Thank you to everybody who read or reviewed the last conversation. You are also fabulous.

We are back in the "mistakes were made" timeline. Let's talk about some of those mistakes.

Tosha is Natasha Romanoff, the head of the Avengers, or what's left of the Avengers anyway. Clint is using the name Francis because if you're going on a revenge killing spree, you're not going to use your actual name on your phone. Well, your real first name. Apparently, using your actual middle name is okay.

Conversation 13: Chocolate Chip Cookies for the Broken Bird

Tosha: Stark is here. We are having an all-hands meeting in the lounge in 15 minutes. He brought Steve's shield and Hunter's cookies. Hunter does the best chocolate chip cookies. Steve always brings some around after playdates.

Tosha: Steve says it's better than me living off peanut butter and jelly.

Tosha: Where are you? Seriously you're missing chocolate chip cookies. Some of them have mini Reesie cups in them too.

Tosha: Although no alcohol because we have two recovering alcoholics and Simmons. And if we're going to figure out what the hell happened, we need her somewhat sober. Apparently, that's a rare thing, according to Steve.

Tosha: I know you don't consider yourself an Avenger anymore due to certain things that we are not going to talk about in writing. However, you were the one who traveled back to 2018 in the other timeline. You were with Simmons when she was putting everything together with Deke. Did she discuss her change of plan with you?

Tosha: We can't ask Deke these questions because he's not here, and Simmons is not answering. Also, I'm 99% sure her bottle of water is tequila.

Tosha: Actually, it was vodka and not the good stuff. Probably because she drank that first. I feel like a horrible Russian.

Tosha: Friday says you're still in the building. Possibly in the air ducks. You can't keep ignoring everybody. I know you been doing it for the last five years, but I'm not letting you do it anymore.

Tosha: I know you feel guilty because you're here, and they are not. It always hurts when you're the one left behind.

Tosha: You're still my family. Family loves you, unconditionally. You taught me that.

Tosha: Look, you don't even have to say anything if you don't want to talk about what Simmons did or didn't do. I just don't want to sit alone and watch Stark and Rogers make passive-aggressive googly eyes at each other. As Simmons acts like she's not drinking hard liquor at two in the afternoon. We all know. It's even worse now that Deke is MIA.

Tosha: And no, Laura doesn't have her own water bottle full of alcohol. Unlike the Laura of this timeline, she didn't relapse while we were on the run.

Francis: There isn't a Laura in this timeline anymore.

Tosha: Now, you speak. My thumbs were starting to get sore. You can't dictate during the middle of a meeting.

Francis: I didn't have anything to say before. I've had Hunter's cookies before. They're not that great.

Tosha: Not these cookies. He brought the Heath bar version too. You can't avoid Laura forever, you're the one who brought her here.

Francis: I was trying to bring my wife back, and that's not her. So, I'll let Stark figure out how to get her back home, and I will just stay out of the way until you find a way to get the stones.

Tosha: No, she's Laura. She is just a Laura that made different choices. Or from what I gather, Stark made different choices, and she helped. Apparently, they are each other's AA sponsors.

Tasha: They both are going to a meeting after this. Because we're all too much to handle for the recovering alcoholics without the desire to drink cropping up.

Francis: That's good.

Francis: That she is sober.

Tosha: Oh great, they're arguing. Like we need this right now. I think I need to take Simmons' "water bottle."

Francis: Not surprising at all. Watching Stark and Rogers argue, is not my idea of a good time.

Tosha: No, those two are being awkward and avoiding eye contact. Probably because they both know another Steve and Tony are engaged in Agent Barton's timeline.

Tosha: When they're not making excuses to touch each other. They're trying to avoid each other, yet they are sitting next to each other, and Steve's hand just happens to be on Tony's leg now. Kamala is less awkward around Bruno.

Francis: I'm not even surprised by the impending marriage. I guess this really is the darkest timeline. Who's fighting?

Tosha: I think it's still better than the one where the Earth cracked apart, and the Kree enslave what was left of humanity.

Francis: ?

Tosha: So, you never actually talked to Deke when you were conspiring? Also, it's May and Simmons that were arguing about said conspiracy. Also, May tried to take the bottle of not actually water from Simmons. Apparently, it was never about getting the stones only about getting Fitz to her. I assume that she convinced you to go along with it because she promised you Laura.

Tosha: I knew I shouldn't have taken Simmons with me to get you from Japan. What did she say to you?

Francis: I wouldn't call it conspiring. More like an understanding.

Tosha: Because widows understand each other. Not that she was married to Fitz, they just created a marriage license to keep Alister the asshole from cashing in on all the James Leopold patents. They were engaged before he died anyway.

Francis: I don't like thinking of it that way. One minute I was sitting down to have lunch with my wife and kids, and the next, they were gone.

Tosha: During the middle of an apocalypse.

Tosha: Also, Fitz was killed about a month before the decimation, sort of. It's complicated. Although I don't think she knows how complicated yet and I'm not going to be the one to tell her.

Francis: I wasn't there for the apocalypse because I ignored Fury's calls and May's calls. I think I hung up on Coulson twice.

Tosha: Good call.

Tosha: In your defense, you thought he was dead. It's understandable.

Francis: Because no one told me otherwise until he was dead, again. Therefore, in a fight between May and Simmons, I'm going to be team Simmons all the way.

