Natasha woke up early the next day, to find Kate already up. "Kate? You're up early!" She responded, "yeah, cooked some eggs for breakfast. For everyone." Natasha was glad she didn't have to cook for everyone, but she noticed some hot Cheetos near the couch. "Did you have some of my cheetos?"
"Yeah. I haven't had them in awhile." Natasha sighed, "How about a quick sparring match for the rest of them?" Kate instantly got up, "Right here, right now. I've been waiting to redeem myself." Their talking woke up Cooper and Lila, who went outside to watch. Natasha attempted a few punches, and then a leg sweep, which Kate dodged. Kate blocked a very good punching combo, and then swept Natasha's leg after she missed a kick. "Not bad, Kate." Eventually, Kate punched Natasha's arm after blocking it, making it go numb. When Natasha tried to hit with her other arm, Kate knocked it out of the way. Cooper shook his head, as he instantly knew what was happening next. Kate kicked her in the lower stomach, causing her to fall over. She immediately pinned her down, and Cooper did the honors of hitting the ground three times. Kate had redeemed herself and beat Natasha. Natasha suddenly said, "Who hit the ground like that?"
"Hi aunt Nat..." She turned around and saw Cooper and Lila. "God dammit, you guys saw that?" Lila said, "Yeah. Kate, you're so cool! Both Black Widows have fallen to you now!" Cooper said, "You gotta teach me sometime!" Kate was glad that the two Barton siblings thought she was cool. She brought the hot cheetos over to them. "Y'all want some?" Cooper instantly reached into the bag, getting a handful. Lila got some as well. Kate let them know, "Don't eat too much, I cooked breakfast for you guys!" Cooper joked, "Maybe you could help me with that, too!" Lila teased, "He needs a lot of help with cooking!" Lila and Cooper ate together while the parents, Yelena, and Nate were still sleeping. Kate talked to them while they ate. "Lila, I saw Cooper push you into the pool yesterday, but I didn't see what happened before." Lila explained, "I was pretending to have another stomach cramp to scare Cooper as a prank. And then he pushed me into the pool after I showed him that it was fake." Kate told her, "Yeah, you kind of deserve it then. Cooper loves you a lot, you shouldn't scare him like that." Cooper added, "Yeah, you shouldn't. But it's okay, at least you weren't actually hurt at all." She agreed. Cooper told her, "Kate these are really good! Nicely done." She thanked him. "But I'm guessing this is a smaller breakfast than what you usually have, right?"
"Yeah, I'm a bigger guy, I need to eat a lot to stay healthy and on track." Lila and Cooper finished their food, as Yelena, the parents, and Nathaniel all got up. Clint said, "Damn, who made this? It looks good!" Cooper pointed towards Kate. "It does, and it's as good as it looks." Lila then called, "Kate, I went out to the pantry and found some lemon cakes. Me and Cooper were gonna have some, do you want any?" She told her, "I usually avoid sugar..." Lila rolled her eyes, "Look, you have washboard abs, and very nice legs. Hell, even your arms are close to Cooper's!" Cooper gave her a side-eye. "Okay, that last part was an exaggeration. But the point is, a bit of sugar isn't gonna kill you." She agreed. She told Lila, "You're not so bad yourself, kid. Volleyball definitely keeps you looking good." She said, "Thanks. But my legs and abs aren't as defined as yours-" Kate told her, "Lila, don't worry. You shouldn't compare yourself to others, compare yourself to you." Lila then said, "I never thought of it that way, that's a good way to think. Thanks, Kate."
