#natasha is alive

[laiahernandeeezzz]

I'm here, moya lyubov'

******

Paring: Yelena Belova x fem!reader

Words: 1.6K

******

After the compound was destroyed thanks to Thanos, Pepper offered Y/n and Natasha to live with her. At first both of them were reluctant given the loss of Tony Stark in the battlefield, but after Pepper told them it would also help her to feel less alone and to cope with it while taking care of little Morgan, they accepted.

So after Tony's funeral, they installed themselves at the house. It was easy, their things were completely destroyed by the fight. The three of them quickly fell into a routine. While Natasha put her focus on finding out where help was extremely necessary, and contacting the heads of the countries, to see how they were going to proceed after everyone came back, Pepper placed her mind on accepting her husband’s death, and tried to organize anything under the Stark’s name: selling, giving places to people who needed it…

Y/n happily took house chores, helping with cleaning clothes, plates, making lunch and dinner, and also looking after Morgan. Of course Pepper was there for her daughter, but in all honesty, Morgan loved playing and spending time with Y/n, so she was happy to do so.

However, even though she was adapting to her new life pretty quickly, her nights were spent without any sleep. She spent them trying to find anything that could be related to her girlfriend’s location. Yelena Belova was introduced to the team by her sister after they reunited. There was where Y/n and her met, instantly feeling something between them.

******

Their relationship wasn’t easy at first. Yelena was a bit -very- jealous of Y/n relation with Natasha. After all, they had spent more time together than the sisters, so she acted cold and quite rude with her. And, although Y/n quickly accepted that Yelena was attractive, she refused to be nice to her if the widow wasn’t with her.

The whole compound was aware of their constant bickering, but even they could tell there was something much bigger, but still, they decided to stay on the sides and not pay much attention to them. Natasha, on the other hand, was desperate with the girls’ stubbornness, and really wanted to tell them to stop that nonsense, that was impending them to really know what they wanted. 

So, that’s why, after a few months, she locked them in one of the thousand rooms the compound had, and told them that they would stay there until they solved their differences. Natasha knew her little plan had two outcomes: either they ended up killing each other or kissing. You can guess which one was the result. The red-headed decided that after an hour, they would’ve done one of those things. When she opened the door, she was pleased to see them hugged, looking lovingly at each other -making Nat sick-, and kissing softly. 

Slowly, the other Avengers found out of their thing, after some months starting to officially date, not passing the opportunity to tease them all the time. Especially the spy, who constantly told them that they ended up together thanks to her, them being too stubborn -and stupid- to realized their feelings. The couple never admitted it to the older woman, but they were amazingly grateful. 

That’s how Yelena spent almost a year with them on the compound, all while Melina recreated the serum, with the help of Tony’s and Bruce’s labs. Once they got it done, she took off to free some widows, with the help of her Red Room friends, if someone could call them that. The goodbye was hard, the girls not knowing exactly when they were going to see each other again, but they promised to see each other again. What they weren’t expecting -or even imagine it- is that an alien had plans to erase half of the universe.

******

At first, when people started to disappear, Y/n was convinced that Yelena hadn’t been one of them, that in a few weeks she would have her girlfriend back in her arms. Weeks turned into months, and months turned into years. It had been a year, when Y/n reluctantly realized that the blonde spy wasn’t coming back. For some days she thought Yelena may have just bailed on her, that had decided to live her life alone, but deep inside knew that something was really wrong. 

That was why she had spent the last few years searching for her. During the blip they were looking for everyone that had disappeared, but after the world was once again restored, she didn’t stop, with Pepper and Natasha’s help. Her nights were based on searching for some weird action or movement out of the ordinary, some attack of some sort. 

She just had her girlfriend’s name, as well as her friend’s Sonya and Melina’s, and she was fully conscious that they changed passports constantly in missions like that. Fucking trained spies. However, she never gave up. She kept and would keep looking as long as she had to. With the days, hope diminished, but it had become such a routine, that she couldn’t sleep or function if she didn’t do it. 

******

Not sleeping was affecting her functionality as a person, but she kept her good face for little Stark, especially when she was left alone with her. Pepper and Natasha had left the house to run some errands pretty early in the morning. Morgan was playing in the living room, while Y/n cooked some lunch for them, not knowing exactly when the older women were supposed to be back. 

Y/n finished arranging their plates, as she called Morgan, “Baby girl, time to eat!”. After some seconds, she called her again, and went to look for her in the living room, but the place was empty. Calling her name out loud, she started to panic, that kid is going to kill me. When she got to the entrance, she saw that the door was slightly open, and she quickly ran outside, “Morgan! You know, we don’t go outside alone!”.

Realizing a shaky breath, she saw the little girl hugging her mom, as the redhead took some bags out of the car’s boot. “Oh, thank god. Morgan, don’t ever do that again! By the way, where were you? You left like hundred hours ago”

“Oh, don’t be dramatic! We just went to pick up a package” Natasha teased her, as the backdoor of the car slammed shut. Y/n was quite confused at this point, brows furrowed and eyes fixed on the back of the car, still not being able to see who that mysterious person was. She quickly found out, though.

Some blonde strands of hair peeked as the person reached the front part of the car, rounding it to come to the front of the house. And Y/n stopped breathing. As soon as they locked eyes, Y/n knees gave up, and she fell to the floor, tears streaming down their eyes. 

Yelena was alive and in front of her. She couldn’t see much through the tears, and suddenly her breath started to run short. Her chest felt tight, her chest moving quickly trying to catch as much oxygen as possible, but still, it didn’t seem enough. She was starting to panic, when she felt soft fingers caressing her cheek. And then a soft voice. 

“Hey, hey, breathe with me, here” Y/n’s hand was moved to Yelena’s chest, “I’m here, detka, I’m here with you”. Her vision started to become clear, as her breath started to slowly become back to normal, Y/n focused on taking deep breaths. “How… How are you here? I’ve been searching for you for months”

“You don’t really think you were the only one searching?” At that point, Y/n was fully calmed, eyes running through Yelena’s face. She looked exactly the same since the last time they saw each other. The spy was cleaning the drying tears, her thumbs softly caressing Y/n cheeks. 

“But, how? You left no traces for me… How did you find me?” Of course Y/n was happy her girlfriend was back, but at the same time, she was extremely confused, because she had spent weeks non-stop looking for her, without any success, and it wasn’t like she, herself, had also left any trace to follow. 

“Natasha… You know, she’s been helping some governments, and there are always pictures of them. It was easier to find her, so I traced her, and she led me to you. You also were nowhere to be found” Y/n looked away from those green eyes, for the first time, seeing how both older women looked at them, smiling and with wet eyes. Y/n thought that it had been a long time since she had seen Natasha so emotional. 

