Upper Manhattan

She pressed the numbers she had learned by heart. It had taken her only twenty seconds to memorize them and she could barely spend more than a minute in his office before he got suspicious. She even got caught, although she knew he wouldn't mind much. He told her he kind of expected her too. That didn't surprise her: after all, they had known each other for years and he was used to all her spy stuff. Her spy shenanigans like he called them. So she wasn't that surprised when he didn't show the slightest sign of astonishment or something like that.

No, what surprised her was the fact that he didn't seem to mind. Like it wasn't a big deal that she broke into his office while he was in the tower. It also showed her how fed up he was with the latest development and how exhausted he was to really put up with her crap. It worried her a little to see him like that but she knew Tony Stark could take care of himself, so she didn't ask or make him realize what she was actually thinking. She had a knack for always hiding her emotions and a few years ago, it drove him mad to not be able to read her. But now, Tony didn't care.

He hadn't said a thing when he entered his office and saw her sitting at his desk, looking at the screen of a black burner phone. As soon as she heard him enter, she closed the screen and shut down the phone, placing it back into the envelope he kept it in. He hadn't bothered to take it out of it since the day he had received the package some month ago. She had simply put the envelope back into the desk drawer, rose to her feet and gracefully made her way towards Tony who hadn't move or made a sound.

"I swear if you did anything…" he started.

She stopped him by putting her hand on his shoulder, her body angled towards the exit.

"You know I wouldn't do that."

She let go of his shoulder after a gentle squeeze and he didn't look at her. For the last month, he hadn't. Not because of what she had done but of what she was becoming. Somehow, he couldn't bear to look at her. It was as though he could see all the consequences of this conflict on her body and in her eyes. He had seen how much the Avengers mattered to her, how happy he was since they had been brought together and how devastated she was now that they were no more. It was the first time since the Red Room that she had allowed herself to fell apart of an organization, of a family. She hadn't batted an eye when SHIELD fell, but the Avengers…

"If you wanted the number, you could have just asked me," he said, breaking the silence.

"And where's the fun in that?" was all Natasha answered before she walked out the door.

He hasn't seen her since. That was two months ago.

And now she was standing against the wall of some shady alley in Upper Manhattan, her lithe body hugging the shadows of the night, her hand around a cell phone she had just bought around the corner for a couple of dollars. As she waited for the person at the other end to answer, her gaze surveyed everything that was going on around her, from the noises on the street a few feet away on her left, to the shadows on her right and even the air above her head and the roofs of the building some six stories high.

Three months had passed since the breakout of her fellow Avengers. Ross had been really pissed. But she was long gone by then, she had disappeared into the shadows as soon as she had left the battlefield when she had used her Widow bits on T'Challa, letting Steve and James escape. She didn't regret it. She regretted very few things in her life. Since then, her friends were all safe, both thanks to Steve and Tony's efforts, one providing actual physical assistance in hiding and the other providing discreet financial help. She also had played a hand in that story, leaving Clint small hints and messages along with a couple of keys to some of her safe houses and code numbers for security, vaults and weapon lockers in those safe houses.

From what she knew, Clint and his family were safe and sound in one of her safe houses in Iowa. Sam was in her mansion in San Francisco, the same one in which she had lived with Matt and Ivan once upon a time. Wanda was with Vision somewhere in Canada in one of the cottages that Banner had reinforced to be able to control the Hulk. Scott was moving from place to place, relying on his old friends' network to stay in the dark until everything died down a little bit and he was able to return to the Pyms and see his daughter. Peter was back in Queens with his aunt and kept in touch with Tony. Rodey was in rehab at the facility and Tony kept an eye on him, or the other way around. Pepper was still nowhere to be seen and she feared it might stay like that for a while, especially after all the Superhuman Registration Act issues. T'Challa was back in Wakanda as king and from the tabs she had been keeping on everyone she knew Steve and James had visited him. Maybe they were still there. Sharon was back in law enforcement and somehow, her involvement had remained a secret.

And there was Natasha, standing in a shady alley in New York City, waiting for a certain someone to pick up the damn phone. She had only looked briefly at the number in Tony's burner phone, but she was sure she wasn't mistaken. She had an excellent memory for someone who was eighty-seven. While she waited through the different beeps, she allowed herself to look at her legs. She couldn't see anything wrong. Good. So no one could see the bandage that she had hastily wrapped around her left thigh. Or the fact that she was slightly limping, having twisted her right ankle.

So far so good. She hadn't the right to complain. Of course, Ross has sent his dogs after her the moment he had learned about the breakout in the prison. She assumed it was also because of her treason although she didn't picture the guy for the type to hold grudges. Sure, he had been made a fool, but it was the bread and breakfast of politicians, or that's how she saw it anyway. But despite his best attempts to trap her, he had only managed to catch thin air. Sure, she had been injured and some of her wounds had forced her to take a swift trip at the local hospital, yes she had been that desperate. And in those three months she had scored more injuries than during the alien invasion in 2012.

