I'm back, and let me tell you that the Romanogers is beginning to cook, but you'll have to wait a little more. Now, allow me to reply to the reviews:
ym4yum1: Oh, that's great! Hope you like it.
Guest 1: thank you! I hope I didn't make you wait much.
Anianka: Sí, de hecho es una de mis teorías favoritas, sigo teniendo esa esperanza y sería perfecto si nos dicen por qué no nos dieron Romanogers :))) Also, ¡gracias!
Guest 2: I actually don't love hurt/confort with Nat too because it's just too much for me to bear, poor woman won't catch a break! And thank you a lot for giving this story the chance.
Little warning: Fight scene at the end with somewhat explicit descriptions.
"Bless your soul, you've got your head in the clouds
you made a fool out of me,
and boy, you're bringing me down.
You made my heart melt, yet I'm cold to the core.
But rumour has it: I'm the one you're leaving her for."
—Rumour Has It, Adele.
"Why Berlin, again?" Natasha asked, tightening her grip on Wanda's hand, who smiled at her and wrapped her arm around Natasha's waist. The younger woman kissed her hair and adjusted her backpack.
"Because Steve wanted to," Wanda muttered before putting on her fake smile yet again. They reached their seats and Natasha took their backpacks to put them on the luggage compartment. After they seated, Sam and Steve got in, sitting a few rows in front of them. "Who chose these covers?" Wanda asked, frowning.
"I did," Natasha ran a hair through her silvery blonde hair, smoothing it. Wanda let out a high pitched laugh, snuggling on Natasha's side and kissing her cheek. The older woman offered her a soft smile and kissed the top of her head, before looking to the blonde man putting his luggage in place. Steve nodded at her, almost imperceptible, and sat down next to Sam, who was already putting on his headphones.
They were two lawyers going to Germany for a convention. Natasha and Wanda were two lovers visiting the blonde's parents.
Wanda snorted as the air hostess began to give them instructions.
"God, I miss the quinjet. We didn't have any of these stupid rules," Wanda groaned, putting on her seatbelt. Natasha chuckled and put on her own seatbelt.
"We did, but of course you never dared to follow them," she replied, smirking. As the plane rose, Natasha placed a hand on her stomach, feeling uneasy as she always did. Sure, she used to pilot the quinjets all the time and do maneuvers that would qualify as pretty stupid while in the air, but panes were different. The rose from the ground slowly, they were big and unsafer; besides, they were filled with people who actually enjoyed being alive and didn't have a deathwish like the Avengers, thus making it more difficult to do anything without risking them.
As soon as they were on the desired altitude, Wanda sighed and undid her seatbelt.
"Wanna watch something? I'm bored." Natasha nodded and took one of the tablets. Making sure that no one was watching them, she pulled out a USB and plugged it in. "What the hell is that?" Wanda whispered. The blonde woman shrugged and smirked at her.
"Watching our dear idiots. Plug your earbuds," Natasha said, activating a camera to watch their friends. Sam was fast asleep, almost snorting since it was the closest thing to safety they could get; Steve was watching through the window, a sad look on his usually cheerful eyes, and was scratching his beard as if he wasn't used to having one.
Natasha chuckled softy and involuntarily began playing with her hair again.
Three years before, after receiving a bullet from Steve's friend and basically trying to send him into oblivion, they elaborated a plan to take down HYDRA. As they prepared, Steve stared at her once the wig was in place.
"What? See something you like?" she prayed he did. Instead, Steve blushed and shook his head frenetically.
"No, I... it's just that you look, I don't know, different." He stood up and stared at her once again. Natasha raised a brow and a playful smirk appeared on her lips. "Not that you don't look good in your natural red hair, it's just that... nevermind." He cleared his throat and turned around to leave the place.
Wanda snuggled against her side again and she unplugged the USB when the hostess came to them.
"Do you need anything?" she asked. Natasha smiled down at Wanda and wrapped an arm around her.
"Just a blanket, please." She smiled at the other woman, who nodded and walked past them.
"That was close," Wanda muttered, "let's hear music, I want to hear music."
Once they had their blanket, Natasha went to her favorite album, Bad Blood, by Bastille.
As Pompeii began to play, she smiled softly, feeling her eyes water.
Wanda wrapped her arm on Natasha's and closed her eyes.
"God, I think I'm gonna be sick," she grumbled, furrowing her brows.
/
The first thought that fled Natasha's mind was a simple fuck you, Berlin. Everything had changed, and yet it remained the same. She felt the knot in her stomach tighten when they went through security, but the guards didn't seem to recognize them; maybe it was just the fact that they had to be either out of their minds or just plain stupid to go back to the place where they became international criminals and fugitives, or maybe it was that they weren't being searched for anymore.
As they strolled down the airport to find a bus that could take them to the actual city, Natasha's intercom began making static.
"Heading to the third cab," Steve said once the static cleared.
"Got it." Natasha grabbed Wanda's arm and walked a little faster.
"C'mon, baby, we're gonna lose the cab." Wanda nodded and adjusted her hat to walk faster. As soon as they got there, Steve and Sam did the same.
