Author´s Notes: Here goes another chapter! I´m doing my best to update as soon as possible, but I´m really busy at my work these days! I´m so sorry to keep you waiting! I´m pretty sure that next chapter is going to be the last one, so enjoy the story while it last!

I made a subtle quotation of how Stark might start Age of Ultron, just for fun! I can´t wait for the movie to come out, so I couldn´t resist!

Thanks for the support, I appreciate it! Bye!

CHAPTER 19

It is late night in New York City and Sam Wilson goes inside the Avengers Tower.

Sam is greeted by Jarvis when he enters the elevator: "Mr. Wilson, welcome. Mr. Stark told me that you would be staying with us for a few days, I have a guest room ready for you, sir."

"Thanks Jarvis, but I feel like having a snack, can you take me to the common room first?" Sam had been to the Avengers Tower a couple of times before, when he was helping Steve with his search for Bucky. A part of Sam is glad that that is over, but the other part is sad of how it had to end.

"Of course, sir." Jarvis responds and the elevator starts to move up.

Sam exits the elevator looking down and walks in the common room feeling a little defeated by the events of his last mission. When he raises his head to look around, he sees Tony sitting up from the big gray couch where he was laying on and Clint sitting on a big black armchair staring at the television.

Clint turns his head away from the action movie they were watching on the big screen TV to look at Sam.

Tony also looks at Sam and speaks first: "Hey, Wing Man!" He gets up and walks to Sam and shake hands with him: "Nice to have you here!"

Sam gives a weak smile and says: "Thanks Stark. I´m just glad the mission is over."

"Where is the rest of your team?" Tony asks looking over Sam´s shoulders to see if Natasha and Steve are coming behind him.

Clint notices no one is coming so he gets up too and asks in a worried tone: "Are they okay?"

Sam now looks at Clint and answers: "Yeah, Steve and Natasha are okay. I mean, they are not physically hurt or anything, but…" Sam looks down and trails off.

Tony now has a worried expression too and asks: "But what? What´s happened?"

Sam looks from Tony to Clint, he takes a deep breath and starts explaining everything: "The mission didn't turn out as we expected. We found the Winter Soldier and stopped him from killing the General. The problem is that Steve wanted to get Bucky back to his senses, but the Captain´s words made no effect on him. So we had to fight him. The Winter Soldier tried to kill us all on the process. It got to a point where he was choking Steve to death with his metal arm and Natasha had to shoot him dead to save Steve´s life. The Winter Soldier…Bucky is dead and the worst part is that Steve is blaming Natasha for it."

Clint says concerned: "Shit, that sounds bad!"

Tony starts walking around nervously, then he stops and speaks up in a sarcastic tone: "Ha, the Captain Righteousness! He always wants to make sure everyone comes back alive from a mission and when someone saves him, he gets mad? The Little Red saved him! We should try to put that thought into his thick skull!"

Sam says with a disappoited tone: "Believe me, I´ve tried, but I guess he is confused with the situation, I think he just needs time to get over it. After all he just lost Bucky again, he was like a brother to him."

They just stay silent for a moment until Clint quickly starts to make his way to the elevator: "I going to Natasha´s room and see how she is doing."

Sam speaks as Clint passes by him: "She is not there Barton. Neither of them came back to the Tower." Clint turns around and looks confused at Sam.

Sam continues: "Once we landed in NY, they had an argument at the airport and Steve left us there. Natasha came to the Tower with me but before we got inside she said she needed a drink and walked away. So, none of them are here."

Clint is still looking at Sam and asks in an upset tone: "So where are they?"

Sam just shrugs his shoulders at Clint.

Tony smirks looking from Clint to Sam: "Come on guys, that´s easy to know!" He speaks up: "Jarvis, can you please track Steve and Natasha whereabouts?"

"Yes sir, right away." Jarvis responds. After a few seconds Jarvis speaks again: "Sir, Mr. Rogers is by the East River on Brooklyn."

Tony´s smiles increase a bit by Jarvis response and Sam smiles back at Tony saying: "Well, he said he wanted to go home before we left Russia, I guess that makes sense."

Jarvis continues: "I can´t track Ms. Romanoff, her phone tracking device is disabled." Tony´s smile disappear from his face as he looks at Clint who throws his hands on the air and says disappointed: "Of course it is." Clint makes his way back to the armchair he was before and sits down rubbing his hand on his forehead.

