May 12th, 2016
Avengers Compound
Natasha was laying on the floor with James as they were both looking up at a mobile she had set up. He was kind of dozing in and out of sleep, wearing a green t-shirt that read 'You wouldn't like me when I'm angry' and purple shorts and Natasha was deep in thought herself. It had only been a week since Lagos and there weren't good reactions all around. The governments of the world were in outrage, public opinion of the Avengers plummeted, and the team was walking on eggshells around each other. Wanda and Pietro were taking it the hardest and it was understandable since their powers directly caused the accidents.
But what Natasha was at war with herself was on how much she blamed Steve.
She hated to see Wanda hurting like she was, and even though she had been telling Steve it wasn't his fault, she really didn't believe that in her heart. When she heard the story of his interaction with Rumlow, her blood boiled a bit. It always came back to Barnes, and all someone had to do was say his damn name and Steve shut down. There is no way that a super soldier with his experience shouldn't have clocked that bomb right away. But he didn't, and it was because of his obsession.
Obsession was the proper term now, especially to this level. She encouraged him to go look at leads while she was pregnant, knowing that Barnes would stay in the wind and he wouldn't find him and she hoped Steve would just tire himself out looking and come back and focus on James after he was born. But he didn't, not truly, and it got worse throughout the year. What was worse is that he dragged Sam or Terra along with him most of the time and she was at home with a newborn son, trying to figure out how to be a parent by herself and not knowing if he was going to come back.
"Chto ya sobirayus' delat', detaka," Natasha asked James in Russian.
There was a knocking at Natasha's door and she shouted to come in without even moving. Ava moved into the apartment and smiled down at the two.
"Hey sestra," Natasha said. "What's up?"
"Mr. Stark has arrived for the meeting," Ava said. "I'm here to babysit while you go do official Avengers stuff."
"God I forgot about this," Natasha said, getting up and heading over to a mirror to check her appearance.
She was wearing jeans with a dark jacket and a green shirt underneath. Her hair was okay and she did remember to put on a little makeup this morning, so subconsciously she must have remembered to a degree. She wasn't looking forward to this meeting at all, as she knew it was going to be about Lagos. Tony had been radio silent to them since the incident, and it was never a good thing when Tony didn't even send her a message, or anyone a message for that fact. She sighed at the, probably, hard scolding they were going to get from Stark about all of this and whatever somebody said to him.
She made sure she had her cellphone as she headed out the door, knowing Ava would call her should she need anything.
"Good Luck," Ava said. "This is going to be a daunting one."
"And why is that?" Natasha asked, opening the door.
"Stark brought the Secretary of State," Ava said and Natasha knew that this was something more serious.
Natasha arrived at the conference room and already saw that Vision and Pietro had arrived, aside from the two other men in the room. As the official liaison for the Avengers and the other governments of the world, she knew that they were in deep shit when the Secretary of State contacted Tony instead of her for Avengers business.
The presence of Thaddeus Ross was an unwelcome surprise. She could already feel the tension brewing, heightened by Ross's history with Terra and Bruce. Thankfully, Bruce was off on a research trip — though his absence was a strain on Terra, it at least kept things simpler for this meeting. Terra's protective instincts alone would have made this interaction even more complicated.
"Tony, Mr. Secretary," she greeted curtly, folding her arms as came to stand next to them. "Why wasn't I told we were having company?"
Tony's face betrayed only a hint of an apologetic smile before it faded, replaced with his businesslike facade. "It came up fast. Ross wanted to discuss the situation in Lagos — thought it best to bring it straight to the source."
Natasha's gaze shifted to Ross, her expression unyielding. "You could've given me a heads-up. I was there, after all."
Ross leaned forward, his posture stiff, voice sharp. "Agent Romanoff, I'm here to ensure the Avengers understand the full consequences of their actions. The world is watching. I'd hoped that as a former operative, you'd appreciate the need for... accountability."
Natasha narrowed her eyes, undeterred by his tone. "I do understand accountability. What I don't understand is why we're discussing it here in the dark, without briefing everyone first."
Ross's jaw tightened. "Perhaps you should spend less time questioning logistics and more time focusing on controlling your team."
Tony gave a faint cough, quickly cutting in. "Let's not make this personal, okay? We're all on the same side."
Natasha held her ground, her gaze fixed on Ross. "If you want us to be accountable, then keep us informed. Surprises like this don't help anyone."
