Disclaimer: All characters belong to Marvel.


"Hi sweetie!" Natasha heard the woman say behind her as she spun to go back to the house, holding in an eye roll as she put on the sweetest smile she could muster and turned to face her.

"Hi there! Good morning" she replied, adjusting the baby.

"We are the Coughlin's. I am Holly, he's Ron. We live across the street. We couldn't help but notice when you two moved in. None one has lived in that house for years" Yes, they were definitely the noisy type.

"Well, I am Natalie; we are the Johansson's. My husband and I just got back from Europe. The house was owned by our boss and she sold it to us when we told her we wanted to come back home"

"Oh, that's wonderful. Is this your son?" she tried touching his cheeks but he immediately whined. Good boy.

"Yes, Clinton. He's our pride and joy"

"He looks just like you. Look at that hair! And his lips! Just like his mama! How old is he?" that pitchy voice… she was going to have a migraine if she didn't escape soon.

"Almost six months. He's getting used to the new place and language but he's doing fine" If there was something from her old life Natasha had been more than happy to keep, was her ability to lie. It came naturally, and she enjoyed seeing the unsuspecting ones buying every single one of her lies. Just like Holly and Ron.

"He wasn't born here?" he asked with what Natasha could only describe as disdain.

"He was born in Russia. Not by choice" she glared at the man and his wife shushed him. Jerk.

"There will be a barbeque in our house this weekend. The entire neighborhood is invited. Feel free to join us" Holly smiled.

This was turning into such a cliché, that she was having a hard time stopping the eye rolls now.

"We will try" she saw the red Mercedes SUV Wanda usually drove and sighed in relief "We need to go, my sister is picking me up to go grocery shopping and this little guy isn't ready" she waved at Wanda when she parked the SUV and walked out of the car.

"Nat, hi" Wanda smiled as she stood next to the redhead, followed by Pietro, who just waved.

"Twins" she greeted, and noticed the neighbors still standing there. Of course. "These are Holly and Ron, my neighbors"

"I'm Wanda, he's Pearce my brother." The brunette stated in a perfect American accent. Vision was doing his part of the job it seemed.

"I thought you said your sister was picking you up?" Ron asked, and she was just about ready to punch the guy. How noisy could they be?

"Yes, and she's my baby sister. I didn't think our brother was tagging along" she playfully glared at Pietro, who shrugged and took the baby from her arms, walking towards the house.

"We'll be going before Pearce accidentally hurts himself or the baby. I'll see you later, bye!" Natasha waved and basically dragged Wanda to the house, closing the door with more force than was probably needed.

"I'm your sister?" And there was the accent she had learned to tolerate.

"Well, you and Pietro are the babies of the team. And it's better than telling them you are magically enhanced kids product of a semigod's scepter"

"You got a point. They are snobby" Wanda laughed and followed her to the living room.

"They were Tony's neighbors, what did you expect?"

"He is a cute kid. Looks like you from afar" Pietro stated from his position on the couch, where he laid with the baby on his stomach, giggling.

"Yeah, whatever. Can I trust you both to bath him and get him ready while I do the same? Blondie, feet off the table and get the car seat in the SUV" she stated before disappearing upstairs.

"Not even two days with the baby here and she's already acting like a mother." Wanda stated in Sokovian as she took the baby from her brother and walked upstairs and into Steve's bedroom, Pietro following with the baby's tub and fresh clothes.

"Maternal instincts. She already had them, look at how she hovers over us whenever we get hurt in a mission, especially you" he said as he filled the tub and poured the soap "They don't care much if I get hurt"

"If you weren't such a punk sometimes, they would like you more" she replied and then proceeded to wash the baby. Once ready, she walked back to Steve's room and placed him on the bed, starting to dress him.

"Do you think she knows Cap likes her?" Pietro asked, running a hand through the baby's wet red locks "He really looks like Natasha"

"I don't think she knows she likes him. And he's Cap, he won't make a move"

"And this is my temporary home, so either you speak a language I understand, or you go. Now let's go before he gets grumpy" Natasha stated from the doorway. Pietro laughed, speeding down the stairs to fix the seat while Wanda handed the freshly showered baby to Natasha.

