It was unusually cold and damp for a July day, even for New York. Natasha’s little sister, who they later found out was named Hetalia, turned out to be in the country about a job with the Avengers.

“Fury was looking to replace Nat before she even died?” Clint asked in shock.

Tony rolled his eyes as he wiped some machine grease off his face. “Of course. If something were to happen to their spy, they’d need a new one ASAP.”

“But what if she had pulled through?”

Toni wiped grease off her face and tightened her pony tail. “They’d either have two spies, they’d tell the new kid to get out, or they’d give the new kid a different position.”

Tony smiled slightly and wrapped an arm around his daughter. “I like this kid more and more everyday.”

Loki sighed and continued to pace, a sign that he was trying extremely hard to understand what was going on. “But why would they hire their current spy’s little sister?”

Hetalia cleared her throat and adjust herself in the overly comfortable chair. “Actually,” she started, startling some with her accent. “They didn’t know that I was her sister.”

“What do you mean?” Brooke asked as she sipped from a cup of coffee.

The Russian stood and crossed her arms across her chest. “They didn’t even know my real name. They just knew me under my professional name.”

Tony leaned forward with interest. “Which is?”

“The Shadow,” she said hesitantly.

“You’re The Shadow?” Bruce asked in awe.

Hetalia only nodded as she ran a hand through her long, red hair.

“Who’s The Shadow?” Toni asked. “I mean, I get that Hetalia is this person, but why are you guys so surprised?”

“She’s called The Shadow because of how elusive and cunning she is,” Clint said softly. “She puts all other spies to shame and has been doing so for nearly ten years. She’s basically one of the best New Age vigilantes since Spider Man.”

“And how old are you?” Brooke asked, mouth gaping slightly.

“Twenty,” she replied.

“Holy shit,” Brooke said breathlessly. “You’re barely older than me, and I’m not even tumblr famous yet!”

Hetalia pulled on her sweater sleeve and looked down at her feet. “It’s not something I exactly brag about,” she said quietly as she continued to tug her sleeve.

Bruce noticed this tic and leaned towards her. “What’s wrong?” he asked.

Hetalia only shook her head. “I am sad about my sister’s death,” she replied bluntly. “Today is her funeral. I’m sad, doctor.”

Bruce shrugged his shoulders and adjusted his black tie. “Right,” he said uneasily.

****

The scene would’ve been a lot more beautiful if the clouds would’ve given them a bit more space, but nonetheless, Toni had not seen such a gorgeous piece of scenery since the little meadow in the woods by her mom’s house.

Even with the overcast skies, the large cherry-blossom tree looked happy, even welcoming. The grass was the greenest green and treated with the upmost care. Different shades of red and pink flowers near the base of the hill broke up the green “monotony” and almost seemed to give a warning of the tree’s brilliance. About three or four feet from the base of the tree sat a beautiful granite grave stone with Natasha’s name on it.

The funeral itself was…uneventful, to say the least. But this? This was the most emotion that the Avengers collectively shown since Toni had come to the Tower. All eleven of them stood on the little hill, paying their respects.

Pamplemousse walked forward and put one hand on the gravestone and the other placed a brilliant blue carnation at the base of it. “I miss you already, Nat,” she said quietly. “Bruce is my daddy now, so I’m happier, but I wish you could be happy with us.”

The young girl walked away and Thor took her place, setting a pink carnation near the blue one. “I have never had a sister,” the god started. “But you are the closest I have ever come to, and for that, I am thankful.” Thor hung his head and stifled a sob. “Sleep well, my Shield Sister.”

Thor felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up to see Loki standing next to him, carnation in hand. Thor smiled weakly at his brother and stood alongside him. Loki kneeled down and placed the green flower next to Thor’s. “I will never forget the times we had, Miss Romanoff,” he said as he stared at the engraved name on the headstone.

The brothers then walked away, having Bruce take their place. “You won’t be forgotten, Nat,” he said simply as he set down a yellow carnation on top of Loki’s.

