"How did you find me?"
Katherine asked Natasha, picking up her son and holding him close in her arms.
Natasha stood quiet at first, just staring at Katherine from across the small table and the child in her arms. The child looked so much like Clint. The child had his smile, his hair color with Katherine's eyes. Natasha hated to admit it because her and Katherine never really got along but her and Clint's child was the cutest thing she had ever seen. It was almost enough to warm the assassin's heart.
Natasha took a deep breath before focusing on Katherine's facial expressions. "I noticed something at the funeral. I saw you watching from behind the tree, I thought it was nothing at first but it just kept eating away at me until I had to check for myself. I had this hunch that something was off, I didn't want to tell Clint at first out of fear that this came to nothing. I wanted to spare him the hurt all over again so i investigated on my own. I dug up your grave, the one that Clint and all of us buried "you" in."
Hearing Natasha say this made Katherine sigh, looking away from Natasha's glares as she continued explaining.
"So it was my surprise..when I dug up your grave, I found it empty." Natasha said. "I knew then that you were alive and I promised myself that I'd find you...and bring you back to Clint." Natasha glared at Katherine before letting her face form a small smile when she stared at the child in Katherine's arms. "After I kick your ass for leaving and faking your death in the first place."
"Do you know how much you've hurt him? How much it killed him inside to think that you died? To think that you died and he didn't get to at least say goodbye? Do you even care how much you've hurt him and every single one of us?" Natasha yelled at Katherine, standing up as Katherine remained quiet.
If looks could kill, Katherine would be dead from the glares Natasha was sending her way. Katherine knew that but Natasha didn't know the whole story.
Katherine sighed, setting the child back down on the rug, giving him a toy. She walked into the little kitchen area, pouring herself a drink and bringing back a glass of wine for Natasha. Katherine chugged her glass before looking back at Natasha with a small smirk.
"I admire your loyalty to Clint, I really do. I draw comfort from knowing that he has someone like you to be there for him while I am not." Katherine sighed, noticing the looks Natasha was still giving her. "You think I'm some horrible, heartless monster who left Clint like it was nothing. Like it wasn't the hardest thing I'd ever done. Well, news flash Romanoff, I'm not as heartless as you're sitting there thinking."
Natasha watched as Katherine got up, leaving her in the room for a few minutes. Natasha just sat there, staring at the smiling child on the ground who then looked at her. Natasha smiled slightly, thinking about how happy Clint would be when he finds out that not only Katherine is alive... But that he's finally getting the family he deserves and craved. Natasha sat up straight once Katherine entered the room again with two items in her hands.
Katherine handed Natasha a photo frame, looking down to see it was a picture of Clint. "I keep that by my bed and show Hunter every night. I tell him just the kind of hero his father is and that I can only ever hope to be." Katherine sighed, showing the silver necklace Clint gave her as a replacement for her Talisman. "Ever since he gave it to me, I never took it off. I think about him every single second of every single day that I'm not thinking about Hunter."
"I know you think I'm a heartless bitch and maybe I am. Maybe I deserve to burn in hell for everything I've ever done since taking my first life..But I know in my heart that Clint would do the same if he were me...he'd do anything to protect our child and myself. Which is what I'm doing. I'm protecting and thinking of Hunter constantly. I miss Clint more than you can ever imagine, I would've spent the rest of my life with him--I was more than ready to spend the rest of my life with him...But I also need to keep Hunter safe. I need to keep mine and Clint's child safe. No matter how much I want to be back with Clint and the rest of the team...--it's too dangerous for everyone else." Katherine explained, sighing toward the end of her sentence. Natasha noticed how Katherine's voice broke at the end of her sentence, looking at her slightly confused.
"What do you mean?" Natasha asked her fellow Avenger.
Katherine sighed, rubbing her forehead. "Hunter has gifts, like myself..He can't control them, he's only a babe but--..he gives off a powerful dark energy, it weakens those around him but can also give power. If someone were to get their hands on him--..I'm only protecting mine and Clint's son from those who would do him harm."
"And you think that's the rest of us?"
Katherine shook her head. "No..But I cannot say for the rest of SHIELD. I spent my entire life seeking revenge against the very organization that you and I are employed for. And while there may be good people within SHIELD...it also fell because of corruption last year. I wouldn't trust my son's life in just anyone's hands."
"But we can all help..Just come home, to Clint if anything." Natasha tried telling Katherine.
Katherine chuckled lightly, slowly shaking her head. "While I want nothing more than to be reunited with my better half...I can't let my selfishness overshadow what my son needs." Katherine said with a sad look on her face. "I'm absorbing as much of his dark energy he secretes as best I can..-but it's still too dangerous for him to be around anyone else. I don't want anyone getting hurt from him or hurting him." Katherine sighed, looking over at her son with a sadden look on her face. "It's better this way...or at least I can't think of a better way until he's older and can learn to control his gifts." Katherine looked down at her hands, feeling a weight on her chest.
"Better this way? What is better about you breaking Clint's heart and hiding away in the middle of fucking nowhere with his son? You're going to let Clint miss the important years of his son's life because you're afraid of SHIELD?" Natasha scoffed.
"I'm afraid of everyone. Trust is not something I can afford and something I would not give away easily." Katherine snapped back. "I still sleep with one eye open because I don't trust anyone...I never have besides Clint but even then, you were trained similar to me. Can you stand there and tell me you would give away your trust as easily as you expect me to give mine away?"
When Natasha didn't say anything, Katherine laughed to herself.
"As I thought. You dare question me when you would do the same. As evil as you may think I am, I would gladly give my life for Clint's or my son's. For any of you as impossible as it sounds...You all became a family to me, no matter how much I did not want you to, I would gladly give anything to keep you all safe as well." Katherine said, moving to pick up Hunter and hold him in her arms.