One third of her safe houses were destroyed, another third was too risky to visit. The influence she once had thanks to her web was wearing thin and she neither had the resources or the time to make it as great as it was during the time she had worked on it with Isaiah a few years back. Now, everything had changed. She had been hurt by law enforcement officers during the last weeks, true, but she had actually been more hurt trying to escape from them. She had received her current injuries after leaving her safe house in Philadelphia ten hours ago. The wound on her thigh deserved to be checked up but she kept telling herself it wasn't so bad. She had been in worse situations with less means and still survived.

So her injuries weren't the reason why she had decided to call Steve now of all times. First, she missed him and she was too damn stubborn and not the romantic type to accept that she indeed had feelings for him. She preferred to think of it as an instinct that pulled her towards someone she trusted more than anyone else and someone she was comfortable with. At least comfortable enough to turn to in case of an emergency. Barton had been her default emergency contact for years and Stark had joined after the Avenger initiative. But her best friend and the billionaire were not options at the moment, one being on the run himself and frankly quite busy with his family. The other being so out of it that she didn't trust him to take care of even himself. She hated leaving Tony like that, but after her treason, the only think she could do is bring him more trouble. Sure, she had seen him during the first month, had stayed at the tower and Avengers facility for a while and helped Rhodey out, but she couldn't stay forever. And the day Ross' men had showed up on the facility's door, she had packed her bags.

Which brought her thoughts to the fact that she was also putting Steve in danger with what she was planning to do. But she knew for a fact that A) he was also on the run and didn't have kids to take special care of, B) he was safe and had stayed at that place the last three months and C) she knew exactly where he was and with whom. So she had decided to call him.

"Hello?" he said at the other end of the line. His voice didn't sound sleepy but rather half-awake as if it was early in the morning. She couldn't help but smile and opened her mouth but not a single sound came out, as if she was suddenly at a loss for words. "Hello? Tony? Is something wrong?" Hearing Tony's name made her frown for a second before she remembered that the billionaire was supposed to be the only one to have that number.

"Steve…" she said, her voice shaking slightly. She realized her legs were shaking too and she thought about sitting down. But she knew that if she did that, she wouldn't be able to stand up because of the exhaustion and the pain, so she just leaned more against the wall.

"Nat." It wasn't a question, more like a realization. She heard him sigh at the other end of the line. She could picture him brushing his hand through his golden hair, maybe even blush a little. She wondered if there was relief in his eyes.

"Yeah, it's me." She paused for a moment. Why had she called him again? "How are you?"

She guessed that her question had hit a sensitive spot because he didn't answer. She could almost feel his grip tighten on the phone he was probably holding with his left hand, just like he used to with his shield. She heard him sigh. He was probably closing his eyes and his free hand shot for his forehead where she could imagine a frown was.

"It's tough. Without Bucky. You know what happened right?"

She nodded before remembering that he couldn't see her. "I guessed. We were both Russian spies at some point. I can't deny that I understand his choice." She had her suspicions for a while but T'Challa had confirmed that James had decided to go under.

"How is everybody?" he suddenly asked, his voice filled with the responsibility he used to show when he was Captain America. He was always worried about the others, very rarely about himself and that's something she found wonderful. Even though he didn't care about what happened to him, but she could relate: they had that in common.

"They're fine. They're coping in their own ways but no one had been harmed in the last weeks." She winced a little at the end of her sentence, feeling her strength waver. She had been standing for too long. Usually she could stand for hours, her body was trained to survive through difficult ordeals but her injuries changed things. So far she had managed to ignore it but she was getting sloppy, her actions were messy. She needed a break but she refused to take it.

"Are you alright?" he asked, concerned. Natasha quickly looked at the street on her left that she could barely see. No one was there.

"I'm fine."

"You don't sound fine." There, he was using his Captain America tone again. She was glad to hear it but at the same time, she was frustrated because they were talking about her well-being.

"I've survived worse." Somehow she couldn't bring herself to lie to him. He was always so honest that she couldn't help but be honest too. He really had a nasty influence on her. It was bad for business if she couldn't lie properly. She needed those skills in her line of work. But Steve wasn't work. So maybe, just maybe, she could lower her guard and be Natasha for a while and not the Black Widow. During the years, especially after she had left the KGB and joined SHIELD thanks to Clint, she had always made the difference between Natasha Romanoff and the Black Widow. Now, she wasn't so sure. Some days she felt like they were both part of her, some other days, she was more inclined to separate them and to hide behind one or the other although she never used them as excuses.

"Nat… they came for you, didn't they?"

"They did. But I can handle myself, you know that."

"I know. Which doesn't mean I can't be worried. I miss you." Was that yearning she heard in his voice?

"Now now, don't get all sentimental on me soldier," she laughed. Then she thought that she didn't say it back so she added: "I miss you too."

"Why did you call? Because we both know it's not just because you wanted to hear the sound of my voice." He knew her so well.

