Requested by jsr2351, James is alive during civil war and he watches Nat and Steve interact.
James Rogers had seen his parents fight. It different happen often but when it did, it was over something important.
He was only six, but he was smart enough to know that whatever was happening now was important.
It had started the night that his mom and dad had come home from a mission. They didn't look as physically hurt as normal, but his father looked miserable.
"It's not your fault Steve," James heard Natasha whisper, stroking Steve's hair gently.
"Then whose fault is it Nat? I should have stayed focused. I let him get under my skin and people died because of it."
He heard Natasha sigh, "You aren't the only one who messed up today. We should have made sure Wanda was ready for the field. I should have known he had bombs on him. We all should have evacuated the area sooner. This one doesn't just fall on you Steve. It's on all of us and we have to learn from it."
James peeked into the room and saw Steve pacing in front of the bed where Natasha was sitting.
"So many people died Natasha."
Natasha was shaking her head now, "I know. And it's awful. But think about how many people we saved. There's no fight without losses. No matter how awful it might be, it's true."
Steve sat down, hanging his head. James frowned at how upset he looked.
"Why do you always have to be right?"
Natasha smiled slightly, "That's just how it works."
James watched as Steve lean towards Natasha but she placed her hand on his shoulder, "We've got a little spy watching us."
She looked over at James and smiled, "Come on."
James shyly creeped forward and walked towards the foot of his parents bed.
"What did I tell you about eavesdropping?" Natasha asked.
James looked down at his feet, "Not to do it unless I know I won't get caught."
Natasha smirked, "Exactly, now come here. I missed you today."
James grinned and climbed onto the bed with his parents, giggling when Natasha pulled him towards her and tickled his stomach gently.
She let go of him and James jumped into Steve's arms, wrapping his own arms around Steve's neck.
"Momma?" James asked when Steve set him down to lay between the two parents.
Natasha raised her eyebrows and looked down at her son, "Hm?"
"How come you guys can't save everyone? I thought that's what superheroes do?"
Steve's face fell and Natasha grabbed his hand, while also stroking James' hair gently, "Well, we try to save everyone. If we could do that we would, but sometimes the bad guys make it very hard and we don't always have enough time or people to save everyone."
James frowned, "Would you be able to save me from a bad guy?"
"Yes. We'll always protect you," Natasha promised.
Steve nodded, wrapping his arm around both Natasha and James.
"Can I sleep with you tonight?" James asked his parents.
Steve nodded, "Yes. Just remember that your mom snores really loud after missions."
James giggled and Natasha kicked Steve's shin with a glare, "I do not."
Steve raised his hands in mock surrender, "Alright, you don't," He said with a wink towards James.
Natasha glared at Steve again, "James, your dad used to snore so loudly in the Avengers complex that Uncle Tony had to make his walls sound proof."
James burst into another fit of laughter.
Steve frowned, "That's not true."
Natasha grinned, "You're right, they made it sound proof because of other loud noises."
Steve blushed and James frowned, "What other loud noises?"
Natasha laughed and Steve shook his head, "Your mom and I would stay up late watching movies and they didn't want to hear the movies so they made it soundproof."
James nodded, "Oh okay. That makes sense."
Natasha leaned over and kissed James' forehead before sighing, "Alright, it's time for bed. I'm tired and you two boys need to let me get my beauty sleep."
"Okay momma. Goodnight. I love you. I love you too dad."
"Love you too," Natasha said, stroking his hair and holding Steve's hand above their son's head.
"Goodnight James," Steve whispered, turning off the lights.
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On the days where Steve and Natasha weren't away on missions, they would often bring James with them into Shield's offices.
There were countless people who enjoyed watching and keeping him company and it wasn't often that both Natasha and Steve were both in meetings.
Today, James could tell something was off.
All of the Avengers, including his parents, had been pulled away for what seemed to be a very important meeting.
There was a man who James had never seen before, but he didn't look friendly.
He was waiting in his mother's office with his Aunt Maria when Natasha and Steve came back from the meeting, both looking equally stressed.
They didn't stay for the rest of the day and instead went back to their apartment with James. The car ride home was unusually quiet.
"What's wrong?" James asked, about ten minutes into the ride.
Natasha shook her head, "Nothing honey. We've just got some work stuff to think about."
James frowned, "Are you guys in trouble? That man looked mean."
"No. We just have to talk about some stuff. We're okay," Natasha said, giving James a small smile.
When they got back to the apartment, James was sent to get ready for bed. He did so quickly and then quietly snuck back into the living room, where he could hear Natasha and Steve whispering.
"Steve we can't just rebel against the government."
"We can't just sign over every decision to them. We make mistakes Nat but the world is safer with us protecting it than it ever was without us."
Natasha shook her head, "Maybe it is. But that doesn't matter anymore. We've lost a lot of people's trust. If people fear us then we won't be able to get anything accomplished. If letting other people make our decisions for a few years is what we have to do to fix this, then I'm willing to deal with it."
"I can't sign the Accords Nat. It goes against everything I stand for."
Natasha stood up, running a hand through her hair. James crouched down against the wall so she wouldn't see his shadow, "What about James?"
