Frostbite

Ten

Several hours later, Tony woke me up and I glanced around curiously. He woke Steve as well, and I rose from my seat to peek out the window. There was a charming, white, farmhouse a few hundred yards from us, complete with a barn and plenty of secluded acreage. Where had Clint brought us?

Everyone else was shuffling off the jet and following Clint towards the house. I rushed after them, falling into step beside Steve. He reached over and held my hand, making soothing circles with his thumb. I smiled at him, squeezing his hand reassuringly.

"What is this place?" Thor asked aloud curiously. We were making our way onto the porch finally.

"A safe house?" Tony guessed, glancing at Clint for confirmation.

"Let's hope," Clint smiled nervously as we entered the front door, "Honey, I'm home." An attractive woman came around the corner in response. She was around Clint's age, with long brunette hair, a baby bump poking out under her clothing, and she had a warm smile as she took in the sight of us. I also immediately noticed the wedding ring on her finger.

"Hi. Company. Sorry I didn't call ahead," Clint apologized. The inside of the house was just as charming as the outside. It wasn't just a house; it was a home. It was as if love and warmth just poured from the walls. I felt more relaxed almost instantly.

"Hey," she greeted, kissing him gently. I glanced around in confusion, wondering if anyone else knew about Clint's secret life, but everyone else had the same expression. Except Natasha.

"This is an agent of some kind," I heard Tony whisper to Thor. I almost snorted at that.

"Everyone, this is Laura," Clint finally introduced us.

"I know all your names," Laura admitted with a shrug.

"Ooh, incoming," Clint announced, as two young children dashed excitedly down the stairs and towards Clint. They both looked like their parents.

"Dad!" the little girl cried happily, jumping into his arms.

"I see her!" he said, leaning to kiss the top of the boy's head, "Hey, buddy! How you guys doing?"

"These are... smaller agents," Tony muttered, mystified by the turn of events.

"Look at your face! Oh, my goodness!"

"Did you bring Auntie Nat?" the small girl asked hopefully.

"Why don't you hug her and find out?" Natasha replied playfully, kneeling down so the girl could rush into her arms.

"Sorry for barging in on you," Steve apologized awkwardly. He couldn't help but ooze politeness.

"Yeah, we would have called ahead, but we were busy having no idea that you existed," Tony quipped. I reached over and slapped the back of his head, shaking mine in exasperation.

"Ow!" he complained, holding the spot I hit and inching away from me.

"Yeah, well Fury helped me set this up when I joined. He kept it off S.H.I.E.L.D's files; I'd like to keep it that way. I figure it's a good place to lay low," Clint explained, glancing around happily.

"Honey. Ah, I missed you," Laura crooned at Nat.

"How's little Natasha, huh?" Nat asked ruefully, touching her pregnant belly.

"She's...Nathaniel," Laura corrected with a small smirk. There was a small part of me that was jealous as I observed the scene before me; I would probably never have a life like this. To be able to settle or have children... I was sure Hydra took that option away a long time ago. You always longed for the life you could never have.

"Traitor," Natasha whispered to her stomach. Suddenly Thor turned on his heel and marched back out the front door without a word. Steve followed after him, calling his name. There was a tug on my jacket sleeve, and I turned my attention to that. It was the girl; I think I had heard Laura say her name was Lila.

"Are you Frostbite?" she asked shyly. I grinned and knelt down next to her. I extended my palm out, facing upward and created a mini snow flurry. Lila squealed with delight and whipped around to get her mother's attention. "Do it again! Please!" she cried, jumping up and down.

I chuckled at her innocent excitement and obliged. Though this time I swiped my hand across my palm, creating a miniature snowman made of ice. I offered it to her, and she gently picked it up, eyes wide with wonder. She suddenly took off to show Laura and Clint.

Tony shot me a small smile, approving of the tricks I did for her. I stood back up and watched him walk outside. Steve was standing in the doorway, clearly amused as well. He had gone back to the jet to change into normal clothes and had brought me a change of clothes as well.

"Let me show you guys your rooms," Laura offered, waving for us to follow her. Steve, Natasha, Bruce, and I all trudged along behind her. Natasha and Bruce took the first spare room, and Steve and I took the second. Laura and Clint left us alone, and I instantly changed out of my dirty clothes.

I sat on the edge of the bed, exhausted, but there was no way I'd be able to sleep now. My mind was still swirling from our Maximoff encounter.

"Are you alright?" Steve asked, sitting next to me. I peered up at him through my lashes and sighed. "Is it the vision? Do you want to talk about it?"

"Are you gonna tell me about yours?" I countered slyly. A smile flickered momentarily on his face but faded away just as quickly.

"It was Peggy... After the war. It was as if it was taunting me with what could have been. What I lost," he admitted. I stared at him for a moment, but he didn't seem sad. I was never bothered when he talked about Peggy; I knew Steve loved me. That was a significant part of his life, and I was glad he knew that he could open up about her if he needed.

"Do you want to go back?" I asked, unsure of his answer. Of course, he probably did, but given the choice, would he? A small, knowing smile crept onto his face and he shook his head.

"There are times I do, when I miss certain aspects. I mean I am the man out of time. But I don't think I would. Not unless I could bring you with me so we could possibly have a life like this." I blinked back tears at his words.

"I doubt you'll get that with me," I croaked miserably.

"What do you mean?"

I choked on a laugh and said, "You're a good man, Steve. You've never killed in cold blood. You're not a dark and twisted monster that was created in some lab experiment. You'd want to have kids with someone like that? They'd be ashamed of me. I don't even know if I can have children anyway."

Concern was written all over his face as he smashed me into him unexpectedly. He ran his hand over my hair and kissed the top of my head.

"So that's what your vision was about? You're wrong," he told me blatantly, "You're not a monster. You were forced to kill those people. You had no choice. You joined S.H.I.E.L.D and the Avengers to do good. I believe you've done more than enough to atone for anything that happened before. And I love you. Unconditionally. Any life I get with you is enough for me, whether that includes kids or not. I do think you'd be a wonderful mother, though."

"You always know just what to say," I told him ruefully.

He kissed me gently on the lips and I kissed back, just as soft. I reached up and stroked his cheek with the back of my hand. Our foreheads touched and we sat like that for several moments before breaking apart again.

"I think I'll go help Tony with that wood," he chuckled, glancing out the window in amusement, "It looks like he's struggling."

I laughed, nodding my head. I gave him a quick peck on the cheek before shooing him on his way.