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NATASHA LED THE THREE through back alleys and unpopulated streets, avoiding the eyes of anyone who happened to be outside so late at night. "So...where are we going exactly?" Rosalie questioned, looking around at the old buildings.

"Somewhere safe," Natasha answered simply.

Rosalie couldn't help but scoff. "I'm sorry, but no where is truly safe when the CIA is hunting you,"

Natasha looked over her shoulder with a smirk. "I'm sorry, but a lot of places are, if you know where to go."

"I-" She had nothing. Rosalie continued walking slowly, her jaw dropped.

Yelena walked up next to her, smirking. "Close your mouth. You will catch flies," She nudged her before jogging to catch up with her sister.

From her other side, Irina chuckled lightly. "Natasha has a point, you know?" She cocked a brow.

Rosalie sighed, her shoulders dropping. "I guess...but it's hard to hear," She ran a hand through her wig as it itched uncomfortably. "You know, I believed I was doing good."

"And I'm sure you did," Irina placed a soft hand on her forearm in comfort. "You didn't know Foster would do this!"

Rosalie rolled her eyes. "But I should have. If he's doing this to me, who's to say he hasn't done it to anyone else?" She watched Irina's face change as she debated her words. "He's a criminal, trying to blame other people for his mistakes. If I take this to the capital-"

"No!" Irina shook her head rapidly. "You said it yourself — Wyatt is a powerful man. He would probably weasel his way out of anything you say."

Rosalie huffed, becoming impatient. "But...but what if..." She had nothing. Irina was right. She would need solid proof of what Wyatt was doing, her word alone would mean nothing. "I'll figure something out," She concluded bitterly, picking up the pace. Irina shook her head and followed.

They didn't walk for much longer, stopping at a run down apartment building. "Up we go," Natasha announced as they began climbing the absurd amount of stairs. Of course, all women were extremely athletic, so it didn't tire them out, but it didn't make the climbing particularly fun either. They stayed silent to keep their breath and twenty-odd flights later, they made it to their destination.

"What was the point of that?" Yelena huffed hands on her knees. "Why are you so far up!"

Natasha shook her head with a chuckle. "It's the cheapest place we could find," She shrugged.

"Ugh," Yelena groaned. "I hate you,"

Rosalie patted Yelena's back softly. "Stairs? That's your weakness?"

Yelena rolled her eyes playfully and smacked Rosalie's hand. "Shut up," She huffed in Russian.

"We should keep moving," Natasha interrupted. "Standing in the stairwell isn't exactly common here," She pushed the three women through the door and into the main hallway of the floor. Each wall was lined with about six doors and Natasha walked them to the very end. She knocked on the door labelled 236 in a pattern Rosalie recognized as Morse Code. A muffled shout came from the inside and the door quickly swung open. Rosalie's jaw dropped. Steve Rogers, Captain America, was standing right in front of them, his face covered in stubble. "Hey," Natasha hugged him quickly.

"Everyone safe?" Steve asked her, eyes darting around the four women.

Natasha nodded. "Yes..." She breathed. "But let's get inside before we gather some unwanted attention.

Steve nodded. "Of course," He stepped aside. "After you, ladies," He allowed them through. Rosalie's heart was beating a mile a minute. She was walking past one of her childhood idols. Steve shut the door behind them and locked it. "No one followed you?"

Natasha threw her coat off with a scoff. "I'm hurt Steve, really," She smirked at him. "Of course we weren't followed."

Yelena sighed loudly and tore off her wig. "These things suck!" She proclaimed as she tossed the hair at Natasha.

"Melina's had those since the seventies, I think," Natasha chuckled.

"Ew," Irina scrunched her nose, removing her wig as well. Rosalie sighed, following their actions.

Rosalie could feel Steve staring at the four of them. Natasha coughed loudly. "Everything alright, Captain?"

"Oh! Yes, I'm alright!" Steve said quickly, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly, as his face turned pink from embarrassment.

Natasha tilted her head. "Okay...moving on. These lovely ladies are Yelena, Irina, and Rosalie," She pointed to them each as she said their name.

Steve nodded. "It's nice to meet you all. Yelena — your sister has told me a lot about you," Yelena laughed happily and looped her arm around Natasha's shoulders. "All good things."

"Of course! She knows what would happen if she said anything else!" Yelena laughed loudly, nuzzling Natasha.

"Ugh, you're so sappy," Natasha said sarcastically, softy pushing Yelena off of her.

