It had been weeks since Natasha had left and time seemed to go as slow as ever. Since S.H.I.E.L.D. had gone, Steve was pretty much living the life of a retired soldier. Tony Stark had sent him a couple of emails but he hadn't be bothered to read them yet.

He and Bucky spent most of their days together when he wasn't with Maria.

"So," Bucky said one day, slumping into the couch next to him. "Can I resume poking fun at you or are you still grieving?"

Steve rolled his eyes. He cocked an eyebrow at him. "Did you even stop?"

Bucky smirked cheekily.

"She'll come back," he said with an assertive tone.

"Natalie also said she'd come back, and look now," he retorted.

Bucky shook his head. "Maybe she did," he said simply. His look turned more serious. "Maybe she came back and you were the one who was gone. You can't keep holding a grudge on her for breaking a promise she might have kept."

Steve frowned. He realized it was a possibility he had never considered. "What are you saying?"

"All I'm saying is that it's not always all black or white. Let alone when you don't have the clear picture."

They looked at each other silently. Bucky cleared his throat and brushed his upper lip with the back of his thumb.

"And If I remember well," he went on. "That's exactly what made you like her in the first place –the unclearness."

He snorted at Steve's reaction face.

"Don't give me that look, Steve. I know that behind all that self-righteousness of yours there is also a reckless transgressor, who antagonizes his superiors and jumps off sixty-story buildings, planes and other helicarriers any chance he gets."

"The last one was involuntary."

"Still proves my point," Bucky brushed it off quickly. "Obviously you would fall for an unconventional, mysterious and with a slight taste of danger woman. That's how you like 'em."

Bucky cocked his eyebrow and smirked, smug and yet seeming to suggest he implied much more.

Steve scowled and huffed.

"I don't see why I keep having these conversations with you. You're a terrible counselor."

"I think the word you meant to use is 'terrific'," he brushed his knee, pretending to take a bobble off his jeans. "Besides, this is your reaction every time I am spot on."

"Not sure about that. It happens so rarely."

Bucky reached over and patted his shoulder. "She'll come back," he spoke assuredly. His hand squeezed him then he got up. "And now, read your emails. They may be worth checking out."

"You mean Tony's emails?" Steve frowned. "You got one, too?"

Bucky nodded. "I've been waiting for you before making a decision."

"What decision?" He raised an eyebrow.

Bucky winked then left the room.

Tony's tone in the emails had progressively shifted. The oldest one from three weeks ago was cordial, although filled with sarcasm, while the newest one from days before had no other purpose than to convey his frustration.

Hello 1944! –this is a desperate attempt to make contact from the future, the email title read. Steve rolled his eyes.

Dear veteran Rogers,

You are cordially invited, first and foremost to step the hell out of this gloomy, untouched-by -technology, barbaric time bubble of yours; and then to come meet me at the Stark Tower. There is something I would like to discuss with you that might pique your oh so fugacious interest.

Yours strenuously,

Tony Stark

Steve sighed then began to type his reply.

Since you are asking so nicely –how could I decline?

Yours stoically,

S.

The meeting was scheduled for a couple of days later. Steve and Bucky were standing at the bottom of this steel tower, whose shadow was threatening to gobble them mercilessly. They glanced at each other, wincing, then stepped in.

A host welcomed them in the hall with a smile, and without saying a word, invited them to follow him into the elevator. The journey seemed to drag on.

Bucky leaned toward Steve and whispered into his ear. "Obviously his office would be on the top floor."

Steve answered with a grin. The doors eventually opened and they made their way down the hallway.

"Thank you, Thomas. I'll take it from here," a feminine voice said and a smile grew big on James' face. Maria came up to them, dressed in an elegant dark grey skirt suit and remarkably different from the black catsuit she used to wear when working for S.H.I.E.L.D.

She led them to the large glass door standing ahead of them. She knocked, slightly stepped in and announced them before opening the door wide for them.

Stark was typing on his big hologram computer table while J.A.R.V.I.S. was reporting to him with statistics.

"Break time. We'll take it from here later," he told the voice then stepped away.

He turned to face his visitors. Tony was dressed more formally than what they had been used to, a black suit over a navy V-neck T-shirt.

