"Really?"
Clint looked at her noticing that he was caught, he smiled nervously and shrugged.
"Get out of there" she said
Clint complied and got out of the vent by falling to the floor making a loud thud. He stood up and brushed a cob web from his shoulder.
"Someone needs to clean in there" he said slightly coughing
"Sign yourself up for it, you didn't seem to have a problem with it. I knew I saw you on a roof a week ago" she said crossing her arms
"It took me three months to track you down"
"Only three?" she said slightly amused
"Yes, you fooled me once or twice. I looked for you in Moscow and Florence."
"Oh, so only two cities?" she said smirking
Clint took it as a sign to let go of his ego and come clean.
"Fine and South Africa, Paris, London, and Atlanta, and maybe Rio" Clint said avoiding her gaze
"So I chose a good city" she said smiling
"Yeah, you've never been here before, and you have no contacts in South America."
"I do now."
"So that's what you've been doing here other than tanning" Clint said noticing she was lightly tanned but her white skin was still present and gorgeous.
"What do you want Clint?" she said while walking to the bathroom
"Too see you; I was on mission during the whole Hydra SHIELD thing"
"You did see me a week ago" she countered
"OK, fine I wanted to see how everything was going and to ask when you're coming back."
"I don't know" she said frankly while splashing water on her face cooling her off.
"Everyone is at Avenger's Tower, well except Cap" Clint said taking a seat on her bed.
Her heart rate slightly elevated when he mentioned Steve.
"Where is he?" she asked trying to be as normal as possible
"Last I heard, Austria"
Steve and Sam were back out into the cold howling wind. They were coming up on their target.
"Please tell me you found it" Sam said as Steve knelt down and started to dig with his shield.
"I think so" Steve said
He lifted two more shield full of snow then he hit a piece of metal. Steve tapped it a few times around the initial strike and he found a door. He found the handle; which was frozen. Steve hit it with his shield and it shattered. Steve put his shield on his back and he pulled the door open. A ladder was there and it led down.
"Ok, inside" Steve said
"You don't have to tell me twice" Sam said climbing down the ladder
Steve looked around and saw no one, he was hoping that he would find Bucky or something about him more than a small file. He climbed down into the base and he dropped down to the floor next to Sam. They were in a tunnel and it was dark and quiet.
"Ok, I've got the creeps" Sam said
"Good thing we brought flash lights" Steve said turning his on
The light showed them a group of Hydra soldiers lying on the ground nothing but bones. Steve walked over them and Sam followed. They came to another door which was already opened. Steve stopped and looked at Sam; Sam nodded to him and they both went into the room.
The surface was cold and Bucky was walking along in it, not fazed by the cold air. He found the open door that Steve and Sam went through. He didn't hesitate and he climbed down into it. He found the dark tunnel familiar, like it was something out of a dream. The flashes of him chocking one of the doctors. He leaned against the wall of the tunnel; his head was throbbing. He rubbed his eyes and sighed softly.
Steve and Sam found no one in the room, except for some more skeletons. Sam was looking at a pile of papers that were spread out over the ground. He knelt down and grabbed one and turned it over to see the Hydra symbol on it.
"Well, we're in the right place" He said letting go of the paper and it floated down to the cold floor. Sam stood and saw Steve looking at something; then he heard a loud thump from the door they just walked through.
"Hey Cap, I think there is someone down here with us" Sam said but got no reply
He inclined his head and walked over to Steve "Cap?"
Steve still didn't respond and he was staring at a file lost in thought. Sam grabbed his shoulder bringing him back to reality and he was startled and he looked at Sam.
"Someone is down here with us" Sam whispered
Steve nodded and he was breathing slightly heavily. "What is it?" Sam asked
Steve didn't answer he just couldn't stop staring at the name on the file he was holding; Natalia Alianovna Romanova.
Sam grabbed the other two files and grabbed Steve's arm making him face him "Hand me the file" Sam said
Steve slowly nodded and gave Sam the file and he blinked and rubbed his eyes; he looked like someone slapped him in the face. He shook his head slightly and turned around to see Bucky standing there.
"Bucky?" Steve said
Sam turned toward him pointing a gun.
"Put the gun down" Bucky said
"In case you don't remember the last time we met, I'll keep it up thank you" Sam said cocking the gun back
Bucky stood in silence and his eyes shifted from Sam to Steve and he blinked and the door behind him exploded and flames flew out of it. They dove out of the way with Sam and Steve on one side of the room and Bucky on the other. They were hiding behind cover and Steve took the chance to glance over the cover; he could see a large number of Hydra soldiers and a man he thought was dead.
"Where are you Cap?" Rumlow asked
Steve stayed silent and he saw Bucky readying his gun and he exited cover first firing. Two Hydra soldiers fell to the ground the other scrambled for cover. Rumlow fired back at him as he went to cover. Sam fired next and he grazed a soldier's arm making him groan in pain. Bucky ran toward them and he ran up onto a few large containers and he leaped over to them.
Steve stood up and followed Bucky; Sam fired again giving Steve cover. He ran out of bullets and he quickly replaced the clip with a loud snap. The Hydra soldiers fired back but with the guns from 1945. A large hole was burned through next to Sam and he glared at it and fired while running to the other side of the room.