She bit her lips and another wince found its way on her face. Dammit, the painkillers were wearing off. She had probably overdosed them too because she only used the strong stuff, her body having adapted to the others. She wasn't capable of eating properly lately too. For the last two months, trouble had been on her tail, forcing her to move across all the different states of the US. She didn't have time to cook and it was too dangerous to stop at a grocery store for more than fifteen minutes, unless she had a full disguise on. But since their big fight at the airport, she had been too tired to pull something like that off. She could disguise herself like she did on missions, but she was exhausted after just an hour of makeup. She wasn't willing to admit that all that civil war stress was getting to her. She didn't sleep well, didn't eat well and so there were consequences. She had no idea how much weight she had lost and truthfully, she wasn't willing to look at the ghost of her image in the mirror. So she ran and survived.

Although she hated to admit it, with her new injuries, she had reached her breaking point.

"I can't do this anymore," she suddenly let out. "I need a break. But I can't risk seeing the others."

"Nat, I don't want to put you in danger." She laughed at this. He probably didn't even consider the fact that she would be the one putting him in danger if she came.

"I'm currently standing in the belly of the beast, Steve. I don't think you can do worse than that." Being behind bars would be worse, but she kept that to herself.

"Manhattan?"

"Not very far from Stark tower actually. I can almost see it from the street," she said.

"Nat, you shouldn't…"

"Hiding in the most obvious place can be the best strategy sometimes Steve. So far it worked for the last couple of hours."

"Please be careful."

"I will. And as I was saying, I'm coming." He didn't say anything. "Don't give me that look, I know where you are. And I know you're safe. Besides, I've already talked to T'Challa. He forgave me for my bites."

"If you really want to come, then fine." His voice was frustrated but glad at the same time as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. "I guess it could be a good thing, you could be safe here." He stopped for a moment as if he was gathering his thoughts. "I'll talk to him, to arrange you transportation."

"No need, I've already taken care of it. My web might be thin right now, but it's still operational.

"You sure?"

"Yes, Steve. I gotta go, but I love you too." She said that last part very quickly, almost tripping on her own words.

She hung up at the same moment that her brain registered what she just said. She had said it on instinct, as a joke more than anything. But now that she thought about it, Steve could take her seriously. After a few seconds, she shook her head. Nah, he was used to her sarcasm. Besides, she spoke so fast, she wasn't sure he had heard her. She detached herself from the wall and winced again. She let the phone fall to the ground and smashed it with the heel of her left boot, wincing at the violent movement. But she'd rather use her bleeding leg than the one with the twisted ankle.

She checked the street before walking out of the alley. She wore a long black coat that covered her casual clothes and her black wig hid her red curls that had grown quite long. Unfortunately, they didn't have their usual shine because yeah, her body was a wreck and she was mentally exhausted. She climbed the steps to one of her apartments, the one that she truly used as an apartment and not a safe house. She still had a couple of those on the East coast. Old Anna who lived on the ground floor had moved out two years ago, following Natasha's advice on leaving her abusive husband. Natasha had stopped following tabs on the elder woman when she had learned that the latter was safe and happy in Chicago.

The second she opened the door of her apartment, her black cat Liho came to her. Her long tail snaked around one of Natasha's legs and she purred. Natasha always left the kitchen window open for the cat to come and go since the spy wasn't always there. Wincing more and more, Natasha limped into the bedroom and started rummaging through the boxes she hid in the back of her closet, behind a fake plank. Liho followed her when she wasn't satisfied with just a few caresses.

"How do you feel about a little trip to Africa, hum?" Natasha said to the cat that meowed in response, her green big eyes landing on Natasha's blue ones. "I know, it's mostly raining there and you won't like it, but I'm going there for a certain time. So you better come with me." She scratched Liho's head before grabbing a travelling bag and throwing things in it unceremoniously. One shower, two coffees and a shot of vodka later, she was ready to go. She had taken out Liho's cage and packed her bag. It was filled with a new passport (she kept a stash of those), a good amount of clothes, some personal belongings, ammunition and her two trusty pistols, her catsuit and Widow bites, some food for Liho, cash, painkillers and a first-aid kit. Which in her book didn't simply contain bandages and such, but also makeup for covers, electronic parts for tinkering, a small EMP the size of a jacket button and different currencies along with a translator for the rare languages she didn't speak. So it was actually a survival kit but whatever.

Natasha locked Liho in her cage despite the cat's protests and took her apartment's phone which was untraceable of course. She didn't have to wait long because she had called a number she wasn't supposed to call unless it was an emergency.

"Natasha, do you know what time is it?" Isaiah asked, stifling a yawn.

"It's barely past midnight. Don't be such an old man."

"What do you need? What happened?"

"I need a ride."

"And you call me for that? Can't you hail a cab or something?"

"I'm leaving for a while, Isaiah. I'm taking Liho with me."

"Wow, that's serious if you're thinking about taking your cat. Where are you going?"

She smiled. "Wakanda. Now pull on those favors people owe me and find me a plane that leaves in three hours tops."

Hi guys, Titania here! I watched Captain America Civil War the other day and I had so many new ideas, so here they are. Just a reminder: in this story, I'm taking into account the events of the Marvel movies but also some events of the comics, like the fact that Natasha was born in 1928, that she lived with Daredevil in Frisco in the late 70s and things like that. So it's bascially a mix of the comics and movies.

I hope you like it and I'll see you soon!

TS