Steve didn't answer. Natasha stepped towards him, "If we go against Ross and he finds out about James, they could take him away. I don't want to sign the Accords anymore than you do, but I can't put his safety below my freedom."
Steve sighed, "Natasha,"
"Please Steve, just consider it. I can't do this without you and if you fight them on this, I can't help you."
Steve nodded slightly, "I'll think about it. I promise I will."
Natasha nodded and sat down next to him, leaning her head on his shoulder.
"Nat," Steve whispered.
"Hm?"
"No matter what happens, I'll always love you and James. More than anything."
Natasha nodded, "I'll always love you too. We'll get through this."
James frowned and crept back into his room, laying down in his bed, his mind racing.
He could be taken away?
Natasha eventually came in to tuck him in and was easily able to see how distressed her son was.
"You okay?" She asked, sitting besides him and gently combing through his hair with her fingers.
James looked up at her, his lip quivering, "Am I going to be taken away from you and dad?"
Natasha sighed, her eyes softening as she pulled him into her lap, "No honey. You aren't going to be taken away. Your dad and I aren't going to let that happen. No matter what, we'll be with you."
"You promise?" James asked as Natasha wiped a tear from his cheek.
She nodded, "Promise."
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Three days after Natasha had made that promise to James, she came home alone, looking miserable and terrified.
"Momma?" James asked, "Where's dad?"
Natasha looked down at him, her eyes glossy, "He's going to be stuck at work for a few nights baby. He wanted me to tell you that he'll miss you and he loves you."
James frowned, "Why can't he tell me himself? He had a phone."
"He got into a little bit of trouble. He has to stay at work until he talks to someone about it and he can't have his phone until he gets back."
"Why is he in trouble?"
Natasha sighed, "He helped a friend who was in trouble, so now he's in trouble."
James' brows furrowed, "That doesn't seem fair. I thought heroes were supposed to help people."
"They are. That's why he did it. He just has to stay and explain what happened and then he can come home."
James nodded slowly, "Okay."
Natasha noticed his concerned expression and plastered on a smile, "How about you and me heat up some pizza and watch a movie?"
James nodded and he and Natasha did exactly that, attempting to ease the tension in the apartment.
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Something happened the next day.
James had been dropped off at his Aunt Laura's early that morning and his mother had promised that she would be back as soon as she could be, saying that she had to help his father.
James didn't know exactly what that meant but he was excited to be able to see all his cousins.
Natasha wasn't back that night, or the next one.
It was almost a week before she came to the door one night, wearing a dark hoodie and nursing a black eye.
"Momma!" James yelled, jumping into her arms.
Natasha hugged him tightly, "Hi baby. I missed you."
James nodded, "Where were you?"
"I had to help your dad. We're both in a bit of trouble now. You're going to have to stay with Aunt Laura and Uncle Clint for a little longer but me and your dad will visit as much as we can, okay?"
James frowned, "You can't stay?"
Natasha shook her head, "Not tonight. I've got some people following me and I don't want them to find you, okay? We're going to figure everything out though, and then we'll go back home and everything will be back to normal."
James nodded softly, "Is dad here?"
"No. He had to find a place for us to stay tonight, but next time we visit, we'll both come. I promise."
James nodded, "Can you tell him that I miss him?"
Natasha nodded, "Of course. He misses you too. I promise he does. We both do."
"Okay," James whispered, his eyes watering.
Natasha sighed and placed a kiss on his forehead, holding her closely to her as he clung to her neck, "I love you James, but I've got to go. I promise we'll fix everything soon. Be good for Aunt Laura and Uncle Clint."
James nodded, "Okay. I love you too. Don't take too long."
Natasha's forced smile faltered and she nodded, forcing it back before slipping back into the darkness after she waved goodbye to Clint and Laura.
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It was another two months before James was brought back to the apartment with Steve and Natasha. They had made amends with his Uncle Tony and were finally able to stop running from the government.
James was content to be home but he couldn't help but wonder what happened.
So he did what he had always done, he ease dropped.
"Am I a terrible mother?" Natasha asked Steve on the first night that they were back in the apartment.
"What? Of course not. You're the best mother James could have. What makes you ask that?"
"The airport. I knew what the consequences would be if I helped you. It was bad enough that you couldn't see James and then I helped you and made it so that we both couldn't. He was without us for two months."
Steve sighed, "That's not your fault Natasha. We all made mistakes with the Accords. Probably me more than anyone. I shouldn't have put you in that position in the first place, but I don't regret what happened. James will understand when he's older and as much as I missed him, I know he was safe with Laura. We're all home now."
She didn't answer.
"James and I both love you more than anything Nat. You can't dwell on what happened. It was hard, but it's over, okay?"
She nodded, "I just wish we could have explained it to him."
"We will one day," Steve promised, kissing her forehead.
James smiled slightly to himself. He realized that he didn't actually care what happened, his parents were home and everything was okay.
Hey guys. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, it was pretty challenging to write and I'm not really sure if it makes sense but I tried my best. If you enjoyed it, please comment and vote!