"We go to the facility? Stark and Dr. Cho want to check the baby"

"Sure, but we do need to do grocery shopping. Remind me to talk Tony into getting me a car. I don't think my Corvette is made for babies"

-00-

Pietro drove like he run. Natasha usually didn't mind but for God's sake they had a child on board. So of course, after stopping briefly to refuel the SUV, Wanda took over, probably sensing the more than homicidal thoughts going through the red head's mind.

Arriving at the facility was interesting, to say the least. Tony and Helen had barreled through the other Avengers, taking the child away and barely giving Natasha any time to catch up. Luckily, their testing was fast.

"Is he okay?" she asked as she saw Pietro and Vision babysitting the baby. Wanda had gone to fetch some food and get the groceries she needed, so she had to settle on them.

"He seems a bit smaller than average, considering his age, but he's healthy. No trace of previous diseases and he's strong. We gave him a few shots, so expect him to be a little moody and clingy tonight. How was last night?" Dr. Cho said as she typed away on her tablet. Oh great.

"He woke up four times, but I finally managed to settle him at two. Rogers was pretty much useless, so he'll be on baby duty tonight"

"He's getting used to his environment, so I'm not surprised. He should settle soon. How's the façade going?"

"Well… Natalie Rushman has two younger siblings now. And she's been invited to a barbeque next Sat. So…"

"The Coughlin's I guess? Go there, all the neighbors attend and you can check them over. They are worse than me, but if you wanna fit in there, you must go" Tony stated as he walked back with a tablet and a blood sample "And there's a brand new SUV parked outside, just for you. Fully equipped and completely armored. Vision transferred the car seat from Wanda's SUV to that one. Ready to go"

"I would prefer my Corvette but I guess that will do"

She walked back into the living room and she had to laugh at Pietro's antics with the child. It was funny how a large group of Super Heroes reverted to kids when it came to a baby. Including Vision. It took her two hours to finally escape the facility, only after Wanda promised to stop by later in the week (Natasha threatened to literally kick her into shape if she didn't keep up with her training).

And because of that, she was not surprised to find Steve's company car outside the driveway, all the lights in the bottom floor turned on.

"I thought Wanda kidnapped you" Steve said when she walked into the kitchen, a whimpering baby in her arms "What happened?"

"He got shots. You are on baby duty tonight. By the way, we've been invited to our neighbor's barbeque on Sunday; Tony says it's a must, so we are going."

"I'm not good at social events, Natasha"

"You better learn"

Their dinner had been uneventful, he had brought take out because his cooking skills were less than impressive, and the little one had been on the living room carpet rolling around and babbling at his new toys. Of course, Steve knew it was the calm before the storm.

As soon as Natasha had gone up to take a bath, the baby started crying. Steve assumed he had bonded with her already and not having her around made him feel abandoned.

He picked the baby form the floor and tried pacing the room just like Natasha had done before, and it seemed to work just enough for Natasha to find them in complete silence.

"I'm going to bed. If you need anything, let me know" she kissed the baby's forehead and gave him a chaste kiss on the cheek before going back upstairs. He would be lying if he did not felt disappointed when she kissed his cheek, but there was no one looking so they didn't have to act as a couple indoors.

Of course, the baby didn't let him dwell on it too much. He had gone to his room and tried doing anything he could to soothe the child, but it didn't work. He cried through his bath, his feeding and his diaper change, and now at 3am he was just about to lose it.

"I would suggest placing the child in Ms. Romanoff's bed. It worked last night" FRIDAY's voice ran through the room startling the baby and making him cry louder, which frustrated Steve. He should have tired himself out by now.

"Thanks, FRIDAY. But he needs to learn how to sleep in his own crib. He probably misses her, but he can't cry all the time Natasha is not with him." He sighed, until he remembered something.

