"It's okay, you're just doing your job.'

"No." Red hair flew while Natasha shook her head. "You're my first priority. Which is why, when all of this is over, I'm going to find another job. One that's closer to home and not as dangerous."

"But you love what you do!" Lainey's jaw dropped.

"I love you so much more." Natasha cupped her chin. "Now, let's go get you some new shoes."

Chapter Fourteen: Nothing's Gonna Harm You, Not while I'm Around

Lainey's new shoes knocked against each other as she sat in her usual seat on the quinjet.

Apparently Steve and Sam made a big mess in Berlin. Natasha wouldn't tell her all the details, but all Lainey got was they stopped the government from doing their jobs and got themselves arrested.

Natasha had been called in to help clean up the mess, but first, she was dropping Lainey off with a trusted friend. She wouldn't tell Lainey who it was, so the girl was practically vibrating with excitement.

The cat in her lap clearly did not appreciate the way she was squirming, and gracefully hopped off of her and leapt right onto Natasha's lap, much to her displeasure.

"We are not friends Little One. Go right back to where you came from and leave me alone." She raised an eyebrow at the feline.

But when the cat didn't move, she sighed and let it be. "Have you decided on a name yet Lainey?"

"No. I can't think of one…...I was gonna name her Liho, but that's scary."

Natasha had recently told her the story of Liho and she may or may not have told her that the old woman would come and get her if she ever went somewhere without telling her again.

It was a joke, but Lainey didn't find it funny at all. The story had scared the daylights out of her and she didn't want to take her chances with the old woman, so she vowed never to go anywhere without letting someone know.

Or at least try.

"How about, озорство? It means mischief in Russian. Since you found that thing, it's been getting into nothing but mischief."

It was true. So far, the kitten had gotten into Lainey's clothes and tried to tear them up, pounced all over Natasha, and untied both of their shoes several times.

"She's only a baby. She doesn't know any better." Lainey cuddled the animal, bringing her to her chest. If it were up to her, that cat would get away with everything. Luckily for Natasha, it wasn't up to her. "But I like the name. It fits…...Where are we going?"

"We're going to a friend's house." Natasha replied, taking the quinjet off of autopilot to man the vessel herself. "It's safe there."

Safe? Why did they need to go somewhere safe? Were they in danger? Was someone looking for them? Was someone going to take her away from Natasha? Lainey's mind didn't need much convincing in order to run wild as her thoughts got all jumbled up in her brain.

"You don't have to worry. Do you trust me?" Natasha asked, sensing her daughter's anxiety.

"Yes." The twelve year old responded without a hint of hesitation.

Of course she trusted Natasha. She was the one who got her out of a dangerous situation and treated her with nothing but kindness. She showed her exactly how she should be treated and how a mother loves her child.

How could she not trust her?

"But I still wanna know where we're going." Her curiosity was already peaked.

"You're going to have to wait and find out." Natasha couldn't help but smirk. The kid's excitement was infectious, but she still wasn't going to give her what she wanted. Patience is a virtue.

"Mamaaaaaaa?" Lainey whined, crossing her arms while a pout graced her face. "I want to know nowwwwww."

As annoying and unbecoming the whining was, Natasha was really glad that Lainey was starting to feel comfortable enough to express her displeasure. She'd rather hear her whining than have her flinching every time she so much as made a face of disgust. She was slowly getting over the trauma she had been carrying around. Not all, but some.

That didn't mean she had tolerate it.

"Lainey." Natasha switched the quinjet onto autopilot and made her way over to where the girl was sitting. "Relax. You'll find out when we get there."

Lainey huffed and rolled her eyes, before continuing to play with her kitten. Why wouldn't Natasha just tell her where they were going? Was it cool? Was it Hawaii, or Ohio?

How was she supposed to relax if she didn't know where they were headed?

Why was her mother torturing her?

"If you keep rolling your eyes at me like that, you'll lose your ice cream privileges." Natasha sat down next to her. "No ice cream for a week."

Lainey gasped, obviously horrified by the fact that the redhead would even suggest such a thing. She'd rather be grounded than have her favorite treat taken away from her. Although, she had never actually been grounded.

But she was sure that it had to be a better punishment than losing ice cream privileges.

