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Fandom Red and Blue (Marvel RP)

"Enough," she simply said and looked at him. Natasha cocked her head to the side and watched him. He looked so goddamn lost but this time she couldn't help him. She might've been able to pull him out of that void once before but this time it wasn't her job. She couldn't risk getting attached to him once again. There was a reason why she didn't let anyone come too close to her - even Clint and his family. She hadn't meant to tease or mock him. This was her way of telling that she understood where he was coming from. That she could be a shoulder to lean on. But she would never voice it like that. James should know better than to think her statements would be so simple.

"James...," she told him in a comforting manner and a small worried frown appeared on her forehead over his sudden outburst. She even went so far to place it on his shoulder. She knew better than to listen to his voice. Natasha knew how to read his body language after all. "Nothing is ever gone forever...," she told him and continued "Remember the time the Red Room made me think I was only a ballerina for the Bolshoi? That they made me forget about everyone else and married me off to Alexei?"
She knew mentioning her presumably dead husband probably wasn't the smartest thing to do in this situation but she had a point to prove. "Still they were stupid enough to allow me to say my goodbyes to you... Seeing you confused me, cracked the things that they made me forget and sometimes...just a little pestering does miracles to one's mind." She tapped his temple with her index finger and knelt down in front of him. She almost looked like a patient mother telling her child some valuable lesson in life. "Maybe it's time to do your own pestering, James," she leaned forward and pressed a friendly kiss to his cheek.

"Merry Christmas, Winter," she whispered as she watched him leave. She lingered a little longer watching the man leave before she turned away and left as well.

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"Eden sounds like you," Pepper laughed over the little girl's sound. She offered her index finger to the little girl so she could curl her fingers around it and hold her finger. She nudged Tony's side though with her elbow as he went to get on Gwyneth's nerves. "Be nice," she mumbled but kissed his cheek with a grin of her own. So she probably wasn't too unhappy about his statement but rather amused by it. "Tony's right though. Eden probably wants to be able to hear as well," she laughed.

Pepper happily rested her head on Tony's shoulder and looked up at him. She looked very much in love with him and there was nothing she could do about it. "We should... Get some toys, clothes and all that jazz," she commented and slowly got excited about it. "Just think about all those cute little dresses and shoes... and those small shirts and all those stuffed animals," she grinned from ear to ear. It got kind of obvious that Pepper probably wanted to have one girl at least.
 
(Oh, a new voice. Haven’t heard you before. Exciting. No, seriously. Did you think that I was going to leave this story here unattended. Attention, here it comes...)

Deadpool was walking down the streets, with his (sexy old) behind showing (I had just ripped my trousers, if you’re asking yourself). He had ripped his costume as he had been following his duty as a superhero a few blocks further north, by saving an old lady’s dog from being run over by a taxi, but had gladly taken her money afterwards (She offered it to me, no wrong thoughts here). Strolling around the streets seemed like a logical idea to him, after he had reloaded his Karma and had made his life comfortable for another day. While he had been sitting on a roof, listening to the city noise around him (and you, because you seem to forget I can hear you!), he had suddenly noticed that someone was walking along the alley beneath him. As fast as he could, the antihero made his way down the walls and landed (smoothly...) on the concrete. With his behind first. He made an undefinable noise, as he felt the bones crack and reassemble, but he still got up and found himself in front of the Black Widow (Natasha. Why don’t you call her Natasha? She’s a pretty girl. I would do her all night.).
After Wade had slit (his own throat? Lol.) his imaginary hair back, he walked towards Natasha (here we gooo...) and showed off his sexiest smile, which Natasha couldn’t see.

“Hey”, was all he could say, because I kept on babbling inside his head and confused him. But it was enough for him to seem a little off, as he stood there, his bare skin only covered by the thin fabric of the costume, which he had decided to wear instead of his underwear lately.

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Bucky was out and about to leave, as he heard a strange noise. It reminded him of the sound bones made, when they broke. He was still not in the mood for company, but something told him that he needed to be somewhere else now. It was that kind of feeling that tells you when a friend is in danger. There was no doubt or hesitation, he just walked straight back to wjere he had last seen Natalia. But she had left, obviously. Without making any sound, he sneaked along the wall and glanced around the corner. Silence. Talja was talking to a guy, who was strangely dressed and seemed like he was trying to pick her up or something like that. Frowning, he approached the two, ready to fight if this went out of hand.

“Who the hell are you?”, he asked the man, taking his position right next to Natalia. That was the way that it had always been and with her, the knowledge seemed easier accessible than the memories that Steve wanted him to see. It was so much easier with her.

The guy who had just appeared took a small bow.
“I’m Deadpool. And I’d like to get an autograph. From both of you... on my sixpack, if possible”, the guy grinned and pulled out a permanent marker, “You don’t have to stress with the time, though. Discover your feelings for each other first. Then we can discuss the threesome.”
James raised both of his eyebrows and stared at the man, both, ashamed and utterly surprised.

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“Sure she sounds like me”, Gwyneth grinned and looked at her child again. Yes, it was her child. And no one could tell her otherwise. She loved Eden already. But the fact that her sister had mentioned it, made her even more euphoric. She was just so happy to finally have a child.
But now came the part that was a little uncomfortable. The reason why she had actually come here. Because her parents were cowards. Because they couldn’t call their daughter to celebrate Christmas with them, simply because they had made a mistake once, which had resulted in a fight. That was all long forgotten for Ginny and Gwyn, but not for them. They still thought that they were angry.

“So, Mom and Dad wanted to ask you something....”, Gwyneth started and a little smile formed on her face, “They wanted to know if it’s possible that you and Tony come over for Christmas. They wanna get to know him better and- given the circumstances- I think that’s not a bad idea”, she smiled, “Cameron and me will be there, too. So you won’t be all alone. Would be a real family dinner....”
Gwyneth was more excited about it than she wanted to admit to herself. She would finally celebrate Christmas like it was supposed to be. And it was the first time she had a baby in her arms that was actually hers.
 
Natasha looked at the man who landed in front of her. She was startled for a split second and went in fighting stance. But even before the man could adjust his broken bones, Natasha looked rather bored and crossed her arms. "Has no-one taught you manners before? It's rather impolite to jump women in dark alleys like that,", she told him without greeting him back. Natasha wasn't in the mood to talk anyways. If anything the little small talk between her and Barnes had proved anything she was better off alone.

The redhead rolled her eyes unnerved as she could hear the Winter Soldier stepping closer. Of course he would come running the moment she appeared to be the damsel in distress. She simply looked at the man next to her with a raised eyebrow and looked just as unpleased at him as she had at Deadpool earlier. That name...It rang a bell but she couldn't quite place it yet. Natasha would need to hack SHIELD's database later.

She didn't seem ashamed or even blush the remotest over Wade's mention of a threesome. Heck it wouldn't be the first time. She didn't know if the Winter Soldier had figured out what the Red Room had used its girls for but the first missions basically was nothing more than using one's body. They were trained in appealing to men like that. "Believe me when I say that you don't want my autograph on any part of your body, Darling. I only give one kind of autograph and men don't temp to live long afterwards," she gave him a coy smile and only for a split second seemed truly innocent. Back in Russia she did have some sort of autograph which led SHIELD to her. Only Natasha had used one specific poison to kill her targets. Her lipstick had been drenched in the poison and even something as innocent as a kiss to the cheek could've killed people unless they were immune to the poisons like her or the Winter Soldier. "But I mean if you two want to join each other, I'm not judging," she mocked James.

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Gwyneth watched her older sister with her child and then looked at her own belly. She frowned and wondered if they would be just as happy over their newborn children as Gwyn was with Eden. Pepper really hoped so because a part of her would've never gotten kids out of fear what would happen between her and Tony. Of course she knew about Tony's troubled past with his father so...it had seemed smarter to be safe than sorry later. But her fiancé seemed so happy about their current situation that Pepper couldn't help but be happy about her two bundles of joy as well.

Pepper stared at her sister for a moment as she mentioned the invitation. A part of her wanted to laugh about it as it clearly was a joke, right? She looked at Tony shortly but then she started thinking. "A family Christmas would be nice... Got I haven't been home in ages," she mumbled to herself and wondered if Tony would like that as well. But then again he needed to get used to that from now on. He was marrying into her family after all. "Would you like to go?", she asked him somehow sounding hopeful that Tony would say yes to this offer. She took his hand trying to tell him that no matter the answer she would stay by it.
 
