Hi guys! It's been a while, and I'm sorry. For a long time I was busy or had writer's block. I was just going back though all my story files and found this, then realized it was never published, even though I finished it. So, I thought I'd publish it and then go write some more Avengers stuff if my mind lets me. But, enjoy.
Disclaimer: Do I really have to say it?
Warnings: Cuteness
Natasha's POV
"Come on, come to Daddy, Rosie," Bruce says. He's kneeling on the floor a few feet away from our adopted daughter. Rosie just sits on her bottom on the floor, staring at him.
"Forget it Bruce, she's not going to do it," I say. He's been at it for almost 20 minutes.
"She's 15 months old. Most kids walk around their first birthday," he says all scientifically.
"Well, most kids don't get adopted the first time by evil scientific organizations," I say. I get up from my spot on the chair and walk over to Rosie. I bend down and lift her up into my arms, bouncing her a little.
"I know, I just hope they didn't do anything to her. Evil scientists shouldn't raise kids," Bruce says.
"Her file didn't have any record of testing on in it," I gently remind him, "You know that. She's going to be fine. But she isn't going to walk until she's ready now matter how many times you ask." I sit down next to Bruce and ruffle his hair after I settle Rosie in my lap. I had never seen myself as the mother type (mostly because I thought it would never be possible) or as the type to settle down with one man. I don't ever see myself getting married, and Bruce knows that. He doesn't care though. Our relationship is definitely a little different than typical ones. It requires a lot of caution with Bruce's condition and the fact that even though I'm done with that part of my life, I will always be a highly trained assassin. The nightmares still haunt me, but when they wake me up, Bruce is right there to comfort me. It goes both ways with us.
"I know, but she's our little girl." he says, fixing her little hair bow, "I have to worry. I mean, one of my kids has poison fingers and the other was an evil scientist."
"She's not going to stay little," I tell him, "And you had no way to know about Rebecca or Jefferson. She had no right to keep that from you. But there is nothing that can be done. Just be glad one of them turned out well."
"Well, considering how well I fared from my blood, I guess you're right," he says dejectedly. I've gotten used to cheering him up when he gets like this.
"Hey, you haven't had any incidents since Ultron," I reassure him, "It'll be fine. We'll be fine. It'll just take a while for us to adjust, Bruce. We have our own place now. We don't have to worry about saving the world."
"All we have to worry about is the other guy and Rosie," he says, "What if he hurts her?"
"I don't think he would do that. He saved me back when the city was floating. I think he likes me and, although I hope they never meet, that he would like Rosie. But we're away from stress. Now we have our own little place in the world. Maybe we can have animals here on the farm. Not too many, though."
"Have you ever ridden a horse?" Banner asks me.
"Yeah, have you?"
"My grandfather had a small farm when I was a boy. I loved going there before they moved him to assisted living and sold the farm. There was a horse I'd always ride. I had named her Smores when she was born. She was golden, white, and dark brown. She made a good friend." I don't say anything. There is really not much to say. Bruce hardly ever talks about his childhood. There isn't much I can say to him.
"Maybe we can get horses, then," I finally say, "When Rosie is bigger we can teach her. That would be nice. I want to keep her out of the life. I know not all of the kids will be away from the life, but Rosie will be."
"I like that idea," Bruce says, "I wish we could figure out where she came from, though. There are no records of her anywhere."
"Her mother was probably young and dropped her off somewhere," I say, "It happens. The important thing is she has a safe place to grow up now and is loved."
"Yeah," he smiles, "I just hope this is the best place for her. I mean, we do still have enemies. If they found out about her…"
"Look at how long Clint kept his family from you guys," I remind him, "He had to tell all of you about them. No one will find out about Rosie. The file is top secret. Maria knows that we want it that way."
"I kinda wish we could have our own kid," he says, "I know it'll never be possible. Maybe we can adopt another one when Rosie is a little older. Studies show that kids are better off with at least one other sibling growing up."
"You know it's not possible. They took that from me. And who knows what would happen with our combined genetics," I remind him, "Let's just focus on the one we have."
"Right. Sorry. I wonder if she'll like science," he quickly switches back to Rosie.
I laugh, "With a father like you, of course she will."
"Daddy!" Rosie giggles and reaches for him. I fake offense to amuse Bruce, who smiles and takes her into his arms. She is such a daddy's girl, which I'm okay with. He definitely makes a better parent than me. I'm not an awful mother, but my parents were taken away from me when I was so young, I don't really have a reference for being a mom. I call Jess sometimes to ask her things when I get worried. She is definitely the mom type. It's almost like it's in her blood.
