Those of you who read my other (similarly structured) story, Moments, may have noticed I mentioned Cooper was going to feature in a chapter here. As promised...here it is!

Enjoy.

"Auntie Nat!" Cooper exclaimed as he hopped off the stairs, skipping the last two steps.

"Hey, Cooper," Nat said with a warm smile and a wave. "How's it going?"

Laura watched as he grinned widely and held two thumbs up to her, clearly happy to see his aunt. "Awesome!"

"Oh yeah?" she chuckled. "How come?"

"You're here!"

She chuckled again. "Well, thanks for that boost to my ego. Certainly, a better greeting than I got from your dad."

"Hey! I see you at work!" Clint protested from the kitchen where he'd returned after answering the door and greeting Nat.

"C'mon, I wanna show you my school stuff," Cooper continued excitedly, darting forward, and grabbing Natasha's hand to pull her toward the stairs.

"Coop! You can show her later, she just got here."

"It's fine, Laura. I gotta drop my stuff upstairs anyway."

"Suit yourself," Laura replied with an arched eyebrow. If she knew her son, she knew Natasha was about to be subjected to a non-stop monologue about his new shoes, outfits, lunchbox, and backpack for school.

"Hey, Coop, slow down," Nat said while chuckling. "I gotta carry my bags."

"I can help!"

"Yeah? Alright, you take this one then," she said, handing him her shoulder bag. He grabbed the handles and then carefully carried it as he made his way up the stairs slowly. "You good, Cooper?"

"'m goo-" he replied, face mashed into the bag as he struggled a bit to navigate the stairs and not drop the bag.

Nat chuckled. "You sure?"

"Mmhmm."

"Alright," she said, amusement clear in her tone as she followed him up the stairs.

They were back a few minutes later, Natasha having changed her outfit and Cooper still sporting a wide smile.

"Don't forget you have to read some of your book tonight for school, Coop."

"But, Mom," he whined as his smile disappeared, "Aunt Nat's here."

"Still gotta read one. Your choice if you want Dad to help you or me."

He pouted and Laura could see despite his earlier joy, he was teetering on the edge of a full meltdown. "I don't wanna."

"Sorry to hear that, but you have to anyway."

"I DON'T WANT TO!"

"Cooper-"

"NO!"

Laura sighed softly. "You don't have to do it right now, but you do have to before you get ready for bed. Your choice if we read now, or after dinner."

"NO!" he yelled and then ran up the stairs.

Laura took a step to follow but Clint waved her off. "I got it."

"Thanks," she said, nodding and watching him climb the stairs to follow their son. "Sorry about that," she said as she slid her gaze to Nat. "He's been struggling a bit with his reading, so he's frustrated and that translates to anger most of the time."

"He has to read something for school?"

Laura nodded. "Yeah, they get to pick some books they're supposed to read at home. He likes listening to stories and doesn't mind listening when we read to him, but he doesn't want to read the books himself."

"Guess I should have come tomorrow instead so he didn't have more ammunition against you," Nat replied with a smile.

"No, no," Laura assured her, "he would still have to read over the weekend anyway. He just gets frustrated and doesn't like sitting still for so long trying to do something he thinks he isn't very good at."

Nat nodded in understanding. "Anything I can do?"

Laura shrugged. "I don't think so. We can usually get him to do it eventually, just been a little tougher lately is all."

"Okay. You need any help with dinner?"

Laura smiled. "You don't mind?"

Nat shook her head. "Not at all. Put me to work. It's the least I can do for you letting me stay here."

"Nat, how many times do I need to tell you - you're not a guest. You're family."

"Family still has to help with dinner, don't they?" she countered with a smile.

"Yes, I suppose they do," Laura conceded with a laugh. "Come on, I need to peel some potatoes."

"Hey, Cooper?" Natasha said from the couch where she was sitting, a book in her hands.

"Yeah?" he said, looking up from his pile of Lego. She and Clint had bargained with him that he could play for 15 minutes after dinner and then they'd do some reading.

"Can you come here for a second? I need your help."

He half walked, half skipped over to her, and Laura couldn't help the small smile at seeing his joy. It was always so sweet to see him so excited to see Natasha. "Yeah?"

"Do you know what this word is?" she asked, pointing to a word in her book. Laura shared a look with Clint. Neither had expected Nat to take a swing at getting Cooper to read, but they were both curious to see if her tactics worked.

He frowned immediately. "I don't want to read." She sighed heavily (a little dramatically, Laura thought) and frowned. It had the intended effect as he leaned in. "You're a grown-up. You already know how to read."

"True," she agreed, "but I learned Russian first. So sometimes I forget some of the English words. They get mixed up in my brain. Your mom said you were learning to read so I thought you might be able to help."

