"where could she be?"
"don't worry Steve."
"how can I not worry?"
"because she's Nat, she'll be alright she just needs to cope."
"what if she gets in trouble Barton?"
"Then she'll get herself out of trouble. This is Natasha we're talking about."
"but-"
"no buts, how about this. If she is not back in the next 24 hours we will split up and look for her. I'm sure it wont be hard for the avengers to get a hold of her"
Steve sighed, throwing himself onto the small bed in their motel room, knocking Tony off.
"you know what, if we're staying in Vegas a little longer I say we get a nice hotel and we go out to party."
They all agreed and packed their things, Thor half dragged Steve out the door and into a car that Tony had arranged to pick them up. They were dropped off in a big hotel where Tony led them to the penthouse. Turns out they were located right on the strip. Tony, Thor and Clint went out to party while Steve and Bruce opted for sleep. Steve didn't sleep that night, he simply stayed awake hoping that Natasha would walk through the door. She didn't, the door stayed closed until Clint stumbled in a 9 in the morning follow by Thor and Tony several hours later. They went to the hotel restaurant for breakfast where they overheard the conversation of two young men next to them.
"Dude, I was at Haze last night and there was this girl. Banging hot, bright red hair couldn't have been more than 23. She was absolutely smashed, I thought it would be an easy kill but as soon as I put my hand on her ass she fucking flipped me over and almost dislocated my shoulder."
Steve and Bruce turned to look at the guy and saw that he had a black eye and split lip.
"Hey son, where did you say you saw this girl?"
"Haze…holy shit man are you-"
"do you have any idea where she could have gone after that?"
"I had overheard her talking about going to another club but I don't know where sir…Captain."
Steve nodded in gratitude and turned back to the rest of his team.
"She's fine Rogers, and probably not nearly as hung over as Stark is going to be."
Steve just glared at Clint and continued stabbing his breakfast, making sure to be loud to aggravate Clint. Tony and Thor were not very welcoming of the noise either, all three of them stood up leaving Bruce and Steve alone.
"you need to calm down Steve."
"How am I supposed to? I feel like I'm the only who is worried about Natasha."
"you're not, we all are. We all love her but worrying is not going to do any good."
Steve pushed himself off his chair and stomped away from the table. Tony had already covered the tab so Bruce followed Steve back to their suite. Thor was laying across the couch, half of his ridiculously large body hanging off. Clint was nursing a coffee at the bar and Tony was nowhere to be seen. Probably downstairs at the casino. Steve however decided to take residence in his own room, looking out the window. Straining his eyes to try to see if he could spot the red hair that he knew there was no chance he would see. Minutes seemed to pass like hours and the sun went down slower than ever. Steve was going out of his mind. The second the clock indicated that it had been 24 hours since Natasha left them Steve grabbed his leather jacket and was out the door shortly followed by the rest of the avengers. They split up, each of them searching individual clubs, bars, casinos. Everywhere where they could possibly find Natasha. Thor was starting to yawn around four in the morning, Tony was using every kind of technology he could but the spy was nowhere to be found.
"Maybe Tasha just doesn't want to be found. If that's the case you have no chance of finding her Steve. Let's just go back to the suite, get some rest and we can start fresh tomorrow."
Steve was reluctant but he knew what Clint was saying was true. There were tears of frustration threatening to spill from Steve's eyes.
"Do not worry friend Steve, we shall find our fiery friend and all will be well once again."
Steve accepted the pat on the back from Thor and followed Tony to their hotel. The suite was dark and quite compared to the roaring nightlife surrounding them. They each retreated to their own rooms, each of them emotionally and physically drained. Steve walked into his room, frustrated and alone. He slammed the door nearly knocking it off its hinges and threw himself off the bed in frustration. He didn't notice the woman standing by his window.
"late night?"
Steve was on his feet in a fraction of a second ready for a fight but he relaxed as soon as she stepped closer. The emerald eyes and flaming red hair were unmistakable. She had an uncertain look in her eyes as if she thought that Steve would not want her back after her disappearing. He didn't even hesitate gather the small woman in his arms, holding her close. He let out a choked sob and breathed in her scent.
"I thought you weren't coming back"
"I'll always come home. You are my home Steve. I'm sorry."
"It's okay baby, I understand. I'm just glad to have you back."