That night, long after Rosie is asleep, I settle into bed next to Bruce. He loosely wraps his arms around me and I press against me. I love cuddling, but I would never actually admit to it. The only other people who know are Bruce and Clint, the latter sometimes teases me about it, but he would never do it when anyone is around. And of course Bruce keeps my secret. I never really think of him as my boyfriend. I hate that word. I prefer the term partner. It makes it sound more official, but partner is as official as our relationship will ever get.
"Are you happy?" Bruce suddenly asks me as we lay there. He had been so still, I thought he was asleep.
"What? Of course I am," I tell him, "Why wouldn't I be? I have you. I have Rosie. Life is peaceful."
"This isn't the life you've ever wanted, is it? You're meant to be an assassin. So how are you content just laying around acting like a housewife?"
"One can only be an assassin for so long. I had a good reason to get out of that life. And this one sure beats the other, more common, way out of the life."
"I just don't want you to regret all this and then want to leave. I know you wouldn't and I don't want to be in your way."
I turn over and look at him, "Where is this coming from? I care about you and Rosie. I care about being able to sleep at night without my hand under my pillow gripping a gun. It's nice here. Peaceful."
"Peaceful is always good," he says.
"That's a bit of an understatement," I smile and run my hands through his hair. That's another thing I do way too often, but to me, it's a big gesture of affection. It's hard for me to trust people after all I've been through in my life. I fully trust Banner, though and I hope he trusts me.
"Good night, Tasha," he says, "I hope you have good dreams."
"Good night," I reply, turning back over so I'm facing the wall, not him. I feel his arm go back around me, "Sleep well."
Unlike most nights, the nightmares stay away and neither of us wake up in the middle of the night. It's nice to have a full night's sleep, despite the fact that I can fully function on just four hours. Rosie has always slept through the night, so we never have to worry about her, and despite the fact she's nearly one and a half, I still keep the baby monitors on. I guess I'm worried that someone will take her away from us in the middle of the night.
The morning is a normal one. Both of us naturally wake up around six. We go and take a shower, enjoying the company. Neither of us says anything, but we don't need to. I get ready for the day and he goes downstairs to make breakfast. It surprised me to find out how much he loves cooking. He's amazing at it, too. As I head down the stairs, I wonder what I ever did to deserve someone like him. I've never really believed in fate, destiny, or soulmates, but is that what is at work here?
"Good morning. Breakfast smells delicious," I smile and go stand behind him in the kitchen. He turns around and we are only a few inches apart.
"I hope you're hungry."
"I've worked up an appetite," I say. I pull two plates out of the cupboard and when breakfast is done, he splits it between the two plates. I take mine and sit down at my place at the table.
"Amazing as always," I say after a few bites, "Honestly, you're gonna fatten me up, Bruce. I don't have as much time to work out as I used to."
"You look fantastic," he mumbles, then shoves a forkful of food in his mouth.
"For now," I joke, "I hope you don't make me for dinner eventually."
"I would never do that," he says, "When is Clint expecting us at his place?"
"Around noon," I reply. We meet up every two weeks. We switch between their place and ours. This week it is there place that we're going to visit. Clint loves to barbecue, so unless it's winter, which it isn't, we get food off the grill. Usually we eat out back and the his two older kids run around and Rosie and Nate play with each other.
After breakfast, I clean up and Bruce turns on the news. I get Rosie up at 8.
"Momma!" she smiles as I lift her up.
"Hi Rosie! How did you sleep?" I head towards the kitchen with her.
"Goody," she smile, clinging to me. I set her down in her high chair and strap her into the seat.
"What do you want for breakfast?"
"Apple!" Her favorite. I probably didn't even need to ask her, but sometimes she mixes it up. I get an apple and cut it in half and take the core out. Then I cut it into little pieces and place them on her tray. She picks up the pieces one at a time with her chubby fingers. I smile and watch her eat, knowing she's probably getting all sticky.
"Hey, Daddy, you want bath duty?" I call when she finishes with her breakfast.
"I'd love bath duty," he walk into the room and lifts Rosie out of her high chair. He bounces her a little and she giggles.
I wash her tray off then watch the news while Banner goes and baths Rosie. We usually switch on and off. Sometimes one of us will do both or both of us will do both. Bruce returns with Rosie after about 15 minutes. She's dressed in a cute purple shirt and matching shorts. I look over at my partner and raise an eyebrow.
"You know, you were only supposed to be giving Rosie a bath. We already took a shower," I smirk. He's soaking wet right now.
"She thought she was being funny. Can you take her so I can go change into dry clothes?"