Bucky stared just a little longer. Natalia was playing along, which wasn’t in his favor at all. He looked at her and for a short second considered pushing her. But he didn’t. His glance had turned from ashamed and embarrassed into annoyed, as he listened to the other man’s babbling. It didn’t make sense what he was saying, but James didn’t care. He was just annoyed and... He wanted to go home. He just wanted some peace.
So he pulled out his gun and put two bullets through the man’s thigh. Nothing serious, but enough to make him bleed.
“Here you got your autograph. Leave”, he hissed and put an arm around Natalia. It was more out of habit than anything else. But he had to admit, her being close to her felt good. Almost like it was meant to be. And what had she told him before? Love survived. Maybe that hadn’t only been a sentence. Maybe it had been a hint, one that only he could understand.

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(Hell that chick is hot!)
Deadpool was quite impressed by Natasha’s statement and it made him feel even more attracted to her. He took a deep breath and came a few steps closer, only to be (cock-!) blocked by James, who held out his metal arm. He stopped and stood up straight.
“Oh I’d love your bullets in my body. It always feels so tickly when they go inside me”, he stated and made it sound like he was talking about something more dirty than just bullets (you’re making it sound like I was a perv...), “I was wondering if Winter here is as cold on the inside of his metal shell. I mean, does he ever feel- like- anything?”
While asking that, his eyes wandered down the other man’s body and he once again had to admit that he was definitely bisexual. (Sounds so innocent. Hell, I had so many fantastic things in my head that moment. You’re just...)

But then Bucky shot the gun. The pain he felt when the bullets tore his skin apart was enough to make him scream (NOT true! I didn’t....). Well, if he hadn’t bitten his tongue bloody, he would have. (Okay, point for you.)
But he just stood there and tried a smile, which again, no one could see.
“Thanks a lot...”, he said, “What about the lady?”

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Tony’s face went a little pale, when Pepper’s sister mentioned a Christmas party. With Pepper’s parents. Those parents who had called him so many unpleasant things, from what Pepper told him. But maybe it was time to leave a... better... impression of himself. Maybe he could actually do it. Maybe he could be the father the twins needed to grow up safely. Maybe he could actually be a better man than his father.

“I... guess I could... I mean, we could”, Tony mumbled, holding Pepper’s hand tightly, “If you want to, I guess, it’s okay.”
This was a chance for him to change Pepper’s view of him. This was the opportunity he needed to show her that he was more than just... well, Tony Stark. He could be a great father, a nice man and a perfect gentleman. If he wanted to, he could save this relationship and he could be a great Dad. At least that was what he was trying to make himself believe.
 
The redhead noticed the way the other man looked at the Winter Soldier. It brought a grin to her lips and she shrugged. The other man clearly had a good taste in men. Natasha couldn't help but chuckle a little as Bucky didn't even realized that he was hit on probably. Poor man two rejections in one night. But the redhead didn't feel too sorry about it anyways. Who knew maybe eh would get lucky later on. After all New York was full with people who would sleep with superheroes just for the kick of it.

Natalia slapped the back of Bucky's head as he shot the man. "You've been more romantic about your presents for me once before than shooting someone out of jealousy," she told him unimpressed like it was the most normal thing to do. She crossed her arms but for once didn't seem to move away as he seemed to pull her close and establish some sort of dominance. At best the whole behavior made her roll her eyes. She stepped forward to the man though. "I'll give you my autograph but nothing more tonight, darling," she grinned and pecked his cheek leaving an imprint of her red lipstick on his cheek. "You're right though. He's extremely good looking. But I'm afraid that the only man who James will join in bed is America's goldie locks and poster boy, Captain America," she whispered into his ear and squeezed Deadpool's shoulder comforting before moving away from both men. "Well, boys, it was a pleasure to meet you two. But gotta go home into my cozy bed...," she teased both and walked away disappearing behind the next corner. But once she was there she leaned against the building waiting on Bucky. After all if the man was anything like she remembered him he would follow her like a little puppy.

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Pepper started to smile even more as Tony went to agree to going to her parents's Christmas party. "We would love to come!," she agreed almost immediately and seemed like Tony had given her the most amazing Christmas present by agreeing to come along. It was Pepper's family after all and maybe going back home would be great for her. Just what she needed. "I cannot believe all of us are going to be in one place for once at Christmas," she told her sister happy and even teared up a little. She went to hug Tony tight and kissed his cheek as she whispered "Thank you." Of course she knew that Tony probably could imagine doing other things. But this was exactly what she wanted and she was just so happy. She even started to cry out of nowhere and hugged her fiancée even tighter. "We need to get presents for everyone," she sobbed and slowly let go off him. It actually looked ridiculous with tears running down her cheeks and a idiotic smile on her lips.
Clearly for Pepper the fight with her parents had been put aside. Of course she was still more than pissed about what they had called Tony. But she was willing to leave that behind if that meant that her parents would finally agree with her choices and accept him.
 
Bucky gritted his teeth, as he felt her slap his head. For a moment, it was like he was being punished for being so possessive, so jealous over something that didn’t even belong to him. He let go off her almost immediately and stepped away, as if that slap had been an electric shock from the machine. He stood still for a few seconds, quiet, subconsciously awaiting punishment, any sort of pain. But it didn’t come. Slowly, he relaxed again and realized that Natalia was gone.

He looked at the other man, who strolled off with a satisfied smile on his face. James stood there a little longer, trying to figure out what had just happened. Cold sweat was running down his back beneath his T-Shirt and jacket and his knees were weak.

Trying to calm his breath, he followed to where Natalia had left. And there she was, waiting for him. He looked at her, still angry about the fact that she had kissed the other man.
“And? Had fun?”, he grumbled, almost aggressively. He had no right to, he knew that. But he couldn’t help.
“You know I would have shot him if I wanted to”, he added, a few seconds later, remembering the reason why she had slapped him before, “He just needed a reminder on how to talk to you.”
He looked to the floor, as an overwhelming feeling fought itself upwards. There was no use in fighting it and James knew that. But it was scary, because it was exactly what had brought him pain every time.
Suddenly, he grabbed his Natalia tightly, pressed her against the wall and kissed her firmly. It was the last step to his body saying: “She is mine.”
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Deadpool was watching from a roof up above, while the two of them kissing. With a stupid smile on his face, he drew a picture of them inside his comc book. It wasn’t pretty (yes it was. She doesn’t know anything about art!), but it displayed the circumstances quite well. Then, he went off, towards his home. This would be a lot of stuff to work over in his wet dreams.
 
"Well, personally I did have fun actually. Don't know why you've been such a spoilsport," she grinned at him oblivious for once of his inner battle. She chuckled a little and leaned back. "You should relax more, James. You've been nicer once and you know that. There had been times you didn't even raise an eyebrow when men talked worse to me than him," she added and looked at him pointedly. Why she was stressing that was beyond her. Probably to remind him that she was not a property to own. He had known that before but apparently it was forgotten behind that huge foggy wall that was his memory. "You should just relax more. Times have changed and men always had bad habits around me. From time to time they just need a reminder that I'm more than a pretty face," she added also to remind him what she was capable of.

Natasha moved forwards towards her safe house but he suddenly grabbed her and she blinked surprised. It was only a second later that she felt the cold bricks on her back to the contrast of his hot lips. Just a few seconds later she wrapped her legs around him, pulling him even closer as she kissed him back. The redhead probably should've pushed him away and set boundaries. But in all honesty she didn't want to and the two of them had made out in more inappropriate places than a dark alley in New York before. Eventually she pulled away though to breathe and she glanced breathless into his blue eyes "So what was that?"
 
Pictures, feelings, emotions. A thunderstorm of scenes, fragments, only pixels of his real memory shuttered through him. Like the electric waves, they made his body hurt, made him cling onto her a little tighter. Because hell, it was over. But it was still so close. He could hear the noise of the ice crawling up his skin, as he slowly stopped to feel the cold. And he could hear her breathing heavily, spreading warmth all over his body.
His healthy hand went down her hip, searching for grip, as his metal one was entangled with her hair, while their lips locked again. It was like a push back in time, as so many memories came up and he saw who she was. Who he was to her.

