After Mother's day, and Lila telling Nat she saw her as a mom now, surprisingly not much changed in their relationship.

Lila never called her the word "mom"

Out loud at least.

Still Auntie Nat.

But Nat treated her the way she treated Laura.

But she felt like her daughter now.

That was clear to her.

And she felt the situation confusing though since she had still never let go of her original mom and dad.

Nat somehow even showered her with even more love and affection.

Raising and taking care of her herself.

It had been two years since then.

It was 2022 now.

It was hard to believe she had lived four years without her parents and brothers now.

Four years since that day.

They revisited the farm regularly.

Although she had lived at the compound for four years now it just never felt like home.

The farm would always be home.

But the two began to live their new normal.

She was in the tenth grade now.

She kept her promise to Tony to keep her straight A's and she applied for the Stark internship.

And she was accepted.

Nat of course was very happy for her and she was considering engineering for a career path.

They even made visiting his cabin a regular appearance.

Mainly because Lila wanted to see Morgan.

Watching her grow up.

Playing with her and Morgan becoming obsessed with her.

She became the "honorary" older sister.

And Morgan became her little sister.

But now it was the first Friday in May.

It was a parent teacher conference day in the school district so Lila had the day off.

Which was convenient since it was her birthday today.


The alarm clock on her phone rang its alarm and she groaned in her bed.

Tossing the blankets aside she reached for her end table to turn it off.

Reading "9:30 AM" on the large screen.

Groaning, she forced herself up and stretched her arms.

She put on her slippers, readjusted her t shirt and sweatpants before she walked out of her room, down the halls towards the kitchen.

At the doorway, she saw Nat at the stovetop.

Flipping the last pancake from the pan onto a stack of them.

Nat sensed her presence and turned around.

"The birthday girl is finally up." she joked.

"It's only 9:30." Lila smiled.

She spotted the plate of bacon on the island and rushed over to it.

Nat smiled, grabbing the plate to put it next to it.

Lila sat down on one of the stools while Nat headed back to the fridge.

"Milk? Or OJ?" she asked.

"Coffee…?" Lila asked sheepishly.

"Coffee it is then for the birthday girl." she offered

Reaching for a mug in the overhead cabinet.

After making a pot, she poured her steaming mug and gave it to her.

"Happy fifteenth birthday, sweetheart." she kissed her on the top of the head before sitting down next to her.

"Thanks Auntie Nat." she smiled.

The two made their plates.

Lila pouring the syrup on her stack.

There was something she wanted to ask her.

It being her birthday gift.

She knew it was a big ask.

Nat walked over to sit on the stool next to her and filled her plate.

She reached for her mug but saw the look on her niece's face.

"Lila, sweetheart, are you okay?" she asked concerned.

Lila turned to face her.

"No, I'm fine it's just uh… I want to ask you something." she began slowly.

"What is it?" Nat asked, seeing the look on her face.

"I was wondering since we kinda already had defense lessons, which I'm grateful for but what I want, for my birthday is to learn how to fight." she said firmly.

"Lila…" Nat began but she interrupted her.

"I know. I know. You told me about your past. And that you never had a choice. I don't care. Dad was already teaching me to shoot and well considering I do... this is what I want. I would like to know more. I'm fifteen now. I'm not a child! This is what I want and this is what I choose. It's my choice." Lila said, putting her foot down.

Looking down at the shorter woman.

The silence filling the room.

Nat thinking her words over.

Wondering if Clint and Laura would agree.

She wouldn't think they would.

But they weren't here to see what the future would become.

How Lila grew up without them and how different she probably ended up.

But then she thought of something Steve told her about.

What he was doing down in Brooklyn.

"If I allow this there is something I would like you to do in return. Something that I think would help you…" she began slowly.

"What is it?" Lila frowned.

"Steve has been doing group counseling sessions. And I think, in return for lessons I would like for you to attend them." Nat proposed.

"Counselling?" Lila pouted.

"I… I think it would help." she said, not fully believing in that herself.

