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Fandom Red and Blue (Marvel RP)

Clint opened his arms, expecting a hug, but Natasha was too busy doing something else. She looked outside, at something and the moment she started talking was the moment Clint realized what was going on.
“No, you didn’t....”, he whispered and looked back into the direction where his family was, “Tasha, that wasn’t supposed to...” He interrupted himself and looked out the window, where the horse made a sound.
“Is that a...?”, he continued and his face just displayed the most surprised look that anyone had wver seen.
“Oh holy cow...”, he mumbled and scratched the back of his neck insecurely. For a moment, he was quiet, contemplating the situation. Then he nodded to himself.
“Laura?!”, was his first real reaction, as always when something family related happened.

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Fix the table. Tony could do that. In fact, it was one of the things his mother had taught him. He did quite a good job, making it all look really pretty. The only thing he didn’t do was take the things Cameron handed him. But that was quite normal for Tony anyways.
The meal went down pretty well, until Tony realized that he had forgotten something. Peter! He had made a new suit for the boy- with infrared function, so he could see through buildings, a camera to capture things he saw and it was even bulletproof.
He had somehow forgotten to deliver it in time and now... Now that all those things went through his mind and he was trying so hard to avoid awkward eye contact with Pepper’s Dad, he couldn’t help but think about Peter and his Christmas present.
He looked at Pepper and then around, at the whole family that had gathered around the table.
”I gotta go for big boys”, he said, all of sudden and got up, “which way?”, he asked and looked like it was really urgent. As soon as someone answered his question, he ran to the bathroom and sent his suit to deliver the package. He couldn’t leave, after all.

Quietly, he sat down next to the table again, listening to the two other men talking about politics and the president. Tony leaned back and enjoyed the turkey, while a smile spread on his face. This was a great afternoon. He just hoped that his package would arrive where he needed it to be. At some point, Tony ended up talking to Kate about how he had gotten to know Pepper and why he had made her the CEO of Stark Industries.
“She had been CEO for years, so I just figured I’d make it official...”, was his final sentence, as he put his hand onto Pepper’s knee and looked at her with an adoring smile, “Wouldn’t wanna know where I’d be without her...”
And he meant it, he meant every word he said. Because somehow the way that Kate looked at him made him want to be completely honest.

Meanwhile, the ‘Lost Son’ delivered a small box to Peter Parker’s window. A quiet knocking noise was audible, as the suit dropped the box and a Christmas card- an Iron Man themed one, of course- onto the ledge and then took off again. Good thing Tony knew how to be at two places at the same time by now.
As an addition to the new suit, there were 500 Dollars inside the Christmas card. And in Tony’s best- but still sloppy- handwriting, one simple sentence.
‘Can’t go to MIT without money.’
 
"What was not supposed to...? Clint, you lost me," she told him confused and looked at him with a thrown. First now it dawned her that she might've actually overstepped her boundaries. "You said they wished for a horse and a motorcycle," she signed at him not wanting his kids to catch up on it. In all honesty what had he expected her to do especially after she told him to build a stable for the horse. "Even James agreed it would make a good present," she told him revealing with whom she might have spend some time lately. Speaking of which she still needed to find a way for him to realize that she might for once not play any games with anyone or at least him.

Laura walked out wearing an apron and wiping her hands on it. "What happened?," she asked her husband and turned to Natasha with a smile. "Natasha! The kids will be so glad that you're here! Merry Christmas, by the way! Clint and I were already worried you wouldn't come," she exclaimed and gave Natasha a hug whether the assassin wanted one or not. She spotted the horse sooner than Clint and blinked over the whole situation. "Why is a horse on our lawn, Clint? I thought we agreed they can choose between a dog or a cat themselves," she stated like it was his idea to get Lila one. To her defense normally it was Clint who got the bad ideas and not Natasha. As far as she was concerned Natasha had always been the one to bail him out of the trouble.

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Pepper looked up confused as her fiancé suddenly announced that he needed to use the facility. Somewhat flabbergasted she told him where to go and just shrugged silently at her parents who seemed equally confused. She sat still for a moment and looked after him. She continued to talk with them soon enough though. But turned to her mom soon enough not wanting to chime in about politics. She still was mad at the Sokovian Accords. Behind the scenes she had tried to do damage control in order to help the Avengers even though she wasn't with Tony at that moment. But she knew how much that group of people had meant to him. But unfortunately her damage control hadn't really worked out and she never really had talked with Tony about what had happened during the time when they hadn't been together.

Once Tony sat back down she smiled at him and gently took his hand into hers hoping that he was alright. She listened him talk about her and rose her eyebrow. She chuckled surprised by so much self reflection. Even Pepper probably wouldn't be able to make Tony admit so much stuff. "Probably dead in a dark alley," she joked as he ended his statement by telling him where he would've ended without her. She leaned in and gave him a soft peck not caring that her father was around. "I love you," she whispered in a way so only Tony would hear her.

Kate smiled over the way Tony talked about her daughter. It was more than clear to her that both of them were in love with each other. Of course she knew about the times the man had gotten on her daughter's nerves but it was clear that the two of them didn't seem to care too much about that. "Sounds like the two of you are actually happy with each other. But I got to admit we hoped to meet you sooner before you two got engaged and awaited a little bundle of joy," Kate admitted and looked at Pepper for a moment. "But still Henry and I are so happy for the two of you," she stressed out trying to hint that her husband wasn't as bad as he was currently acting. "When did you fall in love with our little girl? I still remember the time I fell for that idiot over there," she stated and waved over to Henry like he was being annoying her all day long. That particular habit Pepper seemed to have picked up from her mother.
 
It took Peter a while to actually recognize the gift on his window sill. After all it was Christmas and he celebrated with his aunt. May might not be able to cook well under usual circumstances but Peter loved her Christmas festive lunch. So it took him a while to actually apologize himself for a bit. Besides he had fun enjoying the day with his aunt for once and he thought his aunt actually appreciated the time alone with him as well. He blinked though as he spotted his present and the card. He opened both gifts and his mouth dropped. Almost instantly he slipped into the suit and grabbed got into it to try it out. He called out that he needed to go to Ned and Licia for a moment to wish them Merry Christmas. He slipped out of the window and hurried out to the Stark Tower.

Soon enough he arrived there and climbed up the windows like it was just a pave way. He stretched himself as soon as he stood on the observation platform. He looked at his present for Mister Stark. He used his webbing to attach the gift to the door. His aunt had helped him to find something for the babies Miss Potts was awaiting. She had knitted some little socks for the twins as well as made some shirts for them. Peter had added the arch reactor to them. It was obviously self made but clearly Peter had tried his best making things look cute. Besides he had gotten Tony a frame with a picture inside. It showed the two of them as Ned had randomly snapped a picture. Peter and Tony seemed both happy on it and a little post it was added "Thank you and Merry Christmas, Mister Stark - Peter."
 
“Tasha, you can’t just buy a horse and a motorcycle, just because it’s on their lists. They can’t have anything they wish for...”, he explained and looked at her, trying not to sound like she had done something wrong... He just wanted to present his point of view.
“They have a thousand wishes every day, most of them are... well, just wishes. Dreams they try to live up to one day... And if we get them everything they want, there’s nothing left to dream of”, he finished and put a hand onto Natasha’s shoulder. He wasn’t angry, just utterly surprised that she hadn’t even had the idea of those presents being too much. But then again, she had never been anything close to a child in her entire life. That thought depressed Clint and he pulled his colleague into a warm hug, softly petting her back.

Then, Laura came in and his excitement about the unplanned presents came back immediately.
“I thought she was joking!”, Clint tried to justify his involvement, “I didn’t know she was going to actually...”
He sighed and looked at Natasha, then at Laura, “Hell, I just... It was a misunderstanding, I guess...”
His head had gotten red like a tomato, while he stood there, not any idea what to do now.
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While walking back from the toilet, Tony’s eyes had wandered around, taking in all the baby pictures of the two sisters and their evolution into beautiful girls. Somehow, Pepper had always been the one to smile like hell in a photo, while Gwyneth looked more serious and focused. But he liked those smiles, that glowing in her eyes, that she still got when she was super excited about something.
It seemed like she was the only person that Tony ever payed attention to. Because mostly, Tony just didn’t look at people that closely. But not only photos had been there, also certificates, Gwyneth’s graduation papers from Law School and a simple piece of paper, that Tony knew very well. It was a hand drawn plan of some kind of... He tilted his head. Was that a rocket engine...? No, he was seeing things. He was definitely seeing things. Shaking his head, he had finally made it back to the table.

Now, holding Pepper’s hand and talking about their past was quite occupying. Still, somewhere in the back of his mind, there was still that stupid blueprint, ghosting around, keeping him busy. Where did it come from? And why was it framed like a picture?

"When did you fall in love with our little girl?", Kate asked and left Tony wondering for a few seconds. Yes, when exactly? Had it been the way she had tried to make him a better person than he had been? Had it been the fact that, through all of it, she had always been there for him? Because it had felt like they were somehow connected all along. She had somehow turned into a mind reader, who had judged him for thoughts he hadn’t even expressed yet and still she had always been the one to come over and help, take away the loneliness.
He hadn’t told her that, but he had always felt like she had been... someone special to him.

“I don’t know...”, he mumbled and always felt a little awkward about it, “I guess I noticed when she was standing there on that runway and I got out of the helicopter... And she cried.”
He looked down onto his hands, because they had started to shiver. He could feel cold sweat creeping up his back and he gripped Pepper’s hand tighter. The reminder of that scene was the cause for a chain reaction, that brought back all the memories of the torture and pain he had experienced. Almost automatically, he placed his hand where the ARC Reactor had been inside his chest for what felt like eternity.
“I... think I need some fresh air...”, he gasped, his heartbeat in his ears. The chair fell over, as he got up and stumbled outside, onto the terrace. Through the glass doors, the whole family could see him shiver and try to stand straight, until he rolled up his sleeves and a suit covered his body. The Iron Man stood there for a while, staring into the distance, not aware of anyone watching.
 
Natasha frowned at Clint's statement and looked at the presents. "You tell me that, now? What am I supposed to do with a horse, Clint? You shouldn't have told me about those if you don't want me to get them!," she points out and groans as she thinks about what she can do with the horse and the motorcycle in that case. "Well, you get the horse. I don't care what you do with it. Just make a sausage or I don't know. I guess I can keep the cycle," she mentioned and ran a hand through her hair. "Or I could sell it again. Can I just...bring it into that old shack? So it doesn't freeze?" Natasha blinked though as she was suddenly pulled into a hug. Her whole body tensed as she didn't expect this to happen and usually she didn't allow people to simply grab her like that. It felt wrong to her like someone or something would creep up behind her back. "Umm.. Alright?", she spoke awkwardly unsure what this was suddenly about.

