A/N: We're actually sorta close to the end here. A longer chapter to make up for having to wait for seven days.

S-B

Of course, the night wasn't nightmare free, but honestly, it could have been a lot worse. He woke up about three times, but it was well under control. Now truth be told, between Clint and Natasha, Natasha always seemed to be worse in that department. It was probably one of the few things that Natasha was worse at than Clint. Not that it was anything to brag about.

Laura woke up at 6:30 and knew she wouldn't get any more sleep. Instead, she slipped out of bed, leaving Clint to sleep in a bit. She was surprised to find Natasha already awake reading on her iPad in the living room with a steaming hot cup of coffee beside her. Natasha looked up at her and nodded slightly at the counter indicating there was more coffee in the kitchen. Laura looked at the agent a few more seconds before she grabbed her own mug. Usually, they both preferred to sit outside if possible, but the cold October weather wasn't allowing that.

"Had fun eavesdropping yesterday?" Natasha said casually just as Laura sat down. Natasha didn't even look up from her tablet, still scanning over whatever she was looking at.

"Umm. I… Sorry." Laura mumbled embarrassed. Natasha looked up from the screen and her eyes were shining in a way that made Laura's heart sped up.

"Laura. I know this is hard. Clint is not in a great place right now." Natasha put down her tablet and leaned forward.

"I know. I just. Feel like he doesn't trust me." Laura trailed. Looking at Natasha with a sad look. The spy tilted her head before asking.

"What about tonight?"

"I mean a few nightmares, not as bad as yours…-"

"But he let you help?"

"Yes?" Natasha sipped her coffee and Laura saw her smile slightly around the rim of the mug.

"Good. I know it doesn't seem like it. But he needs you. He needs all of you. Yes, I can be his bodyguard. I already am, but that isn't what he needs. He needs the love of his family." Natasha looked up at her again. This time with a soft smile on her lips. Laura could only nod at the agent. She was probably right. And it was no use arguing with the agent anyways.

"So, how are you?" Laura asked carefully looking at Natasha.

"I've could have been better; I've could have been worse." Natasha shrugged but Laura could see her holding a tight grip around the mug. Laura didn't have the time to ask before Lila came running down the stairs throwing herself into Natasha's arms.

"Lila. Calm down." Natasha said with a soft smile hugging the smaller girl back.

"There is a new ice-cream store in town!" Lila giggled into her aunts' neck.

"Oh yeah? And let me guess you want ice-cream yeah?" Natasha laughed back

"YEAH!" Natasha laughed even more before hugging her again.

"Later Lil flower," Natasha whispered and Laura swore her heart grew like twice the size watching the two of them.

The morning went like normal. Clint was just like yesterday a bit tense but even after just a few hours, he seemed to calm down. Natasha was always around, but she too seemed to let her guard down just a bit. Cooper and Lila had always loved their aunt to pieces and watching them finally have some time with her without the fear of her leaving after a day was nice. Clint had gotten permission to get as much time as he needed off while Natasha as the faithful partner she had announced she would stay as long Clint wanted her to stay.

"Guys. I'm going to take the kids for ice-cream okay? Lila keeps asking me and I honestly think my ears might fall off." Natasha popped her head into the kitchen and Laura saw Clint throw her an uncomeatable look before he opened his mouth.

"But what if…" She only stared at him before she lifted her eyebrow at Laura and walked out of the room leaving no room for any discussions.

Laura and Clint heard the door close and the car engine start. Clint looked at her for a second before he smiled softly.

"I guess this is when I explain hu?" It was no hiding his tense voice and the slightly scared look in his eyes. He was tapping lightly on the table which I usually did when he was nervous. Laura nodded and reached out for him.

"Yes." She whispered.

"I don't know what to say. Having your brain taken out and someone else making all the decisions. It's horrifying. It wasn't my decision, but I was there, but it was my doing. I was the one that committed all the crimes. Natasha won't tell me anything. She still hasn't said anything really. She didn't even tell me Coulson died." Clint let out a small sigh.

"Coulson died?" Laura could feel the lump in her throat. Clint only nodded slowly.

"What happened. What Loki made me do. He made me want to kill her. All I could think about was wanting to see her die. Die a painful, gruesome death. In every way I know she fears." Clint let a tear fall and tightened the grip around his hand.

"But as she said. I rather want you to go after me. Try to kill me, than ever watching you go after them." Clint's voice cracked as he looked at Laura. Laura was stunned. What Loki had done was…was horrifying.