Lila crossed her arms unconvinced.

"And if I go to these. You will teach me how to fight?" she asked skeptically.

"I will. I just…" Nat began but Lila saw the discomfort on her face.

Fiddling with her fingers.

"It's just you're growing up so fast." she said, Lila hearing the emotion in her voice.

"You'll always be a little girl to me even if you're taller than me now." she joked at the end.

Lila smiled.

"That's my only advantage I have against you." she joked.

Nat smiled amused.

"Someone like me knows how to use their size towards their advantage." she joked.

"So if I attend counselling you will teach me to fight?" Lila asked seriously.

"Yes, Lila I will."


And so Nat began to teach Lila how to fight.

Being as gentle as she could with her but Lila was a good student.

She caught on quickly.

The lessons become more advanced overtime.

She taught her how to fight, shoot a gun.

Take down an opponent without the use of one or a weapon though even though she had her bow and sword along with her guns now.

And between the lessons and her skill in fencing Lila was become a skilled fighter, Nat noticed.

She wasn't sure to feel pride or shame.

Or how Clint and Laura would react how they saw their daughter now.

She kept her promise since Lila did attend Steve's sessions.

Nat driving her down.

She also attended the Stark Internship.

Tony complimenting to her on her teamwork and problem solving.

Essentially guaranteeing a job for her once she graduated college.

And offering to pay for her college education in the future.

But despite all this Nat sadly was well aware of the change in Lila's behavior and attitude over the months.

Even after they lost, the once happy girl who was doing her best to live her life was becoming sadder.

More angry, jaded, cynical at the world.

Never smiling.

For months on end which turned into another year.

It had been five years now since the snap.

It was 2023.

And even sometimes lashing out at her when she was essentially forced to go to Steve's sessions.

Raising her voice, arguing, and even shouting at her before storming back to her room.

Slamming the door in her face when Nat tried chasing after her to calm her down.

It broke her heart.

She felt like she was failing her.

She knew some of it was the "rebellious teenager" phase but of course she knew the main reason why.

Steve told her the main point of the sessions was to help people move on.

Take the first steps to live their lives but Lila refused.

And she couldn't blame her.

And truth be told she believed he didn't even believe his own mantra he was telling survivors.

Because she didn't either.


During the year, Lila turned sixteen and was a sophomore in high school.

The two celebrated her birthday by getting her learner's permit.

Nat seeing how happy she was that day which was becoming rarer and rarer.

She gave her her birthday gift before school.

A bike.

Lila sheepishly asked for one, not expecting Nat to actually give her one.

A Kawasaki Ninja.

Despite the arguing and shift in Lila's behavior, she still attended the therapy sessions.

In fact she was attending one now.

In a American Legion hall in Brooklyn.

It was evening and a thick fog engulfed the city.

Boats were docked at nearby Liberty Island.

Most of the city was in darkness.

In the hall itself, Steve was leading the session.

A group of adults much older than Lila was who was slouching back in her chair.

In front of a stage and a "What do we do now that they'll are gone?" poster.

Arms crossed over her black leather jacket.

Her brunette hair that had red highlights now flowed past her shoulders.

Having outgrown her pony tail.

She was frowning.

She was listening to them each ramble on about their "progress" in their lives.

Trying to move on.

Finding happiness.

That was what she was forced to hear from Steve every week.

It only made her angrier.

Being forced to hear happy moments from others who were able to move on.

But not her.

She zipped up her jacket, crossing her legs which were in her leathers which Steve noticed while a grey haired man with glasses talk about what he had been up to this week.

That was how the sessions usually went.

They were casual but to Lila it was unbearable.

"So I, uh... Went on a date the other day. It's the first time in five years, you know? I'm sitting there at dinner... I didn't even know what to talk about." he told the group.

Lila frowned.

"What did you talk about?" Steve asked kindly.

"Same old crap, you know? How things have changed, and... my job, his job... How much we miss the Mets. And then things get quiet... He cried as they were serving the salads." he answered.

"What about you?" another middle aged man asked.