As the two sisters tussled, Steve's eyes landed on Rosalie and she stopped breathing. "Are you Rosalie Mai?" He asked, taking a step forward.

Rosalie gulped, nodding shyly. "Y-Yes, sir,"

Steve chuckled softly and stuck up his hand. Rosalie shook it quickly, hoping he didn't notice how sweaty hers were. "Steve is just fine," Suddenly, his mood shifted as his face fell slightly. "I'm sorry about what's going on. You must be..."

"Terrified," Rosalie shrugged with a stiff chuckle. "Yeah. But I'm glad I have people like Yelena that could help me or else I think I would already be dead by now."

Steve tilted his head, his frown growing. "The three of us will do whatever we can to keep you safe,"

"Three?" Rosalie questioned.

"Oh, Sam Wilson. Falcon. He's out on a supply run currently, but you'll meet him at dinner tonight," Steve smiled softly.

Rosalie smiled back, her feelings of gratitude overwhelming her. "T-Thank you, Captain Rogers."

As she moved to leave the conversation, Steve carefully stopped her by the wrist. "I told you — call me Steve," His kind eyes smiled down at her.

Rosalie's throat dried as her face flushed. "S-Sorry...Steve," He nodded and as soon as his hand was off of her, Rosalie rushed to Natasha. "Where's the washroom?"

"Over there, oh!" As Natasha pointed, Rosalie sped past her and quickly shut the door.

She was breathing heavily. She was overwhelmed and overstimulated. Sitting on the small toilet, she took a moment to collect herself. She sat with her head in her hands and just breathed. She was thankful that over the minutes she was in there, no one bothered her. It wasn't until she heard the front door open did someone softly knock on the door. "Rosie? It's Yelena. May I come in?"

"...yeah," Rosalie said after a moment to breathe. Yelena quickly stepped in and shut the door behind her. "Hi," Rosalie looked up at her shyly.

Yelena tilted her head with a small smile. "Too much?" She asked.

"You know me so well," Rosalie chuckled bitterly.

Yelena placed a hand on her shoulder. "That's my job," She squeezed slightly. "Sam just got here with dinner if you're hungry. We are going to discuss strategies. You don't have to come if you aren't comfortable."

Rosalie shook her head, standing shakily. "No, no, it's alright. I'm coming,"

Yelena nodded and helped her out of the small cramped room. Rosalie could hear Sam's boisterous voice as soon as they stepped out into the main living area. Natasha, Irina, and Steve surrounded the dining table as Sam puttered about the kitchen grabbing plates, forks, and knives. Sitting on the table were two large bags of Chinese takeout. Suddenly, Rosalie felt better at the sight and smell of the food. Natasha heard their footsteps and turned around. She looked at Rosalie, concerned. "Everything okay?"

Rosalie nodded. "Yeah, I'm okay. I just got a little overwhelmed. It happens."

"If you're sure," Natasha nodded slowly. "Come and sit. We'll eat then discuss the serious stuff."

She didn't have to tell Rosalie twice. The dinner was one of the best she ever had — not because of the takeout but the people. She had never sat down at a table like this before — with people who were a real family and that didn't fight all the time. Sam was hilarious and bounced right off of Steve and Natasha. But once all the food was done and the plates were put away, the mood in the room shifted as everyone prepared for the hard conversation. "So..." Natasha began. "The CIA is hunting you. Where was the last location you were seen by them?"

"Moscow," Rosalie answered. "Wyatt sent me on a mission there and ambushed me and Yelena. We blew up the safe house and drove to Melina's,"

The three Avengers nodded. "And have you seen any signs of them since?" Steve asked.

"No, luckily. Melina gave us disguises," Rosalie explained. "As far as Wyatt knows, our last location was Russia, so he'll be searching around there. It will probably take him a while to realize we've headed west."

"Uh, I don't think he's doing that," Irina piped up. She was holding up her phone.

"What..?" Rosalie took it from her. It was an article about her. "I'm... an international fugitive?" Natasha and Yelena's faces paled. "What does that mean."

"It means..." Natasha sucked in a breath. "It's not just the CIA hunting you...it's the whole world."

AUTHORS NOTE
ahhhh. hello lovely people! one little thing about this chapter and Rosalie — her whole thing in the washroom is based in my personal experience with having ADHD and I've realized none of my oc's are canonically nerodivergent in anyway and so I decided to give Rosalie my mental illnesses — ADHD and anxiety!! fun!! I hope you enjoyed this kind of short chapter!!