Ross's face darkened, but Natasha didn't stick around long enough to continue the conversation here, and headed to her seat. It was towards the end of the table, and everyone knew that Steve always sat to her left. As she passed, she patted Pietro on her back to let him know she was behind him and took her seat, waiting for their leaders and Wanda, whom she was most worried about in whatever this was going to be.
The rest of the team filtered in at this point, Steve and Tony having a tense conversation that was basically hers with Tony, although his was more geared towards Ross specifically being here with his history with the team, rather than Natasha not being informed that a high ranking government official was there to chew them out.
Then Terra arrived.
She had a cheerful face for about ten seconds, a box of donuts and a mug of coffee in her hand, and then it was wiped clean and the mug dropped from her hand and shattered on the ground. Natasha knew just enough about the history between Terra and Ross to know that she and Bruce were severely hurt on Ross' hunt for the Hulk, and it would be a wound that would never heal.
Tony quickly got Terra out of the room to explain, or have yet another argument, as his careless planning got them into this situation, even if he was only informed a limited time. Ross just stayed at the other end of the room where he was as the team went to sit. Steve couldn't figure out really where to go and started to clean up the mug. Natasha quickly went over to help him, but also to convey her thoughts.
She brought over a small trash can for him to put the pieces in and kneeled down to his eye level and looked him right in the eyes.
Her green eyes pierced his blue ones, and she basically conveyed that 'we're in enough hot water as it is, don't do something dumb'.
The only way the Avengers were getting out of this clean was with level heads and a clean plan, or there would be some serious trouble.
She got the look of understanding from him as they finished cleaning up and went over to sit as Tony and Terra reappeared after about ten minutes.
"Very sorry for the wait!" Terra chimed as she and Tony walked back in the meeting room everyone was in. "Didn't eat lunch, felt a little woozy." She strode into the room, right towards Ross. She held her hand out.
"Thank you for coming, Mr. Secretary," she said with a sunny smile, but Natasha could see the intent behind that look. She had that look in her own eyes before, and it was someone that she had already marked for death. Maybe not today, but eventually.
Ross looked at her hand and back to her before taking it, squeezing a bit too hard. "Glad to be here," he responded dryly.
Terra didn't squeeze back because she wasn't a cliché. Limp and pleasant. "I'm sure you are. The floor is yours."
As they all settled in, Ross took the floor and got the screens up and running and they started to listen in to whatever this was going to be.
"Five years ago, I had a heart attack. I dropped right in the middle of my back-swing," Ross said, miming the golf swing itself. "Turned out it was the best round of my life, because after 13 hours of surgery and a triple bypass . . . I found something 40 years in the Army had never taught me," Ross paused. "Perspective."
"The world owes the Avengers an unpayable debt," he continued, sounding very grateful. Hard to discern if there was any truth to it. "You have fought for us, protected us, risked your lives..." You could tell there was a 'but' coming. "But while a great many people see you as heroes, there are some... who would prefer the word 'vigilantes'."
"And what word would you use Mr. Secretary," Natasha asked, sweetly enough but with the dangerous tone behind it that the Black Widow was known for.
She didn't believe that Ross actually viewed the Avengers as helpful, especially with what little experience he's had dealing with the team. He wanted some control over them in some way, and she was just trying to figure out how.
"How about 'dangerous'?" Ross retorted, his tone now sounding a bit more... honest. "What would you call a group of US-based, enhanced individuals who routinely ignore sovereign borders and inflict their will wherever they choose and who, frankly, seem unconcerned about what they leave behind?" He stepped aside to give everyone a clear view of the screen behind him as a global map appeared with several pinpoints. It zeroed in on one in the U.S.
"New York."
Footage suddenly played of the New York invasion, which felt like it happened such a long time ago when it really wasn't. One of the alien leviathans flew through the air, the army was fighting the aliens on foot. And suddenly, there was the Hulk. Ross looked at Terra for this part and she kept her expression neutral. The Hulk jumped from building to building until he jumped to the building closest to the army that debris fell from his landing. It fell towards the camera and the screen went black.
The map returned.
"Washington, DC."
Footage of the three SHIELD helicarriers in the air played, where smoke and the lighting of guns firing could be seen. It cut to SHIELD HQ, smoke expelled from the building, and then a helicarrier falling into the Potomac. The wave it created engulfed all the pedestrians on the sidewalk, people's screams abruptly cut off.
