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"So you knew about this? You knew that Barton had a wife and...kids?" Steve looked at Natasha with an offended expression. "You knew that he had this whole...life and you didn't feel that was something to mention? I mean...he got shot. Badly. He was half a world away. He could have died. Before we got out of Sokovia. You didn't think it was important to mention that it might be good to let his wife know that her husband could be ..." His voice broke off, hand running through his hair and walked away from her again, pacing.
Natasha lifted an eyebrow. "Because having her worry when she could not do a thing about it would make any sense at all?" She was facing him, leaning against the counter, her arms folded across her chest. "Perhaps you think I should have broken the confidence of the man who's been my partner for years?" Her voice picked up an edge. "Decided on my own that his secrets were mine to share instead of respecting his wishes? Perhaps I don't have to respect the secrets of the people I work with."
Steve's head whipped back to her at that tone. He opened his mouth and then shook his head. "Romanoff..."
She smiled sweetly, "Yes, I know. I don't play fair. Spy, remember?"
He nodded, walking back to the dart board and pulling them out. He fidgeted with them for a while, trying to wrap his brain around the news. "A family. Kids and another one on the way." He shook his head and tossed a dart to the board, hitting the small red bar on the 20. "I've never seen any sign he wears a wedding ring. Guess he's not into that, hmm?"
"Not so much that he's not into it," Laura said as she walked in, causing Steve to blow his next shot wide to the right, "as I told him it was silly. He wouldn't be able to wear it at SHIELD if they didn't know about us. And he always has to take it off here. He has one, but with the repairs and his obsession with renovating this place? Wearing it would be asking for it to get caught in something and then.." Her voice faded out. "My father lost part of a finger in a machine accident. It didn't make a huge difference in his day to day life but he wasn't a world saving marksman with a bow either."
Steve looked at her face and nodded, a little chastened as the wife of his teammate explained this to him. "I suppose I should have thought of that. I'm sorry, ma'am."
She smiled and her hand came to a necklace dangling from her throat. "Don't be...may I call you Steve? Captain seems a little overly formal and I don't think I could call you Mr. Rogers with a straight face."
Steve shot a look at Natasha who chuckled. "Get your book out. Write down Mr Roger's Neighborhood. Children's show." Steve did as instructed but his lip curled in a questioning twist. "I think you'll see a lot of similarities." He snapped his moleskin shut again and stuffed it back in his pocket.
"Of course you can call me Steve. You're Barton's wife and our host." He gave her the full Captain America charming smile and she laughed.
"And you're going to call me Laura." She looked over at Natasha. "He really is just adorable. It's like watching Cooper trying to think he's pulling one over on me." She reached up on her tip toes and kissed his cheek. "You don't have to try to be sweet, Steve. You guys are here because Clint must have thought you needed the farm. That's good enough for me."
Steve looked down at Laura, seeing her frank expression and the genuineness in her eyes. His gaze dropped and he smiled again, honest this time, and gave himself a shake. "It has been a very hard day, Laura. Having a chance to rest has been really great."
She nodded, her hand on his arm. "And I appreciate that big pile of wood getting chopped, Steve. Saves me having to do that and me from worrying when Cooper does it."
Her hand came to her pendant again and this time the motion wasn't lost on him. Around her neck was a simple gold chain with a pendant. As her hand moved away, he realised it wasn't the straight drop of metal that he originally mistook it for. It was a small stylized arrow, vanes connected to the chain, the tip pointing down to her chest. He glanced away, catching Natasha's eyes. She nodded and shook her head, indicating he should not comment.
"More than happy to do it, ma'...Laura. And I'm sure my mother would worry about me doing it when I was his age." His heart gave the same low aching pull it always did when he thought of her. "I'm sure she'd give me a talking to if I hadn't offered to help though. That's what guests do."
She grinned up at him. "You are a sweet talked, Steven Rogers. I promised Clint that I would make dessert for after supper. I don't suppose Captain America would turn his nose up at home made apple pie?"
His grin echoed hers and he shook his head, "No ma'am. That sounds wonderful."
She nodded and went into the kitchen for a moment, returning with a plastic tub. "Good. Then how about you and Natasha go pick me some apples. There's a couple trees behind the barn."
Steve laughed and took it from her. She was a good match to Barton. From what he could tell, a warm heart, a level head and someone who understood trust. That would be helpful to a man who made a living working either as a superhero or a spy. When he looked at Natasha, she was already standing and giving him a look. "Let's go. Trust me when I say, you don't want to make her wait."
