This one's been sitting around in my drafts folder for ages, and I figured it was finally time to revisit the Laura-Nat friendship that I so adore.

Enjoy!

Up for a house guest?

Laura smiled as she read the text from Natasha. It had been awhile since she'd come to visit. Perhaps foolishly, she had thought the fall of SHIELD and then defeating Ultron would mean Nat would have a bit more free time. But then Steve had asked her to help train the new Avengers team, and all that possible free time disappeared.

Of course. You know you're always welcome here. :-)

Need me to bring anything?

Got any good chocolate?

I'm offended you asked that.

Laura shook her head and laughed, sending a laughing emoji in reply.

Just a few hours later, Laura opened the front door and found Nat standing there, a bag slung over her shoulder.

"Hi," Nat murmured, a small smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

"Hi yourself," Laura echoed, a wide smile on her face at the sight of her friend. "You made good time."

Nat shrugged. "I took one of Stark's new quinjet prototypes for a test run."

"Perk of being the boss around there, huh?"

"Perk of maintaining my terrifying reputation," she corrected with a smirk. "I get what I want that way."

Laura shook her head and laughed as she wrapped the redhead in a hug. "I've missed you," she said quietly, feeling Natasha's arms squeeze her back tightly.

"I'm sorry," Nat mumbled, her tone not dissimilar to a child facing a disappointed parent. "I know it's been awhile…"

"No, no," Laura interrupted as she pulled back to meet Nat's gaze, "that's not what I meant."

Nat was quiet for a moment, and Laura wondered if she'd unintentionally hit a sore spot. "I know," she replied softly. "But I'm still sorry. I should have come to visit after Nathaniel was born."

Laura's heart clenched at the guilt bleeding out of her tone. Nat had taken everything in stride, but she'd had a hell of a year. SHIELD falling, then everything with Ultron and Wanda's attack on her mind, and then Bruce… But she'd persevered and come out the other side with what appeared to be a renewed purpose in her new role as a leader in the Avengers. Laura had chalked up her lack of visits to the lack of free time, and nothing more.

Unable to quash her motherly instincts, Laura scrutinized her friend for a moment before she wrapped her up in her arms once more and squeezed tightly. "You're forgiven."

Nat offered a small smile as they broke apart. "We better get this chocolate inside before it melts," she said, holding up a plastic bag full of expensive European chocolate. "Unless you want fondue, that is."

"Yeah, yeah," Laura replied with a roll of her eyes, letting the obvious deflection slide. While Nat had never been one to lay all her cards on the table when it came to her emotions, Laura knew their friendship and the inherent trust and level of comfort that came with it afforded the redhead more leeway with sharing these sorts of things. Still, Laura knew they weren't the kind of thing you forced. Nat would share when she was ready.

"You want some lunch? I have some leftover lasagna from last night you can reheat."

"I ate before I left," Natasha said with a shake of her head as they made their way inside. "Thanks though."

Laura hummed in reply. "I'm gonna grab the little man. You want me to take your bag up?"

Nat's eyebrows rose in surprise. "Up? I thought my namesake had claimed my former room."

"Clint took Coop and Lila camping for the night, so you can sleep in Lila's room."

"The couch is fine."

"Nat," Laura said, a tinge of exasperation in her tone as she tilted her head. "You know Lila won't mind. In fact, she'll probably be ecstatic her favourite aunt slept in her room."

"You're sure?"

Laura nodded. "No reason for you to wreck your neck sleeping on that old thing."

"Okay," Natasha agreed with a quick bob of her head. "I'll bring it up," she added when Laura held out a hand to grab her bag.

Laura nodded again and then headed up the stairs, hearing Natasha's almost silent steps behind her. She stepped into Nate's room and found her son gazing up at her with a smile on his face, and arms clumsily reaching upwards. A smile spread across her face as she reached down to pick him up. The first few weeks after he was born had been a whirlwind of exhaustion and managing the care of a newborn and two other kids, not to mention getting used to having Clint home full time. But they'd all settled into a rhythm now, and as hesitant as she'd been when she had found out they were going to have another kid, she couldn't deny how happy she was now that he was here.

"He's gotten so much bigger."

Laura turned and found Nat in the doorway. "Yeah, I know. It feels like just yesterday he was this tiny thing in my arms," she agreed. "You want to hold him?"