"I am glad she was there. God knows what would have happened if they sent anyone after you that wasn't her. Everyone but her or maybe Maria would probably have killed you on the spot." Laura said moving over behind Clint and hugged him tightly.

"Mhm. That woman is something else." Laura kissed him carefully looking at him with a small worried look.

"And, how is she?" she asked. He looked slightly surprised by the question but answered fairly quickly.

"I don't know. I think Loki did something, but I don't know what. She was so out there. She wanted to fight. No hiding in the shadows anymore. Like she had something to prove. Which she doesn't." Clint looked at her and she nodded. Even if there was a hard time ahead it was nice to sit down and just talk.

The next time Clint asked her to talk it took her by surprise. They had just hurled the kids to bed and Natasha looked like she was about to pass out on the couch when Clint asked to talk. To both of them. Natasha had seemed hesitant at first. It was fourteen days since they came home from their mission and Lila had been asking her to play with her none stop. And yet again Laura watched Natasha push herself way too far. But even with a tired Natasha Clint continued to push until she finally gave in.

"So, as you both know Fury gave me a good amount of time off." Clint started. Natasha looked at him with a small smile before cutting him off.

"As much as I love you. I really don't think this is worth my time. I can already feel a headache and honestly, I don't think I can do any sort of small talk Clint." Natasha was already on her feet just about to leave when Clint dropped the bomb

"I want to retire." Laura froze in shook. This was not what she was expecting that was for sure. She watched as Natasha slowly turn around.

"Excuse me?" Her eyes were locked at his.

"I want to retire. Maybe not for good but you know back off from the field. More office work and not as much life-threatening situations." Natasha's eyes were already in full fire and Laura was concerned she was going to jump him right there and then.

"So, you are seriously just going to ditch me?" Laura knew that wasn't what Clint was saying, of course, it wasn't. But she could understand what Natasha was thinking. Clint had been her partner her whole SHIELD carrier. He had been there when she was just a young woman without any idea what to do.

"Natasha, of course not. But Fury said it was a possibility and honestly this is what I want. He even said that now that Captain America is a part of SHIELD, he would need a partner. So, I just thought-" Clint was not making this any better.

"You talked to him before me?!" Natasha growled walking up to him only a few inches from his face.

"I mean, I guess. I just know I need this." Clint was rambling at his point trying to fix what he had no destroyed.

"And what if I need you?!"

"Natasha you said it yourself I need my family. I need to spend time with the people I really care about." The regret in his eyes was there immediately and Laura had never seen Natasha so hurt in her life. It was like she could hear her heart shatter into pieces.

"Ok." She only whispered before she silently left the room leaving a confused and devastated Laura and Clint Barton behind.

Clint was walking back and forth in the living room with his hands crossed. Yesterday was a disaster and it hadn't helped to find Natasha's room empty the next day. Even the kids had known she was gone before the grown-up had because of course the agent had snuck into their rooms and kissed them goodbye. She didn't even bother to write a note to the two of them

Clint was fuming. He knew he had messed up. The kids were off to school and kindergarten leaving the two of them alone. Laura had a lot of time to think about what had happened. She knew Clint never meant to say Natasha wasn't important to him, but she had to take Natasha's side on this one. The way he had expressed himself wasn't great. Of course, since Laura didn't leave him, he had time to explain everything to her. But Natasha wasn't here to hear his explanation.

"I really messed up didn't I. I mean I don't even know where she is anymore." Clint fell down on the sofa with a thud.

"Yes, you did. And now you need to fix it." Laura confirmed with a soft reencouraging smile.

"Suggestions?" Clint asked looking at her with a helpless look.

"Maybe call Maria. She might know where she is at least." Laura said as she slipped down next to him.

"Okay." Laura watched as he scrolled through his contacts and touched Maria's name. After a few seconds, Maria's face popped up on the screen.

"Barton it's been like one day into your official retirement," Maria said with a smirk. Clint smiled back before starting.

"Do you know where Natasha is?" Laura watched Maria move her nose ever so slightly before replying.

"Right now, she is out with Pepper Potts actually." Laura smiled at the mention of Pepper and Maria winked.

"Text me details later yeah?" Laura said with a small laugh.

"You bet." Maria smiled back before turning her attention back at Clint who looked confused between the two of them.

"Why do you need her? Can't say I expected you to ever ask that you are the one that had tabs on her before. I mean he pretty much lives in your house." Maria said with a small shrug.

