*Here's the final chapter! The sequel, "Fixing the Family" should be up within the next week, but I like to take my time writing the next part of things before I upload, so I apologize if this chapter came or the sequel comes out slower than some of you want. Anyways, enjoy!
It's been a few days since Tony agreed to help them with time travel, and things were progressing quickly. Today, they were going to get the stones. Everyone was nervous and hopeful for the good outcome. Natasha had been glad that they managed to get Clint and Thor to help, because they all needed redemption.
While getting last minute things prepared, Natasha stole away from the group. She was seated in the common area where Jamie had first made her a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. She smiled softly at the memory.
She was staring at her phone when she heard Tony say, "You should call them."
She looks up, "I know."
He climbs on to the bar stool next to her and they sit in silence for a few moments.
She sighs, "We could die today."
Tony snorts, "We've been in this situation before."
She looks at him, "It's different and you know it."
Tony nods, "Yeah. It'll be worth it to keep them safe."
Natasha nods.
They are quite for a few minutes before she says, "If...if something happens to me, I want you or Pepper to be the one to tell Jamie. And you should bring Clint and Steve. They should know about them. You can tell Bruce and Thor, but they're not exactly inconsipicious. They can meet the kids at a less overwhelming time."
Tony nods, "You're not going to die Nat."
"Neither are you, Tony," she said.
Neither one acknowledged that they believed the other.
Tony cleared his throat, "Well okay. Um...call your husband. I have to finish a few things."
Tony walked out the room and Natasha facetimes Jamie.
Jamie picks up with a smile, "Hey."
"Hey yourself," Natasha answers.
"Hi Mama!" Cam says.
"Mama!" Frankie says happily.
Nat chuckles, "Hey guys. What are you doing in bed with Daddy?"
"Well," Jamie answers, "Frankie claims it's impossible to fall asleep in her bed without her mom to make sure it's safe. And Cam claims that he's here for emotional support."
Natasha smiles, "Of course. But, you guys have to get ready for school and ballet."
"Mama, I show you dance?" Frankie asks excitedly.
Natasha nods, "Sure baby."
Frankie climbed off of her parents bed with her brother's help and starts to do her little dance.
Natasha smiles once Frankie finishes, "Good job, Anya."
"Thank you!"
"Ok well go get ready for dance class. I'll see you soon. Love you."
"Love you too," Frankie says as she runs back to her room.
Natasha turns to Cam, "You should go get ready too."
He sighs dramatically, "Do I have to?"
Natasha nods, "Yep. Get going so I can talk to your Dad. Love you."
Cam smiles, "Love you too," as he walks out of the room.
"Be good!" Natasha calls after him.
"Maybe," he calls back.
Jamie shakes his head as he gets up and closes the door behind Cam, "They miss you."
"I miss them," Natasha admits.
"You guys are doing it today?" Jamie asks.
"Yep. Clint and I are going to space in the past."
Jamie shakes his head, "That sounds ridiculous yet really cool at the same time."
"And terrifying," Natasha adds.
"I have faith everything will work out how it's suppose to be," Jamie sits on the bed.
"Yeah…," Natasha says swallowing, debating if she wants to say more.
They stare into each others eyes for what feels like hours, drinking in every ounce of each other.
"I love you," Natasha says.
"Love you too," Jamie whispers.
Natasha hangs up the call before either one of them can say anything else. She sits in silence for a few moments before Clint walks in.
"Hey," he says noticing that she's a little emotional, "you alright?"
Natasha nods, "Yeah. It's just that….it's a lot."
He nods.
She looks at him, "It will work Clint."
"You don't know that," Clint says looking downwards.
"Someone told me that they have faith that everything works out the way it was supposed to be."
"Do you believe them?"
"Yeah. I think I do."
Clint gives her a look, "Have you become an optimist in the last five years?"
She gives him a sad smile, aching to tell him everything but holding back, "You have no idea what I've become in the last five years. Come on, we have a world to save."
Clint followed Natasha out of the kitchen, kind of confused by the statement.
A soul for a soul, Natasha thinks as she stares down at the cliff.
Clint looks at her, "We know who it has to be."
She stares at him. For the last five years, all he's wanted was to get his family back. To have his happy ending. She got hers. She got a man who loved her unconditionally. She had a charming little boy who wormed his way into her heart; and she has her mini-me, her little Anya. She even got loyal companion in Stark. She knew they would survive without her. She didn't know if Clint could survive without his.
"Yeah. We do."
"I'm starting to think we mean different people here, Natasha."
Natasha barely hears herself speaking to Clint. She's thinking about the fact she's going to miss Frankie's dance recital. She will be cute in her little ballerina tutu.
"Don't you go and get all decent on me now."
She's thinking about Cam's science project as she convinces Clint to live. He and Jamie were suppose to spend a lot of time on it this weekend which would have inevitably gotten Tony involved.
