AN: Yes, I realise I'm a terrible person for not updating in 8 months. I don't even know what I did in those 8 months but it wasn't writing like it should have been. Look, I'm not gonna make excuses or claim that it won't happen again because it most likely will.

Basically my brain goes through periods of obsession, sometimes it's drawing and art, sometimes it's role-play and D&D, and sometimes it's writing. Avengers and Marvel is the only thing that stays constant. And while my mind may be inconsistent as hell, never doubt these 3 things; I feel terrible for not posting, I want this piece to be the best it can be, I want to finish this goddamn fanfic and be happy with it.

Now, this chapter is short because the next one is pretty large. They were originally going to be one chapter but the second part ended up being super in depth and detailed so now they are two.

Let's spend some time with the team, shall we?

Enjoy!

Chapter 13 - Meddling with Matters

Steve stared at the redhead in front of him as she innocently sipped at her soup. He liked to believe that he knew Natasha fairly well. After working with her for almost a year and then going through the whole Hydra experience with her, he wanted to believe that he had a good read on her but he knew it was wishful thinking on his part.

The redheaded spy had sat in front of him and chatted back and forth with the others, clearly catching the questioning looks he was sending her but brushing them off with a smirk. Steve could tell that she'd done something. She would have spoken to him by now if she hadn't.

His suspicions had just been a niggling thought to begin with, sprouted from the look Laura gave her when they sat down. But now that their food had arrived and he was 100% certain that Romanoff was up to something.

The first glance had been so quick that he wouldn't have caught it if he hadn't been paying close attention to her. He slowly made his way through his lunch as he watched the spy covertly, noticing how her stares at the table behind him became gradually more noticeably. At one point, even he chanced a look at Bucky's table. Apart from the disheartening lack of food in front of his friend, the pair seemed to be quietly getting along.

At least they weren't yelling at each other but they weren't exactly talking. Steve turned back towards his plate with a deep frown on his face. Their argument last night didn't seem to be affecting them today which Steve reasoned to be a good sign. He felt bad for eavesdropping on them but enhanced hearing made it difficult not to.

What he'd overheard left him concerned and stressed about both of them. Sure, their fight hadn't been explosive but it had been grating and probably left both of them feel a bit raw and exposed. So, their current behaviour was surprising and inherently a bit suspicious. Suspicion which drew his gaze back to the spy in front of him. She stared at him through a mask of blank amusement, sipping at her coffee. Natasha raised an eyebrow at his accusing stare.

"What have you done?" He tried to soften the accusation but it still came out fairly harsh. He did, however, manage to keep the volume down, not wanting to disturb everyone's conversations.

Nat shrugged effortlessly. "I haven't done anything." Her façade of blank amusement didn't budge as she put her cup down. "You're being paranoid, Steve."

Steve huffed indignantly. "Am I, now?" His brow raised, challenging her quick dismissal of him. "Then mind explaining to me, why only yesterday Buck could hardly speak to her without her snapping at him but after shopping with you, she's now perfectly friendly?" His little rant gradually drew the attention of the rest of the table, all other conversations simmering away in favour of listening in.

"Not a clue, Rogers" Nat answered her false amusement fading a bit. The others getting involved was going to make it even harder to change topic.

"Have to admit, I was kinda wondering the same thing" Tony commented slouching in his seat, eyes lazily scanning the redhead before flicking to Clint and gauging his reaction. The Archer just stabbed multiple bits of his pasta and shoved it into his mouth, almost as if he wasn't paying attention. Tony was now beginning to wonder if this was a set up.

"Well…" Pepper spoke up cautiously, her attention moving to Nat as 3 sets of eyes turned to her. Natasha didn't look at her, instead shutting her eyes for a second before reaching for her coffee. So, Pep assumed that she could continue. "...we may have had a small talk." Steve groaned. he could only imagine what a "small talk" between Natasha and X had been like and no outcome was good. "But we only wanted to make sure she was on the same page as us" Pepper tried to lessen Steve obvious distress but she had to admit that it had sounded better when Nat had said it. Judging from Tony's raised eyebrows, she'd absolutely butchered it.

"You threatened her?" Clint questioned slightly. He had known that Nat wanted to keep an eye on the girl but he hadn't expected her to go this far.

"Of course not. Don't be ridiculous" Nat defended herself, rolling her eyes at her former partner.

"Ridiculous?! you mean ridiculous like threatening a civilian that we only just met a few days ago?" Steve accused, struggling to keep his tone calm.