"Not anymore…I said something really dumb. I told her I wanted to retire to stay with the people that I cared about. But obviously, I care about her. And I messed up. I need to make it up to her." Clint explained with a loud sigh. To both of their surprise, Maria let out a laugh getting a sharp look from both of them.

"Funny you would say that. That's kinda what she is doing right now. Anyways. She just needs you to prove you still care. I don't need to be a mother to tell she is frustrated already. She came running into my office and said she needed to spar someone that she wouldn't break under five seconds. She was not very fun to work with today I got to say." Maria said with a sarcastic voice.

"So, I'll just show up at the Triskelion and hope she doesn't kill me then?" Clint asked coldly.

"No, I would try Stark's tower in New York actually. First of all, you can't get killed there. Or at least she can't drag out a painful death in a big industrial building with cameras everywhere. But she also seems to spend an awful amount of time there now." Maria shrugged. Clint only mumbled back.

"Oh, I am sure she'll find a way. But thank you, Maria." One wink at Laura later and Maria ended the call. Clint looked at Laura for a second before mumbling.

"So, I guess I am going back to New York then?"

Even if what Maria was way out of Clint's comfort zone did as he was told. Laura had no idea was his plan was, but she hoped it would work because she didn't wasn't to have to explain to her kids that their favorite aunt wouldn't be around because their dad messed up. This whole situation reminded her of high school drama where the boy broke up with the girl but then is trying to win, he back. That pretty much explained Clint's situation right now. Clint spent a lot of time just walking back and forth in the living room planning out his speech for Natasha before he five days later decided to finally give it a try. Also known as Laura kicking him out of the house.

When Clint came home, he seemed fine which meant Natasha didn't try to kill him at least. He described her as someone in a ridicule's good mood. Talking to her had apparently been a breeze. And now that they were on good terms again, she just hoped Natasha would visit soon. She had a feeling she had she knew why Natasha was in such a good mood, but she wanted to hear it from her before Maria spilled it all.

Christmas was just around the corner and Laura was so happy because for the first time in three years Natasha was finally joining them again. She had forced her to take the day off threatening to call Nick Fury herself if she didn't. Clint was currently on a gift run before he was going to pick the kids up after their last day of school and kindergarten before the holidays. Laura was preparing dinner when the kids stormed the kitchen followed by their dad.

"When is Nat coming?"

"I am hungry!"

"When is dinner?!

Laura just laughed at her two kids as she watched them jump up and down.

"I don't know. She told me she had to fix something earlier today so hopefully before dinner which will be at 6 pm as always." Laura giggled when the two of them nodded and sprinted out of the room at the same pace they had arrived

"Hi. How was Christmas shopping?" Laura asked softly kissing Clint as he hugged her. He smiled at her before he showed her a bag from what looked like a very expensive store. She peeked into the bag and was surprised to see a small black velvet box. Since he showed her the gift it certainly wasn't for her and it was only one other woman in his life that important.

"Why do I feel like you spend more money and time on that necklace than my engagement ring?" Laura said with a playful voice when he picked up the box.

"Don't think I did, but it's pretty close." Clint hummed kissing her cheek lightly. "Take a look" Clint handed her the box and Laura let her finger glide over the soft fabric. She opened the box slowly revealing a small beautiful arrow necklace.

"Solid silver of course. Turn it around." Clint said still smiling at her with a soft smile. Laura turned it slowly to see a beautiful little diamond and 04.10.2005 engraved.

"It's lovely. I think she is going to love it." Laura said with a low voice.

"The only thing I was unsure about was the date," Clint said with a playful voice.

"Why? It's the day you brought her home, right?" Laura asked, closing the box carefully before handing it back to Clint.

"Eh, yeah, but she is Russian, they write 10.04 and not 04.10." Clint laughed softly. Laura smiled at him again.

"Doesn't matter. She is going to love it anyways.

The small family spent their afternoon playing around together in the living room talking about everything the kids wanted to do this holiday. But as the day went on Laura felt her stomach tighten as it continued to show no sign of a Natasha Romanoff anywhere. She wasn't the only one who noticed. Neither of her two kids wanted to do anything with their dinner because they couldn't eat before she was here. They just couldn't. In the end, Laura and Clint were forced to push the two kids up the stairs to bed even if it meant having to listen to Coopers complains about them promising she would be here and Lila's crying for not having her aunt braid her hair like apparently, she had promised.