"Oh, sorry. Nevermind, we'll take another." Steve said, flashing them his charming smile. Trying to keep her smile from quavering, Natasha shook her head.
"No, you got here first." Natasha laced her fingers with Wanda's and brought her closer. "It's okay, my fianceé and I will find another one."
"Where are you going?" Sam asked, chiming in the conversation. Locking eyes with Steve, Wanda nodded almost imperceptibly.
"The Alex, we've been talking about it every day." Steve looked at Sam and they nodded at each other.
"Are you gonna come in or what?" the driver asked.
"We're also going there. How about we split it?" asked Steve, smiling. Wanda and Nat looked at each other and nodded.
"Let's go, then." Wanda opened the back door and got in. Steve got in the copilot seat and Sam crammed himself inside the cab before closing the door.
The ride went pretty much silent after that, with Natasha and Wanda still acting and Sam occasionally asking them questions to see if they could break character.
Finally, they reached the Alexanderplatz, and Wanda's eyes lit up with excitement. The last time they were there, she didn't have the time to do anything else than being attacked and run away.
"Like it, darling?" Natasha asked as Wanda practically ran out of the cab to get a full view. As Wanda nodded, Natasha gave Sam money and nodded tightly, before turning her attention to the young woman.
Wanda's smile couldn't get wider and brighter, and it warmed Natasha's heart to see her so full of life, full of hope, like the girl she was when she and Pietro first went with them. The younger woman ran to her and hugged her, muttering thank yous and how amazing it was. She didn't know if it was thanks to the cover, but Wanda took her by the neck and kissed her softly.
It was way different than a kiss with a man. Her lips were softer and somewhat thinner, and they tasted like mint and her strawberry flavored lip balm.
Shocked, she managed to smile a little and look back at both Sam and Steve, who were just as shocked as her. Soon they joined them, and they began their walk towards the Alex.
"Hey, Wanda. Let's go to get some food while these two find whatever Steve came after." Sam knew exactly why they came, but wouldn't tell her. Wanda nodded and walked with him, still smiling widely.
"Where are we going?" Natasha asked as they started walking. Steve shoved his hands on his pockets and glanced at her for a couple of seconds.
"A bar." He simply replied. Natasha hated being left in the dark, especially when it was Steve doing it. It made her feel paranoid, exposed even, to not know what to do or how to prepare for even a simple situation as walking to a bar.
They walked for a couple of minutes until they reached a tiny bar in the corner of a street, and Steve placed a hand softly on Natasha's shoulder.
"I'm, ah, I have things to do. I'll get inside as soon as I can, okay?" Natasha nodded, confused. As she opened the door, a blonde woman walked outside through the back door, and she had to close her eyes to stop the jealousy wave that hit her.
Sharon.
She sat down and smiled at the bartender.
"Vodka on the rocks, with lemon, please." The man smiled at her and she tried to smile back, feeling uneasy. Sharon was still in Berlin, and she hadn't changed her appearance, which worried her in levels she didn't even want to accept. Hopefully, if something happened, it would just be Steve and her who would go down, not Wanda and Sam too, and she finally understood why Steve never told them anything completely.
She knew they were going to Berlin, Sam knew he was meeting Sharon and Wanda knew where to go. She smiled a little at the fun memory Skye once told her during their training sessions, the time she had to send her friends with very little information about the mission to ensure the safety of the plan.
The bartender placed her drink in front of her, and Natasha smiled gratefully at him. Just as she took the first sip with a pleasant grin, the back door opened and a frustrated Steve walked in. Sighing, she left her drink in front of her and turned to the bartender with an apologetic smile.
"Give him a vodka, dry, ah... Jonas." The man nodded and turned to serve the drink.
"Make it double," Steve said as he sat down beside Natasha, who grabbed her drink once again and kept on drinking.
"I take it things didn't go out well," Natasha guessed before sipping her vodka. Steve thanked Jonas and gulped down half his drink. Natasha arched a brow as she quietly scanned his body language. Tense shoulders, his left leg bouncing up and down slightly in discomfort, an almost imperceptible twitch on his right eye, and his jaw so tight she feared it would snap. Yeah, it didn't go good at all.
"Are you... okay?" she asked, even though she already knew the answer. He looked at her with his severe gaze that only meant 'let's talk about it somewhere private' and she rushed to finish her drink. Without saying anything, he dropped enough money for both their drinks and a generous tip for Jonas, grabbed his jacket, and walked away.
Rolling her eyes and apologizing for his behavior, Natasha rushed behind him.
"Where's the safe house?" he asked, running a hand through his long hair. Natasha slid the backpack on one shoulder and tried to keep up the pace.
"First of all, relax or you'll pop a joint," Natasha said, planting herself in front of him, "and second, where are Sam and Wanda? We can't get there without them, they'll get lost." Steve pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed.
"We... they can't hear this, I don't want them to hear this." He finally said, looking defeated. "God, I knew this would happen, why didn't I see it before?" he placed his hands on his hips and looked at her, pleadingly.
"So you sent them to somewhere they can be safe at while we talk. That's a good one, Grant," Natasha said, smirking, trying to lighten up the mood. Steve nodded and she began walking. "It's an abandoned safe house, actually, one of the first ones I had. They should have teared up apart almost the whole place."