Tony taps his chin with his fingers nervously and then says looking at Clint: "She always does that, doesn´t she? Sorry Legolas, I´m sure she will be fine. Should we go after Capsicle?"

Sam answers: "No, I think he needs sometime alone. I´m sure he won´t do anything stupid."

"Okay…so how about a drink?" Tony says as he walks to the bar and pours himself a glass of whiskey.

"I´ll take a beer" Sam replies and sits on a stool by the bar.

Tony hands him a bottle of beer and asks: "So Wing Man, how are your wings performance, need any upgrades?"

"Yeah, I was going to ask you something like that…" Sam takes a sip from his beer and then continues with a half-smile: "They were working fine until the Winter Soldier crushed them with his hands. The side he gripped with his metal arm is destroyed, I don´t even know if it can be repaired."

Tony was behind the counter taking a sip from his drink and almost chokes on it when he hears Sam´s last words. He cleans up a little of the whisky that fell from his mouth to his chin with the back of his hands and speaks: "Oh, come on! Give me a break! What´s up with you two bird brains?" He looks from Sam to Clint and continues: "If you keep coming back from missions with your gadgets broken, I´ll have to hire an assistant to help me with all the work!"

Sam looks down to his bottle and mutters: "Sorry, Stark."

Clint looks at Tony and says bluntly: "I thought that Jarvis was your assistant."

Tony, with his half full glass on his hand, walks away from the bar toward Clint: "Well, yes! And he is a great one, but sometimes I could use an extra pair of hands, you know? And the last robotic arm that I had wasn´t really smart."

Sam turns his stool around to look at Tony, who is now standing in the middle of the room, and adds: "Well, maybe you should build a whole robot to help you."

Tony turns to face Sam and ponders on his remark for a while before he replies: "That´s not a bad idea, actually."

Clint quickly rises from his sit and exclaims: "Oh no!" He points his finger to Tony and continues looking at Sam: "Don´t give him any crazy ideas Wilson, or we might end up having to face an army of super intelligent robots that are threatening to end humanity, like in The Terminator movie!"

Tony chuckles and adds sarcastically: "Don´t worry Legolas, I will make sure to insert Asimov´s three laws of robotics on its brain!"

Clint has a look of disbelieve on his face and replies looking to Tony: "Oh, yeah, sure! Have you seen I, Robot?"

Tony laughs so hard this time that tears form on his eyes. He manages to say: "I think you´re watching too much TV, Glasseye."

Sam can´t help but laugh a little too.

Clint gets mad, he sits back down on his chair and adds in an upset tone: "Whatever…you should just ask Bruce to help you, he is always with you on the lab anyway."

Tony rubs his eyes with his free hand to wipe the tears away and says to Clint: "Or maybe you should be more careful with your bow, bird brain!"

Clint threatens to rise again and exclaims: "What? It´s like you´ve never damaged your suit before!"

Tony takes a sip from his drink and replies playfully: "Well, I never got bit by a dog while I was on a mission, that´s for sure!"

Sam looks surprised at Clint: "Wait, a dog? A dog broke your bow man? Really?"

Clint looks angrily at Tony: "It was a damn adamantium hound! Adamantium! Do you know what that is, Tin Man?"

"Of course I do! That´s why I would never let it bite me on the ankle or use my bow to take cover!" Tony laughs again and then continues: "You were lucky that it didn´t hit the bone or instead of bandages on your leg you would have a cast!"

Clint lets out an exasperation breath before standing up saying: "I´m going to search the nearby bars to see if I can find Natasha before I shoot an arrow on your ass, Stark."

Tony is taking another sip from his glass as he watches Clint making his way to the elevator. Once Clint turns around to press the button to the lobby, Tony adds: "I wonder how you´re gonna do that without a bow?" Clint has time only to throw him a menacing glance before the elevator doors shut. Clint hears Tony´s faint laugh and only shakes his head in defeat as the elevator descends.

After walking aimless around Brooklyn neighborhood for some time, Steve decides that he should get back to the tower, take a shower and try to get some rest, because as soon as the first rays of sun hit his window, he will be getting on his bike and making his way to Peggy´s retirement home to see her.

