It was a bright sunny day in Brooklyn New York, Steve sat patiently in the small Howling diner with a glass of water in his hand and a content look on his face.
Despite his cool facade however Steve was eager to see Natasha's friend and get some answers to his many unanswered questions. Every time the bell to the diner rang, signaling someone's entry, Steve would look up to see if it was the archer but in vain.
Letting out a huff Steve took out his phone and looked at the time '7:50' it read.
The bell rang once again and when Steve looked up he saw the man he had been waiting for.
Clint scanned the diner and hurried over to where the blond was sitting, taking a seat across from him and folding his hands over the table he looked at Steve worriedly.
"How's Nat?" He asked
Of course it would be the first thing out of the archer's mouth. Natasha is his best friend, his sister and after the video that was leaked yesterday he was worried sick about her. He only became more worried after Steve called him wanting to talk.
Steve sighed "she could be better." He replied and Clint cocked an eyebrow
"Is she okay?" He asked again
Steve shook his head "she, um, she cut herself last night. I saw the cuts on her wrist, at first she lied to me and said that she fell but Natasha's not a very clumsy person so I knew it was a lie." He explained
Clint shook his head "damnit!" He muttered frustratedly "she told me she stopped." He added as he ran a hand over his face
Steve furrowed his eyebrows "so you knew, this has happened more than once?"
Clint nodded "yeah, she started cutting herself in middle school-"
"Middle school?" Steve questioned and Clint nodded in confirmation
"Yeah, to cope, I guess." He shook his head
Steve furrowed his eyebrows in question but before he could question the archers statement he continued.
"When she moved to Russia she put herself in therapy, she got better. I guess the tape was just to much for her." He explained
"About the tape, do you know who leaked it?" Steve asked folding his hands over the table and looking at the archer with an inquisitive look
Clint sighed, he knew that Steve would have more questions after he told him what he knew. But he also knew that Steve needed to know so he could help Natasha. After all Steve was with her every day and Clint was only there when he could be.
"One of two people." He replied shortly before taking a sip of water and glancing out the window beside him, watching as people passed by the small diner
Steve cocked an eyebrow "and who are those two people?" He questioned
Clint sighed again as he turned back to the blond "look, if you really want to know you should ask Nat!" He almost shouted causing people in the diner to look at him
Clearing his throat he picked up his glass of water and took a sip "She was never really open about her past relationships. All I know is that there's only two people that have that tape." He added in a softer tone
"That is before Marvel Mag got a hold of it." Steve added and Clint nodded in conformation
Steve thanked the archer before paying the bill and leaving the waitress a tip.
----
"I guess I'll see you around, Barton." He said as they left the diner and he shoved his wallet back into his pocket
Clint nodded "yeah, um...tell Nat I said hi."
Steve nodded "will do." He replied as he took his car keys out of his pocket
Clint gave a curt nod before turning around and walking to his pick-up truck, opening the door he paused as he heard Steve's voice once again.
"What am I supposed to do?" Steve asked as he fiddled with his keys and looked up at the archer
Clint sighed as he turned to face the blond "talk to her?" He suggested with a shrug "Be there for her, let her know that your not going to leave her side." He added simply
Steve shook his head "I'm not good at the whole 'being there for people thing', it's one of the reasons why I've never been in a serious relationship."
Clint rolled his eyes "well, your gonna have to learn, that or leave her and never come back."
"What?!" Steve asked thinking that he hadn't heard him right
"You heard me. If your not going to be there for her emotionally you mine as well not be there at all. Trust me, I know Natasha better than anyone and all she's wanted her whole life is for someone to be there for her the way she is for everyone else." He said
Steve nodded in understanding
Clint cocked an eyebrow "so, I'm going to ask you, Mr. Steven Grant Rogers, are you going to be there for her...or are you going to leave her like a coward?" He challenged
Steve sighed "I made a promise, not only to Natasha but to myself and that was to be there for her in sickness and in health, until death do us part."
Clint smiled lightly "so you're staying?"