Laura rolled her eyes and went back into the kitchen, "Go pick apples. Make sure you don't get any bruised or wormy ones."
The two headed out, running into Clint and Lila on their way in. Clint had shed his tactical uniform and was wearing a tee-shirt and jeans, and was carrying his daughter on his back. Her hands were pulling at his shoulders, steering him as he ran around making ridiculous horse noises.
"Daddy! You're supposed to be trotting, not cantering!'
"Sweetheart, you're getting a little big to be bouncing on Dad's spine like that. Trotting has too much up and down."
Her arms came around his neck and she hugged him sweetly. "Daddy..you're the bestest and the strongest and the most awesome Dad in the whole world. Please..."
He laughed, a freer sound than Steve had heard from the archer in a while. "You are trying to manipulate your dear old Dad?"
Natasha shook her head and smiled at the young girl. "Lila. You know your father well enough. You do not need to butter him up. Just ask him for what you want." Her eyes met his and held them for a moment. "He is a good man. Unless it is something that will harm you, he will give it to you."
Her grip at his neckline was a little lighter but there was a flash of gold there as well. It caught Steve's eye. Normally there wasn't anything around the archer's neck other than a sheen of sweat. Now, there was a solid chain, nothing overly flashy, but a chain with a small flower set in it.
Steve's eyes narrowed and he glanced away when he saw Clint reach up and twitch the shirt back into place. He hefted the bucket by way of explanation. "Laura asked us to go pick apples for dessert."
Clint nodded, a smile blooming. "She told you the trees are behind the barn?" Steve nodded and Clint grinned. "Do you want to borrow Lila? She's quite the climber. As you can see."
Natasha shook her head, "Play with your daughter, Barton. She can climb trees any time." Lila grabbed at him tighter and he nodded. The two partners looked at each for a moment more and then she nudged Steve. "Come on. We don't want to keep Laura waiting. She's a very good woman, but don't mess with her cooking schedule."
Steve gave Clint and Lila a little wave and turned to follow her to the barn. The slight breeze was ruffling her hair as they walked. Unlike the last few times they had been alone together, she was almost pensive.
They still had a lot of work to do. There was ..Steve had trouble believing he was thinking this but there was a homicidal robot on the loose and it had kicked their asses. They needed to regroup and figure out a way to approach this. He was still angry with Tony for getting them into this. At the same time, he could almost understand the man's desire to find a way to protect the people he cared about. It was a damned foolish way to do it, but it was what it was. Now it was a mater of figuring out how to stop Ultron.
They got to the trees, not too tall to him and gnarled in the way that really good fruit trees can get. They were heavy with apples, red with hints of green and smelling like summer. He chuckled as he started picking and Natasha looked over.
"What's funny?"
"Oh. Just never imagined myself picking apples. I mean, I'm a city kid. This?" he gestured at the farm in general. "This is nothing like my childhood. I've been on farms before, but that was during the war and mostly, I was trying to entertain the troops or trying not to get shot. "
She smiled and grabbed one apple, biting into it. "Everyone changes." Her lips quirked, "You, more than most, should know that." He shot her a droll look and she shook her head. "No. I mean it. Besides what the serum did to you. You were an entertainer. You were an icon. You became a leader. And a maverick. And you have the potential to change again."
He looked at her. "Uh huh. Says the expert in changing who they are."
She cocked her head and looked at him levelly. "Yes I am. And I will tell you something. Because you need to know this." The change in her tone made him stop picking and look at her. "Because you will have to help," she paused for a moment, "your friend when you find him. Changing who you are is easy but he will have had a hard time. What they did to him? Knowing who he is will be the hard part. If you choose to help him, you will need to be able to help ground him. Let him know who he is and that he is important for who he is. It will be difficult for him. It will be difficult for you."
She finished her apple and tossed the core into the distance, then came over to Steve, looking up at him. "Do you remember me asking if you trusted me to save your life?"
He nodded, "I did. And I do. You know that."
She smiled, "I know. And I trust you." She reached into her shirt, pulling out a simple silver chain, the one she had been wearing when everything went to shit with SHIELD. She turned it around on her throat so he could see the clasp. A small stylized flower hung from the clasp.
An arrow in front, a flower behind...Steve's eyes widened. "Those.."
"I am important to them. They are important to me. This? Helps me remember who I am." She smiled at him. "I don't know if your friend will want jewelry, but I promise you. There's something to be said for something concrete."
She grabbed the bucket and started back to the house, looking over her shoulder. "Think about it."