Laura stood outside Cooper's room watching Clint read for the two of them with Lila cuddled up to her brother. Her eyes were red, and she could see she was still fighting the tears. Laura didn't feel any better than Lila looked. She missed Natasha as well. Even though Clint and Natasha made it up months ago Natasha was back into full work and got more missions than ever working with Captain Rogers day in and day out. Laura swore she hadn't seen the other woman in ages. And it hurt. Natasha was the single most important person in Laura's life of course not counting Clint and the kids.

Clint didn't come down again that evening. Meaning he either fell asleep in the kids' room or he went straight to bed. Either way, it gave Laura room to just be alone and think. She curled up in the chair wrapping herself in a soft blanket Natasha had left behind. Fuck, of course, she was wrapped in Natasha's blanket. Laura was already annoyed and when her eyes felt on her tea, she felt yet another shot to her heart realizing it was the mug Natasha used to give her whenever she prepared Laura's favourite tea. Laura wanted to scream as she threw the book in her lap hard at the wall. An adoption of Natasha's favourite ballet, the nutcracker.

It was such childish behavior from her, but she just couldn't help it. Tomorrow, no a glance at the clock told her, today was the day before Christmas. Natasha was supposed to be with her now, drinking tea with that smirky smile on her face after she had tricked Lila into bed and talked Cooper into a heavy sleep. Then Laura would wake up to a Natasha who had already been up hours calming she just was an early bird with a stack of pancakes on the table in front of her and a warm cup in her left hand. Then she would tease about Clint being a bad husband making her do all the work.

But none of that would happen because Natasha wasn't here and for the first time Laura realized Natasha might not make it to Christmas at all. She had sent her gifts with Clint weeks ago, but she hadn't thought about what that might mean before now. But Natasha had done it to at least make sure the gift arrived even if she didn't. Laura looked out the window seeing soft snowflakes slowly make their way down to the ground. At least they got a white Christmas right. One of the one things Natasha had so wished for this year. Laura was guessing it was because it reminded her of Russia in wintertime, but she didn't know that for sure.

A cold breeze caught her attention. Where did that come from? She turned around slowly. The house was quiet, no sign of anyone alive and awake beside her. She almost screamed when she felt a cold hand on her shoulder. No, she did scream. But her scream turned into a muff when's yet another hand overhead her mouth and two wide eyes looked at her with an eyebrow raised. Laura's heart was still pounding at lightning speed, but she slowly forced herself to calm down under Natasha's firm grip.

"What the hell was that!?" Natasha hissed looking at her still with wide eyes. "You almost woke the entire neighborhood!" Natasha'sNatasha green eyes were looking at her in disbelief.

"That's what happens when you just lurk up on me like that, Nat. And I should ask you the same." Laura said trying to look mad. Judging by Natasha's small laugh she wasn't doing a very good job.

"Sorry," Natasha mumbled hugging her from behind. Laura felt the weight on her and by the way, Natasha had looked at her and the tight hug she could sense something was wrong.

"Natasha…" Laura whispered turning slowly around to look at her. Natasha looked pale and tired. Her eyes were looking deep into Laura's own. "Hungry?" Laura continued after a long time of just staring at the other girl. Natasha nodded slowly following the other woman before falling onto a chair. Laura had more leftovers than she probably would ever eat. In her family, they had a tradition to make something small and easy as their "the night before the night before Christmas dinner" as her dad had called it. It was really just an excuse to make something simple before the big holiday meals started. Her dad favourite had always been her grandmother's traditional Italian spaghetti with anchovies and the recipe had been passed down to her the year she got pregnant with Cooper.

She warmed the food carefully while keeping a small eye on Natasha who was sitting in a chair with her eyes closed. The woman seemed tense still. Whatever had held her up had clearly been a lot of work.

"You okay Talia?" Laura asked carefully placing the plate in front of the woman handing her one of the two glasses of water. Natasha didn't answer at first, only sniffing the food looking at it with two hungry eyes. She smiled at Laura before taking a bite and Laura couldn't help but let out a small laugh when Natasha moaned softly after the first bite.

"When was the last time you ate?" Laura asked. Her voice was soft but had a demanding tone to it making no room for any dumb excuses.

"To be honest. I have no idea."

"Natasha!" Laura couldn't help herself looking at the other woman with two annoyed eyes.

"It's a lot of stuff happening at the triskelion right now. It's the sort of tension you notice but doesn't know what means or where it comes from. Fury was in a bad mood. And Maria came back from a rough mission and yeah everything is kinda a mess right now. Maria spent like 5 hours sparing with me just to get her anger out on something that wouldn't snap in one second before she shoved me into Fury's office." Natasha explained still not looking up from her plate.

