First of all, thanks for all the congratulatory messages, guys!

MY LAZY ASS HAD FINALLY GRADUATED FROM HS AND I HAVE NO IDEA HOW TF DID I DO THAT BUT HERE I AM. College still scares me tho. To those who're already in college out there, any tips? hihi.

ANYWAY... SINCE I WAS SO HYPED AND HAPPY AND WHATEVER HERE'S ANOTHER CHAPTER!!

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ C H A P T E R T W E N T Y - ONE ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

Natasha walked out of that scene faster than she'd normally do even in a mission. Well, she was in a mission alright. A mission to escape everything that had just happened down there.

She stared out the glass window, seeing her own reflection stare back at her as the moon and stars shone above. Her hands darted out to rub her arms. She couldn't help but let out a shaky breath.

This was hopeless. She thought. She was stupid enough to think that she could just easily throw away her feelings for him like she'd done to every piece in her life. That's who she was, and that's how she was made to be.

All her thoughts were thrown out of the bus when she heard the clicking of heels against the floor. Her gaze went to the corner, seeing the dim figure of Allie approaching. She didn't have the usual smile she wore, or the giddiness she always has whenever she was around. She seemed worried, even. "Agent Romanoff?"

"Allie, what are you doing here?" Natasha asked.

Allie walked closer. "I could ask you the same thing. Last time I checked, the party was downstairs, not here."

Natasha smirked weakly. "Well, maybe I just wanted to be lost on purpose."

Allie gave a nod, biting the inside of her cheek subconsciously. "Right," She paused, a beat of silence waved past them. When Natasha didn't speak any further, she went to plop herself down on the couch. She lifted her feet over and stretched, making herself comfortable. She noticed Natasha giving her a look. "What?"

"Don't you want to have some fun on a weekday night? Maybe even share a dance with that agent you've been batting your eyelashes at?" Natasha said, obviously teasing while keeping a straight face.

Allie almost choked at the latter part of her question. Her face flushed, and she sat noticeably more straighter. "I did have some fun." she defended.

Natasha now looked at her, raising a brow in amusement. "What kind of fun?"

Allie even turned redder. "If you must know, I'm an innocent bean."

"Oh, please." Natasha scoffed, "How old are you? Seventeen? Eighteen, right? Trust me, I know enough to know whether that's still-what did you call it? Innocent bean stage."

Fifteen, actually. But she doesn't need to know that. Allie kept her lips pressed in a thin line. If she only knew how awkward this was to talk about with her own mother for gosh's sake!

"Cut it out." Allie glared at her, crossing her arms.

Natasha wasn't the least bit fazed, she laughed even, shaking her head. "Kids."

Allie rolled her eyes. "You really want to keep standing? Because if you do, be my guest."

Natasha tilted her gaze, narrowing her eyes with a trace of the slightest smirk on her coated lips. It was subtle, but it was something. "So, you're sassing me now, huh? That's new. Nobody's got enough guts to sass me. Except Stark probably."

She thought she was mad, but no, she just looked... impressed. Well, at least it was enough to catch her attention, and hopefully, steer the conversation to the topic she wanted to talk about all along.

"Not even Steve?" Allie blurted out before her brain could even register what she just said. Her eyes widened, "Uh, sorry."

Just like that, all humor and playfulness dropped from Natasha. She tensed up at the mention of the blonde, clearing her throat awkwardly. Allie noticed the way Natasha's gaze dropped to her lap, not able to maintain eye contact, which she only does if she's uncomfortable about something.

Allie looked at her even if she wasn't looking at her back. "Can I ask you something, Agent Romanoff?"

Silence.

"Is there... a problem? You know, with you and the Captain." She pretended to ask casually.

As expected, Natasha evaded the question. "I don't want to disappoint you or anything, but I'm guessing you already picked up that I'm not the type of person who's too keen on sharing her personal life with other people."

Allie smacked her lips, nodding slowly, "Right. I kind of got that."