After what had felt like eternity, she pushed him away, but very gently. He could still taste her and it was somewhat comforting. It hadn’t all gone bad, when they had parted them. He was here now, with her. And it was the first time he felt safe, since he had woken up.
“So what was that?”
“I think you know what that was...”, he whispered and a huge smile spread on his face. But the fear was still stuck in his eyes. He knew that this would have consequences. Painful consequences. He didn’t care, though. Not now.
“If fall ends, Winter is coming....”, he whispered, very quietly. Because he had just remembered what it meant. It was her.
 
She could see the fear in his eyes and her heart felt uncomfortably squeezed. She had seen the consequences. They had made her watch when they put him on eyes. It had been her own personal torture. To watch them erase the memories of her and the cryo. It had been disgusting but it was the reason why she never allowed anyone close. Caring came with pain. The sort of pain Natasha was not fit coping with.

Her eyes went wide though at the little statement. Her hair...The red of her hair. The reason why she never touched her hair color. The little reminder that she cared for someone else than her own benefit. It was almost ridiculous how much such a little statement meant to her. "It's always been that way," she simply whispered back showing him that she knew as well. The red of her hair just symbolized the many colors of the fall and Winter...well, it was a ridiculous little pun.

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It's almost ridiculous how fast Christmas is approaching each year as soon as December starts. Natasha had put aside some money for once to buy her Christmas presents for Clint's family. Besides she also needed more presents but she was unsure how she would explain that one to Bucky without him catching on to what she was planning for everyone. "So, what do you think is an appropriate present for a boy. That big," she showed Cooper's height and looked at Bucky a bit lost at what she was going to give him. "Cooper wishes for a motorbike but I'm unsure if Clint's fine with that. Is that an appropriate present?", she asked him. Given that she never really celebrated Christmas as a kid, she had no ideas of boundaries when it came for presents. "His sister gets a pony. That seems alright to me but a motorbike? I'm not even sure if he's allowed to ride that thing yet," she mused staring into a random shop window.

Something...or someone drew her closer to the place but she didn't know what. It was pure instincts that she grabbed James's metal hand and pulled him over the busy street in the middle of New York. The cold metal of his bionic hand made her flinch for just a second. She would need to get Bucky some hand warmers or at least some gloves if he intended to stick around her in the Winter. "So...what do you think?", she asked. Her mannerism changed as she spotted the reason why she was drawn to that shop. It was the familiar dark hair that had drawn her closer. Enough familiarity to intrigue her and pull her closer. "Let's go to another shop," she told him and tried to pull him closer. But unfortunately at the same time Bruce moved to the door. There was no way out of this situation for her to simply ignore things.
 
It had been a nice few days after the two of them had kissed each other. Bucky had started sneaking out at any time a day, leaving Steve wondering, but never answering any questions. He had spent a lot of time with Natalia, walking around the city or just sitting around on the train tracks, talking about anything, or just making out. It had developed into something that he didn't remember having: Some kind of a relationship. They had started holding hands, saying goodbye with kisses and cuddling at any possible occasion.

Natalia pulled him with her every step she took. They had already been at various cafe's, restaurants, and they knew every little alley in New York. Bucky followed her wherever she went, and he did that happily. Today, she had dared to take the next step. They went to buy christmas presents together. They strolled through the streets and shops, looking for presents and he got pulled into something like a christmas vibe, as he looked at all the lights and christmas trees around them. In every window, there was a light or some kind of Santa Clause holding presents.

But the best thing about that was Natalia holding his hand, while talking to him. He frowned over her questions.
"Hm....", he displayed that he was thinking, "I can't remember how I was at that age... It's gone, I guess... I just remember saving Steve from bullies... And I think I got socks once for Christmas. And a pullover..."
He shrugged and smiled.
"Why are you asking me that? I don't even know myself...", he chuckled and let her pull him over the street, toward a shop. But before he knew what was happening, she stopped and pulled him back, their hands still entangled. He stopped and looked at Natalia, confused.
"What's wrong?", he asked, trying to spy the danger. He was ready to fight if it was necessary.

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It was the first time Bruce was outside again since he was back at Midgard. He looked quite stressed and tried to stay calm... But it wasn't easy. He would rather be in his little house, off the grid and in the woods. But somehow, Valkyrie had managed to drag him outside, for whatever reason. He couldn't remember which arguments she had used anymore, but she had been quite convincing. Her drinking habit was still prominent, but Bruce had the feeling that she was getting better... Somehow.

So they had walked into that shop, because it had displayed a sign which praised the best - and most expensive- liquor in town. She had gone on and on about how badly she wanted to try it and they had ended up asking for a nice little shot, so she could taste it. It hadn't been possible, though- he had told her so, but she just ended up being mad at him.
"I don't know what you're complaining about, this isn't your world, this is my world. You can't just walk in and drink."
Bruce rolled his eyes and turned to leave, as he suddenly saw red hair shimmering from outside. And attached to that red bunch of hair was a woman he had almost forgotten about. He turned away, but it was too late already.
"Natasha...", he stuttered, as his face heated up and his watch warned him that his pulse had raised over 100. Crap.
 
James had made her bringing him along to Christmas shopping into something bigger than it actually was. To her it was only a necessity that she needed to do before the holidays. It wouldn't happen for her to show up at Clint's to without any presents. She wasn't the coolest aunt for nothing after all. Like always she was good in keeping things from Bucky or at least she thought so as she went from store to store even going so far to plan other presents for the other Avengers as well. She had gotten James some gloves and pocket warmers. He probably thought those were for Laura anyways. But James really needed to figure out how to warm his hands.

"Oh come on. You've been his age before so you should know that kind of stuff better than me," she reasoned with him and frowned a little over his insistence that he didn't know anything about that. Though she crinkled her mouth over Banner. Heck the man had left without even thinking twice and now he needed to do his Christmas shopping in New York after being god knows where? "Nothing, let's go somewhere else," she simply told him but it was too late to act like she hadn't spotted Banner. The brief moment of eye contact kind of forced her to have at least a bit of conversation. Especially if she wanted the Hulk on her good side, which was the actual reason why she had started flirting with Banner. Being with Banner kind of guaranteed her safety around the Hulk. At least that's what she had thought.

The other man turned red as a tomato which told her enough than she needed to know. Banner was just as happy about this as she was. The redhead dropped Bucky's hand and placed her hands into the pockets of her jacket to prevent James from reaching for her hands again. "Bruce," she spoke calm and calculated as the other man stammered her name. Her face ever the perfect mask of indifference. Her gaze though went to the woman on his side. She looked out of place and a bit like the elephant in the room. She was noisy apparently and well Banner seemed embarrassed about it all. Yet something about her screamed the aura Thor had around himself. She would need to hack into SHIELD's database to find out about other Asgardian sightings. "May I introduce to you Sergeant James Barnes...," she nodded towards Bucky like he was just a random person. "James? This is Doctor Bruce Banner." She was so damn formal which probably already screamed how unhappy she was about this meeting. Heck the man had left without another note and went into hiding for a few years even off SHIELD's radar. So she had thought the Hulk had somehow managed to destroy the Quinjet and get himself killed.

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Valkyrie looked pissed off as the Midgardian explained she couldn't try the liquor. Midgardian liquor already tasted like piss water to her and now it wasn't even free? What kind of shit hole was this place? Even Nowhere or Sakaar were better than this. At least those outlaws knew how to sell their liquor effectively to their warriors. "Makes me regret coming here anyways. Do you have anything fun in this realm anyways? Heck you should get out of that hut you call home and see the realms. Midgard is so primitive in most ways. Besides your liquor is shit and Midgardians are so fragile," she sounded a little like Thor and Loki combined. Valkyrie really was just bored here and looked for any reason to fight and even the Hulk wasn't there to entertain her.

Her eyebrow quipped upwards though at the mention of some female name. "Who?", she asked and spotted a redhead who seemed equally unpleased to be here. "Is she a past Mistress of yours?", the woman asked bluntly and looked at Natasha who went to introduce her companion to well Bruce. Valkyrie still needed a moment to realize that this strange Midgardian was the Hulk. He seemed so fragile and...out of place most of the time. So it was strange to know he could turn into such a warrior as the other guy like Bruce called the green one.
 
With hanging arms, he stood there, waiting for anything to happen. When Natalia introduced him, he smiled a little, but it wasn’t until the other man offered him a hand that he took and shook it. He didn’t know what to say or do, as Natalia had obviously had some intimacy with that man. He just simply couldn’t be angry or shoot him, like he had donw woth the other guy a few days before. Because this man was cultivated and... hell, his wrist was beeping.