Laura looked at her husband with narrowed eyebrows and then Natasha. She sighed and placed her hands on her hips. This was a mess and she very well knew her husband well enough that it most likely was more of his fault than Natasha's. "Okay... Well, you've got yourself a job of finding out about where we place that horse then instead of constantly renovating our house," she mentioned and still seemed flabbergasted about all of this.
"And please Natasha...Next time don't bring a horse but some books like normal people. You should know that Clint only has bad ideas," she told the redhead unsure of how to handle this whole situation.

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"I didn't cry... Well, technically those were tears of happiness. Like I said I hate job hunting," she still insisted after all that time and smirked at Tony gently. She was surprised about that statement though. She had thought that dance had nothing been more than one more or less unsuccessful try to lure her into his bed. Her attention was snapped back to Tony as he gripped her hand tighter. She looked worried and asked gently "Tony..?" She squeezed his hand gently trying to tell him that things were alright. That nothing was gone but he seemed long gone.
Suddenly he stumbled out and Pepper almost immediately rose to her feet to go after him. To ask him what was wrong as the whole situation seemed to unnerve her as well. She hadn't seen him like this in a really long time. Pepper had thought things like that were over. "I have to...," she began but her mother placed her hand gently on Pepper's shoulder "Let me. Sit down and relax, Ginny." Pepper looked unhappy but did as her mother told her.

Kate walked out after Tony and grabbed two blankets on the way so none of them would be cold. "You know when I knew that Ginny fell in love with you?", she asked the genius and placed one blanket over his shoulders like it was the most normal thing to do. She stood next to him and wrapped the other one around her shoulders as well.
"I think she was working as your assistant already then she told me about this brilliant man no-one noticed underneath that annoying playboy everyone saw. She kept on talking about what you invented and how smart you were about the little things. She might not have supported the fact that you were manufacturing weapons but she told me about that robot you have...and that computer thing. I knew she loved you way before she did because it was the same reason I fell for Henry. Us, Potts, girls have a long history of falling for the smart and charming men instead of any others," she told him and chuckled a little "It's kind of funny what traits stay in the family." Kate didn't bother asking him what was wrong. He should come to her about that. But she could offer him distraction and if she could tell one thing it was that her Ginny was good for this man. She had made him a better man and actually helped him. So talking about her...about the good side of what he had panicked about might be a good idea to start on.
 
“Okay, let’s just give her the pony”, Clint gave up, “It’s not worth any more fighting.”
He felt embarrassed and was angry about himself. He should have known better, he thought to himself and didn’t even dare to look at Laura. This was the worst part of being a part time Dad. Never really knowing whether or not you have taken the right decision. And if you messed up, there was a high chance that you couldn’t make up for it. He sighed.
“Maybe I can get Tony to build Cooper a phone, so he doesn’t complain about that. The motorcycle is definitely too dangerous.
The archer shrugged and turned to walk outside.
“Sorry for dragging you into this, Tasha”, he mumbled and put on his jacket, before stepping outside to fix the mess that he had created.

The horse was stored in the barn, where it found enough hay to be warm and also to eat. Clint promised that he would build a small stable and a paddock, as soon as the snow was gone. In the meantime, it would have to live under those circumstances.

Clint stayed inside the barn for just a little longer. He sat down on one of the haystacks and sighed.
“So, what have I done so far?”, he suddenly started talking to the pony, “I’ve left my family to save Pepper, though I promised not to; I messed the job thing up like three times and now this. I’m really sorry for you not being welcomed in the way that natasha expected it to go. It’s just that I’m a really bad husband and an even worse dad at the moment...”
Clint sighed and just stared at the little horse for a few moments.
“You’re pretty. Lila’s gonna be really happy with you.”
With another sigh, he got up and started stroking the pony’s back. There he stayed, his hands buried in the warm fur. The horse seemed to understand him.
————————————————
Tony heard that someone was approaching. He thought it was Pepper, at first, but the steps were different. Silence. Inside his metal skin he felt safe. And he was warm. Still, the blanket over his shoulders made him feel somehow protected. And he heard a voice. It was far away, but it talked to him about something, though he didn’t quite get what about. His mind was tortured by flashbacks and the constant feeling of danger and somehow that feeling didn’t stop anymore. He just stared into limbo, shivering. But she talked to him. And a warm and protected feeling came along with that calm voice. It was almost like he was sitting in the living room again, trying to figure out what he had done wrong, why his father had beaten him, but his mother was comforting him. Yes, it was Maria Stark that he saw in front of him. And it was also her voice he heard, or at least he thought so at the moment.

“Yeah I know... She’s amazing...”, he whispered and felt his heartbeat slow down a little, “But how am I supposed to do this, Mom? How can I be a Dad when... When everything I’ve learned was how to not treat a child? I can’t be like him... please. I can’t be...”
His eyes filled with burning tears, because wasn’t that what everyone was wondering? Everyone inside there, weren’t they wondering if a man like him could raise children?
“I don’t wanna be like him...”, he whispered and stumbled into her arms. His helmet opened and he buried his face in the blanket that Mrs Potts was wearing. He was so done, he just wanted to be hugged and cry into his mother’s shoulder.

Just a second later, though, he realized who he was hugging and what was going on. He let go off her and stared at Kate, really confused and embarrassed.
“I... Sorry”, he stattered and his suit went back to where it had come from, five metal rings on his body. He stumbled away and inside again, where he sat quietly, staring at his plate. This shouldn’t have happened. And why the actual HELL had he called her Mom?!
 
Natasha looked between the two and frowned. She hadn't meant to bring some sort of tension into Clint's home or marriage. She looked at Laura who walked into the kitchen again and than after Clint. With a sigh she went after him instead of going to the kids. She had known that Clint and Laura wouldn't be able to afford both presents for their children so she thought it would be nice to play the cool aunt for once. It wasn't like she had thought much about it. To her it had sounded like a legitimate wish and something she could provide for her best friend's (and sometimes only friend) kids.

The horse neighed and shook his head as Clint spoke to it. Natasha watched them from the shadow and eventually stepped out. "I can take her along again if it's such a...bother. Maybe I'll sell her again...or keep her. Lila could come visit her from time to time. It doesn't seem too fair that Lila will get a Christmas present but Cooper won't," she told him like it didn't really matter. "I'm sorry Clint. I didn't mean to get you in trouble for bringing those gifts. It appears like I still don't know certain boundaries even after all those years," she mentioned and gave him a small smile "I can get them some books like Laura suggested. They'll just be late though..."

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

Kate was surprised as she suddenly was hugged and called mom. It took her a moment to realize what was going on. Of course it wasn't the first time that someone else called her mom. It came with being a teacher but she hadn't expected Tony to see her like that already. But he hugged him back in a way that only mother's could. "Everything will be alright. You and Pepper will...," she wasn't able to finish her sentence because Tony pulled away from her and apologized profusely. Pepper watched the whole scene go down and Tony sit back down unusually quiet. She looked at him for a moment before staring at her mother with pressed lips. She leaned closer to Tony and mumbled something trying to calm him down. It more and more felt like a bad idea to actually come home for Christmas.

Pepper took his hand into hers and ignored her mother for now. "Are you alright?", she whispered to him even though this whole situation clearly got to her. Her hormones were going crazy and she felt on the verge of tears. But for once she tried to keep it together for Tony. He didn't seem fine. "If you want to leave, we can do so... No need to wait for the presents," she murmured
 
Clint looked up, as Natasha turned up and talked to him. He had somehow had the feeling that someone had been watching all along. But whatever, it didn’t matter. He turned to her, shrugged and sighed.
“It’s not that it’s such a bother...”, he mumbled and looked at his feet while talking, “It’s just that I had an agreement with Laura and now she’s angry with me. And no matter what I do, she’ll always be angry. I just messed up.”
The archer moved away from the horse and sat down on the hay again.
“We haven’t had a fight in eight years when I was still on duty. And since I’m here again... All we do is fight. It’s like something magical happened and we don’t get along anymore.”
Clint sounded desperate. He just wanted his marriage to work. He wanted everyone to be happy, to feel loved and cared for and he wanted that silent agreement back, that him and Laura had always shared. That support they had given each other. It seemed gone.

“I’m serious! I mean, what am I supposed to do?”
For a moment, Clint was quiet and thought about his words. Yeah, what was he supposed to do? He didn’t know, but the way it sounded, he needed to do something. He needed to find something that he couldn’t mess up. A little smile spread on his face.
“Maybe I just need a job”, he stated, “If I wanna live a normal life, I need a normal job...”
He jumped off the haystack and landed on the floor smoothly. That was something he still could do.
“So, what do you think would suit me?”, he asked Natasha, a little more motivated than before, “I mean, my cv is quite a catch, isn’t it? Carneval artist, circus, criminal, agent of a secret organization... Oh, and did I mention that he’s nearly deaf?”, he joked and smiled again,
“I guess I need a wonder to get a good job...”
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Tony was tired and felt really numb. Pepper’s hand on his was comfortable. It grounded him to reality. He really didn’t know what had happened out there, but it wasn’t only embarrassing, but creepy too. How could that woman make him call her Mom? And why had he started to cry out there? Why had he told her everything?
“I’m not feeling well...”, he whispered to Pepper, “You think we can just... Go somewhere for a moment?”
He was dead serious about this. He just needed a quiet place to talk to Pepper alone.
————————————
Gwyneth had looked surprised when Tony had jumped up all of sudden, his eyes widened with fear and had run outside. She had looked at every member of her family, her eyes asking questions that couldn’t be answered. Then, Tony was outside and her mother went after him. Gwyn sat down next to her little sister and put an arm around Ginny.
“What the hell just happened?”, she asked, quietly, rubbing her sister’s back in a comforting way, “Is he okay...?”

When she saw the look in Ginny’s face, she regretted that question immediately. Apparently this was more than just strange behavior.
“Hey, Mom’s gonna fix it...”, she told her, but then they came inside again and the mood was crushed. She reached for Cameron’s hand and leaned against him, looking for some kind of confirmation that this wasn’t her fault now. Well, she could have been a better sister...
————————————————
While all the trouble subsided over there, Bucky was about to get in trouble. He had spent the day avoiding Steve and his Christmas- ish behavior. He. Just couldn't stand it right now. The last night had been fun, though. They had gone out, eaten at a fancy restaurant and talked about stupid things they had experienced. The more they had talked, the more Bucky had been able to remember, so it had soon turned into what they had had before Bucky had left to fight.

Now, Bucky was tired, though and he missed Natalia, which didn't really come in handy, because it made him feel weak, endangered. An uncomfortable silence had settled inside the appartment, that the both of them shared. Well, Bucky still lived on the couch, so technically, it was only Steve's appartment. He was just visiting. So James lay on the couch and flicked through the newspaper. Most things were still a mystery for him, but he still somewhat had the feeling to stay up to date if he read The Times once a week. Suddenly, a face jumped him. He went back to that page and stared at that woman, who was grinning at him through the photo. He frowned.
"Eva Volkov", he mumbled and scratched his head. He knew that name from somewhere, but he couldn't quite place it. It was like an echo, in the back of his mind, but he couldn't hear it loud enough to make sense of it. But somehow the curiousity had hit him. The newspaper said that she wanted to grant orphaned children a better future, so she had donated the largest sum ever to a local orphanage.

