Chapter Six

"Rise and shine, snorlax." Natasha wacked Steve's face with her pillow; he grumbled and the muscles in his back twitched as he hid his face into the mattress and away from her attacks. She rolled her eyes, dug out his uniform from his duffle bag and tossed it at him. Then she chucked his cowl at the back of his head. "Get up, you lazy ass. You need to shave if you're planning to adorn the American flag like old times."

"Like old times," Steve repeated, he pushed his head up and looked at her through a groggy eye, "Don't wanna shave."

"Retirement has turned you into a whiny bitch."

"M'not retired. Imma wanted man."

He pushed himself up on his hands and knees and glared at her, affronted that she was already in full gear and ready to go at such an ungodly hour. She whipped out her phone and snapped a picture of him and immediately sent it to Clint and T'Challa. He rolled his eyes—she really wasn't letting the whole Siberia selfie thing go, it was like language all over again—and got to work dressing himself. He peeled off his shirt and smirked at Natasha when he noticed that her eyes were following his every movement. She huffed, turning her attention to her phone pointedly, and only glanced over twice when he'd removed his pants and was in nothing but his boxers. He slid into his Captain America uniform with practiced ease and pretty soon he was pouting at the razor she'd procured from his stuff.

When a portal opened up in the middle of the warehouse, Steve and Natasha weren't even fazed as Stephen Strange stepped through.

"Good evening!" He called cheerily.

"It's five o'clock in the morning." Natasha reminded him.

"Yeah, so stop smiling." Steve grumbled.

"Right," Strange said to himself, "We're in Berlin. Different time zone." He eyed Steve's half shaved face, "So here's the deal." Natasha and Steve both paused, nervous by the inflections in the sorcerer's tone, "I know that the plan was for me to accompany you to the Avengers compound, but something has come up at the sanctuary that I must attend to immediately. I can send you there, and just send me the word and I'll get you out, but I can't offer much help otherwise."

Natasha shrugged, "You've done a lot for us already."

Steve nodded.

Strange blinked in surprise, "I'm going to be honest here, I expected more resistance than, well, none."

"We understand that you have other responsibilities," Steve said, "You have your freedom. Thank you for helping us." Steve held out a hand, and Strange accepted it warily.

"You're just glad to be rid of me, aren't you?"

Steve smiled innocently and Natasha laughed.

Steve finished shaving and cheerfully put on his cowl. He raised an eyebrow at Natasha pointedly, and then sent the same look to Stephen. Natasha nodded, fiddling with the tazer on her wrist in anticipation for what was to come. Hopefully, if all went according to plan, there wouldn't be a need to fight—she and Steve would get in, get the book, and get out without Tony, Rhodey or Vision being any the wiser. Natasha knew that the odds of not running into at least one of them was slim, especially if Vision was currently at the compound.

If Vision is at the compound…they won't stand a chance.

"Ready?" Strange inquired, sliding his magical device that enables him to create portals onto his fingers all the while concentrating on his phone that had Google maps pulled up with the coordinates to the compound on display.

"Gonna miss you, Strange," Natasha answered, "Beam us up."

Strange created a portal easily, through which Steve and Natasha could see their old home, covered in ice and snow. They glanced at each other, nodded, saluted Doctor Strange, and stepped through. When the portal disappeared behind them, they were encompassed by the evening darkness. Natasha blinked, disoriented by the sudden change in time. Talk about jetlag. She turned to Steve and frowned at him.

"What?" He asked, glancing behind him like Tony was going to pop out of nowhere and snatch them.

"We really need to get winter stealth uniforms," She observed and continued dryly, "Vision must not be home, else we'd definitely be incapacitated by now."

Steve rolled his eyes, "Oh yeah, let me just call Tony and ask him to cook something up for us." He leveled her with a long pointed, sarcastic glare that offended her more than it should have. She stuck her nose in the air and 'accidently' shot a widow bite at him that hit him right in the abdomen. He bucked over, grasping at his stomach until the electric shock wore off. She smirked.

"Ready?" She asked sweetly, slinking forward towards the compound with Steve on her heel. As they snuck through the grounds, a thought occurred to her and she turned to her comrade, "Are you going to be retrieving your shield while we're here?"

Steve's blue eyes widened at the mention of his shield, and he quickly turned his face away from Natasha, his mind seventy years away. He trudged through the snow, the cold suddenly sinking into his bones and reminding him of his traumatic journey into the 21st century and of all the things and people he left behind. "Howard gave me that shield," He said, deflecting.