"Of course." She then said, "And I couldn't break the laws of genetics like my brother, so I got my mom's short height." Kate told her, "Makes sense. I'm 5'8, but to be fair, my mom's 5'7 so it makes sense why I'm this tall." Kate ate a lemon cake. "No kidding, girl. This is very good!" Lila told her, "Yeah, they're really good. I noticed them in the pantry last night when me and Cooper went to get a late-night snack. I didn't have one until just now though." Yelena asked, surprised, "Why didn't you just have it last night? You would've gotten away with it." Lila answered, "I try not to have sweets before bed. It makes my stomach hurt." Clint added, "Lila is a really strong girl. She definitely has some of daddy's genes. But her body can be a bit sensitive when it comes to food." Her mom added, "Yeah, she can get tummy troubles sometimes." Lila shook her head at the way her mom worded it and added, "And it sucks, because I love sugar, but it hurts to eat before bed." Cooper added, "Yeah, and it always feels so good to eat that sugary goodness right before sleeping." She jokingly rolled her eyes, knowing her brother was just trying to get to her. Natasha said, "Then there's me. I can eat anything, but my stomach is physically sensitive. As you all unfortunately are well aware now." Cooper said, "Yeah. As soon as Kate knocked your hand out of the way, I immediately knew what was going to happen next." Nate asked, "Why is it so sensitive? Both you and Auntie Yelena" Natasha responded, "I don't know. It's been that way since I was little." Yelena confirmed, "It's true. We would always react more to those hits than others. And makes sense, they hurt." Lila added, "Yeah, they do. Not everyone can take a hit as well as Cooper or Kate."
"Or Lila." Cooper added, "Don't sell yourself short, sis". She laughed, "I'm not too good at taking hits, bro. That accidental shot to the ribs that one time hurt." She knew how bad he felt about it, so she quickly added, "It's okay though, I know it was all accidental. I may be stronger than I look and able to hit pretty hard, but I can be sensitive to pain sometimes." Nate guiltily said, "Hopefully me elbowing into your tummy didn't hurt that much, right? It was an accident, I'm sorry" Lila laughed, "Not that much, don't worry, little bro. You're fine." Clint, confused, asked, "Wait, what happened?" Lila explained, "Nate started to fall asleep while hugging me, but he accidentally turned at a bad angle, elbowing me in the stomach. I was fine though, it just hurt a little bit." Nate decided to add, "I gave her a hug afterwards, but she responded with a monster hug. I used to think that only you, mom, and Cooper could do that, but apparently, Lila can do it, too!" Lila laughed, "I don't do volleyball and archery for nothing, y'know?" Cooper said, "She learned from the best!" Lila agreed, "Yes, after being victim to it so many times, I've finally learned it." Nate made a little demon smile, and said, "I know that Lila has a certain other weakness." Natasha, curious, asked what it was. Cooper said, "Sibling secret." Cooper and Nate knew that it was that she's very ticklish.
They had all finished breakfast and returned to their rooms to hang out for a few hours before going out to lunch. Lila was sitting on the bed. She was on her phone scrolling through Instagram, and liking posts, when suddenly Nate crawled over to her, and attacked her sides. She began to laugh, while telling him to stop. He wouldn't, so she picked him up and put him aside. Cooper told him that he should stop. Little Nathaniel complained, "But it's been so long since our last tickle fight!" Lila couldn't help but smile, "Maybe we can have one tonight if we're not tired. Cooper, would you want to join us?" Cooper sighed, "Maybe. It's really nice to just watch my two siblings having fun though." Nate added, "And Cooper isn't as ticklish as you, sis." She agreed. "Yeah, we can do it tonight. But make sure the door is closed." Little Nate smiled, this should be fun. They all just hung out in their rooms until it was time for lunch.
For lunch, they went to a bigger restaurant, and the parents sat at a separate table from Kate and the kids. They all began to talk. Kate confessed, "Can I tell you guys something?" This got all of their attention. Lila said, "Sure, go ahead." Kate said, "I was honestly not comfortable when Natasha had me sit with you guys and take pictures. It just felt so...weird. And even though I had just kicked Yelena's butt, or rather her belly," She chuckled upon hearing herself say this but then continued. "I just felt weirdly...vulnerable. Getting my photo taken in a bathing suit next to fully clothed people. Just wearing so little." Cooper told her, "Yeah, it was honestly a little weird." Lila told her, "I get it. When I'm at the pool, beach, or water park, that's the way to go, of course, but in any other environment, I would definitely not want to wear that." Nate asked, "Why would she even do that?" Kate said, "I don't know either, Nate. It was weird." Cooper then noticed something, "Guys, look." They all looked at their parents' table. "Aunt Yelena ordered two...milkshakes? And not a lunch entree?" Kate looked concerned. "Is she just...eating her feelings? I mean, her gut is already pretty bad, but this will only make it worse..." Nate said, "She's gonna look like she's having a baby." Lila covered her mouth while laughing, before Kate and Cooper also succumbed and laughed a bit. He then quickly said while making puppy eyes, "Don't tell anyone I said this. I'll get in trouble." "Deal." They continued to eat their meals, and eventually, they all finished up and started heading back.