He makes a sign with his hand for a passing cab to stop. He gets in and asks the driver to take him to the Avengers Tower. The cab driver looks suspiciously at him, but doesn´t ask anything and just do as he is told. When they arrive at their destination, Steve pays the driver and thanks him.

Steve steps inside the elevator and hears Jarvis´voice: "Welcome back, Captain."

Steve replies in a down tone: "Thanks Jarvis. Could you please tell the others that I don´t want to be disturbed?" He asks the A.I., knowing that Tony is already aware that he is in the building.

Jarvis responds: "Yes, sir."

Steve goes straight to his room, takes a nice hot shower, put on some comfy clothes, turns out the lights and lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling.

He closes his eyes and tries to get some sleep; he rolls from one side to the other on his bed until Natasha´s face appears on his mind. He opens his eyes again and looks around, but the shadows on his wall seem to keep calling him. So he closes his eyes again and then Bucky´s face keeps appearing on his mind. He goes on like that for some time until he loses track of how long he´s been awake. He gives up sleeping and keeps thinking about their mission on Russia, how it all turned out. He doesn´t know what is right or wrong anymore so he just sits on the edge of his bed trying to figure out what to do. He wonders what Natasha is doing right now, he thinks about going to her room to check on her, but then remembers that there is nothing left to say to her. But just to give him some peace of mind he asks out loud: "Jarvis, is Natasha in her room?"

Jarvis responds immediately: "No, sir. She hasn´t returned to the Tower yet."

Steve feels a chill go down his spine; he asks again a little annoyed: "Then where is she?"

Jarvis replies: "I´m sorry, sir. She disabled her tracking device, I don´t know where she is."

Steve exclaims: "God damn it!" He stands up and starts pacing around the room, afraid that Natasha is going to run away and disappear, like she did last time. He thinks that this is his entire fault because he was the one that pushed her away. He is feeling so confused and angry with this whole situation that he just punches the nearest wall, making a hole on it. He stares at the hole for a moment and then leans his head on the wall, and let fresh tears fall from his eyes.

Natasha is inside a busy bar, she is sitting by the bar´s counter, in the far end, trying not to call too much attention to herself. She is looking down at her empty glass of vodka, lost in her thoughts, when the bartender passes by her and asks: "Dare I offer you another shot?"

Natasha looks up absentminded, she has already lost count of how many shots she had, she is feeling a little tipsy but she still feel a great sadness inside her. So since she is trying to numb her senses with vodka, she replies: "Yes, please."

The bartender looks a little hesitant and says: "Are you sure? I never saw a woman drink so much vodka and still be able to talk, I´m starting to get worried about you."

Natasha gives the bartender a half-smile and answers: "Well, I´m Russian so don´t worry, I can take care of myself. Now, give me another please." She slides her empty glass on the counter and the bartender grabs it saying: "As you wish." He brings her another glass of straight vodka and Natasha only nods at him in gratitude before she takes another sip, feeling the burning sensation of her drink going down her throat.

Natasha is trying to keep a low profile inside the bar but her red curly hair and curvy figure doesn´t help much because a lot of men had tried to hit on her tonight. So when she notices, out of the corner of her eye, a man approaching and taking a sit on the stool beside her she doesn´t even bother to look at him as she speaks coldly: "Not interested."

But she can feel that the man is still staring at her anyway, so out of curiosity she looks at him and is surprised when she sees Clint Barton with a playful smile on his face. He says: "Wow, you didn´t even give me a chance to introduce myself! I´m Clint Barton, aka Hawkeye, how are you doing?"

The vodka is starting to take the desired effect on Natasha because she can´t help but laugh out loud at Clint´s remark. When she stops laughing she says looking at Clint: "Really Clint! Do you use that lame pick up line on women? That sucks!"

Clint looks a little hurt, but he says with a firm tone: "You would be surprised how many times it works."

"Oh God, really? I would expect that from Stark, but not from you." Natasha says with a huge smile on her face.

Clint chuckles and then replies: "At least I got you to smile a little, huh?" He keeps looking at Natasha with a half-smile.

Natasha´s smile fades as she looks away, back to her glass. Clint continues: "Well, I guess I´m not as good as Steve Rogers, right? So, what´s going on with you two?"

