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Fandom Red and Blue (Marvel RP)

"No, I don't know where he is. I thought he was with you.", Laura told Clint with a shrug not really worrying where her son had went. It was normal occurrence as their children loved running around on their property and taking care of the animals. But they knew as soon as it got dark, they needed to get back or else they were in trouble. Mostly the hunger just made them return sooner or later. "Well, unlike you, not all of us enjoy "improving" the house all the time, Clint.", she mocked him in a friendly manner and rolled her eyes as his fingers got too near to the knife. "Seriously, one would think you learned your lesson with the bow! You're going to lose your hand one day! I'm not going to drive you to the hospital.", she lectured him unnerved and looked at him for a moment.
"You're just trying to distract me to steal all the tomatoes!", she accused him but a smile spread over her lips at the compliment. Laura wasn't really able to stay mad at her husband for long. Of course, Clint knew that and sometimes it felt like he really was testing his boundaries. Like when he had left for Captain Rogers to fight alongside them instead of staying with his family like he had promised after Sokovia. "Complimenting won't distract me this time, Clinton Francis Barton!", she told him and rose the knife to stress her point. "But you're lucky today. I'm feeling rather generous towards you.", she told him gently and kissed him.

Her gaze quickly went to where the guest room was located. "I don't know if she's still sleeping. We both know that she's unusual quiet even when she's awake and feeling fine. So who knows...?", Laura answered knowing how Natasha was able to sneak up to everyone and scare them. That woman just moved like a cat and made no noise. "Hmmm... Perhaps you can go check on her and see if she's awake. If so, tell her dinner's ready in 30 and she's very welcomed after my husband has prepared the table. And if she's sleeping, wake her and tell her anyways. She'll come by and she needs to eat something. I think the poor thing needs a bit time to herself while knowing that we're there for her.", Laura told Clint and gave him a kiss "Oh and don't stay away too long. You still have a table to prepare for dinner. You're not getting your lazy butt out of this."

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Natasha was lying awake in her bed. So far she had acted to be asleep each time someone had opened the door. She knew the Barton's only wanted to help but she still hadn't been able to get up and greet them properly. There was just a certain amount of happiness that was required to be near them and she couldn't fake it. Natasha was too tired for that. It was almost like she was a little lethargic.

The door opened once more and she closed her eyes, evening out her breath like she had taught herself years ago. But a set of tiny feet entered the room anyways. "I know you're awake, Aunty Nat.", Lila told her and went to open her windows so sunshine was finally able to flood the room and some fresh air entered the room. "Dad's making me help him with improving the house. But I don't want to so I went to you. He won't be mad if I go to you.", the little girl told Natasha and had a fit of giggles. The blond climbed into the bed and lied down next to the redhead. Nat sighed and wrapped her arm around the girl with a smile. "How can I help you than, princess?", she asked to which Lila instantly answered "Hide me from daddy!"
Natasha looked at Lila and shook her head amused. The two girls talked for a little and Lila had even persuaded Nat into reading a story out loud as steps could be heard. "Quick!", Lila squealed and hid under Natasha's duvet in hopes her dad wouldn't find her.
 
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Clint smiled when he heard them talk from outside. The voice of his daughter had been way too loud to ignore it. So Tasha was awake already, good. He knocked and entered the room.
"Hey...", he said, observing her face with his glances, "Did you sleep well?"
She didn't look like, but maybe he was just paranoid. On the other hand, she had never slept that long... Maybe she had tricked him. The next thing he noticed was the small bump next to Natasha's hip, right under the blanket. He grinned and acted like he didn't know where his daughter was hiding.
"Laura says you should come downstairs and eat with us. What do you think? I mean, you can't sit in here all day..."
He saw it in her face, she wasn't ready to play happy family now. But Clint was almost certain that it woud cheer her up, so he went on trying to convince her.
"Come on, the kids wanna see you. And I'm sure Nate would like to get to know the woman behind that mysterious voice which called him a traitor", he begged, "Come on, Tasha. A little family hasn't harmed anyone."
The bump under the blanket moved a little, crawled downwards. Clint did his best not to sound amused, not in the slightest.
"Oh and do you have any idea where Lila could be...?"
He watched the bump freeze.
"I was almost sure I had heard her voice in here... But I guess I'm just getting old... You know, hearing voices...", he claimed, shrugging, A shame, actually. The food is almose done..."
Waiting for a reaction, the proud father leaned against a wall.
"So, are you coming down?"
 
Natasha looked after the small girl and sighed. She seemed to carefree compared to how Natasha had been in her age. As a child she hadn't wanted to be anything than a prima one day. That was until the Red Room sent her off to the Bolshoi ballett with implanted memories. She believed that she had grown up to become one of the best primas in Mother Russia. To make her country and parents proud. She was to marry the Red Guardian, one of Russia's best pilots. But something had always felt off and she didn't remember what it was anymore. Suddenly her mindset had changed and she knew it had been wrong. Her passion for the dance had been long gone but she still enjoyed dancing ballett from time to time. It helped her relax and move quietly. She still trained ballett but not with the same passion anymore. The redhead had eventually given up to the fate that she was never becoming a prima.

"Well, it's definitely more quiet here than in New York.", she said and eventually sat up "Except for that idiot, who keeps on hammering and whistling. Someone needs to tell that man not to craft things. I also hear that he's using child labor to help him. That's really unacceptable." She smiled weakly at Clint and hear a giggle coming from the bump next to her hip. The giggle made Nat want to facepalm herself. She knew the girl was way too obvious anyways. But the giggle had really been unnecessary.

He went on and on about her her eating dinner with them. A big part of her wanted to decline but she also didn't want to be rude. After all Clint had dragged her bottom all the way from New York to his farm. Natasha didn't want to see ungrateful but deep down she knew it might help her. Even her visit from Lila had turned out more pleasant than she had actually thought. The little bump was too amusing and she could tell that Clint was actually amused by her visitor as well.

At the question of where his daughter was, Natasha first felt relieved. It spared her an answer to his initial question. "I don't know where she is. Haven't seen anyone so far. But in case I'll see the little Barton, I'm going to tell her that she needs to report for duty.", Natasha replied easily. The lie slipped from her lips like she was really telling the truth. Not telling her father where she was earned her a warm hug on the legs from Lila. This actually brought a genuine smile to her lips as her gaze casted downwards to the point where her legs were entangled with the small bump. "If I see her though, I'll tell her that dinner's almost ready and that she's expected downstaris.", she replied and almost sighed as he once again spoke about her own attendance "S'ppose I'll come downstairs. What's the worse to happen? The traitor throwing mashed potatoes into my hair? Just give me 10 minutes to shower and stuff..."
 
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"Hey! That's renovating!", Clint exclaimed, playing insulted, "And it's not child labor, it's payback for all the years they didn't let us sleep!"
He made some uncoordinated movements with his hand, "BUUUT whatever."
Natasha's internal facepalm made Clint chuckle quietly. He shrugged, his facial expression telling Natasha how irrelevant it was for Lila to be able to hide properly. At least he didn't have any trouble finding his daughter when it got serious like that.

The retired agent nodded eventually and went downstairs.
"Lila could at least help me fix the table....", he complained, before leaving.
At least Cooper was there to help set the table. The two men joked around and threw wet sponges at each other, looking for shelter behind the couch, the kitchen counter and doors. Soon, the whole living room floor was wet. Looking up from behind a chair, Clint jumped up and sprinted into the kitchen, followed by Cooper and a very wet piece of fabric, which missed him half an inch. With a competitive expression on his face, he fired back. With a loud 'squash' the sponge landed in Cooper's face. At first the boy didn't know whether to cry or laugh, but he soon decided to do the latter. He picked up the sponge and came for his Dad, looking pretty determined to hit him this time. And he wouldn't have failed, hadn't there been a pan right next to the older Barton's left hand. Clint took the pan, the sponge flew like a homerun ball and landed... in Nathanael's face. The baby, who had been carried around by his mother, took a deep breath and started screaming on top of his lungs. Clint immediately put the pan back onto the counter, standing there in shock, while Cooper hid behind his father.
"We didn't mean to...", Clint tried to justify their behavior, while Nate still screamed.
 