The sound of something that trivial made the former soldier nervous. To him, that beeping noise had always meant danger. He stepped from one foot to the other, letting Talja do the talking. He was trying to stay calm, while his subconscious was preoccupied by looking for cover, if the bomb exploded.

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Bruce was confused. He stared at the other man and adjusted his glasses, then he stared a while longer.
“You’ re... Bucky, aren’t you?”, he asked, frowning, “The guy Steve kept talking about. The one who fell off the train...”
What the hell was Natasha doing, holding hands with Steve’s best friend? What the hell was going on in general?
“She’s not my mistress!”, Bruce blurted out instinctively, “We had... something...”, he added quietly, looking at Natasha’s hand, which had been holding the other man’s just a second ago, “But I guess it... wasn’t all that serious.”

It hurt Bruce to see her happy with someone else. Though he somehow felt some weird attraction to Valkyrie now, it still was a scratch on his self esteem that she didn’t even have the decency to ask him what had happened. But then again, he had been gone for some time. So he just bit his tongue, swallowed all the unnecessary jealousy and held out his hand to Bucky.
“Nice to meet you”, he stated and turned the oh so awkward conversation into something that seemed to serve their friendship. But when the other man held out his hand, he saw the metal flash. It triggered a thought in his head, but he couldn’t end it, because Val was complaining about something... And Bruce sighed and massaged his temples.
“Let’s go home, please...”, he mumbled and flashed a last smile at Natasha, “was good to see you again...”
With those words, he went off.
 
"You were gone for years with no trace of where you had gone. What would you have expected me to do? Sit around and cry for something that never happened?," she asked him back as he accused her of cheating and moving on. Besides he could talk based on the woman next to him. Unlike Bruce she felt nothing about the "betrayal". The man had been gone and she had other motives than just love for her flirting. Like she had told Loki: Love was for children. She only did favors and even now with James she wouldn't call it love. It was nice while it lasted but the two of them knew the harder one fell, the worse would be the landing. It was simply life lessons she learned early on.

Clearly the two people worked pretty differently. Natasha simply wasn't one to cry a river over past lovers. She didn't need that kind of romantic comedy thing. She stood her own enough not to be dependent on anything like that anymore. That's why Bucky and her clicked so greatly. He knew she wouldn't be brooding and crying over him if he ever chose to leave. Heck he knew he'd need to watch his head because she'd be coming for him. Still all of this was rather awkward even for Natasha. "Yeah, see you around," she simply smiled as he went off but soon enough dropped it. Natasha turned to Bucky and commented like nothing had happened "Let's just get Cooper a motorcycle. Might be the easiest." But clearly Natasha was finished with her Christmas shopping now.

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Valkyrie looked at the whole scene and rolled her eyes over the whole situation. "And what's the difference between having something and a mistress?", she asked him curious and looked at all the people. Still her interest was caught soon enough by something else as Bruce didn't go as far as introducing her. "Can we at least get some booze before leaving for that house? Honestly it's the most boring place," she told him and sighed a little. Why she had actually agreed to go to Midgard was beyond her by now. Being on the ship with Thor and Loki sounded far more inviting after having to hide in that hut for whatever reason. Bruce clearly wasn't doing a good job in hosting her and the Hulk was nowhere to be seen.

She followed Bruce quietly for a bit and asked "So what's the deal with that redhead? You seem smitten by her and pissed that she got that other odd Midgardian. And who's Steve?" She looked curious at Bruce like for once he actually was interesting instead of...keeping her hanging all the time.
 
“He called me Bucky...”, James finally mumbled and followed Natalia, as she went to storm off, “How’d he know that?”
But Talja changed the topic almost immediately. He could see that she was in a very bad mood. And he understood that, at least partly. From what he had heard, it had been a serious relationship to the other guy, while for the Black Widow...
“You still do that?”, he asked, without any explanation. He knew exactly what was going on. And that realization made him sick. Because... Now he knew what she was doing and why they had recovered ao fast.
“Am I something like that, too?”, he asked, stepping away from her, “A life insurance? You making sure I don’t hurt you if I snap?”

This Christmas shopping day had started so well, but now... Now he just felt like he had finally realized what was going on. She wasn’t his Natalia. She was still the tool they had created at the Red Room. Emotionless, cold, calculating. Playing with feelings of others because it gave her the certainty that they would be on her side. Everything he had managed to get rid of, it was still inside her. And she couldn’t love. They had destroyed that ability after he had been frozen.
Silence fell and Bucky turned to go. He sneaked home and into his room, locked the door. Hell, how could he have been so blind?
———————

When Bruce arrived at his small hut, all he wanted was to sleep. He didn’t know why, but he just didn’t feel motivated for anything else. He went to his bedroom and lay down, pulling the blanket all over him. It hadn’t been real. Nothing of it had been real... Though he had really believed her when she had told him that she trusted him. He had been so blind.

He heard Val complain about the liquor he had bought for her and really wanted to shut her out right now. He just wanted to be alone, in silence. He wanted to sleep and then wake up and meditate and go for a walk through the woods, but all he could hear was complaining and angry words, and it made him want to cry. So Bruce rolled himself in the blanket and closed his eyes, focused on his breathing and shut the world out. At least he tried to.
 
"Because your best friend couldn't stop talking about him. Everyone knew about Bucky, James," she told him seriously and looked at him. "What do you think had happened when you were finally spotted. How do you think Steve got a team to fight on your side?," she asked him and looked pointedly at him. Heck James should've known better than to expect that no-one knew about Bucky Barnes. She talked tight lipped clearly not in the mood to elaborate any of this.

"I still do what? You need to elaborate more than just four words if you want a serious explanation," she deadpanned clearly avoiding the actual answer. Heck playing people like that made her feel dirty but it was her life insurance. It was second nature to the Black Widow and did he really think she'd stop acting like that? Heck, she thought the man was more intelligent than the rest of them. After all he trained her so did he really think she'd forget things so important in her training? "Don't be ridiculous. I can handle the Winter Soldier if I have to. Unlike Rogers I'm not afraid of hurting you," she told him serious but he was gone quicker than she could actually say anything else. Well, so much of having a nice day. Heck she should've sprinted the other way instead of facing Banner.

<><><><><><>

Natasha was in front of the Asylum and sighed. Heck why was she always associated with the mad people? It was like her whole life was one big mess. She walked inside even holding a small present for him. It was Christmas and she was probably the only one who felt responsible meeting him on such an occasion. She walked in and signed up for the visitors leaving her weapons at the entrance. Soon enough she walked up the stairs to the clown. It was strange to say the least but it was her life.

Without knocking she stepped inside and looked around in the small room in front of his cell. "Merry Christmas," she spoke in different and took the empty chair to have a seat. She casually crossed her legs and looked into the confined space behind the bars. "So, I see you haven't decorated for the occasion. Too bad. I guess I can keep my present for myself then," she told him casually and placed it in her lap. Just talking about random things without letting them in was her thing. So it didn't come as a surprise that she started like that looking casual as ever. If it wasn't for the stupid Christmas sweater Clint had her wear. She probably wouldn't look festive as well.

<><><><><><>

Pepper stepped out of her shoes and sighed a little. She smiled at Tony as her parents had welcomed him warmly but her father seemed...well not so amused about the whole situation. She took his hand and kissed his cheek as they went into the living room. "You're doing great," she reassured him and squeezed his hand reassuringly. Pepper looked at all the presents under the Christmas tree and really hoped that her parents hadn't forgotten to get one for Tony as well. But given that she could spot presents for their twins under there she was pretty sure that Tony would get one, too. She placed their presents underneath that tree as well and sat down on the couch.

"So, Tony. When's the big date?", her father asked him clearly trying to do some sort of conversation with him. At least it seemed like that. It was clearly also a jab on his younger daughter because Pepper had the habit of keeping things from her parents in general. But her father had spotted the engagement ring on his daughter's finger and just asked. Clearly it was also some kind of reminder to invite them as well. But Pepper had other things in mind about that. After all they had brought presents along.

"Are Gwyn and Cameron already here?," she asked them hoping that her older sister would also get some kind of blame for not telling them about Eden. She sat still hoping for some kind of reaction. Her mother came out of the kitchen again and shook her head "They're late. Cameron still had some things to talk about in Congress. But I'm pretty sure they'll arrive soon enough. Still I think he should've waited two more days. Seriously it's Christmas. We will wait until their arrival to open the presents and have our lunch if that is alright with you two? The turkey needs more time anyways." She smiled warm at both Tony and Pepper before taking a seat next to her husband as well.
 