"No!" She threw her arms around the woman's neck and kissed her cheek to butter her up. "I need ice cream!"

"You're so overdramatic, you know that?" Natasha scoffed. "Maybe I should just take it away from you altogether to show you that you don't actually need it, you just think you do."

Alright, fine. If she wanted to play dirty, then so could Lainey. The twelve year old sniffled and rubbed her eyes with her fist to promote tear production before giving her mother a pitiful look.

Her bottom lip stuck out in a pout, her eyes were big and sad, and she managed to make her chin tremble.

This was some master manipulation. Beginners couldn't manage this kind of stuff.

"Oh you poor baby." The Russian pouted with her, much to her chagrin. "You need your ice cream and Mama's upsetting you. You poor thing."

Lainey squirmed as Natasha lifted her up and cradled her like a toddler.

This was definitely not what she was going for. She wanted Natasha to feel bad enough to forget about ever trying to revoke her ice cream privileges. Ice cream is not a want, it's a need. She couldn't understand why adults couldn't see that.

"I know. I know. Mama's so mean to you. What ever will you do? You poor thing." The older woman clicked her tongue. "This is awful."

"Put me down!" Lainey continued to struggle while Natasha pretended to be oblivious to her annoyance. "I'm not a baby! I'm grown! I'm an adult!"

"And you're so tired, aren't you? You're exhausted, just fighting off your inevitable slumber."

Okay, so Lainey was tired. There was no denying it.

But that's besides the point! Natasha didn't need to know that!

"Come, let's sit together." She sat down with the preteen in her arms and rocked back and forth.

Something that Lainey just knew she was too old for...…though she didn't really know. She couldn't remember a time where Allison had actually rocked her to sleep...…or anything actually.

And despite the fact that Lainey really really wanted to fight this, it felt good.

Eventually she became so relaxed that her eyes had no choice but to flutter shut as she fell into a peaceful sleep.

She'd get her revenge later. Right now, sleep was more important.

The sound of birds chirping is what woke Lainey up from her much needed nap.

She opened her eyes and looked around to study her surroundings.

This definitely wasn't home. There was no traffic outside and there were no cars honking at people who were in their way. There were no sirens blaring as a cop car or firetruck raced by.

Lainey immediately crawled out of the bed she had been resting in and left the room as quietly as possible. She knew she was in a stranger's house and she had no idea where her mother was. She could have been kidnapped and drugged for all she knew.

She tiptoed into the hallway and stopped at the top of the stairs once she heard voices. There were two she couldn't place, but she knew Natasha's voice anywhere.

"All problems aside, how are you guys doing here?" She heard her ask.

She sounded calm, so that was a good sign.

Maybe she was overreacting.

"It's not nice to eavesdrop." The male voice spoke so fluidly, it took a moment for Lainey to realize that he was talking about her. "You can come out now kid."

The brunette gingerly made her way down the steps, refusing to meet anyone's eyes as she reached the bottom.

She felt three pairs of eyes staring at her, which by the way, made her feel very uncomfortable, so much so, that after a few agonizing seconds of standing there, she ran over to her mother and sat on her lap.

"Well, since she's awake, you might as well introduce yourselves." Natasha broke the ice.

"Hi Honey." The man spoke. She liked the way he called her that. It made her feel cozy. "I'm Clint, an old friend of your mother's. This is my wife, Laura." He smiled at the woman next to him.

"You're Hawkeye." Lainey shyly observed.

Clint smiled and nodded. "Sometimes."

"And this Little Miss, is Lainey, who should be asleep." Natasha joked and poked her side.

She knew waking up in a foreign place wasn't very pleasant. To be frank, she never planned on that happening to Lainey. She just wanted to have a quick conversation with Clint and Laura before turning in herself, but she failed to remember that sometimes Lainey was a very light sleeper.

It would serve her well one day.

"Since you're down here, I should tell you that I have to leave tomorrow morning." The Russian watched her daughter's facial expression change. "I'll be back, I promise you, but there's something that I need to take care of first."

"Nooooo." Lainey whined softly, trying to keep her voice down. "You have to stay here."

"Sweetheart, it's part of my job. I have to go."