"That was voluntarily! No-one forced you two to do that!", she told him with a raised eyebrow. "You are old enough to know the consequences of what results from doing such a thing. Babies scream. That's their thing and the exact reason why I don't want any. So pull yourself together, Barton.", she told him and chuckled as he waved his hands like that. "Cannot tell her to help you, if I don't know where she is.", she said and chuckled a little knowing she had just saved Lila from doing some house course. Natasha got up herself and ushered the girl out of her room so she'd be able to get dressed and finally get a shower.


"You didn't mean to...", Laura muttered her breath and took a deep breath. Almost instantly she grabbed the sponge and threw it into the sink before drying Nathaniel's face. "You didn't mean to, my butt, Clint!", she told her husband challenging Nathaniel’s screaming. She looked at her baby and tried to coo him into relaxing again. It was more than obvious that she was fed up by now. She looked at Cooper and pointed at the dining table.


"Sit down, now! No more running, screaming or anything. We have guests and I want all of you to behave properly. That also includes dad! Especially dad! I don't care if it's Aunt Nat but you two freaking behave for the rest of the day or else I'll have you mop the whole house and I don't want to hear any of that!", she said and watched her son reluctantly walk over before she faced her husband.


“You think fighting freaking AI robots is bad then you don’t know how it is to fight with me! I don’t even say a word when you think it’s time to play superhero again. But this is enough Clint! First our son almost burns down our home then he impales your hand and has the shock of a lifetime. Then we have a paranoid genius at our home leaving his girlfriend behind from time to time. Now, we have a depressed assassin as our guest and it’s okay. She’s family. But you don’t play freaking sponge fights with our son! I don’t care what you think this is! It’s not a fucking battle field!”, she spoke cold and was interrupted by Lila jumping down the stairs as she chimed in a singsong voice “Mom said a bad word. Mom said a bad word.”

Laura closed her eyes taking a deep breath and counting to ten "Take a seet, princess." She turned to Clint and shoved Nathaniel into his chest so he had no choice but to take the crying baby "He's your child,now, and you better clean the living room later. ALONE!"

To that Natasha walked down quietly and placed one of her smiles on her lips. It came easy to her despite of the obvious tension. Her hair was wet and she looked better than she had the day before after getting some sleep and a good shower. Still Natasha was more than aware that she had looked better before. "Hello Laura.", she spoke friendly despite of how she had talked to Clint. "It's good to see you. Thanks for the dinner by the way. It smells delicious." She gave the archer a glance and quietly told him to take a seat to not make matters worse.
 
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The dinner went down quietly, only Natasha and Lila talking and Nate still sniffing from time to time, pulling off the hurt baby show.
Cooper and Clint were quiet. Cooper because he knew exactly that the next step his mother would take was make him do a huge amount of chores and Clint because he was feeling guilty. The last time Laura had shouted at him like that, it had been because Clint had kept his job secret from her for a while. But that was long ago and he hated to say that, but the distance had made things way easier. Since he was here all the time again, there was more to discuss, more disagreements, more to fight about. But he loved Laura and they would manage. They always had.
And just as the silence got hard to take, Clint's phone rang. He looked at Laura, searching for permission in her glance so he could get up and take that call. She didn't react, and since he knew how important the family meal was to Laura, he stayed seated and finished dinner. Usually it took about a day for Laura to calm back down when she had one of her moralistic seizures. That hadn't been much of a problem when he had to leave anyways, but now that he was here and would stay, a day seemed awfully long in her silence. So he tried it the old way: He cleaned up the table, the kitchen and sat down with the kids to do something productive, as homework. His phone kept on ringing and after the fifth time he finally decided to pick up.
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Tony sat on the couch, feeling miserable. He was fighting his urge to drink with all his strength, but the pictures kept on coming back. Steve, trying to kill him, the Winter Soldier killing his mother, his father hitting him. It had only been one or two times, but enough for him to know he wasn't wanted. He reached for his phone. He needed to call someone, to talk to someone. Get away from his feelings. He was one click away from hearing Pepper's voice... only one click...
And also one click away from losing her. She needed her alone time, he knew that by now. And annoying her would only make things worse. She didn't seem to be happy with the situation, not at all. And oh, how Tony wanted to show her that he wasn't either, that he really WANTED that child! He wanted a family, he wanted her to be a mother and she deserved to have a family. But what if he messed up? What if he was just like him, or worse?! What if something happened to the child, Pepper or both of them? What if something happened to him? He couldn't leave them alone in this. And he couldn't stop saving the world. What if it was destroyed and he could have done something?
His hands shivering, he dialed the number of the only person he knew would try to comfort and might even understand him. But Clint didn't pick up. Tony's first reaction was panic. Had anything happened? Had there been trouble?
The panic lead to another call. Then he realized that the archer was probably just spending time with his family and he was ashamed of himself. After five minutes, he called him again, though. And again. He really needed advice from someone who knew about pregnant women and family life. And there was no one better than Clint. He also understood the danger a family like that was in.

When Clint finally picked up, Tony was close to desperation, so Clint had to calm him at first.
"I have something to tell you", Tony said, "But I... can I come over?"
That was a question, which made Clint question his loyalty. He had a short discussion with himself, then he told the desperate Iron Man to wait for a few minutes. He would call him back. Preparing for a verbal punch, he looked for Laura, to explain the situation.
"Hey, Laura... Can I talk to you, just for a second?", he asked, waiting for her to hate him, "Tony just called and..."
It was clearly visible how worried Clint was, how he was trying to ask her to take in another guest... like a boy who was asking to keep another hurt animal he had found on the street.
"He didn't sound good at all, can we just... he asked if he could come over and I have the feeling it's really urgent this time... Laura, I..."
He looked down.
"I know, you have a lot to do... with the kids, and the house and everything and I know I can be a little... unhelpful at times. But he's really not well and I'm afraid he'll snap or do something really stupid so... I just..."
He looked at her with so much love and affection, begging, pleading her to help him protect his friends or at least understand it.
 
Laura looked up as she heard her name being called. She looked at him expectantly as he asked to talk to her. "What is it?", she asked easily and her face fell a bit as Clint talked about getting another guest. She knew that her husband really wanted to take care of everyone but normally it was okay. But there were certain times she needed to intervene. "Well, he can take care of the lawnmower. It makes strange noises.", she said and continued "Perhaps Tony might even be able to make it work on itself." She looked at him giving her agreement. She sighed and placed her hand on his shoulder "Ask him over. But...but make sure it doesn't get out of hand! I know they're your friends but family should always come first.", she told him sounding somewhat understanding. She knew of his habit to take him strays but at one point enough is enough. Laura had always loved that part of him but sometimes it really got onto her nerves despite of her encouraging this side of him.

"He'll come over to take a look on the lawnmower.", she nodded in agreement than looked at her husband seriously raising her finger in a lecturing manner. "But you won't touch the lawnmower. God forbid if I really had to drive you to the hospital one day because you cannot stop improving a perfect house!"
 
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Oh, how he wanted to protest! The house needed so many things more to be perfect. Instead he just nodded and hugged her, kissed her and gently tapped her butt.
"You're just my perfect wife... ", he grinned, looking at her seductively, "Thanks, Laura. I'm sorry I'm so childish..."
He honestly and really was sorry. He loved her. So much.

Five minutes later, the Iron Man landed on the lawn in front of the house. It had been the first time in three months he had touched the suit... But it still felt terrible to be in there. All those memories of his best friend, that traitor, trying to kill him. And that for what? The protection of a man who had killed Tony's mother and probably dozens more? Was that fair? In all honesty, he didn't know.
Cooper Barton was the first one to notice the arrival. He ran outside with his mouth wide open, staring at Mr Stark. He sneaked closer, looking at the robot who had landed in their garden. Remembering what their mother had told them a some time ago, he ran inside quickly, picked up his brother and hid him and himself under the kitchen table. Robots were bad, really bad. And they were coming for them to kill Daddy.
"Be quiet, Nate...", he told his little brother, holding his head down, "They're here to kill us..."
But Nate didn't get what his brother was telling him. He just wanted to see what was going on outside. So he started to protest when Cooper held him down, trying to save him. The screaming of the baby boy alarmed the whole house, even Tony. And he came inside, his suit slowly transforming back to unseen metal under his clothes.
"Clint?!", he called out.
 
