Three's A Crowd

Sixty Seven | Bad, Blood, and Bold

"When I came out of the ice, I thought everyone I had known was gone. Then I found out that she was alive... I was just lucky to know that she was still there..."

"She had your back, too." Natasha said softly. Steve looks up at her, face stone cold and somewhat emotionless if it weren't for the slight puffiness of his eyes.

"Who else signed?"

Natasha shrugged her right shoulder up, crossing her arms as she looked at her heels, the shake of her head all the indication of her uneasiness of the topic. "Tony. Rhodey. Vision."

"Clint?"

Natasha looks up with a small smile. "Says he's retired."

"Wanda?"

"TBD. I'm off to Vienna for the signing of the Accords. And there's plenty of room on the jet." Steve sighs and bows his head down, shaking his head. Natasha puts a hand on his arm gently. "Hey, just because it's the path of least resistance doesn't mean it's the wrong path. Staying together is more important than how we stay together."

Steve looks up. "What are we giving up to do it?"

She sighs, removing her hand from his arm. He shakes his head again, apologetic. "I'm sorry, Nat, but I can't sign it."

Natasha gives him a bittersweet smile. "I know..."

Pulling him in a hug, Nat rubs Steve's back comfortingly. Steve couldn't help but ask, knowing Natasha would be one to know. "Did she come with you?"

Natasha lets go of Steve, a hand resting for a brief moment to give his shoulder a comforting squeeze before falling back onto her waist. "She arrived way before we did... couldn't force herself into the church and thought it would be best to keep her distance for a while. She doesn't want anything to do with the Accords either, if that's what your asking."

Steve takes in a deep breath and tucks his hands into his pockets, the lump in his throat getting heavier and larger by the second as he tried to suppress his tears. "What's her game plan? If she's not signing she's definitely up to something. Wanda's too involved, she's not gonna let her surrender her rights and get locked up again."

"That for once... I can't really tell. She wasn't at the meeting and she wouldn't respond to any of our calls." Natasha sighed, shaking her head and letting her grown hair fall over her shoulder.

The day she got back she and Steve decided to retire back to their respectful residences after a very much... heated and difficult discussion about the Accords. She didn't say anything yet, but Steve had made it loud and clear where he stood.

"I'm worried for her, but I know it in me that there's something else she's dealing with." she says, causing Steve to look back up at her slightly confused. "Steve, it's not just the Accords. And it probably doesn't entirely involve Peggy either."

Steve had gone back to the hotel nearby the cathedral after wishing Natasha safe travels, looking around for (y/n) on his way out before finally making it to the hotel. He didn't know what to do... how could he convince (y/n) to stay out of this? Having done small talk with Sharon to keep his mind off the issue for a moment's time, deciding to fix things he should've fixed a long time ago. He was just glad that Sharon was just as understanding, nodding her head and saying how she knew her boundaries, even indulging in a few second tease of his stand with (y/n) Celastiel.

She excuses herself to meet up with someone by the elevator, perfect timing giving her the perfect excuse to get out of the suddenly awkward situation. Steve eyes follow Sharon and sees her hugging (y/n) as she steps out of the elevator. He notes the black dress and black dancing heels he knew were from the fashion of their time. (y/n) lets go of Sharon and gently holds her by the arms, saying something to her. They hug again and Sharon goes into the elevator. As he's watching, Sam approaches Steve.