Nat offered a small smile. "Sure."

"Okay, little man," Laura said as she made her way across the room, "time to meet your Auntie Nat."

She passed him over carefully, and felt a swell of emotion as he settled happily into her arms, gurgling his delight at meeting someone new. It was clear he felt safe in his aunt's arms, content to watch her and work out in his own way who she was to him.

"Hi," Natasha said softly, reaching a finger down to tickle his palm. He grabbed onto it tightly, and smiled widely, his other arm waving in excitement.

"I think he likes you," Laura said.

Natasha's smile widened. "I guess so."

They spent the next few hours entertaining Nathaniel, munching on pieces of chocolate, catching up on the goings on of both the new Avengers facility and the farmhouse, and then eating dinner. Natasha had successfully argued her way into solo cleanup duty, despite Laura's protests, and was in the kitchen washing their plates as Laura stretched out on the couch.

Laura took a deep breath as she considered the question she wanted to ask. Nat's text had been a surprise, and while nothing seemed out of the ordinary in terms of her behaviour, Laura couldn't shake the feeling that something had prompted the visit. "So..." she began, fixing her gaze on her friend's back as she rinsed one of the last few dishes. "You want to tell me what led to this impromptu visit? Or are we going to stick to gossip and tales of my husband's idiocy?"

Laura wasn't surprised when Natasha didn't freeze up or give away any sort of reaction to the question. The woman was arguably the world's best spy, after all. She was surprised though, when Natasha offered a more honest explanation than she'd been expecting. "I guess I just needed some time at home."

Laura considered her words. From the moment Clint brought Nat to the farmhouse for the first time, Laura knew he wanted to give her a place she could look forward to going. A place full of love and not associated with the darkness of her past. A place she could learn to be more than a tool of death. It had taken a long time, but eventually Natasha had grown comfortable at the farmhouse and had begun to relax more. Laura had found her curled up on the porch late one night, a mug of hot chocolate in her hands as she gazed up at the sky, her expression content.

"I think this is what home feels like," Natasha had whispered so softly that she'd nearly missed it. Laura's eyes had filled with tears as she realized that Nat hadn't understood until that moment what she and Clint had been trying to give her. She hadn't understood what it meant to open up their home to her and encourage her to make it her own as well. She hadn't understood that they'd been trying to give her the family that she'd never had.

So for Nat to readily admit now that she needed time at home meant something had happened. She doubted it was any sort of fallout from everything with Ultron. As shaken as she had been then, it seemed as though Nat had mostly made her peace with Dr. Banner's disappearance, and had worked through the impact of the memories that had been dredged up forcefully by Wanda. And it wasn't likely to be something related to the missions with the new Avengers team, since they'd only just begun to handle 'the small potatoes' as Clint had described. They weren't ready for the big stuff yet, and were apparently still very much a work in progress.

"Any particular reason why?" Laura asked, mindful to keep her tone light. As serious a question as it might be, there was no reason to ramp up the tension.

She saw Nat shrug. "Not really. It's been awhile, and I owed you guys a visit."

Laura didn't believe that was the extent of it, but didn't press the issue. "Well, it's nice to have you around. Clint being here 24/7 has certainly changed the dynamic around here."

Natasha laughed. "Sick of him already?"

"No, no, nothing like that," Laura explained. "Just made things different. I'd forgotten what it was like to have him around so much."

"I bet the kids love it," Nat offered as she finished drying the last plate.

"Oh yeah." She paused for a beat. "I think he feels guilty though, because he gives into anything and everything they ask for."

"Making up for lost time."

"Something like that."

"Could be worse," Nat said as she sat down on the other end of the couch. "At least he's not starting another renovation project."

Laura laughed. "That's true. The kids keep him too busy for that."

"Probably for the best. He told me he was planning on knocking down some walls in the dining room to make room for a workspace for you."

"Knowing him, he'd start that project, and then get busy with something else and we'd have to stare at partially knocked down walls for months."

Nat grinned. "That sounds about right."

They fell into a comfortable silence after that. Laura chanced a quick glance at Natasha and found her leaning back, her eyes closed and her breaths slow and steady.

"He misses you," Laura said quietly. She wasn't exactly sure how much Clint and Nat had been communicating after the Ultron debacle, but she suspected it wasn't as much as her husband hoped for. Nat had pulled away from them both.

