Little One

New Tide

And I'm back, due to popular demand XD You guys are super insistent, so I'm here to say this is going to become multichap. Hope the wait was worth it. :) Updates will be pretty infrequent, but I feel like it will give me a chance to collect my thoughts and put out as good quality of writing as possible.

Good soundtrack is Already Gone by Sleeping At Last. It's a cover of the same song by Kelly Clarkson, but it's really pretty. . .

Enjoy!

---

The days grew warmer as the sun grew brighter, beckoning summer into the Barton's Iowa farmhouse.

From the day Natasha had come home from the hospital on, everything had fallen into a comfortable routine. Now, two months later, nothing much had changed.

Steven was growing steadily, all at a slightly above average pace according to ex-SHIELD nurse Laura. He was turning into the very image of his father with his feathery blond mop of hair and his sky-blue eyes.

Sometimes it hurt to look at him, other times it was mother's pride. All the same, Natasha thanked whatever weakness in her heart it was that had forced her to keep him. Despite the loss of her husband, she still had a piece of him with her. Forever.

Life was moving forward, everyday taking them one more step away from the dark past and towards what was meant to be theirs.

Shame the past had to haunt them.

---

"I still don't get it," Natasha muttered, fingering the paper streamers. "Why do we have to do all of this?"

"Because he's going to taste his first real food!" Lila chirped, wrapping the brightly colored strips around a table leg. "We had to do this for Nate. It makes them feel special,"

Natasha shrugged, passing the girl a strip of tape. "If you say so,"

Apparently, it was Barton family tradition to make a big deal out of baby's first taste of rice. Steven - though not having hit the three month mark yet - was ready for his try at it, and Lila had been loath to exempt him from the tradition.

As if recognizing his name, Steven gurgled happily from his high chair. Natasha looked up to see him toying lightly with a rattle.

"I don't know, Li," Natasha grinned. "With the attention he's been getting, I think he's already feeling pretty special."

Lila huffed dramatically, having inherited her father's love of flair. "Daddy," she called, seeing him stride into the kitchen. "Tell Auntie Nat why this is so important!"

Clint shot her a shaky smile. "Maybe in a bit, peanut. Right now," he settled his gaze heavily on Natasha. "I think Nat and I have to have a chat. Watch Cap for a moment, 'kay?"

Natasha, already having stood from her kneeling position at Clint's words, nodded. "He's right. Just watch Steven for a second. We'll finish when I get back."

The pair headed out of the farmhouse, Natasha watching the archer carefully. His body language was tense, but not that of a man anticipating combat. No, it seemed more emotionally tethered if anything.

"What's wrong?" She asked once they were out of earshot. "Is it Tony?"

"No," he said, sighing as they reached the barn. "It's . . . Just see for yourself, Nat,"

She blinked at him for another moment, attempting to read him. But his game face had slid into place, and even after a decade of partnership, she was no better at cracking it than day one. With a slight downturn of her lip, she pushed the barn doors open.