Sam looked down, unable to watch. Was there anything they could have done differently that day? He didn't know.
"Sokovia."
People were running and screaming. It cut to Sokovia being lifted into the air, cut out of the Earth. A building falling, crashing into another in a large dust cloud.
"San Francisco."
This one hit Natasha the most. The destruction on the bridge, all of the fighting and cars blowing up due to the attack. The Chiron flying in the air and suddenly exploding in a wave of blue light. She was on that ship, she almost died and lost the baby.
"Lagos."
There was the building from their mission, smoke coming out from the right side. Another shot showed the truck that crashed into the buildings, flames licking the sides and people running out, limping and coughing. Someone was pulled out on a stretcher, others were helping people get out.
Then it cut to a video of a girl covered in ash, lying too still.
Wanda couldn't bear it at this point, gasping slightly and turning away and Natasha could see tears start to form in her eyes. Natasha wanted to comfort Wanda and claw Ross' eyes out, though she couldn't decide in what order. Steve however, got there first and put an end to things.
"Okay," he said, very terse and final. "That's enough."
Ross clicked a button on the remote and the footage disappeared. He went on to the point. "For the past four years, you've operated with unlimited power and no supervision. That's an arrangement the governments of the world can no longer tolerate," he emphasized and turned around to reach for something on a nearby table.
"But I think we have a solution."
In his hands, he held a thick, neat looking book and passed it to Wanda.
"The Sokovia Accords."
Ross walked around the table as he continued to speak. "Approved by 117 countries, it states that the Avengers shall no longer be a private organization. Instead, they'll operate under the supervision of a United Nations panel, only when and if that panel deems it necessary."
Natasha mentally sighed, 117 countries, that was a lot of pressure to say yes to a very big change. Seemed like they were being shoved into a corner.
"The Avengers were created to make the world a safer place," Steve spoke calmly, cautiously, as the book was being passed around the table. "I feel we've done that."
"Tell me, Captain, do you know where Thor and Banner are right now?" Ross asked, his eyes glancing at Terra near the end. He was unable to help himself to probe a little.
"If I misplaced a couple of 30 megaton nukes you can bet there'd be consequences," he said, walking back to the front of the room. "Compromise. Reassurance. That's how the world works. Believe me, this-" he gestured to the Sokovia Accords book."-is the middle ground."
Rhodey was not oblivious to such tensions in the room but he was more focused on the Accords themselves. "So... there are contingencies?"
"Three days from now, the UN meets in Vienna to ratify the Accords," Ross replied to Rhodey.
Natasha frowned. That didn't give them a lot of time to decide, which was probably done on purpose. They wanted to put as much pressure on the team as they could.
Ross turned the screen off. "Talk it over," he suggested as he walked around to the other side of the table.
Natasha had been silent since her first comment, mostly because she was weighing the pros and cons of everything. Did she want the government in control of her again? Absolutely not. She had enough of that with the Red Room and what the Soviets made her do. But her thoughts weren't on herself. They were on James. He had two different variations of Super Soldier Serum running through his little body right now, basically the perfect Avenger in the making.
"And if we come to a decision you don't like?" Natasha asked with a small smile, knowing one person in particular was never going to agree to this.
Ross looked up from the other side of the table at Natasha. "Then you retire," he stated matter-of-factly.
The team had regathered into the sitting room of the Compound, unable to stay in the stuffy conference room anymore, especially with what just happened in there. Tony had fallen onto a couch and was deep in thought while everyone else was around the area. Steve had the Accords in his hands and reading pages when Natasha returned.
Natasha went quickly to check on Ava and James before returning to the lounge room. She came back in and sat next to Steve, looking over and reading some of the document with him. She didn't say anything, mostly because she was deep in thought about what she was thinking about.
She was considering the whole thing, and even signing. She figured that if she signed, that maybe they would allow James to just have a normal life and not be an Avenger, regardless of the serum within him. Plus, with everyone signing, then Steve wouldn't be able to go off all over the world galivanting about and looking for Barnes, and not leave her alone with the baby all the time. The second part was selfish, but it was something she was silently stewing about, and it had been close to exploding after Lagos.
Rhodey remained standing, hands on his hips, looking thoughtful. "Alright, what are you all thinking? Cause I'm thinking..." He tilted his head this way and that, ending with a shrug. "We should consider it."
"So let's say we agree to this thing. How long is it gonna be before they LoJack us like a bunch of common criminals?" Sam argued.