"No you don't." Lainey shook her head, fighting back tears.

She had worked so hard to stay with Natasha, she couldn't give up now. What if something happened to her and she never saw her again? How could she be so calm about leaving? Why was she leaving her with people she didn't even know?

"Sweetheart, look at me."

"Noooo." Lainey sniffled and tried to get up.

Where she would go, she didn't know, but it was better than staying there and listening to this,

"Look at me Alayna." The redhead took her chin in her hand and forced her to meet her eyes. "You know I don't want to leave, but I have to do my job. Once everything is taken care of, I promise you that I'll come back and we'll do whatever you want."

"…...Can we go to Switzerland?" Lainey slightly perked up at the offer and wiped her nose on her sleeve. "And DisneyWorld?"

"Wherever you want to go honey." Natasha nodded. "I'll be back as soon as I can, but in the meantime, I need you to behave for Clint and Laura, alright?"

"Okay."

"That means, no running off to follow me this time." She clarified. "I mean it Alayna, I let you off easy this time, don't let it happen again."

"I'll stay here. I promise."

"Thank you. You're making my job easier. I can do it a lot faster if I'm not worrying about where you are or whether or not you're safe. So thank you."

Unfortunately for Lainey, the next morning came around in record speed and it was time for Natasha to board the quinjet and leave.

As calm as Lainey made herself out to be the night before, she broke her resolve and fell right into hysterics when her mother announced her departure. Just because she was twelve years old, didn't mean she wouldn't get overemotional in situations like this.

It was hard not to.

She was practically in shambles as she tried her best to keep a tight grip on her mother while Clint pulled her away. She knew that he didn't mean her any harm, but she couldn't help but kick at him and scream at the top of her lungs. Maybe if they saw how upset this was making her, they would just let her go along.

"Stop it Alayna." Natasha spoke so sternly that it startled her into keeping still. "I'm leaving and that's that. Would you like to say goodbye to me, or would you like me to take off with you kicking and screaming? Either way, I have to go. I'm not going to stand here and watch you carry on like this."

Lainey hiccuped and wiggled away from Clint, who let go of her when Natasha gave him the okay.

"Wipe those tears off your face please. There's no reason to cry, I'll be back before you know it."

Lainey did as she was told and let Natasha pull her in for a big hug before pulling away.

"Be good." This was harder than she thought it was going to be. She planned to be so calm about this and here she was, trying to latch onto her mother like a toddler with separation anxiety.

How pathetic.

"Take care of yourself Nat." Clint winked, making her roll her eyes. "I wouldn't want to have to come and save you again."

"Oh grow up." The redhead bit back.

"Enough you two." Laura scolded lightly, stroking Lainey's hair to keep her calm. "You'd better not do anything stupid Natasha."

"You jump out of a burning plane once and suddenly, you're reckless." Natasha threw her hands up and boarded the quinjet with a final wave.

And it wasn't until the jet was out of sight that Lainey burst into another set of silent tears.

She should've stayed home with Tony.

"So!" Laura clapped her hands together. "What would you like to do? We have some time to kill before the kids get back from their grandparent's. Cooper is around your age, Lila is seven, and Nate is almost two."

All Lainey could manage to do was give the woman a blank look and shrug. She didn't want to do anything.

She knew she was being kind of rude, but how was she supposed to feel?

"Come on kid, I'm not letting you wallow in self-pity the entire time that you're here." Clint got her attention. "Put your kitten down and follow me."

Lainey looked at озорство and back at Clint before shaking her head, holding the animal closer to her.

"Okay." Clint smirked and lifted the two up, despite the child's protests, and made his way to the barn.

Even though they weren't by any means related, Clint could already see the striking similarities between her and Natasha.

They were both exasperatingly stubborn. When they set their minds to something, there's no changing them. But more than that, they both were wary of trusting the people around them even if they had good intentions.

He couldn't blame either of them. Natasha grew up in the Red Room and was brainwashed into becoming a cold-blooded assassin. It took her years to deprogram herself from those ways of life. When Clint finally got to her, she went through phases of being okay, to reverting back to her old self. It was an uphill battle, but the results were priceless. He had gained a best friend and sister. Someone he could talk to and cry with at any time of day. Someone who he trusted to have his back no matter what.

