*2 years later*
Y/n's POV
I checked the calendar, it still shocked me when I read the year 2023 considering I had moved into the compound in 2016. It really was crazy how time had flown. Harriet had a ballet performance in two nights which I was looking forward to.
"Do you still want sugar in your tea?" Steve called and brought my attention back to the room.
"Oh yes please." I nodded. I took the moment to really just look around the room. Our home. We had put up a wall of photographs in memory of the Avengers. The avengers had been a family for all of us when we needed it most and it was because of them that I had gotten to where I had. There were pictures dating back to 2012 that were published on the news, to pictures from different people's files. They included Christmas day, weddings, missions, training sessions. You name it, it was probably there. Over the years we had added to it and made sure that everyone had at least one picture including them on the wall. Harriet was up there a few times as well. The picture we had taken of Morgan and Haz when they were tiny, or Steve giving Haz a piggy back when she was 4. The latest picture added was Harriet wearing punching gloves, practicing with the pads that Nat was holding.
Harriet was five now and her fiery personality was beginning to shine through. Natasha adored her and Steve loved it when he got to babysit her. Our happy little family with my wife, daughter and uncle Steve.
Natasha and Harriet returned from food shopping, big grins on their faces. Harriet carried a little bag over excitedly.
"Mama let me get ice pops for all of us!" She beamed, getting to box out of the bag.
"Well aren't we lucky!" I gave Nat a kiss on the cheek as she placed the bags on the counter beside me.
"It's my little treat because she's been working so hard with her school work and her ballet." Natasha winked at Haz. Harriet hugged Natasha who picked her up and sat her on the side. Harriet's hair was long down her back now and had wild curls. She had lost for first tooth, one of her front teeth, and was so terrifically excited when she received her money from the tooth fairy. I think I made a brilliant tooth fairy.
"Can I have one please?" She asked. I glanced at Nat who nodded subtly.
"Yes you can." I got her out a blue one, they were her favourite. "Here you go." I handed it to her after cutting it open.
"Thank you." She smiled. Her accent was a mix of British and American. Like Nat, I think she'd have a similar rough tone to her voice as she grew but it was hard to tell at her age. She was still only young and had those moments where she was transitioning from toddler to child. However she adapted to the new expectations of her quite quickly and was an easy learner. She was actually pretty smart for her age, being a good reader and writer already. Her talents didn't just lie in academics either, she was physically gifted. She thrived in her ballet but she was also naturally fast and surprisingly strong. Natasha would often say she was a little fighter, I suppose we were lucky to get such a great kid.
I helped Nat put away the shopping before we all sat down for lunch. Harriet watches the tv from her seat at the dining table whilst the rest of us chatted. I watched Natasha slump down in her chair after grabbing a glass of water. She looked a little tired and slightly run down. However despite all of this she was still gorgeous. Her hair had grown out and her natural red was well past her jawline now. The blonde remained in her hair, that she was certain of. I had never suggested she dyed it out after she told me her reasons for keeping the blonde, that part of her life bore strong memories which would take time to heal.
"Are you alright?" I asked her, not sure what had caused the sudden change in her mood. I knew that every now and then she would get upset about our broken team and family we had lost. In fact more recently it seemed to be bothering her more than usual. I sort of understood, I just tried to ignore the sinking feeling in my stomach or tears in my eyes. However Nat was struggling to hide her pain after all these years. The anniversary of the blip was quickly approaching, and even though it had been five years there would still be memorials around the world to remember those that we lost. The thing that was bothering Natasha the most was losing her best friend. There had been signs of Clint every now and then that Rhodey had kept her up to date with, and if it weren't for wanting to be here for Harriet I know she would have been traipsing the world at that moment trying to find him. However Rhodey was doing his best to find Barton without her whilst still working with the government as war machine.
We hadn't heard from Tony in a few months, nor had Bruce made any contact. For the most part it was just the four of us against the world. Natasha and I met up for coffee with Jordan so that Kiara and Haz could play. They got on ever so well. I had sort of wished that Morgan and Haz could have a friendship like that but Tony had pulled away from us almost completely. I think he was just so caught up in keeping his family safe that he didn't entirely care what happened in the process.
"Always." Nat put on a little smirk. But the thing was she had been my wife for nearly five years and we'd been together longer than that. So obviously despite her training I knew she was lying.
"Steve, how's the group's sessions going?" She changed the subject.
"Oh, pretty well. It's quite surprising to see just how many people are still struggling after the blip. They just can't move on, I suppose we can't either. But who can blame them. There's this one girl who was really quiet the whole time. She didn't look that old. She lingered at the end of the session and I spoke to her for a bit which was why I was a little later home. She's 22, lost everyone she was close with at age 17. She only had her mum, two sisters and her best friend. And the poor girl lost all four of them. She was left alone, and despite getting herself back on her feet she still really struggles without them. I actually had a girl a year older than her with a similar situation so I gave her her telephone number to see if maybe they could connect over their... well I suppose their loneliness."
"Well that's very kind of you, I'm sure it will really help. I can't even imagine losing everyone. I'd lose myself in the process, god knows what I'd do." Nat shook her head. I'd hate to think what would have happened if Nat had been left alone. She'd have gone into self destruct mode without someone there to anchor her. She'd be reckless again and maybe even dangerous, she'd end up hurting herself.