"One hundred and seventeen countries want to sign this," Rhodes pointed out. "A hundred and seventeen, Sam, and you're just like 'Nah, it's cool'?"
"How long are you going to play both sides?" Sam asked heatedly.
"I have an equation."
Everyone looked up as Vision spoke for the first time, having been very quiet since introducing himself to Ross.
"Oh, this will clear it up," Sam said as he turned to listen.
Terra came over to pass over a round of warm drinks before going back to get hers and sitting on the couch next to Natasha.
Vision had his fingers pressed together. "In the eight years since Mr. Stark announced himself as Iron Man, the number of known enhanced persons has grown exponentially. And during the same period, the number of potentially world-ending events has risen at a commensurate rate," he explained. Everyone grew a bit more still at what he was hinting at.
Steve looked up from the Accords, having flipped halfway through them already. He spared Wanda a glance, noting that she seemed spaced out, but didn't comment. Instead, he addressed Vision.
"Are you saying it's our fault?"
"I'm saying there may be a causality," Vision corrected. "Our very strength invites challenge. Challenge incites conflict. And conflict...breeds catastrophe."
"Oversight..." He looked to everyone in the room, lingering longer on Wanda. "Oversight is not an idea that can be dismissed out of hand," he finished.
"Boom," said Rhodey after Vision's logical and indisputable argument.
Everything that Vision said made sense in a way. It was a pretty brutal way to look at things, but perhaps they all needed to stop sugar coating stuff and look at the straight facts, just like a computer would. She was still thinking about it when another thought popped into her mind. That was Tony not speaking for the longest of times and just sitting on the couch, which was very unusual for him.
"Tony," Natasha said, bringing him into the conversation. "You're being uncharacteristically non-hyperverbal."
"That's because he's already made up his mind," Steve answered for Tony, maybe still peeved at the surprise entrance of a known enemy in their home.
"Oh boy, you know me so well," Tony said, the sarcasm was evident, even as he pushed himself up and rubbed the back of his head. "Actually, I'm nursing an electromagnetic headache." He made his way to the kitchen to fix himself a coffee but he kept talking.
"That's what's going on, Cap. It's just pain. It's discomfort. Who's putting coffee grounds in the disposal?" He turned and narrowed his eyes at Pietro. "Am I running a bed and breakfast for a biker gang?"
No one laughed.
He set down his phone and brought up a photo of a young kid, maybe in his early twenties. He let the other Avengers scan the photo for a moment while he rinsed out the French press..
Tony looked away then looked back and pretended like he hadn't set the photo there himself. "Oh, that's Charles Spencer by the way. He's a great kid. Computer engineering degree, 3.6 GPA, had a floor-level gig at Intel planned for the fall." He poured himself a cup of coffee, letting the others catch on. "But first, he wanted to put a few miles on his soul before he parked it behind a desk. See the world. Maybe be of service."
Steve shifted in his seat. He knew where this was going.
Tony set down the press. "Charlie didn't want to go to Vegas or Fort Lauderdale, which is what I would do. He didn't go to Paris or Amsterdam, which sounds fun. He decided to spend his summer building sustainable housing for the poor. Guess where? Sokovia." The slap of a bag of coffee grounds against the counter made Wanda jump.
"He wanted to make a difference, I suppose. I mean, we won't know 'cause we dropped a building on him while we were kicking ass." He stared pointedly at Steve, waiting for him to argue. When nothing was forthcoming, Tony cracked open a bottle of Advil, took two and swallowed it with a large swig of coffee.
Reading the room, Tony stepped around the counter to put the final nail in the coffin. "There's no decision-making process here," he said. "We need to be put in check. Whatever form that takes, I'm game. If we can't accept limitations, if we're boundary-less, then we're no better than the bad guys."
"Tony, someone dies on your watch, you don't give up." Steve said, Natasha seeing that he was weighing his words carefully.
A little too quickly, Tony shot back: "Who said we're giving up?"
"We are if we're not taking responsibility for our actions. This document just shifts the blame," Steve responded.
Rhodey's eyebrows shot up. "I'm sorry, Steve, that...that is dangerously arrogant. This is the United Nations we're talking about. It's not the World Security Council, it's not SHIELD, it's not Hydra."
Steve shook his head. "No," Steve relented, "but it's run by people with agendas and agendas change."
"That's good," Tony argued, stepping forward now, approaching Cap with an accusing pointer finger. "That's why I'm here. When I realized what my weapons were capable of in the wrong hands I shut it down and stopped manufacturing."