Back in the '40s, Bucky had a few younger sisters, and he was asked to babysit them more often than not. Every single time Mrs. Barnes left for work and the little baby started to cry, Bucky would wrap the baby on a quilt his mother always used. He had said it smelled like her so the baby would feel she was there.

So, with that on his mind, he walked down to the living room and fetched the jacket Natasha had been wearing that day. It smelled of her perfume and something it was uniquely her. He wrapped the baby in it and bounced him back and forth, singing military cadences softly, obvious to the pair of blue green eyes watching him from the stairs.

Much to his relief, it worked, and he moved up the stairs to place him on his crib. He decided to just lay him on the jacket, hoping Natasha didn't mind some baby spit on it. He actually stayed in the room a few more minutes, making sure he actually stayed asleep before heading to his own room. The clock on his night table read 4:17am and he was tired. To top it off he had to work in a few hours and be functional through the day. Raising a baby was not an easy task.

"FRIDAY, if he wakes up, let me know. Natasha deserves the night considering she spends the day with the baby.

"Of course, Mr. Rogers"

And that was the last thing he remembered before passing out.

-00-

"Wake up, Steve" Natasha probed the sleeping soldier, holding onto the baby with her right arm. "Captain!" she shouted, which caused Steve to jump off the bad and land on the floor, earning a laugh from the baby.

"Dear Lord, Romanoff. What is it?"

"It's 8:30am. You will be late for work" she smirked, amused at the sight of Steve Rogers half asleep, hair sticking up and eyes heavy with sleep. The little baby had done a good job.

She left his room to allow him to get ready, and decided to busy herself in the kitchen. She knew Steve was not a good cook, and that he usually ate out when they lived in DC, so she made lunch for him and placed it on a bag, along with an extra large cup of coffee. Then she took his car keys and headed outside with the baby, starting the engine and the a/c before backing it out of the driveway and parking in front of the house.

He walked out, looking as neat and clean as Steve Rogers could be, and she had to admit she loved the beard on him.

"Thank you for waking me up. I can't believe I overslept"

"It's okay. Now, bonding time. I'll be right back" she said as she pushed the baby into his arms, disappearing into the house.

"You are one little energy ball" he bounced the baby as he sat on the car, the baby turning in his lap to hold onto the wheel, laughing when he accidentally turned on the wipers.

"You got a cute one there" he heard someone say next to him, and turned to realize it was one of the girls that had been ogling him the day before.

"Yeah, I'm lucky. He looks just like his mom" he said, smiling as he looked down at the little boy in his lap, kissing the top of his head.

"I say he looks like you. Minus the hair of course. He's handsome just like you" Is she seriously doing that right now?

"Here's your lunch baby. I might drop by to finish the childcare details at the company before I rejoin it" Natasha appeared suddenly, giving the girl a sickly sweet smile he knew only meant trouble as she stood by him, handed him the bag and gave him a deep long kiss, taking the baby from him "Have a good day"

He was stunned for a second, but he managed to give her a smile and wave at the baby before driving off, leaving the girl to Natasha.

The rest of the week went by in the same domestic routine. Natasha spending most of the day with the baby while he took charge of the night shift. The little one had gotten accustomed to the house it seemed, and was only waking up once during the night, usually to get a new diaper and food.

However it was Sunday. And that meant it was the barbeque weekend and Steve was not feeling excited. At all.

"Do we really need to do this?" Steve whined for the fifth time as he adjusted his blue polo and khaki pants. He was the picture perfect American dad. But younger, and hotter than average.

"Yes, Steven. We have to. It will help us to sort out our neighbors" She replied as she adjusted her black loose top and white skirt, covered by a grey oversized cardigan. He hated social events, even more when he had to lie. Yes, Natasha had tattooed their background story into his brain, but he still felt like he was going to mess it up.

"Can you get the baby ready? Or do I have to do it too?" Natasha rolled her eyes as Steve snapped back to reality and proceeded to work. He had gotten so much better at handling the baby, and she had to admit she almost felt at home. She had dreamed of this life once, long before KGB and Red Room tore it away, and living it felt as unreal as it was.