"I thought you'd never come," he said, looking straight at Steve.

He shrugged. "Well, you know me. I can't resist turning up behind time when I am the least expected."

Tony smirked then motioned at them to sit down. Maria moved to stand on the side, halfway between her boss and her boyfriend.

"Sergeant Barnes, how was your trip to Europe?" Tony asked, casually.

"Brief."

Tony sneered. "Right, you aborted your stay quite unexpectedly, didn't you?"

"Sneakily," Maria corrected barely audible then cleared her throat in a quiet way to convey her unabating reprobation over the matter.

James raised his hands off his lap. "Is no one actually going to thank me for it?"

It had turned out that Maria's detective friend had never had the chance to find James to take him to the police station as she had requested. Bucky had lied about his whereabouts and was already on his way to the airport when Steve had called him from the telephone booth. From there, he said he knew where to find Steve by heading where there was trouble –which, in this case, happened to be three massive helicarriers flying adrift.

"I think what you did was great," Tony stated matter-of-factly with a firm nod.

Bucky's face lit up. "Finally!" he exclaimed with relief, then threw judging looks at Steve and Maria for not having been supportive the way Stark was.

"I would have done the exact same thing," Tony chimed in.

Bucky frowned a little.

"Wait. I'm no longer sure it is a compliment," he said with a sarcastic, pensive tone.

Tony smirked in response then walked around his desk, slumped into his leather armchair with a loud noise and spun to face them.

"I asked you to come because I have a proposition to make you that you won't be able to refuse," he trailed off with an expectant look, slightly smug with his own wording.

"We saw it," Steve said quickly with an imperturbable tone of voice.

The corner of Tony's mouth rose. "Good. No awkward moment," he said. "So I can skip straight to the next part."

He prepped his forearms on his desk and leaned forward. "This is something I have been thinking about. You took HYDRA down – and kudos, by the way –, but now that S.H.I.E.L.D no longer exists, the world has become a more vulnerable place. And from what I understand you and Barnes are both unemployed, or should I say retired?"

Bucky and Steve stared coolly at him. It had the knack to trigger Tony's impatience.

"I want to reinstate project Avengers and make it more…constant."

"More constant?" Steve questioned.

"I don't want the Avengers to be a resort used at outmost crisis. I want people to know they can count on us at any time and that we are here to protect them from whatever might jeopardize their safety. I think, I think this is what Fury would have wanted," he finished with a grave voice.

Bucky, Steve and Maria remained quiet and inexpressive regarding a secret the three of us shared.

"So you want us to work together on a daily basis?" Steve asked.

"That's exactly it! And with S.H.I.E.L.D. being gone we wouldn't have to report or answer to any government."

Steve noticed Bucky's face had lit up at the realization that it would mean no more paperwork and other report writing.

"What do you think about this tower?" Tony asked them. "Now that you've seen it up close."

James snorted. "Surprisingly, it is more pompous and ugly from inside than –"

"Scratch that," Tony cut in with a slight sigh but still a cordial tone. He did care a lot about this project. "We'll make it the Avengers tower. With all the equipment, technology, intel we would need. We have private apartments you could move in, a gym, a swimming pool and plenty of other facilities to make your stay agreeable."

"Who else is in?" Bucky asked.

"So far Banner, I'm still trying to get in touch with Thor; Barton hasn't officially confirmed yet but he's in."

Steve's mind immediately wandered at the possibility that Clint might have news of Natasha.

"Barnes has heard my proposal already, and I totally understand why he chose to wait for you to hear it before making a decision," Tony said and he looked right into Steve's eyes. "This team wouldn't function without you leading it."

Steve watched him cautiously, unsure whether a humorous comment would follow. But none came.

They looked at each other silently, but that was the first proper conversation they had ever had.

Project Avengers was on again and, a couple of weeks following the meeting, Steve and Bucky officially took up residence in the tower. Stark had already begun the works to rename it.

Their individual condos were bigger than the apartment they shared.

"You're just one story apart. You think you'll survive?" Tony had asked, faking deep sympathy.

And maybe it was better this way. He and James had moved in together and built routines along with each other since they had waken up from their comas. Time had come to take a little bit of distance (on every level) to adjust their focus to the rest of the world instead of just each other. This would be easy for Bucky –and it had already begun – since he was dating Maria. For Steve, well, it was a matter of finding something other than a person to refocus on. Work could be that thing.

