Loki had escaped, Thor had disappeared along with the glass cage, agent Coulson was dead and everyone's determination was down. Stark, much to Steve and Bucky's surprise, was the one who was grieving Coulson the most. But it somewhat made sense, of every person on board, Tony Stark was the only one who was a civilian. Saving the world, he knew; but losing a comrade was a feeling he was stranger with until now.
Agent Romanoff was fine. Bucky had arrived just in time to distract Dr Banner's alter ego with rifle shots and give Romanoff a way out. Thor had then intervened, leaving the room where chaos had just happened heavily quiet. Bucky had barely had time to reach the corner where Romanoff was secluded that he found she had already gone. He later heard she had gone after the compromised agent and subdued him.
Steve had listened closely to his best friend's every word; and part of him, while picturing agent Romanoff fighting off who he had only seen break out on a screen so far, made him resent Dr Banner. Not for who he was, but for yielding to anger and putting her in harm along the way. He wished he could have gone check on her and perhaps even soothed the anguish or the fright if she felt any, but he was immediately caught up by two reminders. First, he wasn't anyone that had earned the right to be that kind of person to her; and second, she had been alone with agent Barton since she had neutralized him.
He went on to check on Tony Stark to omit –and somehow mend— his incapability to do so with the woman whose face roused his deepest feelings and instincts.
Once the conversation ended, Steve discovered a new side of Stark which he endeavoured to conceal behind false-pretences and a feigned nonchalance. A way to protect himself probably, and which he respected by not digging further. At this moment, Steve saw what the world saw in Stark: a man of iron and a man of heart— although Tony himself hadn't realized it fully yet. He carried uncertainties and prejudices which blurred his vision of himself and therefore his relationship with others.
They figured where Loki would hit next and decided the best way to stop it would be by acting together –without Fury. The trust was just gone.
Steve informed Bucky then proceeded to find a pilot he could trust. Agent Romanoff was the first person to pop in his mind. He walked along the corridor to the room where Barton was being held captive. As he stopped by the door, he caught a glimpse of them through the little window. He froze and dwelled on the sight before him a little longer than he normally should. Agent Romanoff was seated next to Barton who was now untied. They were not saying a word but it was evident from where he was standing that they didn't need any to communicate. Their silence was doing the entire job. His expression probably saddened so he looked away, clearing his throat. He then knocked on the door to make his presence known –which made Romanoff get up on her feet right away—then he opened the door. Barton volunteered to fly the jet and Romanoff convinced him he was no longer a threat with a single, confident nod of the head.
The battle in New York followed and soon Thor then Banner arrived. Together, they sort of became this group of remarkable people Fury had talked about. The Avengers.
"Call it, captain," Stark said simply, symbolically passing the authority to him. Bucky stared with a pleased expression.
For Steve, the exercise was comfortable as an old shoe. Seventy years had gone by, but here he was handed out the position he had earned back in the 1940s. For the first time, it felt like being at home. He thought strategically, sent Stark to restrain the perimeter, Thor to block the passage, Barton and Bucky on the roofs as lookouts.
Agent Romanoff was standing a few feet away, patiently waiting for her orders.
"You and me, we stay here on the ground, keep the fighting here," he said.
His choice would have probably seemed anything but dispassionate but in reality, it was essentially strategic. He had watched her fight and had assessed her skills were exactly what he needed to complement his and make the fighting on the ground much more effective. Knowing he had her by his side in the (unlikely) scenario-case she would be in danger was a perk.
"So tell me," she casually said at some point after taking a Chitauri down and making the time for a chat amidst the chaotic fight. "Is this world as bad as you pictured it?"
He knocked an enemy over with his shield. "I'm still waiting to try a sprinkle doughnut before making any conclusion."
He turned to look at her and found her watching him with an amused smirk.
"If we make it out alive," she said. "I'll take you to the best doughnut store of the city myself." Her casualness brought back familiar memories. He shook his head and smiled.
Some minutes later, many Chitauri were down but many more kept coming.
