Author's Notes: Sorry for not posting on Sunday like I usually do but I'm travelling and won't be able to this Sunday this week.
Three months later.
Nat was currently at her desk in the main office at the compound.
It was tucked away in the back of the common room.
The usually composed woman was lost in her thoughts.
Which often consumed her these days.
The past three months had been… hard.
The hardest in her life.
Sleep evaded her.
Somehow she had ended up in charge of The Avengers.
Or what was left of them.
Which meant paperwork.
Endless paperwork.
Stacks of paperwork that was always overcrowding her desk to the point she was drowning in it.
But that meant she and Steve were no longer criminals, she thought dryly.
She washed out the blonde dye in her hair back to its original color but nothing else was normal.
Working with what was left with the state and federal governments.
It's spy agencies.
The United Nations and its agencies.
Trying to piece what was left of the world back together.
But that wasn't the hardest thing she was doing.
Not even close.
No, that was trying to be some sort of parental figure to Lila.
It had been three months since they lost.
She was all Lila had left.
Any effort she originally tried to make her happy before they lost had vanished.
She knew the teenager was deeply depressed which greatly worried her.
The first weeks were the hardest.
She couldn't even get Lila out of bed. She sat by her side constantly.
Trying to help her grief at the loss of her family.
Reading to her like she did when she was younger.
Always being there for her.
It wasn't like she could blame her.
Her reasons were valid.
There was no hope in bringing everyone back.
Thanos destroyed the stones himself.
She tried to make her room look like her old room on the farm.
Filling the entertainment center with her favorite books and blu ray's from the library.
She placed all of the Barton family photos on the wall.
Crowded her end tables with picture frames of the Barton's throughout the years to make her room more homely.
But still it was jarring to see the change in Lila.
She felt like stepping into the unknown with her and Lila's relationship.
She wanted to be a parental figure but didn't want to intrude on what she had lost.
Or replace them.
When she wasn't working she spent all of her free time with her.
Lila grieved.
She comforted her from her nightmares.
When she would just break down.
That ended last week though.
Now though it seemed the teenager had finally cried herself out.
There was just a blank emotionless expression on Lila's face.
Permanently.
It was August luckily which meant summer vacation for Lila.
New York State was doing its best to reopen its schools for September.
Which meant trying to find all of the orphaned children.
Which felt like an impossible task.
But still New York was combining school districts, thanks to the population loss.
To at least try even though Nat knew that countless children would be left behind despite their best efforts.
Just another consequence of their loss.
But this issue had become personal for her.
Because Lila was now technically an orphan.
Their relationship was unofficial… up until now.
Since the state obviously knew about Lila thanks to their relationship she was forced to get… adoption papers.
The state said they would approve without the usual years of the application process.
Thanks to the new reality and to her testimony of her and the Barton's relationship.
Backed up by Steve which was a good as a witness as she could wish for.
The stack of forms were opened in a vanilla folder on her desk.
She was staring down at them, clicking her pen repeatedly in her hand nervously.
She wondered if Clint and Laura would approve of this.
Adopting their daughter.
She did her best to delay asking Lila up until now but school would start next month and her time had run out.
What if Lila said no?
She was a child so she couldn't officially consent but still… she didn't want to force herself on her.
She personally wanted her permission.
But she didn't want Lila to be lost in the system.
She knew Clint and Laura would never forgive her. And she would never forgive herself.
She forced herself out her chair, threw on her hoodie, and grabbed the folder.
She walked out and down the hall inside the empty compound towards Lila's room.
For the most part it was just her and Lila.
Steve popped in occasionally to see her and Lila but he moved out.
Rocket and Nebula had decided to help Carol.
What was happening on Earth was happening everywhere.
Bruce leased out a lab and locked himself in it.
Not contacting her or anyone else.
And Rhodey had taken on a more active role in the Air Force with his War Machine suit.
Thor moved to New Asgard which was in Norway.
She approached her room and knocked on the closed door.
"Lila, Lila it's me." she spoke through it
. No response was heard which she was use too.
"Lila, I'm going to open the door now if that's okay…" she said but hesitated for a few seconds.
Hearing no objection, she slowly opened it and stepped in.
She looked around, seeing it was empty and frowned.
"Lila…?" after seeing she wasn't in it she pulled out her phone to check the CCTV cameras.