When they were back, Kate hung out with the kids. She noticed Nate was bored, and asked if he wanted to help her exercise. He said, sure. She picked him up under his shoulders, and curled him a few times. Cooper was staring in awe at the definition of her arms. Lila was as well. When she was done, Nate said that he wanted to try lifting her up. She held out her arms, and told him to try. He, being only six years old, was quite literally about half her size, so his attempts at picking her up just looked like a hug. To tease him, she hugged him back. He said, "One day, when I'm a big boy, I'll be able to do it." Kate told him, "Yeah. And when you're a big boy, I'll be about Yelena's age, maybe older. That's weird to think about." About an hour or so later, Lila said, "Kate, can you teach me some fighting techniques?" She immediately agreed. She called Cooper over. She whispered something in his ear, and he nodded. She told Lila to give her a fighting position. She gives her a pretty good one. She locked her eyes onto Kate's face, with a look of determination. Kate looked back, and then without warning, did a very hard leg sweep to knock her 90 degrees from her starting position. Cooper was aware of this, as Kate told him in advance, and he caught his sister. Lila was looking around in shock, not entirely aware of what had just happened. Kate said, "Important rule, always be aware of everything. Don't just watch the face, watch for everything. Again." She did another leg sweep, but this time, Lila jumped over it. "Well done. Now, Cooper." She was gonna spar with him a bit now, too. She threw two soft punches, and he blocked them he threw one back, she blocked. She then landed a few to his arm and ribs, but he was fine. He then attempted a kick, and she grabbed his ankle. He tried to pull back, but her grip was too tight. She told Lila, "If you managed to get in this position, keep a tight grip, as your opponent is in a very vulnerable position." Cooper began putting his hands over his crotch and closed his eyes. Thankfully, Kate simply just did a light kick to the back of his ankle, to knock him over. Lila tried to catch him, but unfortunately, Cooper was significantly bigger than her, and she couldn't. Kate held her hand out, and helped him up. "You good?" "Yeah." She taught Lila and Cooper some more techniques, and then Lila added, "I wanna ask one more thing." Kate said, "What?" She said, "Your abs are very defined. And while aunt Nat was weird, she wasn't lying about your body, those abs are tight. So, can you do one of those exercises?" She agreed. She demonstrated the jack knife exercise, and told her that it's very efficient. She also added that she does over a hundred situps daily, and at home has a mini gym. She told Lila that the dieting part is hard, even if she has gotten used to it. She then told them all, "I'll be honest, it came off as a big surprise at the water park. When they're in bathing suits, obviously they're showing...well, their bodies, and they both kind of let themselves go. They both seem to have their mom-bods now." Cooper added, "Of course, I wouldn't know, but sometimes people have core strength under their fat. Is that the case with them?" Kate quickly said, "Not at all. Their bellies were very soft."
They chuckled, and were glad that they had another fun day out. Kate then added, "Another good ab exercise is this one." She did a reverse plank, where she's using her feet and forearms, but she's facing upwards now. To test out her strength, Nate stood on top of her abs. Lila and Cooper were amazed that she was able to keep the plank standing with Nate standing on top of her. Nate then stepped off. Lila took a step forward, and Kate immediately said no, and got up. She said that she's strong, but not that strong. Nate asked, "What if I tried that on Auntie Nat or Yelena?" Kate said, "They'd get really hurt. Their tummies are very sensitive." Cooper said, "Yeah that's not surprising. I imagine a potbelly may not be able to stand as long as a six-pack." Lila said, "And besides, we literally saw Aunt Yelena cry when Kate hit her belly. That was justified though, don't worry, Kate." Kate guiltily looked at her. "So you saw that." Nate said, "Yeah, don't worry. We saw that she tried to take your clothes off. You were right to do that, the only bad part was having to see her tummy jiggle each time you hit it." Kate just looked in surprise, hearing this come from a child. "I'm glad you think so, little Nate." They all agreed to just chill in the room together for a bit.