Chapter 30

Sokovia was lost, Pietro Maximoff was fighting for his life in an OR here on the helicarrier and Bruce Banner was MIA. Natasha couldn't really blame him. He helped create Ultron and destroyed a part of Johannesburg with so much colletaral damage. She didn't know what would happen to Tony because of Ultron, maybe the rich white guy would get away with it but South Africa already announced that they wanted Bruce to get prosecuted. Maybe it was for the best that he was gone.

She was standing in front of the windows of the helicarrier and looking down on Middle Europe. Steve was currently talking to the world council because Fury was still officially dead. Where would the Avengers go from here? Two of them were responsible for the destruction of a whole city and the rest of them didn't even notice that they were building Ultron. She knew how mad Steve still was at Stark and Banner and she didn't think it would change anytime soon. A part of her wanted to leave everything behind and start a new life with Steve somewhere. They could live in Greece and just enjoy the sun, sea and make love all day. But they were both not wired that way. She couldn't turn her back on this world. She still had to wipe out the red in her ledger and Steve would always be Captain America. And she knew that she would never leave his side. She would fight alongside him until the day she died.

The rustling of leather told her that someone was coming her way. Fury.

She hadn't really talked to him since DC. They had fed each other intel in the last months but that was it. She was still hurt that he didn't trust her when SHIELD fell. Steve trusted her immediately and without a doubt and that alone meant so much to her.

Fury was by her side now and looked out of the window. "We can't track Banner in stealth mode. He's off the radar for now."

"What else was he gonna do?"

"Feels good being on a helicarrier again, doesn't it?"

Her loyalty was never with SHIELD. It was with Fury and Clint. And then with Steve. She would follow him into hell without any questions. "Not really." She was done with SHIELD. She hoped they could work as Avengers but maybe after Ultron and Sokovia that wasn't possible anymore. She could freelance with Steve by her side. She had enough assets for both of them to have a nice life and to finance their work. She wasn't Stark rich but she still could provide for her and Steve.

"I'm sorry."

Her eyes grew wide and she looked at Fury who stared out of the window. "For not trusting you to have my back. For thinking that you maybe had something to do with the attempt on my life. And I'm sorry for spying on Rogers. And you." He sighed. "For what it's worth as soon as your time with Steve at his apartment got more...intimate I cut off the access to it."

"You still need to apologize to Steve."

Fury seemed annoyed by that but nodded.

"What do you see in him?" Fury asked her.

"Excuse me?!" She could feel anger raising in her. The way Fury asked her that made it sound like Steve was some guy who was beneath her. She wouldn't be surprised if people asked Steve that because she was totally out of his league but how on earth could someone ask her that. She knew that she was one of Fury's favourites despite his distrust before SHIELD fell but that question was still outrageous.

"He just doesn't seem like the guy you would go for." How on earth would Fury know her type? She didn't think she had one. Before Steve she only slept with guys and all she expected from them was that they were good looking and good in bed. She never loved a man before Steve. Steve was her type. The only man that would ever be her type. "You are a complex person and he's so ... bland. Sees everything in black and white.."

"That's not true and you know it." She did something she never did before when she talked to Fury. She spoke in a low and dangerous voice to him. "Don't talk like that about him ever again. He's a good man. He's better than all of us and you know it. If you ever break his trust again by spying or lying to him, I won't hesitate to use the skills that you praise so highly on you." She felt some dread for speaking to the man she considered a mentor and some kind of father figure but she would not let anyone hurt Steve. She knew how furious and hurt Steve was when he found out that Fury bugged his apartment. A shiver ran down her spine when she thought all the things Fury knew about Steve and her. They told each other a lot of private things even before they got intimate.

She gave Fury one last glare and turned to walk to her old quarters in hopes that Steve was done with the World Council and would wait for her and let her snuggle against him. She really needed a nap and she slept best in his arms.

She heard Fury's chuckle behind her. "I never thought the Black Widow would fall in love with Captain America. I hope he knows how lucky he is."

Steve wasn't at her quarters when she checked and she was thinking about looking for the Maximoff girl who was probably a mess because her brother was getting surgery because he pushed Clint and a child out of the way and got hit by multiple bullets. Whatever von Strucker did to him helped him survive that hit but he was still in a critical condition. But she didn't go to Wanda in the end because she could still see pieces from the vision she put in her head when she closed her eyes. She thought she could feel Liho's fur against her hands when the guard forced her to strangle her. She wasn't ready to face Wanda yet. She still held a grudge even though she knew Wanda was manipulated by HYDRA and Ultron but she still felt like she would snap at the young woman and she didn't need that on top of worrying for her brother.

Stark joked around with the former SHIELD agents that Fury gathered to help them (she had a feeling that SHIELD wasn't completely gone, she needed to talk with Steve about that) but she could see underneath Tony's facade and knew that he was at a turning point in his life. He felt guilty about what happen and that was dangerous. He had always been easy to manipulate and someone could come along to use that for their advantage. Before Ultron Tony began to build a Avengers facility in Upstate New York and if that project would continue it would probably for the best if Stark wouldn't be an active member of the Avengers anymore. It was about damage control and the world knew who created Ultron. If the Avengers were supposed to keep existing they needed Captain America as their sorely leader but Steve wanted to find his friend. And Clint wanted to stay with his family.

Were would everyone go from here? What would happen to the Avengers? She only knew that she would go with Steve. She could help take down HYDRA and look for Barnes, wiping out Nazis should wipe out some red out her ledger, shouldn't it. She was the last months miserable without Steve. She missed him so much during that time and she didn't want to be without him again if it could be avoided.

She sat down on her cot and got out if her combat boots and catsuit. She didn't have any different clothes with her because the quinjet where everyone had duffel bags stored was gone with Bruce. So she had to slide under the blanket in only her sports bra and panties. She closed her eyes and hoped that she would get some sleep before they were back in the States.

She didn't know how long she slept but when she opened her eyes two strong arms were wrapped around her and someone was breathing into her neck. She tensed for a moment but then recognized Steve's smell and the way his skin felt against hers and closed her eyes again. She wrapped his arms tighter around her and drifted off again.

A hand caressing her cheek woke her up again, She blinked her eyes open and Steve was hovering over her and looking down on her with this fond expression he only had for her.

He smiled at her when her eyes were fully open and kissed her nose. "We're landing in an hour."

She wanted to say it when she thought they were going to die and she still wanted to say it. She knew she was finally able to say it and she knew that he was the only one who she would every say these three words to. "Steve?"

"I let you sleep five more minutes but then you need to get up if wanna shower before the debriefing with the President."

She rolled her eyes at him. He was ruining the moment. She cupped his face in her hands and looked up to him. "Steve." She gave him a small smile. "I.. I love you."

His whole face lit up and she knew she did something right. "I love you too."

She pulled him on top of her and shred both their underwear off. She repeated her love confession when he entered her. He made slowly love to her and she felt like she was in heaven. How could it feel so good every time?

She really, really hoped that the walls on the helicarrier were soundproof but when they met the other Avengers for their video conference with President Eliis to talk about how to handle things she looked at Tony who seemed really uncomfortable and she knew that he was in the room next to them and heard every moan and grunt that came from their quarters. She almost felt bad but a flustered and uncomfortable Tony was really hilarious and sweet Steve didn't make the connection and wondered why Tony acted so weird around them.