Natasha narrowed her eyes, "What you mean is Tony's father gave you that shield. I'm sure Tony didn't fail to emphasize that after he found out that your best friend killed his parents." Steve chuckled bitterly as her words sunk in, not exactly regretting telling Natasha all that had happened, but frustrated that she can pick up on all the little details that he'd left out. "And you're, what, letting him guilt trip you? Howard Stark believed in Captain America and that's why he made the shield in the first place." She huffed when Steve continued to avert his eyes, and stopped walking abruptly. Steve nearly ran into her at the unexpected halt, and his heart began to thud loudly as she reached up and gripped his chin forcefully. She tipped his head down, and invaded his space until her forehead was nearly touching his, fingernails digging into his jaw. She could feel every warm exhale that escaped from his mouth, and she stubbornly held him there until he got the picture and locked eyes with her. Blue met green, light met darkness, and all Steve could see was her fiery indignation that Steve wouldn't trust himself when she trusted him so explicitly and he sucked in a sharp breath at the realization that Natasha entrusted him with her emotions like this. She opened her mouth to continue, her eyebrows furrowed in distress and her eyes pleading with him to just believe what she was saying, "That shield belongs to you, Steve."

His lip twitched upwards, "I thought it was the government's property."

She laughed, "Legally, maybe. But only you are worthy of using it; it's kind of like Mjolnir. But metaphorically you need to be worthy, not literally." His smile softened and she let go of him with a few pats to his cheekbones, leaving little crescent moons in his skin where her nails had dug in. They continued forward, drawing closer and closer to the compound.

"Tony had to of made precautions for all the secret entrances only Avengers would know about," Steve muttered to himself with his tactical face on.

Natasha hummed in thought, "I don't think Tony is that dedicated to turning us in." They were nearing the Eastern wall where Clint had been notoriously known for hijacking the vents and sneaking into the common room unannounced. She turned to Steve, "This is where we part ways. Give me a boost?" Steve knelt down on a single knee and cupped his hands together. She placed her icy boot into his hands, looked up to eyeball the vent, and then nodded. He bounced on his knee to build momentum and then used all of his strength and precision to send her flying towards her opening. The air around her was bitter and unforgiving, but Natasha savored the familiar feeling of flying. Expertly, she flipped and kicked the vent at just the right spot so that it popped off easily and fell into the snow beneath her and as she reached the top of her jump and started to fall she grabbed the edge of the hole she'd created and slid inside. She peeked her head out to see if Steve had stayed behind to catch her if she'd fallen or some other stupid shit but was pleased to note that he was already gone.

Natasha really couldn't help but to feel warm whenever Steve trusted her.

She tapped her ear where her communication device was nestled.

"FRIDAY isn't as complicated a program as JARVIS was, but it's still going to take some time for me to disable the security cameras."

"She hasn't set off any alarms yet, which means she hasn't been programmed to recognize you as an intruder," Steve's voice filled her ear, "You were right, Tony isn't that dedicated in turning us in."

Natasha crawled forward on her hands and knees, not as familiar with these vents as Clint, but already knowing exactly what she was looking for.

"We could test exactly how dedicated he is; you could just try walking in and see what happens."

Steve snorted.

Even though he couldn't see her, Natasha pouted dramatically, "What? That plan has merit." She grinned to herself maniacally, as she approached what she was looking for. There was a place in the vents that connects to the compound's computer system; it was for emergencies or something, but now Natasha was going to use it to commandeer FRIDAY's programming. From one of her pouches on her belt she pulled out a little gadget that Tony had given her eons ago and a USB cord. She plugged the cord into her micro StarkTablet and then into the port, flicked the device so that a holographic keyboard appeared in front of her, and then she began typing furiously.

"Any sign of the other Avengers?" Natasha asked quietly.

"All clear."

"These firewalls aren't easy to crack, but it's certainly possible. Five minutes."

A few moments later, Steve's voice drifted back into her ear, "Say," He started nonchalantly; Natasha pictured Steve leaning against the northern wall of the compound, studying his fingernails casually, "Where did you learn computer programming?"

"SHIELDRA."

A sigh. "I really wish you guys would stop calling it that."