"Steve?", he called for his friend, looking up from the newspapers, "Do you have a telephone book and a map of the city?", he asked. He really needed to find out more about that woman. Something told him that she was connected to the Red Room somehow.
 
Natasha stayed quiet as he talked to her. She always had been a better listener than she had been an adviser. Maybe that was the reason why people didn’t tend to come to her with their problems unless they wanted her hands on approach on their troubles. “Maybe it’s just the fact that the two of you aren’t used to be around each other for so long... perhaps you need to just learn to live with each other again,” she tried to help him even though Clint seemed to be more occupied with his own troubles than anything else.

Natasha quietly moved over to the horse and stroked her beautiful neck. “You’re a beauty, aren’t you?,” she whispered and turned around as Clint suddenly jumped to live. “Well, you could work as security guard or just ask Stark for a job?,” she suggested and asked “or would you prefer staying out here? I mean you would need to drive a few miles to the next town and probably get a second car for Laura. But you could also just...teach people their way around archery?”

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Pepper didn’t meet her sister’s gaze as she came to her for comfort. She knew that kind of behavior way too well so she...she should’ve gone after him. Once Gwyneth talked her gaze went to her sister though and she simply shook her head telling her now wasn’t the moment. She didn’t want to talk about that. “Mom can’t fix everything, Gwyneth,” she whispered cold and pulled away. Her gaze turned to Tony and she seemed conflicted. A part of her simply wanted to leave now. What had she been thinking anyways? Of course this would turn out to be a catastrophe like most things did. Tony and her simply weren’t a normal couple.

She turned to tony only focusing on him as she didn’t care what the rest of her family thought by now. She just didn’t want to ruin Christmas for tony. “Of course... lets go,” she told him gently and pulled him away from her family without a second thought. She walked upstairs and opened a white door to her right. It was her childhood room which was mostly unused space by now. With a sigh she gestured for him to come inside. “Welcome to my childhood,” she told him gently and closed the door after him. Eventually she turned to tony and pulled him into a hug.

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

Cameron looked at his wife and gave her a comforting kiss on her hair. “Things will be fine. Stark’s always being a little extra,” he told her putting it away to the man’s mostly strange eccentric behavior. He wrapped his arm comfortable around her back and kissed her hair.

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

Steve had tried to avoid Bucky. He knew better than to approach the man when he was that moody. Of course he wished his best friend would allow him to help especially on Christmas but he had eventually given up offering his help. “What!?”, he called back and walked from the kitchen over to him.
“Well, I’ve got one of those computers and internet even though I never really figured out how to use that,” he told Bucky and gestured to the computer which was hidden underneath the pile of drawing equipment. In some ways Steve really just was a 90 year old grumpy grandpa and this was one of them. With a sigh he started to collect his things. “Pretty sure that
Somewhere in that internet you find a map and telephone book. Do they still produce these things nowadays?,” he answered and continued after a small pause “Do you know how to use one of these?”
 
“I’m not sure if that’s what we need...”, Clint replied, asking himself if maybe Laura just needed another man to be happy. Maybe he just wasn’t the right one.
“I mean, look at me. I’m a loser”, he mumbled and shrugged, “But yeah, whatever.”

When Natasha told him that he should ask Tony for a job, Clint flinched.
“And those words from you? Where’s my pride in all that? Somewhere deep down underground?”, he grinned and leaned against the haystack, now definitely in a better mood than before.
“Archery doesn’t sound too bad, actually. Maybe I could teach kids... That would be fun.”
The archer’s face lit up, as he hugged Natasha again.
“Thanks, Tasha, you’re a genius.”
For a few moments, it was quiet. Really quiet. Then Clint sighed and looked towards the door.
“I gotta go in there and apologize, right?”, he asked, more of a rhetorical question than anything else. He didn’t even wait for Natasha to answer, he just rolled his eyes and then walked towards the house again, his head down like a dog who had eaten from the kitchen table.
————————————————
Tony’s body relaxed a little when Pepper hugged him. It was like some kind of antidote to anything bad that had happened. But his mind was still racing. He was still so embarrassed about what had happened and... He needed to tell Pepper that it wasn’t her fault. That it was all on him, because he couldn’t control his emotions.
“Pep, I’m really damn sorry, I didn’t wanna mess this up...”, he whispered and buried his head in her shoulder, “I don’t know what happened there... Or why I called her Mom, or why your Dad makes me feel so... uncomfortable. It’s just so much easier to disappoint people when I’m nervous. And I didn’t mean to do this. It’s stupid...”

He looked at her with his shiny big eyes and he meant his apology. He really meant it. He hadn’t wanted this to end up the way it had ended. And now his fiancée was disappointed in him, which he had tried to avoid with all might. But whatever. He was Tony Stark. He was the king of chaos, why would it be different in here?
“I... Understand if you wanna stay here”, he finally ended his monologue, “I can go home if you want me to go...”
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James sat down in front of the computer and stared for a few seconds. Then he turned it on and something like a familiarity turned up in his head. He wasn’t quite sure what he was doing when he opened the search engine and typed in the name “Eva Volkov”, but it seemed to work, was suddenly the screen displayed hundreds of blog entries, newspaper articles and photos. The former soldier scrolled through the information and took a piece of paper and a pencil to write down the most important details.

That woman became his obsessive for the next few hours, nights and days. As soon as he had figured out which search words were the most useful, he started doing research on every connection that he could find. He didn’t sleep or eat, he just did detective work. The number of sheets with notes grew and soon the whole table was full of them. He couldn’t stop anymore, there were too many people, connections, fundings, buildings she had bought... It was all in there. And he had just found a way to access it. And with the right information, he could maybe trigger some memories from that time... Maybe he had even known her.
 
"Oh come on, Clint. You can't be serious about that now. Each marriage go up and down. Even mine did so pull yourself together and just move on. Be happy with Laura," she told him having none of the self pity nonsense he was putting on at the moment. She simply rolled her eyes and hoped they could move on from that rather quickly.

"Well, it's not my pride that I need to swallow. Besides it's not worse than Budapest or the one time I told you to ask for directions and you didn't do that. So we got lost in nowhere," she told him serious. To be honest pulling up Budapest was Natasha's favorite because nothing was able to top that experience and well, they both had messed up big time on that mission. She grinned at him like he had no right to actually talk against that.
"Of course I'm a genius," she answered seriously and hugged him back before she blinked to look after Clint. With a sigh she petted the horse a last time and walked back to the house to finally say hi to the rest of the Barton's. Hopefully the rest of the day would go more smoothly or she would decline visiting them the next year. She couldn't help but feel like she had ruined the mood somehow.

Laura was in the kitchen preparing the rest of the food. She was neither mad nor angry with what had happened or how Clint had somehow told Natasha to get a horse. She just was kind of speechless and at loss of what to do with a horse. Especially because they would need to get a second one if the other one was supposed to live in a good condition. This was all just crazy after all.

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

Pepper simply held onto him as the two stood still in her former room. She closed her eyes and rested her head on his shoulder until he started speaking. Still she kept on hugging him but she tried to look at him. She listened to his little monologue and even chuckled a little as he mentioned that he had called her mom mom. "My mom gets called mom by other people at least ten times a year. She's a teacher and...well, a good one. The kids love her so no need to get embarrassed about it, Tony. My mom probably is down there glowing with happiness that her soon son in law called her mom. She likes that kind of stuff," Pepper tried to comfort him and made him look at her "My dad's a bit more reserved about everything. But don't worry... Talk with him about old-timers or rockets and you have him eating out of the palm of your hand, babe. So stop worrying. Just be yourself. They'll love you." She tried to sound comforting but also trustworthy. Her parents weren't so complicated people but her dad just needed a bit time to warm up to strangers.

Her heart sunk as she saw the way he was looking at her. Pepper moved and kissed him gently. "There's no need to be sorry about anything, Tony. You did nothing wrong. We will either leave together once we walk down again or we stay for the rest of the day. Either way we are doing this together, alright? You and me, we can do that. We'll always be a team," she tried to encourage him and added "I just don't want you to be unhappy. Especially not on Christmas." She looked at him and moved ehr hand to caress his cheek.

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

Steve allowed Bucky to use his computer even though he would appreciate to know what was going on. But apparently he wasn't going to get to know things. He rolled his eyes but soon enough even got annoyed with his best friend. He didn't mind sharing his place with Bucky but clearly his friend forgot about the most important rules of living together: Conversation. It was super annoying especially because Buck started to use every given space for his ridiculous notes.

"Okay, I'm stopping this here," Steve eventually chimed in and switched off the desktop of the computer. "You either tell me what's going on or you'll find another place to do this madness, Bucky! I cannot even get something to eat out of the fridge without falling over like ten piles of your notes!," he looked at him serious and awaited some kind of reaction for once.
 
“Laura”, Clint mumbled and walked inside the kitchen, “I guess I have to apologize... I didn’t think that Natasha would actually bring a horse... It was a misunderstanding”, he explained and went to stand next to her, “Also, I feel like I’m constantly messing up and I don’t wanna be like that. I don’t wanna be that kind of husband who is more like a child. I really wanna help you with everything and I just seem to have a talent to make it more complicated.”
He sighed.
“Don’t tell me it’s not true, you know it is. I just don’t really know how to be a good Dad, I suppose. And a good husband. I...”
He swallowed heavily, because he suddenly felt guilty for what he was feeling. For what he was about to say.

“I miss it”, he whispered, “I miss it that you hug me and kiss me goodbye and you tell me to come home in one piece. And when I got home, everyone was happy and we ate together... And the kids were so eager to tell me everything....”

He didn’t look at Laura, because he knew that he was hurting her saying that. But it had been on his mind for a while now and he couldn’t hold it back anymore.
“Now I just feel like the fifth wheel. Everything works fine without me and the kid’s don’t talk to me, we fight, we don’t really notice each other anymore...” He paused, but only for a millisecond. “And I know it’s just because it’s daily routine and me being here is nothing special anymore but... I miss it.”
Finally, he looked up at Laura, who had turned around and was looking at him. Their eyes met and it felt like he had been so wrong about feeling misplaced. Because this was where he belonged, wasn’t it? With his wife and his children. Home.
“I’m sorry...”, he repeated and hugged her tightly, “I’m so sorry...”

————————————————

Tony’s eyes filled with tears. Pepper was the only person in this world who could make him cry. And she did again. Good thing she was still so close to him. He just buried his head in her shoulder and kissed her neck, so she wouldn’t see the salt dropping out of his eyes.
“It’s not that I... I just miss my...”
He couldn’t end that sentence. He just hoped that Pepper would understand. That she wouldn’t judge. It was embarrassing enough that he missed his mother right now, after all those years that she was dead. It was also embarrassing that he started to cry about it rather than just keeping it to himself. But he just needed to. It was like... a sudden jump back in time, when he had locked himself in his room for three days straight.