Natasha forced a smile, looking a little strained. "So, if it's alright with you, I'd rather we talk about something else."

Allie nodded.

Silence engulfed them again.

A moment passed, then- "You know that I don't talk much, right? So, you don't have to worry..."

Natasha rolled her eyes. "Allie, drop it."

"But-"

She cut her off with a glare.

Allie sighed in defeat, her head dropping. She paused for a while, then muttered under her breath, "You know my parents used to be friends."

Natasha quickly snapped her gaze up, dumbfounded at the randomness of the statement, but she stayed silent, urging Allie to go on.

Allie wasn't looking at her anymore, she was dragging her fingernails lightly across the couch, tracing the stitches of the intricate lines absentmindedly. "My parents they... they used to be friends too. I mean, they started out as friends."

Natasha let out a small laugh, eyebrows rose, "Doesn't everyone?"

Allie eyed her flatly, "Would you at least let me finish halfway?"

"Okay, okay, sorry." Natasha said cheekily, turning sideways so she could face her properly this time. "I hope this isn't just an attempt to make me feel bad and share a part of my life too."

"Agent Romanoff."

"Right, sorry. Carry on."

"My parents weren't... they weren't your typical friends, they weren't like the usual best friends secretly in love yada yada and all that. Actually, I don't even think they call one another as their friend." She said, chuckling.

Natasha looked at her curiously. "How come?"

Allie puffed a breath. "They had trust issues."

Natasha felt a tug in her stomach. The familiarity of Allie's story dawned over her so much that she thought she was reminded once again of the current situation of her and Steve. Hell, she still had no clue why all of a sudden Allie Rogan was telling her a very confidential part of her life, but if Allie trusted her enough, she could believe that everything she's telling her is true.

"What do you mean?"

"Both were too stubborn." Allie shrugged. "One was too scared to let her walls down while the other was too scared to try and even ask her to."

Natasha blinked. "Wow, that's..."

"Stupid, yeah, I know. My parents are idiots." Allie interjected.

She purposely glanced at Natasha to see if she was picking anything up that might be a little too far.

When it looked like she hasn't, Allie continued, "But, somehow, they made it work. My mom... she thought it wouldn't, because she wasn't one of those who believe in these things. I think something happened before," Allie added with a little white lie, "probably because of an ex or something."

A beat passed. "And your dad?"

Allie smiled. "He gave her a reason to believe again."

Natasha couldn't help but smile, and subconsciously, her mind once again wandered back to Steve, finding the common ground in both situations. "How?"

"My dad's a nice guy, I'm not saying that my mom isn't. It's just that he's more likely to give people the benefit of the doubt first before judging... and that's what he gave mom."

"How did they... do they fight a lot?"

"Oh yeah, all the time." Allie chorused, "But it's just silly fights, like, when dad drinks all of mom's coffee without noticing because he told her they could just 'share', or when mom tells dad he snores often but he denies it, or when dad forgets and leaves the toilet seat up."

"That's pretty... specific." Natasha remarked, laughing softly.

"Oh, trust me, that's not even a quarter of their fights." Allie laughed softly, "but underneath all that? They care about each other."

Natasha smiled. "They sure seem wonderful."

Allie's blue eyes twinkled, slightly glazed at the thought of them. "Yeah," She looked right into her mother's own green ones, "They are."

"You and your brother are very lucky. Not everyone has parents like yours, come to think of it, not everyone even has parents anymore." Natasha said, muttering the latter part of her statement.

"I know," Allie mumbled.

Natasha looked at her in confusion. "Why did you tell me this?"

Allie let out a breath, "It might not make much sense but, for some reason, even if I'm not the most open person in the world either... I trust you enough, Agent Romanoff." She spoke with much sincerity, "And I'm just telling you now, that whatever you're dealing with, you can trust me with it."

Natasha swallowed thickly, her already swollen eyes brimming up with tears once more, and Allie told herself that it was a sight she couldn't bear to see again. She never saw her mom cry before, and even if she did, she'd never let them see her.