"I don't judge people based on their worse mistakes," she tells him.
"Well maybe you should."
"You didn't."
Clint swallows, "You're a pain in my ass, you know that?"
The hold each other silently for a moment before Clint steps back and says, "Ok. You win."
He smirks and Natasha knows they're about to fight. They fight and all Nat can think of is her family. All of it. She sees Cam and Nate playing in the yard with Cooper pretending not to care. She sees Lila fussing over Frankie, finally having a little sister. Laura and Clint are there, cooking burgers. Jamie is standing next to them, with a slightly sad look in his eyes but otherwise he's happy. They're all alright.
She looks up at Clint. She managed to get to she was hanging off of the cliff. She can see it in his eyes he doesn't want her to die. He's scared to loose her like he lost them. She's glad that he'll get to meet her children and Jamie. They'll help him and he'll them.
"Let me go."
"No. Please….no," Clint says crying.
"It's ok," she says whispering.
"No…"
She pushes off of the rock.
"Are you making peanut butter and jelly? That's really your epic plan?"
"You can't judge since you eat cereal everyday. Plus this is a sophisticated sandwich reserved for good things. Unlike a plain peanut butter sandwich."
She rolled her eyes and decided to ignore his 'good thing' bit, "Yeah but peanut butter and jelly? I have never heard of that sandwich referred to as sophisticated."
He lays out four pieces of bread. He unscrews the peanut butter cap and begins to spread the peanut butter on two of the pieces of bread.
"It's an emotionally sophisticated sandwich."
"An emotionally sophisticated sandwich?"
He nods as he begins to apply the jelly to other to pieces of bread.
"It also has magically powers."
She smiles. It really did.
Tony's staring out into the lake with the rest of the original Avengers. None of them are talking just staring out into the water.
"Do we know if she had any family?" Bruce asks.
"Just us," Steve responds.
Tony clears his throat, "That's not exactly true."
"What?" Clint looks up in surprise. Tony can already see the guilt forming behind his eyes.
"Don't do that, Clint. Nat knew what she was giving up. You know you couldn't have stopped her."
Steve looked at Tony, "What did she give up?"
Tony swallows, "A husband…"
"Nat was married?" Bruce asked surprised while Clint looked down as more tears threatened to fall.
Tony nods, "For the last two years. They've been dating for four. They have two kids."
Now Clint was openly crying while the rest were in shock.
"How old?" Steve whispers.
"Seven and two," Tony responds.
Clint looks up, "Why didn't she tell us?"
Tony looks down, "Because after Thanos we were all broken. She wanted her kids to meet the people who were her family and not what we'd become. She wanted to wait until we weren't as damaged or we found you, Clint. Then when the time travel came up, she was going to tell you guys when we brought everyone back. So her family was put back together."
Everyone is silent with Tony's revelation.
Clint wipes his tears, "Are you going to tell them?"
Tony nods, "Yes, I'll call them. But first, we need to make sure she didn't die in vain. We need to bring everyone back."
The others nod and they start to head back to the compound.
Clint stares at the house crafted in the woods. The battle was over. They had won. He was going to see his family again. At the cost of two of his best friends lives. Pepper had been destroyed with the news of Tony's death, so he had volunteered to tell Jamie about Nat and Tony. He just wasn't sure he was ready to face what was inside the house. It wasn't fair.
He looks up when a man steps out of the house with a dog by his side. The man was pale and had bright blue eyes. His hair was dark. He was obviously handsome. The dog perked up and trotted towards Clint. He starts sniffing Clint and he looks around. Clint has a feeling he knows who he's looking for.
The man walks over to Clint and Clint decides his time to decide what to do is up.
Clint stutters, "Hi...I'm um…"
"Agent Clint Barton," the man says.
Clint looks up in surprise, "You know who I am?"
He nods as he kneels to pet his dog. He rests his forehead on the pups before saying, "Yep. I figured you'd be stopping by once people started coming back. You guys won?"
Clint nods, not sure what to say.
Jamie breathes out a shaky breath, "Good. She wouldn't have been able to live with herself if she hadn't. Tony's gone too, isn't he?"
Clint looks up in surprise and Jamie gives him a watery smile, "If he was alive, he and Pepper definitely would have come to tell me about Nat. And if Nat was still here, she would be with you. She always wanted you to meet the kids."
Clint nods, "I'm sorry. It's-"
"Don't say it's your fault. No one every made Natasha Romanoff do something she didn't want to do. No one."
He stands up and looks at Clint, "Plus, it'll make it pretty hard to develop a friendship with you. I'm pretty sure Nat will haunt me if you don't have a relationship with her kids."
Clint gives a small laugh, "Probably. By the way, we uh had a deal about kids….and...um…"
Jamie chuckles, "She's just as much as a traitor as your youngest."
Clint chuckles, "Just like her mother."
Jamie nods, "Just like her mother."
Clint shakes his head, of course she was.
