Annabeth Chase and the Avengers

Chapter 26 [2.0]

Annabeth

It was several days later, and Annabeth was sitting with Nat, with a beautiful view of the ocean.

Nat smiled. "I see why you like it here so much." Her voice sounded wistful.

Annabeth turned to stare at her. "Come on, I know that look on your face. What are you thinking about?"

Nat let out a deep sigh. "The Hunters."

Annabeth nodded, unsurprised by Nat's confession. She'd remembered the assasin's conversation with Thalia, and the occasional stares Nat would give the Hunters.

"And what have you decided?" Simple. No judgment. Just unconditional support.

"I'm not sure yet." Nat said, rubbing her face wearily. "I-I don't know what would happen to the team if I left."

For the first time, Natasha had let a crack in her armor shine through.

"The team will live on without you." Annabeth said quietly. "Steve was able to move on and have a whole life. Thor joined up with the Guardians. Bruce has a totally new life." She hesitated. "Clint and.. Tony were able to have families. Why shouldn't you do something for yourself?"

"I'm an assassin. I've got too much red in my ledger to deserve to be happy."

Annabeth looked her friend dead in the eye. "You are Natalia Alianova Romanova." She loved how the beautiful name rolled seamlessly off her tongue. "You are an Avenger, a hero. You defeated Loki and the Chitauri in the Battle of New York. You helped defeat Ultron and saved a majority of the people of Sokovia. You fought Thanos in Wakanda. You fought in the Final Battle, and ensured that he was destroyed for good. You helped kill the monsters of my world."

Nat licked her lips. "I-"

Annabeth cut her off. "You wiped that red off your ledger a hundred times over. You are my friend. You deserve happiness. No matter what anyone else says. If your heart leads you to the Hunt, then that's where you belong."

The tiniest tear escaped Nat's eye, and she wiped it away almost immediately. "Thank you, Annabeth." She said quietly, standing up. She took a few steps towards the woods, and turned back. "And for what it's worth, I'm happy that you found your happy ending."

Annabeth smiled, a few tears rolling down her cheeks as she waved goodbye to her friend. She watched as Nat departed, and she swore there was a newfound bounce to her step.

-

Natasha

Nat trudged through the forests of Camp Half-Blood, feeling as though a large weight had been lifted off her shoulders. She deserved this. She had atoned for her sins, and she was finally free.

Now she could start anew.

A life where she was something different. No longer an assassin, not an Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. Not a hero, always scrutinized by the public.

She could finally be something more.

All it would take was one oath.

Nat kept her hand hovering over her knife, which was clipped to her belt. She saw a flash of silver in the corner of her eye.

She froze, eyes darting around the forest glade. Silence. All she heard was the pitter-patter of her heart.

Suddenly, she was staring down the shaft of an arrow. The bullet point was honed to a perfectly sharp blade, and could easily kill her. Her eyes traveled up the shaft, past the feathered fletching, until she met the eyes of the archer.