“I haven’t got out of the house a lot, to be honest. I had barely enough strength for it, and if I had some it was destined to your search or to little Stark there… I can’t believe you are finally here”

“I am here, and I have no intentions to leave for a while… Although maybe we could go somewhere just the two of us, beach, cocktails, bikinis…” Yelena almost started to cry when she heard Y/n’s laugh again. She had never thought of finding someone, all thought of love eliminated in the Red Room, yet she was here, in front of a woman she couldn’t love more.

“I love you so much Lena”

“And I love you too, moya lyubov'” Y/n didn’t hold herself any more and connected their lips, both of them sighing at the feeling. They had been apart for too long, and both girls promised themselves to never let that happen again. 

[lucky-bishova-42]

Two Hawks and A Widow

(this is a prequel to Malen'kiy Yastreb - it is Natasha's POV during the events of the Hawkeye TV show :) )

“I think they went down this way,” I pant, chasing after an irate Hawkeye down the streets of New York. Up in the distance I can see shadows of the supposed Ronin fighting what looks like the Tracksuit Mafia, “Oh great, not these guys again.”

“I can’t believe this is even happening,” Clint huffs, turning the corner and stopping to scope out the scene a bit more before deciding how to intervene.

“Well if—”

“I don’t want to hear it right now, Natasha,” Clint grumbles, knowing that I was about to point out that this whole thing could’ve been prevented if he would’ve just had a bonfire as soon as we defeated Thanos.

We both fall silent for a moment as we watch the Ronin take down several members of the Tracksuits.

“This person isn’t bad,” I point out, “although they look a little inexperienced. And now that we are closer, they look kinda small.”

I am not gonna lie, I am kinda impressed. They took down at least thirty men so far, despite their amateur fighting style.

“I don’t care what they look like, I am putting a stop to this,” Clint grunts, watching the Ronin start to get slightly overwhelmed with an increasing number of Tracksuits surrounding them, “Stay back until I subdue the Tracksuits.”

I nod and shift back into the shadows, biting back the suggestion that if I help, this would go a lot quicker. But, when he is like this, sometimes it is easier to just let him do what he wants.

Clint quickly disposes of the rest of the Tracksuits and pulls the said Ronin down the alley I was waiting in.

As Clint drags them down, I realize that this person is a LOT smaller than we had originally thought.

I wonder if this person is younger.

He pushes them against the wall rather roughly, and something in my gut almost makes me yell at Clint to be gentler with them.

Clint grabs the hood and rips it off to reveal—

“Oh, you have GOT to be kidding me!” Clint gripes.

He stole the words right out of my mouth.

No wonder this Ronin was so short.

A teenager, who can’t be more than 13, looks up at us with wide eyes.

“I—I— Y-You’re Hawkeye! And you’re Black Widow!” the teen stutters.

“Who the hell are you?!” Clint immediately asks.

“I’m Kate. Kate Bishop,” the girl, Kate, pants, “I—”

“Where the hell did you get this, kid?! How old are you?!” Clint cuts her off.

“Well I—”

“Do you know what you have done?!”

“Easy Clint,” I butt in before Clint can further harass the kid, “Let’s let her catch her breath. She just took out at least 40 guys.”

The girl sends me a grateful smile and continues to try to regulate her breathing. Once both her and Clint calm down a bit, Clint and I are both shocked to find out she is only 14 years old and got the suit at while staking out a black-market auction that was taking place beneath the charity auction her mother was hosting. I suggest that we get off the streets and take the kid somewhere to change out of the suit. She proposes to go to her Dad’s old apartment.

“So, what is a 14-year-old doing at a black-market auction?” I ask as we are walking to the apartment, making sure to keep her on the inside of the sidewalk so she is safe.

“Trying to figure out why my mother’s new fiancé was doing at said black-market auction,” she swiftly replies, “I don’t trust him. He is very suspicious… And loves swords.”

I have to admit, this kid has balls. Not only did she take out a bunch of the Tracksuit goons, she fully put herself into another dangerous situation by attending this black-market auction.

And to be honest, I don’t know if I fully believe she is 14 years old. I could tell she wasn’t lying when she told us, but she is very small for a 14-year-old.

“I see,” I hum, “does your mom know about your lack of trust in him?”

“No,” Kate frowns slightly, then whispers so softly I can barely hear it, “And it’s not like she would believe me anyway.”

“Could you tell your dad?” Clint asks.

Kate looks back at him before looking down, and I notice a shift in her emotions.

“No, um,” she looks briefly up at Clint and me before looking back down at her feet, “he, um, passed away a while ago.”

“Oh,” Clint says, “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Kate smiles sadly, pausing for a while before stating, “he left me his apartment. I go there sometimes to hang out.”

We continue to walk in silence for a while.

I can’t help but think there is more to her father’s death. The way her whole posture and demeanor changed was drastic; he obviously meant a lot to her. That is a lot for a young teen to go through.

“Should we call your mother to let her know you are okay?” Clint suggests.

“No, it is okay,” Kate shakes her head, before chuckling, “she probably hasn’t even noticed I am gone yet.”

Clint and I share a quick look, wondering what the kid meant by that, and I can tell he is about to ask her what she means by that. But he is cut off by her announcing that we have reached our destination.

The Tracksuits give Russians a bad rep.

Not only do they conduct shady business, but they are not known to be the brightest bulbs in the shop. Especially when they convince themselves that a 14-year-old is the Ronin and has been for all the bullshit that Clint pulled during the Snap years.

After they manage to burn down Kate’s deceased father’s apartment, we take Kate and the dog she saved to one of my safe houses in the city.

I sit her in the kitchen and help her clean her wounds while Clint goes back to the hotel to check on the kids. I was about to help her with the butterfly bandages when I notice she is already putting them on correctly.

“Wow,” I can’t help but be curious, “you are pretty well versed in this. Do you have a lot of experience?”

Kate’s eyes briefly widen before she schools her expression and shrugs her shoulders.

“Not really,” she chuckles slightly, “Maybe it is just from watching so much Grey’s Anatomy.”

I can tell she is lying. She won’t make direct eye contact with me and her hands are fidgety.

“Huh,” I ponder, “didn’t know they fixed minor wounds on Grey’s Anatomy…”

Kate flashes me a quick smile with a shrug and is about to respond when her cellphone starts to ring. When she pulls out her phone, her mom’s contact is flashing on the screen.  I can see her face shift into panic before she takes a deep breath and looks back up at me.

“Sorry, it’s my mom, I gotta take this.”

“No worries, kid,” I reassure her, “Let me know if she wants me to bring you home.”

Kate smiles in appreciation before getting up to take the phone call in another room.

While she is gone, I take the time to start cleaning up the first aid supplies. As I am putting the last of the band aids back into the kit, my stomach starts to rumble. The kid might be hungry too. I look over to the clock to see it is well past midnight at this point, but I head over to the cabinet anyway. After looking over my options, I pull out a box of Kraft mac n cheese.