It had been a terrible feeling, his first Christmas alone. He had smelt all the good things on the table, but he had never really gotten to enjoy them. Because, well, the voice of his mother had been missing. The comforting hand on his shoulder when he had messed up or when someone had hurt him. When his first love had dumped him... or when he hadn’t been the best at one subject. His father had always hated that. But he had never cared enough to actually look at Tony’s inventions, or the robot he had built and programmed at the age of eight. Or the fact that Tony had skipped two classes and had moved straight to graduation at high school. He just hadn’t lost a word about that. All he had talked about were his company and alcohol.

But Pepper hugged him tigher and he felt warm. And somehow it helped him to calm down, to distract himself from all those thoughts. He took a deep breath and listened to her words.

We'll always be a team...
He wasn’t alone. He wouldn’t ever be again. And hell, they were a great team. They had always been great, even before they had been in love, because somehow that silent agreement had always been there. She was the one who fixed things and he messed them up again. It was like they were meant to do this.
Her hand on his cheek felt right and he pulled her closer to kiss her gently. And the kiss turned into a deep and warm connection, so strong that he didn’t want to let go off her anymore. He pulled her closer and predded against her, all for the sake of safety... right?
After what felt like an eternity, Pepper pushed him away gently and looked at him. His hands were no on her hips, where they made slow circles.
“Would it be very irresponsible to have sex now?”, he asked, that usual Tony Stark grin on his lips.

————————————————

Bucky jumped up from the chair and looked at Steve.
“Come on, turn it back on...”, he asked, politely but still annoyed, “This is important... I think I might have something there...”
With a focused glance, the former soldier collected his notes and put them onto the couch. That was his bed. Steve couldn’t say anything about that.
“I know it sounds bonkers, but I might have tracked one of the Black Widows”, James explained, going through the 20 pages of notes he had made, “She’s been well hidden and now she’s funding orphanages to buy herself some girls. She’s continuing, maybe she’s building up a new Red Room. I need to find out where she keeps them. I need to save them...”

He coughed and got up to get himself a glass of water. He hadn’t had anything to drink for two days, so that had been really necessary. After he had poured down three more glasses, he opened the fridge.
“Where’s the turkey gone?”, he asked, a little confused, “Don’t tell me you’ve eaten all the turkey.”
 
Laura looked at him and sighed a little. "Clint, I'm not mad about the horse... It's just a bit much and...well, a horse. Not really the type of pet you give to your kids on Christmas," she told him calm and smiled gently "It's none of your fault. I mean who would've thought that she would get an actual horse after all. So no apology needed." She kissed his cheek to reassure him that things were perfectly fine between them. Heck, it would need more than a simple horse to get them into a bad relationship. To her everything was perfectly fine.
She furrowed her brows as he mentioned that he missed how he felt when he had come home. "Does that mean you want to go to SHIELD again?," she asked him unsure of what to do out of that statement. After all she wanted them to be happy together and for once she had thought his retirement would last longer than just two or three weeks. Laura walked up to him and wrapped her arms around him "Well, this is everyday life, Clint. You're nothing special anymore if you're on this farm like the kids and me. They just were overly excited because they weren't used to you being around all the time. You're still loved, babe. But of course I'm gonna get annoyed with some of your habits if you're around all the time. It's the same way around for you. I'm sure I have gone on your nerves as well, babe." She released her hug and stroked the side of his arms.
Laura caught his gaze and frowned a bit. "I cannot offer you the special VIP treatment at the Barton household, Clint. But I can offer you a family that loves you and would do everything for you. Just give us some time to get used to the new feeling with everyone around before you go back to SHIELD," she told him serious. Of course she would support her husband no matter what. But she didn't know how much longer she could keep on going if he chose to go back to SHIELD. Him almost dying at took a took a huge cost on all of them.

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

"I know, honey. I know...," she whispered and stroked his hair. She could hear his tears in his voice and it brought tears into her own eyes. But she pulled herself together to just offer him a place to cry. Pepper wouldn't say a thing against him but just be there for him. "I would've loved to meet her, you know? I bet your mother was a extraordinary and warm person," she whispered showing that she understood what this was all about. "It's okay to miss her," she whispered into his ear and pecked his temple. "But you're part of this family now. You just need to allow them to welcome you," she whispered and smiled gently. She knew her mom loved him already and her dad...well, he would warm up soon enough. If Tony simply talked and would be himself.

She pulled away from their kiss eventually. He never failed to take her breath away as she tried not to pant for air. At the mention of sex though she rolled her eyes. "You're unbelievable, Anthony Edward Stark. You're meeting my parents and all you can think of is having sex," she told him unimpressed and smacked his upper arm. "So, you really think that was alright?," she asked him unsure if he was joking or not.

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

"WEll, how about you elaborate?", he asked and crossed his arms. He really had changed a bit since their battle against the Joker. He didn't take all of Bucky's bulldhit anymore without complaining. It might take him a few days but he started to complain about things. This was unhealthy and heck Bucky hadn't really moved for hours by now.
"I have one of the Black Widows on speed dial so come again," he told him and simply shook his head. This was insane. "Well, if you tell me now that the Black Widow is called Natasha Romanoff, I'm going to tell you you completely lost it now, Bucky. Seriously what's going on?", he asked awaiting another explanation of what was going on.
Eventually he sighed though and turned to Bucky. "Okay, work me through it. Why do you think there's another Black Widow? I thought Nat was the only one alive...," he mentioned and looked at all the notes. If that was true they needed to act. "Do you want to talk with Natasha about this? I mean she can confirm and help with what is going on.

"Yes, I ate all of it. You were sitting around like a maniac for 2 days straight. I even asked if I could have the rest but you only mumbled something. I took it as a yes," he simply told him and crossed his arms. "How about we two get some takeaway and you can work me through all of this," he told him.
 
The archer nodded. He understood what she meant and it was clear to him that she was a little uncomfortable with the fact that there was an actual horse inside the barn. He didn’t know what to do either, so it wasn’t a big surprise that she was a little desperate.
“I might have an idea...”, he finally wrapped his mind around the actual problem, “The guy from up the street, doesn’t he have horses?”, he asked and looked at Laura with a triumphant smile, “We could just put it there and Lila can visit it? Or we’ll sell it to him... I mean, if you think that it’s too much...”
Clearly, Clint wasn’t fond of the idea to sell the horse again. He liked that pretty pony already and as he had a heart for every lost soul, he also had a heart for that little horse with its dark and honest eyes.
“I mean, to be fair, I’ll get Tony to build Cooper a Starkphone and Lila could get the horse for her birthday... It’s only a month until then.”

“No, I don’t wanna go back...”, Clint told Laura, honestly shocked about her question, “Tasha found the perfect job for me. I’m gonna teach people how to use bow and arrow. No more bullet wounds, no more fights... I don’t want that anymore.”
He pulled her close to him and breathed in her smell. Right now it was a mixture of cookies, food and baby wipes. He smiled and kissed her mouth, like he hadn’t done in far too long.
“I don’t wanna be a VIP. I wanna be your husband. And i need attention. Just as much as Nate does. Or I might start to poop myself”, he chuckled and held her face with both of his hands, “And I love you. All of you.”
—————————
He heard her talking, but he didn’t answer. Pepper’s voice alone was enough to calm him a little. She would have loved to meet Pepper, too, Tony thought, but tried to push that thought away again. Successfully. He looked up and nodded.
“Thanks...”, he whispered.

The reaction to his question was expected and therefore not really surprising. He just liked the thought of them doing it in her old room. Because, every couple should have done that. Sneaky sex with the parents downstairs was a must in every relationship. And Tony had been a pro at that anyways, especially in his teenage years. But he didn’t say that. He didn’t say any of it because he was afraid that Pepper would be angry with him.
“I just thought it would be nice...”, he admitted and kissed her again, “But yeah, let’s... go downstairs and move the passion to tonight.”
It took a lot to make him say that, so Pepper’s parents better appreciated his efforts. With new motivation and strength, Tony sat down at the table again, where he looked Henry Potts straight in the eyes.
“Are those your blueprints on the walls out there?”, he asked bluntly and made Gwyneth smile.
————————————————
“Why don’t we go out and eat something?”, Bucky suggested instead. He was surprised by himself, making this question sound so normal. Sure, they had been to diners before, or bars, had a few beers, talked about this and that... But nothing like that had happened after 1940. It was something that he just hadn’t considered, because... hell, he had been on the run for too long to actually sit down and talk about senseless stuff. But maybe that was exactly what he needed now.

“Let’s go to that small diner around the corner. I’ve walked past that a few times before. And the waitress is cute. Just your type”, he smiled and took his jacket. Something inside him felt off for not putting anything onto his head, so he took a hat that lay there and put it on. He checked himself in the mirror- which he couldn’t remember doing any time before- and then opened the door of the flat.
“Are you coming?”, he asked his friend, a smile on his lips.

He just had had an idea how to show Natalia that he was on the right side, that he could be trusted. He would take that nest of Black Widows down amd serve her the outcome on a silver plate. If there was his Natalia in there, she would recognize her James.
 
Laura listened to his ideas about the horse and shook her head. "We are not selling the horse. It was Nat's present and I think Lila should get it. But still it's a bit much. Maybe telling her it's for her birthday as well is a good idea. Hopefully Natasha won't show up with a second horse then," she told him and kissed his cheek "Can you make sure that she won'T do that? Tell her to get a saddle or something instead... So we won't have to pay for everything. Also we need to get a teacher for Lila so she can learn how to horseback ride and how to treat it properly. Does it even have a name?" Like always Laura already seemed to get ahead of herself wanting that the animal would actually do great instead of feeling miserable. She sighed and looked at her husband "What a Christmas, huh?"

She seemed to relax at the mention that he wouldn't go back. Listening to his idea of a job, she paused for a moment. "Just don't get shot by an arrow in that case. We already had Cooper almost poking out someone's eye with an arrow before," she advised him but smiled. It actually sounded like a good job for her husband. She might not like it 100 % but Clint couldn't mess up too bad when it came to archery, could he? Laura probably shouldn't jinx it. Maybe she would even ask him to show her some trick shots. It could be fun to learn a bit of archery from Clint.
"Well, in case of pooping yourself: You're old enough. You can change your own smelly business," she warns him but chuckles a little. She kissed him back and ran a hand gently through his hair "So no VIP treatment for you Clint Barton. But we love you, too." She kissed him again and turned around to check her turkey so they could finally have a late lunch.

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

Pepper smiled as he seemed to do better than before. She loved this man and hated to see him...so Un-Tony-like if that even was a word. Still a part of her felt honored that he finally had figured out that she would be there for him. That she always would be part of his life no matter if he pretended to be strong or finally acted like he really felt. The two of them were a team till the day one of them died.

