“I’ll be back before you know it,” He said when they’d slipped into an empty room in the Avengers’ facility. There hadn’t been time to go anywhere else to say goodbye properly before he and Sam had to leave. Steve had found a lead - a small lead, but Natasha knew there really wasn't such a thing as small for Steve when it came to Bucky. Natasha debated insisting on going along, but as much as she wanted to she knew she couldn’t. Someone had to stay with the rest of the team, and she could see the struggle Steve had at even leaving in the first place - torn between his duty to the Avengers and his friend. Natasha knew the best thing she could do right then to help him was to stay, that he’d have one less thing to worry about if he knew she was handling the team. She hated it, but it