My mind briefly gets pulled back to a very different holiday season in a very different state at a very different time in my life.

I wonder how Yelena is doing? Does she ever think about me?

I shake my head to clear my thoughts and start filling up a pot with water.

By the time Kate comes back into the kitchen, I am just finishing mixing the cheese powder into the macaroni. Her face looks slightly blotchy as if she had been crying, but I try not to comment on it. I send her a small smile as she sits back at the table.

“Are you hungry?” I ask, “You must be after kicking Tracksuit ass for over 20 minutes.”

She chuckles softly, and I count it as a win. I sit across from her and give her a bowl.

“Thanks,” she whispers softly, looking down at the bowl, starting to move the macaroni around.

“No problem,” I reply, pausing before asking, “So… what did your mom say?”

“Oh… um…” she hesitates, “she just asked if I was safe and if I had a place to stay tonight.”

Yet again, I know she is lying. But I know it isn’t just because she wants to stay and help me and Clint. There is more going on.

But I decide not to press too much, “Did she not expect you home tonight?”

“Um no… I was going to stay at my Dad’s tonight.”

Another lie.

“Oh, okay,” I let it slide.

“I think I can probably get a key to my Aunt’s place, she is down in Florida for the winter, and I think I could stay there tonight. Or if not, I can stay at Dad’s once the fire is out. Or–”

“Woah kid,” I stop her nervous thought process, “you can just stay here. You are more than welcome to.”

She immediately pauses and looks shocked, “Oh no, I don’t want to inconvenience you. I mean, I already ruined your night, and I have the dog—”

“You won’t be,” I reassure, “Plus, this way I’ll know you are safe from the Tracksuits. They may be dumb, but they are still dangerous.”

This gets a slight chuckle out of her, “You promise it’s okay?”

“I promise kid. Now finish your mac n cheese, its late and we should get some shut eye.”

I swear this kid is the politest teenager I have ever met. After we ate, she cleaned all the dishes I used (which I was planning on just washing in the morning); she woke up early and made her bed, then made ME coffee and breakfast; and all throughout it all kept apologizing for “ruining Christmas.”

Clint met back up with us at the safehouse after dropping the kids off at the airport with Happy (who will be personally escorting them home). He came with me to drop Kate off at her mother’s work, where she is currently interning. Before we left, we both gave her our phone numbers and let her know that this would most likely be fixed by the end of the day. Clint kept emphasizing his was only for emergencies, but I told her to contact me if she ever needs help.

On our way back to the penthouse, Clint and I start to brainstorm plans on how to disassociate Kate’s name from the suit, once he gets it back from the LARPers of course.

“We could just storm in, then have them all arrested? I could contact Hill,” Clint suggests.

“But who knows if all the Tracksuits will be in one place? Plus, just because we have them arrested, doesn’t mean they won’t still think Kate is the Ronin,” I point out.

“True,” Clint sighs.

“And if we contact Hill, that means paperwork,” I groan, “and I am on vacation; NO paperwork for me.”

“I guess you’re right,” Clint concedes, “you are always right.”

“And don’t you forget it, Birdbrain,” I chuckle.

Silence falls over us while we continue thinking.

“Is it bad I kinda miss the kid?” Clint jokes while we continue walking.

I chuckle, “She was entertaining.”

After another block, an idea hits me, and I let a smirk take over my face. Once Clint notices, horror clouds his features.

“Oh no!” He exclaims, “Not that face! No, what ever you are thinking of, no! It’s not gonna work.”

“What happened to I am ‘always right’?” I laugh.

He groans and wipes his face, taking a deep breath, “All right, Nat, what’s your idea?”

“How about some ‘catch-n-release’?”

Well, this turned out to be a shit show.

Not only did we not get anywhere with the Tracksuits, but Kate managed to get herself caught up in this as well. After a lengthy warehouse battle and a precarious car chase, in which Clint’s hearing aid broke, we bring Kate back to the safehouse. She explains to us that the only reason she came was because a Tracksuit answered Clint’s phone when she tried to call him; which earns him a glare from me because I specifically told him to leave his phone here.

After a long talk about safety, I help Kate dress her new wounds as well as redress her old ones.

“Wow,” Clint signs to me as Kate goes to get changed, “I am not gonna lie, she really is an amazing archer.”

 I nod to him, then sign back to him, “No kidding. But she is only a kid, Clint.”

“I know,” he signs back, “but it seems we might not be able to persuade her away to safety. And at least we know she can hold her own.”

“You cannot seriously be trying to convince me to try to let her help.”

“Well let’s be real Nat, if she is with us, at least we will know she won’t be out on her own.”

I sigh.

“Let’s find a place to get your hearing aid fixed.”

Kate recommends a place to get Clint’s hearing aid fixed and the woman who runs the place gets it up and running within 20 minutes. After lunch, we find ourselves following Kate to her mother’s house to try and use her security database to get more intel on Kazi and potentially Kate’s future stepfather.

We don’t have much time to snoop around before Kate’s mother and Kate’s mother’s fiancé come home unexpectedly.

Once her mother comes in, Kate’s demeanor shifts. It’s like she is a completely different teenager than the one we were joking around with earlier. Now she only talks when spoken to and is generally quieter and more drawn into herself.

After introductions, Eleanor suggests we sit down at the table to talk things out.

“Katherine don’t be rude,” Eleanor chastises Kate, “offer your guests refreshments.”

I watch as Kate seems to almost shrink under her mother’s gaze.

“O-Of course,” Kate stutters nervously, “Natasha, Clint, would you like anything to drink?”

“It’s call good, kid,” Clint sends her an easy smile.

Kate sends an uneasy one back.

“I would like my usual, Katherine,” Eleanor interjects, “and Jack would like one as well.”

Kate nods resolutely, “Right away, mom,” and she scurries off into the kitchen.

Clint and I share a look at Kate’s change in behavior.

She almost seems scared.

I am not sure I like this woman.

“So,” Eleanor smiles artificially, “I hope Kate hasn’t been causing you too much trouble.”

“Oh,” I say, “she hasn’t been causing us any trouble at all.”

“Really?” Eleanor is almost shocked, “She can be quite the handful.”

“Hmm,” Clint hums, “No, she has been a big help actually.”

“Well, isn’t that a shock,” Eleanor chuckles, before asking, “So how can I be of help to you?”

“We were really just here to take Kate home,” I lie with a small smile. I have a feeling if we were to tell her anything else, it might not end well; either for Kate or just in general.

“Thank you, then, for making sure she got home safely,” Eleanor acknowledges as Kate comes running back into the room with two whiskey glasses on a tray. Eleanor reaches out and grabs one before sending Kate a steely look, “I am sure Kate won’t cause you any more trouble in the future, right Katherine?”

“Y-yes! Of course!” Kate stammers out quickly.

Okay, I REALLY don’t like this woman. What has she done to Kate to make her this scared?