Thus, Steve invested all his time and effort in the Avengers. He was always the first to start work and the last to finish. While Tony was in charge of the tech side of things, Steve would deal with the practical matters: training, tactic and strategy, and any other field that would improve the skills and effectiveness of the Avengers both as part of the team and as individuals.

Thor arrived a few days later, and so did Barton although his private apartments were more of an inhabited pied-à-terre than actual accommodation.

One day the two of them practiced together in the training room, Steve trying to make his way across the room and avoiding the different types of arrows Clint was shooting at him (something impossible, as Barton never seemed to miss). He dodged, he ducked, he jolted them away with his shield but somehow the arrows always succeeded to slow down his progression. At some point, an arrow flew right outside the corner of his eyes and planted itself in the wall behind him. Steve looked up at Barton who was perched on the deck and frowned in surprise.

"Wrong hit?" he asked dubiously.

Clint lowered his bow and sneered. "You looked like you could use a break."

Steve snorted. "Did I?"

Clint didn't answer and slid down the pole.

"Do you miss it? Working for S.H.I.E.L.D?" Steve asked.

"Are you asking me if I was mad at you when I found my pay had been cut drastically? Well, it sure wasn't agreeable."

Steve just smiled, waiting on a proper answer. Clint shrugged.

"I'm not the sentimental type," he said. "S.H.I.E.L.D. was compromised. I guess a spring cleaning was called for." After a pause, he added: "But I don't think all secrets should be unburied.

They both knew whose secrets he meant. There were still articles published about Natasha's past missions.

"I know it was the right thing to do," Clint explained. "But we've all done things that would be considered questionable or downright wrong depending on which side of the line you're standing. The only difference is that she's the only one who had a valid excuse for doing them."

Steve look at him closely. "She told me what you did for her, how you saved her."

Clint shook his head. "I didn't. I merely showed her there was an alternative path and she took it. The only person who ever saves Natasha is herself." The corner of his mouth rose slightly into a smirk.

Steve smiled faintly as the urge to know soon took fully hold me.

"Do you know –," he furrowed his brows. "How is she doing? Have you heard from her?"

The need to hear actual news about her was stronger than the uncontrollable hint of jealousy he would feel at Nataha choosing to make contact with Clint over him.

"No," Barton said.

The answer stung him in the chest and his face slightly twisted into in a cringe in response.

"I know secrecy is a sacred oath –"

"Cap," Clint cut in. "I'd like nothing more but to get news from her –and she would probably shoot me in the eye with my own bow for daring worry for her as much as I do- but she will come back home. I know that."

Maybe it was because they came out of her best friend's mouth, or maybe simply because it was hearing them be said out loud and not just in the quietness of his own mind, but those words reassured him just as much as if Clint had told him he knew for a fact Natasha was somewhere safe and sound.

Missions as the Avengers followed one another and always worked successfully. With time they had acquired the natural flow and automatism the team hadn't necessarily had the first time during the Manhattan attack. And yet Steve was missing other more familiar automatisms. With Natasha. He missed the team the two of them used to make. And his shield usage seemed somewhat incomplete now that he wasn't sharing it with her. There was a proximity, an affinity between them which showed through to the very way they fought alongside.

Bucky of course was his strongest ally, and would forever remain his comrade from war, but he often worked in the background as a sniper, and when at the front, he was an excellent support.

Natasha on the other hand complemented him, like in an orderly and synchronous ballet choreography, either anticipating his next move or concluding it. They were like the two opposite sides of the same coin, different in appearance but similar to the core. Compatible.

Her absence in the field emphasized her absence in his daily life altogether. Over the weeks, he grew closer to Barton; not only because Clint was the closest link he had to Natasha, but because in many ways he saw in him what had drawn her to become his friend. His wit and his personality undeniably resembled Natasha's, and some of the banters he and Steve had wound up feeling somewhat familiar. And when Barton would set off to unknown places, those were the dullest days.

"Come on, Rogers. You got everything you need –and probably things you didn't know you needed –and yet you look like this isn't still quite enough." Tony exclaimed one day as he walked in the kitchen and found Steve sitting alone by the counter. "Where's Barnes? On a romantic getaway with Hill?"