"How did you get here then?" Laura asked slowly watching the woman in front of her.

"Pepper and Stark decided to celebrate Christmas back in California. They dropped me off on their way over here. Pep was caught up in some work as well, so they had to leave later than planned too." Laura couldn't help but notice the way Natasha called Pepper, Pep. Interesting.

Laura continued to look at the woman while thinking about what Natasha said. Tension back at SHIELD? Clint hadn't mentioned that once. Does he know? Or does he ignore it? Laura was lost in her thoughts when her eyes fell on Natasha's hand and her head snapped.

"Natasha are you okay?" Natasha looked up at her surprised, confused about where that question came from.

"I…? what?" Laura looked at her again before pointing at her right hand.

"Natasha you're eating with one fork. In your right hand. Are you hurt?" Laura asked again with a worried tone. It sounded insane out loud. Most people did usually move their fork to their right hand if they put down their knife. That is if they are right-handed. But Natasha was in theory lefthanded by trait. Both she and Clint were left-handed, and both were able to use their offhand as well as their dominant. But Natasha was steadier with her off-hand. She was one of the most ambidextrous people in the world. The only way you could tell she was a leftie was how she instinctively used her left but, unlike Clint, she could switch to her right at any point in any activity. She could even write with her right, both hands producing beautiful cursive handwriting.

But one thing Natasha never did was breaking any rules of the traditional etiquette. Her posture was flawless, and her manners were on point. Meaning she always used both her fork and knife. Her using her right hand to use the fork was just not right.

"Why even bother to try," Natasha mumbled before she moved the sleeve up her arm and showed Laura her left hand. Laura let out a small sigh when she saw the bandage around her wrist and palm of her hand.

"What happened?" Laura asked slowly while investigating the hand further.

"Rumlow was almost mad for some reason. He threw a knife and I caught it by instinct. Kinda forgot his knife has a longer blade than mine…" Natasha sighed. Laura looked at her in disbelief. This god damn woman. What kinda person instinctively reaches out to catch a knife. Every saint person screams and jumps away.

"Do you need ay stitches or?" Laura asked letting go of Natasha's hand before she took her empty plate and placed it in the sink.

"No, I took care of it. A bed would be nice though." Natasha said softly. Laura nodded before she led her upstairs. Natasha's bed was of course already premade. She was more interested in her own bed and if it was filled with kids or not. One fast peek into the room and her answer was clear. Cooper was lying in her spot and Clint was sleeping with Lila practically on him.

"What the hell, Clint," Laura mumbled low before she closed the door slowly.

"To be fair I would probably have fallen asleep as well if I had to read the same book 500 times in a row," Natasha said with a low laugh. Laura let out an annoyed grunt in agreement.

"Come Laura. We're both too tired to make another bed." Natasha said simply leading her into her own room. Laura only nodded. She didn't fight it. She was too tired to do so. Natasha threw her a pair of pajamas before she crawled into bed Laura following close behind.

"I'm glad you came Natasha," Laura whispered as she drifted off.

"I'm glad I did too."

Natasha's sleep was restless Laura could tell. She could feel her move around beside her. Kicking the cover off and swinging her leg out of bed. She could tell she was pacing back and forth in the room even if she couldn't hear or see her. She could tell something was bothering her. But at the same time, she didn't know what. And the need for sleep was hard to fight. To the point where Laura wasn't sure she even was awake or imagining it anymore.

When she finally woke up the early sunrise was throwing a soft yellow hue in the room. Judging by the light it was probably close to 9 am which was really late. She expected a Lila to jump them around 6 am. She threw a glance at the door surprised to see Natasha's small traveling door lock on the doors. Because of the kid's age, they didn't have any keys in the door in case any of them locked any doors and lost the key. Of course, Clint could pick a lock but Laura couldn't and it wasn't any point in taking any chances. She rarely used it outside of missions. Only when she was really behind on her work desperate for some quiet time.

Laura turned around to find Natasha curled up with her back towards her.

"Nat?" Laura asked carefully slipping out of bed before moving to the other side. Natasha's eyes followed her until she sat down in front of her.

"When was the last time you slept?" Natasha closed her eyes and Laura watched her think.

"Nat, if you have to think about it that long it's been too long," Laura concluded waving at Natasha to make space for her. Natasha obeys letting Laura sit on the bed. Natasha moved her head to rest in Laura's lap.

"A good night's sleep is few and far between, you know this," Natasha mumbled.