Tosha: Obviously, someone is still bitter. Simmons is starting to talk. According to Simmons, you were in on her plan to bring your wife and Leo back to this timeline.

Tosha: Apparently, she purposely chose the day that he disappeared as the day you would be traveling back to. She may have told you and Deke that you were going back to the same place, but you weren't. She was sending you to Laura and him to Fitz. She is now crying on Bruce.

Francis: That must be awkward for you.

Tosha: That was nearly 8 years ago. I'm over it.

Francis: Really?

Tosha: Never date a coworker. He'd rather run away then be with me, and that was his choice. I've moved on long ago. You would know that if you picked up the phone occasionally.

Francis: I'm not planning to get back into the dating scene any time soon, and I already learned that lesson with Phil. I'm sorry I didn't call or text.

Francis: I should have. You stayed in contact when you went dark, and I should have done the same.

Tosha: I know these last five years have been hard for you. It's pretty apparent that you're not over what happened when you join a mad scientist conspiracy to travel through space and time to get your wife back.

Francis: I thought it was going to be one of the kids or all the kids. If I brought them forward to this point in time, Thanos couldn't snap them out of existence. Then I wouldn't have to lose them, but the kids weren't there. We weren't even at the farmhouse.

Tosha: I'm so sorry.

Francis: Don't. Not right now. Maybe I avoid you to because I couldn't take the pity.

Tosha: There's a difference between pity and empathy.

Francis: Maybe I don't deserve either.

Tosha: I think I thought the same thing once upon a time. You taught me better.

Tosha: BTW, according to Bruce's notes, you grabbed Agent Barton from the Avenger compound.

Francis: Are we sure it was the compound? It didn't look like any room I recognize there. Also, Laura has never been there. Ever.

Francis: Right, not my Laura. Apparently, this one lives at the Avenger compound.

Tosha: Not necessarily, not your Laura, but again one that took a slightly different pathway that led her to be a teenage superhero guidance counselor.

Francis: Which seems like something Laura would be good at.

xxx

"Laura has always been good with kids and wayward superheroes. It's good she found a job combining the skills even if it's in another timeline." Clint looked down to see Natasha standing in front of him or rather the vent that he was hiding in.

"How did you find me?" Clint asked.

"Friday really likes Laura. However, it was decided I would come to get you since we were already talking. I brought you some cookies, but you have to come out to eat them." Natasha held up the plate of cookies for him.

"I'm not five. Also, I thought Friday was banned from talking to Agent Barton." Clint decided to refer to this Laura as Agent Barton only. Despite Natasha's argument, she was not his Laura.

"She's bonded with Stark, and he overruled my orders." That surprised Clint. Laura and Stark never actually talked to each other again after the Ultron incident. Then again, Natasha said earlier that Agent Barton was the AA sponsor of the Stark from her timeline. Time travel is strange.

"I bet that's annoying," was the only thing he said out loud.

"So annoying. I get why you don't want to be with the others. It can be overwhelming." Sitting in a room with a woman who looks exactly like his dead wife but who isn't her is more than just being overwhelming, but he's not sure how to explain that to Natasha. He doesn't even know where to begin. So, he just glares at her.

"You don't have to tell the others, but you can tell me.

Do you know how Simmons changed the plan?"

"No." He answered honestly because he wasn't paying attention to the details.

"I find that hard to believe."

"I've always been the dumb muscle." He replied.

"You've never been just the dumb muscle. Now can you please get out of the air vent, or I will have Friday use the gas on you." Natasha threatened him.

"You're so mean." He said, making his way out of the vent because he knew she would follow through. Natasha does not make idle threats. "I just want to be alone. It's been a hard couple of days."

"I know," Natasha said, handing him a cookie.

"Cookies can't make things magically better."

"I know."

"I thought I had my wife back. I should have known better. There's no hope in this world." That's when Natasha wrapped an arm around him.

"There's still hope." She whispered as she gently kissed his cheek. "We may even have more hope now than before."

"What do you mean by that?" Clint asked," slightly confused.

"Since I haven't been hiding from Laura, I know that because the Avengers weren't at each other's throats or hiding from the government, they had time to get Vision's stone out of his head." Clint's eyes opened wide in surprise at her words. Maybe just maybe there really was a chance to fix things.

"Where is it?" Because if they knew where it is, they could grab it and use it.

"Somewhere safe, but Agent Barton doesn't know the exact details."

"Or if she knows she won't tell us," Clint added.

"Which makes her a good agent," Natasha told him.

"I wonder if you are her SO?" Clint wondered out loud.

"There's only one way to find out, actually talk to your not-a-wife."

"I'm not ready for that yet." Not at all.

"Have another cookie," Natasha said as she held him closer.

To be continued

I will say I had a lot of fun writing Clint and Natasha's Interaction. I didn't have enough of it in the first story. That will change here. At this point, it's evident that this story is going to be a bit more ensemble than the first one. Although we will still be working on getting Steve and Tony 2.0 to get their heads out of their asses. Since they have seven more years of baggage, this could take a while.

I also really wished Endgame would have spent more time exploring the emotional effects of the decimation. Still, I realize there's only so much you can put in a three-hour movie. The first story in this series was 150+ chapters. We have time to dig deep into the characters' psyche.