"How are we gonna live there, then?" Steve asked, confused.
"That's why I said almost. I have a passage to somewhere else they don't know about, somewhere not even Fury knew about, and that's something." Natasha replied, proud of herself. Back in the day, when she was just starting and she didn't trust anyone else but Clint, she had modified most of her safe houses; this one, in particular, had a secret passage to another one, registered under an alias no one knew, with a story only one person knew.
You're a science teacher. Your husband... he renovates houses. You're thinking about moving but you're gonna wait until the interest rates go down.
It was at the end of a street, rather close to the Alexanderplatz. The house, just like she predicted, was rather destructed and inhabitable, but its structure was still intact. As she walked inside the house, she took a moment to admire what they did to what once was her living place.
Once they reached the basement door, Steve stopped her.
"I think we can talk here, no need to go to the other one." Natasha nodded and they went upstairs to the attic. If her plan was going accordingly to plan, the international agents would have already been alerted of their presence in both Scottland and Iceland, so they had to be away from Germany for the time.
Natasha dusted an old, rattled couch, and coughed when the dust filled her lungs. Steve sat beside her and sighed heavily, resting head on his palms.
"I broke up with Sharon. And she took it... well, not good," Steve began, "she thinks I'm leaving her for you, and then she threatened me with revealing where we were if I didn't go back with her, I... I don't even know why I dated her in the first place." He laughed bitterly and rubbed his temples. Natasha patted his back and thought on it for a while.
"That's why you didn't want Sam and Wanda to know? Because they'll lose their shit and try to attack?" she asked, and Steve nodded. "I'm glad you told me, then," Natasha muttered, staring at the floor. "So we leave now?"
"I think that would be ideal." Steve sighed and stood up. "Do you think they'll be gone by the time we reach Ireland?" he asked, putting his hands on his hips. Natasha shrugged, feeling her heart beat faster with each minute that passed. She had to ask, she needed to know.
"Did you?" she lifted her eyes, staring at him, feeling completely vulnerable and exposed, letting him take a peek at her true emotions. Licking her lips, she stood up, crossing her arms over her chest, putting a barrier between them. "Did you leave her for me?" Steve opened his mouth to say something, anything, when the sound of guns interrupted them. Quickly, as a reflex, Steve wrapped his arms around Nat as she took out her gun and pointed blindly.
Steve groaned and motioned for Natasha to follow him downstairs, using his body as a shield to protect her. As they reached the backdoor, the image got clearer: someone was attacking the street.
Wondering where they're friends were, Natasha walked towards the front door, ignoring Steve. She couldn't just go away without at least trying to protect people, innocents who were under fire.
A barricade of cars protected several men with machine guns, firing at the Alexanderplatz. Cursing, she turned to find Steve next to her, thinking about going after them, too.
"Bucky said to not let you do stupid things, but... are they stupid if we go together?" Natasha asked with a smirk. Steve opened the door, accepted the gun that Natasha offered him, and walked out.
"You take them from where you're safe, I'll clear the streets." Natasha nodded and ran towards the action. It felt good, Steve finally giving her credit for being more than the 'clear the streets' agent, and she only wished that Tony would do that someday.
Firing her gun three times, she hid behind a car. It triggered memories from that day three years ago, when Bucky shot her in the shoulder under the brainwash of HYDRA. Forcing herself on her feet, blocking the memories, she ran again and decided to fight with her body, the best weapon she could find.
Counting five men, she smirked at how easy it would be. Jumping on the trunk of one car, she did the move she knew best: her infamous thigh chokehold, grabbing another man by the hair as she fell to the ground and rose to her feet quickly to block a kick, trapping the man's leg between her leg and hand, and using her elbow to bend his knee with a quick blow, leaving him crying in pain.
Oh, how she wished to have her Widow Bites at that moment to just paralyze those men in a second. As she took the third man out, a familiar redhead joined her, fighting the fourth man with only her body, kicking him in the abdomen and taking him by the hair to repeatedly smash his head against her knee, breaking his nose, before she knocked him unconscious.
"Wonder who taught you that," Natasha muttered, smirking at Wanda, who just smiled and let the man fall.
"The best, I'm sure." They both went to the last man, with Wanda barreling his legs with her own and Natasha pinning him to the ground, holding his neck, applying enough pressure to knock him out.
Steve and Sam appeared by their side in the blink of an eye, agitated, motioning them to get closer.
"We need to leave, now." Sam rested his hands on his knees. "We didn't use anything to distinguish us, but they'll know better than four strangers suddenly taking down about nine shooters in less than five minutes."
Steve handed Natasha her backpack, and Sam refused to let Wanda have her own.
"You got hit, Wanda, we all saw it." Wanda hissed at Steve's commentary, but let Sam carry her bag. "We take a train to Nantes, and from there we fly to Dublin, where we'll talk more about this, am I clear?" once everyone nodded, they began walking.
"First we need to take the bullet out, can we go to the safe house for a moment?" Sam asked. Steve nodded, and he let Natasha lead them to the place where they were before.