She looked so hurt and vulnerable that it was painful to see, because her mom was one of the strongest people she knew.

Her barrel of emotions came crashing down. Everything that she was desperately trying to hold back, it was all out in the open. For the first time, she had let herself feel. "I can't do this, Allie." she whispered, voice cracking. "I thought I could, but I can't anymore."

Allie frowned, her heart clenching. She bit her bottom lip to stop it from quivering. She didn't know why but whenever someone's crying, she was trying hard not to cry too, especially if this was her mother. "What happened? Is this about..."

Natasha nodded. Despite not mentioning his name, they both knew who it was. "I thought I was doing the right thing." She sniffed, swallowing the lump in her throat, "When Fury assigned him as my new partner in SHIELD because Clint took a break, we thought it was never going to work. It wasn't the best idea to put an American soldier and a Russian spy together."

Allie listened intently.

"For the first few months, it didn't work no matter how hard we tried, because neither of us was willing to meet the other halfway. Then SHIELD got compromised," She gulped, recalling the memories vividly, "Everything about us sort of changed since then. I don't know what happened, but at some point he saved my life. I told him I owe him."

Allie realized that this was probably the first time she was hearing the story of how her parents' story started.

"He said I didn't owe him anything, and that it was okay. So I asked him, if it was the other way around, would you trust me to save your life?" Natasha let out a shaky breath, and she smiled feebly while a tear slipped past her cheek. "He said he would now."

"I don't get it..." Allie said weakly, "If you feel this way for Steve... then why are you with Bruce?

Natasha chuckled humorlessly. "I guess that's the only question that matters, does it?"

Natalia Alianovna Romanova wasn't supposed to form deep connections with people. Hell, she wasn't even supposed to form attachments at all. She was a spy. She does things because she needed to get the job done; nothing else should be more important than a mission. She knows this. She's been doing this for as long as she could remember.

And now, she even had the audacity to gain affections for someone as pure and good as Steven Grant Rogers when she was nothing like him.

Allie's gaze hardened. "Yes, because it's the only thing that doesn't make sense! You love Steve," Natasha's mouth fall limp at her accusation, but before she could say anything, Allie went on, "And I know for a fact that he feels the same way too."

Natasha scoffed. "How would you know that? You just got here."

"Exactly." Allie reiterated, "I'm new here but it was enough to see how much you both cared for each other. It's so obvious, especially with that last mission we went on. And with all due respect, Agent Romanoff, but if Cap didn't feel the same way then why did he break up with Sharon Carter?"

"I don't know!" Natasha exclaimed, lying by the skin of her teeth, "And you shouldn't either because it's not our business to know!"

Allie raised a brow, "For a spy, you don't seem to be good at lying right now."

"Oh, for God's sake, Allie. It's not that easy, okay? I wish it was but it isn't. I've woken up long enough to know that me and Steve are two different people. We came from two different worlds that were just thrown into this mess. It won't work."

"Because you're not giving it a chance," Allie argued, "You can't decide this for yourself."

"He can do better than me, Allie."

Allie groaned inwardly. Her mom may be smart but she's so dense when it comes to discussions like these. "So you settle for Bruce? That's a little mean."

"I'm not settling." Natasha defended, "I just know my place in this world, Bruce does too. And we both know we don't belong here."

"But I thought you love Steve." Allie repeated, more harshly this time.

Natasha was taken aback, not knowing why she was so affected by this, but understood enough on why she was so upset. She was just a kid after all. Allie thought of love as innocently as she is. She didn't know how ugly it could get, that love is more of a gray area, and that just because two people love each other doesn't mean they're meant to be together.

She smiled faintly, swallowing her breaking heart. "I do love him." Her voice faltered. "And that's why I did this."

Allie kept her mouth shut. What else could she possibly say? It hurt enough to hear her own mother giving up on her dad. That she's thinking she's not right for him because he deserves someone better than her.

What Natasha failed to realize that for Steve, there was no one else better than her. She was already the best.

