Natasha decided to drop by Aurelia's office before her tears could escape. "Hey." She said, plopping herself down onto the sofa.
Aurelia raised an eyebrow. "Are you requesting my services?" She asked.
Natasha nodded, brushing at her eyes.
Aurelia got out from behind her desk and closed the door. "What would you like to talk about?"
So Natasha explained. The fight with her ending up at the facility in Santa Monica. Her leaving the hospital, and going to Coulson's base. Then finding Lia, and seeing Bruce in the window. And finally returning, and the last conversation she had with him.
"Speaking of Lia," Nat interrupted herself, "how is she?"
Aurelia smiled. "She's good. Clint taught her more ASL. She spends a lot of time with Dr. Banner and Mr. Stark in the lab. The media loves her ever since she accidentally crashed a press conference when she was exploring the building."
Nat nodded. This is good. She missed that girl. "What about school?" She asked. "Is she going somewhere?"
"We're going to put her in in the fall." Aurelia replied, glancing out of her window. "We gave her an academic evaluation and she came out as around eighth grade."
Natasha frowned thoughtfully. "So we're putting her in high school?"
Aurelia nodded. "Midtown Tech. Tony likes it. It's in Queens." She added casually.
There was a silence.
"So when are you going to therapize me?" Natasha asked jokingly.
Aurelia shrugged. "I'm not really that good of a therapist. I just tell people vague ways to solve their problems and ask them questions they ask me." She beamed at the agent. "But it works out. I'm not telling you anything else right now, but Dr. Banner will forgive you, in time. You have to be careful with him. He still is emotionally delicate."
Natasha ducked her head. "Is it my fault?" She asked quietly.
"A little," Aurelia admitted. "But most of it is old stuff. And spend a little more time with Lia. She misses you. And Yelena's waiting for you in the training room."
Natasha noticed that the young doctor's voice take on a fonder tone when she spoke Yelena's name. She came to a quick conclusion. "Do you like her?" She asked. "Yelena?"
Aurelia blinked. "We— we're kind of, um, dating." She smiled nervously. "Surprise."
Natasha kept her face blank. "When were you going to tell me?"
"Eventually."
"Right."
Silence again.
"I should get going." Natasha said, standing up. "Let's not keep Yelena waiting."
Aurelia nodded. "Let's not. She tends to punch me when I'm late."
When they got to the training room, Yelena came over and kissed Aurelia on the cheek. When she saw Natasha, she launched herself at the older woman.
They immediately began to fight.
"I– can– explain–" Nat muttered as she grappled with her younger sister.
Yelena paused briefly to shake her bangs away from her face and advanced on her again. "I don't care." She said venomously. "You left me here."
"I'm sorry–"
"I don't care!" Yelena snarled, throwing Nat onto a padded wall. "You abandoned me!"
This sort of conversation continued until the two exhausted their willingness to fight each other. Eventually, they both dropped onto the mat on the ground, running high on adrenaline and endorphines.
Aurelia came over with water, which they both drank quickly. Then they began to talk about the things Natasha had missed while she was gone, like how Thor had moved in with his girlfriend, Dr. Jane Foster, and how Tony was planning on proposing to Pepper, and how the team found out about Aurelia and Yelena, which was Clint finding them making out in a closet on movie night.
"We have movie nights now?" Nat swallowed a lump in her throat. I really have missed a lot, she thought.
Aurelia waved a hand. "It's mostly for Lia. Though I think Steve likes it too, especially the Disney movies." She looked up at the ceiling to remember. "'Snow White' he loved."
Nat snorted. "Well, that movie's about as old as him."
"Around that." Yelena shrugged. "Have you heard from the other Widows?"
"I talked to Melina earlier," Nat recalled, suddenly thinking of her coversation with Bruce. "I think I heard Alexei in the background."
Yelena nodded.
The three of them heard a knock on the door and watched as it opened. Lia came bounding through, sporting new glasses and her hearing aid.
"Natasha!" She said happily, falling into a surprised Natasha's lap. "You're back!"
Blinking quickly, Nat registered the child in her lap and readjusted herslf to accommodate Lia better. "You can talk!" She realized.
Lia grinned up at her. "Yes! Mr. Tony and Dr. Bruce and I made these glasses to listen for me so I can reply without signs!" She furrowed her brows lightly. "I still don't know what I sound like. Or you. But I know what you're saying. We're working on actual hearing aids instead of the ones I have right now." Lia rolled off Nat's lap. "What have you been doing?"
Natasha paused, considering telling this eight-year-old child all the gory details of her beating up people in SHIELD's name. "I... persuaded some people to tell me some things they aren't supposed to." She said.
Lia's eyes widened. "Like beating them up?" she asked excitedly.
"Who told you that?" Natasha smiled. "Was it Tony?"
Lia beamed up at her. "No, I was peeking into Dr. Bruce's brain wen I saw you there kicking someone. And then I saw him kissing you in a garden." She giggled. "I think he likes you."
"Does he now?" Nat's head dipped slightly. "When was this?"
"A few minutes ago." Lia took off her glasses and fiddled with them. "Before I came over."
Aurelia caught Nat's eye. "What are you thinking?"
"I need to go talk to him." The agent said, getting up.
Aurelia got up and followed her out into the hallway. "I advise against that."
"You can't stop me." Nat turned and faced the psychiartrist. "What's the problem with me talking with him anyway?"
Aurelia hesitated. "The last time you tried talking to him, you came to my room and almost cried."
"So I won't cry this time." Natasha headed to the lab, Aurelia beelining beind her.
"Natasha–"
"Stop." She paused at the door to the lab. "Just– I'll talk to you later."
And Natasha opened the door into what might be the best– or worst– conversation in her life.