It was Christmas time. He could tell by the ridiculous decorations that they had put up around the hallways he could see from inside his cell. The didn't let him get outside for a reason... He always managed to escape if they did. So maybe they had learned their lesson by then. He was on his medication again, so he wasn’t as high as normal, but still, he knew that this wasn’t him. And he ated the feeling of being drugged, because he couldn’t think clearly then.

When they announced a visitor, he thought that it was a joke at first. Because, who would come to see him? Who, except...? Harley? Was she coming for him? He couldn’t imagine that. If she turned up here, it would be like turning herself in.But it wasn't her, was it? The calm steps and the fact that no one shouted around was the proof: It was someone else. Curiously awaiting the new visitor, he sat down on the floor - they had taken his chair, because he had killed a guard with it - and put on his best smile.

"Merry Christmas", he chuckled and looked at the red haired Agent, "I didn't think I'd see you again."
He licked his lips. They tasted like blood. They had taken his lipstick away again.
"As you can see, I don't even have a chair", he reasoned, "So how am I supposed to make this cell suitable for Christmas?"
He eyed the present curiously, "What is it? Something I can kill you with?"
He didn't really mean it, it was just to make her a little uncomfortable. But it didn't work. She seemed to be somewhere else in general. And it was a stupid guess, but he thought that maybe she was love sick... He had seen the way she had looked at that one guy, who had been around. And he asked himself, if maybe...

"But you look depressed", he stated, "Like something bothers you. Do you wanna tell me?"
He chuckled and his hands grabbed the bars, which parted them. He wasn't a psychiatrist, but he started feeling like Hannibal Lecter, as he licked his lips again and the taste of blood filled his mouth.

-------------------------------------------------

Tony had never been that nervous before. He was wearing a 2000 Dollar suit and italian leather shoes, which really weren't the most comfortable ones. Pepper had dressed him up like that, probably because she wanted to show her parents that he had a good taste as well... But it was only hers, really. Tony liked to wear old T-shirts, jeans and converse, mostly. Everything else was Pepper's work.
So Tony felt extremely overdressed, when they got in the car and drove off for Christmas lunch. That changed, though, when they entered the house. Everything looked like one huge Christmas ball and Pepper's parents were dressed just as fancily as him. So he relaxed a little, until... He saw the glance on her father's face.

Tony hated dealing with fathers. Especially because his father had been a jerk. But he really got himself together... He wanted to leave a good impression.
"Well, honestly...", Tony stattered and threw his 'help I'm stuck'- glance at his fiancée, "We haven't set a specific date yet...", he mumbled.
He really hoped that Pepper would get the hint- which had saved many press conferences already- and finish his answer correctly. He just smiled an innocent smile and shrugged, while his stomach went diving. He hated conversations with fathers.

-------------------------------------------------

"Good God, just let me put that bottle out...", Gwyneth begged the toddler, who was screaming in the buggy next to her, "I'll take you in just a second..."
They were standing in front of the congress building, waiting for Cameron to show up. They had been waiting for him for about 30 minutes now and Eden was apparently getting annoyed by the fact that nothing was happening around them.

"He'll be here soon, I promise...", the lawyer whispered to her baby, "Just give him a minute more, yeah?"
She took the small body in her hands and walked up and down the sidewalk, as she gave her the bottle. Dammit, Cameron, she thought to herself. Why could he never be done in time when it was important? But just as she wanted to walk in there and tell those high rank people to let go off her husband, the doors opened and she saw a familiar man walk outside. She smiled and walked towards him, the baby in her arms asleep by now.
"Holy Jesus, what took you so long?", she asked, more curious than angry. She knew it wasn't his fault.
 
“Well, surprise darling. Sometimes you don’t always get what you want,” she told him casually. She wasn’t even the slightest bit intimidated by the fact that he threatened her life. “Actually I think you need to get in line if you feel the need to kill me. I have more dangerous people looking for me than you. You would probably get a nice for my head. So yeah... who knows? Maybe you would get yourself a good deal for me,” she told him casually. With a sigh she looked at the present and handed it at him. “I’ve heard they took your make up from you and what would be Christmas without some sweets?,” she explained her presents. She had gotten him some cookies and well the lipstick he apparently craved for.

She looked at him and tilted her head like she was thinking about how much she wanted to tell him and what could be ultimately used against her. “Well, if you have to know I know this guy who thinks I just appear to like him in order to keep his dark side at bay. Yet he should know better than me even trying to manipulate him,” she simply revealed like it was the most normal thing in the world. She looked at the other an and watched the maniac move around. She stayed quiet for a bit and spoke up "I suppose it's actually just the danger of what we do, isn't it? The way we manipulate people into doing what we want..." She seemed to reason things into the way she understood and handled things.

"So, Doctor. Tell me. Why do you always end up threatening my life? Why are you so unsure of your own that you threaten taking it away from others?," she looked curious at the Joker now. That's how it seemed to work for her. He would need to answer her questions and give her information in order to get some from her. "What's up with hiding yourself behind those scars and make up?"

<><><><><><><><><>

"Well, we thought about the summer, didn't we?," she smiled at Tony and she seemed amused for a moment like she considered throwing Tony into cold water so he would learn to handle these things alone. But she wasn't so coldhearted and besides it was Christmas even for her fiancé. "We haven't talked about it so much yet. I want the children to be here first or else I will look like a whale in my wedding dress," she told her father and sighed a little. "That's your reason for not marrying earlier? So those kids...," he started but Pepper simply rolled her eyes "We don't live in the Middle Ages anymore. It's totally fine to have children outside of marriage. No need to alway get on my nerves about that. The most important thing is for a child to grow up in a healthy and loved environment. I think both of us can provide just that." She looked pointedly at her father like she did on nasty journalists. That seemed to shut her father up about the topic.

Instead he turned to Tony again. "So, what exactly are you doing for a living?", he asked curiously as he hadn't really understood his role in Stark Industries anymore now that Pepper was running the place.

<><><><><><><><>

Cameron seemed stressed as he finally moved out of the building. He looked apologetic at Gwyneth. "I'm really sorry for being late. I know your parents hate that," he told her and finally gave her a kiss. He seemed stressed but mostly tried to keep the stress from work away from his home. He always tried to be there for Gwyneth but moments like this really had him going. "You never believe what that idiot of a president tries to push through over the holidays," he muttered and added "I tried to do damage control so other congressmen won't vote for his suggestion." He ran unnerved his hand through his hair. "But let's just...celebrate Christmas for now. I can worry about that new law in two days," he promised her and pecked her cheek.

"So your little sister and Stark will be there today?", he asked her curious and wrapped his arm around his wife so they could start moving. "Perhaps your father will find other topics to talk about than how bad I am at my job according to him," he laughed like it didn't really matter to Cameron. After all he was used to being criticized and he knew it came from a place of concern and love from Mr. Potts.
 
He took the things she handed him and licked his lips, before putting the lipstick onto his scars and smiling at her.
“Do I look alright? My mirror is gone, too. I used it to cut someone’s finger off, so i could get some red on my lips...”, he explained, as if it was the most normal thing in the world. Then, he started to eat the cookies. Eyes closed, face relaxed. Like he was tasting some kind of expensive wine. After he had chewed and swallowed the first cookie, he hid the rest of them under his mattress. Then he went to watch her, while she told him about her troubles. He could get used to that, having someone to talk to again.

While she explained how she felt about that team member, he frowned and looked at her, observing her every move. Something about him showed that he was used to reading people, that he had done it professionally one day. But now it was just a shade of the man inside him. He pushed that thought away and focused on her. The woman he knew as a determined, young SHIELD agent. But he wouldn't tell her that.
"Stop, stop right there", he spoke up, as she tried to rationalise her feelings. That was a big weakness of the members of the secret organisation. They never learned to deal with their emotions.
"You don't really think that", he said, as he tilted his head and reached out to touch her arm. He had been in love with her, too. But that was ages ago. She probably hadn't even noticed him.
He let her think for a bit and then moved back, to sit on his bed. The floor was getting uncomfortable.

When she asked her question, though, he went up and sat on the floor again. Finally, someone was asking the right questions. He smiled and leaned forward, in order to got closer to her, to watch her more closely.
"I've been on sides for too long", he shrugged, "Guess I realized where I belong."

