because I believe the two of them had a lot to talk about, and I'm sad we didn't get to see it.

enjoy.

Carol slows her descent as the Avengers Compound comes into view and lets out a heavy exhale. It had been a long few months of travelling and dealing with a myriad of issues popping up on planets across the various galaxies, so when Natasha had suggested during one of their virtual meetings that she take a break and come back to visit, she'd agreed almost instantly. Yes, she feels a duty to protect, and yes, she knows there are few if anyone else who can do what she can, but she also knows that she'd started to burn out and a break had sounded like exactly what she needed.

That, and Natasha's words of "you're no good to anyone burned out" had hit the mark irritatingly accurately.

Her eyes sweep over the facility and surrounding land out of habit and she easily spots the figure on the dock despite the relative darkness that the recently set sun had left. Her brow furrows as she adjusts her course and heads toward it. Rhodey was on a trip in Europe, Banner was off in a lab somewhere, and Rogers had moved into the city, so this could only be Natasha.

Odd , she thinks as she gets close enough to confirm her deduction. It wasn't often Natasha ventured out of the facility, at least not according to Rhodey.

"Hey, Danvers," Natasha calls out just as Carol's feet touch down on the grass at the edge of the dock.

"Hey, Romanoff," she replies as she lets her powers ebb away and moves her neck side to side to ease some of the stiffness that had settled there from hours of flying. She makes her way to the end of the dock where Natasha is sitting with her feet dangling in the water, and spots the nearly half empty bottle of vodka beside her. She can't help the smirk from spreading across her lips. "Guess my invitation got lost in the mail, huh?"

Natasha twists to look at her and frowns in confusion for just a second before her eyes spot Carol's flicked gaze to the bottle and she connects the dots. Her lips twist into a smirk. "You know how it is," she drawls, hand waving for emphasis, "inter-world postal service isn't what it used to be."

Carol lets out a chuckle as she takes a seat next to Natasha. "Guess not."

"So, you don't call, you don't write… If I didn't know better, I'd say you were avoiding us," Natasha quips.

Carol feels the heat of her gaze for just a moment before it drifts back out over the water. The tone isn't accusatory, but she hears the accusation all the same and Carol's lips twist in an expression of shame. It had been almost a month since Natasha had suggested she take a break and she knows she should've touched base with her or someone on the team, but she'd needed time to sort some things out before she could step back from her duties for a bit.

"It's fine," Natasha says with a dismissive wave of her hand, having noticed Carol's expression. "No judgment. Just making an observation."

"I'm here now."

"So you are," she agrees with a nod, swinging her legs a little, making ripples cascade outward on the otherwise mostly still surface of the water. Carol watches as she grabs the bottle and takes a sip straight from it before she sets it back down.

"How much of that have you had?"

Natasha turns and arches an eyebrow. "I'm sober enough, officer."

Carol's hands rise in a show of innocence, but she's amused by the retort. It was the kind of thing Fury would've said back in the day. "Just a question."

Natasha seems to consider it for a moment before she apparently decides it really hadn't been a judgment. "Not drunk enough," she offers with a smile that's all sorts of emotions and yet somehow void of them too.

Still...drunk e nough for me to be seeing some emotions , Carol muses. Even if the fallout from Thanos' snap and subsequent failed mission to get the stones had left Natasha grappling for footing in a wholly uncertain world, she had mostly retreated into a stoic and focused state. Carol knew little about the Avenger, but knew enough to recognize pain didn't manifest in her with tears or overt anger. And she knew enough to recognize an accomplished compartmentalizer when she saw one.

Carol's brow crinkles slightly as she wonders how it was that Natasha had come to be on the original Avengers team in the first place. She knew about Stark and his tech suit, Banner and his monster lurking beneath the surface, Thor and his Asgardian strength, and Rogers and his super-human physique. But Romanoff...she knew the woman was smart, and figured her to be a capable fighter judging by her inclusion on the team. But she didn't seem to be... enhanced in any way. Maybe because Fury wanted a SHIELD agent on the team? Carol muses, and the thought makes her heart squeeze just a little. Fury probably would have enjoyed telling her about his team that he'd apparently named after her.

"You're thinking too loudly."

Carol laughs. "What?"

"I can practically hear the gears grinding."

Carol opts for bluntness, figuring Natasha would appreciate it. "Just wondering why you were included on this Avengers team Fury put together."

Her expression shifts to one that's a mixture of incredulous and amused. "Ouch."

Carol rolls her eyes. "Shut up, I didn't mean it that way. I just realized that I don't really know much about you all, and I just wondered if you were…"

"Hiding a superpower?" Natasha finishes, amusement dancing in her eyes.

"Yeah."

"Nope," she says, the 'p' popping off her lips loudly. "Just a regular ol' human as far as I know." Carol nods, though she files away the "as far as I know" comment for further scrutiny later. "And as for why I was an Avenger, you'd have to ask Fury. I never knew why I was shortlisted for it."