Uncomfortable silence stretched between them once more, and Allie was already preparing to leave because this wasn't the way she wanted to end both their nights.

"Oh, hey, Cap." A voice echoed from a distance.

Both Natasha and Allie froze.

"What're you doing here?" It sounded like James.

Natasha most of all. Her breath hitched, and she shut her eyes closed, desperately hoping that what she heard wasn't right. She couldn't bear to even face the possibility of it. Oh, God. Her dignity is what's in the line here. Please. Please. Don't do this to me.

Allie was the first to turn around, her face paling at the sight of James.

And Steve.

James look perplexed, yet ashamed at the same time when he realized what he just possibly interrupted.

"Uh..." Allie started, still in a state of shock. "Hi."

Steve looked just as shaken up as she was, but he wasn't looking at her. Instead, his noticeable blue eyes even with the dimness of the room, was trailing over to Natasha's form. She was still not making a move to meet any of their gaze.

"Hi." Steve echoed, his voice audible enough for them to hear. He still didn't move. His eyes held so much questions tucked under a swarm of emotions. He looked relieved, happy, even... but confused and hurt at the same time?

Allie stood up, knowing that this moment could be their only chance to fix everything, and hurriedly strode out of the room. "I'm gonna go." She grabbed her brother's arm, squeezing it a little too tightly.

"Ow!" James hissed.

Allie glared at him. Then she looked back to where Steve and Natasha were, silently praying that they would just kiss and make up already, before leaving the scene.

Steve didn't waste any time. He was too fed up from all her reasons, her constant need to escape him, and her argument that she wasn't good enough for him and never will be. Out of everything he heard, there was only one thing that stuck out to him. One thing that mattered.

I do love him. And that's why I did it.

Steve thought it was too late when he saw the way she was with Bruce. When the team met up again to fight Ultron. She looked happy, so he let her be. The possibility of him and Natasha sharing something special was the most ridiculous thing he thought of. Apparently, whatever they had in D.C. remained in D.C. alone.

He thought she was moving on, so he tried to do the same. He tried to find happiness with Sharon, and he did, but only for a short while. He didn't feel that happiness he was longing for.

But now it made sense. It all became clearer to him now.

"You do love me."

It was barely a whisper, but his words echoed against her ears loud enough to match the storm brewing in her chest. Padam. Padam. Her heart thumped. The way he said it wasn't a question, it was a declaration. A realization.

That all this time, everything they created, everything that they shared in D.C.-it was all still here. These feelings that they decided to tuck away in a blanket of denial. If only one of them was brave enough to take a step further; brave enough to admit that it hurt seeing another person making them laugh instead of them.

When they pushed each other away instead of pulling one another back, it was all wrong.

Natasha stood up and slowly made her way until she was standing just a foot from him. Her eyes shone with intensity, reflecting the way she was feeling at this very moment. She didn't know what made her do it... the thought of not being able to lie to him again, or the possible mistake of pushing him away. But she was tired. Tired of holding back. Tired of running away from the one thing that's right in her life.

"I do," she declared softly.

If only they hadn't left to search for something they never lost in the first place, maybe, all of this could've been avoided.

Steve felt a tear trickle down his cheek. No other words were spoken. No one needed to because they both knew. Without hesitance, he leaned forward and wrapped her in his arms.

Natasha held onto him tightly, like she was afraid of letting him go the second time. She buried her face in his chest, and let her walls crumble down.

-----------------------------

Scott thought he was seeing stars. Apparently, he had drank a lot more than he was supposed to and was now facing the aftermath of it.

Add onto that, some big guy had bumped into him that sent him smacking his face against the wall.

Rhodey laughed at him. "Dude, that is rough."

Clint was snickering as well, but he tapped his shoulder to check if he was still alive. "You okay, man?"

Scott blinked numerous times, shaking his head vigorously in an attempt to shake it off. "Yeah, yeah! I'm fine! Let's go for another round!"

Clint snatch the glass from his hands. "I think that's enough for tonight, where's your cousin? You should take off while you're still able to walk."