----------------------------------------------------

For a moment, Tony thought he was out of focus. He leaned back in his chair and watched Pepper and her father discuss. It started to smell like turkey in the house and he asked himself if he should tell anyone, just to make sure the thing didn't burn or catch fire. But he figured that being quiet and not drawing too much attention was the best way to handle this situation.

Then, Pepper's father asked him a question again and he felt like shrinking. Pepper had no idea what he was doing for her right now. He always had the feeling that, no matter what he did, he could never do anything right. And that question, it had been exactly what Howard would have asked, if he were still here.. And he was about to say something really stupid, like the teen he had been once, fighting his father.
"I'm mostly working on classified stuff", he snapped, "Inventing important things so that our scientists can develop a way to use it."
That was the best answer that Pepper's Dad would get from him. Simply because he was a father.
-------------------------------------------------
"Oh my, I think you should run for president next time...", Gwyneth chuckled and kissed him back, before she put the baby girl down into the buggy again. Then they walked to the car.
"They'll understand that America is more important than a family lunch", she added, to calm her husband's nerves, "They shouldn't have invited us if they will be angry when we're late for..." She glanced at her watch. "Oh. Half an hour..."

They got into the car and after everyone was inside, they drove off. It wasn't a long ride, thanks heavens, so they were in front of the door in about 20 minutes. Gwyneth had the sleeping child hidden inside her big coat, so she wouldn't get cold... And because she wanted to surprise her parents. While she had always made it sound like her family knew about the adoption in front of her husband, apart from Ginny, no one knew. And that was why she was a little nervous, as the door opened and her father stood in front of her.
"Hey, Dad...", she smiled, "Merry Christmas."
 
"Sounds like you are rather fixated on the red," she spoke and looked at him in a mixture of boredom and fascination. "But I cannot blame you. Red lipstick is rather nice to look at," she agreed and leaned back against the backrest of the uncomfortable chair. It was a cheap plastic camping chair. So nothing too fancy for the visitors of this particular man. Heck people probably tended to ignore him and visit anyone else. But it was Christmas and he was one of the first people she felt like actually listened instead of trying to tell her how to feel or think.

He stopped her talk and she looked at him curious. A raised eyebrow she awaited some kind of explanation that never came. So she sighed and looked down for a moment thinking about it again. "Isn't that what the others think of us? At least that's how experience it. We're nothing more but cold and calculated," she spoke and looked at him as he tried to show his sympathy by touching her arm. She allowed him to do so but just with the top of his fingers. She looked around by thinking about this and his hidden message. "It doesn't matter what I think, does it? It matters what others think because that's how I have to act not to startle anyone. Otherwise I have people running away in fear," she spoke and rose to her feet to pace up and down the small room. Her statement was true at least to her. She behaved how people wanted her to. People wanted her to be cold and manipulative. So it was easier to act like that instead of facing other people's walls.

As soon as he came back to sit in front of the bars again, Natasha stopped her pacing. She looked down at the man before sitting down on the concrete floor as well. She faced him closer than before clearly not showing any signs of fear. Instead she looked at him curiously. "No, I think you do it out of the same reasons why I keep them on arm's length. Someone hurt you and you chose starting to like people is not worth the risk," she reasoned and looked at him with a grin. "Who hurt you?," she asked and added "I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours."
She sat there with them only separated by bars and mere inches now. "You realized that the scars would keep people away. Looking like a clown made you less serious and somehow people started fearing you. You get high on people's fears like others get high on drugs," she concluded.

<><><><><><><><><>

Pepper's father raised his eyebrow as Tony snapped at him. He simply nodded but his face showed that he wasn't too impressed by Tony's behavior. Yet Henry stayed quiet and looked at his daughter. Somehow the older man had thought that he could talk with Tony about something as trivial as his work and bond with him a little. But it appeared to be the wrong topic. Pepper saw the look on her dad's face though and came in for help to at least give Tony's job some sort of title: "You could say he's the head of research and development, right?" She smiled at Tony trying to urge him on to say a little bit more.

Tony was lucky that Henry got interrupted by the door bell and her mother excused herself to look for the turkey. "Are you trying to give my dad a hard time or what's wrong?", Pepper asked Tony worried and looked at her fiancé. It was almost like she thought that maybe coming for Christmas lunch wasn't the best thing to do. It might be great for her but something seemed to just be off about Tony. To her having a family around wasn't worth for Tony to feel miserable. "If you wanna leave just tell me... I'll make up a reason for us to leave, okay?", she commented quietly.

<><><><><><><><><>

"Do you honestly think your dad will accept that as an excuse?", Cameron raised his eyebrow and grinned at his wife. "At least we're not the only ones who are able to...say the wrong things this year," he chuckled and followed her. Once they were on the porch, Cameron looked at his watch. "Not bad... Almost an hour late. Your dad will kill me," he laughed lighthearted and nudged his wife. He was about to comment something as the door flew open and Henry stood there. "Merry Christmas, Sweetheart," he greeted his daughter and hugged her as well as Cameron. "You two are late," he stated and invited them inside frowning over how Gwyneth held her jacket "Are you cold?"
 
“WAIT a second...”, he interrupted her again. She was talking nonsense. He knew she was talking nonsense. But he also knew who had taught her to think like that. And those people called themselves agents. They were nothing more than amateurs. He had fit in long enough to know that.

“You got it all wrong! This world is a horrible place. People kill people out of fun, antisocials rule the banks, no one cares about each other... And the government covers up like 60% of what happens. I want them to see what people feel like. What it is like to be afraid. To lose everything you had”, he explained and then shrugged, “Sorry, I switched topic.”
He was more focused now, due to the meds. But he wasn’t sure if he actually needed them.
“What I wanted to say is that maybe you should stop thinking”, he mumbled, “Just turn it off for a moment and see what happens...”
He knew she would understand. She was just the same as him.

“BUT...”, he whispered, a little excited even, “you got it all wrong here. Because, you see... I don’t feel. And that’s why seeing people feel is so interesting to me.”
He smiled again and licked his lips. Chocolate. That taste was definitely better than blood.
“I scare people because they’re so upset when they’re scared. So agitated...” His eyes started glistening. “It’s like doing magic.”
He was a great actor, because the moment he told it, his lie became the truth. He was a psychopath at that moment. But he really hadn’t been the time before it had happened.

————————————————

“I- I’m not trying, I just can’t stand the way he...”, Tony pressed through his lips, but he couldn’t finish that sentence. He couldn’t admit just how worthless he felt, when someone looked at him like that. And he wasn’t at all, so his mind did everything to fight that miserable feeling. He looked down on his watch, which displayed that it was shortly after three. He tilted his wrist to the left and a status update of some kind appeared. He smiled a little and put his hand back on his lap. His inventions had always distracted him from the fights he had had with his father. Or the occasional slaps in the face.

“I think I don’t wanna go... but can he just stop being so... “ He didn’t even know a word for it. All he knew was that he wanted to avoid the contact with this man at any cost. And especially his judging looks. They just made him nervous.

———————————

“Well, I’m not actually cold...”, Gwyn mumbled and pulled the coat aside, so her Dad could see the small bundle under it. She took a deep breath, waiting for an angry comment or a judging look. She held onto the small baby for support, because she knew she had done the right thing and her Dad had to get over that, sooner or later.

“We’re sorry for being late, Dad. Cameron had to save our country. So we drove off too late and here we are... well, I hope dinner’s ready, cause I’m starving.”
She always talked a lot when she was awaiting bad news.
“Oh and could I have some tea? I’d really love some tea now...”, she added and looked at her husband, who by now should have guessed what was going on.
 
She listened to him. There was no news for her in that statement that followed his interruption. The redhead knew that all and had learned that the world was a terrible place when she had just been a kid. So what was his point anyways? "What have you lost?", she asked him curious as he talked about losing things. Natasha knew what she had lost when the soldiers ran down her home when she was just a baby. When her mother had given her to the soldier who she had seen as father so long. The mother who had been afraid that she would've gotten killed because of her hair color and last name. Hence the association to the old Tsar family...that she could've been the lost princess of Russia. What a nonsense really. Yet her foster father had only turned out to want to share her bed once she was off age.

Natasha thought about his advice to just stop thinking for a moment. Maybe she should take it and just act for once instead of thinking of ten other ways to react and act to a certain situation. But she also was afraid of what would happen in that case. After all the moment her brain shut off was the moment her instincts took over. Yet those were to kill and run. The Red Room had done a good job with her. Even after years away from it. Deep down she was still just the little scared girl, looking up to her training willing to love him till the end of her days. That feeling and relationship had been the only human decision both she and James had been allowed to make during their days. It had been so real until they took it from them.

