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hi ur peter and nat fics are everything to me ur so talented and if you ever fancy writing more i would not complain (no pressure ofc!!) – anon
He's a child, Natasha's brain screams as Spider-Man tries to stand up, shaking and trembling in the cold, he's just a child.
The snow continues to fall. The blood continues to spread, but not as quickly—healing factor, right. She glances around. There's no one else coming to help him, and nothing that could stop her from finishing this now. She can hear the part of her obsessed with survival urging her to do it, just finish it, but the child in front of her is freezing and injured.
"Wait," he cries as she surges forward, wrapping her arms around him, "I can—we can talk about this, can't we?"
"Who protects you?"
"W-what?"
"Who protects you," she demands, "who looks after you?"
"I, uh—"
No one. No one protects this child. No one takes care of him.
She spends about thirty second thinking about this before she realizes Yelena's going to have a field day after the hard time she's given her sister about bringing home strays.
"You're coming with me."
Natasha sets the baby spider down in the car, shushing him lightly as she walks around to the other side. The baby spider's eyes are wide, almost pressing himself against the window in an attempt to follow her around the car.
"It's okay," she murmurs as she shuts the door, "I'm right here, I'm not leaving."
In the few minutes since she'd announced she was keeping him, the kid had transformed from the quippy, sarcastic thorn in her side to just a scared child. The switch was jarring and heartbreaking and she grits her jaw, forcing the tension from her shoulders and reaching over. The baby spider clutches as the hand she offers him, drawing it up under his chin like a comfort teddy. Natasha swallows, brushing her thumb against his jaw.
"Are you hungry?"
"Huh?"
"Are you hungry, baby spider," she asks again, "can we get you something to eat?"
The baby spider shakes his head. "'M fine."
"That wasn't what I asked," she says as gently as possible. "do you want some food?"
The kid stares at her, every bit a stray dog too scared to eat. Natasha waits patiently—well, as patiently as she can—for him to slowly nod.
"Yeah? Food sound good? You have any idea of what you want?"
"…I can choose?"
Yelena's young face flashes in her mind. The sudden wonder and fear of being able to choose what they did, what they ate, where they went. Her gut clenches and she squeezes his hand in hers.
"Yeah, baby spider, you can pick."
The kid fidgets, looking at the ground. "Can…can we go to the fast food place near the train station?"
"Good choice. I've been craving fries."
"R-really?"
"Yeah," she says. lightly squeezing his fingers again. "Can I have my hand back for a second? I just need to get the car started."
The baby spider slowly lets go, watching Natasha's hand like it was his favorite toy being taken away. His face is so round, so soft, so young…
Oh, someone's hurt you like that too, have they? Did that happen to you too?
Natasha quickly starts the car and held out her hand again, glancing over with a smile as the kid latches onto it again. She drives slowly, eyes on the road, unable to keep her gaze from flicking over to see him.
He's so small.
Okay, I have a kid now. Another kid now. Shit, I don't know how to raise a kid that isn't Yelena. What if he expects me to explain how to get a real job? I don't fucking know how to be a real adult that isn't lying about everything.
A darker voice whispers how this child might expect an adult to behave and she scowls.
Nope. Fuck it. I'm not fucking up this kid. We're doing the sappy shit first and adulting shit later.
She was definitely going to have to call the therapist she'd used to help Yelena get to sleep again.
They pull into the drive-through, glancing at the menu. She looks over to ask what the baby spider wants only to see his eyes so wide the whites are visible.
"…see something you've always wanted to try?"
"The number 6," the baby spider rattles off, "with a large Sprite and an extra fry."
His eyes widen even more, as if suddenly aware of what he just said, only for Natasha to laugh.
"That sound good, baby spider." They pull up to the speaker. "Two number 6's with large Sprites and two extra fries."
Other great thing about fast food places apart from letting the baby spider be a goddamned kid for once: dirt cheap but really fucking good.
"So," she asks as she sets the food beneath the kid's seat, "where's your favorite place to hang out?"
"Hang out?"
"Yeah, just to sit or something when you're out and about."
"Um…"
The baby spider squirms in the car seat. His hands bundle up in his lap, eyes beginning to glaze over.
"Or," Natasha says quickly, "I can take you to my favorite spot and we can eat there?"
The kid nods quickly. She smiles and nods to the food.
"If you're hungry, go ahead. I don't mind."
"But shouldn't I wait for you?"
"Good point." She reaches over and grabs a fry. "There. Go nuts, baby spider."
She pulls away, trying to keep her eyes on the road to give the kid privacy, unable to stop herself from stealing little peeks over to see if he was actually eating. It takes far too long for the baby spider to follow in her example and take a fry, but the pleased look on his face makes up for it.
They come to a stop near the lookout tower at the top of the hillside. Beneath them, the gravel crunches under the tires as the car shifts into park. The kid glances around.
"Are we allowed to be here?"
Natasha looks over and winks. "I won't tell if you won't."
She grabs one of the drinks and a bag of food, getting out of the car and heading for one of the large flat rocks.
"C'mon, baby spider. Let's get some food in you."
She hears a gasp behind her and hides a smile. The city sprawls out beneath them, glittering lights as far as the eye could see. Reds, yellows, blues, and all sorts of colors in between flash by underneath the sky, a bright moon hanging suspended in the inky blackness.
She remembers her first time up here too, her and Yelena…
"Come sit. View isn't going anywhere."
They each peel back paper wrappers and stuff themselves with greasy food, hunting around for the few napkins that had been tossed haphazardly aside. The night air fills with obnoxious slurping as they drain their drinks and ball up the trash.
"Is this your favorite spot?"
"Sure is." Natasha leans back on her hands. "Not a better view in the city."
"I don't know," the baby spider says quietly, "I think the view from the top of WJYOP Tower's pretty sweet."
She glances over and ruffles the kid's hair. "Guess you're gonna have to show me sometime."
The kid's face falls and he fidgets with a stray napkin. "Why're you being nice to me?"
Natasha lets out a long breath. "Because someone's gotta be, baby spider, and whoever's responsible for hurting you like that clearly isn't."
"Hurting me like what?"
"Not taking care of you. Letting you go out by yourself and get into fights you can't handle. Leaving you on your own."
The baby spider is quiet. Natasha moves closer.
"I mean what I said, baby spider. You can come with me. I'll keep you safe if you want."
"…you will?"
"Yeah, baby spider." She opens her arms and after a moment, a little kid snuggles up to her side. "There…you okay? I'm not hurting you, am I?"
"No." The kid absentmindedly nuzzles her shoulder. "You're warm."
"I'm a lot bigger than you, baby spider. I generate more body heat." And I was genetically engineered to do that too, but we're not going to get to that just yet.
"Mm." She chuckles as he burrows into her. "Give some to me, 'm cold."
"And sleepy," she remarks as a yawn almost splits his head in two, "c'mon, baby spider, let's get to you to a bed."
She scoops the kid into her arms, carrying him back to the car.
"Natasha."
"Yelena."
"What is that?"
"A smoothie?"
"Did you get us a baby brother without asking me?"
"Yes."
"How could you do such a thing?"
Peter shifts in his sleep, letting out a quiet noise and stretching like a cat before he resettles. The two former assassins watch him, spellbound.
"You're forgiven."
"I figured."