𝐒𝐎𝐋𝐀𝐑 𝐄𝐂𝐋𝐈𝐏𝐒𝐄 ➳ 𝙥𝙟𝙤 // 𝙖𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙧𝙨

x

Scott and Steve had gone ahead and readied the car to go meet Tony while Nat went and got Clint. As the Quinjet landed on the landing pad in front of the building, Scott and Steve glanced up at the jet. The ramp opened up and our stepped Natasha, Nico, and Clint. Natasha had sent Steve a message giving him a heads up about the situation with Nico and Clint, warning him not to act hostile towards either of them.

Nico let out a sharp gasp upon seeing Steve. Nat turned around to see someone who was no longer a serious, brooding adult - she saw an awestruck innocent teenager, eyes filled with hope. When Nico's eyes met Natasha's, his facade went back up. Steve had noticed this reaction and he waved a little at Nico.

Nico raised his hand tentatively and waved. "Captain America?" he began slowly.

"Yup," Steve replied, the corner of his eyes crinkling slightly as he smiled.

"Wait, how do you know who Steve is but not who the Avengers are?" Natasha asked Nico when the three of them had finished walking down the ramp.

"Uh-" Nico began to reply but Steve cut in.

"You were born in the 30s, weren't you?" Steve confirmed.

Nico nodded slowly. "'32," he said, still in shock. "You're my idol." Steve smiled back warmly and held out his big, muscled hand for Nico to shake. Nico shook it with the widest grin on his face. Clint hadn't seen him smile since before Will died.

"You're both old men! Ha!" Clint laughed, the first thing he'd said this whole conversation.

"You two have met before, you know that, right?" Nat asked again. "Remember, five years ago?"

"When you tried to kidnap me?" Nico chuckled humorlessly. "I wasn't exactly thinking straight then. I don't think I processed what was happening. Besides, you were wearing your helmet, Captain."

"Sorry about that, by the way," Steve rubbed the back of his neck.

"Don't be," Nico sighed. "I killed, and it was wrong."

"We all have a past," Nat murmured, her mind flashing back to when she was in the Red Room.

"But we get a chance for redemption," Clint nodded. "This is ours." He wrapped an arm around Nico's shoulder and Nico grunted but didn't attempt to get out of the embrace.

Scott simply stood there, confused, as always. "Excuse me, hello?" he cut in, hesitant. All eyes turned towards him and he laughed awkwardly. "Can we start working on getting everyone back? The reason we're all here?"

Nico's guard went back up and his eyes turned cold. "Yes," he breathed. "Let's get everyone back."

— — name the time skip! — —

The five of them drove all the way over to Tony Stark's lakeside cabin, where Clint was surprised to hear that Tony had a five year old daughter named Morgan. When they pulled into the driveway, Morgan had on an Iron Man mask and a blaster on her hand. She and Tony were playing by the shed, and Nat felt bad for barging in on his quiet family.

Clint and Nico started to unbuckle their seatbelts, but Nat turned around from the front and said, "You two stay in the car."

"Why?" Clint frowned. Nico rolled his eyes. He didn't have a problem with staying in, so long as he didn't have to confront anyone.

"I want Nico to stay here but I know he has a tendency to... slip into the shadows, so someone needs to keep an eye on him." Nat eyed Nico and he scowled.