“If that is all, I can see the two of you out?” Eleanor ‘suggests’ but it feels more like a command.

Clint and I both get up and head to the door, followed by Eleanor. She is talking to Clint, and to be honest, I am not paying any attention. Clint can fill me in later. I am trying to get in eye contact with Kate to make sure she is okay.

I am unfortunately unsuccessful as Clint and I find ourselves back in the elevator on the way back downstairs.

“Well that happened,” Clint breaks the silence.

“Yeah,” I nod, “Eleanor was… not what I was expected.”

“You and me both. She seems like a hard-ass…” Clint agrees, “I am gonna call Laura in a bit to see if she can pull anything on that Sloan Ltd. Company.”

“That sounds good,” I say, and after a brief pause, “Should we invite Kate to the safehouse tonight?”

Clint smirks, “yes, and I have an amazing idea.”

A few hours later, the safe house has slightly more Christmas cheer and Kate is back to being the teenager we met a few days ago. Her and Clint debate the possibility of splitting a wooden arrow and boomerang arrows. Clint teaches her how to flick a quarter and I show her how to tie different knots using tinsel.

“So Clint,” Kate asks, “what was the best shot you have ever took?”

“Ah, let’s see,” Clint puts his finger to his chin pretending to ponder, while sending me a small smile, “it was the one I didn’t take.”

“Woah!” Kate’s eyes light up, “What do you mean?”

I chuckle and sit down on the couch beside Kate as Clint gears up to tell his story.

“Picture this,” Clint starts, “It is almost 20 years ago. I am a new agent and I get sent on a mission to take out this Russian spy who keeps thwarting all of SHIELD’s operations. And when I get there, I had a clear shot at the target. But the target was just someone who wanted out. Someone who wanted to find a different path in life.”

“And I thank every star in the sky that you didn’t release that arrow,” I smile sincerely.

Kate then looks between me and Clint with a soft smile on her face. And after a minute, she responds, “that is the best shot you have ever taken.”

Clint and I chuckle.

We seem to be in this awful pattern where things seem to be going completely fine but then fall apart so rapidly, I can’t keep up. I couldn’t tell you how we ended up on a roof top, fighting Maya and a Widow, Kate almost plummeting to the ground, and in an even more fucked up situation than what we started in.

And don’t get me wrong. I understand Clint is mad and scared; I am too, especially since Maya seemed to be able to find out Laura and the kids’ names; but that is no reason for him to be yelling at Kate like that.

Once he starts, its like her whole body goes on autopilot. Like she has been yelled at like this before.

She listens to his whole rant, tries to argue her side, but ultimately gives up and goes home. After she leaves, he turns to me to continue ranting.

I hold up my hand, “I don’t want to hear it, birdbrain. If you want to scream about it, go ahead, but I will not be listening to it.”

He looks like he is going to start coming at me now so I butt in before he can.

“Save it,” I cut him off, knowing that this won’t get us anywhere and I can’t deal with him when he is like this, “Go cool off and get your head back into the game. There was no need for you to yell at Kate like that. While you finish your temper tantrum, I am gonna go see what I can dig up about that Widow.”

With that, I propel myself down the side of the building and follow in the direction the Widow fled in. I try to put myself back into full Widow mindset to get an idea of where she could have gone.

After about an hour or so of searching, I finally catch up to her. She gets spooked and I end up chasing her through the streets of the city until I corner her in an alley.

When she realizes she can’t get out, she starts to square her shoulders as if to gear up for another fight.

I am getting too old for this.

I put my hands up in a placating matter, “Hey! Listen, I just wanna talk.”

She pauses her actions and almost tilts her head in confusion.

“Widow to Widow,” I add on, “I promise. I am not looking for another fight.”

This seems to work as her body language changes into a slightly less defensive position.

I sigh in relief as she reaches to take off her mask.

Wait! I know this Widow.

“Ana?” I stutter in disbelief.

“Hello, Natalia,” she smiles back uneasily.

I send her a small smile back. I haven’t seen Ana since my last mission for the Red Room. I wonder if she got out before I took it down.

“What are you doing here?” I ask her.

“Listen, if I knew that was you and your friend up there, I swear I would have never taken the job,” she explains, “and I will be letting my employer know I won’t be finishing it—”

“What job?”

“There is a hit out for your friend,” she clarifies, starting to look nervous and upset, “but I swear I didn’t know it was your friend, I promise I am going to back off.”

Of course there is a hit out on Clint. Add it to the list of things we have to deal with.

“It is totally okay, I believe you,” I reassure her, then joke, “you are not the first Widow who has tried to kill us.”

She lets out a soft chuckle.

“Do you know who put out the hit?” I ask.

“Unfortunately, I do not,” Ana looks down, and I know she is telling the truth, “I get my contracts through a third party so I don’t interact directly with the clients.”

“I see,” I hum.

“I can do some digging though,” Ana offers, “it probably won’t be too hard, the system they use is most likely flawed anyways.”

I smile, “that would be great.”

“Anything for a fellow Widow,” she smiles back, “especially one who beat up one of Dreykov’s goons for me.”

I chuckle.

“Are you okay after that fight?” I ask, “I thought I saw you get hit with a bullet.”

She smirks, “It’s just a graze. Nothing I haven’t dealt with before.”

“Here,” I hold my hand out, “let me give you my number.”

She hands me her phone and I quickly put my number into it.

“Here you go,” I say, “And if you ever need anything, please feel free to reach out.”

“Thank you, Natalia,” Ana surprises me by stepping forward and giving me a tight hug which I quickly return.

“I am so glad you got out,” I whisper.

“Me too,” she whispers back, giving me one last squeeze before letting me go. She shoots a grappling hook up the side of the building to our left and sends me a nod, “Just because I am turning down this job, doesn’t mean someone else won’t pick it up. It was a lot of money.”

I nod back.

“Stay safe, Ana.”

“You too, Romanoff.”

And with that, she is gone.

By the time I make it back to the safe house, it is morning and Clint still seems angsty. I inform him of his new current predicament, but he just huffs and turns back to his coffee.

How can a man in his late 30s still act like a teenager?

I roll my eyes and head into the living room.

After a few minutes of debate, I decide to text Kate to make sure she got home okay and is safe. I asked her to text me last night when she got home, but I never got a reply. There is something about this kid that just makes me want to protect her from anything and everything.

Every minute I don’t get a reply, my worry increases. Aren’t kids her age obsessed with their phones?

My phone finally buzzes a full 25 minutes later.

Kate, 9:55: I am home. Sorry I didn’t text last night. Mom wasn’t too happy I was out late and forgot to do chores :/

Something about that text doesn’t sit right with me. I can’t put my finger on it, but why do I get the feeling something else happened last night when she got home?

I unfortunately cannot dissect those thoughts further because Clint comes into the living room and asks for more details about the hit out on him.