"Captain," she panted, out of breath after shooting an alien with its own weapon. "None of this is gonna mean a damn thing if we don't close that portal."
"Our biggest guns couldn't touch it."
"Well, maybe it's not about guns." She looked at the Tesseract at the top of Stark's tower.
"You wanna get up there, you're gonna need a ride," he said. And their quinjet was crashed somewhere on the Fifth avenue.
She dropped the alien weapon like a useless mop now that it had served its purpose. "I got one," she answered turning her back to him walking away. His quizzical look was slightly apparent. "I could use a boost though."
She glanced skywards and he understood. One of the Chitauri's flying machines. She was going to fly up to try and stop the aliens and she was going to do it riding one of their jets. That was insolently bold, and he liked it. But he was caught up by technical details. How would she manage to fly an alien item? How would she get the alien mount to obey her?
He glanced at one of the them flashing right above his head. These things were fast, and not exactly safe.
"You sure about this?" he asked more to himself than to her.
She slightly wiped the blood on her bottom lip with the tip of her tongue. "Yeah," she breathed out with an octave higher. "It's gonna be fun."
He wasn't so sure about that. His face was serious and reluctant, but he complied nevertheless. That was still the best chance they got.
He slightly folded his knees to make leverage and held his shield tight with his two hands. She locked her gaze on a Chitauri flying machine heading toward them and she ran up to Steve. She hopped on the cab's hood to gather momentum then landed down on his shield. He thrust her upwards and she twirled up in the air before taking hold of a bar placed underneath the alien jet just when it flew by. She was instantly launched away at high speed and with such easiness it would have made anyone think she had done it all her life. His gaze remained fixed on her, watching her fly away with bright and lively eyes. An exclamation of surprising came out of his mouth as his pupils stared with amazement. Natalie wasn't in his mind for once as he was completely enthralled by Romanoff's singularity. He thrived to know her better for who she was as an individual.
"We really need to close that portal," Bucky said in the earpiece.
Steve looked up to get a visual of his friend. Bucky was firing on site from the top of the roof, very much focused on the flying targets in front of him. Steve suddenly caught sight of a Chitauri flying straight at him from behind.
"Watch out!" Steve cried, clutching his earpiece tight. Alarmed by the panicked warning that could only be addressed to him, Bucky flipped his head around just when the Chitauri was coming at him. The flying machine passed right by his side and the enemy kicked him in the face, knocking him over the edge. Bucky fell off the roof, thrust down the building.
"Bucky!" Steve cried out with the last of air he had left in his contracted lungs as he helplessly witnessed his friend's fall. His chest tightened, his breathing became jerky and even painful as his eyes locked on the horrifying sight of his best friend's numb figure making its deadly descent. Steve's mind crawled with a billion thoughts until it went totally blank from the brutal and sudden saturation. One obsessive thought remained though, hammering relentlessly into his head: he wasn't going to be able to save him. He was going to lose him for good this time. That was an undisputable fact that he wanted to scream out with sheer rage. Bucky was falling to his death and he was powerless about it. He squeezed his fists so tightly the nails bit into his flesh and his jaw tightened.
A red figure suddenly flew in. Stark followed Bucky's trajectory before his strong iron arms locked around his waist and interrupted his fall.
Steve's squeezed fists released the pressure as he ran up to the landing point. Stark was gently putting Bucky down on the ground.
"Not as light as you thought, Sergeant," Stark teased while Bucky turned to face him.
"Thanks," he breathed out softly, still numbed by the quick succession of the events.
"Bucky," Steve cried again when he finally reached his side, instinctively reaching for his shoulder to get a concrete grasp of his best friend. "You okay?" he asked out of breath, locking gaze with him.
Buck nodded. "I'm alright," he answered reassuringly first. "You know how I like to be under the spotlight." The little smirk and the ironic tone were his instinctive attempt at concealing his embarrassment.
So Steve respected it and restrained himself from hugging his friend and expressing any more relief. He communicated it in a nod and gently squeezed his shoulder. He then turned to Stark who was standing a couple of feet behind on the lookout.