Natasha watched Cooper race past her and she walked over to the boy. Instead of asking what he was doing with Nathaniel she did something very unusual for her and took a seat under the table as well. "From what are we hiding from?", she asked the older boy not knowing that Stark was to arrive. She had certainly picked up that someone was coming for a visit but she hadn't picked up who yet. Or else she might have left herself to act like she wasn't at the Barton's farm. She looked as forward to seeing Stark as she was to seeing Rogers or Barnes. "I might be of assistance here. Kicked your dad's butt so hard once that he fell to the ground unconscious. Believe me he deserved it. He was soooo annoying. I'm sure you can relate?", she tried to joke trying to ease the tension.

Laura heard Nate cry again and she felt like face palming herself. It felt like just five minutes ago that he had stopped crying. Eventually she passed Tony on the way to the kitchen and sighed. "Would you be a darling and leave the suit outside? The kids don't particularly react well to robots since Clint left for Sokovia.", she explained first before pulling him into a motherly hug, which she had grown a habit of ever since Clint decided to adopt miserable superheroes. "It's good to see you though. Do you want something to drink? Clint will be right here." She said and released him from her warm embrace. "Oh and please ignore Nate. I'm sure someone has just played a trick on him like an hour ago. Unfortunately the little man doesn't react well to them yet."
 
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The robot thing was probably the worst thing Laura could have said. Now it all came back at once. It was his fault, he had gone too far. He had nearly destroyed his home, killed thousands. And for what? His paranoia? Maybe he really needed help there. Maybe he should love for a therapist. But one he could trust...? And who would listen to him? He didn't even listen to himself most of the time. The hug was uncomfortable, after she had basically told him that he traumatized her children. It still was something. Safety, he was welcome... Or was he? And where was Clint?

"The robots...", Cooper explained to Natasha meanwhile, "They've come to get Daddy... But Daddy's gonna kick their asses!"
He looked at her with a single wrinkle on his forehead.
"So you're stronger than Daddy...?", he asked, growing insecure, "So Daddy's not strong enough to fight the robots?"
He tried to pull his baby brother back into their hideout, but Nate protested with a loud "NOOOO!" and an uncoordinated punch on Coopers nose.
"Help me....", the older boy begged Natasha, really fearing for his life, "He'll die... I dont want him to die... He's my brother..."
When they heard voices from the living room, Cooper got all quiet, listening. He was internally observing the situation. If his mom talked to the robot, it probably was a nice one. One that wasn't dangerous at all... Or his mother just distracted the robot, so Dad could escape. Anyways, he couldn't risk anything. With a quick movement he was gone, sneaking upstairs.
"Lila...", he whispered, "Lila, where are you...? It's a code red...."
He knew that word from a spy movie he had watched. And it didn't mean anything good. He needed to protect his Dad, and the only way to do that was...
 
"Hey, hey, hey...", she spoke gently and started to usher him towards the kitchen. "How about you sit down in the kitchen and I make you a cup of kakao. My kids swear that the beverage helps with litereally everything.", she spoke motherly and didn't even wait for him to agree. "It's a funny timing you have. You're the third superhero friend we have here", she randomly told him and went to continue "Has Clint told you that he finally finished the cages for the rabbits? Don't tell him I told you but I'm actually impressed by how it turned out. It definitely looks better than some other works he has done on our property. Plus the bunnies are rather cute despite of the fact that I have even more things to take care of now." She smiled at him and warmed some of their fresh milk on the stove. She smiled to herself and once the milk was warm she filled it into a mug and added kakao as well as marshmallows. "Do you want to tell me what happened or Clint? Just so you know they say I'm really good listener and offer better advices than my husband.", she told him and took a seat next to the genius.

Natasha looked confused at first than it clicked. Cooper was talking about Stark's Ultron. It had been bad but in truth she hadn't thought about how it must've had an impact on Clint's children. Almost loosing their father, if it hadn't been for Pietro. She shook the thought off and was abotu to reach out for Cooper just as he slipped away to sneak upstairs. She sighed and collected Nathaniel. "Shall we go upstairs and see what your brother is up to?", she offered and carried him upstairs to look for the two other Barton children. "What's code red?", she asked curiously and followed Cooper. "Listen Cooper, I know...what has happened was horrible. But those robots in particular are all destroyed. Thanks to your father. Nothing will happen to the three of you or your father, alright? Even if there was one left, I wouldn't...wouldn't let that thing get near Clint. I owe him too much for not stepping in, okay?", she told him and took his hand for sneaking further. "I don't know what you saw but shall we check it together? You know sometimes it's easy to mistake something for anything else. It happens to all of us - even me.", she tried to console the boy.
 
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Tony sipped the kakao and stared into the distance. He kept thinking about how things would have been if he hadn't created Ultron, if he had just done as the others had told him. It was too late now, but he couldn't help but fantasize... maybe this all wouldn't have happened.
Laura kept babbling about her kids and the bunnies and Clint. How close they were to each other, how much they knew about the other one... it was almost creepy.
He stared at something far in the distance, something that didn't really exist, he didn't listen to her. It was bad enough that Pepper was disappointed. But what should he have done? Lied? He shook his head, slowly but surely drifting into another universe, where he fought Steve again. He didn't even notice that Laura asked him a question, he just stared into nothing, the pictures passing in front of his eyes. A flashback, anotherone. His Iron Legion attacking the team. HIS robots, who were built to protect, not to destroy. Then Steve ripping off a part of his suit, leaving Tony vulnerable, as the Winter Soldier watched. His best friend alongside the villain, it was like a bad dream. And he couldn't get out of it, it just repeated again and again. Then, there was a hiss. Tony knew the sound, it was the string of a bow sliding back in its normal position, just the moment when he realized that Cooper was standing on the stairs, holding his father's bow, aiming.... at him!!
A slight movement of the air in front of him, a vague figure that appeared, but was gone way too quickly, just too fast for a human eye to see. The arrow was gone and Cooper confused. Tony stared at the boy, the glove of his suit on his right hand, holding it up in Cooper's direction, but unable to activate the repulsor. He was breathing heavily as the boy realized what he had done... while outside the house an explosion was heard, as the bomb arrow detonated and Clint came in, looking at his son in complete terror. The silence was unbearable, they all were shocked, their hearts beating as hell.
"Cooper!!"
Clint sprinted toward the boy and took the bow away.
"What the HECK were you thinking?! That's not a toy!!"
Tony slowly lowered his hand, still alarmed, but relaxing a little.
"He wanted to kill you, Daddy...", Cooper cried, tears in his eyes. Clint took him into his arms.
"That's just Tony, Coops... he's not killing anyone...", he said, comforting him, "It's okay, he's my friend..."
 
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Laura watched Tony as her words eventually ebbed away. She frowned over his small head shake and eventually fell quiet. She wondered where her husband was as the silence eventually felt strange. It wasn't like she didn't like silences but the one that had settled in between the two. She knew that kind of silence it was the one that had settled in her home after Clint had finally showed up after what had happened in New York. It was a dark silence that mostly took all happiness.
Her gaze went over to her son sneaking down the stairs to the kitchen. With a frown she saw the bow. But it was too late as her heart beat drummed in her ears. Clint would hear the last of it. She had slipped it the first time but demanded of him to lock the weapon away. It was no toy she had told him. "Cooper, don't!", she told her son firmly but the string already slipped through the boy's finger. Before she knew what was happening the arrow exploded outside and she was standing in front of her son in a protective manner. She stared at the billionaire ready to take the blow, which never came. She stared at Tony almost challenging him to shoot as she stood like a shield in front of her son while Clint sprinted over. "Take him upstairs. NOW!", she told Clint firmly. Her voice was thin almost pressed as Stark lowered his hand. But it was more than obvious that she didn't tolerate any no from any of the people inside her kitchen. "And for once and for all lock your bow and arrows away. The next time I see anyone walking around with those things, I will single handedly make sure that I destroy them! Have I made myself clear, Clinton?"

Her gaze went cold as she looked at Stark. "Now to you.", she said stepping closer. "I know you went through a lot and blah blah. But you come here into our home for solace. So I expect of you to never ever raise your suit towards my children. If you do that one more time, you are not welcomed anymore! I don't care how many times you will call my husband but that was it, understood?", she spoke still sounding reasonable but it was clear that she was angry at both Stark and her husband. It probably wasn't fair towards the genius but he had just threatened her son's life over something like this. Yes, the bow and arrow shouldn't have lied around and she would have her own word with Clint about that. But threatening her son's life after traumatizing him was simply unacceptable.