“So how did you get this Widow to talk again?” he asks.

I roll my eyes good-naturedly, “I didn’t ‘get her to talk’, I just talked to her… She was in the same year as me in the Red Room.”

“Oh,” he realizes, “I see. I getcha… So, what did she say exactly?”

“Did you even listen to anything I said earlier?” I huff, starting to get annoyed.

“I did! I did!” he defends, “I just… maybe... wasn’t paying attention?”

I huff again and proceed to repeat everything I told him earlier, this time with a slight impatience to my voice. After taking in all the information, properly this time, Clint doesn’t really offer any solutions.

“Well, it isn’t the first time there has been a hit put out on me,” he shrugs.

Again, I roll my eyes.

I go to argue that this is a very different situation than the last times because before he didn’t have a family who counted on him.

But honestly, I am too tired to argue.

“Then what is your plan in dealing with the Tracksuits?” I ask.

“Okay, now picture this…”

Clint walks me through his plan of meeting up with Maya and the Tracksuits to reveal that he, himself, is the Ronin; and how to try and get them off his back before it escalates even further up the chain of command.  

“Now, are you sure you want to go in alone?” I confirm with him, “Because it would really be no trouble, and honestly smarter, if I was to hang out on one of the rooftops nearby.”

“No Nat, I promise,” he turns me down, “I need to do this by myself.”

I nod, understanding where he is coming from, “Okay, but if you end up hurt or killed, I am telling Laura it is your fault; then I am stealing her for myself.”

He laughs.

Clint leaves right after dinner; leaving me alone with the dog Kate had rescued. Knowing all I would do is stare at the dot of his tracker on my map until he comes back, I decide to grab the dog’s leash and take him on a quick walk around the neighborhood.

“Kate still has to name you properly,” I say down to the pup, who looks up at me with a tilted head and a smile, “I wonder if her mother would even let her keep you. Between you and me, I don’t like that woman.”

The dog huffs in agreement.

“Right! It seems like there is more going on with that situation, huh?”

He sends me another cute smile. This time I can’t resist in bending down to pat his head and smiling back.

“Aw. You are a good boy. Maybe Clint or I could keep you and Kate could come visit?”

We continue our walk in a peaceful silence.  Once we reach the safehouse, I feed him and make myself a coffee. 

Clint texts me that he made it to the location and will only text me again if he needs my help or when he is on his way back.

Hopefully he will be okay.

I look up to see that it is already almost 4 a.m. and debate putting down my coffee and getting some rest.

But I can’t bring myself to.

Even though I have been partners with Clint since I was a little over 18, and know he is fully capable of doing this by himself, everything that has happened over the past few years has made me nervous somehow.  

I don’t sit in my worry long; however, as my phone buzzes again.

Ana, 4:03: Hi Natalia, I found out who hired me.

Ana, 4:03: Her name is Eleanor Bishop. She is a rich New York socialite who owns a security company: Bishop Securities.

Oh shit.

My phone buzzes again.

Ana, 4:04: I also found this, I am not sure if it will be helpful or not.

Ana, 4:04:  *video attachment*

Ana, 4:05: Stay safe.

I click on the video and am met with a disturbing sight of Eleanor Bishop having a ‘business meeting’ with Wilson Fisk.

The only guy that Clint and I didn’t want getting involved in this situation.

Well this just got a whole lot more complicated.

I sigh and turn my attention back to the video.

In the video, she openly admits to killing Armand Duquesne III and framing her fiancé, as well as other crimes she dealt for Fisk.

Honestly, I am not that surprised. My gut had been telling me something was off, and this was definitely it.  I can’t even imagine what Kate is going to do when she finds out—

Wait.

What about Kate?

What is gonna happen to Kate? Surely, she cannot stay in that house, her mother killed someone and is working with Kingpin.

And is she safe in that house right now?

I frantically grab my laptop and start running a trace on her phone. It takes a few moments, but when the location pops up, it is surprisingly not at her house.

Wait, is that?

I roll my eyes.

Of course she tracked Clint’s phone and followed him to his meeting with the Tracksuits. I sigh, but ultimately feel somewhat more relieved knowing she is potentially with Clint.

Looking up at the clock, even though it is nearing 5 a.m., it is still the middle of the night in California. I debate back and forth before ultimately pulling up my contacts and hitting dial on a number I never thought I would actually need to use.

Thank you Bruce, in advance.

After a few rings, the woman on the other line picks up, ‘Hello?’

“Hi, is this Jen Walters?”

‘Yes, it is. I swear if this is another prank call—’

“No I promise its not, sorry for the late call, but I need some legal advice?” I say uncertainly, not really knowing how to approach this situation.

‘Okay… do you mind telling me who is calling before I just go offering this advice?’

“Oh! Yes, sorry. My name is Natasha Romanoff,” I rush out, then add, “I am friends with Bruce.”

‘Oh my god! The Natasha Romanoff?’

“Yes,” I chuckle, “that’s me.”

‘I have heard so much about you from Bruce! And can I just say: I can’t believe he fumbled a gal like you!’

This I full on laugh at.

“I love your cousin, but I was never interested in him that way and I had to let him down gently,” I joke, “And let’s just say he wasn’t really my type.”

‘What, nerdy?’ she laughs.

“No, a man,” I chuckle.

She snorts over the phone.

‘I don’t blame ya there,’ she says, ‘So what can I help you with Natasha?’

“It is a bit of a long story…”

I proceed to tell her all about how we met Kate, leaving out any Ronin details, and how Kate’s living situation is not ideal and will most likely turn for the worse once her mother inevitably gets arrested. She tells me there is personally not much she can currently do, but she patches in a Social Worker who creates a case for Kate and we talk options.

Ultimately, when Eleanor gets arrested, Kate will most likely get put into foster care. She only has one living family member in the form of a great aunt, who I am guessing is the one she talked about the night we met, that unfortunately got diagnosed with dementia a few months ago and is now is a care facility in Florida.

I ask if there is another option outside of foster care, because I have heard the horror stories from Clint about his experience, and we all agree that it probably would be better if Kate was with people she knew.

Janine offers up a solution: that I could become an emergency foster placement for Kate.

I thought it would take me longer to decide, but I surprised myself in immediately agreeing to the idea.

‘I can email over some paperwork now if you would like to sign it and send it back,’ Janine, the social worker, informs me, ‘that way we can have everything squared away as soon as possible so whenever Kate needs to stay with you there will be no legal issues.’

‘Yeah,’ Jen adds, ‘And I can help cut through all the red tape stuff and get the process fast tracked, so don’t worry about that.’

“Okay,” I say, “is there anything else that will need to be done?”

‘Not right at this moment,’ Janine assures, ‘but call me if or when Eleanor gets arrested and we can talk more from there.’

“Sounds good,” I reply, “Thank you. Both of you.”

