Devotion [Book 1]

Kiss You Goodbye

Now, she was on the run. Ever since she betrayed - Tony's words, not hers - the government by allowing Steve to escape with Bucky, Ross was adding her to the Wanted List. Not that she minded. At least she didn't have to deal with Tony's disappointment as well as Vision and Black Panther's anger. She wasn't sure if anyone had told Rhodey yet...

Nine months had passed since then, and while her first priority was not getting caught, her second was to locate Steve and the others. She had to know that they were safe and sound. Even while she'd somehow kept track of their whereabouts through the news (they were stopping crime as masked vigilantes now, ditching their costumes and opting for a more elusive wear to make sure no one knew it was them) she could never pinpoint their specific location.

(She only wanted to apologize for allowing a civil war to brew between them and pull them apart, but they were making even that simple thing the most difficult task to accomplish.)

One rainy afternoon, at the local coffee shop in Brooklyn, however, it seemed she didn't need to look any further.

She was situated at the farthest corner of the shop, giving her the full view of the glass doors of the building as she sipped her coffee. The warm drink gave her comfort from the chilly weather both outside and inside her.

Halfway through her stay at the coffee shop, the chimes above the doors rang a bittersweet melody, and in came a man with an overly large trenchcoat, wet brown-ish hair and a small goofy smile hidden behind a small beard. Natasha couldn't help but feel her spy instincts telling her that this man was familiar. Natasha narrowed her eyes at him, and as he made the cashier at the counter feel lost between laughing mockingly at him or just standing there awkwardly, she realized why he looked like someone she'd seen before.

Way back then, just after their return to base from the airport, Tony and the others simply glared at her and walked away to meet with Secretary Ross. She was no longer held in a high regard after what had transpired, and while it hurt to have lost some friends she hoped to reconcile with Steve and Clint first. Since she was left alone, she'd used the extra time to do some research on the new recruit to Steve's small band of superheroes and found out a few things about him. That was before Tony had warned her that Black Panther had told her off to the secretary.

That man at the counter was none other than Scott Lang, a.k.a the Ant-Man/Giant-Man, who'd given Tony's side a brief disadvantage during the ill-fated battle. For a moment, back then, Natasha believed she didn't need to interfere like she'd planned, since the captain had already provided a literally massive distraction. Unluckily, for them all though, Tony's side had so much brain power and the mere reference to Star Wars (given by Spiderman) that they had been able to outsmart him and take him down.

She let out a small smirk, dismissing her earlier thoughts and allowing a new one to take over. Finally. She could find them.

Roughly twenty minutes later, he walked out of the coffee shop with a plastic bag filled with four cups of what she believed was steaming hot chocolate. She followed him discreetly, keeping her distance but not allowing her sight off of him. This was her one chance. She couldn't lose it. Not when she was so close.

She followed him into a worn down building, a somewhat short ways off from the coffee shop, and made sure her steps were quiet so he couldn't hear her following him in. Even if he did, she had adjusted her position so it would look like she was only going up to her floor instead of following him. He entered the third door on the second floor.

Suddenly feeling nervous, Natasha walked towards the third room, feeling like jelly; and she was about to collapse any moment now, too. She tried to steel herself. It was now or never. She couldn't help but berate herself for being so emotionally unstable right when she had to prepare for whatever their reaction would be when they would see her at their temporary doorstep.