A/N: Another short chapter because this is somehow a collection of the next weeks after the fight between Team Cap and Team Iron Man to show what happened to YN. That's why it's written in past tense.
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Compared to the rest of the Avengers [Y/N] had fought side by side with, she had been really lucky even though she didn't know how she deserved it. For all she knew, Steve and Bucky had finished their mission but have disappeared since then. Tony Stark must have joined them to help but he was found with a destroyed suit. He hadn't said much other than that it was Steve Rogers' fault. The rest of the comrades-in-arms were captured and ended up in a maximum security prison. Natasha, on the other hand, had returned to the United States with [Y/N], where they could hide near New York City.
Natasha Romanoff was with her one evening to pay her a visit when [Y/N] asked her why she's hiding. After all, she had fought for the right team.
"Until I helped Rogers" Natasha admitted with a shrug. "After that, I had broken the law as well."
"You mean the papers you signed. Pretty big thing. Was all over the news. Do you think it's right?"
"I did..."
"And now?"
"I'm not so sure anymore..."
Thus, the Avengers headquarter was no longer a happy option for Natasha either. She was still there but she knew she was being watched closely. And besides Tony, James "Rhodey" and Vision there was no one left. It wasn't like Natasha didn't like the three men but they weren't her closest friends and therefore the place felt strange to her sometimes.
And then there was [Y/N] that Natasha had promised to watch out for until Steve would get in touch. Natasha knew he had to go into hiding and until he got in touch with her or [Y/N] again, the two had to get along somehow. And even if that had been a rather annoying task at the beginning, Natasha slowly found pleasure in the stranger. She was sharp-tongued but clever. She didn't know where Steve found her but Natasha slowly understood why she should protect [Y/N]. She would have fit in well with the Avengers team if it would have still existed.
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There were news shortly after the incident. The maximum security prison was broken into and all Avengers were freed. No names were officially given but anyone in their right mind knew that Steve must have freed his friends. Of course he did. Steve was the type of man who always did what he thought was right. And neither Natasha nor [Y/N] would have acted differently.
The weeks passed by and Natasha was sitting in [Y/N]'s hotel room, where they were watching a movie together that neither of them really paid any attention to. "Do you think about him a lot?" she asked her new friend. After everything that Natasha had done for [Y/N], it was only fair in her eyes to let Natasha know a little about her life. If Steve trusted her, surely [Y/N] could trust her too.
"James... Bucky... whatever?" [Y/N] asked and Natasha nodded. "Often. Not all the time. But often. I just hope he's fine."
"He's got Steve by his side. He's going to be fine" Natasha tried to reassure her counterpart.
[Y/N] nodded. "That's what I tell myself whenever I think of him. I just wish..." [Y/N] broke off her sentence and sighed. "I don't know either."
Natasha took a sip of her beer and looked at [Y/N] curiously. "What's that between you and Barnes?"
"Nothing" answered [Y/N] in a voice full of mixed emotions, so that Natasha almost felt pity. She could see that [Y/N] felt really worried and missed that man. Not knowing anything new tore her apart.
"You didn't risk a lot for nothing."
[Y/N] sighed and took a long sip of her own drink. "First of all: I didn't do that for him. I did that to protect the world from any more Winter Soldiers. But... I don't know how to describe it myself. He became important to me and I just want his suffering to end. When I met him, he seemed as lonely as I was."
A warm smile formed on Natasha's lips and her gaze became dreamy. She thought about why Clint had become so important to her and that he was the beginning of the right path for her. From the way [Y/N] talked about Bucky, there seemed to be a similar connection between her and Barnes. And for a while, Natasha was able to forget about Bruce, who she was missing so badly.
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It had been a good two months. [Y/N] was sitting on her bed, looking out the window, when an unexpected knock on the door of her new accommodation roused her thoughts. It wasn't evening yet, where Natasha was supposed to join her, which is why [Y/N] didn't really feel safe. On the way to the door, she grabbed the first thing she could use as a weapon: a candlestick. Only then did she cautiously open the door, her right arm, with the candlestick in her hand, stretched out to be able to slam directly at best.
"Whoa, slow! You could hurt someone with that!" said the male person who was standing across from her. It was none other than Steve Rogers.
"You're going to be the death of me" she sighed and simply dropped the candlestick carelessly on the floor in order to embrace her opposite like they were old friends.
Steve returned the hug happily, gently pushing [Y/N] inside to close the door behind him. "Good to see you're doing fine."
"Thanks to you, I guess" [Y/N] replied and there was a brief, embarrassing silence after this surprising closeness. [Y/N] cleared her throat. "How about some coffee?"
"Gladly" replied Steve and followed her to the kitchen. He watched a smile crossing her lips whilst her eyes were full of sadness and affection when she spoke. "James and I used to have tea when we couldn't sleep" she explained but didn't dare to ask the question that was on her mind. That Steve had arrived alone wasn't a good sign and she was worried to hear the truth. She wasn't ready to hear that her friendship with James was over. "Milk?" she broke the silence.
"No milk, please" replied Steve and thought about her words. He could barely imagine his best friend enjoying some tea in the small kitchen in Bucharest but it would explain the connection between Bucky and [Y/N] that Steve still tried to understand.
[Y/N] nodded. "Does Nat know you're here?"
"Yes, I informed her shortly beforehand."
[Y/N] nodded again and a new silence fell over them but it wasn't a pleasant one. "The mission..." she asked to break it. "What happened after you left the airport?"
Steve cleared his throat briefly and looked at the young woman. She looked a little tired, as if she had worried a lot and slept less but hadn't changed in any other way. Her hair still looked the same and she was wearing a pair of jeans and a black hoodie, similar to the outfit she wore in Germany. [Y/N] nervously played with the kitchen utensils while she waited for the coffee to be ready. Her body was slightly tense and Steve could see how much she was burdened with the situation with Buck. He wondered what to tell her after everything that had happened. But he knew that she would believe nothing but the truth. Certainly Tony had already told what had happened in Siberia or had at least hinted at it. He'd left Tony a message and an emergency cell phone but he wasn't expecting a call anytime soon. Which, in turn, was good because it meant there were no new threats.
Knowing that he had to be honest with her and not willing to build their trust on lies, Steve told her everything that had happened in Siberia and in [Y/N]'s eyes the emotions appropriate to the situation flickered. Surprise, sadness, shock. And even if it wasn't easy for Steve to tell all of this and read those reactions in [Y/N]'s eyes, he knew it was the right thing to do.
When he was finished, [Y/N] nodded thanks. Her gaze was lowered on the cup in her hand, the fingers of her right hand playing with its handle. She tried to process all the new information and it took a few moments before she looked up and saw Steve's blue eyes resting on her. "And James... Buck... Bucky?" she sighed. "I'm sorry but he has so many nicknames."
If the next piece of information wouldn't have been so serious, Steve would have smiled in amusement. It was almost cute how [Y/N] tried to get it right. "Buck is..." Steve took another breath. There was a lot that [Y/N] didn't know and he wanted to choose his words carefully so she wouldn't think he wasn't taking her serious. He thought about the conversations with his best friend once again, who kept making it clear that he was concerned about [Y/N]. He really cared about her well being even though he couldn't understand why himself. But from what Steve knew, it seemed like the two of them had made good company in Bucharest. Maybe [Y/N] was right and they really had become friends. He knew that Bucky thought he was a bad person and maybe he couldn't accept himself to have any friends because he didn't think to deserve them. "He is in Wakanda and is being rehabilitated there." Steve was happy with his choice of words and thought it contained the most important information.
"How?" [Y/N] asked curiously and sipped the last bit of coffee in her cup.