‘Anytime,’ Janine says, ‘Call me if you have any questions.’

‘And feel free to call me too,’ Jen adds, ‘A friend of Bruce is a best friend of mine!’

I chuckle as we all say goodbye and hang up.

Less than 20 minutes later, the paperwork is sitting in my inbox and I go to click on it, but I pause.

Am I really going to do this?

Then I think of Kate.

She truly reminds me of myself at times; like how she seems like she was forced to grow up quicker than she needed to, and how she seems to put everyone else’s safety and wellbeing before her own. She has been such a bright addition to this incredibly shitty situation.

I smile and click open the file.

By the time I sign everything and send it back to Janine, Clint and Kate walk through the safehouse door.

Kate seems so much happier than the last time I saw her; her and Clint are recounting their previous battle and I can’t help but smile.

But my mood dampens when I remember what I am about to tell them.

“Hey Natasha!” Kate smiles over at me brightly, “Wanna hear about how I just saved Clint’s ass, yet again?”

Clint rolls his eyes with a friendly huff, “I had the whole situation under control.”

“Sure you did,” Kate drawls sarcastically.

I send them a soft smile and motion for them to come join me in the living room, “As much as I would love that, I have some information I need to tell you guys.”

Clint catches my eyes and seems to figure out that the information I have is more serious because the grin he had drops off his face, “What’s wrong?”

“Ana, the Widow who was on the rooftop that night, figured out who hired her to kill you,” I announce, looking at Clint.

“Who?” Kate asks, her eyes jumping between me and Clint.

I take Kate’s hand and give it a soft squeeze, “it was your mother, Kate.”

Telling Kate that her mother killed a man, was involved in Kingpin’s business, and put a hit out on Clint was like a punch to the gut.

Initially, Kate did not react. When she did, she started to panic, insisting that we should go home and enjoy Christmas and that she would clean up ‘her own mess.’ We reassured her that we were her partners and weren’t going anywhere. And that the ‘mess’ that we were in was not hers but rather her mother’s (and slightly Clint’s but I didn’t add that) and that it was not her fault.

She has been pretty quiet ever since.

Her and Clint are currently making arrows for tonight while I map out our exit routes. Clint looks up at me then down at Kate with a forlorn look on his face. I send him a soft smile, and get up to go join them.

“What kinda arrow are ya making there, malen’kiy yastreb?” I ask Kate, not even realizing the nickname I let slip out.

Kate just shrugs and looks up to Clint for an answer. Clint smiles softly, “That’s a freeze arrow.”

Kate nods and then goes back to working on her arrow. I swear I hear her sniffle, but I don’t see the presence of tears on her cheeks. I frown up at Clint.

“So Katie-kate,” Clint tries, “How fancy is this party we are going to later?”

“Pretty fancy,” Kate hums.

“Great,” Clint chuckles sarcastically, “time to drag out the ol’ trusty suit and tie.”

Kate chuckles, “My dad also hated to dress up for it.”

I softly smile at Kate when she looks up at us.

“He would’ve loved to meet you guys,” Kate states, “But he would be glad that you guys are here to keep me safe. And that you kept me safe that day…”

I share a look with Clint and we both stay quiet and leave our body language open so Kate will hopefully elaborate more.

“You saved me that day,” Kate looks up at Clint, “the day the aliens came to New York. The Chitari I think they were called?”

My eyes widen slightly and I look over to Clint who seems to be hanging on Kate’s every word.

“Our building got hit pretty hard and there was this big hole in the side. I remember just standing there, almost unable to move, when an alien guy was coming straight for me. But right before it got to me, it got taken out by an arrow. I looked behind to see you, just a regular guy, fighting frickin’ aliens with a stick and a string,” Kate chuckles softly as a tear runs down her face, “I decided that day to start learning how to shoot, because I know it could save my life, or someone else’s, someday.”

She wipes the tear off her face and continues, “Our building ended up collapsing that day. Dad didn’t make it out…”

“I am so sorry, Kate,” I wrap her in a tight hug.

She initially flinches, but gradually starts to lean into it.

“It’s okay,” Kate sniffles pulling back, “it was a while ago.”

“That doesn’t mean that it doesn’t hurt anymore,” Clint says, “But I am glad you survived that day.”

Kate sends us both small smiles, “If I didn’t who would’ve saved your ass today, old man?”

Clint laughs.

After a very long and taxing conversation, where we were basically pleading with Kate to have her stay back so she is safe, we reluctantly are all headed to the Christmas party to find Kate’s mother and hopefully end all of this.

I know if we made her stay back, she would have just ended up following us anyway and potentially creating a MORE dangerous situation. But at least this way, we can have more control over what is going on.

“Kate, remind me again of YOUR tasks and rules for tonight,” I ask her.

“I find my mom, take her somewhere safe, then stay out of sight,” she drones.

“And what else?” I nudge her shoulder.

She sighs heavily, “I will stay out of sight and safe, and not put myself in danger.”

“Correct,” Clint and I hum in unison.

“It is for your own safety kid,” Clint reminds her, “this can get ugly really fast. This is the best way we will know you will be okay, because I am gonna need someone around to bug me about boomerang arrows.”

This earns a chuckle from Kate.

“And only use your bow and trick arrows if necessary,” I tack on then hand her an earpiece, “here put this is your ear. Let us know if/when you need help.”

“And remember the LARPers will be around the party as well if we can’t get to you right away,” Clint adds.

“Okay, got it,” Kate nods resolutely.

“Alright partners,” Clint cheers, throwing an arm around each of us, “Let’s give ‘em hell.”

Ana was right. Another Widow picked up the contract that Eleanor put out to have Clint killed. Luckily, I don’t have to worry about Kate as I chase this Widow through Rockefeller Center.  She had found Eleanor about 10 minutes ago and told Clint and I that she was safe in the kitchen with her.

Although I don’t know if I would use the word ‘safe’ in the same sentence as ‘Eleanor.’

After a long ass, almost playful, fight with this Widow; I explain the situation to her, and she easily backs off.

Then I find myself on the Rockefeller ice rink with Clint taking down what has to be over 200 Tracksuits. And of course they are all wearing red and green suits tonight. Honestly, I can’t blame them for wanting to get into the spirit.

As we take the last one down, Clint and I look over to see Maya fighting Kazi over on the diagonal from us.

“Huh, seems like that alliance fell apart,” Clint observes.

I nod, “Maybe she finally started asking the right questions and didn’t get the answers she wanted.”

“Hmm,” Clint hums, “Well, that is one thing we potentially don’t have to deal with.”

“Yeah,” I agree, stretching my limbs before offering, “let’s go find Kate.”

“Hey kid, we are on our way back up to you,” Clint says over the earpiece as we start towards the building.

We pause when nothing but static comes back over our earpieces.

“Kate?” I try.

Nothing.