Scott waved him off, "Pfft! I'm fine. See?" He almost tripped and fell flat on the floor if Clint hadn't caught him.

"Yeah, we're calling your cousin." Clint ushered him over to one of the bar stools while he searched for Scott's phone. "Rhodes, can you hold him up for me?"

Rhodey did as he was told. "Sure."

Clint placed Scott's phone in front of his face to unlock it. He proceeded to search through his contacts and dial Lana's number. She picked it up after four rings. "Hello?"

"Hey, Lana. It's Clint. Listen, we have a bit of a situation here and I think your cousin's halfway dead already."

"I'm sorry, who is this?"

Clint covered one of his own ears and spoke louder, practically yelling, "It's Clint! Can you come over for a sec? We're at the bar. Scott's drunk already."

Seconds passed by silently and Clint thought the call had been disconnected when Lana's voice sounded again, "I'm sorry, who are you? And what do you mean, Scott's drunk, is he okay? Wait... is he at that party he was asking me to come?"

Now, it was Clint's turn to be befuddled. "Wha-what do you mean he asked you to come? I just saw you dancing a while ago."

Lana sounded annoyed now. "I'm sorry, but, if this is a drunken joke you're playing I don't want any part of it. Whoever you are, please just make sure Scott gets home safely."

"But-"

She hanged up.

Clint stared at the phone with wide eyes, not having a clue at what the hell just happened. Before he could to talk to Scott or Rhodey about it, Lana suddenly appeared from the crowd in front of him.

He almost jumped. "Lana?"

Lana laughed slightly, "Last time I checked, yeah." She looked at him, worried, "You okay?"

Clint couldn't muster up the words to ask what's going on. "But you said... I asked and you said..."

Lana lifted a brow. "What?" Then her eyes fleeted over to the phone in his hands, then up to meet Clint's eyes cautiously. His gaze turned harder, more doubting, as he clutched the phone tighter in his hands. Something was up. "Agent Barton?"

Clint gritted his teeth. "Who are you?"

Lana gaped at him, shocked at the sudden iciness in his tone. "I don't understand..."

Clint grabbed her arm tightly. "I'm not going to ask you again."

At first glance, Lana looked scared. Her brown irises staring back at him in fear that usually proves they're innocent. Her mouth quivered, "Agent Barton, please let me go."

Rhodey placed a hand on Clint's shoulder. "Hey, dude, you're hurting her. What's going on?"

Clint almost let her go. Almost believed in the little facade she put up, but he swore he saw a familiar glint in warm brown eyes. It looked terribly familiar because he knew he'd seen it somewhere before. He dealt with it before.

He remembered seeing something like that before he was... compromised.

Lana met his eyes again, like a flick of a switch, she knew her time was up. Her fearful expression was immediately replaced with a wicked grin. An evil smirk.

Clint's eyes narrowed, mouth dropping in horror. "Loki?"

Loki grinned, the feminine voice suddenly changing.

"Surprise."

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ E N D O F C H A P T E R ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

Okay, I said there were like two or three chapters left in this story, right? Technically, yeah + the epilogue soooo...

Don't worry whatever happens, Romanogers is going to be endgame in this fic!! SO CALM UR ASSES DOWN AND STOP ATTACKING ME PLS HAHAHAHA I HATE STARON AND BRUTASHA AS MUCH AS U GUYS DO

I'm sorry if this chapter's shorter than the previous one but it is a pretty long chapter enough. About 4k words lmao.

AND THAT PLOT TWIST YES LOKI IS THAT BTCH. I wonder what's his business here hmm... what do u guys think he's after?

AND THAT SWEET LIL MOMENT BETWEEN NAT AND STEVE. I know it's short but I think it's best to keep it at that because they didn't need to talk much to know how much they love each other.

ANYWAY, pls leave comments and votes while u can guys! AND ALSO, sorry to say if I'm updating this book more than Against All Odds. I just rlly want to finish this now bc it has only a couple chapters left.