He had heard about what happened in Lainey's life before Natasha adopted her. He couldn't blame her for not wanting to trust anyone that claimed to be a friend. His childhood had been a little similar to hers. Of course his parents hadn't been using him for Hydra's gain, but his father was very abusive towards him, his brother, and his mother. He hated thinking about it, but every time he saw Lainey's face, her eyes mirrored the buried pain in his own.

They both carried a load of trauma that would be easier to bear on some days, and harder to bear the next.

"Why are we here?" Lainey asked him, relaxing a little once she realized that he hasn't hurt her yet.

But she couldn't let her guard down.

"We're here to talk." Clint responded, sitting down with her still in his arms. "No one here is going to hurt you honey."

"Are you sure?" Lainey looked at him with doe eyes. "Cause sometimes I aggravate people and they hit me…...it's okay though. They can't help it. Sometimes I deserve it."

"No." Clint said firmly, not leaving room for any arguments. "That type of behavior is never okay and you have never and will never deserve it. Do you understand me?"

"Uh huh." Lainey nodded, unconvincingly. She had been hurt too many times to swallow that garbage again.

Everyone always ended up hurting her, it was just a matter of time.

"Come on." Clint set her kitten on the floor and stood up, grabbing his bow and some arrows.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm teaching you how to shoot." Clint shrugged nonchalantly.

He knew that Natasha would probably kill him for teaching her how to use a weapon, but they had to bond somehow. Besides, maybe if he made her promise not to say anything, he'd be in the clear.

"Mama said that I don't need to learn how to use a weapon." Lainey deadpanned, glancing at Mischief rolling around in some hay.

"And do you always listen to everything that Mama says?" He raised a disbelieving eyebrow.

"Good point."

"Lainey, come here honey." Clint called the child as he came through the door with his three children.

After he taught Lainey the basics of archery, he had to go pick the kids up from Laura's mother's house, so she and Laura decided to make dinner.

Lainey hated cooking, but she had more fun than she thought she would. They started off by making some spaghetti and meatballs. Once everything was finished, Lainey's eyes caught the muffin mix in the pantry and she mentioned that she had never had any.

So of course, Laura made it her mission to have this child try some blueberry muffins. They cracked the eggs, added the water and stirred, somehow getting that mixture everywhere. Lainey even got the privilege of licking the spoon.

Now she knew why that was everyone's favorite part. The mix was delicious!

But she had to wait until after dinner to actually taste the muffins.

"Go on." Laura nudged her. "I can set the table. I appreciate you helping me today."

Lainey smiled and made her way into the living room, keeping her distance from the three children.

"This is Lila, Cooper, and Nate." Clint pointed to each one. "Kids, this is your cousin, Lainey."

"Hi." Lainey waved shyly, hoping they didn't hate her already.

"Hi." Cooper smiled back.

"Hi!" Lila perked up and ran towards her. "I'm seven, how old are you?"

"Twelve." Lainey answered, a little shocked by how open and outgoing Lila was.

"Do you still play with dolls?"

Lainey shook her head, not wanting to hurt the girl's feelings.

"Oh...….." Lila deflated and perked up in a matter of seconds. "Do you wanna play with me and Cooper? We're gonna play tag!"

If there was a game that Lainey loved to play as much as hide-and-seek, it was tag.

"Yes."

"Yay!" Lila hopped up and down in her excitement, making Lainey wonder if she had anything with sugar before arriving. "We can't play with Nate yet, he's too small."

"Well before you three start playing, Lainey and I made dinner, so wash up and come down to eat." Laura had to smile when she saw them bonding.

"Okay!" Lila bounded up the stairs, practically dragging Cooper along with her, yapping about what other games they could play.

"Wanda called earlier and asked for you." Clint informed Lainey. "She said when you're ready, call her back, she wants to talk to you."

"Did she sound mad?"

"No, she didn't sound upset to me, I think she just misses you."

It had been a while since she snuck off and she hadn't even spoken to Wanda since then. Maybe she was upset with her.

And really, who could blame her? Lainey had left without telling a soul.

She didn't even tell Peter…

Oh no. Peter!