She rolled her eyes as he mentioned that it would've been nice. "I'm already pregnant, you know? No need to have even more sex. Already lied to me about using protection before," she scolded him a little but there was a smile on her lips. The thought of him lying to her about such a topic still bothered her but she truly wasn't mad at him. She loved those two bundles inside of her more than she actually loved her own life. She gently stroked over the baby bump and kissed him back.
Pepper rolled her eyes as he bluntly asked about the blueprints once they were back down. Tony definitely had been smoother before. She shot her sister a glance that just screamed 'Can you believe this guy?'

Henry turned to Tony as he was asked about the blue prints. It was obvious that he thought Tony was addressing him with the question. "Well, those actually belong to the NASA," he corrected Tony but quickly added "But I did help to develop or well developed that damn thing on my own. So I suppose one could say that they are mine. Still my team and I are working on improvements for the next start of Orion," He had a more subtle way of owning what was his than Tony. Of course he was still proud of his work and tend to show off in different ways than his soon to be son in law. "Took us quite some while to get finished in time. Those idiots from the NASA tend to cut our budget and always move the deadlines to ridiculous short times," he told him.
 
Steve looked surprised at Bucky mentioned that they could have dinner outwards. He looked at the other man for a moment somehow waiting for his best friend to start laughing and tell him it was nothing than a mere joke. But there the question was not followed by laughter like he expected. "I umm... Sounds like a good idea actually. The shops are closed due to Christmas and we forgot to go grocery shopping," Steve mentioned and smiled at his friend. It didn't took him long to get ready though. He put some wax into his hair to make sure that they wouldn't move out of place before he walked over to the door to get into his shoes.

He rolled his eyes over the mention of the waitress. "You're just like Romanoff always trying to hook me up. Why is it so wrong to think that I still like Peggy?," he spoke out the truth. He didn't want to get into any relationship any time soon. He was content with being single and perhaps going out on senseless dates here and there. To him Peggy had been the one. The only woman who had made little Steve felt something and like he could be attractive as well. Nowadays he simply couldn'T stop but wonder if those girls would still be talking to him, if he was just skinny and little.
"Just give me a minute," he murmured as James asked if Steve was ready. He walked over and grabbed his scarf and jacket. "What are you waiting for?," he mocked Bucky and stepped out into the hallway so they could leave the building into the cold Winter's air.
 
“Kids! Help me set the table, please!”, Clint called, Nate on one arm and a couple plates on the other. Natasha had come inside again and it seemed like it was a totally normal family Christmas lunch. Cooper just ignored Clint, while Lila raced inside the kitchen almost immediately and took forks and knives from her mother.

“Can you watch him for a second?”, the archer asked Natasha, sitting Nathaniel down on her lap, “I have to help Laura with the turkey.”
Clint went back to the kitchen, then back to the table again, bringing all the food.
“Cooper, for God’s sake, if you don’t help, you won’t get dessert!”, Clint shouted again, waiting for his teenage son to turn up.
But by the time that Cooper actually did, they were all sitting around the table already. The boy sat down quietly, got himself some turkey and looked around his family. Something in the way he looked made Clint suspicious, but he couldn’t tell what it was. So he just went on watching his son, trying to figure out what he was up to.

———————————————

Gwyneth was amazed just how fast Tony’s mood could change. They had left the room quietly and it had looked like something had ruined the day for them. When they had come back, though, everything had been alright again, almost like that thing had never happened. Suddenly, Tony started talking to her father. It was unexpected, but well. What wasn’t around Tony? Ginny shot her an almost shocked glance, as Tony suddenly started talking and made her sister smile.
She watched the two men for a while, as they kept on complaining about deadlines and Tony tried to... do what, exactly? Get her Dad to work for him? Or was he just joking? Somehow, she didn’t get that guy. He just didn’t seem to be like the normal kind of human being. He was... well, as Cameron had said it, a little extra.

But Henry finally showed some respect and started to smile. That was the right direction, so she didn’t mind what he did. It seemed to work. But Gwyn knew that glance that Tony displayed. She knew that kind of behavior from former soldiers she had seen, from people who had been involved in a war. Grown ups, children, they all had the same way of staring into the distance, bursting out of the room suddenly and avoiding certain topics.

The lawyer frowned and leaned against her husband’s shoulder, so she could ask him a question that no one else should hear yet. She wasn’t a psychologist, therefore really not sure if she was judging the situation right. She just wanted to be sure that Ginny knew what was going on with her soon to be husband.
“You think I should tell him to get help...?”, she whispered into Cameron’s ear. She was good at talking with strangers, but she definitely wasn’t good at telling someone she wanted to be friends with what was going on.

————————————————

The diner was full of life and people. Voices mixed up and turned into a pleasant background music, as they sat and waited for their lunch. Bucky felt comfortable. It was like that one mission had given him the confidence he had needed to be a human being again. The machine- like feeling slowly started to wear off and he was becoming... well, normal again. And that was something special, after all those years.
The waitress came by and brought them their drinks and Bucky could see Steve staring. Because she was really pretty. And he knew that his friend needed some distraction from all that self pity and trying to keep him sane. It was time for Steve to move on and try to be himself again. Bucky was doing fine! He could let go now.

“See, I told ya”, he whispered, when the waitress had disappeared into the kitchen, “She’s just your type. Now go talk to her. You don’t have to marry her, just have fun.”
With that boyish grin, that only Bucky could show, he shoved his friend over and nodded. Sometimes luck had to be forced. And that woman had definitely shown some interest.

————————————————

Lina lay in bed, her hands cuffed upon her head. Her eyes were closed and her stomach growled. She opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling. Oh heck, she was hungry! With all the strength she had left, she tried to get one hand free. Just one stupid hand, so she could reach for the water they had placed on the floor next to her. Her small, slender body moved and curled around, but it was no use.
“SHIT!”, she screamed on top of her lungs, “SHIT, FUCK, DAMMIT!”
But it didn’t help. She was stuck in here for some time. It was the punishment for her not being compliant. She had refused to shoot that boy. She didn’t want to take innocent lives, that was just not her thing.

The chains rattled, when she tried to break free again. This was a test. A stupid test. And she would fail again. She was so thirsty! She wanted that stupid glass of water!
Tears started to fill her eyes, but she bit her lip. No crying now. She was stronger than that. She just needed to...
A painful scratch, then a slip and her hand was free. She felt blood on her wrist, but that didn’t matter. Relieved, she reached for the glass and drank the cold liquid. Suddenly, the door flew open and a woman looked down on her. The mistress. Lina held her breath. Now she was in trouble.
 
"Thank you," Laura mumbled as her daughter almost immediately went to help them. She smiled as to her the day despite it's ups and downs was still a perfect Christmas. They had everyone they loved around and nothing would be able to destroy the feeling of having a family for the woman. Seeing her kids happy - even though Cooper acted like everything was too much - made Laura wonder if they should try for another baby. Something about watching them all grow up so fast was actually saddening but also made her feel so proud of her children's accomplishments. Having such a small child like Nathan made one realize how fast children actually grew up. But she also liked the number of three still an even number... She sighed trying to think of anything else than babies. Maybe she should talk to Clint so he could talk her out of it.

"Of course...," she took the little man from Clint and smiled at Nathan. "I can help too, if you need...," Natasha tried to help but she was shooed away by Laura who simply wanted the redhead to feel like a guest. No obligations - nothing. So instead Natasha opted to hold Nathan as he tried to make steps on his own. She was still carrying most of the little man's weight but still he seemed to test the movements of walking. It brought a smile to her face and even more so thinking back to Russia. There must've been someone to teach Natasha all of this. It was actually quite amusing to her to think that someone as scary as the Winter Soldier had to teach her how to walk and talk.
The redhead watched Cooper walk in shortly after both she and Nathan had taken a place at the table. He somehow seemed grumpy and she wasn't sure if it had something to do with her presence or something completely differently. Maybe...was there a girl involved? She cocked her head to the side and watched the boy. "So, what's going on in school and stuff?", she asked him not even trying to hide what she was up to with Cooper. She smiled friendly at him and hoped she would still be the cool aunt after this.

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

Henry either professionally ignored Tony's try to recruit him or he simply understood it differently than his older daughter. After all Tony should know that Henry probably would never work for Stark Industries even if his daughter led the whole company. After all he loved his work at NASA. It had something to do with his childhood dream of becoming an astronaut. He might never be able to actually visit outer space. He had applied once to be an actual space pioneer but he was thrown out of the program really early on. It had something to do with his body not being able to take all the physical forces during the take off. So he had resigned to design and engineer the spaceships, which was equally as cool to him. Without him nothing of that would actually be able to happen after all. Still the two men seemed to banter through their rather strange but still amusing conversation.

Cameron wrapped his arm around his wife once she leaned up to him. He knew by her body language that she wanted to tell him something but was afraid that anyone else would hear them. Instead he opted to look down at the woman he loved with the gentle gaze that was only reserved for her. He listened to her question and seemed to think quietly about it. Of course he had witnessed Stark's behavior first hand before but always placed it away as his eccentric behavior. He had been like that even before Afghanistan so it wasn't as troubling to him as it was to Gwyneth. But still he could see where his wife was coming from. He hadn't expected Stark's behavior to be this...erratic.
He pressed a kiss on Gwyneth's temple and whispered "I don't know. But it certainly doesn't look healthy to me. Perhaps you should go and talk to your sister in private. Allow her to decide what to do. I mean...in the end she has to live with Mister Extra here." He smiled at her trying to show her that this was coming from a place of trying to help everyone and not some sort of rivalry.

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

Steve tried to be discreet about him looking after the waitress. He couldn‘t deny that the woman was beautiful but...she was out of his league. In his mind he still was that skinny guy from Brooklyn who wouldn‘t last a winter without nearly dying once. His health hadn‘t been the best and he had visited the hospital more often by the time that he was 20 when he had tried to sneak into the military. So that woman was out of his league and more of Bucky‘s type of girl. She was beautiful and hence his best friend would be able to charm his way into his life. Instead Steve would embarrass himself somehow and never be able to visit this diner anymore, which actually would be a shame. The food was good after all.

„Are you crazy?“, Steve asked quietly and crinkled his mouth. „Your and my definition of having a little fun varies a lot, Bucky. My definition of your fun actually involves marriage,“ he pointed out as he was still rather old fashioned when it came to joining someone‘s bed. Heck he knew Bucky had been into the kind of girls back in the days who didn‘t seem to mind doing things like that out of wedlock. It just had been something that he had grown used to besides back in their old days he wouldn‘t have had a chance with the ladies anyways whether it was marriage or something else. Dotty‘s friend had shown him that over and over again at Howard‘s expo.
„What am I supposed to say according to you? I‘m sorry that you have to work on Christmas!?“, he asked him like he was about to freak out for being so put on the spot with that girl. He stumbled forward as Bucky pushed him towards the waitress. He blushed and apologized profoundly as he accidentally bumped into her. The conversation was rather brief and awkward before he apologized himself and basically escaped into the men‘s restraunt. Steve simply wasn‘t meant to be put on the spot like that and combining that with a pretty girl it was simply meant to end up in a disaster.