Natasha drinks the rest of the vodka in one single gulp and put the empty glass with a little more strength then she intended back at the counter, making a blunt noise. She is not surprised that Clint is aware that there was something going on between her and Steve, Clint knows her very well, so she just answers still looking at her glass: "Whatever it was, it´s over. It was a mistake."

Clint expression turns serious as he grabs her chin with his hand to make her look at him. He speaks softly: "You love him, don´t you?"

Natasha feels tears starting to form on her eyes so she abruptly pulls away from Clint´s hand and looks back down, whispering: "It doesn´t matter, I totally blew it." She then blinks the tears away and looks up searching for the bartender. When she spots him she raises her glass to him and shouts: "Another, please!"

Clint takes the empty glass from her hand and takes her hand in his, saying: "That´s enough drinking for today. Let´s get out of here, Nat."

Natasha meets Clint´s demanding eyes; she knows he is not asking, he is telling her. She takes a deep breath in defeat because she doesn´t want to argue with Clint too, not tonight. So she decides not to make a scene and do what Clint is telling her, this time. She thinks: "The vodka isn´t working anyway…". She puts some money on the counter and lets Clint lead her out of the bar and to his red Mustang that is parked nearby.

They get inside and Natasha looks around, impressed with Clint´s car.

Clint notices Natasha´s look and smiles, looking at her: "It´s one of the perks of living with a billionaire. We got nice rides!"

Natasha gives him a half-smile and says: "I guess."

Clint starts the engine and drives away from the bar. They stay silent for a moment.

On his long search through NYC´s bars for Natasha, Clint has been thinking about the events from Natasha´s mission in Russia, and how he could help her get over it. But he only knows what Sam Wilson has told him earlier, so he wants to ask her about it for more details but he doesn´t feel like it is a good time to do it. Until, Clint stops at a red light. He quickly glances to Natasha, because there is a question that just doesn´t get out of his head.

Natasha notices from the corner of her eye that Clint is glancing her way. She looks at him and asks rolling her eyes: "What?"

Clint opens his mouth to speak, but then he stops. Natasha takes a deep breath and says: "Go ahead, ask, I can handle it."

Clint keeps looking at Natasha and then just let it out: "I was wondering what happened with Bucky´s body? I mean, after you shoot him, did you guys just left?"

Natasha bits her lower lip nervously and then answers: "Yes, we left him on the top of the black building in Saint Petersburg."

"Do you think HYDRA or KGB might try to recover his body?" Clint continues.

Natasha chuckle bitterly and replies: "No. We assassins live as ghosts and die as nobodies. His body is probably going to be recovered by the Russian Police and tagged as an indigent." Natasha is puzzled by Clint´s questions: "Why?"

Clint starts to drive again as the red light turns to green. He is looking ahead, but continues speaking: "I was thinking that maybe we should recover his body and bring him back to NY for a proper funeral, on his homeland."

Natasha replies sadly: "That would be extremely hard, it would involve forging papers and getting pass the Russian authorities…I don´t know if it can be done."

Clint quickly glances at Natasha and says: "Well, if anyone can do it, that´s you Nat! I´m sure Steve would appreciate that." He looks back to the road.

Natasha just stares ahead at the road, thinking about what Clint just said. She comes to the conclusion that maybe after all the damage she has done, this might be her only chance for redemption. It is going to be a hard and boring task, but it is the least she could for Steve. She looks astounded at the archer: "You know Clint, that´s a good idea! It might help Steve to at least move on. It´s times like this that reminds me why you´re my best friend." She looks at Clint and smiles.

Clint meets Natasha´s eyes and smile back at her: "Thanks! Anything for you Nat!" He arrives at the Avenger Tower and parks inside the underground garage. He looks back to Natasha: "And count me in, I´m helping you on this one! We can take the Quinjet to get there faster."

Natasha replies as she gets out of the car: "Great! I'll meet you at the roof in 30 minutes. I need a cold shower."

Clint gets out too and laughs: "Yeah, and maybe you should drink some of Stark´s vodkas to avoid having a hangover. You know, just keep yourself drunk!"

Natasha jab his arm lightly as they get inside the elevator: "Ha ha, very funny. I don´t get hangovers."

"Well, lucky you!" Clint smiles at her.