After going through each room's and hallways live feed she saw she was in the movie theater, watching a film from the top row of recliner chairs.
She showed her how to use the projector and was thankful she was enjoying it.
She headed over there which was on the other side of the compound.
She opened the double doors to the deafening sounds of lightsabers clash in the darkened room.
She walked up to the projected screen to see Lila watching "Empire Strikes Back."
Remembering how much Cooper and Clint loved Star Wars.
Watching Luke and Vader battle on Bespin.
She smiled briefly before pausing the film with her phone and turning on the lights.
Lila frowned but looked down from above at Nat in the front corner of the room.
She was slouching in the chair, wrapped in her purple hoodie with her hands in the pockets.
The hood covering her head.
She saw she had a large cup of coke in the cup holder and a gigantic bowl of popcorn in her lap.
"Watching Star Wars huh?" Nat asked with a smile.
"I was." Lila frowned.
She had never watched any of the movies it but remembered how much Cooper loved it.
Nat sighed but stepped up to her. Lila saw the folder tucked away in her arm.
"Listen, Lila uh I have something important to tell you…" she began cautiously.
Lila heard the unease in her voice.
She sat down on the chair to her right and took a deep breath.
"Before I begin… if you want me to stop at any time just ask…" she warned.
Lila frowned, not liking the more bad news but forced her head to nod.
"The government is trying to open schools up in the fall which means… trying to track down all of the kids… who lost their parents…" she said as slowly and gently as she could.
Noticing Lila tense and grip the armrests she clenched her wrist with her hand.
"The only way I can keep you here and look after you… is… to adopt you…" she said slowly.
Waiting for a reaction, she saw Lila trying to comprehend what she said.
"You would still be able to keep your name. Nothing would change between us. You still have a mom. Dad, brothers. I don't want to replace that. I'll still be your Aunt. But Lila, this is the only way for me to keep you here… with me. I'm so sorry for forcing this upon you so soon. You don't have to say anything now but…" she rambled, trying to reassure her but Lila interrupted her.
"Okay." she said, surprising Nat.
"Okay…?" Nat began but Lila nodded.
"I want to stay… with you. I love you Auntie Nat…" she reached over the arm rest to pull her into a hug.
That surprised Nat but she instantly hugged her back.
"As I said. You'd still be a Barton. And nothing would change between us. But Lila I'm afraid this current situation is going to become more… permanent." she said sadly.
"I know." Lila said quietly and the two stopped hugging.
"I just miss them so much…" she choked out.
"So do I Lila. Every hour." Nat said with tears in her green eyes.
Lila had never seen her like this and had tears in her eyes too.
"I um… have the forms. Do you want to want me to explain them?" she asked her and Lila nodded.
"Well with everything going on and our… unique relationship we were given a special consideration. If I sign these forms I would be given custody of you." she explained carefully.
"So you would be my adoptive mom?" Lila asked slowly and Nat sighed.
"On paper, yes. But like I said nothing would change between us." she promised her.
"Okay. Sign them." Lila nodded.
"Really?" Nat asked hesitantly.
"Yeah, mom and dad would want you too." Lila said and Nat smiled at her maturity.
"You've gone through so much Lila. You've been forced to go up so fast. I've never been more proud of you." Nat smiled at her.
Lila faintly smiled back which she noticed.
"Well, here we go…" she opened the folder back up and grabbed her pen from her pocket.
Lila watched her fill out the info on the paperwork.
Filling and signing each box with her and Nat's information until the bottom row.
Signing the box with her signature.
"And… done." she said and closed the folder.
"You are officially in my custody." Nat told her.
"It still just doesn't feel real…" Lila began.
Nat took her hand into hers.
"I know they're gone. Mom, dad, Cooper, Nathaniel. And they're not coming back. It's just one day they were here, everything was normal, and now they're not. Why wasn't it me…?" she choked out.
Nat wrapped her arms around her and hugged her tightly.
Lila resting her head on her shoulder.
"I don't know Lila. Truly, I don't. It's not fair but I'm gonna try and make it better." she promised her.
"You already are." Lila whispered, pulling her head back to she was right in front of her.
"I'm glad." she said and the two pulled away.
Nat resumed the movie with her phone and leaned back into the chair while grabbing Lila's popcorn.
"Hey!" Lila crossed her arms while Nat stuffed her mouth with a handful.
"I wanna see your reaction." she smiled.
"My reaction to what?"