Steve leaned forward. "Tony, you chose to do that. If we sign this, we surrender our right to choose." He gestured at the now-closed Accords sitting on the table in front of him. He looked around. His gaze settled on Natasha for a bit, trying to get a read on her.
For the first time in over a year, Natasha kept her features schooled in front of everyone in the room. When she went into this mode, there wasn't a soul on the planet that could read what she was really thinking. Even Steve and Clint would have trouble if she wanted them too, and her brain was racing a million miles an hour right now, trying to figure out the best move. Without any sense of what she was thinking, Steve continued on.
"What if this panel sends us somewhere we don't think we should go? What if there's somewhere we need to go and they don't let us?" We may not be perfect, but the safest hands are still our own."
"If we don't do this now, it's gonna be done to us later." Tony said and looked around. "That's the fact. That won't be pretty."
Someone else spoke up. "You're saying they will come for me."
Everyone turned to look at Wanda, who had been silent up until this point. Her face was blank, her tone carefully neutral, but her words belied her anxiety.
"We would protect you," Vision stated firmly without looking at her. Pietro nodded in agreement. If they agreed to this, they wouldn't be forced into anything.
Sam shifted his weight foot to foot nervously, and he looked to Terra. "Terra." She looked up from staring into her tea. "Any thoughts?" He asked.
Terra sighed, "Look, if they said 'hey, there's a problem, let's discuss a way to solve it together,' then terrific, yeah, I'd be game. Instead, they're putting the most amount of pressure as possible for us to agree and that just doesn't... sit well with me." She set her mug on a nearby coffee table and sat back on the couch. "A change does need to happen," she admitted. "But I'm afraid agreeing to this will bring different problems than the ones we already have. Bigger ones."
Natasha was quiet through all of it. She knew Tony had some valid points and she knew Steve had some valid points. Getting sent anywhere on a panel's whim was not what she signed up for when she agreed to be an Avenger. But one thing from Tony's speech stood out to her more than anything.
"If we don't do this, it's going to be done to us. And it's not gonna be pretty."
Context meaning, if she didn't cooperate here, they could take James away from her due to his abilities. Deem her inappropriate to raise a super soldier and put him in an academy for the US Army right away. She couldn't have that happen, not to her only child. Natasha knew she had made up her mind and it was going to stir the pot, but she said it anyway.
"Maybe Tony's right," she said and immediately felt all eyes on her, and why shouldn't they be. She was agreeing with a man that a year ago couldn't be in the same room together, rather than agreeing with her partner and father of her child.
"If we have one hand on the wheel, we can still steer," she continued. "If we take it off..."
Tony seemed pleasantly shocked but in denial. Wanda seemed distracted. Rhodey seemed disbelieving. And Steve, as open a book as he had ever been, looked betrayed. He didn't look angry or resentful, just hurt and disappointed.
Sam leaned forward, disbelief on his face. "Aren't you the same woman who was all for telling the government to kiss her ass a few years ago?"
"I'm just..." Natasha said, faltering for a bit as she saw the look that Steve was getting her.
She was shutting down everyone else in the room right now, eyes locked in on Steve. She never wanted to disagree with him or make him feel like she didn't support him. But she knew that this difference of opinion carried heavy weight in a lot of areas, many of which affected numerous people she cared deeply about.
"I'm reading the terrain," Natasha said, deciding to use a metaphor for what was going on. "We have made some very public mistakes. With the damage in San Francisco and Lagos..., we just..."
Natasha paused again, looking down and making sure that she wanted to go this route and potentially create a huge rift between herself and Steve. She knew that this was the only way to protect James in her mind. She looked back up and right back into Steve's eyes.
"We need to win back their trust," she concluded.
"Focus up." Tony leaned forward, his brain suffering from some type of lag. He gestured to it without explanation. "I'm sorry. Did I just mishear you or did you agree with me?" He glanced sideways at Steve, who was busy looking at Natasha.
Natasha sent Tony a mixed look. Outwardly it was a glare that could kill a man easily, but underneath, something that Tony would be able to see, was a desperate plea to not stoke the fires on this one as more hung in the balance than just numbers in this decision.
Tony seemed to get that at least, his eyes softening as he realized his mistake. Natasha knew that it was probably more of emotions being thin and him just trying to keep things lighter.