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

The woman looked down at the little girl. Her face was a stoic mask as he looked down at her. „You are just another trouble maker. You are lucky I still see potential in you or I would‘ve just disposed of you like the government wanted of me in the beginning,“ she told the little girl and continued as she walked over „I know girls like you. They always end up the teacher‘s pet. But I am not so stupid. I learned with a girl that was like you once. Uncompliant but she turned out to be one of the best Black Widow‘s the Red Room has ever trained. Until one day she backstabbed us and became a traitor. A traitor that needs to be killed and loves to display herself to the world. One of your precious Avengers.“ She scoffed at the mere thought of little Natalia. That woman was still nothing more than a show off with some respectable skills. But Ropasa knew better than that. The Black Widow had betrayed all of them. Mother Russia, the Red Room and most importantly their Mistress. Natalia and the rest of her friends would burn for that. She would show the world what they would get for trusting the Russian Avenger.

„You are weak Lina. Thirst and hunger sharpen your mind. You should utilize that instead of trying to get a glass of water,“ she lectured the girl and took the glass of water from the ground. She held the glass in front of her waiting just mere seconds before she started to spill the cold liquid onto the dirty floor. „If you choose to allow your body to give in to such demands, you are nothing more than a dog. Dogs don‘t drink from glasses. They lick the water from the ground. So be it. I expect better from you, Lina. You have two more days to convince me that you are worthy of this training. Otherwise I will give in to the government‘s affairs and dispose of you. One more day without food should sharpen your mind enough to realize that you will need to end your training, возлюбленная [sweetheart] .“
 
Cooper stared at the table, clearly not willing to answer Natasha’s question. He was pissed at his father, because he had overheard the conversation of Lila getting a pony. He knew for sure now that his sister was going to get a lot more than him for her birthday and that was why he was really angry. Also, he hadn’t had the courage to talk to a certain girl, who really interested him, mostly because she was into comics, just as him. He had finally gotten her to write down her number, but now he had lost it and it was almost like this whole Christmas day was jinxed. Everyone seemed to be in a good mood, except for him. And he really hated that feeling of being the only grumpy one.

“Not much...”, he finally mumbled, stuffing some more turkey into his mouth, so he didn’t have to talk. Nate was being ridiculous again and was throwing stuff down to the floor. If there were a dog, that all wouldn’t be a problem. It would eat the whole stuff. But there wasn’t a dog. Even though Cooper had really wished for one.
His Dad went to clean up Nate’s mess and Natasha still looked at him. Like, what did she expect? An honest answer? Didn’t she know how puberty worked?

————————————————

“Well, anyways...”, Tony closed his monologue about how the NASA was always trying to pick fights with him, “I’m happy they stopped asking me if I stole their property. Now they can’t figure out how my stuff works and they stopped annoying me.”
The genius looked at Pepper with a smug grin, knowing that she had- more than once- killed the NASA guys verbally on the phone. Pepper was a lot of things, but shy definitely wasn’t one of them. And he knew that as well as she did. That was also why he loved her and... everything else. Lost in thoughts, he placed his hand on Pepper’s tummy, his thumb making circles on it. He was thinking about how much he wanted to make things right for the babies and Pepper. And how much he wanted her to take some time off... Just to be sure that something like that abduction didn’t happen again.

The conversation with Henry had died off and Tony just stared into the distance. Gwyneth and her husband were cuddling and so he decided to do something to push the action forward. After all, they were all done eating and there was a tree full of presents waiting for them. It was like the first time in forever that he was actually curious about what was in those packages.
“So is anyone still eating?”, he asked and looked around. When no one answered, Tony started collecting plates and put them down on the kitchen counter. He wanted to see those presents. When the table was clean, he sat back down again, visibly impatient. But since Pepper had told him with her looks that she really wanted him to behave, he stayed seated, like a child that was waiting for his parents to allow him to get up.

Gwyneth looked at him and smiled and Tony smiled back. He briefly asked himself what Pepper’s sister was up to, but then she got up and looked around.
“Presents?”, she asked her parents with a childish smile. Sure, she was allowed to do that.
The cute chocolate baby in her arms, Gwyn moved to the Christmas tree and waited for everyone else to come. Tony was the first one to take his place on the sofa next to her. Pepper’s sister looked at him again. Slowly, Tony was starting to feel stalked.

—————————————

“Just say anything. ‘Hello. You look nice...’”, Bucky advised and leaned back in his chair after he had given the captain a little push. But Goddammit, that man just wasn’t able to make the best out of an awkward situation.
“Steve...”, he sighed and rolled his eyes, “No, God....”
What the hell was he doing? What was that guy doing? As Steve sat down, Bucky couldn’t help but look at him with wide open eyes.
“What was that now?”, he chuckled and petted his friend’s shoulder, “You’re supposed to make her...”
Bucky stopped in the middle of his sentence and stared at the waitress, who had just turned around and revealed a headset on her ear.
“Agent!”, he stated and jumped up. So that was the reason why she had been flirting with them.
The waitress had moved to a corner now and was obviously talking to someone on the other end of that headset.

Good thing they hadn’t gotten their orders yet. Bucky just got up and ran out of the building.
“And that on Christmas...”, he mumbled and hid in some small alley. They certainly couldn’t go back to Steve’s flat now, if somebody followed them, they would give their safe house away.

“What I wanted to tell you before...”, the soldier whispered and leaned against a wall, “Is that you look good. You just have to go and act like.”

———————————————-

“Yes, Mistress...”, Lina mumbled and looked at her bleeding hand. She was weak. She was a nothing. And still, the thirst had given her the strength to get her hand free. Maybe that was what that woman wanted. Maybe she needed to use it in the right moment.
But she was so hungry, so damn hungry. Her whole body hurt and cramped and did God knew what. It was just damn uncomfortable to lay there.

Her back hurt, but she couldn’t turn around without hurting her shoulders. And now she just wanted to sleep. She was so tired, so exhausted. Her breathing went even. She gave up and drifted off into a light sleep, where she saw someone who was able to kill. Someone who didn’t have any fears or morals. Someone who picked up that gun and had the courage to turn it back to the Mistress. And one day, she would... That was what she swore herself.
 
Natasha watched him and tilted her head to the side as he gave her a short answer. She looked back at his parents and him like she was observing the whole situation and jumped to her own conclusions. Eventually though she smiled to herself. "Who is it?", she asked him and added "Is she pretty? Of course she's pretty, if you like her. Give her a little present for Christmas. Whatever you've done will be forgotten if the present is heartfelt." It almost came natural to her and she got another thought "Come outside with me later. I have something for you." Heck Clint and Laura might not want her to give the motorcycle to him. But what kind of cool aunt would she be, if she didn't go against the rules? She sat there quietly and simply enjoyed being there with someone. Eventually she got an idea herself though. Surely his parents had picked up on their son's crush. So why not use it to her advantage? She knew how to flirt and heck she could teach Cooper that. But certainly not how to show someone that one cared.

"Clint? How do you show someone that you actually like them without coming off as a weird person?", she asked her partner and looked at him openly. It was almost like she was asking for herself but...Clint would know better, right? It didn't even matter. She just needed to know it as well. Natasha wasn't good at things like that. The people she cared for simply knew that. But she wouldn't be one to show them affection. She kept her distance and dammit James should know that. Her keeping her distance from Bucky actually screamed more of how she felt for him than her pursuing him into liking her. She wouldn't be able to change that and she definitely didn't blame her. She had a reputation after all.

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

"They might've stopped annoying you, Tony, because other people keep telling them that you are not reachable. Honestly you have no idea how often I have to be your PA even though I am not anymore. They keep bothering me though," Pepper chimed in and looked pointedly at him. Tony had no idea how many times a day Pepper was called to coordinate Tony's schedule and asked things about random things that actually Tony should answer. But even though she had a new position people kept on bothering her about things. "You should really consider hiring a new Personal Assistant. But keep your hands off of that one," she told him and jokingly threatened him. The redhead looked pointedly at him until her smile cracked through. Pepper wasn't the jealous type of girl most of the time, which probably had saved their relationship more than once. After all the girls and some guys still tended to flirt with Tony even though their engagement was public by now.
She rose to her feet eventually and followed everyone to the living area and sat down next to Tony. To her own surprise he showed his best manner except for the little incident earlier. But that was okay. No-one would hold it against her. Except maybe her sister by the way she was ogling him. "You know that you have your own husband, right? No need to undress Tony in your mind, Gwyn," she chose to sass at her sister to tell her that she was anything else than discreet. Her father who had been drinking at the moment almost choked over his little innocent girl's comment.

Cameron easily followed his wife and chuckled how incredibly indiscreet she was about this. Heck everyone could see that Gwyneth was up to. Probably even their Eden knew that mommy acted strange. He knew how much his wife loved Christmas and the presents so he took the baby from her so she could move around free. "Just hand out the presents like each year. I'm sure no-one really cares, if you hand them out," he advised and looked at Tony shortly who had refused to shake his hand. It was almost like he warned Tony to not act such a way towards his wife or else he would get in trouble with him.

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

"What!?," Steve asked back knowing he had messed up big time. But to his defense he simply wasn't made for that. He neither realized when girls flirted with him unless Romanoff pointed it out nor was he made to actual flirt. It was the most awkward thing would could imagine. He tended to compliment girls on their shoe laces or shenanigans like that. It mostly just weirded them out. Add that to a generation who seemed to be all aggressive towards their potential partner and you had one big mess. "I told you I would mess it up. Besides you just ruined my favorite diner for me," he grumbled.

His alarmed gaze though went to the woman as Bucky basically shouted agent through the whole place. He rose to his feet and looked like a betrayed puppy. This definitely wouldn't help his self esteem because it seemed that girls only talked to him if they were on a mission. He rose to his feet calm and placed some money on the counter before he hurried after Bucky.

"Should we go and see if Tasha is around? If I'm not mistaken her own safe house should be just a few blocks away," he suggested knowing that they couldn't go back to their place. He had no idea that Natasha and Bucky had separated the way they had or else he wouldn't have been so insensitive. Steve simply had noticed that Bucky's mood usually made a 180 if Nat was involved.
Steve scoffed as Bucky tried to give him a pep talk. He simply stared at the other man and rolled his eyes. "Uh-huh. And how come that women only talk to me if they are on a mission? It's always the same! All the SHIELD agents, that waitress, Sharon. None of them care about me and let alone would glance at me a second time if I still was that skinny kid from Brooklyn. Let's face it Bucky, I'm not you," he told him and looked at his best friend. Part of him felt betrayed that James wouldn't even think about things like that. To him Romanoff's pursue was some kind of banter between them even though they were annoying but Bucky should know better.

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

The woman left the cell again but had some guards change things around the girl while she slept. The cell would look more like a dog's place when she woke up. A dog bowl with water was placed on the other side of the room near the wall to prove the point that the Msitress had done earlier.
 