Nat's eyes opened slowly and she turned to face Laura. "It feels strange without him chattering in my ear on missions," she admitted. Laura offered a smile knowingly. "But it's good that he's here."

"He's still adjusting, I think."

"He'll get there. He deserves some peace and quiet."

Laura bit her lip. "You do too, Nat."

Nat shook her head as she spoke. "I'm not wired that way. What you two have...it's beautiful, and it suits you both. But this life...it's not mine."

Laura couldn't help the sadness that washed over her, and her thoughts drifted to a certain doctor. They'd ended before they could even begin, it seemed. But the implications of her words were so much bigger than a relationship. They spoke to her giving up on finding any semblance of real peace in her life. "Nat-"

"I spent a long time doing terrible things," Nat interrupted, her gaze falling back to her hands, "and I know I can't ever make up for that, but I have to do something."

"Everything that happened back then…it's not your-"

"I know," Nat said softly, not letting Laura finish the sentence that she had said many, many times over the years. "But they spent years drilling it into my head that I was always looking for the next mission, and it's not a habit that's easily broken."

Laura let out a soft sigh. She understood what Nat was saying, but it didn't mean she had to like it. It pained her to know that Natasha had resigned herself to a life spent trying to clear a ledger that could, by her own admission, never be cleared.

"It's okay. I've made peace with it."

Laura held her tongue until Nat's gaze rose to meet hers. "You are more than just that," she said firmly. "You're Clint's best friend, you're Auntie Nat, and you're like a sister to me. We named our son after you for a reason, you know." Nat offered a small smile that didn't reach her eyes. Laura sat up and grabbed Natasha's hands in her own, squeezing them in a show of love. "Nat, you're so much more than your past. Okay?"

"Okay," she answered with a tiny nod of her head. She slipped out of Laura's grasp and stood up. "I'm going to head to bed. It's been a long day."

Or a long year, Laura mused. Another obvious deflection, but it wasn't worth pushing. She'd already revealed more than Laura had thought she would. "Okay. I'll see you in the morning."

Natasha nodded and then headed up the stairs.

Laura's eyes opened at 2:45am out of habit, waiting for the inevitable cries from her son. Wonderful as he was, she was still not a fan of the late night wake up calls from him. She rubbed her eyes and let out a yawn as she fought to wake up. Nathaniel had turned out to be remarkably punctual with his nightly wakings, so it was a bit odd for him to still be asleep and chances were high he'd be up soon, making Laura's decision to stay awake an easy one.

If she hadn't already been awake, she wouldn't have heard the quiet thump of feet hitting the floor in the room down the hall. Laura waited, and listened carefully. A moment later she heard shuffling feet and the sound of something hitting the ground. Laura frowned as she tried to explain the sounds. She dismissed the thought of an intruder immediately, knowing that between Clint and Nat the property was so well wired with defenses and alarms that there was no way someone had snuck in. Which left Nat as the source of the noise...but Nat wasn't clumsy. She knew the layout of this house, and each of the rooms like the back of her hand. Nat wouldn't make that much noise.

Laura sat up as her thoughts turned from a trickle to a more steady flow. Natasha had seemed out of sorts after dinner, and their conversation had drifted onto an uncomfortable topic. Laura's mind cycled back to Nat's abrupt text, and her subsequent arrival just a few hours later. She didn't normally take a quinjet, usually preferring to drive. Maybe it was just circumstance, or maybe Nat had needed to come home sooner rather than later.

Laura heard no further sounds as she considered whether checking on Nat was required. She didn't want to hover, and she didn't want to infringe on her friend's space, but this seemed out of the ordinary. Her moment of indecision was broken by Nathaniel's cries, which pierced through the otherwise quiet house. Laura's instincts took over and her worry for her friend took a reluctant backseat to caring for her son. She swung her legs out of bed, moving swiftly out of the room, down the hallway, and into his room. He wasn't due for a feeding, and Laura confirmed he didn't need a diaper change, so he clearly just needed a little soothing. Nate quieted quickly once in her arms, and a few moments of soft singing and gentle stroking on his back had him already slipping back into slumber. Satisfied that he wasn't going to wake up again immediately, she moved quietly out of his room and closed the door partially.