"We can keep you two safe, Tony can design something to help your son..." Natasha tried suggesting, but it was as if Katherine didn't have time for it.
"I don't think I'm ready to risk Hunter being out in the world yet...Especially if he can't keep himself safe. I'll do anything in my power to keep him safe but if something were to happen to me...-I'd want him to at least know how to protect himself." Katherine said.
"Just come home and we can help. Let us help. Hunter's apart of our family too. The both of you are." Natasha reminded Katherine.
Katherine stayed quiet at first, only placing a small kiss on Hunter's forehead before turning her attention back to Natasha. "Would you like to hold him? You probably should considering you're his godmother..." Katherine asked, Natasha's eyes going wide.
"Me?" Natasha questioned.
"I know Clint would want you to be Hunter's godmother. Personally, I'd choose Tony as his godfather or Thor even but...I know in my heart what you mean to Clint, so...please, would you be Hunter's godmother?" Katherine asked, smiling for the first time in what seemed like forever.
Natasha nodded her head. "I'd love to." Natasha slowly took Hunter into her arms, smiling down at the little bundle of joy in her arms. "Clint will be so overjoyed to know you're alive and he has a son. So why are you hiding? Why not come home and get the life you deserve? The family you deserve." Natasha asked, smiling down at the beautiful baby boy in her arms.
"Maybe you're right, Romanoff..." Katherine sighed, laughing once she noticed the look on Natasha's face.
"I'm sorry, my ears must not be used to this elevation. Did you just agree with me?" Natasha asked.
"Don't make me regret it." The two of them laughed as Katherine slowly took Hunter back into her arms and held him close. "Maybe you're right about all of this...I acted impulsively due to my fears but...maybe it's time Hunter and I go home...to our family."
Natasha smiled, thinking about how Clint was going to be so overjoyed when they get back to the headquarters. But before either could say anything, that's when suddenly they heard a blasting sound from outside.
The two both stood up quickly, Katherine holding Hunter in her arms tightly while motioning her hand and using her powers to block the front door. Katherine and Natasha could hear about two dozen men outside, moving towards their location as they knew they were trapped.
Thinking of no way they could all get out of this, Katherine thought about something.
"Here, take Hunter." Katherine said, handing him to Natasha, who questioned what she was doing. Katherine ran to the other room before coming back with a baby carrier and her picture of Clint. "Take Hunter as far as you can from here, get him back to Clint and the others safely." Katherine instructed Natasha.
"What about you?" Natasha asked.
"I'm gonna hold them off as long as I can so you can escape." Katherine answered.
Natasha quickly shook her head. "No, we're all going back together. So come on, let's get the hell out of here. I'm not going back to tell Clint you died for what seems like the hundreth time."
"Please, take Hunter and get him away from here. I can hold off the invaders while you get him to safety. If i go with you, they'll catch us but if I keep all their attention on me in the meanwhile, you can take Hunter and get back to Clint. So, please...Natasha...please, get Hunter to Clint and make sure he's safe." Katherine said, walking over to her as she placed a kiss on Hunter's forehead. "Mommy loves you so much baby. Please, be good for your father and listen to the others. They'll keep you safe, okay?Mommy trusts them." Katherine spoke to Hunter, who was cooing and crying for her.
Katherine took a deep breath, telling Natasha to get ready and run out the back while she kept them busy in the front. Natasha tried arguing more but she knew there was no way Katherine would risk her child's life. All though she only knew about this for an hour, she could see the devotion Katherine had to her child the same way Katherine was devoted to Clint.
"Just get him far away from here and be safe..." Katherine said, using her magic to make a pillow on the couch appear as Hunter while Nat made sure Hunter was strapped in okay, disguised as a backpack.
Katherine used her powers to open the door, mercenary men barging inside as she began taking them out one by one. Katherine screamed when one of them managed to get a bullet to hit her shoulder. Katherine began rampaging, taking them down quickly as she broke one of their arms and kicking them in the face so they were unconscious. Katherine looked up, seeing Natasha standing there with Hunter in her arms.
"Go!" Katherine yelled as more mercenaries were coming.
"We'll be back for you so don't die." Natasha said while the two exchanged head nods before Natasha took off out the back door with Hunter in her arms.
Katherine smiled to herself, content with whatever was coming for her as she could die happy or live however in knowing her son was going to be okay. Katherine fought as hard as she could but she was weak, weakened from absorbing Hunter's dark matter. One of the mercenaries managed to shoot Katherine in the shoulder again as another shot a tranquilizer into her neck. Katherine growled in slight pain, ripping the syringe from her neck and tossing it to the floor. Katherine kept on fighting, trying to stay awake before the tranquilizer took over, sending her crashing to the ground.
Katherine was breathing heavy, trying to stop the men from going towards the couch where they thought Hunter was. But one of the mercenaries picked him up, revealing Katherine's illusion as he cursed, throwing the pillow to the ground. Katherine laughed slightly, smirking to herself before the mercenary man came up to her, kicking her across the face as she blacked out cold...
wondering if Natasha had managed to get Hunter away from there and somewhere safe. Wondering if she would be able to.....
author's note:
so it's literally been a few months, a year...i'm so sorry for not updating this fanfic that you've all been so supportive of since the first book but i'm going to try to do better. Honestly I just lost inspiration for it but since watching the iconic cincematic masterpiece that is INFINITY WAR i have so many feels and thoughts that this fanfic will be picking up more.
sorry for not updating i'm going to try harder and also sorry this chapter sucked, I just wanted to get something posted so you all would know that this fanfic is not completely dead yet.
thanks for reading and supporting, you're all awesome. Stay golden
-J