He stared with wide eyes and then leaned over to look at the word she'd pointed out before. Laura watched as his finger slid slowly across the page and his mouth moved silently as he tried to sound it out. Finally, he seemed to figure it out and he said "j-ack-et" quietly.

"Oh," Nat said, "jacket, like…" she trailed off and gestured vaguely to her arms.

"Like a coat," he confirmed with a serious nod.

"Oh, right. Of course."

Laura shared another look with Clint. Neither had expected Natasha to have such success right off the bat.

"You mind sticking around in case I run into another word I can't figure out?"

"Okay," he replied with a shrug. She shifted over so he could climb up onto the couch next to her and let him settle in as she held the book up again.

It was quiet for another thirty seconds, until she held the book up for him to see again. "What about this one?"

He leaned closer and put his finger on the page again. His brow furrowed in concentration as he quietly sounded it out. "T- Tr- Truck. Truck," he said with a satisfied grin as he looked up at her.

"Truck," she repeated, and he nodded. Then she frowned a little. "What is that?"

His brow furrowed in concentration again as he thought about how to explain it. "Like a car. But bigger."

"Oh, like your dad's? The blue one?"

He nodded. "Yeah."

"Oh, okay. Thanks."

He smiled proudly and Laura and Clint exchanged shocked expressions. Neither of them dared move from their spots at the kitchen table as they sorted through their bills and worked on their budget, lest they spook Cooper and what was a moment of positive successful reading. Instead, they listened and surreptitiously watched as Natasha asked him every so often to help her with a word in the book, all of which were age appropriate. Cooper obliged each time without hesitation, growing more and more confident.

Eventually Natasha finished the book and she looked down at Cooper. "You got any books?" she asked. "I finished this one."

"I got one from school," he offered after a moment. "Want me to get it?"

She smiled. "Sure. I probably haven't read it. Have you?"

He shook his head. "I'm supposed to read some of it for tomorrow," he answered a little guiltily.

"Oh, I don't want to get you in trouble. You want to read it with me? That way you do what you're supposed to, and I get to hear a new story."

"Okay," he agreed with a nod before hopping off the couch and running up the stairs to his room.

"Holy crap, Nat," Clint said quietly in disbelief after a moment of stunned silence. "He's never this agreeable with-"

"Shh," she shushed him and then gestured to the stairs where they could hear Cooper stomping excitedly down them.

"I got it," he said, holding it up.

"Cool. Hop up," she instructed and then let him snuggle in next to her again.

"Okay. So, you have to read it, so I don't get you into trouble with your teacher, right?"

Laura watched as his expression shifted a little as he nodded. He didn't look angry though, maybe just a little disappointed. "Yeah."

"Okay. Well, I'm ready whenever you are."

He shifted uncomfortably. "I'm not very good at reading, Auntie Nat," he admitted softly, oblivious to his parents being able to overhear their conversation. Laura reached a hand out to grasp Clint's tightly as they shared a pained expression.

Nat smiled gently at him. "That's why we practice, right? You think I learned English in one day? It took me a long time. And I still get stuck sometimes. Like today."

"'cause you get confused with the words?" he said, echoing her previous explanation.

"Yeah," she confirmed. "Let's give it a try," she encouraged. "I bet I can help with some of the words if you get stuck. And if we both get stuck, then we ask your mom. Sound good?"

He nodded and then opened the book. Nat reached over to flip it back to the front cover. "Wait. What's it called?"

"The Giving Tree," he read.

Laura and Clint listened as he made his way through the whole book over the course of the next hour and a half. Nat helped him patiently with the words he stumbled on and paused to ask him questions like what he thought the characters were feeling, if what they were doing was fair, and if he would do anything differently if he were in their shoes.

"Did you like it?" he asked once they finished discussing the end of the book.

"It was a little bit sad," she admitted, "but I'm glad I read it. And I'm really glad I got to read it with you," she said as she bumped his shoulder with her own and smiled at him.

"It was a little sad," he agreed. "The tree gave him everything. And he never gave anything to the tree even though the tree wanted him to play," he said, summarizing some of what they'd talked about while reading.

"What would you do if you were the boy?"

Cooper frowned as he thought about it deeply. "I would wanna play, that way if the tree gave me stuff, I would be happy with the stuff, and the tree would be happy too."

Natasha nodded with a warm smile. "I think that sounds like a very good solution. Do you think that's advice you could use at other times too?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, do you share things at school?"

"Uh-huh," he replied with a nod. "When we play, we have to share toys."

"And does everyone always share?"

He looked thoughtful as he considered the question. "Not everyone."

"Do you think that's fair?"

"No," he answered quickly, but then frowned. "But not everyone has stuff to share though and that's not their fault." Laura felt her heat squeeze at her son's thoughtfulness as she watched Nat nod and then listen as Cooper continued. "Should I always give something when someone gives me something?"

