When you Awoke{Romanogers}

Ch 107

A/N: Fun fact: I really like ERB, especially this one.
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Wakanda was far less beautiful without her. Bucky was gone, stored in secret on the wishes of the King. And Natasha? Whereabouts unknown.
He moped around like a kicked puppy. The kingdom had much to offer, but he couldn't get over the fact she left him, again.
Disappeared without a trace. Gone. Erased from history.
Steve still ate, breathed, talked. But he wasn't really living. He was just a shell. A former husk of what he was.
Eyes dull, hunched over frame. It was hurting him from the inside.
~X~
He'd almost given up hope of her return.
But not all of it.
Fire flickered off the corners of his eyes, it's shadow casting the flames to dance faster. Fire. His fire. Her red hair. Everything reminded him of her. The remaining members of the team knew this, yet they cared so much for him. They were the only things keeping Steve afloat during this time. Wanda especially. She was a great listener, along with Vision, who had helped break the team out of the Raft. Both were almost therapists to him. Comforting him and saying that Nat will come back.
He heard her voice calling out for him late at night. The moon casting it's light along the glass, creating almost a heavenly glow that illuminated the path to his beloved's voice.
He hurried to pull on some sweat pants, the sound of her voice sickeningly sweet. It echoed and groaned through the hallway, him jumping off several flights of stairs to get to the lobby, where the voice was the loudest.
And there, staring out from the darkest corner, were green eyes, pale skin, and auburn hair.
"Steve?"
~X~
She was gone for almost a month? Natasha couldn't tell anymore. When she picked Liho up, the first place she went to was Stark Tower. But the welcoming committee was unlike her greatest fears.
"You're to be erased from history." Tony told her gently one evening.
"I'm what?" She replied, choking on her tea.
"You're being erased. No more files, no more Natasha Romanoff. No more Black Widow. When people search you up, they'll find nothing. You'll become a myth."
She begrudgingly took a sip of her now distasteful tea. "The Black Widow was already a myth."
Tony shook his head. "No Nat. You yourself will become a myth."
The cup shattered into a million pieces as it came in contact with the floor. Shards of faded yellow littered the tiles around them.
Natasha didn't say anything for a good, long heartbeat. With trembling hands she bent down and started picking up the shards. "I guess I have to form a retirement plan after all."
"Natasha, you'll have no weapons, no backup, we won't be able to track you no more. You only have 24 hours to disappear starting tomorrow." Tony insisted.
She sighed and stood back up, dumping the shards she was able to pick up in the garbage. "I'll have my safe houses."
"You might not Natasha."
She stared at him with a hard, unflinching gaze. "It's a risk I have to take."
The scientist leaned back into the counter and supported his weight with the palms of his hands. "I knew you would say that. That's why I'm smuggling in your suit and weapons. FRIDAY, bring out the luggage."
A square tile next to him on the floor flipped over, revealing a pale grey bag labeled: Natasha's stuff.
Tony snaked one hand down and pressed a button, and the bag disappeared. "It has an incognito mode so you can slip past detection."
Natasha padded over to the luggage and grasped the space she knew was the luggage, and thankfully her hand clasped tight around it.
"Do you mind if I make a few stops before I go? I'll have to borrow one of the Quinjets'."
He waved his hand off as to say,"sure."
~X~
The following morning was rough for her. Liho meowed loudly as he could sense his owner's stress.
Natasha stared blankly at her cat, hands folded neatly in her lap. "Oh Liho." Her voice cracked as a sob escaped her throat. "This was worse then anything I predicted."
She slipped on an old SHEILD suit, the old one Clint gave her when she first joined. The one that still fits her after so many years.
Natasha glanced around her spartan Starkroom. It still held memories, even if her's and Steve's apartment was decorated with more. Books and knives she forgot to put back after hard missions or spare time. Her old garrote wire was still here from when she tried to kill Tony, and Clint eventually stopped her. She still had 23 hours to disappear.
With the Quinjet on Stealth Mode, flying to Clint's farm only took her two hours.
She quickly herded up Lila and Cooper, and helped Laura pack some things she needed for Nathaniel.
Africa took up four more hours. 16 hours left.
Wakanda was far more civil with their welcome.
Unauthorized Flight Vehicle. State name and purpose.
"Natasha Romanoff of the Avengers. Here to speak with the King."
They had her land the Quinjet in a conveniently decorated flight pad made up of vines and leave to form a canopy. "Clever," she told the two guards escorting her and the Barton family.
"Ah Miss Romanoff, how nice of you to visit me after a month of no word from you. And you have brought guests I see?" T'Challa said as she calmly walked into the throne room.
She bowed to him, and motioned Lila and Cooper to do so as well, even if they did it sloppier then her.
T'Challa smiled. "And who may these two children belong too? Not yours if I may assume?"
Natasha shook her head and felt a smile tug at the corners of her lips. "No sir. These two belong to Clint Barton. This is his wife, Laura."
Laura waved her hand and smiled awkwardly, before young Nathaniel caught her attention once again.
"And what is your purpose here?"
"The Barton's are best being together then apart, so I brought them here to stay with Clint."
"And of you?"
"I only wish for a few days here. I have unfinished business."
"Then I'll have guards escort you where Captain Rogers and the others are staying." With a flick of his wrist the same burly guards from before led them out of the chamber. "Thank you sir." Natasha called out behind her.
~X~
Laura found a spacious room to fit her and her children, yet Natasha could not sleep. It was quite late, with early hints of a sunrise happening soon. She did not know if Steve was even here. And thankfully, T'Challa let her return to her Quinjet to reclaim Liho and her stuff. Natasha had to admit, her cat wasn't the best company, but for now, in the dead silence, hearing her cat purr from her touch was quite reassuring.
But she wanted to know if he was here, if he would come bounding down the stairs at the sound of her voice. As if she was an oasis and he could quench his thirst with her voice.
Natasha shook her head, it was just wishful thinking. It didn't hurt to try.
"Steve?"
She heard shuffling upstairs and the quick tap of feet on wood as he came down rushing off some steps. There he was, hair mused and sweat slicked. Hunched frame and a tired face. Yet his eyes held so many emotions at once. Fear. Anger. Love. Regret. She could see it all.
"Natasha?"
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A/N: And there we have it folks! The end of the Civil War saga! I will start up a new one when Infinity War starts, or something involves Nat or Steve. I'd like to work on other projects right now and I think this long chapter will make up for all the waiting.

Happy Reading!
~Forever RedWind