age: 6
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NATASHA's POV
"Mama!!" my excitable six year old calls out. She's woken up from her nap then.
"You summoned me, master Y/N," I joke as I enter her room and scoop her up for a cuddle. That's always been our thing; post-nap cuddles. I'll just hold her for a little while until she wakes up a bit more. "How was your sleep, detka?"
"Good," she answers simply as she buries her head into my chest.
I walk us over to the armchair in her room and sit down, still keeping ahold of my little girl and I start rocking us gently back and forth.
"Mommy?"
"Yes, baby?"
"What's that?" she asks and points to a scar on my left shoulder. I'm only in a sports bra from training so she has a clear view of every scar on my body from many different fights and missions.
"That's a scar, bubs. You get them sometimes when you've been injured like from a cut or something."
"You're hurt?" she asks fearfully. She's adorable.
"No, babe. Mama's not hurt. I got them from all the bad guys that I've fought. I won, obviously. Your mom's a badass," I tell her with a smirk.
"Badass!"
"Hey, no. You can't say that word. That's an adult word, missy," I scold playfully.
She tries to use the justification that I said it first, which is fair enough. I shouldn't have said it in front of her. Young ones repeat everything they hear.
"What about this one?" She points to a scar on my lower abdomen.
Why not make this fun for her?
"Well, I got that one from fighting off a big tiger when it escaped from the zoo!"
Y/N's eyes widen at my words, I shouldn't lie to her but this is funny for me, plus it won't do her any harm.
"Really?!" she asks in disbelief.
"Yup. And this one here," I point to a nasty one on my rib cage, "That's from a fight with a shark I had when I went to the beach one time."
"No way! If I fight with a shark or tiger, can I get a scar?"
"I really hope not baby. Let's stay away from any fights with big animals, okay?" I explain and kiss her head. Obviously I'll tell her the truth someday, but best not to worry her for now.
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"Aunt Wands!!" Y/N runs up to her aunt in the kitchen and Wanda brings her into her arms.
"Hey, little one! Hi, Tasha," she greets back.
"Hey, Witchy," I reply and take my daughter to sit her down so we can eat with the rest of the team.
After around thirty minutes of us chatting with everyone at the table, Y/N pipes up again.
"Uncle Tony, have you ever fought with a tiger before?"
I let out a little chuckle at her question. She can be so silly at times and I know Tony's gonna be confused as hell.
"Uh... sure. What is she on about?" He whispers the last part in my ear.
"I told her all my scars from fights are from these crazy wild animals," I whisper back.
"Ah. Well, little miss Y/N, I'll have you know that I've actually fought with a bear before."
Y/N looks amazed and everyone else has the most perplexed expressions that I've seen.
"A bear? Mama, how come you haven't fought with a bear?"
"I was too busy with the tiger and the shark!" I defend myself, almost forgetting that I haven't actually fought either of those.
"Well I've fought with an alien before," Thor says, joining in with the conversation.
"No you haven- oh wait, actually you have." Forgot he was from space for a moment.
The rest of dinner was spent with everyone coming up with ridiculous creatures they've supposedly fought with. Safe to say, Y/N had the time of her life hearing her family's stories.
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"Alright, my little lady, I'll see you tomorrow. Sleep well," I say as I'm tucking her in for bed.
"Mama, I know your scars aren't from any animals, I'm not stupid. They're from the bad guys, right?"
I didn't see that coming.
"Um, baby..." I take a seat next to her on her low bed. "They are from bad guys, you're right."
"Are the bad guys gonna hurt me?"
Her question breaks my heart into two. No child should have to worry about this.
"No, my little love. Mama and all your aunts and uncles will always protect you. I promise, no one is ever gonna hurt you. You're very safe here, okay?"
"Okay, mommy."
"Alright. Good night, detka. I love you."
I lean down to kiss her nose softly and she does the same for me before I make my way to the door and the light off.
"I'll protect you, bubba."