Natasha Harkin (Natasha Romanoff x Y/N Harkin gxg)

The Accords

Y/N POV

Our conference table was the busiest it has been in a long time. Everyone was here plus our secretary of state, who stood very sharply at the end of the table. I was next to Natasha who had a faint smile on her lips ever since I walked in. Her fingers were intertwined with mine and she would gently brush her thumb along my hand every few seconds.

"Five years ago... I had a heart attack." Ross puts his hands together like he's swinging a golf club, an interesting way to start this speech. "I dropped right in the middle of my backswing. Turned out it was the best round of my life because after 13 hours of surgery and a triple bypass I found something 40 years in the Army had never taught me. Perspective. The world owes the Avengers an unpayable debt. You have fought for us, protected us, risked your lives... but while a great many people see you as heroes there are some... who would prefer the term 'Vigilantes'."

"What word would you use, Mr. Secretary?" Natasha shakes her head slightly, causing her hair to move over her shoulders.

"How about 'Dangerous'? What would you call a group of US-based, enhanced individuals who routinely ignore sovereign borders and inflict their will wherever they choose and who, frankly, seem unconcerned about what they leave behind?" He walks to the side of the table, all of our eyes following him.

The room is full of tension, not one of us opening our mouths to speak again. I felt almost like a child being reprimanded, even worse I felt like a child being reprimanded right in front of a friend. This wasn't a good place to be.

Ross turned on a display of the world with small yellow dots across the countries. "New York." He says and a clip of the Battle of New York begins to play. People screaming and running down the streets as The Hulk slides down the side of a building, tearing it to pieces. I clench my jaw, squeezing Nat's hand a little as we all watch the scenes in front of us. "Washington, D.C." Another clip plays, this one is a helicarrier crashing into the water, sending waves crashing over many innocent bystanders. "Sokovia." People are running again, buildings crashing behind them and rocks falling from the heavens. "Lagos." The building that had exploded is shown with some of the same footage from the earlier broadcast playing afterwards. The camera zooms in onto a young girl, lifeless in the rubble.

Wanda gasps slightly and looks away which makes me sit up. "Ok, that's enough." Steve interrupts and I glance at him.

"There's more." Ross doesn't make a move to stop the videos from playing.

"That's enough." I say and Ross's eyes snap to mine.

"Alright." Ross nods at one of his men to stop the display before talking some more. "Since you were founded, you've operated with unlimited power and no supervision. That's an arrangement the governments of the world can no longer tolerate. But I think we have a solution. The Sokovia Accords."

A large stack of documents is slid onto the table toward Wanda. She grabs it, holding it carefully in her hands, her ringed fingers tapping at the edges. I watch her study the front page with a clench in her jaw, I feel so bad for her.

"Approved by 117 countries it states that the Avengers shall no longer be a private organization." Ross starts up again. Wanda slides Rhodes the documents and I watch as he flicks through the pages. "Instead they'll operate under the supervision of a United Nations panel only when and if that panel deems it necessary."

"The Avengers were formed to make the world a safer place. I feel we've done that." Steve looks up from the table to look at Ross, his jaw is set firm, he's not going to be backing down.

"Tell me, Captain, do you know where Thor and Banner are right now?" Ross asks, walking closer to Steve. "If I misplaced a couple of 30 megaton nukes you can bet there'd be consequences."