Untrustworthy | N. Romanoff

| twenty six |

The flashes from the camera blinded Lexi as she sat next to Natasha in the courtroom. She was instructed by the redhead not to utter a word and to let her do all the talking considering she had the most experience with this kind of thing. Lexi figured it was probably for the best, as she would probably end up saying something stupid that would land them in some shit so she sat as professionally as possible, ignoring any questions that were thrown at her and letting Natasha answer them for her.

"Why haven't we yet heard from Captain Rogers?"

"I don't know what there is left for him to say," Natasha stated firmly after a moment of processing the question. "I think the wreck in the middle of the Potomac made his point fairly eloquently."

"Well, he could explain how this country is expected to maintain its national security now that he, Miss Stark and you have laid waste to our intelligence apparatus," the committee member pressed.

"HYDRA was selling you lies, not intelligence."

"Many of which you seemed to have had a personal hand in telling," he continued.

"That was her past, how can-" Lexi began to interrupt before Natasha's hand clamped down on her own below the table, the redhead giving her a look to stop talking to which the brunette reluctantly obliged.

"Agent, you should know that there are some on this committee who feel, given your service record, both for this country and against it, that you belong in a penitentiary," another committee member stated. "Not mouthing off on Capitol Hill."

Lexi felt Natasha grip on her hand tighten as the redhead beside her visibly tensed up, shaken by what was being said. Sensing this, Lexi gave her hand a reassuring squeeze, letting her know she was there for her. Natasha took a deep breath as she composed herself.

"You're not gonna put me in a prison," she stated calmly, "you're not gonna put any of us in a prison. You know why?"

"Do enlighten us."

"Because you need us. Yes, the world is a vulnerable place, and yes, we help make it that way. But we're also the ones best qualified to defend it. So, if you wanna arrest me, arrest me. You'll know where to find me," Natasha finished before standing from her seat with Lexi quick to follow. The brunette quickly caught up with the latter and looked to her right, seeing a very smug smirk on the redhead's face.

"That was hot," she stated quietly, not wanting anyone else to catch on to what the two had going on.

"Keep it in your pants, little Stark," Natasha chuckled.

⧗

Lexi and Natasha walked side by side through the graveyard as Steve and Sam came into view, with the silhouette of Fury walking away.

"You should be honoured. That's about as close as he gets to saying thank you," Natasha remarked as the two approached Sam and Steve, the latter making his way towards the two.

"Not going with him?" Steve questioned.

"No," Natasha replied with a small shake of her head.

"Not staying here?"

"Nah... I blew all my covers. I got to go figure out a new one."

"That might take a while."

"I'm counting on it."

"What about you, Stark? You sticking with her?" the super soldier then turned to Lexi, gesturing with his head towards Natasha.

"As much as I'd love that, Talia here said it's too dangerous," the brunette replied, rolling her eyes slightly as she gestured to Nat. "Plus, I've got about fifty missed calls from Dad and Pepper and a hell of a lot of explaining to do, so I gotta head back to New York for a while."

"Talia?" Steve asked with amusement as he raised his eyebrow to Nat.

"She found out my birth name when the files got released... the nickname has stuck now," Natasha explained, a hint of annoyance in her tone as she playfully glared at Lexi who gave a mischievous grin back.

"I think it's a lovely name," the brunette said innocently, "plus, it annoys her, so that's always a bonus." Steve let out a small chuckle, as did Sam who was standing in the back listening to the conversation. Having heard this, Lexi peaked around Steve to give the man a small wink, receiving an approving thumbs up in response before she felt Natasha's sharp elbow jab into her side. "Ow."

"Oh, Steve. That thing you asked for," Natasha said as she lifted the file she held in her hand to give it to Steve. "I called in a few favours from Kiev." Steve expression changed from one of amusement to sadness as he looked down at the file in his hands. "Will you do me a favour? Call that nurse."

"She's not a nurse."

"And you're not a SHIELD agent."

"What was her name again?"

"Sharon... she's nice," Natasha answered with a small smile that Steve returned as the two looked at each other with gratitude before Natasha leaned in to gave him a small peck on the cheek. Lexi looked at the interaction fondly, followed Natasha gesture with a peck of her own, giving the super soldier a reassuring smile. Steve gave the two a small nod before they began to walk away side by side.

"Be careful, Steve," Natasha said, turning around to look at the man once more, "you might not want to pull on that thread."

Steve looked down at the file as the two walked away. Lexi knew what was in the file, and she knew how much Steve would blame himself once he saw what had happened. But she also knew that as much as it would hurt him, he need this, he needed the closure. He needed to help his best friend.

"So, is it still a no for me to come with you?" she asked Nat as the two walked back through the graveyard to where Nat had parked her corvette.

"You better go back to your Dad, he's worried about you," the redhead replied as she jumped into the driver's seat, with Lexi jumping into the passenger's side. "Besides, you and I both know he won't be happy about us if he finds out."

"He doesn't have to find out," Lexi whispered seductively as she leaned over the console, allowing her face to be inches from Nat's. Natasha smirked as the two held eye contact, her gaze flickering down to Lexi's lips before coming back up to meet her eyes once more. Just as Lexi leaned in with her eyes closed, Natasha pulled away and started the car. Lexi rolled her eyes slightly as she licked her lips in annoyance, still hovering over the console. "That was mean."

"We're in a graveyard."

"So?"

"So, I'm not making out with you in the middle of a graveyard... it's creepy."

"I've done it before," Lexi shrugged as she leaned back into her seat, "I haven't been possessed."

"Not happening, Lex."

"Fine... can we at least go somewhere else to make-out?"

"Shut up," Natasha chuckled.

author's note:

so, that's the end of CA: TWS, next up is Age of Ultron which i am actually very excited to write :)

so this is the last chapter of this book, the new one is called Trust goes two ways and i will be publishing the first chapter tomorrow :)

- c