Brooke and CJ, holding hands for support, were next to say goodbye. Brooke placed her white carnation next to Pamplemousse’s and sniffled. “I wish…I wish it didn’t have to be this way.”

CJ set down her black carnation opposite of Brooke’s, not saying anything as she did so.

Schaefer went next, placing a brilliant orange carnation on top of Pamplemousse’s. “I vould’ve loved to meet you,” he said quietly. “I’ve read all of Coulson’s reports. You vere one of his pride and joy.”

After, Tony and Toni walked up together and placed a red and a purple carnation, respectively. “You protected my daughter,” Tony said as he started to tear up. “And for that, I couldn’t be more thankful.”

“Goodbye, Nat,” Toni said quietly. “I’m sorry it had to end like…like this.”

Her dad nudged her and helped her back to the rest of the group.

Hetalia went next, tugging slightly on her black sweater sleeve. “You’ve done more for me than I could ever tell,” she said with her thick accent ringing true. “So I’ll just say this one and only thing: I’m sorry. I’m sorry I couldn’t do more for you, my sister.” As the tears started to slide down her face, she set down the magenta carnation on top of all the others and walked away hesitantly.

Clint sighed and gripped the flower tightly in his hand as he walked forward. “Hey, Nat,” he said quietly. “I, uh, I know you’re not one for sentiment, but I got you this flower. It’s…it’s lilac, the color of that blouse you wore one night in Budapest. But I…I thought that, um, I would get you this, too.” Clint, with tears starting to form in his eyes, pulled an arrow from out of his jacket sleeve and wrapped the stem gently around the shaft so the gorgeous blossom was near the point of the arrow. “It…it has your name on it,” he said softly through the tears. “I know I can’t be here every hour of everyday, but I thought I could at least be here in spirit with you, just as you’ll be with us in spirit, too.”

He leaned the arrow against the side of the grave stone and sighed, letting the sadness finally sink in. “I miss you already, Natasha.”

****

The living room had been practically silent for nearly three hours. Nobody said a word and nobody dared to move. They had all just been sitting there for what seemed like an endless period of time.

Then, out of nowhere, Hetalia started to giggle quietly.

“What’s so funny?” Clint asked.
“I am just remembering something that Natasha and I used to do as children before we became spies.”

“And what would that be?”

Hetalia smiled and sat up a little straighter. “We would play house with our neighbor. Natasha always played the mom and the neighbor boy always played the dad. It was great fun. Then, one day, I told Natasha that I wanted to be the mom for once. And you know what? She let me! I was six years old, and I was telling Natasha what to do. After that, we never played house again.”

“Why?” Clint asked, feeling a lot more light-hearted than before.

“That was when she was sent to her spy training,” Hetalia replied simply.

Clint nodded and started to smile. “I remember this one time, while Nat and I were dating, we had been put on a mission together in Montreal. The mission was kind of a bust, so we just had, like, a month together in Canada. We spent the entire time skiing and building snow forts. It was like being a kid again.”

Thor sat forward, a grin spreading across his face. “I remember once when the spy and I cooked a mighty feast one night for you holiday called Christmas. It was truly a delight!”

“You mean attempted to cook?” Bruce said with a smile. “Did you guys set the oven on fire?”

“No, no. That was for your holiday called Thanksgiving,” Thor replied as he let his booming laugh resound through the house. “By Christmas, we had learned how to use your cooking appliances.”

Toni laughed and shook her head. “I remember when I first met her, I was still wearing my cupcake pjs. I felt so ridiculous! I don’t know if she even noticed.”

“She did,” Clint interjected. “She thought they were cute and wanted to know where you got them.”

“Old Navy,” Toni said with a smile. “They were on sale, too!”

Everyone in the living room burst out laughing and smiling, enjoying the memories of Nat. “I vish I vould’ve known her,” Schaefer suddenly said. “Coulson and the rest of SHIELD seemed to be very fond of her.”

“I can see why,” Loki said, trying not to smile. “She was a pretty great person.”