Nat considered his question for a moment. "No, not necessarily. Sometimes the giving can go just one way. Sometimes we can't give someone back something right away. And sometimes we just can't give the person what they want or need. And sometimes what they want isn't really what they need."

Cooper seemed to think about that answer for a while. "It's complicated."

Natasha chuckled. "Yeah, I think you're right about that."

"What would you do? If you were the boy?"

"I would hope that I would play with the tree," she began, "and maybe spend more time other than that too, even if the tree didn't ask." Laura didn't doubt it. Nat was a very kind and thoughtful person once you wormed your way under her outer shell.

Cooper nodded. "That's nice of you."

"You think?"

"Yeah." They fell silent then for a moment, and then Cooper looked up at his aunt again. "Thanks for reading with me," he said quietly.

"Anytime," she replied with a smile. "And for the record? I think you're a good reader."

"You do?"

"Mmhmm," she hummed in reply. "Who told you that you weren't good at reading?"

"No one," he admitted. "I just can't read as fast as everyone else."

"Speed isn't always important," she reminded him.

"That's what Mom said."

"She's a smart woman, I'd listen to her if I were you." He bobbed his head and smiled a little. "You wanna read something else tomorrow?" she offered.

He nodded enthusiastically, much to Laura and Clint's surprise. "I get to pick two books at school tomorrow for the weekend."

"Cool."

"I'll try to pick something you'll like," he added a little shyly.

"You pick whatever you want. I haven't read a lot of American books, so I'm sure whatever you pick will be new for me."

"Okay," he agreed.

Laura glanced at her watch then and realized it was later than she thought. As much as she didn't want to interrupt the moment, he had school the next day and needed to get to bed. She shared a glance with Clint and gave his hand a squeeze. She didn't need it, but this was just another bit of proof that Clint had made the right call sparing Natasha's life all those years ago. Their lives were that much better for having her in them.

"Alright, Coop, it's time for pajamas and then time for bed," Laura said as she got up from the table and headed into the den where the two of them were curled up on the couch. "You head up, and Dad or I will come up in a few minutes, okay?"

"Okay!" he said brightly as he hopped off the couch.

Nat called him back almost immediately. "Don't forget your book, Cooper."

He pivoted, already halfway to the stairs, and skipped over to grab it from her. He paused then for a second before he hopped up and threw his arms around his aunt. "Thanks," he repeated, whispering the word in her ear.

"Anytime, Cooper. Sleep well."

"You too," he replied before hopping off her lap and heading upstairs.

They all watched him run up the stairs and then Clint got up from the table and joined Laura and Nat in the den. "Nat, that was-" Clint began, but shook his head as he searched for the right words. "I don't even know what to say."

"I hope it was okay," she offered. Laura could see she was worried she'd overstepped.

"No, no, of course," he replied quickly, but was then interrupted quickly by Cooper yelling down from upstairs.

"Dad! I need toothpaste!"

"I'll be right back," he promised.

Laura collapsed onto the couch next to her friend. "If that whole SHIELD agent thing doesn't work out, you'd make a hell of a teacher."

Natasha laughed. "He makes it easy. He's a smart kid."

"Yeah, but he's really been struggling with reading. We were pretty sure he could do it, but the first time he stumbled on a word, he would get super frustrated, lash out, and refuse to even try anymore. We've been sitting with him every day, but he's only gotten through a couple pages at best. A whole book in one sitting is a miracle."

She shrugged. "I thought it was worth a try."

"Thank you," Laura said seriously. "Honestly, it was amazing. And the questions you asked, and the discussion… Do you have a teaching degree I don't know about?"

Nat smiled. "No, no. I just remember things Phil, you, and Clint and you have taught me. They are things I think children learn, yeah?"

Laura blinked in surprise. She sometimes forgot just how young Nat was, and how much growing up she'd done after defecting. "Uh, some, maybe," Laura said, stumbling over her words.

"I thought so."

"You think I could convince you to stay longer than a week? We could use a tutor for him," Laura joked.

"You'd have to take it up with Coulson," she replied with a smirk.

"Damn. Maybe I could send Clint back early as a trade."

Natasha laughed. "I don't know that Coulson would want him back just yet. He mentioned more than once how happy he was that all his agents were caught up on their paperwork."

Laura chuckled. "Shoot. Well, I guess you'll have to go back on time then, huh?"

"I suppose so."

As always, let me know what you think. Always cool to see what people liked/didn't like/etc..

The idea for this one's been floating around my drafts for ages in various forms, but it wasn't until I finished Cooper's chapter for my other story Moments that I was able to finish this one. I have a half-formed idea for a follow-up to this one that will probably fit into the timeline of my 'Moments' story at some point... Not to mention I sort of stole this premise from myself on another potential fic's outline. 😁

Also, shout out to those who recognized the book they read. Hopefully their discussion came across as a healthy way to address some of the more controversial aspects of it!

Been writing lots lately, so certainly more to come!