"I cried... just before dessert. But I'm seeing him again tomorrow, so..." the man said hopefully.

Lila uncrossed her arms and put her hands into her jacket pockets.

"That's great. You did the hardest part. You took the jump, you didn't know where you were gonna come down. And that's it. That's those little brave baby steps we gotta take. To try and become whole again, try and find purpose. I went in the ice in '45 right after I met the love of my life. Woke up 70 years later. You gotta move on. Gotta to move on. The world is in our hands. It's left to us guys, and we got to do something with it. Otherwise... Thanos should have killed all of us." Steve told the group.

Lila clenched her fists in her pockets.

Wishing that Thanos did at that moment.

Steve turned to her after a minute of silence.

"So, Lila I hear you're graduating with honors next month?" he said, turning the attention to her.

"Yep." she said simply, not engaging with him.

He frowned.

"Congratulations. You're going to be a senior in the fall, right?" the woman next to her asked kindly.

"That's what I said." Lila said rudely, mentioning a previous session.

She and Steve frowned.

"Lila, it's okay to be happy about these things. About the good things in your life." Steve reassured her.

She just shrugged her shoulders and he sighed.

"Lila, we've been doing this for a year now and you've hardly spoken. This is a safe space. Anything you wanna talk about you can. There's no judgement here." he said in a comforting manner.

Snapping her anger.

"This is all bullshit!" she said through her clenched teeth.

Narrowing her eyes at him.

"Lila…" he began but she got up, surprising the group.

"You know what! I'm glad all of you can move on and be happy with your lives but I can't!" she screamed.

.Her voice piercing Steve's ear.

"I lost everything that day! What did I do to deserve that and end up in these pointless sessions? The only thing I want are my parents and brothers! I don't care about MIT or any of this!" she stomped her foot before marching out.

"Lila, Lila…" Steve got to chase her but stopped and turned around to the alarmed group.

"Uh, sorry…" he apologized but sped walked out to the side alley.

He saw Lila reaching for her sheathed sword, strapping it on her back.

She swung her leg over her bike on the sear and starting it.

"Lila!" she heard him shout her name.

She grabbed her helmet and put it on.

"I'm just heading back to the compound. You can tell Auntie Nat about the session like you always do." she spat before sliding down her visor, revving the engine and speeding off, burning rubber.

He frowned in the alleyway, hearing the disappearing revs between the buildings.


An hour later, Lila was speeding down the empty highway north of the city.

Feeling her sword strapped against her back.

Heading upstate towards the compound down the empty highway along the Hudson.

Ignoring her vibrating phone in her pants pocket that she knew were calls from Nat.

She was hitting triple digits on her bike. Still angry from the therapy session

. She saw the Tappan Zee appear in the cloudy evening sky and sped onto it.

She slowed down to it and stopped in the middle. Hundreds of feet high over the Hudson.

She often stopped here for a moment of alone time.

Enjoying the nice view of the valley.

And the silence.

She took off her helmet and placed it in her arm.

Shutting off her bike and kicking the stand down, she got off it and walked to the edge of the bridge.

The high railing protecting her from the river far below.

She closed her eyes, doing her best to prevent tears from forming in her eyes but the teenager failed.

Gripping the railing tightly while Allowing the tears to stream down her cheeks and choked out a few sobs.

Sometimes the meeting became too much.

Deep down, that was why she knew that she never participated.

She couldn't face her own feelings of loss.

Choosing to bury them.

"I still miss you. All the time." she choked out to herself.

She sniffed and wiped the tears out of her eyes.

She heard a loud splash of water below her and opened her eyes.

Peaking over the edge she saw a pod of whales swimming up the river.

Seeing water spout from their blowholes and large tails splashing down.

Never seeing whales before, she wiped her eyes and couldn't help but stare in awe as they swam upstream.

After they swam upstream so they were out of sight, she walked back to bike and started it up.

Feeling her phone vibrate again, she sighed and sped off to the compound.

Not wanting to talk to her Aunt right now.