Before anyone else could respond, Steve's phone vibrated. He went to check the text, Natasha not being able to see the screen or read what was on it. His face automatically fell into a grief Natasha hadn't quite seen before on him.
"I- It's-" He tried to vocalize what it said. The words wouldn't come. His mouth could form the letters but his throat wouldn't make the right sounds. Only the wrong ones.
"I have to go." He stood up abruptly and left, and didn't look back.
Natasha just sighed and looked around the room. She may have disagreed with Steve, but she needed to be there for him. She could tell when something was wrong with him, and this was something pretty serious.
Natasha stood up and gave one last look around the room.
"I'll go talk to him," Natasha said, heading out and down to their apartment, the one place that Natasha figured he would be.
She entered silently, seeing Ava pass her in the hall and went to James' room, leaning on the doorframe, giving Steve plenty of time to talk when he was ready.
He was sitting on the floor next to James's crib, as the nine month old was taking a nap. Natasha could see him crying silently and wanted him to speak before she moved over. She made her presence known enough to where he could tell she was there and after a minute, spoke up.
"Peggy," he said quietly, so as not to wake James. "She's gone."
Natasha's heart broke at that. The last conversation seemed to just take a side seat as she heard the news. Losing a first love was tough, and Natasha knew how much Peggy meant to Steve. She closed the distance between them and wrapped him in a hug.
"God Steve I'm so sorry," Natasha said, trying to comfort him to the best of her abilities.
She wasn't very good at this part. It was usually the other way around, Steve finding a way to calm her down in the last few months of crisis for her. This was something completely new for her, and she didn't think she ever saw Steve in this much despair. She heard that it had been this way when she left after New Year's, but she wasn't there to witness it for herself.
He leaned into her embrace with a sigh, accepting the comfort. It wasn't often that Steve got like this, but here, with James and Natasha, the two loves of his life, he let his walls down.
May 19th, 2016
London, England
A child choir sang a haunting melody. No one said a word. The church was packed with people, all those who'd loved and admired Margaret Carter, and no one said a word. There was an air of Britishness to the sadness, the feeling of muted emotions carefully hidden behind delicate cups of tea and charming misdirections in conversation. Peggy had always been very good at that.
The funeral was in London, England, where she'd been born and where her husband was buried. Steve, Terra, Sam, and Natasha had all flown here commercially to attend. It had apparently been requested that Steve take part in carrying the British flag-draped coffin. So he did.
Tony was here too, sitting in the far back with a pair of sunglasses and a fedora so as not to draw too much attention to himself. Half the Avengers being here was doing that already. Also, he and Steve weren't on speaking terms.
Natasha hated funerals. She didn't attend most of those that she was invited to. Maybe out of guilt, that she caused so many in her life. Maybe just the whole air of it made her uncomfortable. But she was here for Steve and whatever he needed, and that was right here. Plus, she really admired Margaret Carter and what she did for women in the espionage industry in both the US and UK.
The last week was tough between Natasha and Steve. The air of mourning over Peggy was often overshadowed by the Sokovia Accords and the timeline that was presented to them. It was no surprise that the Accords were ratified unanimously at the UN Meeting, now later this afternoon they would be officially presented and all that were signing were going to be at Vienna to sign. Steve and Natasha had several discussions about the ramifications of them, what it meant for the team and what it meant for their son. Natasha voiced her worries about the government taking James away from them if they didn't sign, and Steve was worried about the government only letting them keep him under conditions that would negatively affect James.
A stalemate through and through, and left them walking on eggshells.
Natasha focused back on the ceremony as Sharon Carter was called to speak at the podium.
She wasn't surprised when Sharon came up to the podium, she knew from the first time she met her. She didn't tell anyone because it wasn't her secret to tell. She didn't necessarily like Sharon, especially with a possible crush Natasha felt she could have developed on Steve during her stint as his protection, but maybe that was just the jealous side of her talking.
"Margaret Carter was known to most as the founder of SHIELD. But I just knew her as Aunt Peggy. She had a photograph in her office. Aunt Peggy standing next to JFK. As a kid, that was pretty cool. But it was a lot to live up to. Which is why I never told anyone we were related." She looked directly at Steve.
Steve just barely nodded. It made sense.
Sharon continued. "I asked her once how she managed to master diplomacy and espionage in a time when no one wanted to see a woman succeed at either. She said compromise where you can. But where you can't... don't. Even if everyone is telling you that something wrong is something right. Even if the whole world is telling you to move, it is your duty to plant yourself like a tree, look them in the eye and say: "No. You move."