Her worry for Nat bloomed once more and she found herself standing outside the door to her daughter's room. She leaned close, listening for something to explain the uncharacteristic sounds she'd heard. When she heard nothing, she frowned and made her decision, knocking softly. "Nat?"

No answer.

"Nat?" she tried again with another set of knocks. There was again no response, and Laura felt more worry piling up. Not stopping to think, she spoke again. "Nat, I'm coming in," she said, knowing that if any part of Nat was listening, the warning would be appreciated.

She turned the knob slowly and pushed the door open gently. Her gaze swept over the room quickly, finding the blankets hanging off the bed, and Lila's pencil case on the floor. A few seconds later, Laura's eyes found her friend and she inhaled sharply. Natasha was pressed into the corner, knees drawn up to her chest with her arms curled tightly around them. Her eyes were wide and vacant as she stared straight ahead. The dim light of the moon coming in through the window let Laura see the sheen of sweat on her skin.

Probably a nightmare, Laura concluded. Natasha had never shared the contents of her nightmares with Laura, but she knew that if Clint's were anything to go by, they were definitely traumatizing, to say the least. Natasha never screamed, though. The silence was no doubt a byproduct of being taught to endure torture without making a sound, a fact which made Laura want to throw up.

"Oh, Nat," she whispered as she took a few steps toward her friend. When she didn't flinch, Laura moved the last few steps and knelt down in front of her. "Nat," she said, louder this time.

Laura blinked as she remembered that Natasha's nightmares were almost always triggered by something. The programming or brainwashing or whatever the hell it was that she'd been exposed to growing up left her more vulnerable than most to these kinds of things. It's why she'd buried it all so deep, and why SHIELD had done their best to get rid of all the triggers. But it was hard to predict what might be a trigger. Sometimes it was obvious things she came across during her missions, and sometimes it was mundane everyday things that came up and brought to the surface the fractured memories of her time in the Red Room. She must've stumbled onto something during a mission, and it was rearing its ugly head now. No wonder she had looked so tired, and had come to visit so unexpectedly. She needed familiarity to ground her, and her need for privacy meant she'd decided to visit, knowing the nightmares would come and she'd rather suffer them here than at the base.

"Natasha," she said firmly, leaning over and reaching a hand out to try and rouse her. "Nat, c'mon wake up."

But it had no effect. Laura continued calling her name, in increasingly frantic tones, trying to wake her from the nightmare that she was firmly stuck in.

"NAT! Please," Laura begged, feeling tears pool in her eyes as she felt helplessness overcome her. "Please wake up. C'mon, Nat."

But no matter what she tried, Natasha wouldn't wake. She just stared ahead, the vacant expression still on her face. Whatever horrors her mind had brought to the surface during her sleep, clearly hadn't disappeared yet. Laura looked at her friend, trying desperately to figure out a way to wake her from the nightmare she was stuck in.

"I'm here, Nat," she said firmly. "I'm here. You're okay." She took a breath. "You're gonna be okay," she amended. "I'm here. Just…come back to me, okay? I need you to listen to my voice and come back to me."

Laura let out a breathy, worried sigh as Nat still didn't respond. Laura sat back and dropped her hand away from Nat's face. She glanced around the room, looking for inspiration of just how to wake up her friend from the horrors she was stuck in, and spotted a glass of water on the nightstand. Rising to her feet quickly, she grabbed it, deciding that it definitely couldn't hurt giving it a try. She took a small step backwards, putting a bit more distance between her and Natasha. If this worked, it was entirely possible that Nat would retaliate in some way, and Laura definitely didn't want to be within striking range when that happened.

She threw the water from the glass and watched as it hit Natasha's face. It took a moment but Nat began to blink rapidly and her head jerked up. She let out a heavy exhale as she stretched out her legs and Laura knew then that she was awake.

"Hey," Laura said, grabbing a towel from the dresser and holding it out to her. "You back with me?"

"Yeah," Natasha croaked as she accepted the towel and began to dry her face.

"Sorry about the water, but I couldn't wake you up."

Nat's eyes scanned the room quickly, confusion evident in her features. "What happened?" she asked roughly before coughing gently to clear her throat.

"You were stuck in a nightmare, I think. I tried waking you up, but you didn't respond. The water was a last resort."

Nat blinked as she processed Laura's explanation. "Thanks," she said finally.

