Buckynat Oneshots

AU - Broken Part II

*mentions of drugs, lots of swearing yadayadayada*
5 months later.

The golden leaves of Autumn we're slowly starting to fall from the trees, the weather still warm from the last of their Summer but with a pleasant breeze that made the leaves on the ground dance and those on the trees flutter softly.

"Hey Momma! Look! I'm a spidermonkey!" Peter giggles gleefully, making monkey noises as he swung on the swing tied beneath the largest branch of the tree in their garden. A long time ago, James had made it for him on one of his better days.

"Be carefully little man!" Natasha called, watching him stand on the wooden swing, bending and straightening his little legs for momentum. She headed on over as she set down the rake she had been using to pile up the leaves, making him sit and hold tight. "Even monkeys have to be safe." She watched his little pout as he hung his shoulders in defeat.

"Monkeys don't swing sitting down." He sighed, but she ruffled his brown hair.

"They do if their mothers ask them to." She gave him a look that he knew not to mess with. Instead he gave her a sweet smile so she would kiss his cheek.

Shortly after, the doorbell rang and she left him to swing away, calling for him to be careful and that she'd be back in a minute. He nodded but got back up on his feet as soon as she was inside, a mischievous little grin on his face.

Her heart stopped for a moment when she answered the door and saw Steve standing there.

"Steve...what's happened?"

"Huh? Oh nothing Nat, everything is fine. I was just passing by and was seeing if you were home?" Steve explained, a hint of guilt in his voice. Usually when Steve called her or stopped by, it was because James was in a rough spot again. A hospital. An alleyway. A police station.

She relaxed, "Sorry, force of habit. Come on in."

They had been friends once, close friends. It had been him that introduced her to James all those years ago. They'd understandable lost touch a little over the past six years or so, but she always appreciated his help.

"Have I caught you at a bad time?" He asked, pushing his hands in his pockets.

"Not at all, I was just raking the garden," she explained leading the way back through the house. "Peter is just playing outside."

"How is he?" Steve asked with a smile, always fond of him. They had gained quite a bond over the past few years, and Steve always dropped by when he could, checking up on Nat in the process.

"He's good. Wild," she laughed softly, "Always asking about your motorcycle."

Steve chuckled as they stepped outside, "I should have brought it today..."

Both their faces fell as they looked towards Peter, who was grinning at them. He lifted off both hands to wave excitedly at them and before either could move, fell back off the swing from where he was standing and dropped the short distance to the hard ground below, arm held back to break his fall now at a funny angle, head hitting the root of the tree.

**

James jogged through the hospital doors, not panicked, but wasting no time. Steve was waiting for him, and gently stopped him before he could go any further down the corridor.

"Is he alright? You said he hit his head, what was he doing standing on a swing anyway? He's 5, wasn't she watching him?!"

"Hey, Don't start that..." Steve frowned disapprovingly.

"Isn't this why I'm not allowed near him? I can't be trusted to watch him? Seems a little hypocritical to me-"

"Enough!" Steve snapped, and James froze slightly not used to Steve being short with him. "It was an accident, she answered the door to me and once we were back outside, he fell off the swing. I've never seen Natasha move so fast in her life. You're lucky she even considered the idea to call you, I've been trying to calm her down for hours before I could convince her to let you visit. Don't make me regret it."