Disclaimer: The Avengers belong to Marvel.

The Man Beneath the Mask

"Hey, you ready?" Clint lightly knocked before opening the door and was surprised to find Natasha sitting on the bed, dressed, and ready to go. With her having barely left her room the past few days he thought it would be a bit more of a struggle to get her ready for the funeral. She actually looked like she had just been sitting there for a while.

She gracefully got to her feet, adjusted his black tie, and swept out of the room to the car without a word.

Clint shared a worried glance with his wife when they joined her and the kids at the cemetery and Auntie Nat barely even acknowledged the kids. Since she couldn't have any kids of her own and despite being the cold hearted assassin she made everyone else believe she was, she cherished any time she could spend with Lila and Cooper.

Natasha didn't even really take in much of the ceremony, lost in her own thoughts. It wasn't fair that it was such a nice sunny day, not a cloud in the sky, the complete opposite of how she felt. She's sure if she asked Thor he would gladly call upon a few storm clouds for her. He had come from Asgard to bury his Captain.

There were so many people as the memorial was open to the public. Captain America had been the world's first hero and the whole world was mourning his loss.

Many heartfelt speeches were given, not that she even heard a word of what was said. They hadn't even really known Steve.

There was the typical 21 gun salute given for an Army veteran and she vaguely remembered Sam accepting the flag that had been draped over the coffin as Steve had no family in this time.

Before she knew it the service was over and she was shuffled to one of several awaiting limos.

Stepping out at their destination she found herself and a base that she was unfamiliar with.

The new and old avengers sat solemnly around a table.

Tony clearly having hit the bottle once out of Pepper's controlling grasp.

Bruce having come back from wherever he was hiding to pay his respects to Steve.

Thor uncharacteristically uncertain at the tension that permeated the air of which he was unaware of as to the circumstances having been away on Asgard for the whole of the Civil War.

Wanda still upset over losing yet another person that she had grown close to so soon after losing her brother.

Rhodey just looked tired with his black eye and his arm still in a sling from the last battle.

Sam however oozed anger. He just lost his best friend and he did not want to be here with SHIELD.

Clint made sure to stay close to Natasha as she seemed to be in a daze, just going through the motions, present but not really there.

"These are the Avengers?" whispered one agent to another.

"Yeah, they don't seem so scary." He replied in his Scottish brogue.

"Thank you all for coming, I know it's been a tough day."

"Phil?!" Clint turned to the man so fast that he thought he might have given himself whiplash and Natasha still had no reaction. "I thought you were dead?"

"Not quite," Phil Coulson gave his former agent a sad smile.

"I don't suppose Steve is standing the shadows behind you," Tony sarcastically quipped. And at that Natasha's head shot up, hopeful and searching.

"No sorry," Natasha tuned him out as he went on to explain that SHIELD stepped in and talked the UN down from instituting the Accords.

The room then dissolved into chaos, arguing back forth between those for and those against the accords.

She was then pulled into the argument, "Whose side were you even on, Red?"

Tony continued once he had her attention, "Was that supposed to be a trap for me or Steve? Or were you just playing us both until there was a winner?"

"Enough! We buried a good man today and this is how you honor him?"

"Thank you, Skye," Phil put a calming hand on her arm before her emotions got the better of her and she gave away her status as an Inhuman.

Natasha coldly met Tony's glazed eyed glare and pushed away from the table. Instead of engaging in the fight Tony so clearly desired, she swept out of the room and before the door closed they could see agents falling over their feet to get out of the Black Widow's path.

"I take that back," Fitz whispered to Simmons.

"Hey, doesn't she need to be here to debrief?" Rhodey protested. If he had to suffer through this, then everyone else should too.

"Actually," Maria Hill piped up, "Natasha resigned from the Avengers so, no she doesn't."

Clint frowned not sure when she did that and was torn between chasing after her and confronting Phil.

After the debrief, he approached Phil who still seemed a little unsettled over his former Russian assassin's actions. "When did that happen?"

The archer smirked and threw an arm around Phil's shoulders and gave him a harder than necessary shake, "Jealous Phil? Your idol thought you were dead, remember?"

The current SHIELD director simply shrugged, he supposed he deserved that.

"Thought I might find you here," and to her credit she didn't startle even though she hadn't heard his approach. Most people couldn't sneak up on the Black Widow but she just couldn't find it in herself to care anymore.

Bucky awkwardly shifted in his stance at her continued silence. "You know he would've hated all of this," Bucky gestured at the statue "and all the pomp and circumstance earlier."

"I know."

Steve was never in it for the glory. He was just a simple kid from Brooklyn who wanted to do the right thing.

"I think he would have wanted you to have this," finally turning to her companion she saw Bucky was had Captain America's red, white, and blue shield in his hands.

Reaching out her hand she lightly traced the star in the center and her eyes traveled up the metal arm that was holding the shield.

"Steve do that?" she indicated the once red star that was painted on the Winter Soldier's metal arm that was now turned into a mini replica of Steve's shield.

Bucky shrugged, "It was one of the bad days." Steve had actually found him clawing at the star, drawing blood from his flesh hand and leaving red streaks on the silver metal.

She knew what those were like. Days were the guilt and the grief was so overwhelming it felt like it was going to consume you. Just a black abyss that would swallow you whole.

Then, instead of taking ahold of the shield she gently pushed it back towards him.

"I would rather remember the man beneath the mask." And without a glance back Natasha Romanoff left, not really sure where she was headed but just knew that she needed to be anywhere but here.