The ceremony moved along quickly after that, a couple of other speakers and such before it was over. Natasha knew she was flying out after the ceremony with Tony to sign the Accords, but she had to make a last ditch effort to get Steve and the rest to come with her.
As people started filing out, Sam and Terra stood, sensing that she and Steve needed some alone time.
"We'll be waiting in the car," Terra told Steve gently, giving his arm a soft squeeze. "Take all the time you need, okay?"
"Have a safe trip, Nat," Sam added.
Natasha nodded to both of them as the church emptied, leaving only her and Steve there. Peggy's casket was still up there, Natasha knowing that Steve would want a private goodbye after all of this, and she would give him that, but she wanted to try first.
Steve leaned up against one of the pews as they stood across from each other, hands in his pockets.
"When I came out of the ice, I thought everyone I had known was gone. Then I found out she was alive. I was just lucky to have her."
Her heart broke at this side of him. He rarely opened up about it, but she knew the feeling of all of it. Of shutting people out and hoping that it would make everything better. The battle of the depression she had for a serious amount of time after defecting to the west. And she knew what finding a rock, whatever it may be, was the road to recovery. For her it was Clint's family and then eventually to cap it all off Steve. For Steve, it was Peggy.
"She had you back too," Natasha said.
"I should have made more time for her; for all of you," he admitted, the closest he's ever come to really apologizing for all those Bucky missions that went nowhere. "I never got to introduce her to you or James. I know she would have loved you both."
Getting to more serious matters, he finally pried his eyes away from Peggy, away from the photo of her exactly how he remembered her, and towards Natasha. "Who else signed?"
"Tony, Rhodey, Vision," Natasha said, listing them off.
She held back the comment about Peggy meeting James and her, and felt there would be a better time for it. She didn't need him feeling even more guilty about not being there on the trip, and when she actually went to see Peggy.
"Clint?"
Natasha remembered that call fondly. She had an argument with Clint about it. He had some choice words about the whole matter but they understood each other's sides. If Clint was on active duty, he wouldn't sign. But he knew what Natasha felt about it and understood what she was going through. So the argument lasted all of about ten minutes.
"Says he's retired," Natasha said with a smile.
"The Twins?"
"TBD," she replied, this one a little more painful. She felt Wanda had been a little more distant with her since she decided to sign the accords. Like there was a rift that was between them. They weren't as close anymore, and it killed her almost more than Steve.
"I'm off to Vienna for the signing of the Accords," Natasha said, broaching the touchy part of this conversation. "There's plenty of room on the jet."
Natasha saw the look that Steve gave her and sighed.
"C'mon Steve. Just because it's the path of least resistance doesn't mean it's the wrong path. Staying together is more important."
"Yeah, but what are we giving up to do it?" He shook his head, knowing they'd both already said these things. "I'm sorry, Nat. Really. For Bucky. For what this will do to the team, to our family. For all of it. But I can't sign it. The Accords go against everything I believe in. I just can't."
Natasha looked down for a second, knowing that she hit a dead end again. This wasn't the time or place for an argument, and frankly she was just too tired to even try anymore.
"I know," she said, after a few moments.
She bit her tongue about Bucky again, and that was the closest she had come to exploding at him. She knew it was coming, and when it came, Rogers wouldn't know what hit him.
"You should go," he choked out, trying to be half-hearted and failing miserably. "Don't want to miss your flight."
Natasha just stood there awkwardly for a bit, not really knowing how to act at this point. She didn't want to leave things so tense, yet she just had this underlying anger at him.
"No matter how I feel right now," Natasha said, wording everything carefully. "No matter what happens with the Accords. I will always love you."
Natasha went up to him and wrapped him in a giant hug.
"You have my heart, Steve Rogers," she said. "Forever."
Natasha leaned back and kissed him briefly before turning and walking out of the church to where Tony was waiting. She put sunglasses on when she got outside and got into the car that Tony was sitting in.
"Let's go," she said, staring straight forward and not sharing a lot more information because she was hurting right now.
Leaning forward so that his head poked out between the front seats, Tony quietly urged Happy to step on it. Tony knew Natasha well enough to know what she was feeling, and he didn't push it at all.
