Chapter Text
Nat! Please, I need your help. Please take care of my children. It’s just a weekend. I’ll do whatever you want.” Clint begged.
“Whatever I want?” Natasha said, smirking.
“Yes. Just please: Watch. My. Kids.”
“Ask somebody else.” Natasha said.
“Everyone else is out on a mission.”
“Fine.” She said,
“Thank you! I owe you one Nat.” Clint answered.
“No, you don’t.” Natasha sighed. “I love your kids, and you and Laura deserve some time alone.”
——-
“Remind me again, how did I end up doing this?”
Bucky whispered, he didn’t want to wake up Cooper, not again. They’d already moved Lila to her bed and had done so successfully. Nathaniel had been sleeping since early already. But, Cooper? He was the definition of ADHD, which made looking after him a real pain in the ass.
Bucky and Natasha had spent all afternoon following him around the Barton’s farm grounds, trying to make sure he didn’t hurt himself or accidentally step on a bunny. It wasn’t so bad after all. Cooper was a nice, educated kid. Natasha could see so much of Clint in him, the excitement of finding something new went he explored the field, the adrenaline junkie when he scrambled up trees to the very top, against every order to come back down. When Cooper was calm though, he was just like his mother. Quiet, reflexive, and ingenious.
Now finally, after a long day of running around, Cooper was asleep.
“Nat, focus.” Bucky said with the little boy asleep in his arms. Natasha shook her head,
“What?” she asked.
“Move the blanket.” He said, and she snapped out of it and moved it out of the way so he could put the kid into his bed and they could get a well-deserved rest from all the craziness that it was taking care of not one, not two, but three children simultaneously.
Bucky finished accommodating the sheets and pillows and they left the room, leaving the door almost closed, but not quite. Clint said to do so, in case he woke up in the middle of the night. Cooper was the only one to vividly remember the day that seventeen armed soldiers covered from head to toe in black protective gear and carrying semi-automatics stormed his house looking for his father, and it had affected him more than Clint would have wanted to.
——-
“Well, we survived,” she said, collapsing on the living room couch, “Your kid skills are amazing. He fell asleep as soon as he sat in your lap. I don’t think that's ever happened to me.”
Bucky crashed beside Natasha on the sofa.
“I had 4 younger siblings… had to take care of them too.” Bucky said. There’s a long silence, they’d both started enjoying the fact that there’s no sound when there’s kids running around. Natasha sighs from relief. Then she laughs a little,
“Can you believe that that lady in the grocery store thought they were our kids?” she says.
“It was kinda awkward once she realized they weren't,” he said, with a light smile.
“Nah, I think she was okay. Plus she must have noticed they don’t look anything like us… You like kids?” Natasha asked, “cause’ they sure like you.”
“I don’t hate them… I mean, if I saw one, I wouldn’t throw a rock at it.”
“Why-why would you throw a rock at a child?” Nat asked, horrified.
“I just said I wouldn’t.”
“Whatever, would you ever… want kids? I know it’s almost impossible to think about after… everything.”
“… No, you?”
“I already have one.” she replied.
“Yeah, no, I meant, like, another one.” he rephrased.
“Oh… no way, big families are too dangerous in our line of work.”
“Spy shit?” Bucky asked,
“Yeah.”
“You’re still young though, you could retire. I know some people who have.” Bucky said.
“Yeah, and how long do those people stay alive?” Bucky didn’t answer, he knew they didn’t last very long. Though he had ignored that part in hopes to give Natasha some positive comfort on the matter.
“People like us don’t usually retire, when they do, they get shot a couple of months later. Become one of those cold cases. So I figured I’ll just keep living life the way I’m living it until I kick it.” Natasha paused. “Sorry for all that depressing shit I just said. Let’s change the topic.”
“Ok, uhh, we could run the simulations we need for the Riga mission next week if you want to…” Barnes suggested.
“It’s almost midnight, and we’ve been chasing 3 kids all day. Work if you want, I’m going to bed. You want the guest room?”
“No, I don’t feel like moving. I’m just gonna crash on the couch.”
“Why didn’t I think of that? Hey, did Laura say they would be back?”
“Tomorrow afternoon,”
“Alright, well, see you tomorrow.” she said with a lazy wave.
“Goodnight.”