"Good thing we have each other." I tried to lighten the mood.
"Speaking of each other. Are you coming to Haz's performance?" Nat asked Steve.
"I should be able to make it, I have a session booked for 7pm, will it be done by then?"
"Hopefully, they reckon it's usually only an hour for the little ones as they get tired easier."
"I'm not little!" Harriet interrupted.
"No you're not but some of the others in your class aren't as big and strong as you. After all, not all the others have superheroes for parents."
"Morgan's dad is a superhero!" She said, before her attention went back to the tv.
"Yes, yes he is." I said slowly to myself. I missed Tony, he had done a lot for me when I really didn't deserve it. But I knew if we ever needed him he'd be there, hopefully.
"Uncle Steve?" She turned to look at Cap.
"Yes?"
"Can... Can we um... " She thought about her words for a moment. "Can we do some um... some boxing please?" She was a good talker but still had the occasion where she struggled to get her words out if she wasn't concentrating.
"You want to do some boxing? Yeah we can do a little. Just finish those carrot sticks first. You need those to grow up to be a big strong woman like Mama."
"Oh yes, fruit and vegetables help me to be a super strong boxer." Natasha grabbed one of Haz's carrots sticks and ate it quickly. And it worked, Harriet ate up all of her Carrot sticks quickly before running off to get changed into something more appropriate for boxing than a dress.
"How did we raise such a little firecracker?" I chuckled.
"Because she's got your spirit." Nat told me, eyebrows raised, smirk across her lips.
"Speaking of fire cracker, fancy doing some of our own training? It's been quite the while since I beat your ass in the ring." Nat took a sip of her water. She eyed me up and down.
"Challenge accepted Darling." I stared at her. I quickly dumped all the plates in the sink.
"How about we use the agent's training room?" Nat asked casually.
"Why?"
"It's more private." She shrugged, leaving the room.
"I see." I shook my head, following her out into the corridor. She was already strutting off towards the old Agent quarters. We went past Maria's office and down the stairs to the training room. There were shooting allies for archery and guns, dummies for combat practice and various different gym equipment.
Natasha stepped up into the ring. She ran her fingers through her hair slowly pulling it up into a messy ponytail. She already had leggings on and she just pulled off her top so she was in a matching sports bra. I watched as she stretched out her arms and the defined muscles on her body flexed. The sight alone could have beaten me but I thought it would be fun to spar anyway. I coincidentally had running shorts on and an old captain america t-shirt i had brought from Primark just to mess with him.
I looked up at Nat who looked down at me, a fixed and neutral expression on her face. Our eyes maintained a strong contact as I entered the ring. I felt my stomach flutter, she looked incredibly attractive as she looked down at me. I straightened up and prepared myself. A year or two ago I would probably have stood a chance however more recently I'd barely used the gym and definitely wasn't as strong as Nat.
"Ready?"
"As I'll ever-" She swung a punch at me, luckily I ducked. A second and a third came flying at me without warning. I blocked them, just. I tried to land one on her shoulder but she grabbed my arms and turned me round, holding it behind me back.
"Nice try." She whispered in my ear. I looked up and kissed her quickly before managing to squeeze out of her grasp. I was behind her and managed to kick her back. She stumbled forward but regained balance as she grasped onto the side of the ring.
"That's good." She smirked. "But not good enough. Are we playing hard or do I go easy on you?"
"You only live once, give me your best shot." I breathed.
"If you say so."
Kicks and punches flew between us until I somehow felt my fist make hard contact with her face. She looked back at me.
"You think I can't take a punch."
She left herself open for me to punch again. "Oh, come on. You can hit harder than that." She teased.
"But I don't want to hurt you." I frowned, taking a deep breath.
"I thought we were playing hard?" She swung a kick at me, hitting my arm with a strong force. There was a mess of arms and legs as we aimed at each other. I managed to hit her again, harder than before. She looked down at the floor for a moment before looking back up. Her lips were bloody but she just wiped it off and went for me again. I felt myself smiling as we hit each other. There was no aggression in it, just some good old fashioned avengers fun. It didn't take long before she had both my arms pinned behind me back.
"I win." She breathed beside my ear. I felt my breath catch in my throat. She kissed my neck, still holding firmly onto my wrist. I tilted my head back as I felt her hot lips on my skin.
I turned around and she locked her lips with mine. There was a slight metallic taste from the blood but I didn't care. Her hands ran through my hair, curling the strands in her fingers as she kissed me passionately. There was no mistaking it. She knew exactly how to get me where she wanted me. We stepped back until I felt my back hit one of the cold corners of the ring. She ran her hands over my body and they found their way under my top to hold my back. We paused for a moment, breathing heavily. She definitely hadn't lost her flare.
"Mrs Romanoff, your presence is required in the living room, Miss Romanoff requires her mothers as Mulan is on the television." Friday ran through the speaker.
"Come on." Nat sighed.
"Wait." I held onto her hand.
"Just five more minutes." I smiled cheekily.
"But-" I didn't let her finish as I rushed forward to kiss her again. She fell into it happily. Just five more minutes I thought to myself.