"Sure," I take Rosie and change the television to a kid show and Rosie claps along to the music, slightly off beat. She's such a happy little girl. She most likely will never remember what she went through, which is perfectly fine. She never needs to know.
Later we go over to see Clint and his family. The kids are outside waiting for us.
"Auntie Nat!" Lila smiles and runs up to me. I lift her up and smile. She's getting so big. I remember holding her as a newborn.
"Hi there, Lila. Is Daddy out back?"
"Yeah. And Mommy's giving Nate a bath. Daddy said we could wait out front for you and Uncle Bruce."
"Come on, let's go find Daddy," I make sure Bruce is behind me with Rosie before I walk around to the backyard, carrying Lila.
"Daddy! Auntie Nat and Uncle Bruce are here!" Lila smiles. My former SHIELD partner turns around.
"I see that, sweetie," he says, "Hi Nat. Hello Dr. Banner. How's the little one?"
"She's fine," Bruce says, "And you don't need to be so formal, Clint. We're all friends here."
"Right. Sorry. Well, have a seat. Relax a little," he says, then turns back to the grill.
"Aunt Nat, do you want to play with us?" Cooper asks me. He's holding a soccer ball in his hand.
"In a little while," I say, sitting down and taking Rosie. Cooper runs off to play soccer by himself. Lila settles down beside me at the picnic table.
"Do you need me to do anything?" Bruce asks Clint.
"Yeah. Start bringing the stuff out that's on the kitchen table," Clint tells him, "I'm sure Laura will be out here soon. Then we can have lunch." Bruce nods and disappears into the house.
"Auntie Nat, why aren't you married?" Lila asks me.
"Lila!" Clint scolds, "That's rude. Tell Aunt Nat you're sorry."
"I'm sorry," she mutters, staring at her shoes.
"It's okay, Clint. I don't mind answering her questions. I'm just not the type to get married, that's all. Not everyone gets married."
"Do you love him?" Lila asks.
"I think so," I tell her, "He makes me happy. I like being with him."
"Mommy and Daddy love each other and they got married. And you and Daddy used to work together. So you can't be that different. Superheroes should be happy too."
"I'm a little different from your daddy, Lila. I'm not ready for that."
"Does Uncle Bruce want to get married?"
"I don't know, Lila. I don't think so," I say.
"I can go ask him!" Before I could say anything, Lila scampers inside to find him. She did have a point. I love him, don't I? And I trust him. So what's holding me back? I've been through a lot, but he's not going anywhere. He's happy. Plus, we have a little girl to take care of together. Maybe it is time for me to settle down and stop worrying so much about what could go wrong.
Lunch is nice, but whatever Lila said to Banner, he focuses way too hard to his hamburger.
"You know, it's not going to grow legs and run away," I tell him, "It's pretty dead."
"What? Oh. I'm just thinking about things."
"What kinds of things?" I ask him.
"Science," he says just a second too quickly. I can't tell you if he's a bad liar or not, mostly because I can tell when anyone is lying. It was a necessary skill in my old line of work. I'm an amazing liar, on the other hand, but I don't liar to Bruce. What's the point?
The ride home after lunch is silent, with Rosie asleep and neither of us talking. How did a 7 year old get to both of us with a few simple questions? Have a really lost my grip that much? Am I growing soft? Losing my skills? Is that possible? I hope not.
We get home and I put Rosie in her bed then go back downstairs to find Banner reading on the couch.
"Are we going to ignore the elephant in the room?" I ask bluntly.
"What elephant?"
"What did Lila say to you? She obviously got to you. She was talking to me first."
"She's just a kid. They have a pretty basic understanding of things, but a not a complex one. She doesn't know our pasts or what we've been through. Don't take it to heart."
"Who are you trying to convince, Bruce? We can't exactly act like the subject doesn't exist. Especially with our friends getting-" I can't even say the word.
"Married. Tasha, you can't even say the word. I know you don't want that with your life. You like to be free. I don't want to cage you."
"Do you want to get married? Forget what I want for a minute. Would that make you happy?"
"I know you don't want that, Nat. And I want you to be happy."
"What if marriage would make me happy?" I ask, "You're not caging me, Bruce. you rescued me from the cage. I don't want to be with anyone else but you. You and Rosie. I care about you guys."
"Did you just ask me to marry you?" he asks.
"Not exactly. Sorry, I don't have a ring for you," I tease.
"I don't care," he says, "All I need is you. And we can make it permanent."
"Did we just?"
"I think we did," he says, then pulls me down onto the couch and kisses me.