Natasha scoffed as he thought she was as stupid to actually believe what he said in that moment. Maybe he thought it was the truth but both of them knew deep down it wasn't. "Well, if you start telling me fairytales now...I will have to bid my goodbyes for today," she told him serious and added "After all it's Christmas and I have other things to do than to talk with Clowns." She stretched herself and looked at him. "I offer you a chair and maybe even a mirror if you think about what you've just said and actually tell me the truth. Don't think I'm stupid and I will allow you the easy way out of may questions. Or would you prefer some books? Less dangerous for the guards. Though they are a bunch of idiots so you might be even able to kill them with those cookies. But what do I care?," she told him and rose to her feet again brushing off the dust.

<><><><><><><>

Pepper looked at Tony and frowned "Just give him a chance. Dad's a little inquisitive most of the times but it comes from a place of love. You will see, babe." She kissed him quickly on his lips and heard her sister. With a smirk she mumbled to him "With some luck she hasn't told them about Eden which means they're off our back because of the twins and the wedding for now. Besides they're late and my dad hates that." She chuckled and seemed somewhat happy about the situation. She got up to her feet and offered Tony her hand. "Come on, let's help my mom in the kitchen and get you some extra credit. In the end mom will be the one who welcomes you to the family anyways and dad will just have to say yes anyways," she advised knowing that her mom would just love Tony the way he was. Maybe it was a good start to get Tony to warm up for the whole situation.

Kate was in the kitchen checking for the side dishes as well as the turkey. She had asked every of her kids for their and their significant others' favorite dish and even went the extra mile to cook that in case they would end up hate what she cooked. The older woman was just so happy to have everyone in one room for once in a lifetime. Besides the moment she had seen the way Tony had looked at Pepper was the time she knew the man was right for her. That was enough for the woman to open her heart towards the man and see him as part of her family.

<><><><><><><>

Cameron had stepped into the hallway after getting everyone's presents from the car. He looked beaten down and exhausted from his hours of work. He clearly hadn't enjoyed working on such a holiday but what one had to do for the greater good. Her sighed and smiled at Gwyneth until he saw her revealing the baby. Cameron really hadn't understood the need to keep it from her parents so he kinda had dreaded this moment. "So, I see you met Eden," he revealed the little girl's name and hoped to do a little of damage control in this situation.

"Can't he do that on any other day of the year? Honestly we are having Christmas lunch and even your sister and her plus one arrived in time," he accused them and blinked at the sudden baby. "What... Gwyneth?", he stared at his sister in shock and looked down at the baby. "How... When did you guys have a baby and why did you never tell us about it? Your mother will have a heart attack!," he spoke up and crossed his arms unamused but at the same time his gaze softened and focused on the sleeping toddler. "She's so cute," he mumbled and clearly seemed ready to take his granddaughter.
 
He had never intended to be one of them. One of the bad guys, who ruled the underground. He had never intended to turn into a villain. But it had happened and maybe that was exactly what made him feel sympathy for her now. She wasn’t just a toy, like Harley or those stupid guards he made believe that he actually respected them. It was more like a long gone friendship, a reminder that something else had existed, once in his damn short life. But he couldn’t see himself like this. It would destroy him.

“Myself...”, he mumbled and for a moment, it looked like he was truly afraid, “I lost myself.”
It was worse than losing someone else, because that loss could be gotten over. But watching yourself become someone else, it hurt. It was the most painful experience that one could make. And the worst thing about it was that he didn’t want to go back to where he had been. He didn’t want to be that nice and friendly guy anymore. He didn’t want to save lifes, he wanted to destroy them. He wanted to see this world go up in flames and those wannabe heroes to choke on their own egos. Because most of them had a huge one. And they were so exceptionally stupid. No one had gotten the message behind it all.

“Fairytales”, he spit out, as if he had just eaten something wrong, “Do I look like a man for fairytales? You should know better than that, Natasha.”
Apparently she hadn’t understood what he had tried to tell her.
“Seriously...” He chuckled. “And that from a man like me...”, he added, more to himself than for her, “Seriously!”, he screamed, so that everyone could hear it. Some of the neighbors laughed. He paused, just for a second, before his continued more quietly: “You should try living on a feeling, not under total control. It’s not worth retiring if you can’t get out of the box they put you in.”
With those words, he turned around and faced the wall opposite of her.
“Now have a merry Christmas and go where you need to be”, he grinned. As soon as she had gotten up, he started singing quietly.
“Jack in the box, Jack in the box, quiet and still.
Will you come out? Will you come out?
Yes I will....”
————————————————
The kitchen was some kind of a paradise for Tony. It smelt like delicious food everywhere and he could see the turkey in the oven, brpwn and beautiful. He raised his nose and took it all in.
“If that tastes the way it smells, I think I haven’t eaten anything better in ages”, he smiled and suddenly felt comfortable. The kitchen, the turkey, the smell... It reminded him of his mother. It was a little bit strange to feel safe and sad at the same time, but the warm smile on the woman’s face, as well as the Christmas carols she was whistling, were too familiar to ignore it.

“Can we lend you a hand with anything?”, he asked and his eyes were glowing for just a second. It was like a little Christmas wonder that he felt this protected and safe, as if he had grown up in this house. As if this was... some kind of home.
“I mean, I can’t cook, but maybe I can finish the table or anything”, he shrugged and a boyish smile spread on his face, as he placed his arm around Pepper and kissed her cheek.

From outside, he heard Gwyneth and another man talk to Pepper’s father. It was only bits and pieces that he picked up, but it was definitely enough to tell that they were discussing something.
“Your mother will have a heart attack!”, Pepper’s father exclaimed and Tony frowned.
“You don’t look like the easily upset type to me, Ma’am”, he told Pepper’s mother and made everyone in the room laugh. Even Gwyneth, who had just entered the kitchen with her chocolate brown baby on her arm, started to laugh.
“One true statement, Tony”, she chuckled and held the baby in her mother’s direction.
“Mom, that’s Eden. My daughter.”
————————————————
“Cooper, Lila, I will only say it one more time! Santa won’t come if you don’t stay upstairs!”, Clint shouted, because he saw his kids spying down the stairs again, “Just stay inside your rooms and wait for the bells. I’m sure he’ll come soon...”
Where was Natasha? Why was Natasha late? She was supposed to distract the kids, so Laura and Clint could prepare everything. But she didn’t turn up and after he had told the kids to wait over and over again, he finally gave up and rang the sleigh bells for them. It was 11 am by then and he was pretty sure that Natasha wouldn’t make it.

So he called the kids down and they unpacked their presents. Lila got a voucher for riding lessons and Cooper a motorcycle game for his laptop. It was a happy breakfast and it all went down pretty smoothly, without sad or disappointed faces. For Laura, Clint had a special surprise. He handed her a little box and smiled mysteriously.
“Merry Christmas...”, he whispered and kissed her gently.
“Iuw, Dad!”, Cooper commented the kiss, “Was that necessary? I didn’t wanna see that!”
 
Natasha looked at him and tilted ehr head to the side. "I know that feeling," she told him showing that she related to the feeling of having lost oneself. She looked at him for a moment and seemed to consider something. "Once you lost yourself, you never really find yourself again. You just have to see what pieces of your old self you can retrieve and invent your new self. It's either someone you like or don't like. But believe me the search is never over," she told him and sighed a little. "I wished I had better news for you," she told him and looked down.

She grinned as he seemed to be upset over the way she put it. "Look at it... You do care about me," she replied and chuckled a little. "I feel honored," she mentioned as soon as he started singing his Christmas carol. "Merry Christmas," she put down an envelop with a Christmas card in it. Strangely enough it didn't have a cheesy poem or something in it but a profile of a dead SHIELD agent and the simple words 'See you in two weeks.'

How she managed to get both the horse and the motorcycle to the farm was actually a miracle. But still she managed. She knew she was two hours late but sometime people had other things. Especially since it seemed like the man needed her help. She felt responsible for what had happened especially because no-one seemed to understand what was going on. She rang the door bell waiting for the Barton kids to appear or at least Clint. She knew she was in trouble for being late. But hey...at least she had brought along what they wished for.