Natasha was with both Lila and Nate looking for Cooper upstairs as the explosion went off. Both children had started crying and the redhead felt overwhelmed. The explosion itself didn't startle her or fazed her at all. It was usual business to her but what should she do with both children. If something happened to them... Natasha was sure that neither Clint nor Laura would forgive her. "Come with me...", she said taking Lila's hand as she made sure the girl was shielded by her body. She walked over to the window while her body stayed away from clear side. Just like the redhead had learned so many years ago she took in the scenery without making herself known. There was nothing unusual except for the dark smoke making it's way to the sky. She counted to thirty in her head to make sure there was nothing. Afterwards she crouched down to make Lila look at her. "We two are going to play a game.", she said firmly and continued "it's probably rather boring but you are going to hide with Nathaniel inside the closet of my room. It is very important for you to stay there until I'm back. If you two manage to be as quiet as possible you will get the biggest ice cream in town with me tomorrow, alright?", she offered hoping that Lila would understand how important that was. "What-what is going on?", she asked and Natasha continued "I will explain in a bit but first the game" The little girl nodded intimidated and sobbed as Natasha ushered her in the guest room and placed them both behind some clothes. "You two are so brave, Lila. Even more brave than I am.", she whispered pressing a kiss to each of their foreheads. "In case I'm going to shout the word blue at the top of my lungs it is very important that you run as long and fast as you can outside the house into that direction. I'm going to find you.", she said and before they protested Natasha closed the door of the closet.
Her heart was beating fast as adrenaline rushed through her veins. It was a good sign as it made the redhead hyper aware of her surroundings and faster. She quietly sneaked down the stairs of the kitchen only to find Cooper with Clint as the older Barton held his bow. Laura was lecturing Stark and that was when it clicked. "The robot...", she mumbled making the first time known that she was there. The redhead stared at Stark paling a bit. It brought up memories she didn't want to face. "Is everyone alright?", she asked louder sounding like it all didn't bother her.
 
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Tony stood there, still breathing heavily. Laura said something, but that didn't reach his mind. He just nodded, hearing his hear beat in his ears. The boy had tried to shoot him, but all he had seen were his scared eyes. The will to protect his family. From him.
"It's better if I leave again. I don't wanna hurt anyone..."
Thise words came so easily. He wanted to stay, he really wanted to. But if it meant scaring everyone...


Pietro leaned against the wall of the barn, as the explosion went off. The pressure wave moved his silver hair.
"Here I am", he grinned, sending mental pictures of what happened to his sister, "How can someone be that stupid? Aiming at a child."
He had a piece of meat in his hand. One he had taken from the kitchen because it had looked so delicious. Now he took a bite and enjoyed it.
"It's almost like the boy nearly killed Stark. Can you imagine that?"
He sat down on the floor, his breath calming again. Another bit of meat in his mouth. He chewed.
"I mean, we knew he was fucked up, but THAT fucked up? Did you see that coming?"
He smirked, closing his eyes and enjoying the last sun rays over the farm.
"This place is interesting. So quiet."
Wanda could see how he had been locked up in a room for a few days, to make sure he wouldn't run right back to her. His death had to seem final. Pietro's memories about that place were horrifying, soaked in claustrophobia, anger and loneliness. But there was a lot he didn't show her.

Inside, Clint had come downstairs again, his bow still in his hand. He looked at Laura with a firm glance.
"The bow and the arrows were in the closet, the closet was locked. But he broke it open. I have no idea how, but he did." He sighed. "I'm sorry, Laura. I'll buy a safe."
He hugged his shivering wife and kissed her forehead.
"I'm so sorry. Come here."
He was completely calm, but at the way his voice lowered and he held her tight, she knew that he had been afraid, too.
 
Laura stared at Stark her temper still rising and she shook. Fear for her son and what could've happened still shook her. "You're going to sit right there.", she shoved Stark unceremonial on his butt so he was seated at their table. "Drink your cacao", she ordered gesturing at his still full mug and added "and next time leave your freaking suit out of our property. Use your feet or whatever! I don't care. But don't you ever dare to threaten any of my children ever again, Stark!" She didn't even hear her husband coming back again and talking. That was until he hugged her and she almost jumped. "He-he almost...", she whispered and her voice broke. Laura hugged her husband tightly and just allowed her nerves to calm down.

Natasha watched the whole scene walked up to the other Barton kids to collect them and walk with them to Cooper. She had a feeling it was better not to leave Cooper alone now. Showing him that everything was alright would be the best. At least that's what she would've wanted in his age. But the Red Room never offered solace.

Wanda was left confused as Pietro suddenly didn't stand next to her. Of course she guessed that he had started running to god knows where. It didn't worry her. This was the twin brother, she knew and loved. But the explosion startled her. Almost made her scared and she hated to admit but she wasn't ready to lose him a second time. She wouldn't survive a second time thinking her brother had died. Wanda hadn't stopped grieving as one day he suddenly stood in her room. It was almost like a miracle.
"I cannot believe I forgot how freaking stupid my brother is!", she retorded as she walked over where he was she was fuming. Wanda stared at the back of her brother's head and slapped it. "I bet you didn't see that coming!", she imitated him and waved her hands around. "Look Wanda, I'm so great. I take freaking exploding arrows into my hand so I can act like I'm the coolest whilst I'm the biggest idiot on earth.", she said and rolled her eyes, crossing her arms in front of her chest. She sent daggers his way until she felt the same loneliness and claustrophobic feeling from before. It was like almost instantly her anger was gone and her gaze softened. The way her brother had felt scared her to death. She had mourned his death but he had...she couldn't help him. She walked over to him and slapped his arm friendly. "Hey, you're here now. With me.", she told him firmly hoping to remove him from the melancholy.
 
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Pietro reacted a little shocked, as his sister hit him. But in return, he was gone again and something hit her from behind. It was a piece of dirty, old fabric, probably drenched in oil. He laughed and finally finished his piece of meat.
Shall we go in? Or shall we wait until night?
He didn't really say that question out loud, but he knew she'd understand.
"OH THAT SUNSHINE!", he exclaimed instead, "Why don't we live here? The old man could use some help and we don't have to hide."
Since Pietro had escaped from the SHIELD agents guarding him, he was on the run. They were wandering from hotel room to hotel room, had been really close to getting caught a few times. But Pietro had been faster.
"But if Stark is here, can we do that? He could snitch us."
Pietro was gone again, but came back a second later.
"Now everyone's shocked. Like something terrible happened", he told her, standing around like statues... or did I run too fast?"
He grinned and looked at his shoes.
"I need new ones."


Clint was caressing his wife's back, his forehead placed on hers.
"I know... but nothing happened... Everyone's fine...", he tried to calm her. But was he only trying to convince her or also himself? He wasn't sure about that, but it didn't matter. Tony was sitting at the table, staring at his mug. He slowly got up and started taking the parts of his suit off, which were only small metal rings on his arms, legs and around his waist. He threw them all onto the floor, then sat down again, visibly uncomfortable. Clint watched and felt really bad for him. He knew how it felt to let go of a weapon that had become a part of him.
But his wife was right. Aiming at the child with his repulsor really hadn't been necessary.

Upstairs, Cooper clinged onto Natasha's arm.
"I used your lock picking trick, Nat.", he explained, "Daddy's bow was locked away... and I didn't know it was Tony." He looked like a puppy who had eaten all the meat from the table. "I thought it was one of the robots, who were trying to kill him. But... the arrow vanished! It just... VANISHED!"
His eyes grew bigger when he kept talking.
"I aimed at him, and it was there, the beep, like, aim fixed. And I shot. But it didn't hit him! And the window didn't break either!"
It was something he just couldn't wrap his mind around and that made little Barton even more curious.
"I mean, how can that be?!"
 