"Don't worry about it, Nat. Are you…" she trailed off, knowing the question was stupid, but unable to help herself from asking it anyway. "You okay?"

Nat licked her lips. "I'm fine," she said, her tone steely and unwavering, but detached.

"Okay," Laura said with a nod. She wasn't convinced, but she wasn't going to push either. Clint would be home in a few hours, and he was definitely the best equipped to help Nat sort through this. "Well, if you want to talk...you know where I am," she offered, knowing it was very unlikely Nat would ever take her up on it.

Laura glanced at the clock on the wall, realizing it was just after 3am. She figured sleep wasn't likely to come quickly after the adrenaline rush, and she'd probably need to be up again for Nate in an hour or so anyway.

"I don't even know what triggered it." Laura froze as she heard Natasha's whispered words. "It was a quick, easy mission. Get in, grab the intel, and get out. But something happened to trigger it, and now the memories won't stop."

"What memories?" She hadn't meant to ask, to pry into Natasha's painful past, but the moment of vulnerability had caught her off guard. She sat down beside Nat, sensing that it might be comforting.

"The Red Room," she answered, her tone flat. "From when I was really young." Natasha swallowed and breathed in a few heavy breaths before she spoke again. "I don't even know if it's real, or if it's something they planted in my head."

Laura blinked as she tried to wrap her head around Natasha's unexpected explanation. "These memories," she began, "they're more frequent now? Since the thing with Wanda, I mean."

Natasha nodded. "Yeah. Whatever Ultron had her do must have opened up some other stuff. I always remembered my training, and some of the nastier persuasive exercises they put us through when we were older to make sure we were loyal to the program. But the earlier stuff...from when we were still kids… I thought most of it had been washed away by the deprogramming SHIELD did, but I guess it's just been sitting there, waiting to surface," she said bitterly.

Laura grappled with how to respond. She was way out of her depth here. "What can I do?" she finally settled on.

Natasha shook her head. "Nothing to do," she said, leaning her head back against the wall and closing her eyes, letting out a frustrated exhale.

Laura reached over and held her hand. She heard another frustrated exhale and gave Nat's hand a squeeze. I'm here.

"I'm just tired, Laura," Nat admitted softly, her head tipping forward and her gaze fixating on the wall opposite them. "This has been going on for awhile now." Laura stayed quiet, sensing Nat had more to say. "I guess I hoped that a change of scenery might help."

Laura smiled sadly as Nat confirmed why she'd come home. She'd been looking for a feeling of safety and security that would let her sleep. "You want to give it another try? Or should I put the kettle on?"

Nat licked her lips again. "Got any alcohol?"

"I think there's some vodka in the freezer," she said, getting up and offering a hand to help Nat up. "Let's head downstairs."

Natasha didn't hesitate, grabbing the offered hand and letting herself be pulled to her feet. Laura wrapped an arm around her waist, uncertain how steady Natasha would be after the rude awakening. She guided her down the stairs, and left her on the couch as she went to retrieve a glass and the bottle she was pretty certain was hidden at the back of the freezer. Probably by Nat herself, considering it was the good stuff. When she returned a minute later, Nat hadn't moved. Laura held out the bottle and the glass. Nat grabbed the bottle and flicked off the cap before taking a long swig straight from the bottle.

"Okay, no glass then," Laura murmured, putting it down on the table and plopping down on the couch beside Nat. She idly wondered if providing the alcohol had been a bad idea.

"Don't worry, there isn't enough here for me to get properly drunk," Nat said, her watchful eyes having caught the worry in Laura's expression. "Just enough to dull some things, hopefully." Laura couldn't help the frown that formed. Nat tilted her head and arched an eyebrow. "Relax, I'm not an alcoholic."

"If you keep not being able to sleep, I wouldn't be surprised if you became one," Laura lobbed back, deciding on somewhat of a tough love approach. She may feel awful for Nat being unable to sleep, but she wasn't about to let her begin to spiral downward. Alcohol was okay, so long as Nat behaved.

Nat's brow arched again, her expression giving away her amusement at Laura's response. She took another swig.

"Have you talked to Clint about your nightmares?"

It was a few seconds before Nat responded with a shake of her head. "We haven't talked much."

"Why not?"

Nat shrugged and took a smaller sip. "You guys have a new baby, and like I said, he deserves some peace and quiet."

