her head in reply and remained sitting next to him, so he slumped back in his chair. "Yeah, me neither." He huffed out, pushing his plate away.

Meals had been sparse at the compound and no one seemed to sit down together these days, as there was no appetite and the idea of socializing outside of anything work related seemed almost preposterous. They worked at a nearly non-stop rhythm and when energy levels became too low they'd search for food, crash down for sleep and grab a shower, maybe. Nearly everyone had burned out a few hours ago, but Steve and Natasha were always the last to go, usually around the same time Rhodey and Bruce would be getting back up. It was almost as if they'd scheduled to work around shifts so that someone would be up at any time, but it had happened without any conscious planning.

"So…" Natasha murmured softly and trailed off as she waited for Steve to look back at her. "We need to talk."

That may have been the wrong opening to use, as he narrowed his eyes at her and his whole body reacted as if he were ready to bolt out the door and get ready for battle. "What happened? What's wrong?"

"Nothing happened." She assured him right away, holding out a hand as if wanting to keep him in his seat with the mere gesture. She'd been about to automatically add that everything was okay, but that phrase had never been farther from the truth these days, so she chose her words more carefully. "There's been no new developments. But there's something we do need to discuss."

He relaxed considerably at her reassurances, leaning back on the chair once more but a small frown formed between his eyebrows as he waited for her to go on. "What is it?" He asked, then added with a little bit of dry humor. "Are you breaking up with me?"

Natasha couldn't help the small smile tugging at her lips. Who would have thought that Steve Rogers, the same man that years before had been at such a loss with the most common cultural references would now be using one to try to put her at ease? "Quite the opposite, actually." She replied, her near smile turning into an almost smirk. "I wanted you to make a big, public commitment." She paused for a moment before amending her statement. "We need you to be Captain America again."

His blue eyes gleamed with too many emotions swirling in them suddenly. "Nat…" He sighed, looking down at the table, his figure slumping further on the chair, if possible.

"Hear me out, okay?" She said pleadingly, reaching out to grab one of his hands on top of the table. "I know that when we came back from Wakanda you didn't want to don your old uniforms and I didn't fight you on that then. But I am gonna make an appeal to you now."

He looked up at her with that slight frown between his eyebrows once more. "Why? What's changed?"

She lifted an eyebrow back at him in response. "Half the world's population disappeared in the blink of an eye and humanity is at the brink of chaos."

"That was still true when we came back from Wakanda." Steve said, narrowing his eyes a little. He pulled his hand out of her grasp, but leaned forward to give her his full attention. He was still guarded, but not as defensive as he continued. "Why are you asking me that now?"

"I've had time to think and some help putting things in perspective." She said, leaning back on her chair and nodding a little as she elaborated on her train of thought. "We need hope, Steve. The world needs to see that there are still those who are standing up to fight and do what's right. That even with all the loss and heartache we suffered and unpredictability that the future holds, we still pledge to protect what's left of us and make a stand. The world needs the Avengers, now more than ever. We can't fail them again."

"You're an Avenger as well." It was his turn to raise an eyebrow at her, the ghost of a smile tugging at his mouth. "You're always standing up to fight right next to me."

"The Black Widow is an assassin working in the shadows." She interjected, and raised a hand as he opened his mouth to protest. "I'm not talking about how I see myself, I'm talking about public perception. Of the Avengers or anyone here with us, there's no one quite as inspirational as you or anyone who symbolizes so much what this fight is all about."

"I don't know about that." He shook his head a little, looking down at the floor then back at her. "We have Danvers now."

She raised an eyebrow at him and bobbed her head left and right for a moment. "Carol may be a renowned superhero in the universe, but not to everyone on Earth. In fact, she's been pretty much in the shadows until now."

"If you want a legendary hero, there's Thor." He said softly, the corners of his mouth lifting up a little.

"He's considered an Asgardian god, so not exactly relatable to most of us." She countered, narrowing her eyes as she resisted the urge to smirk back at him, sensing what he was doing here. "I was thinking someone more local would be better."

"Then what about Rhodes?" Steve suggested, raising both eyebrows at her still with that barely there smile.