Cooper still didn't say anything. He had decided that staying quiet was the best way to get out of this conversation without being too embarrassed afterwards. So what he did was sitting there, staring at his mother with a dark glance and begging for this to stop. He wouldn't talk about that girl, certainly not if Lila was around. She would only make fun of him.Again.
Little sisters were by far the most annoying thing Cooper could think of and if he started talking right now, she would never leave him be again. So he stayed quiet and didn't answer auntie Nat's questions.

What did however catch his interest, was the way that Natasha looked at him when she told him to come outside with her afterwards. She did have something in mind and that something was most likely something his parents weren't allowed to know. So Cooper just nodded and ignored his father's observing look. They didn't have to know about everything.

After lunch, Cooper ran outside almost immediately, where he waited for Natasha to come. But 'Auntie Nat' seemed to ahev a talk with his Dad first. So Cooper walked up and down the driveway and observed his own tracks in the snow. When he walked fast, they were wiped and nearly unrecognizable, but when he walked slowly, he could even make out the brand of his shoes. That kept him busy for a while, when he suddenly stumbled upon a strange canopy with something underneath that looked like...
"Holy crap!", Cooper exclaimed and pulled the thing off the motorcycle, "That's... AWESOME!"
But his Dad couldn't see it. Neither could his Mom, that would mean trouble. That was why the boy hid the motorbike inside the barn, where he saw the pony his parents had talked about... But he didn't care anymore. He had a motorcycle now. A fucking real motorcycle!

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

Clint smiled at Natasha's question and reached for Laura's hand.
"Well, you always come off as a weird person if you like someone...", he mumbled and stroked his wife's hand, "The thing is, if the other one likes you too, it doesn't matter, you know?"
The archer was quiet for a while, thinking about his answer.He knew hown damn serious this was for Natasha, so he didn't ask any questions. He also knew that she was using Cooper's behavior as an excuse... But he let her. Because, well, she didn't have to know that he knew.Clint had always been more the sneaky type when it came to giving advice, which was probably the reason why Natasha asked him.
"But I guess the most important thisng is that you... You try to show who you really are. You give in to your wishes... Whether it's being close to that person, or hugging them at any occasion... you just... try to speak your mind, be honest with them...They basically just..."
He shrugged and looked at Laura. It wasn't easy to explain something that he didn't do consciously.

"Oh and you show concern. Express your feelings, like, tell them you're worried when you are, tell them they're... special to you", he continued explaining, as his eyes rested on Laura, as if everything he said was meant for her, "Tell them you like to be around them... That stuff, you know?"
His eyes wandered back to Natasha and he smiled again.
"Was that enough of an explaination? If not, I think you'll have to ask my wife." He winked at Laura and went to clean up the table.
"By the way, where did Coops go?", the archer wondered, loading the dishwasher while he was trying to figure out what was going on with Tasha lately.

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

"Geez, gross!", Gwyneth screached and hit Ginny with her fingertips, "What do you think of me?!"
She leaned against Cameron and looked at Tony as if he were the ugliest thing that she had ever seen in her life.
"I would never touch a guy like that. I mean, look at him! He's so short. And so... That beard..." She made it sound like she was actually and truly disgusted by Tony.
Tony, meanwhile, didn't take those insults very well.
"I'm not short!", he stated, almost awkwardly, "I'm compact!"
That statement made the whole family laugh and even Tony finally smiled along. He was actually quite relieved that Gwyneth didn't flirt with him. It would have made this whole thing a horrible experience.

"And about that thing in my face, that's called a work of art. It's my unmistakable Tony- look. So everyone recognizes me, even if they only see my chin", the genius went on explaining and almost sounded offended, "By the way, I have an IQ that is higher than your husband's. I'm sure of that. Or can he build a suit out of misile... "
Silence. A picture. Water on his head, the feeling of suffocation.
"... parts..."
As fast as it had come, the flashback was gone again and Tony relaxed.
"Oh, I forgot, he doesn't need to, he can just steal it from me!", Tony hissed and looked at the senator as if he was about to punch him.That fear serum surely hadn't done his mind any good.

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

"And lead them to her house? Are you bonkers?!", Bucky asked and shook his head, "No, we're gonna wait here and sit this one out. They can't be searching for too long, can they? I might even know a place where I'm safe. You go home, I'm the one they're looking for. I'll get them on my tracks and then I'll disappear. As I always did."
He didn't seem to worry much, especially not about his own safety. If they knew that he was on the run, no one would go looking for Steve. James knew that and he was planning on using this to his advantage.

Moreover, Bucky had a plan. He wanted to show Natalia what he was able to do, what he would do for her. And there was a warehouse, somewhere outside of town, just a few stops with the bus. He would go there and check if it was what he thought it was. All the signs pointed to a certain direction. A direction he didn't like at all, but it was the only sensible explaination to why she would abduct children and pay the orphanages for that. She was building a new Red Room. And Bucky had to stop her, before anyone could graduate.

With a few pets on the shoulder of his friend, he disappeared somewhere and went on his first real mission for the right cause. He would show them all that he was on their side. Maybe then they would stop treating him like a lunatic, a time bomb. That small job at that warehouse had shown him just jow much he was able to do. That he was still able to help people, fight for a better world. And he intended on doing this. But with Steve around, he couldn't think clearly. He kept on slipping back into memories, which were annoying and distracting. He could and he would do this alone now. In and out, kill the mistress and leave again. Hell, it sounded so easy...
 
Laura smiled back at Clint as he talked about this topic. "And most importantly you need to show the other person that you care about the particular person. That he or she is the most important thing to you," she grinned at Clint and seemed in love for a moment. She leaned over and kissed Clint's cheek. The two of them seemed as happy as ever even though Clint had worries about their happiness. She took his hand into hers and intertwined their fingers as she leaned her head against his shoulder. Laura went to help her husband with the dish washer and the table. "What's up with Natasha? Do you know something about a special person in her life?," Laura asked because she had no idea that there could be something going on between Natasha and Bucky.

Natasha listened to the two and frowned. None of them actually helped her much. She would look like an idiot because it simply wasn't her. The redhead didn't work like that. She wasn't able to show her emotions openly but maybe the Joker was right and she needed to start doing that. They were talking about her James after all. She could do that for him, couldn't she?
She mumbled her excuse and walked out after Cooper. She noticed that the bike was missing na soon enough she was following the foot print. "If you don't want anyone to follow you, you should take care of the snow prints, Cooper," she told the boy and watched him. "I see what you found Santa's gift for you," she told him not really caring if he actually believed in the little white lie. "Hopefully you understand where the pony comes from now," she mentioned and gently petted the horse in the barn. Both Barnes children had gotten what they asked for after all. "So what is it with the girl you like?"

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

"Tony hates me wearing heels because he thinks he's too compact next to me," she teased Tony chuckling a little. "No-one can be bigger than Iron Man though." She smiled knowing that she probably embarrassed her fiancé further but it had been too tempting. Besides it was Tony so she was allowed to annoy him back whether he liked it or not.

She looked at her fiancé and thought for a bit. "He looks a bit like that Sherlock Holmes actor without the mustache I think. Do you see it?", she asked her older sister curiously and even went so far to place her hand over his mouth so she could look at Tony without his famous beard. In all honesty Pepper didn't care too much about it. Sometimes she thought it was a little ridiculous how much he actually cared about it. But she did think without the beard he would look like that actor. Sometimes it made Tony even hotter. But only sometimes...
She sighed though as he went on about his intelligence. Part of her even wanted to protect her brother in law in this case. "Did you know that Cameron was the one to make sure the Avenger Initiative wouldn't be closed after you went to Siberia without permission?," she asked him and even added "I think he even made secretly sure that Stark Industries wouldn't get in trouble for what you did. There was a quick notion to stop us from researching on clean energy or at least forcing us to stop providing it to our customers." Pepper kept looking pointedly at Tony during her explanation and dropped her hand again. It was her way of telling him to watch his mouth. After all her mom had told them before that no fights on Christmas. That included Tony and Cameron as well.

Cameron rose his eyebrow and glanced at Stark. "Actually I haven't stolen anything from you. You should watch your records and perhaps showing up to your own company from time to time. When you would notice that I have nothing to do with the military and the state. I am not Hydra," he pointed out as the notion had come from the military itself and Senator Stern, who had turned out to be part of Hydra. "As far as I can remember, I even helped Pepper from time to time to close business deals which I am actually not allowed to do," he said and crossed his arms. He clearly would have none of the shit Tony threw his way.

Kate looked at both men and sighed exaggerated. She looked strict at them both telling them with just a glance it would be better to just shut up, now. Pepper was able to look at the press the same way her mother looked at both men right now. "We were about to exchange presents, weren't we? I would appreciate it that whatever differences you two might have to put them aside for the sake of Christmas," she told them with a warm voice but clearly she would have none of their shit.
Henry sat down next to his wife and looked curiously at everyone. He hadn't heard what was going on but he clearly would always back up Kate. "What she said," he told everyone and wrapped his arm around her.

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

Steve looked at Bucky and rose his eyebrow as he told him to simply go home. "Now, you're the one insane," he grumbled but gave a sigh. Perhaps he should simply accept his fate and for once let Bucky handle this alone. After all he knew Bucky could do just that. He didn't look too happy about that but still nodded "Fine. But if you don't show up till midnight, I'm going to search for you!" Steve clearly wouldn't negotiate about this. Either Bucky would agree to his conditions or he wouldn't and Steve would accompany him.

He looked after his best friends and took a rather complicated detour to their home as he went on and on until he was sure no-one followed him. Soon enough he was inside their home and gave Bucky four more hours or we would go out and search for the idiot.
 
Clint sorted the plates by size and frowned, when Laura asked him if he knew something. He wasn’t quite sure, but he had a suspicion. Laura wouldn’t like the fact that Tasha was in love with the man who had attacked her. But somehow there was a connection between the two of them and Clint had never seen her quite that... helpless. Natasha was by far the most controlled person he had ever met. She was a pro at seeming unaffected, no matter what happened. Sure, she had some feelings, but it had taken Clint a long time to actually recognize them on her indifferent face. Now he could read them pretty well, though and he knew that she was worried about something.

“I wouldn’t say that I’m completely sure...”, Clint mumbled, rubbing the back of his head, “But I think it’s Barnes. The two of them have a strange way of communicating. And they look at each other in that way...”
He shrugged and closed the dishwasher, before turning it on and sitting down on the kitchen counter.
“I think he got her pretty hard”, he continued and looked out the window, checking his parameters for absolutely no reason. It was just habit to always be prepared.
“Let’s see how that develops...”
With another shrug, he looked back at Laura and smiled.
“Would be good for her to have someone apart from us, you know? Someone she can be herself around.”