<><><><><><>

Pepper watched her fiancé and smiled as he seemed to finally relax. She grinned at him and knew that this was a great idea. She watched him and chuckled a little as he even went so far to actually offer his help. Of course she knew it was a big step into the right direction. Besides everyone loved her mom. It was almost impossible for anyone to not like her after all.

"Could you be a darling and grab that bowl over there? You could put that dish into it," she told him and smiled friendly. Of course Kate knew what she was doing. After all she had told him to put his favorite dish into said bowl. It was her way of welcoming him. After all she wanted this day to be perfect and for them to visit her more often. They were family after whether her husband liked it or not and she would welcome them as such.
"Well, I don't. But Henry here tends to exaggerate every little detail to make his point," she chuckled and smiled warm at Tony. "Besides, please... It's either Kate or mom," she smiled warm at him like she had already adopted Tony whether he liked it or not. "We're family now. Don't let Henry deceive you. He's just a little protective of our girls. You could say that he loves them perhaps a bit too much. Isn't it like that, Darling?", she called out loud enough for her husband to hear which only was commented by a grumpy grumble and nothing in particular. "We're so happy to have you both here."

The older woman turned around as she was addressed and blinked surprised over the little human in her kitchen. "A baby?", she asked breathless and seemed to tear up. Her turkey and scolding her son in law was forgotten as she went over to Eden. "You... We got a granddaughter for Christmas?", she asked obviously happy unlike Henry "Can I hold her?" She reached out with shaky hands for the little girl as she wanted to hold her so badly. "Look at this, Henry! We are grandparents. Our two daughters are extending the family. Isn't that great?", she seemed so happy for the two of them.

Cameron walked over to peck Kate's cheek and mumbled his hello before walking over to Pepper. "Look at you. Have you gained some weight since the last time I've seen you?", he teased her with a grin before hugging her friendly. "I swear to god if you call me fat once more I will have to castrate you," Pepper threatened in return and chuckled a little. That was when he turned to Tony. The two of them had rather the rocky relationship based on their jobs. "Stark," he extended his hand for a handshake unsure of how Tony would prefer to handle the situation.
 
“Auntie Nat”, Cooper stated and hugged the agent, as soon as he had opened the door, “You’re the only sensible human in this world. Can you please tell Lila that she can’t just fly to the moon?”
He rolled his eyes, like only big brothers did and pulled her inside.
“She keeps on babbling how she wants to build herself wings and fly there”, the boy complained.
He walked to the living room, expecting Natasha to follow him and grant him some support.

Clint was in the kitchen, helping Laura with the lunch preparation. The archer was cutting lettuce for the salad and had the time of his life playing with the knife. Until now, Clint had never noticed how much he missed the combat training. But now, right now, he would give anything for a stupid, childish show fight. So when he saw Natasha apprear, the first thing he wanted to do was shoot that knife at her, just to see what... hell, was he going crazy? Why did he think such things?!
“Hi. You missed Santa”, he stated, a little angry, “But I’m glad you made it”, he added with a warm and welcoming smile.
“Merry Christmas.”
————————————————
Tony stepped over and tried his best to do as told. He poured the dish into the bowl, not even noticing what it was. He was so busy that he didn’t throw anything down.
When that was done, he watched Pepper’s... uh, Kate... welcome Eden. The reaction was so unexpected, but so loving, that he now understood why Pepper had grown up the way she was. Her mother was great. And the way her face lit up when she talked to the baby, it was just another proof for that. Tony had never expected that anyone except for Pepper could make him feel welcome and protected. But she did. She did in a way that he couldn’t explain, because it really wasn’t her outside or the things that she said. It was just a feeling this situation brought along.

But then, it happened and the feeling got destroyed by one stupid man running into the kitchen, like it was his house. And he knew immediately who he was. He wasn’t good with names, but he wouldn’t forget that face.
“Stark.”
He was being so formal. So annoyingly professional.
“You”, the genius replied, since he couldn’t find the guy’s name in his memory. And Tony rolled his eyes, as the guy held out a Hand.
“Don’t like being handed things”, he mumbled and turned back to Pepper. And then that slimy senator gave Kate a peck. Tony was done. He leaned against the counter, watching the other man like a tiger a territory rival.
“How’s suing heroes going?”, he asked, that tiny bit of ridicule in his voice, “Taken anybody important out yet?”
His arm around Pepper, Tony looked at Gwyneth, now.
“Him? Are you serious? That’s your husband? Do you know what he does for a living?”, he asked Pepper’s sister, who raised an eyebrow and looked at Cameron, then at Tony again. It was obvious that she didn’t have any idea what was going on.
————————————————
Gwyneth smiled her biggest smile when she realized that her mother was just as happy with Eden as she was. Her Dad would have to get used to it first, then he would love Eden, too. She knew that, because it had always been like that. Mr Potts needed time to adjust to new things, before he could like them. It needed a few days.

The lawyer handed the small child to her mother carefully, lookitn at the small face witha gentle smile.
“I found her on the sidewalk... I kinda saved her life...”

Just was she was about to tell Eden’s story, Tony started doing... yeah, what exactly? It seemed like he knew Cameron and it wasn’t a pleasant relationship. She looked at her husband with an amused frown, because she knew way too well that he was used to that kond of provocation. He would probably just shrug it off and turn to go. Still, it wasn’t good for the general mood in the room. Moreover, as a lawyer, it was her natural instinct to defend those she felt responsible for. So she went to stand next to Cameron and stared at Tony.
“So are you going to blame him for New York, too or was that it?”, she asked, totally calm and emotionless.
 
Natasha looked over her shoulder at the animal she had placed a bow on and the motorcycle. “Actually I would need to ask you...,” she stated but Cooper was already busy walking inside to lecture his sister again. Clint came over to greet her and she stood still for a moment. “I had to wait for Santa to drop Lila’s and cooper’s gift. Can you get them outside? It’s kinda hard to bring them inside. You built the stable I told you to, right?”, she asked clearly having no idea that those kind of gifts were not going to happen. “But I brought a plane for Cooper’s one,” she mentioned and looked expectantly at Clint. Clearly she would have no arguments about things.

“Hope they still want what’s on their wishlist. Kind of hard to bring those back. I mean I can keep one gift but not the other,“ she told him seriously and added “Merry Christmas by the way.” The horse in the background weighed and demanded attention as well as a place to stay.

<><><><><>

Pepper watched how Tony behaved suddenly so strange as Cameron walked in. Of course she knew the two didn't have the best relationship but she had expected for him to at least act better with her parents around. She crinkled her mouth as Tony suddenly wrapped his arm around her and acted like this was a pissing contest between him and her brother in law. "Tony," she told him sternly and sighed as he even refused to shake Cameron's hand. She nudged his side unhappy trying to tell him to be more polite. After all this was her family whether he liked it or not. "Be nice and stop this pissing contest. You're not at your home but my parents's," she mumbled and pressed her lips into a thin line.

Cameron shrugged and withdrew his hand again. He was used to being attacked by the billionaire on regular basis. This had just been his try to at least offer him some sort of peace over the holidays. "Actually the Accords went through with your help," he reminded him and added "Besides it is not my fault that Mister Rogers decided to act like a criminal to help his best friend. Do not reflect your decisions and your friends' decisions on me." He looked at Tony and stood there as Gwyneth went to defend him over Tony's sudden behavior. "Aside from that the Accords weren't my idea either. They were initiated by Colonel Ross and I was the unlucky person to introduce them to the senate." He rolled his eyes over Tony's behavior towards Gwyneth though.

Kate watched the whole ordeal for a moment and crinkled her mouth. "Can you two stop this! I won't have any fights during the holidays in my house. So you two better behave yourself!," she told them serious and glanced at them. "I know you two obviously have some sort of relationship but I won't allow any issues happening today! I want a happy Christmas for all of you. So can we agree on putting our issues aside?", she asked and looked pointedly at both Tony and Cameron. The other man nodded and smiled gently "Of course Kate. I'm sorry," he dutifully apologized even though he hadn't started to whole argument.

She waited for a moment before she turned to the two men. "Now get the rest of my dishes ready. You are going to cut the turkey, huney. Cameron would you be a darling and help Tony move the side dishes to the table. Gwyneth and Virginia would you do me a favor and prepare the rest of the table?", she ordered everyone around so they would have things to do instead of fighting on Christmas Day. Especially because it was the first time she had her whole family around herself and a little baby girl. "In the meantime I'll entertain my grandchild,", she exclaimed and cooed at Eden.
 
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