Natasha nearly lost it as she held on tight to Steve, pushing her face into his chest not letting him go. They stayed in that position for some time until they finally started to pull away. Steve took in Natasha's tiny dress that left barely anything to the imagination and her sky high heels.
"Natasha, I love you but you kind of smell."
"I threw up in the bushes outside the hotel."
"Lovely, how about we get you showered and clean and we can go to sleep."
"I'm not tired."
"Alright baby, then you can tell me where you've been."
Natasha nodded and followed Steve into the bathroom, he washed her hair and let her rest on him before handing her one of his shirts and leading her back to their room.
"I was bar hopping, to be quite honest I can't remember much of anything. I won a few thousand at the Bellagio. It was all a blur after that. I'm pretty sure some bastard slipped something into one of my drinks but I got out of there before anything could happen. Next thing I know I'm in a warehouse in a game of Russian roulette with a gun to my head. That's what it took for me to come home and realize that I couldn't lose you."
He was laying on the bed, her body tucked perfectly into his side. If she had been looking up she would have seen a seen the dark look cross Steve face as soon as she began to talk about Russian Roulette. He didn't interrupt her, he just listened and held her tight. They laid in comfortable silence until Natasha abruptly stood up and walked over to the closet. Steve could make out the outline of her luggage and several bags that were not there before in her closet. She rummaged through her small suitcase and pulled something out. When she turned around and came back to bed Steve could see a shimmering ring on Natasha's finger that brought a smile to his face.
"you know I was starting to think that you had forgotten that you were my fiancée."
"I could never Captain."
She snuggled back into his side, falling asleep almost instantly. Steve followed soon after, both of them exhausted from the last few days. It was not even an hour later when Thor's booming voice rang through the suite.
"Steve! The sun has risen and it is time for us to continue our search for our beautiful Natasha."
Clint and Tony opened Steve's door and began jumping on his bed.
"Jeez, ow!"
"Come on Tasha we have to go look for Tasha…wait."
"will you please get your foot off my boob Stark?"
Clint and Tony both jumped off the bed stairing at Natasha.
"welcome back sweet cheeks."
Natasha smiled at Tony. Bruce and Thor walked into the room once they heard Natasha's voice, the latter jumped on the bed to give Natasha a back breaking hug.
"well since our adventures have been cancelled, Pepper requests my presence back in New York. So unless you wanna find your own ride we're leaving in half an hour."
Natasha pulled out some of the shopping bags she had apperantly hidden in the closet and retreated to the bathroom to get dressed. She came out looking completely refreshed and smiling with an engagement ring on her finger. Steve was drying his hair and pulling on a shirt. All her things were neatly folded into her suitcase.
"I showered in Bruce's bathroom, Tony is getting fidgety. We should hurry."
Natasha nodded as she put on her shoes. Steve took the luggage out as Natasha finished getting ready. She then joined the boys in the car waiting to take them to the Stark jet awaiting their arrival.
"You alright Tash?"
She nodded at Clint, reassuring him that she wouldn't freak out at any moment. Tony rushed everyone until they reached the jet.
"Stark you are getting on my final nerve, if you tell me to hurry up one more time I swear you will regret it."
Tony was sitting in his seat tied to his chair with a rope that he didn't know Natasha had with her.
"where the hell did you get this rope from little red, untie me."
"…no, I warned you to not rush me."
"you suck…right Steve?"
That earned Tony a glare.
"wait a second Anastasia…whats that shiny rock on your ring finger."
The rest of the avengers immediately turned to look at the engagement ring.
"nah, Tasha's not that marriage kind are you Tash?"
"…actually I'm engaged."
"To Steve?"
"Yes Clint, to Steve."
"when? Last night?"
"No, about 3 months ago."
There was silence followed by loud cheering from Thor. He thumped Steve on the back and hugged Natasha.
"congratulations my friends!"
The rest of the guys offered their congratulations aswell. Tony began planning a party as soon as Bruce gave in and untied him, earning a glare from Natasha.
holy cow, i just realized how long its been sine i uploaded, i apologize. I had this chapter uploaded i just forgot to actually post it to the story. I'm sorry guys, school has been kicking my butt. As always i hope you enjoy it and I hope to hear what you have to say.
Reviews make my day!