"Is it okay if I call Peter?" She asked suddenly. "He doesn't know if I'm okay, I left without telling him."

"Sure, use my phone." Clint handed the girl a burner phone as Cooper and Lila came back downstairs and sat at the table. "But call him after dinner."

"Okay." She acquiesced and followed him, sitting down in between Nate and Lila.

And just her luck, as soon as she was in reach, Nate yanked on one of her curls, giggling when she yelped and gave him an incredulous look.

"Ow!" She frowned at him and pulled her hair out of his hand, not at all finding it funny.

It hurt!

"Nate!" Laura tried not to laugh at the two. "That wasn't nice."

"Funny." He shot Lainey a sweet smile and reached for her hair again.

This time Lainey dodged him and crossed her arms. "That wasn't funny."

"Don't worry, he pulls my hair too." Lila tried to make her feel better. "He just does that sometimes."

"Well it isn't nice." Laura scolded the toddler. "Apologize to Alayna."

"Sowwy Laya." Nate actually apologized contritely, a pout evident on his face.

Lainey sized the child up, narrowing her eyes before smiling at him. He was adorable and she couldn't exactly be mad at him when he pronounced her name like that. "It's okay."

"Kiss please?" Nate opened his arms.

Lainey hated kisses. In fact, Wanda made it her job to tease her about it at every chance she got. She'd lift her up, kiss her cheek, and put her down, watching her rub furiously at her cheek to try and wipe the kiss away.

And as soon as Natasha got the memo, she did the same.

But this was different somehow.

Maybe it was because he asked so nicely, she didn't know, but she let him kiss her and forced herself not to grimace.

"Fank you." Nate smiled and ate his food.

Okay, so maybe it wasn't so bad.

But she still didn't like kisses!

"Lainey, look who's at the door!" Laura called her niece, allowing the mystery person to step inside.

"Mama!" Lainey smiled, running into her arms. "Can we go to DisneyWorld now?"

"Well hello. I missed you too sweetheart." Natasha rolled her eyes.

"You rolled your eyes! Your ice cream privileges have been revoked!"

"Excuse me Little Miss, I'm the one who buys the ice cream. If my privileges are revoked, how will you get it?" The redhead raised an eyebrow at the cheeky kid.

"Touche." Lainey sighed, knowing she couldn't win that one. "Are we going home?"

"Yes, we're going home soon, but first I have to speak with Clint and Laura." She told the child. "Have you been good while I was gone?"

"I'm always good." Lainey answered, grinning when Natasha gave her another look.

"Laura?"

"Hey!"

"She was an angel. Bring her back anytime."

"See? I told you!" Lainey rolled her eyes before she could remember not to.

"Was that an eye roll?" Natasha asked.

"No! I just wanted to look around really fast because you doubted me."

Natasha glanced at Laura, who shrugged and stifled a laugh before turning back to her daughter.

"I'll let that go. Make sure you don't roll your eyes or look around really fast again."

"Okay." Lainey grinned, knowing that she had this woman wrapped around her finger.

"Now go on upstairs and tell Clint to come down here before you start packing."

"Okay."

"And try not to eavesdrop this time, hmm?" Natasha smirked and pushed Lainey in the direction of the stairs.

"I was not eavesdropping!" Lainey whined as she made her way up the stairs, nearly bumping into Clint when she got to the top.

"And don't come down until I call for you!"

"Whoah, slow down." He chuckled. "What's the rush?"

"Mama's here and she wants to talk to you and Auntie Laura." Lainey said nonchalantly before going to the room she had been staying in.

She hadn't even realized that she had called Laura, Auntie Laura, but Clint certainly wasn't going to say anything. She was finally warming up to them and he was going to cherish that.

"Hey Nat." He smiled, seeing his best friend in the living room all in one piece.

"Hey yourself. You taught my kid how to shoot?"

"She told you?" He practically sputtered.

"No." She grinned maliciously. "But you did."

Clint's jaw dropped as he tried to wrap his head around the fact that he walked into that trap.

Again.

"Close your mouth, you'll catch flies." Laura smirked and closed his mouth for him.