Natasha chortled as she continued to poke around FRIDAY's program, "But it's the most accurate name for the once believed good guy government agency."

"Is there even such a thing?" Steve asked dryly.

"Oh, come on," Natasha rolled her eyes, "I know you don't mean that; you joined the Army. You're Captain America. No government is perfect, but we can still believe in what it stands for."

There was silence for a solid twenty seconds.

"You know I was kidding but did you really just give me the freedom and democracy speech?"

Natasha's eyes, lit up by the holographic screen in front of her, flashed in pure amusement, "I was hardly talking about freedom or democracy; I'm Russian, remember? And that was hardly a speech. No near your caliber, at least. Sorry, it's just not my style."

"Don't I know it," He whistled, "You motivate people by your reputation alone. They're afraid of you because they aren't sure what you know about them from just a moment's glance. Have I ever mentioned how frighteningly attractive I find that?"

Natasha answered smugly, "You haven't needed to. I noticed." Just a few more strokes on the keyboard, and— "I'm in. You're clear. I'll meet you at the rendezvous point."

"Roger that."

Natasha returned to her hands and knees and crawled to where she knew the briefing room was—at this time of night, no one should be even close to this part of the compound. Using a tool from her utility belt, she unscrewed the vent below her and dropped down and landed on the ground quietly. Nothing but the emergency lights were on, casting a subtle glow across the floor. Natasha cursed Tony for having an aesthetic for glass, but nonetheless sunk into the shadows. Not that it would matter much when red white and blue would arrive.

Speaking of which—

"Nat," Steve whispered into the darkness as he slipped through the glass doors. Natasha stepped forward until the soft light illuminated some of her features. Steve didn't even flinch.

"My spy powers are no fun if they don't make you jump."

Steve chuckled and rolled his eyes.

"Any sign of Tony?" She shook her head, "Rhodey?" She repeated the action, "Vision?"

"Thankfully, no."

Steve brought his hand up to his chin in thought, "If I were Tony, where would I put a red book with secrets concerning the Winter Soldier?" He sighed, realization dawning on him, "Let's check his room, but it's most likely in his lab and if we know one thing about Tony it's that he's always in his lab."

She glanced at the clock, "Especially in the wee hours of the night."

"What are the odds that he'll just let us take it?"

Natasha pinched the bridge of her nose, "I think we're overestimating Tony's devotion to Ross; as in, I'm not sure Tony has any devotion to the slimy General. Other than being butthurt about the whole Siberia thing, I imagine him being civil. Odds are, he may just let us take it. Let's just take the stairs down to the lab and speak with him."

"Yeah, because that worked out so well last time."

"Tony learned his lesson. Besides, it's our opportunity to apologize."

Steve sighed. "What do you need to apologize for, Nat? You didn't do anything wrong."

She shrugged, "I knew about his parents too, I didn't tell him either. And for the airport—I let you go. Although, I don't regret that decision." She shook her head, "Tony has lost a lot in the past year, and I guess I'm just now realizing that some of that loss is my fault."

Another sigh, this time coupled with a small strained smile. "Okay. I'll follow your lead on this one."

Natasha quirked an eyebrow, "Really? No objections?"

Steve huffed, grabbed her by the shoulder and steered her out of the room and towards the staircase. She went willingly, but not without pointing out that Steve was manhandling her only because she was allowing him to manhandle her. They walked down the stairs with tense shoulders, fists curled up into tight balls at their sides. When they reached the bottom of the stairs, Steve squeezed his eyes shut and Natasha could practically hear what he was thinking: if I can't see you then you can't see me. She elbowed him and his eyes flew open. They peered into the lab, and saw Tony tinkering on the leg of a new Iron Man suit. He was turned away from them, and You're Time is Gonna Come by Led Zeppelin was blaring through the speakers.

Steve blew out a long breath, "FRIDAY, can you please let us in?"

"I'll ask boss," FRIDAY responded.

They heard the music soften as FRIDAY, no doubt, informed Tony about the arrival of his impromptu guests, and then his head whipped around to where they were standing to the door of his lab. His eyes were wide, like he couldn't believe his eyes. Natasha raised a hand and wiggled her fingers in an awkward wave. Tony had a sort of awed looking smirk on his features; he waved back. They saw his lips moving, saying something to his AI, and then the lock on the door clicked and they were pushing through into the lab.

"Well, well, well…" Tony started, not even slightly vehemently, "Look who it is."