"yes, but a night sleep doesn't need to be good it just needs to be something," Laura said softly. The two of them got interrupted when they heard a soft knock on the door.

"Breakfast guys. Also, welcome home Nat." Clint's voice was happy, and Laura couldn't help but smile at her husband who was so patient with them sometimes.

Of course, the first thing the kids did when they walked into the living room was to throw themselves around Natasha's neck. Laura threw Clint a worried look when Natasha stumbled backward struggling to keep herself up straight. Natasha never stumbled.

Clint took the hint calling the kids over to the table. Lila and Cooper untangled themselves from their aunt running over to the table. Laura didn't bother to correct them on the running inside instead she just sat down on her own chair watching Natasha take her seat beside Lila.

The kids were over the moon. Both of them had grown up with Natasha as a big role model and of course aunt, but holiday celebrations with Natasha were rear. Lila couldn't remember the last time Natasha was here for Christmas, she was only one back then. And Cooper was by now more used to the disappointment of his absent aunt than the enjoyment of her company at these family times. The conversations were all over the place talking about gifts, the holiday, New Year's, pancakes, get a dog apparently? Wait excuse me a dog?! Laura had no idea what was going around the table, but she didn't care. All she cared about was the family finally getting to spend some real quality time together.

"Mom, can we go out and play in the snow?" Lila was bouncing in her chair as she gazed out the window.

"Yeah, please! We can all have a snowball fight or something." Cooper added on with a begging smile. Laura looked at the two adults. Natasha shrugged but smiled softly at the kids. Clint on the other hand almost looked just as excited as the kids and Laura couldn't help but laugh. Apparently, she had three children now and one wife.

Clint and Natasha held back helping Laura clean up in the kitchen after breakfast letting the kids run off to get dressed. Laura didn't even know if she had any appropriate winter clothing. Natasha was really the only one out of the five that was used to weather below 18 Fahrenheit. The snow wasn't unfamiliar to them but usually wasn't that cold outside even with the snow. And it was rarely enough snow to really make something out of it. This year it seemed the weather gods granted Natasha's wish for the white winter letting the temperature drop down to 10 degrees accommodated with 5 inches of snow which had to beat some sort of record.

Laura found a cold coat and that plus three other layers she was positive she wouldn't be freezing to death. At least not immediately. Natasha had given her and Clint two matching hats for Christmas a few years ago. It was 100% wool, and Laura was positive that was the only winter clothing that actually served its purpose and kept that body part warm.

The first thing Lila did when she ran outside was to faceplant down in the snow with Cooper close behind and the first thing Clint did was to shovel snow down their necks. Laura laughed before she joined them in the snow activities throwing a snowball loosely towards Clint. She didn't snap out of her play before Natasha joined them. She was only dressed in what seemed to be yoga pants a sweater and a west on top. She had a black headband and a pair of gloves.

"Natasha. Are you mad, you're going to freeze to death!" Laura exclaimed as she saw the other woman when she walked down to the kids.

"Laura you do realize that when I worked for Russia our headquarters was in northern Russia in the middle of nowhere. This is like a summer day." She joked softly.

"So, what are we doing kids?" She said as she watched Cooper and Lila trying to make snowballs.

"We're trying to see who can throw the furthest," Cooper said excitedly.

"The farthest." Natasha corrected softly before continuing. "So, we're just throwing then?" Cooper nodded again handing her a snowball.

The competition wasn't much of a competition. Lila was still young, so throwing wasn't her biggest strength. But Natasha still praised up to heaven telling her she was way better than others her age. But Laura was sure Natasha had probably beaten Lila's length when she was her age. Cooper was a pretty strong thrower according to his dad. Laura had nothing to measure up against. She had no idea how long an almost 9-year-old was supposed to throw anyways. Natasha and Clint were, of course, the best of them. Clint beat her by a few yards, but both Laura and Clint had a feeling it might have to do with the fact that she was using her right arm and not her left like him. Of course, his victory was short lasted before Natasha showed off with her incredible aim. Beating him at targets with a score almost putting Clint to shame.

"Can we build a snow horse now?" Lila was dragging her dad after her jumping up and down. "please, please, please"

"A horse?" Laura asked surprised looking at her begging child.

"Yes. Big enough for me to ride it." Lila said, still with the same enthusiasm.

"Okay then," Laura said looking at her husband how was already starting to gather some snow.

"Coop? Nat?" She said turning around to the two of them with a small questionable look.

