You Didn't See That Coming? ~Hawksilver~ #Wattys2015

6

(A/N: this chapter is Natasha's POV.)

"-And Mom says Daddy isn't allowed to pick out the middle name because he'll end up naming him Nathaniel Hawkeye or something," Cooper told me, laughing a little. "And Mom says one Hawkeye in the family is more than enough."

"Thank goodness she said that, if there were two Hawkeyes, I don't even know what would happen in this world," I said, laughing. "Er-Steve? Why don't you go upstairs and tell Wanda that Clint and Laura left to go give birth to a mini me?"

"Really? You want me to say that?" He raised his eyebrows.

"No. Obviously sarcasm, Cap. Just go tell her that they'll be back and they'll bring a child, in a day or two," I said, rolling my eyes. Steve went up to the guest room.

"You would make a good mom," Lila said, and although the pain struck me hard hearing those words, I smiled through it.

"Well, I prefer being the fun aunt," I said.

"How long until Nathaniel is born?" Lila asked me.

"It takes a while, usually," I told her, "I'll tell you what. You two go to bed pretty soon, okay? I'll wake you up as soon as he's born and we can leave to go visit him. Cooper, maybe you could hold him. You'd like that, wouldn't you?" Cooper nodded.

"Are you an only child, Auntie Nat?" Lila asked.

"Yeah, I am," I said. "Sometimes I wish I had a little brother or sister to take care of, or an older sibling to look up to. Nathaniel will look up to both of you. He's lucky to have two excellent role model siblings."

"Sometimes I wish I had a big sister so I could steal her clothes and wear them," Lila said, "But just for that."

"I think it would be cool to have a twin, like Pietro and Wanda have each other," Cooper said.

"Yeah," I said thoughtfully, "That would be nice. You two excited to have a little brother for the first time?" They nodded excitedly.

"I'll have someone to pick on!" Lila said.

"And I can teach him how to play with LEGOS! But only when he gets old enough. It would be bad if he swallowed a brick."

"Good thinking, Cooper," I said, with a cool-aunt kind of wink. I checked the clock: almost 4 AM. "Kids, why don't you head on to bed now?"

"I gotta shower first, then I'll go right to bed," Lila said, running upstairs to the bathroom.

"Looks like I have to wait before I can brush my teeth," Cooper said. "While Lila is gone, can I ask you something?" I nodded. "I wanna hear the whole story of how Pietro got hurt. Don't bother making it kid-friendly, Lila's not here. I'm ten years old, I can handle the details." I nodded again, understandingly.

"Clint went to save a kid in the market, and Ultron was open firing at everyone and everything in sight. Pietro got shot dozens of times getting them out of the way..."

"Can I go up and see him and Wanda before bed?" He asked.

"Sure, of course, why do you ask though?"

"Can you come with me?" He bit his lip. "Just because?"

"Sure thing," I said, and we walked upstairs. He knocked on the door to the guest bedroom, and Steve opened it.

"Hey, kid," he said, "Nat. come in, you two." Wanda spread a sheet across a recliner for herself to sleep on, and yawned.

"Look at you, Mr. Big Brother," Wanda said, smiling at Cooper. "I heard the news. You excited?"

"Yeah," he said. "Very. Can I ask you about what it's like to have a brother?" Wanda sat down.

"Well," she said, "Pietro is my twin, so it's a little different, but here's what he's like. Pietro is loving and caring towards me. Most would call him overprotective, but sometimes I really need him to be as protective as he is. Once, my friend in Sokovia was being bullied, and I did what I thought was right. I stood up for her, and the bully turned on me. Pietro came running by, and let's just say it didn't end well for the bully. He ended up with a purple, blue, and black face. But he is caring, too, not a protective monster, but a brother. I think that's the most important thing about being a sibling, it's that you really have to watch out for them, I've learned, because they do some pretty stupid things."

"Like what?"

"One time, when we were nine, Pietro decided to take a beehive off our porch and bring it to school, put it in a kid's locker," she said with a laugh. "If that weren't stupid enough to begin with. There are countless stories, like the time he listened to music in a library but the earbuds weren't plugged in. The little old lady, the librarian...she threw a computer at him." He laughed.

"So definitely no beehives for Nathaniel, and make sure he knows to plug in earbuds," Cooper said with another laugh. "And nothing that can easily backfire. Any warnings about having a sibling?"

"I promise it won't be any harder than having Lila as a sister," she said, "There will just be a little boy in the house now. You know, being so much older than him, you're bound to get along with him. An old friend of mine once told me siblings had boundaries. Twins tend to have an inseparable bond. Siblings with many years separating them look up to each other, like a guide and a lost child. But siblings very close in age tend to bicker a lot more, though they love each other anyway. Point is, siblings nearly always love each other to death. Be the brother you are to Lila as the brother you are to the baby." Cooper looked at her with mesmerized eyes.

"I'm going to be the brother Pietro is to you as the brother of Lila and Nathaniel," he said, "Protective enough where they don't get themselves hurt over something stupid. Or something less stupid, like bullying. Or like how he saved Daddy today, I want to do that if they ever get in a situation like that." Wanda smiled brightly as the sun at him.

"You're going to make the most excellent big brother towards the newcomer," she said, yawning again. "Wow, it is late. It's been a rough day."

"I agree with you there," Steve said. "Hey, Romanoff, I'm going to go crash on the couch downstairs."

"Ok, I'll go in the Nest," I said, "my phone's on, call me if you need me. Cooper, Wanda, tell Lila that you just tell Steve if you need anything, okay?" Wanda and Cooper both nodded, and Wanda curled up on the recliner.

"Good night," Cooper said, running off to his own bedroom.

"Good night, and good chat," Wanda called after him, closing her eyes. I turned off the light and close the door as I left with Steve. I peeked in Lila's room and saw she was curled up in her own bed, and left with a small smile.

"I cannot wait to see little baby Nat," I said, "I just can't wait. I'm so proud of this family."

"It's real nice," Steve said. "You think the Maximoffs will stay long?"

"I think," I said, "that if they were three years younger, Clint would have already adopted them by now. Goodnight, Steve."

"Good night, Romanoff." I walked down into the room Clint and I call the Nest: a room with an unfinished flooring, a beige rug, and a long brown leather couch facing two tv screens. One for video games, one for a movie or tv. At the same time. Clint and I, or his kids and their friends, almost always have a great time watching movies down here with such a great homelike layout. I unfolded a blanket and almost instantly fell asleep on the couch.