The Eternal Avenger

Chapter Twenty-Seven : Fault Lines

(Claray's POV)

What happened in Lagos was just the luck of the draw. While Natasha, Sam, Wanda, and Steve headed to Africa, Tony, Rhodey, Vision, Pietro and I were scoping out an old Hydra base near Sokovia, investigating a tip we had received about potential stored missiles. We caught some of the news footage on our way back to the compound empty handed. When we arrived back at the compound, Wanda and Natasha both met us outside, the younger witch immediately falling into my arms, sobbing. I stroked her hair softly, glancing over her shoulder at Natasha, who looked back at me, knowingly.

"It was bad," she whispered to me as we headed inside. I nodded my understanding. I settled Wanda in her room, leaving Steve at the door to talk to her while Natasha and I returned to our floor and she told me what happened. I sighed deeply.

"I'm not sure we're going to walk away from this one without consequences," I murmured softly. The ginger shook her head.

"We'll see what happened when Tony gets back from his presentation," she pulled her jacket off before sitting down on the bed, nursing a handful of bruises. I sat down beside her and smiled.

"I'm glad you're okay, Tasha," I whispered, kissing her cheek softly. She smiled.

"Physically, at least. Sam tried to get me to pet Redwing." I couldn't stop the laugh from escaping at the thought of this tough-as-nails woman thanking a mechanical droid.

"Idiot," I muttered. We had just settled down for a movie marathon when Vision arrived at the door, announcing company.

The team that filed into the conference room was far more reserved than I had ever seen them before. It seemed like everyone was on edge, most of all Tony. He brought a guest with him, and although I didn't care much for politics, staring into the eyes of Secretary Ross was something else. Natasha and I both glared at the Secretary of State as he showed video clips of the Avenger's Greatest Hits, and Natasha squeezed my fingers tightly from beneath the table.

"And what if we come to a decision you don't like?" Redhead assassin beside me spoke, leaning forward in her seat, looking around the room.

"You retire." The finality in his voice was chilling. As the Secretary left the room, the mood was tense. Tony and Rhodey were all for the proposed solution – something called the Sokovia accords. Steve left abruptly part of the way through the conversation but from what I could gather, the team was split almost perfectly down the middle. For obvious reasons, I was caught between both sides, able to see each point both for and against, but unwilling to choose. I looked around the room, hesitantly.

Natasha, Tony, Rhodey and Vision stood on the far-left side. Steve had excused himself, but Wanda, Sam, Pietro and I stood off towards the right. I caught Natasha looking at me, almost pleadingly.

"If we have one hand on the wheel, at least we can still steer," she said softly. I nodded.

"I understand the appeal, Tasha, but I can't." I took my place beside Wanda, who leaned into my chest, still distraught. I led the witch away from the conference room towards my room, got her settled in with some sitcoms before closing the door behind me quietly, making my way next door to Natasha's bedroom, where she was waiting for me. I entered, closing the door behind me. She looked up at me from her bed, and I could tell she had been crying. As soon as she saw me, she looked up at me and made a grabby-hands motion, and I obliged, walking over to the bed, curling in beside her. She wrapped her arms around me tightly, burrowing her head in my neck.

"I talked to Clint," she murmured softly. I kissed her forehead and squeezed her even tighter into me.

"What is he going to do?" Natasha sighed, her fingers aimlessly tracing patterns over my shirt on my stomach.

"He says he's retiring," she looked up at me. "What are you going to do?" I took a deep breath, weighing my options.

"You and Tony both make good points. You know I have a problem with the messes that we leave behind." She nodded.

"I sense a but coming," she smirked up at me, teasing.

"But" I emphasized the word, teasing back. "it was bad enough when Shield knew about me. We're talking about a global stage now." She looked up at me, anxiously biting her lip.

"So, what are you going to do?" I shrugged, squeezing my eyes shut and rubbing them with my other hand.

"I don't know, Tasha. Steve makes some good points as well."

"He's good for that, the big speeches and all," she smirked.

"It's not fair that they're pending a lot of this on Wanda. If she hadn't acted when she did, a lot more than twenty-six people would have died."

"It wasn't on her alone," Natasha sat up slightly. "All of us are responsible."

"True, but that's not what the news outlets are saying," I countered.

"You know what the media is like with enhanced humans." We both sat up on the bed, looking at each other intently.

"And what do you think they would be like if they found out about me?" Natasha frowned and looked like she was going to argue but thought the better of it. She lowered her head.

"You have a point." I glanced over at her copy of the Sokovia Accords that was resting like an expensive paperweight on her desk.

"Honestly, I'm surprised that you're siding with the Tin Men on this one, Tasha," I picked at the blanket with my fingers. She chuckled softly.

"Yeah, so am I." I returned her tender smile. I glanced over at her bag, resting in the corner.

"Are you going to the signing?" She nodded.

"I have to make a stop first, make sure that Steve is okay, but yeah. I'm headed to Europe in the morning."

"Is this the last time we're going to be in this room together?" I asked, hesitantly. She shrugged her shoulders but despite the tension managed to shoot me a wicked grin.

"If it is, we should probably make the most out of it." Her green eyes were sparkling, and I laughed despite myself.

"I'm not sure we've made Tony regret his decision to not sound-proof these rooms enough," I caught her gentle tease, grabbing her and pulling her in close before our lips tenderly met in the middle. She mumbled something against my mouth that I chose not to listen to as we celebrated the uncertainty around us with the one thing we were more than certain of.