May 19th, 2016
Vienna, Austria
Natasha was standing in the UN room, feeling very out of place and mind still very much elsewhere. She had checked up on Ava and James on the ride over and knew they were doing well. Wanda was helping babysit a bit because she wasn't here to sign and was kept to the Avenger's Facility for now.
"Miss Romanoff," a voice said, bringing her out of her daze.
"Yes," Natasha said, turning towards a man in a suit.
"These need your signature," the man said and held out the papers to her.
Natasha took the pen and hesitated only slightly as the Accords were in front of her. She signed her name after the almost unnoticeable pause, and she had officially agreed to the Sokovia Accords.
"Thank you," the man said and left quickly as the conference was due to start soon, leaving Natasha only a few seconds to compose herself before another voice rang out.
"I suppose neither of us is used to the spotlight," he said, walking over.
Natasha turned and smiled politely. It was Prince T'Challa of the small nation of Wakanda. Not much was known about that nation, only that the rarest metal on Earth was found there, but otherwise it was a mystery for her. She had wanted to do more research into it, especially after the whole Ultron fiasco, but she had other priorities at the time.
"Oh, well it's not always so flattering," Natasha said, clearly referring to the whole ordeal surrounding New Year's.
"Well you seem to be doing alright so far," T'Challa said. "Considering the last time you had headlines all to yourself. I wouldn't think you would be particularly comfortable in this company."
"Well I'm not," Natasha said, which was completely true. She hated politics and the whole game around them. Sometimes she thought that it was more evil than some of the bad guys they fought.
"That alone makes me glad you're here, Miss Romanoff," T'Challa said with a smile of his own.
"Why?" Natasha asked, curiosity peaking. "You don't approve of all this?"
"The Accords, yes," T'Challa said, quickly clarifying and also showing his stance. "The politics, not really. Two people in a room can get more done than a hundred."
"Unless you need to move a piano," another voice said, appearing.
Natasha looked over and immediately recognized this man. King T'Chaka, of Wakanda, personally connected to the deaths of the ambassadors in Lagos. She was humbled at this and gave a little half bow in respect.
"Father," T'Challa greeted.
"Son," T'Chaka said and then turned to Natasha. "Miss Romanoff."
"King T'Chaka," Natasha greeted. "Please, allow me to apologize for what happened in Nigeria."
"Thank you," T'Chaka said. "Thank you for agreeing to all this. I'm sad to hear that Captain Rogers will not be joining us today."
"Yes," Natasha said, a pang of hurt in her eyes. "So am I."
T'Chaka and T'Challa both looked a little taken aback as they didn't consider what the Accords would be doing to the Rogers family, as a split household with a less than one year old baby was something tough. T'Chaka was about to offer an apology when a voice on the loudspeaker came over.
"If everyone could please be seated. This assembly is now in session."
Natasha just smiled and half bowed again.
"Thank you," she said, before heading to her seat.
She sat down and started to listen to the speech. Tony was away doing something, Rhodes was around as well and Vision had signed but stayed at the Compound to look after Wanda and Pietro. It wasn't something Natasha liked at all as Tony told her the specifics. The twins were basically under house arrest with Vision as their guard. Tony had explained it was the best he could do to get Ross to let go of them not signing, but it didn't mean she was happy about it.
T'Chaka headed up to the podium as T'Challa headed off to the side. He stood up and waited until everyone was seated, and began his statement.
"When stolen Wakandan vibranium was used to make a terrible weapon, we in Wakanda were forced to question our legacy," T'Chaka started. "Those men and women killed in Nigeria, were part of a goodwill mission from a country too long in the shadows. We will not, however, let misfortune drive us back. We will fight to improve the world we wish to join. I am grateful to the Avengers for supporting this initiative. Wakanda is proud to extend its hand in peace."
T'Challa happened to glance outside and saw a news van and people checking it out. All of a sudden everyone started running away and T'Challa's head whipped around into the conference. Natasha noticed right away and she immediately went into on guard mode. T'Challa ran towards the podium and his father.
"EVERYBODY GET DOWN," he said, seconds before a giant explosion ripped through the building.
Natasha grabbed the person next to her and slammed them under the desk, the fireball ripping above them as only one thought was going through her head.
Fuck
A/N
Here we go, right into the swing of Civil War. Again, obligatory note that all Russian is used via google translate and I'm sure that it's not completely correct, just trying to get the feel of Natasha's character.
Chto ya sobirayus' delat', detaka, = What am I going to do baby?
Chapter contributions as always to A Velvet Rose and SarahCon