While the soldiers were busy firing at Sam, Bucky leaped into the group of soldiers and grabbed one and snapped his neck and kicked another into the wall cracking it. Rumlow turned his attention towards Bucky and fired at him, Bucky easily dodge the incoming fire and he rolled and caught Rumlow's wrist and twisted it making Rumlow's face contort in pain and he dropped the gun.
Rumlow was quick to counter and he hit Bucky in the ribs with a jab and then caught him in the jaw. Bucky was barley fazed by the punch and he pulled out a knife and went after Rumlow. Rumlow dodge a slash from Bucky and hit him. Bucky went to stab him but he stooped his arm; he tossed the knife into his other and jabbed at him. The blade cut across Rumlow's face as he blocked it.
Steve saw the remaining Hydra soldiers and threw his shield at one of them crushing his chest bone and the shield came back and Steve caught it and slipped it back on his arm. The Hydra soldiers fired and Steve put his shield up and loud clanging filled the room as the bullets hit the shield but doing nothing to it. He saw Sam running up and drop kicked a soldier sending him to the ground. Sam recoiled and got back up and punch one in the face breaking his nose. He dodged a jab and blocked another; as another punch was thrown he blocked it with his left and rapped his hand around the soldier's wrist and hit the arm up at the elbow snapping his arm. The soldier howled in pain as Sam brought his foot up and kicked him in the chest sending him to the ground hitting his head as he hit the ground with a loud crack killing him.
Steve threw his shield into the other one sending the soldier into the wall. There was only two more soldiers left then Rumlow.
"Go, I got this" Sam said to Steve waving him away
Steve watched as Sam dodged another attack and flipped the man over his shoulder and punch the other one. Steve turned his attention onto Rumlow and Bucky.
Rumlow kicked Bucky off of him and he threw himself back to his feet from the floor, he pulled out a knife ready for another attack from Bucky; but he didn't expect a shield to come flying at him. Rumlow noticed it too late and the shield smacked him in the chest sending him into the wall and to the floor face first out of commission.
Steve caught his shield as it came back and walked over to where Bucky was but he was gone, Steve and Sam were the only ones still standing in the room. Sam jogged over to Steve with bloody knuckles and he was out of breath.
"He's gone again isn't he?" Sam asked
Steve nodded and patted Sam on the shoulder "At least my hunch was right"
Sam laughed at the sentence "Oh, I need a vacation" he said straightening his back cracking it.
"Come on we got what we came for, time to get back and look over our new details"
"Yay another five day hike through the snow" Sam said following Steve out of the room towards the exit.
Clint stayed for two days and he went with Natasha everywhere. He would occasionally bring up the conversation of her coming back. But she always answered him with an "I don't know". They were sitting in her apartment and Clint was on her counter dangling his feet. He was drinking a bottled beer.
"You know we miss you" Clint said bringing the conversation back up again
Natasha was sitting on her couch reading a book "I told you once and I will tell you again, I don't know" she said annoyed
"Actually I've asked fifteen times" Clint said taking a sip of beer
Natasha threw him the finger as she was reading.
"Ok, but honestly don't you miss the action?" he asked
"No" she lied
"Really?" he asked surprised "You can barely take a week off without shooting something and five months of doing none of that should drive you mad"
"I am enjoying the time away from all of you boys"
"But who's going to pick up after us on missions?" Clint said slightly complaining
"Exactly why I am staying away" Natasha said she couldn't help but smile
"You really don't want to come back to New York?"
"No"
"But everyone is there just sitting around having fun. Well I don't know if you can call Tony's parties fun"
Natasha didn't say anything else; she tried to focus on her book, but her thoughts kept drifting to Steve.
"I mean really it always ends with too much drinking, and don't even get me started on the Asgardian Ale." Clint said finishing is beer and setting it down.
"Asgardian Ale?" Natasha asked looking back at Clint
"Oh some magical Ale that Thor brings with him sometimes, it has caused more than one wall to be crushed by his hammer"
Natasha turned her attention back to her book but really she just thought about Steve again. The perfect man, strong, brave, noble and such a boy scout. She remembered being in Sam's house sitting on a bed toweling her hair and she was looking at Steve by the mirror watching his muscles as she washed his hands and dried them. She looked away before he walked back out again with his perfect body coming toward her heart rate increased and her legs felt weak and she was sitting down. Her stomach felt weird when he sat down and she could smell him; the scent of spearmint with a hint of sweat.
She blinked and brought herself back to her book and she read a page when Clint spoke again.
"I think you don't want to come back because someone isn't there"
She looked at him and her brow furrowed "What?" she asked
"It might be Pepper she isn't there right now, Jane isn't there either" Clint said pondering
Clint blinked and the name came to him "It's because Cap isn't there isn't it?"
"What? No its just I want to be away from everything right now" She said slightly defensive
"No, it's because Cap isn't there. You like him don't you?"
"He's a friend and a partner nothing more"
"What a partner/friend with benefits?" Clint said smirking
"NO" Natasha said firmly
"Ok whatever you say, but Nat someone has gotten to you and I'm going to find out who it is" Clint said teasing as he walked towards the bedroom.