It was a really awesome burst of inspiration so I have two chappies today. And yes, I don't quite think this is a drabble anymore. It just...came. Enjoy.

Having been partners with Tasha for as long as I have gives me the advantage of knowing things about her that will never be revealed to the world. She considers them weaknesses, things that make her a girl, but I consider them strengths, objects that prove more than ever that she is not just who she appears to be, but, rather, is a multi-faceted woman, and amazingly so.

This afternoon is one of those times wherein she lets herself be Tasha and not Agent Romanoff or even the Natasha that our team mates know. She is curled up on the porch swing, taking full advantage of the week long leave of absence S.H.I.E.L.D. approved off. On one hand is a glass of mint iced tea and on the other is her worn copy of Austen's Pride and Prejudice.

As she had been putting up with my antics for the first half of this vacation, I had decided to humor her and allowed her to read to me. She knew I was only paying half of my attention to the words she uttered as I lounged on the chair I had dragged across her but she didn't seem to mind. Letting myself relax, I allowed her soothing voice to wash over me.

" ...she wanted Mr. Darcy to account for his having ever fallen in love with her. 'How could you begin?', said she. 'I can comprehend your going on charmingly, when you had once made a beginning; but what set you off in the first place?'

' I cannot fix on the hour, or the spot, or the look or the words, which laid the foundation. It is too long ago. I was in the middle before I knew that I had begun." (1)

These words somehow stirred something in me as my mind began to look back to our eight years as partners.

What did "set me off in the first place"? I know we've always had this unexplainable connection, threads that were somehow interwoven even upon our first meeting. After all, something must have caused me to spare her life in Volgograd and to beg the council to allow me to partner with her.

And then it hit me. It was three years into our partnership and she had been posing as a wealthy young widower who wanted to adopt a child to ease the loneliness that came with her husband's abrupt death. Our goal was to infiltrate the human trafficking ring that was responsible for kidnapping young children and selling them to the highest bidder, regardless of the buyer's intended purpose for them.

The mission went well and we had been able to kill or arrest the primary members of the organization. The remaining lesser members/the brawn had all but disappeared, having had no real ties or obligation to the group.

Despite this, Tasha, Phil and I couldn't deem it a success. The face-off, the final battle had taken place in the "orphanage" they used as a front for their illegal activities (it was logical after all, seeing as it was kids they were trafficking).

The children, while thankfully unharmed, were undoubtedly scared what with the gunshots and the sight of the dead men. The older ones, those aged 10 to 12, were quick to comfort the younger ones and, with my prodding, were able to lead them out to the jet that was waiting to transport them back to a S.H.I.E.L.D. affiliated center that specialized in returning abducted children to their parents.

However, there were three little ones that refused to budge and were too frightened to come out of their hiding place. One of the older kids, a girl named Rahne(2), told us that those three had been inseparable since they were brought here.

We all tried to coax them out of the closet, but none of the tactics seemed to work. That was until Tasha walked up and crouched before them. She gave them a gentle smile and softly asked for their names.

A boy, the obvious ringleader, who looked about 7 or so, introduced himself as Pietro. He said that the girl beside him was his twin sister Wanda and that the youngest one was Jamie. It was obvious from his actions that he was fiercely protective of the two, especially Jamie.(2)

Tasha told them that her name was Natasha and that the people called her Black Widow, like the spider even though she couldn't shoot webs out like Spiderman did.

She got the twins to laugh and even managed to convince them to leave the closet because she had to go soon and she still wanted to talk to them. They made her promise to ride to the center with them and she pinkie swore. Jamie still hadn't said a word nor did he agree to leave.

It soon became clear that as much as the twins wanted to leave the closet, they didn't want to leave Jamie behind. Eventually, Tasha told them that she was willing to go sit with Jamie in the closet and that she'd use her secret powers to make him want to go out. The twins nodded and she quickly took their place in the closet.

And, I don't know what she did, but in five minutes time, she had three year old Jamie clinging onto her and one of the twins' hand encased in each of hers.

The whole time, I was watching her, mesmerized. And I knew at that moment that that was what I wanted. To see her interact with kids, our kids that way. She was the only one who could ever be the mother of my children.

That was the moment I fell in love with Natasha Romanoff.

A piercing wail breaks me out of my reverie and before I could even blink, Tasha had dashed into the house. I quickly stand up to follow and only make it as the 2nd floor hallway as the sight of my wife and a crying disoriented little blond-haired baby boy met me.

As I watched her coo over the little boy and gently soothe him, I let the feeling of "rightness" wash over me again as it had five years ago.

(1) Chapter 60 of "Pride and Prejudice"

(2) A huge bone-crushing hug from the Hulk for anyone who can figure out who those four are.
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