Wanda looked shocked as something hit her on the back of her head. "Pietro!", she called out accusing him and sighed. "This makes me wish you were dead again!", she mocked him in a manner that he knew it wasn't the truth. No matter how annoying her older brother was, she would never want to have him not by her side anymore. It was only when you lost something so dear to you that you actually realized how much it meant to you. She might curse her brother but he was still her twin and other half.
At the mention of Stark snitching them, her eyes turned red and the red mist surrounded her hands. "He won't dare.", she simply stated clearly in a protective manner and continued "The moment he talks to SHIELD is his last one." After all he wasn't the only one on the run from SHIELD. She hadn't told her brother about what had happened after Berlin only that she had been prisoner if it wasn't for Rogers. They had put her into a straightjacket and chained away in fear she would use her talents. It had been one of the worst time of her life even when they had collapsed in the destroyed building. Yet she hadn't told Pietro, she didn't worry him. He had enough to on his mind with what SHIELD had done to him. Once he was back again, she took his hand firmly into hers to make him stand for a moment. "I think we should go in probably. Even if it's just so the child doesn't get in trouble.", she spoke.

Laura hugged her husband tightly. It was unusual for her but she needed a moment to collect herself. Usually she was the calmness in person but her son almost killing all of them or dying himself was enough to set her off. "I know...", she whispered and continued "We were lucky once again, Clint... Just...Just put that goddamn bow away. I don't want to see it here again. Not within this week at least." Eventually she let go off her embrace on him.

Natasha blinked and held the boy close. She was seated with the Barton children around her. She was unsure of what to say. Babysitting and children wasn't her forte. It just reminded her of something that she'd never be able of having. Still Laura's and Clint's kids were the closest thing she had to having own children. "It's okay, Coop... Everyone's just shocked, alright?", she tried to comfort him. Her face paled as he mentioned it had been her pick locking skills to help him. So eventually it was her fault. It had been a silly thing to teach him something to annoy Clint but she had never expected it to cause such a thing. At the mention of the vanishing arrow she shrugged. "I don't know... Guess we should question the luck, huh? Everything turned out fine after all."
 
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The vanished arrow still didn't leave Cooper alone. It had been flying toward the robot. Why hadn't it hit him?! And how in the universe did it get outside without smashing a window? He kept talking about it, forming theories about how that could have happened, but nothing seemed to fit. He also talked about it to Lila, but his sister wasn't very helpful. She just assumed it were fairies, or maybe a guardian angel. She even told him a story about those little people, who helped when people were in trouble.
"No! That's not scientific!", he shouted at her when she reassured him for the fourth time that it had been a fairy who was protecting the innocent. That seemed to make his sister angry.
So, to avoid another reason for his Mom to be angry, he left and went to his room, where he drew something. After some time, he was tired and went to bed. That wasn't the usual thing he would do, but today had been too exhausting.

While Clint was telling Lila a bedtime story, Tony and Laura were still sitting at the table. Tony had finished his cacao and was a little more relaxed than before. He was not that quiet anymore and slowly started talking. First, he apologised a hundred times, said that he had never meant to hurt Cooper, that it had been a reflex reaction to the arrow being shot at him. He really wanted a drink, but he couldn't get himself to ask, because he didn't know if Laura knew about his problems or not.
"I'm sorry for what we've put Clint through", Tony finally said, "You need him here and we... we just keep him busy. I mean, you have the kids, a bunch of animals, the house... how do you even do that?"
He sat back in his chair and sighed.
"We just wanted to save the world. And now we nearly killed each other."
He really WANTED to ask her about Pepper and her pregnancy. She was the perfect mother and maybe she could comfort him a bit... but how did he do that? There were so many things going on and he didn't know if she even wanted to hear it. Talking to Clint was easier, he understood Tony and asked the right questions... now he was forced to tell her if he wanted her to know. And he just couldn't. Every sentence he formed in his mind sounded strange.

"I'm Bucky Barnes, I grew up in Brooklyn, and I was a soldier..."
Bucky walked up and down the room, playing with the safety catch of a gun. Steve had been gone for five minutes, just to buy some toilet paper. But those had been enough to make him uncomfortable. He kept hearing the echo of the words in his mind. The words that would turn him into something else. A machine, a monster.
"James Buchanan Barnes..."
When the door opened, he jumped, aiming his gun at the man who came in. He removed the safety catch and was going to pull the trigger.
"Bucky!"
He dropped the gun, as he recognised his old friend.
"I'm sorry....", he sighed, "I didn't recognise you...."
Looking at the floor, he sat down on the couch.
"It was so quiet. I was about to snap..."
 
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Nastasha tried telling Cooper that it didn't really matter. He and Tony were alright and that's mattered most. Without wanting to admit it but she wondered as well. She had seen stranger things happen before but still it made no sense from the physical aspect. Why the glass didn't break was beyond Natasha. She eventually checked on the boy and found him sleeping. The redhead carefully closed the door before sneaking her way out of the farm. She walked towards the place where the arrow had exploded in the end. Natasha told herself it was a simple act to check the perimeters like she had been taught by the Winter Soldier years ago. The memory ran cold shivers down her spine. It had used to be good memories. Some that she consoled her in the dark night. But not anymore... Not since he almost suffocated back at the UN.

At first Laura had stayed quiet as an apology about her son stumbled out of Stark's mouth. Eventually she had looked up and told him it was okay. She understood that it was a reflex but it was still her son. So of course she would go to protect him rather than act like the understanding part for Stark's stupidity. She placed her hand on his for him to relax and was surprised to hear him ask how she managed all of this. "I suppose it's just a matter of how you see things. I love this place despite of the constant constructions around here. We only have strays as animals. So I give them my love - both to the kids and animals. I never know if it's enough and it probably isn't. But this is my life and Clint... He can be just exhausting as the kids sometimes but he knows how to keep people together. So I don't really blame you for borrowing him all the time. He's good at what he does. Plus he leaves voluntarily. So I don't really blame you.", she told him gently and sighed a bit. Laura had been really mad with Clint as he had gone to help Steve. He had promised her to leave the superhero business behind after he had gotten to close to death in Sokovia. "Just bring him back in one piece, Tony. That's really all I'm asking for."
He seemed like he was trying to tell her something but he didn't know how. So she looked around before saying "You know for an argument and fight it needs at least two people. Mostly both parties aren't correct but the truth lies somewhere in the middle. So you shouldn't get worked up too much on what has happened. The key is to look forward to more happy times instead of seeing a threat everywhere."

Steve entered the small flat with a bag of groceries and the toilet paper he had wanted to purchase. Just as he kicked the door close and was about to call that he was back. His best friend came jumping around the corner with a weapon drawn on him. "Buck, it's okay... No-one knows you're here but me. They won't find you here. We will make sure of that.", the blond superhero said walking over to his best friend. "Just perhaps put the gun away for a while. You know until we're sure you won't snap again.", Steve told Bucky, staying quiet over the fact that it might cost them their lives. He didn't want an accidental blood bath near his best friend. "I bought plums in case you want some?", he suggested and thought about where to bring his best friend as he sat down on the couch next to Bucky. Living in a small apartment in this city seemed to trigger him. So maybe away from this whole turmoil might make it better for him.
 
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"The Agent is coming", Pietro whispered, hiding behind a hay bale, "she doesn't have a gun, though."
He was gone, then there again.
What do we do now? She's going to hand us over.
Pietro was scared, but he didn't show it. He listened.
Where is she, Wanda?
The question was drenched in nervousness, he was ready to attack.
Can she see us?
He pulled his sister down and waited, waited... He wasn't ready to arise from the dead again. With Wanda, it had been easy. He had just showed up after he had seen how she had been suffering. He had felt it... the death. And he had been dead for some time. But then he had woken up, in a small, dark room, where everything had been quiet and lonely. No way he was going in there again. No way. But she was coming closer, she hadn't seen them yet, but she would if he didn't....
Pietro ran over to the other side of the barn and dropped a stone, so it would make some noise. He then ran over to Wanda again, sitting down, waiting.
Let's just hope she won't see us.

