Natasha woke up to the jolt of the plane touching down. Blinking slowly, she shifted only to find her head resting on Steve's shoulder. His head was on top of hers and she couldn't honestly say she remembered the armrest moving up. The two had become nearly one person during the flight and Natasha didn't want to move in case the action woke Steve.

"We're here!"

Wanda smirked at Natasha before pressing her face against the window. Her shout had woken Steve up, though, so Natasha lifted her head from his shoulder. The two quickly untangled themselves before Sam could notice and reached for their things. They were standing at the door waiting when the plane finally came to a stop. A moment later, the door dropped down and Wanda was the first one off the plane. 

Standing beside a car in front of them, Happy smiled. "Welcome home."

They all smiled back and climbed into the car so they could take the twenty-minute drive up to the Compound.

As soon as they arrived, the door to the Compound opened. Before Natasha could see who it was, the door slammed shut as whoever it was realised they'd been spotted. Confused, Natasha hummed to herself and stepped out of the car after Wanda. 

They had barely stepped onto the porch when the door flew open and Natasha was buried in a mass of red hair.

"Natasha!" Pepper cried happily, hugging her tightly. Natasha grinned and returned the tight hug, pretending she didn't know how bad she must smell.

Pulling away, Pepper frowned reached for Natasha's short, blonde hair.

"Well, I guess I'm the only redhead now," she said. Her frown turned back into a smile when Natasha rolled her eyes and hugged her again.

Stepping inside the Compound, Natasha spotted Tony leaning against the couch with his arms crossed as he watched the four closely.

"You're blonde," was the first thing he said. Natasha rolled her eyes and crossed the short distance to hug him. Although he was stiff, he hugged her back. "Good to have you back, Nat."

"Good to be back."

She caught sight of movement from behind him and glanced over to see a young boy trying to pretend he wasn't watching the four. 

"Oh, this is Peter," Tony said, following her gaze. Peter's head snapped up at his name and he smiled shyly at Natasha. "Peter, this is Natasha."

"Yeah," Peter said, nodding excitedly. "She's the Black Widow."

"Yep," Tony replied. In a loud whisper, he turned to Natasha and said, "He's a big fan. Probably gonna ask for an autograph sometime."

"Mr. Stark!" Peter's face turned red and Tony chuckled, patting his shoulder.

"Come on," he said, pushing the boy towards the door. "Happy'll take you home."

When Peter tried to protest, Tony gave him a sharp look.

"Let them settle in before you hound them," he said, making Peter turn even redder as he gathered his things and hurried out to Happy.

"He's cute," Natasha said, watching Peter disappear.

"Yeah." Tony shrugged. "A little accident-prone, but I suppose he's worth keeping around."

Steve approached them then, hesitantly and clearly apologetic. For a moment, Natasha worried they might not relax around each other, but Steve smiled and Tony smiled back, albeit reluctantly.

"Good to have you back, Cap," Tony said, holding out his hand.

Steve ignored his outstretched hand and hugged his old friend. While Tony didn't relax, he did awkwardly pat Steve's back.

"I'm truly sorry, Tony," Steve told him, releasing the billionaire. "I'm glad we could fix things."

"Well, when all's said and done," Tony said, which Natasha knew was as close to acceptance as Tony would get. It would be a while before he felt comfortable around Steve again, but at least he was making an effort.

Turning back to Natasha suddenly, Tony announced, "Tasha, you smell like death."

Natasha snorted. "Thanks."

"Really, do take a shower," Tony told her, waving a hand in front of his nose.

Natasha shook her head with a smile, but she didn't have anything planned until after she showered. She knew how she smelled.

"Also," Tony added, "go to medical and get your hand looked at."

And to think, she had thought he wouldn't notice that old bandage wrapped around her palm.

"It's fine," she told him. She moved her hand out of his sight nevertheless. "It's old."

"Don't care."

She rolled her eyes then turned her back on her friend to head up the stairs and to her room where she could take a shower.