We share a nervous look as we pick up our pace and move towards the building faster.  As we enter the building, we pick the fastest route towards the kitchen Kate and her mother are supposed to be hiding in.

Once we get to the kitchen, we find it empty.

Clint sighs, “Oh great.”

I was already uneasy when Kate didn’t answer us back earlier, but now the feeling starts to intensify. I shove down the feeling as I pull out the tracker on my phone.

“The tracker shows she is down the block at… FAO Shwartz?” I inform Clint confusedly.

“Let’s go then,” Clint nods.

As we get closer to the store, we see start to see the flash of police cars. Getting to the store front, we find Kate sitting on the curb with a Police officer standing next to her, and many of them walking about.

Kate is now just dressed in her new suit the LARPers made for her and seems to have some cuts on her face.

Clint nods to me and he goes off to talk to the police officers. I walkover to where Kate is sitting, send the police officer a smile, and sit down next to Kate.

Kate jumps slightly as I sit down before schooling her expression.

“Hey malen’kiy yastreb,” I bump her shoulder with mine.

“Hey,” she replies softly, “sorry I didn’t stay in that kitchen…but my mom left and I wanted to make sure she would be okay, I guess her and Fisk’s deal went south this morning, and I just didn’t know what to do, and—”

“It’s okay, Kate,” I reassure her, sending her a soft smile, “I understand.”

“Mom got arrested,” Kate states in a semi-monotone voice, staring off at the flashing lights.

“I know,” I answer back, softly.

We sit in relative silence for a few moments before she speaks up again.

“I took down Fisk,” she states, in the tone.

I let the smallest bit of surprise take over my features.

Damn, this kid really does have balls.

“Really?” I ask, she hums an affirmative, “That is really impressive, Kate.”

She nods with a half-smile, before letting her features go back to the neutral state it was before.

If she fought Fisk, she probably has more injuries than just those cuts on her face.

I look up to see an ambulance pulling up to the area the police have blocked off. I nudge Kate to get her attention.

“Why don’t we get you checked out really quick?” I point over to the ambulance.

“Oh, I think I am okay,” Kate tries to persuade me.

“Trust me, Kate,” I chuckle as I stand up, “once your adrenaline wears off, you might think differently.”

I hold my hand out for her to take, and she hesitates for a minute before taking my hand.

As she is getting looked over by the paramedic, I keep enough of a distance so that she can have some privacy but close enough that I am here if she needs me.

I hear the paramedic say that she probably has a concussion and broken ribs, and that she strongly suggests Kate goes to the hospital. Kate pretty much refuses, but let’s the paramedic continue to patch her up.

I sigh.

Clint walks back up to me, “How’s the kid?”

“She took Fisk down by herself,” I inform him.

I watch as his eyes widen and his eyebrows rise towards his hairline, “Wow… is she okay?”

I shrug, “she seems to be adamant that she is okay and doesn’t need to go to the hospital.”

Clint chuckles and smirks, “Welp, I can’t say anything without being hypocritical.”

“What did you find out?” I ask him.

“I guess they came here to arrest Eleanor, and when they got here, they also found Fisk unconscious inside the store. But I guess as they were in the process of actually arresting Eleanor, Fisk must’ve woken up and got out somehow.”

“You don’t seem super worried about that,” I notice he still has that easy smirk on his face.

“Well… let’s just say I heard an Echo tell me that she took care of it,” Clint’s smirk widens.

“Ahh, I see…” I smile.

We both look over to see the paramedic finishing up with Kate.

I will need to call Janine and Jen later… I am strangely happy about that.

“Shall we get Kate and head home?” Clint nudges me.

“Yeah,” I smile, “let’s go.”

And with that, we head over to the teen sitting on the back of the ambulance.

[dontsh0vethesun]

every time a woman wears a collared shirt, an angel gets its wings 🫦🫄

[wewriteletters]

Too plain and affected Insolent and dry

[amanda13parker]

Some more Natasha sketches because why not? XD  Need to put my depression to work.  Leave a comment if you can ^^ I love reading them and believe it or not, it helps tremendously 

[tashaclint]

[togrowoldinv]

Happy birthday Natasha ❤️

[lesbiradshaw]

monica barbaro for dior rouge ♥️

[femmeetart]

on their way to bother Fury

[themini-romanoff]

Natasha appreciation hour!!

still haven't recovered from her death:/

[thenatashapulleyuniverse]

do you guys ever think about thaniel steepleton

[fiorencepughs]

THIS IS SO SCARLETT IM SCREAMING

[mothman-can-write]

Have a little snippet from my current wip that has accidentally ended up with the working title of 'tractor fic'. its not even about a tractor. the tractor plays a minor roll. there is ten thousand words about the tractor. (its about maria visiting clints farm and being incredibly awkward about it) (she visits to fix the tractor and then ends up staying much longer)

Cooper sits on the other side of the table as he munches on his own sandwich and he stares at Maria with all of the open intensity of an eight year old child. “Is this your boss?” he says to his dad without swallowing. 

Clint laughs as he finishes making Lila’s lunch and Maria takes a sip of the lemonade if only so that she doesn’t have to answer. It’s a little tart, but sweet enough that it goes down easy. She isn’t sure she could make better lemonade herself. 

“I guess she is, yeah,” Clint says eventually, folding ham neatly within the borders of the bread. “She’s sort of everyone’s boss.” 

“Everyone?” Cooper swallows his mouthful at last. “She can’t be everyone’s boss.” 

Natasha places her drink down in front of her, sitting a space away from Maria and directly opposite him. She leans forward ever so slightly, conspirational over the table as she lowers her voice. “Oh, she is. She even tells the president what to do sometimes. If someone has a boss, it’s her. Even your mom.” 

She straightens up again with a glance to Maria, picking her drink back up to hide her smirk around the straw. Maria tries not to roll her eyes as Cooper gawks. She downs the rest of her lemonade, avoiding eye contact as long as possible, and the moment she sets it back down, Laura is there beside her to fill it up again. She’s trying not to laugh along with everyone else and it makes it that much harder for Maria to keep a straight face too. 

“That’s right,” Clint says from the kitchen counter. Maria watches him cut the crusts off of the bread before handing the plate to Lila. “That means you have to listen to everything she says when you’re in the barn.” 

Cooper nods into another bite of his sandwich, his eyes wide, and Maria gives him a tight sort of smile. Natasha is still looking at her too, even as she eats her own lunch, and Maria suddenly feels like a bit of a spectacle. It makes Natasha’s eyes crinkle, just so, and that really doesn’t help.

[rebelcaptain4life]

Starkid, Dan & Phil, and Merlin are trending. Did we just go back in time 10 years????

[loomontoia]

It has been a while since I posted here

[quietlyimplode]

the language of flowers and silent things

Whumptober 2023: day 25 - buried alive

Warnings: thoughts on death

Word Count: 1.3k (gif not mine)

Summary: The tower shakes, and the avengers scramble.