Outside, Cooper nodded and sat down on the motorcycle. He smiled a big smile and his eyes were as bright as the sun outside.
“Thanks, auntie Nat”, he spoke. One could see that that was definitely the best present he had gotten for Christmas, “But can you hide it for me? So Dad won’t find it? You’re a spy, after all, right? You can do that.”
The boy looked at her with hopeful eyes, “I can’t use it until I’m 18, so... it’ll have to stay somewhere else...”
He shrugged, just like his father and for a moment, Natasha could see Clint’s side shine through. The serious look that had captured Cooper’s face reminded of Clint’s facial expression when he was aiming.

“I don’t know about her”, he mumbled and lay down on the seat of the motorcycle, his hands behind his head, “She’s just pretty. And nice. But she doesn’t even notice me.”
Clint’s son stared up at the ceiling, wondering if this made any sense.
“So I finally managed to talk to her. And she gave me her number... But I lost the stupid piece of paper. And now I can’t call her!”
He sounded so frustrated. So damn desperate. It was almost like the end of the world to him.
“So what shall I do? I can’t tell her that I’ve lost her number. That’s embarrassing.”

———————————————

“Yeah, keep on kicking me, I’m down already”, Tony grumbled and got up to sit on a huge leather chair, which looked way more comfortable than the couch anyways, “I bet Mr Senator did that all to impress his wife. He hates me, I see it in his eyes. And you know what? No one takes me as a grown up man anyways. So why should he, right? Why should you?”
He looked at Gwyneth and then at Cameron.
“You know what, I don’t mind that the Avengers split up. I don’t mind that we had to sign those accords. In fact, I think it’s a good idea, to protect us from ourselves. God knows we need that.” He took a deep breath and his voice calmed down a little, though he still seemed quite upset about the whole topic.
“What I’m angry about is that we fell for a stupid joke and everyone believes it...”, he mumbled and looked down to the floor, “And that Steve is treated like a criminal. I mean, he’s an idiot and a traitor, but he’s not a criminal. He deserves better...”, the genius added quietly.

After his speech, Tony sat quietly and watched Gwyn hand out the presents. The first one was for Pepper. She smiled and handed her sister the small package, which contained a pink and a blue ribbon. Tony didn’t understand, but Pepper apparently did, because she smiled and Gwyneth chuckled: “Let’s see if they’ll fight over the pink one, too.”
Then Gwyeth got a new package and went on to her father, her mother and... Tony. The Iron Man was startled for a moment, when she put the present on his lap, so he could unpack it. He looked at Pepper, then at Gwyneth and his eyes lit up when he saw what was in there. Two really small shirts with a print on them: “My Dad’s a superhero”, he whispered and smiled, “Thanks...”
 
"You should offer your help if she's in trouble, Clint," she told her husband as he didn't elaborate for a moment. Laura frowned and looked at him unamused that he would allow Natasha to deal with her problems regarding Bucky on her own. Especially because the man seemed a little off to her. Barnes desperately needed help with something. But she wasn't sure what it was but heck that man better not touch any of her family ever again.
Laura turned quiet though as he continued to explain. It brought small smile to her lips as she thought that maybe Natasha wouldn't stay alone. The woman deserved all the happiness in the world even though the redhead believed otherwise. "Do you think they knew each other before she met you?", she asked him almost knowingly. After all it took more than some side glances on a battlefield to swoop Natasha Romanoff off her feet. Not just a bouquet of flowers and a bit of sweet-talk like it had been with her and Clint.
"You should still help her you know," she told him and elaborated after stepping between his legs "Play cupid you know... Like you said she deserves all the happiness in the world. For once she might need your help." Laura chuckles and goes on her tip toes so she can kiss Clint. "Sometimes you don't know you've been looking for things all your damn life until you have it and then you don't want to miss it another second any longer," she murmurs and smiles in love at her husband.

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

Natasha waved it off like it was nothing. She was able to provide a horse and a bike for Christmas so why shouldn't she? When she had been his age, she would've been more than happy about a piece of cake. But nowadays she was able to afford a lot of cake. So why shouldn't she buy other stuff. Who knew that killing bad guys outside of SHIELD could be so lucrative. Yet she made sure her targets really were the worst of the worst. So why shouldn't she make some profit out of it?
"Sure, I'll hide this beauty for you. If you want to visit me, feel free to do so, Coop. I can show you how to ride her," she tells him with a mischievous grin. The redhead loved showing Lila, Cooper and soon Nathan things what they probably wouldn't be allowed to do. In fact it was one of her favorite things to do at the Barton farm. "You're just like your father," she told Cooper honestly and ruffled his hair. The older Cooper got, the more he reminded her of Clint. After all both boys had the tendency to get in trouble for doing what they weren't supposed to do.

At the mention what happened with the girl's telephone number, Natasha rolled her eyes. He was just like Clint for sure. Heck Hawkeye also had the tendency to lose or forget important things. It had gotten the two in lots of troubles during missions before. "What's her name?", Natasha asked and slipped her phone out of her jeans.
With a sigh she told Cooper "As I see it you have two options: Either you give me a minute and I'll hack me into a system and get her phone number... Or you'll do it the old school way and send her a letter instead. It might take a day or two until she gets said letter. But believe me it's far more appreciated to get a love letter than one simple text. So what is it? You could also explain your misery in the letter and ask for her to send you a text. That way you'll get her phone number and be a little romantic. Just don't forget to write down your number." Asking her for her phone number that way might even be romantic and sneaky.

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

Pepper sighed and looked at him "I'm not kicking you. In fact I think that actor happens to be really funny and hot." She smiled at Tony and took his hand but he moved away to sit in the armchair. She sighed and stayed quiet as Tony simply went on to talk about that topic. Heck for once he really should learn when to shut it. It was Christmas and not some sort of court situation.

"Well, the moment the Accords were signed and Mister Rogers chose not to sign them and continue to act as Captain America was the moment he became a criminal. The Accords were written to hand the Avengers over to the UN but not everyone agreed. Mister Rogers will have to endure the procedure as long as he chooses not to face the consequences for his actions," Cameron simply replied and made a mental note not to help his sister in law in the future. It tended to get him into more troubles than it actually was worth. Besides apparently it wasn't even appreciated.

Pepper stared at both men and mumbled something incoherent as she tried to swallow her own anger over Tony's behavior. Heck that was definitely not what she wanted from this Christmas get together but she needed to endure it for now until she got to talk to Tony alone.
She took the offered present and smiled once she opened it. She chuckled and soon enough her anger was replaced by her tearing up. "Thank you!," she told her sister and got up to hug her tight. She placed a quick peck to her sister's cheek and cleared her voice to keep herself from crying. She bit nervously her lower lip and went to grab some presents as well. She handed one out to Tony which actually was a watch to add to his collection. But it had been a custom made one that featured the birth stones of their twins for the month that they supposed to get born.
Next were her parents and her sister ended up with a big present and Cameron with a smaller one. "From Tony and me," she elaborated as she was sure Tony forgot to actually get anyone a present. It was just one of his quirks just like he kept on forgetting her birthday.
For her sister she had made a little scrapbook containing most of their memories together and even a picture that seemed to be have snapped when she came over to visit them with Eden. Cameron on the other hand got a small Iron Man figurine, which seemed to actually be a collector's one. That one probably would even surprise Tony but Cameron was quite the Iron Man fan behind closed doors. That was why he kept helping Pepper to get Tony out of troubles. Eden got some designer clothes and a few toys from her aunt. Somehow it seemed like Pep had tried to compensate the lack of presents from her parents for the little girl. It was almost like Pepper had known that Gwyn probably wouldn't tell their parents about her niece.
 
After their lunch, the kids played a round of Uno with Tasha. Clint and Laura sat by and watched them get all furious and competitive. It was nice to have the whole family at one place.
Leaning back on the couch, he asked himself what the other Avengers were doing right now. He wondered if maybe he should have invited Pietro and Wanda, just to make sure that they got a warm meal at Christmas. But well, the guest room was taken and he didn’t really want Laura to feel forced into his debt that he owed that to the speedster boy. Though the two of them definitely needed somewhere to go to... He would talk to them about it. Maybe they could find a solution. But right now, he was just sitting there, relaxing. And watching his family play Uno. And he was relaxed and happy about that. He pecked his wife's ear and smiled.
"I could get used to having her around...", he mumbled and watched the kids and Natasha, "She'd be a great babysitter, too. And the kids love her..."
Clint knew that it was a stupid idea, to ask Natasha to stay, becasue she wouldn't do so anyways. But she needed someone around to talk to. Every time Clint left her alone for a few weeks, she slipped back into that emotionless, scared self that she had gotten rid of after she had joined SHIELD. Apparently, the fact that she had nothing to work on anymore messed with her head a lot more than she wanted to admit.

But there was another thing that had been bothering the archer for quite a while now. He had had the plan to invite the twins over for aome time, but he hadn't dared to ask Laura and the children, before they had actually gotten to know them. Well, now they had had a brief encounter and Clint still wasn't sure whether or not he should ask. He wasn't even sure if he should go looking for them, because it would scare them, if someone was on their tracks. They were fugatives, after all. With a sigh, Hawkeye kept all those thoughts to himself, gave in to that comfortable feeling of tiredness and leaned against his wife's shoulder.

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

It was getting dark outside. Gwyneth turned the lights on and cuddled up next to her husband, wrapped in a blanket, her baby on her arm. She smiled and watched the whole scenery around her, which was quite bizarre. After a few drinks, her Dad had started to open up a bit and he was now engaged in a vivid discussion with Tony, which had evolved around the fact that Mr Stark had dared to express a suspicion to why the oldtimer outside didn't start it's engine anymore. Finally, after a few ambitious sentences and words, which seemed like total nonsense to her, the two men got up and put their jackets on to proove a point: Tony wanted to show Henry that he could do it, Henry wanted to show Tony that he had tried every possible solution already.

The two engineers went outside through the front door, which left Cameron alone with the three ladies. With a short glance, Gwyneth reassured herself that it was the right time to talk about it now. Because it definitely was now or never. The older Potts daughter looked at her sister with a glance that pretty much indicated that she was about to drop a bomb.
"Ginny...", she started and looked at the woman, who still was a little girl to her. It would always be the way she saw her little sister, even though they were both grown up now.
"I don't mean to be rude or anything, but you know that Tony suffers from severe PTSD, right?", she straight forwardly spit it out. Popping a question like that was the most probable way to get an honest answer.

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

Sam had spent Christmas alone. It had been a day like every other one: Morning run through the snow, hot shower, some work and then he had placed himself in front of the TV to watch a christmas movie. The grinch was one of his favorite ones, for whatever reason and he feared that if he went on watching it another two years, he would know the dialogues by heart. Still, he enjoyed himself with some hot chocolate with rum and a huge pack of gingerbread.

At exactly 20:34, he yawned a huge yawn and scratched his tummy, as his phone started to ring and he sat up straight. Damn, couldn't they leave him alone? It was Christmas!!
Still, somewhat out of compassion to the poor sould who was calling him, probably to get some comforting words, he picked up the phone and sighed.
"Yeah, Wilson?"
 
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