Bucky and Maria (but mostly Maria) had made it a point to keep their relationship secret from the rest of the team, which meant everybody knew about it before the end of the first week. They had been standing in the spotlight and the attention around them still didn't seem to decrease. They were the main protagonists of all the jokes and teasing remarks and there was no contender on the line to replace them any time soon.

"I don't know. Believe it or not, Bucky and I are not joined at the hip."

"Or not," Tony commented while pressing the button of the coffee machine to fill his mug no one was allowed to touch and that read 'MOST IRRITABLE GENIUS' – a gift from Pepper Tony was very sentimental about. He once found Bucky drinking from it and it nearly triggered a civil war.

"What do you intend to do with those decayed, slimy things you call lips on that mug?"

"Drink. That's how humans do it."

"It has my name on it." Bucky feigned looking for it on the mug. "Genius. I mean, is that not evident?" Tony was staring at him with wide eyes.

Bucky looked him up and down then shrugged apathetically. "No, not really."

"Well surely, it doesn't refer to you," Tony retorted.

Bucky feigned to look at the words again.

"Maybe irritable –but it doesn't quite cut it."

By this point, the two were too far gone to reason with.

"You know you can use J.A.R.V.I.S. as much as you need. There's nothing he can't do for you," Tony went on, stirring the spoon and walking over to the counter. "Isn't that right?"

"I don't like to boast but it is true," J.A.R.V.I.S' voice rang out in the room.

Steve's interest was quipped. "Can you access old data base?"

"Affirmative."

Steve jumped from his stool. "Thanks for the advice," he said to Tony, who looked puzzled, then quickly left the kitchen toward the elevator.

"J.A.R.V.I.S," he spoke again after the doors closed behind him. "I'm gonna need you to run fingerprints on an old object."

And he felt again all the excitement he had to put aside after Fury has cut his old investigation short.

After scanning the hairpin and making a 3D picture of it, J.A.R.V.I.S. had forewarned that finding a match might take a little while, as he would have to search for and through the entire fingerprint databases he could find from 1940's onward.

"Patience seems to be today's virtue but it might be time to get to your apartments, Captain."

Steve nodded quietly and, following J.A.R.V.I.S' advice, went straight back to his private floor. The doors of the elevator opened and he stepped out silently, his fingers fiddling with the hairpin carefully sealed in its plastic pouch. He felt getting closer to solving the mystery than ever before. Looking down at it, he grinned. Once resolved, this would have to be the longest investigation in History. That mystery woman on the train was probably dead, and even if she wasn't, never would she believe that someone somewhere had been working on figuring out her identity.

The corner of his eye caught sight of a presence in the living room of his apartment. He jerked his head up, taken by surprise, although he expected it to be Buck.

It wasn't Bucky.

His breathing halted without him realizing as his eyes immediately identified the silhouette sitting on his couch. His pupils dilated as he recognized the figure and the face his brain had forever carved into his memory.

The red of her hair.

The curve of her eyes.

The green of her irises.

The unfathomable smile playing on her lips.

His brain captured the moment to become what would forever remain a fond memory replacing their goodbyes in the cemetery which would soon become a remote image.

"Why did you have to move? I miss the time I could sneak in through a window," Natasha said as a hello with her usual, teasing smirk. It had been over three months and she talked like she'd just come back from the donut shop around the corner.

She got up and stood still, as if giving physical evidence of her presence. "I came back. I kept my promise."

She smiled gently, content with herself.

He slightly cleared his throat to soften the lump that had appeared so he could speak the words. "Yes, you did," he said barely audible.

He swiftly walked up and wrapped his arms around her holding her as tight as his super soldier serum allowed him to without causing pain or discomfort.

"You came back," he whispered again, to himself, speaking the words he dreamed he could have said seventy years ago (to another woman whose return he had waited on), in vain. They sounded just as beautiful and soothing today, in this living room, nonetheless. Never would he have thought than another woman could somewhat ease the grief left by the previous one and yet, she had done it. Natasha, from the very beginning, had always soothed like a balm the wounds left by Natalie.

He buried his head in the crook of her neck and smiled.