"You're his best friend, Nat. You are very much a part of that peace and quiet."

"I am the complete opposite of peace and quiet, Laura. I'm still immersed in the world he left. I don't want to accidentally drag him back in." Laura was struck by the raw honesty Natasha was offering. "If he knew I was struggling, he'd be back in a heartbeat."

Laura knew she was right. Clint wouldn't hesitate to head back there to help his best friend - the woman who'd saved him more times than Laura could count. "Then why come here? You knew you wouldn't be able to hide it from him."

Natasha stayed quiet, and Laura read into the silence. Nat had been desperate. She'd wanted Clint to notice.

"There's no shame in asking for help, Nat. Spend some time here, let him help you. Let us help you."

"I'm supposed to be past this shit," she said bitterly after another drink.

Laura understood the frustration. Nat had worked so damn hard to overcome everything the Red Room had done to her, only to be thrown right back into the thick of it. Clint deserved peace and quiet, yes, but perhaps Natasha deserved it even more.

"Maybe," Laura hedged, weighing her next words carefully, "but you're in a life that's going to constantly be throwing this kind of stuff at you. If you want out, no one would judge you. You've saved the world a couple of times over now. But if you want to stay in this life, you're gonna have to live with it. Maybe you move past it, or maybe you learn to deal with it. Either way, you have to live with it."

Natasha blinked at Laura's blunt response. Before she could say anything in reply, Nathaniel's cries filled the house and Laura rose to her feet. She moved to stand in front of Natasha and plucked the bottle away from the redhead. "You got dealt a shitty hand, and I know that's easy for me to say standing here having had a lovely childhood by comparison, but it's the truth. I will do everything in my power to help you, Nat. Clint will too, you know that. But you have to let go of the bitterness. And you won't find relief at the bottom of this bottle."

Natasha blinked as her gaze met the fierce stare of Laura. She didn't say anything, and Laura headed upstairs, the bottle still held in her hand.

The two women were quiet as they milled about the kitchen the next morning, Natasha preparing some coffee and Laura flipping pancakes. Laura snuck a glance at Nat and found absolutely nothing amiss in her appearance, expression, or posture. It was as though the nightmare and their conversation that followed hadn't happened.

Laura wasn't surprised. She'd known Nat for years, and knew that as a rule, Nat didn't tend to dwell on most things.

"We have what we have when we have it," she'd once said with a shrug. "Not much point getting hung up on what we don't have, can't have, or will never have."

Laura did wonder if Natasha had actually faced the reality of their conversation, or if she had simply compartmentalized it into a tiny box at the back of her mind. Suddenly, cries rang out from the upper floor, interrupting her musing.

"Looks like the prince is finally awake," Natasha said dryly, tilting her head slightly to look up the stairs.

"Do you mind grabbing him?" Laura asked, pouring out the batter for another pancake. Natasha gave a wave of her hand that Laura supposed meant yes, so she turned her attention back to the task at hand.

"Honey! I'm home!" Clint called as the back door swung open loudly.

Laura jumped. "Don't do that!" she scolded, her hand pressed firmly over her racing heart.

Clint smiled sheepishly as he moved in behind her and wrapped his arms around her tenderly. "Sorry," he murmured into her hair before pressing a kiss to her head. "I missed you," he added after a beat.

Laura felt the small pieces of irritation melt away. "Two whole days and you missed me? I must be doing something right, " she teased, glancing into the living room where both kids were already in front of the TV watching cartoons.

"Aw, c'mon. You missed me too. Must have been lonely here without me and the kids."

Laura rolled her eyes. "First of all, our son was with me."

Clint let out a light laugh. "Yeah, but he's not so great with the conversations, so he doesn't really count."

"Our son doesn't count?" she replied in mock horror.

Clint laughed again. "Not in this context. What's the second of all?"

"Nat's here."

Clint's body tensed for a fraction of a moment before he relaxed, and Laura's thoughts turned to Nat's admission of fear that she would drag him back in. Maybe Clint feared the same thing.

"Oh? When'd she get here? I didn't get a message from her."

"She texted me to ask if I'd mind a house guest and then showed up a few hours later."

Clint opened his mouth to respond, but was interrupted by Natasha appearing in the doorway, Nate happily gurgling in her arms. "Hey, Nat," he said instead.

