I'm back again! Thanks to everyone who reviewed, and yes, the Russia mission is fast approaching for the Avengers. Don't think that I forgot about that. I'm still cooking up evil plans for that mission/chapter. MWAHAHAHAHAHA. :D Sorry for the jump from January (in the story) to March. And that I skipped Natasha and Steve on Valentine's day. (Deleted scene, anyone? Or is that not allowed? Maybe I should actually read that code of conduct... XD)

It was now March. Steve had grown increasingly worried about Natasha as the inevitable Russian mission approached. They had one week to prepare, and everyone was slightly on edge as a result. Bruce had sent Betty back to her university, determined to not let her see them depart or return. Jane and Thor had parted ways and he had promised to write to her when he had the time. Steve was just relieved that Natasha was going on the mission with him, and so he didn't have to worry about her safety while he was gone.

"Light feet, Wanda." Steve reminded the young Sokovian as he battled her with only his shield. She had given her word that she wouldn't use her powers, and so far, she was telling the truth. "It's sort of like a dance. Don't set your feet anywhere solid. Pretend that you're standing on lava, so you stay light on your toes. It lets you dodge easier." Wanda nodded. Her brown hair was swept up in a ponytail and she was wearing workout clothes. Not something Steve saw very often.

"Go between the legs." Natasha suggested from the sidelines.

"Nat!" Steve protested.

"It takes people out of action pretty quickly." she reminded him. "You know it's saved your life, Rogers. Don't deny it." Steve smirked at his girlfriend. They had been together for almost three months now, and they made witty retorts at each other. It gave him brilliant comebacks.

"Yes, but don't tell her when she's fighting me!"

Wanda laughed. She had gotten used to the Avengers in the months that she had been with them- especially Maria. The two had developed a close friendship. Wanda had helped Maria with her arm therapy, and in turn, Maria had helped Wanda's accent slowly dissolve. She now spoke with a mix of a Sokovian accent and a Midwestern accent, since Maria was from Chicago.

"Why don't you demonstrate?" Wanda asked innocently.

"I'd be delighted to, but then I think our relationship would end with him lying on the floor and saying in a high-pitched voice 'I don't want you to be my girlfriend'." Natasha drawled jokingly. Steve snorted.

"Let's just stop this conversation."

Later that day, Steve and Natasha booked flights for the Avengers team. They were to leave on March 17.

"How many tickets do we need?" Steve asked, scratching his head.

"Well, Fury says that Coulson and Maria are coming along with the Avengers. So me, you, Wanda, Vision, Bruce, Thor, Clint, Tony, Maria, and Coulson." Natasha ticked off with her fingers. "That's ten tickets." Steve whistled.

"And these are all being paid for by SHIELD, right?"

"Correct. I have the card here." Natasha said. She booked their flights and printed out all their tickets. "So we'll sit in that order, too. I wrote it on their tickets." Steve rolled his eyes at her.

"You really think that Maria wants to deal with Tony and Coulson?" he asked. Natasha looked up from shuffling the tickets together. She tilted her head to the side and smiled a slightly evil smile at Steve. He was a little unnerved.

"It's more so Tony and Coulson behave themselves. She'll keep them in line, and silent the whole flight. It'll be great. No nagging from them, and Vision will shut Bruce and Thor up. Clint will just Skype his kids."

"You thought that through a lot, didn't you?"

"I think everything through."

"Yeah, right. Remember on that ship? You're the one who almost got us blown up-" Steve reminded her.

"Yes, and I'm the one who shoved you through the window to save your life." Natasha replied without even looking over at him. Steve groaned.

"Why can you always make the best comebacks?"

"Cause I'm a girl."

"Tony has some pretty good comebacks, too, Nat, and I'm pretty sure he's not a girl." Steve said sarcastically. Natasha laughed.

Maria was feeling apprehensive about the Russia mission. Pepper's baby was due and Tony was Maria's 'buddy'. The idea was that the buddies would move around the bunker together and cover each other's backs. The pairs were Tony and Maria, Nat and Steve, Bruce and Clint, Thor and Vision, and Coulson and Wanda. She knew she could probably handle it, but her arm made her less assertive.

"Relax, Hill. I'm not going to abandon you mid-mission." Tony drawled when Maria confronted him.

"Yes? And if Pepper has to have a C-Section or she's dying, you won't leave?" she shot back. Immediately she knew she had been a little cruel to the billionaire. He blanched at her words and looked awkward.

"Ummm..."

"Stark, I swear that if Pepper is going to have the baby, you're going to leave. I'm going to make you leave, and you are going to see your little girl come into the world. Those sorts of things don't happen every day, Tony." Maria reassured him.

"It's my duty to stay with you." Tony said uncertainly.

"It's your duty as a father to take care of your girls. I don't care what happens to me. Make sure that the first thing Pepper and the girl see other than each other is you. From the start, you have to be there. Every step of the way."

"Maria-"

But the agent had turned on her heel and had went out the door of the Stark's floor. Tony was secretly glad that Maria had put those fears to rest.

"Daddy, promise you'll come home?" Cooper said as Clint prepared to leave the farmhouse. He was sitting on the porch railing as Clint started to get ready to leave. Clint looked up at his son and smiled tiredly.

"I'll come home, Cooper. I promise. I'll try as hard as I can, and you know that Steve and Nat will fight tooth and nail to get me home." Clint replied. Cooper relaxed a little bit.

"Say hi to that agent for me, dad. And that I liked her purple minion picture of you." Cooper said.

"Okay, I will." Clint laughed. He grabbed Cooper and spun him around in circles until they were both dizzy. "Make sure you take care of them, alright? You're the man of the house now. Make sure that mommy doesn't make too many cupcakes or eat too much chocolate."

"Can't promise you that, dad. Chocolate is the food of the soul." Cooper said seriously.

"I guess you're right." Clint said. As he got in the Quinjet, a tear glistened on his cheek. He took a one last glance out of the car window, where Cooper was sitting on the porch once more, holding the purple minion picture. Clint snapped a picture of it and then flew away.

1. I have a really awesome thing that I saw during church today. The boy ahead of me had a Thor bear and I smiled because it had the Avengers logo on its paw. It was a really cute. It had hammers on it and it was dark blue.

2. No Wanda X Vision. I don't really like that pairing, either. Maria and Wanda are single ladies, guys. Not such a bad thing.

3. Skype, for those of you who aren't familiar with it, is basically a video chat. I used it to talk to my grandparents when I lived in Africa.

4. March 17 is my brother's birthday. So I chose that as the date in March.

The evil plan has been set into motion. Buckle your seatbelts people. We've got a bumpy ride ahead of us. I know this was a short chapter, but hey, there's a first time for everything.