"Anyway, I wanted to talk to you about the Accords." Natasha changed the subject. "The Winter Soldier was triggered and Steve and Sam took off with him. We don't know where they are, but we only have a few hours to find them. I know you don't want to be involved in all of this, but I have a really bad feeling about all of this and Lainey is starting to catch on. I took her phone away, but there's only so much I can keep from her."

"Then why don't you tell her?"

"I don't want her to know Clint." Natasha rolled her eyes. "She has enough on her plate without adding this to it. She's too young to be burden with all this crap."

"Well, I think you should tell her." Clint shrugged. "You'll figure out what to do when you're ready."

Natasha nodded and called Lainey down, forcing a smile on her when the twelve came running down the stairs with her bag and her kitten.

"Can we go to DisneyWorld now?"

"We'll talk about it on the jet, say your goodbyes and let's go."

"Bye!" Lainey hugged the couple and looked at her mother expectantly. "Where are we going?"

"Somewhere."

"Stay safe, alright?" Clint told the woman seriously.

"I always do Clint." Natasha smiled and ushered Lainey into the quinjet. "Tell the kids, I said hi."

"Are we going to DisneyWorld?" The child asked again as they took off.

"No. Sit down."

"Why?" Lainey couldn't help but pout.

Natasha had promised that when she came back, they'd go anywhere she wanted to.

What changed?

"Because we're not!" Natasha snapped.

Lainey flinched and immediately shut her mouth, not wanting to anger mother any further. She had done enough. She should've stopped asking a while ago. Natasha probably thought she was annoying or something.

And if she did, she was right.

They had been joking and having fun before she decided to be so annoying and keep asking her stupid questions.

DisneyWorld was for babies anyway. What did she need to go for?

She should probably apologize.

"I'm sorry." She spoke softly just incase, refusing to even look at Natasha.

"Oh малышка." Natasha shook her head, snapping out of whatever angry trance she was in. "You don't have anything to be sorry for. You were just excited. I'm the one who should sorry, I should have never spoken to you that way. It was uncalled for and I should've given you a straight answer. We can't go to DisneyWorld just yet, but we will. I'm sorry."

"Oh." Lainey sighed in relief. "So you don't think I'm annoying?"

"Of course not. I love it when you talk to me. I just have a lot on my mind right now. It has nothing to do with you, although, I would like to hear all about what you did for the past few days."

"Uncle Clint taught me how to shoot and I'm getting good at it! And I made muffins!"

"All by yourself?" Natasha allowed herself to be pulled into the child's world.

"No!" Lainey smiled. "Aunt Laura made them with me and we made dinner together. And I played tag with Cooper and Lila."

"So you had fun?" The woman asked. "That fit you had when I left was unnecessary?"

"Yeah, they're nice." Lainey ignored the last question. "Can I ask you something?"

"Shoot."

"Why do you look so upset?"

Natasha should've known that Lainey would pick up on her current mood. The kid was perceptive. Perhaps too perceptive.

"Things aren't going well with Uncle Steve and Uncle Tony."

"Why not?"

"Do you remember the Accords?"

"Yes."

"Well, Uncle Steve doesn't want to sign them, but Uncle Tony does and they're disagreeing over the entire thing." The redhead tried to explain to her in a way that she'd understand.

"Why?"

"Because Uncle Steve has a friend who would be in very big trouble if he signed the Accords. But this isn't anything for you to worry about, you understand? We're going to be okay."

"That's why we can't go to Florida?"

Natasha nearly laughed at the innocence of the question before answering. "Yes, that's why."

"Did you sign the Accords?"

"Yes."

"Why?" Lainey always thought that she'd be the last person to sign those documents.

"It was the right thing to do." She responded, choosing to omit the fact that as long as she complied with the government, they wouldn't come after her, and if they didn't come after her, they wouldn't come after Lainey.

She was going to do everything possible to keep that kid safe.

And she was safest with her.

She'd be damned if someone managed to take her away.

A/N: Hellloooo everyone! Happy Thanksgiving! I'm back! I'm sorry it took so long to update, but writer's block hit me again :( The story will start to really pick up from here as we get further into the Civil War plot. Maybe those powers of Lainey's will come in handy and perhaps someone in particular will find out about them ;) Who knows? Anyway, next chapter: The airport battle! Yikes!