"Hey, Clint," she replied easily, a small smile on her lips. "Been awhile."

Clint, for his part, looked just a touch guilty as he replied. "Yeah, guess it has been."

Laura watched as his eyes scrutinized every inch of his former partner, cataloguing everything he'd missed in the months that had passed. He'd notice the weight on her shoulders, the bags under her eyes, and all the signs that Laura had missed the day before.

"You've gotten rusty," Nat accused, meeting his gaze with unblinking eyes and clearly calling him out on his obvious scrutiny. Her expression was teetering on the line between pissed off and relieved.

"And you've gotten soft," he lobbed back with a daring grin, glancing meaningfully to his son who was still happily ensconced in her arms.

Her eyebrow arched. "You want to test that theory?"

"No, no," Laura said quickly. "None of that. We're eating breakfast. Clint, take your son. Nat, get the coffee."

Clint had waited until after they finished breakfast to "rescue" Nat from Cooper and Lila's exhaustive stories about their mini camping trip. As they walked out the front door to head toward the barn, he turned and gave Laura a look that was both grateful and apologetic. He knew the kids were going to be a handful while he was out of the house, and she knew that his conversation with Nat wasn't going to be about sunshine and rainbows. But it was a trade-off they were both willing to make.

They'd stayed out there for a couple of hours, and it had taken everything in Laura's arsenal to keep the kids entertained and busy so they wouldn't go running off and interrupt something they shouldn't be seeing in the first place. But when Clint and Nat came back, Laura knew that whatever they'd talked about had been worthwhile, because the weight that had been pushing down on Nat seemed to have lifted a bit, and her eyes had brightened up a touch. The kids had immediately whisked her away to be a part of whatever game they had come up with, and Nat went along with them willingly, a smile growing on her face.

Laura put down the knife she'd been using to peel potatoes for dinner and turned around to face her husband. "So…" she prompted.

Clint rubbed the back of his head with his hand. "We talked."

Laura tried very hard not to glare at him. "About..."

His expression was sheepish. "About her not visiting." Laura arched an eyebrow. "And me not calling," he added quickly.

"Mmhmm…" A beat. "How is she?"

"She's a trooper," Clint said cryptically.

Laura frowned at his response. She hadn't expected the nitty gritty details, but she had expected a bit more than that.

Clint blew out a breath and clenched his fists. "It's getting harder and harder for me to not jump onto a jet and hunt down anyone left of the bastards that did this to her."

Laura's eyes widened a fraction.

He exhaled heavily again. "She's okay though," he said, meeting Laura's gaze. "Really," he added with a slight nod, clearly aiming for some reassurance. "She's embarrassed that you saw her like-"

"But I-"

"I know," Clint said as he held up a hand to stop her reply. "But you try convincing her," he finished with a half-chuckle.

Laura's lips curved into a knowing small smile.

"Daaaaaaddddd! We need you!" Cooper yelled from the other room, effectively ending the conversation.

Clint grinned. "Duty calls," he said with an apologetic shrug before giving Laura a kiss and leaving the kitchen quickly.

She sighed and turned back to her task of peeling potatoes, letting her mind mull over her husband's words.

By the time she'd finished peeling the potatoes, Laura had come to the conclusion that despite Clint's growing anger, she was pretty sure that Nat was okay. She'd snuck a couple peeks into the living room and watched as the two partners took part in some elaborate game that the kids had set up, expressions of mild amusement on both their faces.

Laura was in the middle of seasoning the potatoes when she jumped in surprise at Nat's voice.

"Laura, I wanted to thank you," Natasha said, her tone soft but firm. "I know it's not easy to deal with…it, but you did, and I owe you for that. So thanks," she finished, her tone decidedly less sure now that she'd stumbled onto the harder part of her little speech.

Laura knew it wasn't easy for her to talk about it, so she decided to lighten the load instead of protesting that she didn't owe her. "You're welcome," she said with a smile. "But you get to do the 3am diaper change for Nathaniel," she finished with a tease, hoping to release the tension that had somehow ratcheted up a bit again.

Nat let out a genuine chuckle. "I suppose that's only fair."

Thoughts on Laura's handling of Nat? Or on Nat's coping mechanisms?

Overall impressions? Suggestions for future?

Please let me know. :D