"Everyone is coming tomorrow. The Twins apparently found some toys they want the baby to try and Vision wants to show us his human disguise… Or so he said."

"That's good. It will help us look normal… By the way, how does he look" Steve asked as he raised the little boy, who was wearing a tiny black polo and khaki shorts, his red hair styled the same way as Steve's. She had to admit, they looked adorable.

"You both look like the perfect father and son. Now let's go"

"Hold on, we should wear this" he said as he passed the baby to her and rummaged through his pockets, producing three rings "These people will notice the lack of rings, I hope you don't mind it, I got them on Monday before checking in at Stark"

He put on his simple gold band and handed her the other two. She was amused at how nervous he was. She put on the engagement ring, a simple gold band with a round diamond in the middle, flanked by two smaller diamonds, and then she added the wedding band, another gold one matching his.

"Good thinking, I'm impressed. And they look good. Now let's go"

He nodded quickly, following her down the stairs. They put the baby on the stroller Pepper had gotten them and made their way to the party; Steve pushing the trolley and her hand grabbing his arm.

Needless to say, they were the center of attention. She wasn't sure how many times she heard compliments about her beauty from all the men, how all the mothers seemed impressed by her perfect body despite giving birth a few months ago, how handsome her husband was and how the baby looked every bit like her, except for his eyes.

The Coughlin's had a son, Charles, who had apparently seen Wanda the other day and was pretty happy to find out the blonde boy was her twin. He would be surprised when she turned up with Vision, she guessed.

And Steve was fairing it well. He had been on baby duty must of the evening, handing him over to Natasha only when he needed feeding. He felt the urge to use some choice words when one of their neighbors had berated Natasha for not breastfeeding, but Nat had kept her in check, feeding them yet another lie.

Now it was time to go, at least for them, as Natasha had told the Coughlins that Clinton had gotten vaccinated that week and wasn't feeling well. Actually, the baby was fussy because he wanted Natasha to hold him, and she would, once they were at home.

"I owe an apology to Tony. His neighbors are far worse than him" Steve complained, handing the baby to Natasha and folding the trolley to place it in the closet.

"I wouldn't go that far, but they are definitely worse. I have a headache" She walked to the kitchen, fetching another bottle to feed the baby "Can you run the bath? He stinks of perfume and grill smokes"

Steve nodded and went upstairs to do so, leaving hear alone with the baby.

"It's not so bad, you know?" she whispered as the baby cuddled to her, happy that she was finally holding him. "You are a really good boy, and if it weren't for my lifestyle and all the people looking for me, I wouldn't mind keeping you… God, I am going soft… I think it's Barton's kids… And Wanda, little witch it's hard to hate"

"Hey Nat. Bath's ready!" Steve voice startled her, but she quickly grabbed the bottle and walked upstairs. She put the bottle on her bed before handing the baby to Steve "You are in bath duty. Have fun"

She grabbed some PJs and went to Steve's room to take a shower. She returned to find him dressing up the baby on her bed, who smiled as soon as he saw her again.

"He really loves you. He won't smile like that for me"

"You should see him with Wanda then" she laughed, grabbing him from his spot on the bed "Go get ready, I got it from here"

She walked to the nursery and sat on the rocking chair, adjusting the baby on her lap and starting to feed him.

"We should have your Aunt Wanda feed you solids tomorrow. I can't wait to see you splash her with it" she smiled, but frowned when she realized what she said "I'm sorry I'm also feeding you all these lies, too. But you don't know this, and once you are placed with your new family, you won't even remember this" she knew the feel. She was getting attached. She was getting compromised. But at the moment she didn't care.

"You are a good boy"


AN: I'm still working on learning more about the MCU universe and the character's personalities there, so bear with me for a while. However, as you could tell, Pietro is alive here. Let's say he actually hid behind the car with Clint and Costel, so there's that. Please R&R and to those following and reviewing this: Thank you! -OHP