"No thanks, mom. Natasha is showing me a few moves like she promised." Cooper answered. Laura nodded slowly. She was not surprised. Natasha was an excellent teacher. And while she hoped none of her kids would ever need to use any of their self-defense, she was happy Natasha was teaching them the basics.

While Cooper was working with Natasha Lila was "helping" Laura and Clint with the snow horse. The idea was to make three giant snowballs and connect them making the body before another big snowball as the head and neck. The theory was nice. In practice. Not so nice. Still, Laura was enjoying just playing again and soon enough they had sculpted something that if you squint you might see something that looked sorta like a horse.

Laura had no idea what was happening on the other side of the driveway when they heard a rather loud thump and a small squeal followed by a groan. She turned around to find Natasha on the ground with cooper on top of her and her eyes flicked in discomfort before she carefully pushed herself up from the snow.

"Are you two okay?" Both Clint and Laura jogged over to the two of them with Lila following close behind.

"Coop? You okay?" Laura could hear Natasha ask softly, ignoring the two parents. Cooper nodded slowly and Laura saw Natasha say something that looked like "good" before she gave him a small hug.

"What happened?" Laura was by their side in an instant checking up on Cooper to make sure he was fine. She didn't think about the fact that the boy was literally sitting on Natasha's stomach before she answered.

"Good question. I think he fell and I think I grabbed him to softened the impact. But to be honest I don't even know." Clint scooped Cooper off her and dragged her on her feet.

"Well, I think that's enough training for you bud. But if you and your sister want, I can show you have to make these awesome snow lanterns Clint said with a happy tone to lighten the mood.

"YAY," Lila said running back towards the snow horse.

"I'm going to go inside," Natasha mumbled getting a small worried look from Laura. Natasha only smiled softly back. Nice try Natasha, Laura thought. She wasn't getting away this time.

"I'm going to check up on Nat before starting on some dinner. It's almost getting dark." Laura said with a low voice kissing Clint softly. He moaned into the kiss before nodding.

"okay. Can't believe it's so late already." Laura nodded in agreement. She had enjoyed the day ad time had just been flying. By the time she made it into the house, she could hear Natasha in the kitchen.

"Nat?" She asked softly when she finished undressing herself from the first three layers of her clothing.

"mhm?" Natasha answered popping her head out from behind the wall.

" Wanna explain why it's blood on my floor?" Laura asked half demanding walking toward the kitchen. The kitchen table looked like an operating table with blood and bandages everywhere. Natasha was looking down at her bloody hand with two concentrated eyes.

"Fall tore the stitches open," Natasha said before Laura had time to ask. She only nodded carefully before she walked up to her and grabbed the injured hand.

"Damn Nat. that had to be a really sharp knife." She said. The wound was deeper than expected. But it was a clean cut. So that was something she guessed.

"Let me just finish this before we'll start on dinner okay?" Natasha answered with a grimace before she looked down on her hand again. Whenever Natasha was in deep concentration she fell into an emotionless mode. Her eyes get darker and more distance. If you don't know her you would think she zoned out. But Natasha had explained to her before that the technique was a complicated and advanced skill they were taught in the red room. The goal was to be able to focus on your target while letting your subconscious work on the rest of the information around you, to sense changes and movements without actually taking away tour focus on your target.

Laura decided to let her work in peace and started on dinner. The day before Christmas was always ham. Christmas eve was turkey and Christmas day was beef. Everything after was whatever the kids wanted really because at that point both Laura and Clint were done with holiday dishes.

Laura let out a loud groan when she realized that one of her big pots were put away into the storage room.

"Hey, Nat? I need to grab a few things, but can you be a dear and throw on some water in the kettle I need some tea." Natasha nodded with a soft smile still concentrating on her hand.

Laura walked down the hall and looked through her storage room. She hated this room with a passion. They never sorted it and it was a mess all the time. The only good thing with the holiday was that they used most of the stuff in here to decorate so it only took her 10 minutes to find the dumb pot.

Laura stopped outside the living room when she heard Natasha's voice from the kitchen.

"Maria as much as I love hearing your demanding voice, I thought you would respect the holiday hours." Her voice was cold and partly distance making Laura believe she was still working on the cut.

"You know we don't celebrate Christmas, Natasha. And neither do you"

"Well I didn't but this year I do. And I am not going to hold Laura or Lila back if you pull me in now." Laura smiled. Yeah, that's damn right. Don't you dare take Natasha now.

"I'm not. But I need you to do some research and work." Laura heard Natasha let out a small sigh before saying.

