AN/

Hey everyone. I wrote this story back in June (Pride Month) and I posted it on AO3 but I completely forgot to post it here. Anyways...here it is. This is 100% self-indulgent.

The headcanon in this fic is that Nat is pretty young, and still finding her way in America and SHIELD. This is not Clintasha, sorry. I know I usually write for them, but not this one.

Please give feedback and review!

MillyWidow

Knock, Knock...Knock

Clint Barton looked up from where he was sitting on the living room floor. He wasn't expecting visitors, and the only person who was likely to visit him, Natasha, doesn't knock.

"Coop, Lila, go upstairs and play in your bedrooms, don't come out till I say,"

The archer walks towards the door, grabbing the hidden gun and flicking the safety off.

He looks through the peeping hole and breathes a sigh of relief when he sees the familiar red hair.

Opening the door he greets the guest

"Hey Nat, didn't know you were coming."

"Neither did I," she follows him into the landing and puts her bag down.

"LAURA, KIDS, AUNTIE NAT IS HERE," he yells and the hurried sounds of footsteps greet their ears.

"Auntie Nat!" Lila screams and jumps in her arms.

"эй принцесса (Hey, Princess)"

"Daddy didn't tell us you were coming."

"No he did not," a voice remarked from the stairs. A voice that never fails to calm her. Laura.

"Hey Laura" she waved nervously, an un-Natasha-like action.

"In my defence, I didn't know either," the archer said, trying to redeem himself.

"Alright kids, you have schoolwork to do,"

"Muuumm, Auntie Nat is here," Lila whines

"-and she will still be here this afternoon, and I would like to talk to her privately,"

"That's so unfair," Cooper rolls his eyes and storms upstairs.

"Don't mind him, he's almost 10 and he thinks that means he's an adult,"

"Charming,"

"Don't get me started. Clint, can you get us some coffee, let's go into the living room."

The trio walks into the sunlit room, the redhead's hands shaking slightly.

"You feeling okay, honey?" Natasha barely hears Laura's question through her thoughts.

"Yeah," her words are shaky, like her hands, and her breath comes in laboured heaves.

"Hey. Hey. Come sit down,"

"Tasha love, whatever is wrong, we're here," the older woman lowers her voice and takes the assassin's hands in hers.

"I was always told it was wrong, but then it's okay, but what if it's not?" she admitted. Clint walked back in with their drinks at that moment, just as confused as Laura.

"What did you think was wrong?" the brunette asked.

"What I am,"

"Use your words, honey," Laura whispers, squeezing her hand.

Natasha takes a deep breath and closes her eyes. "I...I...imgay,"

"I didn't get that, can you repeat it slower."

"I'm...gay,"

Natasha opens her eyes and looks at the couple in front of her, trying to gauge their reaction. Both had blank looks of confusion that soon turned into little smiles. Clint moved to sit properly on the couch next to Laura and kissed her forehead.

"Is that what you had to tell us,"

The younger woman nodded slowly, her heart beating fast against her chest.

"Tasha love, did you think we wouldn't be okay with that?"

"It's not that... but what if you weren't"

"Natasha, we love you, you're like my little sister and Laura sees you as her child," he chuckles lightly before continuing, "we are going to love and accept you whatever you identify as,"

"But it's a disease," Natasha whispers, her voice small and insecure.

"NO. Natasha, no. Love is love, and despite what your old handlers told you, being gay is okay."

She looks up at her, hope filling her eyes, "really?"
"Pinky promise," she smirks and holds out her hand. Natasha reaches out her own shaky hand and Laura wraps her pinky around Nat's.

Tears start to fall and she feels like she can't breathe, the overwhelming situation, the stress, the love, it was too much. A panic attack rips through her and suddenly full-on sobs echo through her body.

Clint picks her up gently by the armpits and places her on his lap, resting her head against his chest as she sobs it all out.

Once the tears had subsided, Laura had gone to check on the kids, and Clint was brushing small circles on Natasha's back. Clint pulled her curly hair behind her ear, eliciting a small sigh from the assassin's mouth.

"If you don't mind me asking, do you know what you identify as?"

She shakes her head against his chest.

"Do you know the different sexualities?" He asks again, and he feels a small nudge against his chest, which signifies a 'no'.

"Well, the broad term is LGBTQIA. The L stands for lesbian, which is girls loving girls, the G is opposite - boys loving boys. B stands for bisexual, which means you like both genders. T means transgender, which is when a person doesn't connect to the gender they are born with and transition. The Q stands for queer or questioning, this means you know you are not hetero but you are not too sure what you are. And finally, the A stands for asexual, which means you don't feel sexual attraction to people."

He waits a moment for all of that to sink in and then continues.

"Now you don't have to label it right now, and you never have to. You don't have to tell anyone what you are, ever. It is your human right to love whoever you want to love. I just want you to know, Laura and I, are so incredibly proud of you."

She snuggles into his neck and closes her eyes, submitting this moment to memory.

"Do you have any questions? Any thoughts?"

"Maria is lesbian," she states out of the blue

"Okay," Clint answers, not sure how to respond to that.

"I think I am too," She admits, and Clint smiles.
"I'm so proud of you," He whispers and plants a kiss on her hairline.

They watch the sun go down and Laura joins them shortly after.

"So Maria huh?" Clint asks, raising his eyebrows suggestively.

"Shut up" she mumbles into his shirt, happy, and contempt.

loved.