Tony hated to admit it, but she was right. Looking forward was the best thing to do. If it had been that easy... but it wasn't. Not at all. And how could he look forward when the memories kept coming back? Every night, he woke up, breathing heavily, seeing it all pass again. And the worst thing was that he couldn't talk to anyone. It was all bottled up inside his chest and it was worse than the granade splinters. He had known what to do about the splinters, but that... that was beyond his control. How could one control their dreams, fix their minds...? Well, at least he couldn't. So what did Pepper expect him to do? He lied to her already. But this was bigger. There was a child involved. A child TONY had to raise. A little him, which would look up to him... the man who nearly destroyed the world.
"What if love... just isn't enough?", he asked, his voice low and insecure, "What if you're so focused on protecting them that you... you nearly killed them?"
He looked so guilty, so self judging, it almost seemed like he wanted to punch himself, or even worse.
He paused, his glance became directionless and he just wanted to cry. The memories turned up, like lightnings, unexpectedly and electrifying, painful and -though he knew they only felt like- a threat to his and other people's lives.
Tony was worse than Clint, worse than everyone on the team, because he had never learned how to control emotions, how to deal with things that happened. He had never been trained to fight in extreme situations, he had never had any training at all. Everything he had done was the result of a trauma, an event that had changed his life. Afghanistan, the torture, the fear...
He had learned how to protect himself. But what you learn in a cave, where there is one way in and out, is different to what works in the real world. Threats come from all directions, they lurk in every man, every stranger, every friend.
And Tony was scared. He was scared of losing someone again, he was scared of making a mistake, he was scared of destroying the world, he was scared of other people's judgement. But most of all, he had lost the focus he had had when this all started. His focus had always been survival, not prevention.
"I guess I should just leave this planet, stop touching things... or... loving people"
Right now, he was close to tears. He really hoped that Laura didn't see.
"I tend to hurt them, and that's not good... I'm not strong enough to protect them", he explained, unable to tell Laura that what really mattered was that Pepper was pregnant. Pregnant with HIS baby, his responsibility. Another mission he would fail...

Bucky slept on the couch. Well, a part of the former soldier did. His legs, arms and a part of his head hung down over the edges and made it look like someone had just thrown the huge man on it. At the first glance, he looked peaceful, sleeping on the way too small sofa, but if one looked closely, they could see his fists clenching, his muscles flexing and his body shivering from time to time. He was lost in a dream, he couldn't get out of. And it wasn't a good dream.
Clicking, buzzing, a sharp pain in his head... memories, which hadn't existed before. A savior, but had he been. And Steve... Steve, the man he used to love like his brother.
"BUCKY!"
A rattle. A train? Gun shots. Natasha. Natalia? Wagon, a bridge, a gun, cars crashed against a tree, he pulled the trigger, dead bodies, German soldiers and American heroes, a man with red eyes, a mask. Stay quiet and unnoticed. You are a secret agent, your loyalty is to us. Only to us. To who? Russia? Was he there? Why did English sound so much easier?
Blue, purple, colours, a light, another buzz and pain...
"NO!", Bucky screamed, jumping off his improvised bed, "Where am I? What's going on?"
He stumbled around, looking for a lamp, a light switch... anything to make the darkness disappear. They seemed to lurk everywhere. In the shadows, behind the windows... there was a blinking light outside. A helicopter? (No it's an advertisement) That noise, sirens? Bombs? Was this an alarm? Where was he?! And what was this thing on his arm?! It gleamed like iron in the light... what was going on?
Stumbling around disorientedly, he finally reached Steve's bedroom door and threw it open. Just another room, clothes lying on the floor.... who was that man in front of him?! His long brown hair looked messy, he had the shade of a beard on his face. He was breathing heavily, his eyes wide open, filled with terror and tears. He stood there, shivering, staring at the person in front of him. The man in the mirror was staring back at him, his face sweaty and pale.
Guns, sirens.
"Run, Bucks, run! I'm right behind you!"
 
Wanda looked at her twin brother as he vanished and came back within seconds. She was used to that sort of behavior but still it left her agitated. She reached for his hand to calm him down. "Pietro...", she whispered to drag his attention away from the redhead.
Let me handle this. I will see what her intentions are and then we can decide whether you show yourself or not, alright? she looked at him trying to make him accept. She had no intentions on revealing that her brother was alive and get him into even more danger without knowing what the spy would do. She didn't trust Romanoff even though she had been on Rogers's side in the end. Again he was gone to do god knows what. "Stay.", she instructed him as he had sat down next to her.
Trust me, Pietro. I can deal with her and find out her intentions!, Wanda told her brother and crouched towards the moved rock. She sat down on the rock so it looked like she had moved it instead of nothing. Her eyes were shining red indicating that she would be able to fight Romanoff any moment. As long as she kept the spy on arm's length everything would be fine. According to Pietro the redhead didn't have a gun so things would be fine.

Natasha heard the stone fall down and an eyebrow quirked up. Her muscles tensed ready to attack whoever was there. She regretted not taking her guns or at least anything with her. But Natasha knew that she simply needed to be faster and she would be able to win. She walked over as quietly as possible but was surprised by a familiar face. Her posture relaxed a little and she frowned. "What are you doing here?", she demanded to know but didn't show any signs of attack and continued "Did Rogers send you?"
Wanda rose to her feet with the red mist around her hands. "It is none of your business. Where is Clint?", she asked not answering the initial question.
"He's inside with his family. If you mean harm, you should leave. His family doesn't deserve getting dragged into Stark's and Rogers's little feud.", she told Wanda, hoping to be able to soothe the witch without getting hurt herself. Until now everything seemed to go peaceful. "If you want to talk to him. Today, is not a good day for that. I'm sure he'll be able to talk to you tomorrow.", she spoke and continued "But please leave Rogers and his little friend out of it."
Wanda stepped closer sensing that there was more to it than Natasha actually allowed to show. Her eyes started to glisten more as she moved her hands up slowly than stepped closer before Natasha was able to react. Her hand touched Natasha's temple and both suddenly had pictures of the Winter Soldier in their mind. Natasha's face was pulled into a mask as the painful memories rushed through her mind. "Get out of my head!", she screamed and was finally able to move from her paralyzed shock. The memories seemed to affect her more than she actually anticipated and by now the brunette knew too much. Her mindset clicked from almost fearful to murderous. Her whole posture seemed to change as she kicked against the young woman's stomach and she knew way too well how the breath was drawn out of Wanda. The brunette couldn't help but bow forward and it would be way too easy for Natasha to break Wanda's neck now. But instead she opted for pain instead of death. Her elbow went down on Wanda's back but the brunette brought her hand up throwing Natasha against the barns. The redhead gasped for breath and stared at her former teammate. "Stay out of my head or I'll make sure that you can accompany your brother in death. I'm sure he's waiting for you.", Natasha hissed but Wanda rose to her feet. "Leave Pietro out of this!", Wanda warned.


"With the right person love will always be enough, Tony. No-one expects you to save the world. You've done really a lot and everyone messes up. Some mistakes are done under the correct intentions.", she told him and continued "You had wanted to protect the ones that you love, your family but unfortunately it didn't work out as planned. In that case it's time to learn from your mistakes instead of drowning in guilt and self-pity. If I understood correctly: Sokovia wasn't entirely your fault and you've provided the answer. That's what counts. Not the mistakes but the fact that you tried your best to erase your mistakes." She smiled at him friendly and patted his hand. "Think about it: Cooper almost...almost shot you and potentially killed even more. But no-one not even you blame him for that. Yes, he's just a child but still old enough to know better. He tried to protect his family - and that's what matters in the long run. Everyone else trying to tell you otherwise want way too much. Without you, without the Avengers - we all would be dead. It's not even about Ultron or whatever came after that robot. But it's about New York. If Loki would've been able to actually take over and rule this country - the world. We all wouldn't have such a comfortable life. I know it's hard not to listen to those, who blame you or anyone else for their mistakes. But think about it: what have they done to save the world?"

He continued to speak and sighed. Tony was missing one big point about life: what did everything matter if you had no-one to share your life - the good and the bad moments? Sure, Clint and Laura seemed to get into trouble and fights because of the Avengers. But deep down Laura knew it was necessary. It was part of Clint and she was proud of him. Fighting for what was right even if it seemed to be wrong sometimes. "There's one flaw in your logic.", she pointed out and continued "Why do you want to stop caring and even loving? Those two elements make you who you are. They might spark the wrong ideas but they are good and they make you good. Perhaps you don't need to protect them. Just help those you love, Tony. Allow them to see the real you even though it's scary. We all are not capable of protecting everyone we love but at least we try. Sometimes it's enough and sometimes not. But that doesn't make us to be the bad guys.", she spoke and pulled him into a hug. She knew he was close to tears. How?, she had no ideas but Laura always did have a sixth sense for things like that.