"Okay, Rhodey is also a national symbol," Natasha complied with a nod, her own lips pulling up a little as she raised a challenging eyebrow back. "But of the two of you, who has an entire wing dedicated to them in the Smithsonian?" He rolled his eyes a little but made no further protest, so she carried on. "Face it, Steve. Shield or no shield, you're still someone who can stand in the light, that people can see and rally behind." She paused then added in a softer, quieter tone. "We need that. I need that."

It was rare for Natasha to make such personal admissions or requests, especially with the vulnerable undertone that could be heard in her usually cool, collected voice. A part of her wondered if she was subconsciously manipulating Steve into doing what she needed him to do. Another part of her knew that very few people would ever get to see this side of her and one of them was definitely Steve Rogers ─ hell, they'd probably already seen each other at their lowest in the last few years.

He looked at her for a long minute, his blue eyes searching for something in her green ones. She just sat there and stared right back, being as open as she could under his piercing stare. After a moment, a new resolve alighted in his eyes and he sighed deeply. "Okay, then you got me." He paused and that near smile tugged at the corner of his lips once more. "But I'm gonna need you to do something for me first."

She tilted her head a little, curious as she hadn't expected any conditions from his side once he actually agreed to it. "What is it?"

"Give me a haircut?" He asked and seemed to resist the urge to chuckle before her surprised raise of the eyebrows. "I don't think this wild 'nomad' look really goes with the Captain America uniform." He looked up, indicating his long hair as he also scrubbed a hand over his bearded jaw.

"Are you sure?" She asked him, parrying back with a quick smirk as she drawled out. "You were really pulling off the scruffy bearded look."

"Positive." He huffed out a near laugh under his breath. "I'll take care of the beard, but I need help with the hair."

"Alright, soldier." She nodded gamely back at him, getting up from her chair. "I'll get my scissors."

A few minutes later Natasha was back at the kitchen with a set of hair scissors, an electric razor and a spray bottle. Steve sat on the chair and waited patiently as she analytically looked him over for a moment then started to work on his hair. She'd always been the one to make changes to her own hair ─ one of the many abilities she'd learned during her training in the Red Room ─ so she knew what she was doing and Steve trusted her judgement.

"How about you?" He asked, tilting his head back a little and looking at her upside down as she stood up behind him. "Are you dying your hair back?"

"Do you think it would make that much of a difference?" She raised an eyebrow, tilting his head forward with her hand so she could keep working on his hair. "I've always changed my hair over the years, anyway. I didn't exactly have a signature look, unlike you with your clear cut good boy looks or Tony's goatee and sunglasses."

"I don't know." He said with a slight shrug of the shoulders. "I got used to your various shades of blonde, but sometimes I miss the red." He admitted in a whisper.

She stilled her hand and paused on cutting for a second, feeling a little surprised that he'd ever say something like that. "Well, I'll take that under advisement." She replied with some humor in her voice as she continued working through his long locks of hair. She could see out of the corner of her eye how his lips turned up in a soft smile.

They remained in silence as she kept on cutting his hair, both of them just being in the moment and each other's company. As Natasha finished up and held up a mirror so that he could see the final result, Steve nodded once in approval and got up from the chair. "Thanks, Nat."

"Anytime." She replied right away, and held onto his arm as he turned to head out of the kitchen. "Hey." She paused and he looked back at her as she worried her bottom lip for a moment, as if unsure of what to say. Finally, she just looked back at him and shrugged her shoulders casually. "Thanks."

Natasha knew what she'd been asking of him. It wouldn't be easy for Steve to take on the mantle of Captain America once more, especially with Tony still missing, as they hadn't talked since Siberia when he'd left his shield behind. But they owed it to everyone that was still there and especially those who weren't to give it their all if they had any hope of going after Thanos and fighting back.

Steve just looked back at her, seeming to understand everything that she was trying to tell him with that one word. A grim smile formed on his lips as he reached over and squeezed her shoulder lightly before he gathered up his shaving kit and headed to the bathroom. It was time for Captain America to officially come back out of hiding.


A.N.: I started writing this six months ago, but it's sort of amazing how a lot that was written here for the Avengers can fit into what we're living right now. The real life heroes that are keeping our world turning now are the medical and healthcare professionals, scientists and essential workers who are risking themselves every day out there as they fight this war, so we need to do our part to help them out as well. Stay home, stay safe, and flatten the curve ─ wherever you may be. This too shall pass, and I'm sure humanity will come out better and stronger in the end.