A/N: 6 to go friends. Almost there.

Masterlist

Whumptober Masterlist

.

2014

NEW YORK

Yelena feels nothing as she plummets down.

Death, she thinks, should feel different; life flashing before your eyes, regrets, pleasures; something.

It makes her feel unbelievably sad.

She thought maybe in death, it might be peaceful, a release, not sadness and continued grief for what she doesn’t have.

Closing her eyes, she doesn’t bother to look down, waiting for the inevitable pain of death.

Instead, she hears a whoosh and warm body next to her and a tight grip underneath her armpits, then swinging them both into a nearby window with the momentum from a grappling hook attached to an arrow.

The bundle and roll into the building, enters them into the kitchen, as Clint breaks her fall.

He groans.

“Shit,” she repeats.

Glass everywhere, she picks it out of leg and shakes her hair, then goes to help him up.

“That would have been a stupid way to die,” she smiles at him.

He takes her hand and stands.

“It really would have,” he agrees.

The building groans, and she holds on to both Clint and the nearby bench.

“Do you think it will fall?” she asks looking towards the ceiling.

“Natasha’s up there somewhere.”

Clint nods.

“Yeah, she is, so is some of our friends,” he tells her.

“Oh,” Yelena replies, looking around at the Christmas decorations and stopping for a moment.

“How many do you think?”

“Six? If Bruce - the big green monster, has got out then it’s six.”

She nods.

She’s aware of Natasha’s powerful friends. The man of steel, the monster, the god, and the superhero.

She wonders just who will greet them when they make their way up.

Clint looks up and groans at the amount of stairs.

They both feel the shake, much like an earthquake, that rocks the building again; this time though, parts of the building move with it.

Clint covers over Yelena and raises his arms in protection of them both.

It shocks her, someone protecting her.

It’s never happened, not since Natasha.

She looks up at the man protecting her from debris in a stairwell and feels an intensity of emotion that she doesn’t really understand.

.

Sam smiles at the hole now opened up underneath him, and whilst he realises it can’t be good, he sees a way out and makes his way down the fissure of the tower.

He moves slowly and carefully down, trying not to make anything else move.

He’s surprised not to see Tony and the suits around him, and wonders why we hasn’t come across anyone just yet.

He looks around, dead worry sitting in his chest.

“Hello?” he calls hopefully.

“Sam?”

Peppers voice calls out and then she coughs.

He moves towards the sound of her voice, hoping she’s okay.

“Pepper?”

“Sam, we’re down here, I can’t move out and I can’t find Tony,” she says, slightly panicked.

Sam feels flashes to the war.

Picking bodies out of buildings.

He swallows hard.

“It’s okay Pepper, I’m coming,” he says, hopping further down.

“Keep talking to me, okay? Where’s Tony? When did you see him?”

He finally gets to where she’s stuck.

Sam smiles; trying to be reassuring.

“He’s somewhere here, we were in the room, the door was locked and he was trapped, Tony, he; he was stuck. I think… I think it had fallen on his arm.”

Moving some rubble from around her, he reaches and touches her arm.

“I’ll find him,” he promises, “grab my hand and we’ll try and pull you out, okay?”

He protects her head and helps her out to a clearing: she doesn’t look more worse for wear, just dusty and dirty.

“We’ll find him,” he says again as she hugs him.

.

Steve holds Natasha tight, grabbing Maria’s arm as the building moves.

“We need to get out of here,” he says redundantly.

“Tony, Pepper and Sam are somewhere here,” Natasha says, worried.

Maria nods.

“We’ll find them,” she says confidently.

Steve calls out their names, and they stop, listening for a response but don’t hear anything.

Natasha moves ahead, rounding the corner and calling again.

“Tony?”

“Nat?”

“Sam?”

“We’re down here!”

Maria moves with Natasha, carefully moving down the stairs and following Sam’s voice.

Natasha moves towards Pepper and gives her a hug, her panic visible on her face.

“We can’t find Tony,” she says, tears on her face.

Assessing the situation, Natasha notices the wings on Sam’s back and the fact that building has moved in twenty minutes.

“Do your wings work?” she asks.

Sam nods, “I think so.”

Natasha turns to Maria and Pepper.

“Do you think you can coordinate the fire and police on the ground?” she asks Maria.

Maria looks around and nods.

“I can send more help, I think,” she agrees.

Pepper shakes her head.

“I know what you’re going to say, I don’t want to leave without knowing he’s okay.”

Natasha nods.

“I know, but Clint’s down there too, and probably Bruce and we need to know they’re okay too,” she rationalises.

Pepper looks around to Steve and then Sam and finally nods.

“Okay…” she says, wiping at her face.

“Okay.”

.

The tower doesn’t move.

Sirens fill the air and she’s thankful that the fire below will finally be put out.

She wonders how Clint and Yelena are going and just where Bruce ended up.

Natasha trusts Maria to organise the emergency services, and Pepper to keep it together long enough.

“Tony!” Natasha calls.

“Tony!” Steve repeats.

There’s no response.

She drops down, hitting something soft. She thinks for a minute that it’s a bed or couch but when she sees two large eyes and a nose.

The stupid rabbit.

She laughs despite herself.

Pepper’s stupid Christmas rabbit stuck in between concrete chunks of building.

Tony had put a Christmas hat on it and everything.

She sighs, and then, she sees his hand.

“Steve!” she calls, “he’s here!”

She tries to find a way, to him, blocked by debris.

“Help me,” she says, as he drops down near her.

Steve’s strength is something else, and Natasha has never been so thankful for it.

They clear the way around Tony, and find him knocked out on Pepper’s rabbit.

Steve pulls Tony free, his arm bent strangely and gashes on his body.

“Why wouldn’t he have used his suit to protect himself?” Steve wonders aloud.

“EMP,” Natasha deduces, “killed the power of the entire tower, probably the suits as well.”

She checks he’s breathing and sits back next to him.

Holding his good hand, Natasha sighs.

“What happened?” she asks, “who came? What were they looking for?”

Steve shrugs.

“Jarvis would know,” Natasha says, looking up and around.

“I think the only reason the building is still standing is thanks to the reinforcements Tony put in after the attack.”

Steve checks on him again.

“Tony?”

Still nothing.

“Sam knows to come back right?”

He sits next to Natasha and places his hand on Tony’s leg.

“I think so,” she replies, squeezing Tony’s hand again.

.

Clint feels concrete fall on his head and just manages to stay conscious as he stares down at Yelena, covering her like a child.

Natasha would kill him if anything happened to her.

He moves and drags her with him to underneath a feels like a stable clearing.

“Are you okay?” he asks, resisting the urge to touch his head where he’s sure it’s bleeding.

“Are you?” she retorts.

There’s more commotion above and he hears Natasha’s voice.

“Come on,” he guides and pulls her to the stairs.

.