"Tony—" Natasha started.

"Nuh uh!" He interrupted, raising a hand, "I go first."

Natasha could see through his antics, but she only rolled her eyes and allowed him to have his turn.

He glanced at Steve, "First of all, I'm sorry—"

"Tony," Steve rushed in, "I'm the one who should be sorry—"

"Apology accepted, but did you or did you not hear me when I said it was my turn?"

Steve snapped his mouth shut.

Tony plowed on, "Now I can honestly say that I haven't the slightest clue as to why you are here, but you shouldn't be. Ross is watching this place like a hawk and all I can do about it is sit helplessly inside this lab. How is that strategy working out for me? You can probably take a wild guess, but I've sort of run out of options. Now I'm working myself ragged trying to get the Accords amended and to get the charges against you and the rest of the team lifted, but it's taking a lot just to get the wheels rolling. If you don't leave soon then we'll all be thrown into the RAFT like a pack of mangy mutts. I still believe full heartedly that we need to be put in check, but as it turns out—Thaddeus Ross is a manipulative son of a bitch."

"What has he done?" Natasha inquired.

Tony sucked in a deep breath, "Nothing terrible—yet. After Zemo was taken in, Ross deducted that I had been tied to everything that happened in Siberia; I'm on house arrest." He snorted, but there was a dark edge to it that had Natasha on guard. "Vision released all the information that we have on Zemo to the public, and I'm hoping that by providing Barnes with the best lawyers money can buy we can remove his death sentence and lift the charges on all of your shoulders—just one little snag."

"In order for Bucky to be put on trial, he needs to be physically present for said trial," Steve guessed. Natasha also imagined that Steve entrusting his best friend into Tony's care after all that had happened would be quite the snag as well but they'll just have to cross that bridge when they get there, won't they?

"Bingo."

"Which leads us to why we're here," Natasha chimed in, "Barnes is vulnerable. Everything that HYRDA implanted into him is still there—"

"That would make one vulnerable."

"—we need to remove it. As quickly as possible, and certainly before Ross or someone else just like him can get his hands on that particular trigger." Tony nodded for her to continue, "You didn't happen to see a red book containing all the secrets about vulnerable little Barnes's in Siberia somewhere, did you?"

Tony shook his head.

"Shit," Steve cursed.

"I was a little…overwhelmed at the time. But I do have something for you," Tony walked behind his desk and bent down to pick something up. When he stood to his full height, Steve's shield was in his hands. He paced closer to the duo, glanced from Natasha to Steve to the shield a couple of times before awkwardly extending his arms out to the blonde. Steve gaped at Tony, accepting his shield with shaky hands. "I really am sorry," Tony said, "I wanted to avenge my parents, I guess, but I realize now that I can't possibly place the blame on Barnes." He chortled bitterly, "After thinking it all over in my head so many times, I think I understand just why you get so stubborn about the Avengers having the freedom to choose."

Steve blinked, fondling the edges of his shield almost reverently.

"Incoming aircraft from all sides, boss," FRIDAY relayed urgently.

Tony's eyes narrowed, "It Ross?"

"Who else would it possibly be?"

Natasha was already typing at her phone hurriedly, sending a distress signal to Strange.

Tony scoffed, "Okay, well, I really need to reprogram your snarky attitude." Tony fiddled around with his holographs, a map of the compound encasing his desk. Six little red planes indicated just how screwed they were. "Where's Vision?"

"Working with Miss Potts."

Tony grimaced.

Natasha grabbed Steve's elbow, shoving him towards the door.

"Thank you, Tony," She said, "You've really impressed me." Her phone vibrated, and she slid her fingers across the screen to read the incoming message, "It looks like it's time for us to go."

"Are you crazy?" He called after her, "Ross isn't exactly known for being frugal with his bullets. You don't want to get seriously injured? Stay here. Either way, we're being carted off to the super scary underwater prison, but you can avoid some blood loss this way."

Natasha shook her head, "No, if we leave then only Steve and I are at risk—you're staying here."

"But—!"

Natasha rounded on him, "We need you to stay here, Tony. You're the only chance that we have to make things right—keep working on this. We have faith in you," She glanced at Steve who nodded in agreement, "If you're put in prison then we can all kiss our freedom goodbye."

Tony raised his arms in defeat.

"Don't die!" He yelled after them as they ran up the stairs.