Steve stirred as he heard someone scream. But in his sleep derived brain, he needed way longer than necessary to connect the scream to his best friend. Eventually his door flew open and Steve rose to his feet. Bucky seemed to stop in front of the mirror and stared startled at his reflection. "Buck?", he called out carefully and placed his hand on the man's shoulder. The blonde looked concerned. "Hey, it's alright...", Steve spoke concerned and was aware those nightmare seemed to come more often. Perhaps it was time to move again. It always seemed to keep his friend's mind busy but it probably wasn't the smartest idea. Bucky had seemed to grow accustomed to a quiet life in Romania before he had bursted in to save him from SHIELD. Ever since he was with him again, those memories or dreams seemed to grow worse. Steve had no idea what to do about it. He wanted to help but felt so helpless. "I'm here.", Steve tried once again hoping it would bring Bucky back into the present. He never would admit it to Bucky but he was afraid of the day when his voice wasn't enough to draw Bucky back. That he had to face the Winter Soldier once again but wouldn't be capable of actually stopping him. But no matter how hard Steve tried, he would always see his best friend from Brooklyn in him.
 
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Pietro watched the two women fight. He had to force himself not to help his sister. When she fell, he really wanted to, he was si close to just run over and kill that stupid agent. She hadn't done any good. Wanda tried to keep him calm, but he couldn't help thinking... what if she was the one to die now?
He didn't want that. He couldn't do that without her. Clenching his fists, he sat there, trying to comfort himself, not to jump right into the fight and kill her.
"What do you want...?", he whispered to himself. He was the same opinion as Wanda. Natasha wasn't to be trusted, she was one of them. And with her here, it was too easy to be found. Still, he wouldn't leave without Wanda. Not a chance. He wasn't going anywhere without knowing Wanda was safe. And she wasn't safe if she wasn't around him. When the agent talked about him being dead, he chuckled inside.
You don't know a thing, bitch.
He waited for Natasha to leave, but she didn't. They kept on talking. Pietro was growing impatient. But what could he possibly do without drawing any attention? Nothing. So he just sat there, feeling like a visitor at the cinema, watching a movie. His impatience grew stronger and stronger, so he couldn't resist for very long. So when Wanda returned, their hiding spot was empty. Pietro was watching Stark and a woman through the kitchen window. They seemed to talk about something important, because Stark looked like he was about to cry. Then the woman hugged him and he relaxed a little. When he pushed her away and looked at her, his hands on her shoulders... Pietro thought he was going to kiss her, but instead Tony said something and then let go of her, leaning onto the table. He looked so done.

"Pepper's pregnant."
Finally it was out. But it didn't feel better at all. He just felt crappy for leaving her alone, not telling her where he went.
"I don't know what to do", he sighed, "I don't know what to do!"
He gestured with his hands, getting up from his chair to walk around.
"I can't be a father. I just can't. I'm not ready for that, but I don't think I'll ever be... I love Pepper and I want the child but I can't be a good dad... What if I fail? What if the kid grows up to be another me? I don't want anyone to feel the way I do.... i donn want anyone to have a Dad like me, I just can't imagine I can do well. I drink too much, I don't sleep well at night, I have moods... bad moods. I'm clingy and irresponsible, I can't even take care of myself. And what if Pepper dies? Or they abduct my family and kill them both? A child is so vulnerable, what if they use it against me?"
His voice became higher, a sure sign that he was about to panic. Also, he paced up and nearly ran across the room by now.
"What if Pepper thinks I'm a bad father? And then she leaves and takes the kid away... and it has to live without a father?"
He stopped and looked at Laura.
"What shall I do? I'm not ready..."
Clint, who had entered the room quietly, tried to sneak outside again. That was something he didn't know either. He just couldn't imagine Tony as a father. On the other hamd, maybe that was exactly the thing the genius needed. Someone to take care of, someone who looked up to him in a way only children could. Someone who called him a hero. The archer went in and sat down next to his wife, putting an arm around Laura's waist. But he didn't know what to say, so he just stayed quiet.

Bucky turned around and looked at Steve. Finally, a face he knew.
"Steve, what happened?"
Maybe his best friend had an explanation for this place, all the noise outside and the constant buzzing in his head.
In fact, the captain had been wrong. This wasn't the Winter Soldier speaking. It was Sergeant James Buchanan Barnes, before he had fallen off that train. And that's why he was so confused. That man in the mirror... that wasn't him. That was someone else.
"Where is my uniform? Where are we?"
All the implanted memories were wiped out for a moment. And with them everything he had seen after the accident. He moved his hands and stared down on himself.
"Where is my arm...? I can't feel my arm..."
Pure fear in the man's eyes. He was still staring at the mirror, slowly realizing that...
"That man?" He pointed at the mirror and the other man pointed back. "Is that... me?"
 
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"Why is Bucky in your memories?", Wanda suddenly asked with a triumphant smirk. She was trying to keep Pietro at bay in the meantime. She knew he would be growing impatient by now. "So you knew him, huh?", she spoke almost taunting and asked "Is that why you helped him in Berlin and not Stark?"
"Shut up.", Natasha warned and suddenly looked at the young woman dark. It was almost like she catapulted her back to the time when she was working for Russia. It was too much. If she did have her gun on her it would've been so easy. One or perhaps two shots for good measure and her old teammate would be dead or bleeding to death at worst. "Believe me, little girl. You don't want me to snap. You might think you want me to snap but you don't really want that.", she threatened and stepped closer to the brunette. Her steps were sure of herself and she was almost walking like a big cat ready to make the kill instead of playing with its food. "It would be so easy. Some well placed punches and I would be away before any of them would find you dead. Sure, that would be the last time Clint talked to me. But he'd be better off without me anyways. He just doesn't know that one yet.", she spoke and with a quick move brought her fist down to collide with the brunette's jaw. But her hand never hit her skin instead it stopped midair surrounded by the familiar red mist. "You're just messed up. Telling yourself all those things why you only want to forget. I can make you forget. Do you want me to?", Wanda spoke and kept Natasha standing there as she walked over to her.
A hand to her forehead and she flooded the redhead's mind with images and memories of the Winter Soldier instead of removing them like she had said. Wanda for her part didn't care what the memories were. But it would leave the spy occupied for quite some time. Wanda walked over to where Pietro was hiding. Goddammit, where are you, now?, Wanda wondered as the hiding place was empty.

Natasha's eyes grew big as all the memories came rushing in that have kept haunting her in the nights. There were some she had thought to be forgotten but it was almost imprinted in the back of her mind. She fell forward and grasped her head hoping it would be over soon. The memories were combined with the one of the Mistress. All those punishments. Physical ones. It almost was vivid and she felt where all those punches and slaps had hit her body. She almost felt like she was back in her teens and scared. So scared until she had found some kind of home with the Winter Soldier. With her James.

Laura listened to him quietly as he told her about the pregnancy. She looked at him surprised and frowned a little. His objections were true and real. His panic wasn't the one of a first time father. But real ones. The Tony Stark she had seen so far didn't make good father material. Her eyes followed her husband until he took a seat next to her. She leaned a little closer to Clint and thought about it. Still her calm gaze landed on Tony and smiled gently. "When I was pregnant with Cooper and found out about it. I freaked out, having similar doubts to you back than. I wondered how it would be being a mother if I would make a good or bad one. What about Clint? Would he be a good father or a bad one? You don't really have answers for this. I still don't have answers. There are times when I feel like I accomplished something. That I am a good mother. But there are also times when I feel like I could do so much better. Lately, I feel like it's the second. Nothing seems to work out. But still part of the job description of being a parent is to move on and try and try and try all over again.", she told him and continued "You are not allowed to give up. But you need to keep on going. It's not only about supporting one's children but your partner as well. I don't know if you would make a good father, Tony. That's something you need to find out for yourself. But I can tell you the three main ingredient of a good parent: unconditional love, patience and care. If you are willing to give your life and self for that tiny human being it will look up to you in wonder and love you back. There are times when they will hate you but most times your children will look up to you and just love you. No matter what you have currently done. So my advice to you is clam down. Being a father needs progress and we start with calming down and eliminating one fear by another. Read a book, talk to Pepper. She will know best. Perhaps she will even be able to answer all those questions you have. But you need to talk to her - not Clint." Laura grinned at her husband and mocked him as she talked to Tony "His advices are the worst. Ask the kids. Talk to Pepper and tell her about your worries. Allow her to be part of your life instead of pushing her away. That's all what she actually wants. Love her, care for her and treat her well. So, I'm sure she'll go nowhere in particular."