Carol's gaze narrows as she considers the somewhat blasé response. She calls bullshit, but is confused why Natasha would respond that way. She didn't seem the type to bother with false modesty.

"Maybe he wanted an in with the team. Or maybe it was just how the cards fell with everything happening so quickly," Natasha adds after another quick sip of vodka.

"Sounds like he knew what he was doing to me. From what I've heard, you were one of the only ones with any sense," Carol answers with a shrug.

Her head tilts as she turns to look at Carol. "What's Rhodey told you about me?"

Carol isn't surprised she sussed out the source of her information. The woman didn't get to be a master spy and assassin without being adept at intelligence gathering, after all. "He said you all had some kind of blow up over some governmental control, and that you switched sides in the end because you realized shit had hit the fan in a bad way and we're trying to minimize it."

Natasha's gaze turns back out over the water. "Yeah. They weren't gonna stop, and ultimately we played it wrong from the start. Continuing the fight wasn't going to solve anything. That Rhodey got hurt as a result is my-"

"He doesn't blame you for it."

"I know," she says, her head turning to face Carol again. "He's far too pragmatic for that."

"But you still regret it."

She shrugs. "It should have played out a different way. All of it should have. But that's how we got here, isn't it? No way to change the past. Not that we've been able to find anyway," she finishes, a tinge of bitterness creeping into her tone.

"Not yet," Carol amends, somehow feeling optimism brimming.

There's a fleeting smile on Natasha's lips before it slips away. "Not yet," she echoes with a nod.

They sit quietly for a little while, each lost in their own thoughts. Natasha takes a sip from the bottle every so often, and Carol wonders how she isn't drunk, because she knows Nat hasn't been eating much. Rhodey had mentioned it the last time they spoke because he was worried about her. Maybe the stereotypes about Russians and vodka are true after all...

"Can I ask you something?" Carol asks, breaking the companionable silence.

Natasha arches an eyebrow as she turns to scrutinize Carol. "Why are you asking permission? Since I've known you, you've never stopped to ask before doing something."

"You make it sound like I'm a total bitch."

Natasha snorts in amusement. "Funny, usually that's how people describe me," she replies before taking another sip of vodka. She's made her way through a little over a quarter of the bottle since Carol had arrived, and it wouldn't be a surprise to see the rest of it disappear in a timely fashion at the rate she's going.

"You're deflecting."

She shrugs. "I just meant you aren't the type to ask for permission to do something. You've always just done it."

Carol breathes in deeply and exhales heavily. "I know I'm arrogant. Having this kind of power…" she trails off as she squeezes her fists and they glow with energy for a moment. "Especially when it's unchecked most of the time...it's intoxicating and it shapes your view of things. But I've been trying to be more… I don't know, aware of things, I guess you could say. Ask before making assumptions and taking action."

Natasha turns to face her again. Even in her slightly intoxicated state her gaze is sharp and Carol knows she isn't missing a single twitch of her facial expressions. "What did you want to ask?"

"What's keeping you here?"

"It's home. Or what's left of it anyway." Her reply is said as a matter of fact. It's not emotionless, but it's also not giving away much.

"Even with everyone gone?"

Natasha shrugs. "Someone's gotta keep this going. You, Rocket and Nebula are covering a lot of ground already, Okoye is busy enough with Wakanda, and Rhodey does too much as it is."

"And the others? Rogers, Stark, Banner-"

"They've made their choices. I don't begrudge them that."

"I do," Carol says quickly. "They walked away."

Natasha shakes her head. "It's their right. Would I like them around? Of course. But the way things played out...I don't blame them for trying to find a slice of life for themselves."

"But not us?"

"You've been at this longer than any of us. Wouldn't blame you if you wanted to disappear. But I don't think you will."

Carol eyes Natasha for a moment, trying to identify the emotions swirling in her eyes. But the former spy is as enigmatic as ever. "You worked for SHIELD before the Avengers. That means you've been at this a long time too. Seems to me you've earned the right to walk away too."

"It's not as cut and dry as that. I'm not wired to walk away."

It feels like a sidestep to Carol, but she doesn't know enough about Natasha to call her out on it. "So what, you just stay here indefinitely in a massive empty Compound built for hundreds of occupants?"

Natasha takes a sizeable swig of vodka before she answers. "Guess so."

Carol thinks that maybe she seems bitter about that, but she can't be sure. "You seem set on keeping us together and patrolling for trouble."

She glances over and there's just a hint of amusement in her eyes. "There another question in there somewhere?"

"Why bother?"

"Someone has to do it. We failed to do what we told people we would - protect them. If we can't get everybody back then we owe it to everyone to keep doing what we can. And if that's working to keep everyone who's left safe, then that's what we do."