"Oh, do enlighten me, Ms. Hill."

"A lot of assassins had been going down recently."

"As always…"

"Not like that Natasha. They are untraceable. Or they seem like it. Some of them are big politicians and or bright brains. Others seem more or less normal. Civilians"

"Okay, but why me?"

"Because most of them happened in Europe. Some in the states as well but a minority. And you know us Americans we know like two languages tops. You, on the other hand, know like 10."

"18, but yeah go on."

"We don't know much about the once behind. Might be one person or maybe more. But we need information. How much do you know about Scandinavia?"

"Not a whole lot."

"Any Scandinavian languages?"

"They are pretty much the same language Maria."

"Norwegian?"

"Decent, but not without an accent."

"Reading?"

"Flawless."

"Good"

"Care for an explanation now?"

"Do you know what recently happened in Norway?"

"Depends what you're aiming for. Nobel prize was like 13 days ago and they got a new Prime minister?"

"Exactly that."

"Again, why?"

"We are looking into a pattern her. We think Norway might be the next target."

"Norway is a country, not a person…"

"You know what I mean Romanoff. I just need you to look into this. We don't know if we want to send a strike team or not."

"How long do I have?"

"What about ten hours."

"Maria…"

"Okay, 24. Now get to work.

The conversation ended and silence fell over the house. The only sound you could hear was Lila's laugher and Clint's yelp from outside when Cooper and Lila drowned him in snow.

"Laura, I know you're there." Natasha's voice was calm, and Laura could feel her cheeks get warm when she realized she got caught.

"Sorry," Laura said with a soft smile.

"it's okay," Natasha said. She was slowly wrapping her hand in a new clean bandage.

"So the new mission thing?" Laura tried to hide how hurt and mad she was, but she knew Natasha. She could read her like a book. It was nothing she could hide from the spy.

"Yeah. I need to look into this. I…Fuck. I just really don't have the energy for this." Laura looked at the woman carefully. Natasha rarely admitted her lack of energy.

"You okay Natasha?" Laura asked before she placed the pot on the stove.

"Yeah. I just wished I didn't have to work." Lie.

"But I'm fine" Also lie.

"Well, I guess you should start then. I'll finish dinner on my own. It's fine Natasha." Natasha only nodded before she slipped out of the room. Well fuck. Maria better not have ruined Christmas.

Dinner was on the table at 5 pm and the kids were currently talking about everything they hoped they would get for Christmas. Natasha had used Laura's study room to work and hadn't been able to rip herself away from the pc before Clint threatened with throwing her into a pile of snow.

"Auntie Nat?" Lila said with a happy voice.

"Mhm? What's up, flower." Natasha answered back, reflecting Lila's happy voice.

"We eat pork because that's mommy's family tradition and beef because of daddy. What did you eat for Christmas when you were a child?" Laura stopped eating and threw Clint a small look before turning her attention to Natasha who seemed just as thrown off by the question.

"I didn't," Natasha answered with a casual voice. It was so pain-free it almost surprised Laura even more.

"You didn't celebrate Christmas?!" It was Cooper's turn to talk now. The boy's voice was shocked and filled with disgust.

"No sweetheart. Christmas was banned in Soviet Russia."

"But what about present?" Lila's asked looking up at her aunt who only smiled softly.

"I never got presents either." She said with a calm voice. She seemed surprisingly calm about the situation.

"Never?" Lila whispered surprising Laura when she realized what her four-year-old was actually asking.

"No Lila. I never celebrated Christmas before I met your dad and mom. And I never celebrated my birthday either." Natasha said slowly cutting into her food still with an awfully relaxed face.

"But your birthday is April 10th?" Cooper asked confused looking at his parents for confirmation.

"No, Coop, it's not. It's just a date your dad made up as an excuse." She answered. Laura and Clint both sat in silence just watching the conversation in front of them.

"So, you have never gotten a gift before you met dad?" Cooper asked again.

"Not the kind of gift you think when you imagine a gift."

"What kind of gift then?" Lila asked. The girl almost looked like she was going to cry.

"Not anything child-friendly," Natasha said with an almost sad smile. Laura saw Clint lift his eyebrow and Natasha dropped her fork. And it was then she realized Natasha was signing. She only knew the absolute basics of ASL, but she knew what she was saying. It was a gun.

A/N: SO MUCH WORK OH MAH GWad. So sorry for the wait guys. I am trying my best. I have four days off this next week. I hope. We'll see how this will work out. Only time will tell.