Steve looked confused at his best friend for a moment. It was too early to play those mind games and guess where Bucky was stuck now. That was until the mention of his uniform and Steve's heart sank. "Buck...", he spoke carefully and continued "Don't freak out on me but the war is over. We're no longer soldiers. It's 70 years later and...and we're on the run. You did some bad things but it's not your fault. Some people made you, too. Yet the government doesn't understand. So we're hiding from them. From SHIELD. We're in a hideout in New York that Tasha allowed us to use. You...You lost your arm in the Alps during a mission with the Howling Commando. We thought you were dead but Hydra got you and replaced your lost arm with that bionic one.", he explained placing both arms on Bucky's shoulders and added quickly "But it's okay. We're in this together, remember? Till the end of the line, pal."
 
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Tony looked at Laura with big eyes. When she ended her monologue, Tony nodded and smiled.
"Thanks, that helped... a lot, actually.... I'll just... I'll tell her and... she has to understand, right? She won't leave because of that..."
"Yes", Clint agreed, "If she loves you..."
He pulled Laura closer and kissed her head.
"She does, Tony", he added, when the genius looked at him in doubt.
Tony nodded again, feeling a little better.
"I'll call her. She should know where I am at least...", he said, got up and pulled his phone out. He was nervous, but that needed to be done. He should have told her the truth ages ago.
"Pepper?", he started, when she picked up, "I have to tell you something."
He took a deep breath.
"I love you and that's the most important thing, okay? We're... us. What makes us us.... I... crap."
He shook his head.
"Gimme a minute, that sounded more sensible in my head"
With shivering hands, he collected his thoughts.
"So. I really want that child, okay? I really really wanna be a father. It's just that I don't know if I'm good enough and... I'm begging you to forgive me, whatever stupid mistakes I make. I'm doing my best and... I'd like to say that. Because, I really wanna try. With you. And... I haven't slept in weeks. It's Steve, he keeps haunting me in my dreams. It's like he wants to kill me and I just can't take it. I think I might need help, but... I don't know how to find someone I can trust. Someone who won't use the information to reach anything or hurt me, or even worse, you or the baby. I really need someone to talk to so... can you just for one moment listen and... and not say anything? I wanna do this together and I want you to stay with me. Pep, I wanna marry you."
Tony held is mouth.
"And that wasn't supposed to come out like that."

"Where is Tasha?", Clint asked after Tony's big announcement. He didn't want to distract Tony, but he had heard a noise from the barn. He didn't want to sound paranoid, but there HAD BEEN something.
"I'll go check on her, okay?", he whispered to Laura, "It's probably nothing, but just in case... she wasn't feeling well."
The agent didn't tell his wife about the bad feeling in his guts, just quietly got his bow and sneaked outside.
"Tasha...?", he asked quietly.
No answer. The bow ready, he opened the barn door. The first thing he saw was his friend, kneeling on the floor, holding her head in both hands.
"Tasha!"
He knelt down next to her and locked his arms around her.
"Hey... hey... it's okay..."
Worried, Clint looked around and checked the surrounding for danger. Just... there was no one. So he picked the redhead up and carried her inside through the back door, to her room, where he placed her on the bed.
"Natasha...", he tried to bring her focus back, "Hey. I'm here."
Softly he petted her cheek.
"Natalia!"
Normally her real name worked to make her focus. He took her face in his hands and made her look at him.
"Who was that? Who's out there...?"
As he asked, a certain feeling hit Clint.
"Oh dammit, I'll be right back."
Seconds later, he was in the barn again, with a flashlight this time.
"Wanda?!", he called out, hoping it was her who was hiding behind that barn and not someone or something else.

Bucky looked at the captain as if he had just received a punch from him.
"Alright, war is over... that's good...", he started to work over what Steve had thrown at him, "We're in this together. Right..."
It was typical for him to give the good news first. He smiled a little.
"And we've all done terrible things, Steve. It was war. They didn't make us do it, we did it because it had to be done to win this. And my arm... I've lost my arm..."
He stared at the metal arm and moved it up and down, his facial expression was numb.
"That's... a beautiful arm... I bet it's stronger than the original..."
With a pale face, Bucky took a few deep breaths.
"I'm... A war veteran who lost his arm. And we're running from the law..."
Unwillingly, he started to laugh.
"That's-I have to admit that- the most bizarre thing that has ever happened to me."
With a loud sigh, the former soldier sat down on Steve's bed and buried his face in his hands.
"I've lost my arm...."
 
Laura smiled encouraging at Tony. She sighed watching him. This had been harder than she had expected but realizing those things would surely help him. At least she hoped so. It would make her home calmer as well, wouldn't it? Without having superheroes constantly burst through her door. Against better knowledge she hoped it would mean her home calmed down so her kids would be able to slowly but surely process what happened to their father. After Cooper's outburst it was clear that they hadn't handled the knowledge yet. She watched Tony until Clint got up to look for the redhead.

Pepper took the call instantly as she saw the caller ID. "Tony? Where the heck are you?", she demanded to know instantly. Worry was resonating in her voice as she nervously fidgeted with the tablet she had on her lap. She had surfed on the web since he had left after their kind of fight. Slowly but surely Pepper had drifted off to the websites she never thought of visiting before. Abortion was such a big word for something...something like this. She looked up from the website as he started to stumble over his own words. She frowned. "Tony, it's okay... I understand this goes too fast and...and there are certain ways...", Pepper mentioned biting her lips as she didn't want to continue talking. She didn't want to remove the child but perhaps it was for the best. Pepper felt herself tearing up and Tony continued to talk. Her heart sank as he mentioned that he hadn't really slept in weeks. Of course she had noticed that something was wrong but it almost sounded like it was worse than after New York. "Why didn't you tell me..? Oh, Tony...", she whispered even though he told her to stay quiet. Then he continued and she blinked. Had he just asked her to marry him? There was silence as Pepper tried to understand the meaning behind those words. "You-you don't need to marry me because I'm pregnant, Tony... We're not living in the 20th century anymore.", she told him eventually unsure if that was the reason why he had said that. "But I love you, too... Come home, please... Let's talk face to face instead of the telephone. I'm not counting that as an engagement Tony Stark. Not over a freaking telephone. You can tell me face to face if you actually really mean that." Now, she was actually crying. It probably was a mixture of happiness, confusion and hormones.

"уходи! Останови это... Готов выполнить (Go away! Make it stop... Ready to comply)", she tried to push him away not even realizing that she was speaking in her mother tongue. Her voice was almost begging in the end. Mostly things like that ended when she was compliant but this time they didn't end the torture. In the back of her mind she registered that she was being moved. Her back hurt from being hurled against the wooden wall. But the redhead didn't complain or move. Her gaze focused and hardened as he mentioned her name. It was almost like they were back to the moment when he was sent to kill her. She had barged in bleeding looking at the archer and demanded that she wanted him to finish. That she had been tired of waiting for him to make the final blow. Yet something in her mind seemed to switch to survival. Maybe it was the sudden disappearance of Clint but Natasha almost automatically sat up and collected her clothes. Liho would stay. He would prefer the farm anyways over being on the run. She looked around the room looked raided. It didn't matter to her. But with each new flash of the Winter Soldier, her urge to run doubled.

Wanda stayed quiet and hidden. There the heck was Pietro? She had wanted to leave ever since Natasha had collapsed. But the speedster had gone to wherever. Part of her was afraid that he was really dead and she had simply imagined him coming back. Something to ease her consciousness for not being able to stop the bullets. She shuddered at the mere thought. It wasn't until the third call of her name, Wanda glided down from a beam of the roof. "What?", she asked before adding "Give me five minutes and I'm gone. Just searching for something. I lost something dear to me, once again."

"Of course, we're in this together. Like always, Buck.", Steve smiled at him and squeezed gently his healthy shoulder so he would feel the comforting gesture. He watched his friend and a part of him hoped he would stay like this. It was like he had his best friend back. Not some kind of twisted version. Hydra had formed him into a tool and it had been painful to see him like that. To fight his best friend but eventually the conditioning had received some cracks. "Probably not the most bizarre thing, Buck. But it's certainly strange.", he chuckled and even smiled. The chuckle almost made him feel light hearted. Perhaps Bucky wouldn't remember. But of course Steve knew it was only temporary. "Come on, have a seat, Buck. Don't want you to lose your feet as well.", he attempted to joke.
 
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