Steve nodded "yeah, yeah I'm staying."
Clint nodded "good." He said before turning and getting into his truck, shutting the car door behind him. Clint rolled down the window and looked at the blond one last time "take care of her." He said
Steve smiled "I will." He replied before walking over to his car and getting inside and heading to work
----
The ride home was one filed with many questions for the blond. Like, why would two people have the tape? Why would Natasha agree to being filmed in that way? And who the hell actually had the guts to mess with Steve Rogers wife?
As Steve turned into his driveway his eyes widened in surprise as he saw his wife outside talking to his father.
Joseph was never one to show up to places unannounced, he always called first, that's why it surprised the blond to see him.
'What the hell?' Steve wondered as he got out of his car and shut the door behind him
Steve furrowed his eyebrows as he walked up to the pair that were now laughing at something Joseph had said.
"Dad?" Steve called out in confusion
Joseph turned to his son and smiled "ah, Steve, good to see you my boy."
"What are you doing here?" Steve questioned as he walked up to the pair giving his father an awkward hug
Joseph shrugged "I just came to check in on you guys, see how the honeymoon went and invite you to a family vacation you're mother put together."
"Vacation?" Steve questioned
Joseph nodded "yes, you're mother thinks it's a good way for all of us to get to know Natasha better." He explained as he put a gentle hand on Natasha's shoulder and gave her a small smile which she returned
Steve scoffed "shouldn't you guys of done that before we got married?"
"Steve-" Natasha started with a scolding look as she looked at her husband
"No, it was his idea for us to get married in the first place and now he wants to get to know you? It just doesn't make any sense." He defended crossing his arms over his chest
"Look, I didn't come here to argue with you Steven! You two are more than welcome to come but if you don't want to you don't have to." Joseph said before walking over to his black 67' Chevrolet Impala.
Joseph turned to look at his son as he opened his car door "meet us at the airport if you want to come, you're mother will be disappointed if you don't." He said before getting into his car and driving away
Steve watched as his father drove away and the gates closed behind him. He let out a huff of annoyance as he put his hands on his hips, turning around he looked at his wife who had a small smile on her lips.
"We're not going." He said firmly before walking past her and into the mansion
Natasha followed close behind him, her eyebrows furrowed together in confusion.
"We have to go, you're mother has worked so hard to plan this trip we can't just not go." She argued as she walked into the mansion shutting the door behind her
Steve turned to the blonde, his hands on his hips and an eyebrow raised "what would the tabloyds think if they saw us on a family trip not even a week after the tape that was leaked?" He questioned
"You know about the tape?" She asked as she crossed her arms over her chest and looked down at the ground ashamedly
Steve scoffed "of course I know about the tape. The whole damn world knows about the tape!"
Natasha pursed her lips together "right, yeah, I know." She said lowly as she looked back up at the blond
"Do you?" He questioned "because if you actually think that going on this trip is good for you're career, your wrong!"
Natasha nodded as tears glistened her emerald green eyes "your right. Um, I've had a long day, I'm going to go take a shower." She excused as she walked past the blond and up the staircase
Steve watched behind his wife and huffed tiredly as his hands fell from his hips and landed at his side.
"Natasha-" he called and she turned to look at him "I'm sorry, it's just, you're career is in a really bad place right now and I know how much it means to you." He explained
Natasha gave him a small smile and nodded in understanding "yeah, I get it. Um, you should go though, you're mom really wants you to be there." She said before continuing up the stairs
Steve sighed as he walked into the living room and took a seat on the couch. Rubbing his hand over his face he reached into his back pocket and pulled out his cellphone. He scrolled through his contact list until he found the one he was looking for and clicked on it.
The phone rang a couple of times before it clicked and a masculine voice answered on the other end.
"Steve, what can I do for you?" The man asked
"Hey Frank, you still have contacts over at Marvel Mag right?"
Frank clicked his tongue "yeah, I do. Why?"
"I need you to do me a favor." He replied as he leaned back against the couch