"Stark," Steve started, looking at him with a mix of sheer gratitude and remorse for ever thinking wrongly about him. He slightly parted his lips to voice out loud how thankful it was. Stark's iron face was gazing at him and it was quite difficult to read out his face underneath.
"Just did what had to be done, Cap," Tony chimed in quickly with a feigned dispassionate tone. Steve nodded at him gratefully nevertheless and Stark answered with a silent nod too before flying away.
Steve watched as he disappeared into the sky as a thought embedded itself with more certainty. Tony Stark was a lot like his father. And he and Howard were friends. It opened a door for him and Tony in the future.
When the Chitauri were all defeated and New York City (and the rest of the world) was safe, and agent Romanoff was for the most part responsible for it. They had all fought hard to protect the planet, but she was the one who saved it. Steve valued her as one of the strongest assets of his team. She couldn't summon thunder, she couldn't fly, she couldn't smash effortlessly but it was her boldness and determination who had taken them to victory. She was undeniably one of the best agents he had ever met and in his definition –although he wouldn't say it out loud cause he had a feeling she wouldn't want to hear it— a hero.
Loki was taken back to Asgard by Thor and the Avengers soon parted to go their own way. For now. Until the world would need them again.
"I'm not saying you're indebted to me ," Tony started nonchalantly while walking up to Bucky. "But you owe me your life. Big time."
Bucky snorted. He held his hand out and shook his hand. "Glad to know this episode won't fall into oblivion." He paused and smiled. "No pun intended."
"I'll just turn a deaf ear to this one," Tony said. "We both know you can do better."
"Wow. A life rescue and a compliment. This is unheard of."
"Groundbreaking is my middle name."
Bucky sighed then looked at the billionaire with an amused expression. "And you were doing so fine. But your ego had to kick in again."
For the first time, he didn't actually mean it as being an entirely annoying flaw.
"How would you feel about working for SHIELD? We could use someone like you." Romanoff said to Steve on the other side of the road, her arms folded across her chest and a little smirk on her lips. "You and Barnes."
Steve smiled. "Fury asked you to recruit me? Like he asked you to recruit Dr Banner?"
She dove those gorgeous, familiar green eyes right into his, a playful smile tucking to her lips.
"He asked me to drop the question," she conceded unashamedly. "But the compliment is on me."
It sounded like nothing but he had a feeling it meant something to her. She wasn't exactly the type to butter people up. She paid him a little compliment but it was her way of opening up to him.
Director Fury was untrustworthy and he didn't like his methods but SHIELD was still the only way he got to stay in touch with agent Romanoff.
"I can't work with people I know nothing about," he said implicitly. They both knew it wasn't Director Fury they were talking about here.
She looked at him warily but with a playful expression shimmering behind her pupils. She cared to satisfy Fury's request, but not at the price of her personal boundaries. She saw in his eyes how he silently challenged her to disclose herself. To what degree, she didn't know, and this was all the risk he was waiting on her to take anyway.
After another second of hesitation during which she tried to probe his next move, she finally gave in to the challenge, yielding to temptation, curious to find out what he had in mind.
"What do you want to know?" she asked with a feigned disinterest.
He held up his gaze. "How about your name?"
She looked at him intently, her features gently relaxing. She looked even more curious than before.
"That's it?" she asked with an arched eyebrow, probing any sign of lie in his upcoming answer.
But he didn't need to. Not with her. "For now," he nodded.
She smiled slightly, seeming to like his answer even more than the one she expected, almost eager to get started with the game he had just established. Her pupils dilated a little. She was entertained and he knew it. She had the same expression Natalie had whenever she was in a playful mood.
"Natasha," she answered.
His heart pounded on one beat at the sound of the first syllable, taken by surprise by yet another similarity added to the stack of similarities he had been fighting hard to ignore. He kept the best poker face though and nodded in silence –mostly because of the lump in his throat— and watched her get in Barton's car before he drove away.
He felt the trap he had been in ever since Natasha Romanoff had walked into his life tighten around him a little bit more.