She doesn't know much about her new de facto teammate, but Carol thinks, based on what she does know and what's learned today, that Natasha Romanoff is one of the good ones.

"Can I ask you something?" Natasha asks, breaking the silence that had settled over them. Carol turns to look at her and waits until she turns and their gazes meet. Natasha laughs at the raised eyebrow and smirk Carol is sending her way. "What was Nick like back then?"

Carol can't help the laugh, but she's a little surprised by her reference to Fury by his given name. "Well, from what I've heard about him since I left, he was a hell of a lot less mysterious, and definitely less purposefully obtuse."

Natasha chuckles. "He's been like that for the whole time I've known him." She pauses and a small frown creases her brow. "He was like that."

The reality of him being gone settles over them both like a wet blanket on a flame. Carol sees the mirth fade from Natasha's eyes and her posture drop slightly. They are tells she supposes she probably wouldn't be seeing if not for the vodka.

"Did he tell you what happened to his eye?" Carol asks, hoping to shift things back to a lighter tone.

"Said it was classified."

Carol tilts her head and smiles. "Well, he wasn't technically lying. Everything surrounding his introduction to me was classified."

Natasha's gaze narrows and a smile tugs at the corners of her mouth. "Why do I feel like it was something dumb?"

"Because it totally was. He got scratched by-"

"A cat! Tell me it was his cat!"

Carol's eyebrows rise in surprise at her sudden enthusiasm and about the fact that she knows about Goose. "You know about Goose?"

"He was around a bit in my early days at SHIELD. I had semi-regular debriefs with Fury back then and Goose was there fairly often. Cute cat, took a liking to me. Never figured Fury for a cat person, but-"

The laughter falls from Carol's lips before she can even think to stop it.

Natasha's brow furrows in confusion. "What?"

"Goose isn't a cat."

Natasha's brow furrows even further. "What do you mean?"

"Goose is a Flerken."

"A what now?"

Carol smirks. "It's an-"

"An alien," she interrupts as the realization washes over her. "I had an alien on my lap. I pet an alien. Multiple times," she says in disbelief, eyes wide.

"A pretty deadly one, too."

Her gaze whips around quickly to meet Carol's at that piece of information. "What?"

"Massive tentacle things hidden in the mouth," she explains, wiggling her fingers next to her own mouth in demonstration. "They can eat entire people, no problem. Multiple people at a time, actually."

"You gotta be shitting me."

Carol laughs at Natasha's expression, wishing she had a camera to capture the moment. "Nope."

"Holy shit. What the hell was Fury doing having that around actual people?!"

Carol shrugs. "Maybe he figured Goose was a good test of character."

Natasha opens her mouth to respond, but closes it quickly as she seems to consider the possibility. "That actually makes a lot of sense," she answers finally.

Carol frowns because it was an entirely unexpected answer.

"I can't believe it. I met an alien decades before I thought I had!" Carol chuckles again. "Wait, so why did Goose take a swipe at Fury?"

Carol shrugs. "Apparently he pushed his luck with too much cuddling."

"Seriously? He pissed off a ca- A very cat-like alien?"

Carol nods. "Yep."

"What an asshole. He always made it sound like it was some big, dramatic thing. Hell, he told Rogers before our little dust-up with Hydra that the last time he trusted someone he lost an eye."

"Man had an image to protect, I guess," Carol offers, but the grin she'd been trying to hold in sneaks out.

"It's like I didn't even know him," Natasha says, but her tone is all teasing.

"You two were close?" Carol asks. She knows Natasha trusted him. She'd found out that Nat had been the reason they kept his message to her sending, even though they had no idea who it was being sent to.

Natasha blows out a breath. "As close as we could be in our line of work. He took a chance on me when I joined SHIELD and he didn't have to. He was there when I needed him, and he trusted me with...more than most."

There's something in her tone at the end that Carol picks up on, but she can't parse out exactly what it is. The mood had shifted down again though and she opts to try and bring it up again. "He sang while washing dishes once. Not half bad, actually. A rousing rendition of Mr. Postman."

Natasha's eyes widen. "You can't say things like that and not have video to show me of it!" she says quickly. "Oh, now we have to get everyone back just to have you tell me those stories with him in the room!"

Carol grins. "I've got plenty more, don't worry."

"Did he wear trench coats back then too, or is that a new thing?"

"Trench coats? What is he, a villain in a kid's movie?"

anyone spot that the conversation was mentioned in an earlier chapter? 😉

I know the perspectives are all over the place, but these absolutely all happen in the same universe. or...at least they're intended to be.

as always, any thoughts, comments, or feedback is appreciated! I always love seeing what y'all think and feel about the chapters.

and a reminder as well that if you're enjoying this and want more in a similar style, but on stuff that happened pre-endgame - check out my other story, Conversational Junctures, which gets updated on the weeks this one doesn't, lol.