"a bit of a stretch for the term "civilian", don't you think?" Cap sent Tony a sharp look for his comment which the billionaire shrugged off.

Natasha ignored Stark "I didn't threaten her, Rogers. I just wanted to check that she knew where she stood when it came to Barnes"

Steve searched her face for a second trying to find the lie in it but found nothing. She was being honest, at least she appeared to be and Steve couldn't see a reason to lie about something as small as this especially after being busted. Slowly but surely, Steve leaned back into his chair.

Seeing that Cap was backing off, Natasha discreetly breathed out her tension and relaxed back into her own seat, leaving the table in a suspended silence. "...and?" Tony pushed staring at the spy expectantly.

Nat gave him an unamused stare "and what?".

Tony rolled his eyes so violently that he made the effort to flop back into his chair. Despite the dramatic display, it was Clint who answered. "I think what boy genius is trying to say is you can't just leave it at that" The archer interpreted, grunting slightly as he moved to lie down on the sofa.

"Especially after making such a big deal out of it" Tony picked up where Clint left off, having recovered from his moment of speechlessness. "Come on, sharing is caring"

Nat's eyes rolled softly at the hopeful look Tony was sending her. If she kept giving into the man-child's demands, she was sure he'd start thinking he could boss her around. But Nat reasoned that she'd fix that when the problem arose. "Fine"

Tony's lips split into a grin before crossing his legs and leaned his head on his hand, looking very smug and dramatic. A sharp kick from under the table put a stop to his attics.

He rubbed his sore shin, levelling an accusing look at a glaring Pepper Potts as Natasha started to explain. "At first I thought she was feigning ignorance to try and avoid the conversation but I was wrong." Natasha's green eyes moved away from the couple and onto Steve, who watching her with intrigue. "She doesn't know what she means to Bucky".

Steve frowned but it was Clint who snorted. "Hell! do we even know?" He questioned staring up at the ceiling with a smile.

"Not the details but she's his blast from the past. You serious saying that she doesn't get that?" Tony thought Laura was many things, an idiot wasn't one of them.

"No, she got that part pretty easily, she didn't realise that he cares about her. Acted like it was completely out of the question when I first brought it up" Natasha explained taking a sip of her now cold coffee.

"Wait, hold up...Cares? Really?" Tony squinted at the redheaded spy. He trusted her judgement but Barnes didn't really seem capable of caring about anybody. The guy was pretty emotionless.

Nat glared at him but Steve spoke up instead "Of course he does, Tony. You may not see it...but he has to. He wouldn't have told me about his dream if he didn't". Steve paused mid-sentence, debating whether or not to get into another argument with Tony over this but decided against it. Bucky already wasn't having the best of days, no need to make it worse.

"She doesn't think he should" Pep joined in Nat's explanation, putting the point that she'd found most interesting forward. She knew a number of people who reacted similarly when accepting compassion, she was currently eating lunch with most of them.

"Why not?" Steve frowned, not really understanding. Bucky didn't show those kinds of emotions often and when he did it was fleeting. So, it made no sense to him to shove those feelings away.

"Something along the lines of him remembering a past her and being a completely different person now" Natasha could understand her reasoning behind it, people changed. People changed almost constantly and nobody knew that more than the team. Almost every mission altered them in some way.

Clint sat up slightly to look at Natasha as she said this, realising just how similar Laura's words were to Nat's reality/past. The two probably had a lot in common. He chewed the inside of his cheek in thought before glancing at the other table to observe the woman who shared a name with his wife but paused, eyes going wide. "Uh guys?"

Tony shrugged at Nat's explanation "I guess that make sense. Plus, little miss switchblade isn't the most-"

"Hey, guys!" Clint persisted, eyes still fixed to Bucky and X's table. The conversation faded quickly as all eyes turned to the lounging Avenger. "Did we tell them that they could come and go as they pleased?" Clint questioned, wondering if they knew something that he didn't.

A couple of the seats scraped against the wooden floor as they all turned to stare at the table in the corner which was now unoccupied, except for two empty glasses and a quarter of a sandwich.

AN: Sorry about yet another cliffhanger but that's just the way my creativity rolls. What did you think of the team's talk? Especially Steve, Is he in character? If I remember correctly that was what halted my progress to begin with.

Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please Fav, Follow and Review!

Feedback will help me sort through the 50,0000 plot plans I have scattered everywhere.

See you next week!