Natasha's secret

Chapter 1

Overcast with dark grey clouds, lightning struck, lighting up the gloominess and revealing a lone house in the distance to a rain soaked shadow.

Flowers bursting with colour overgrew the hidden path which the rain was now washing away completely, but the man's footprints squelched forward, approaching the wooden varnished door.

Knock

Knock

Knock

The bang echoed through the desolate meadow, sending birds flying into the darkness in utter fear away from their high up perches.

Footsteps approached the door fast without giving the soaked figure a chance to think, a chance to prepare, a chance to even breathe.
The door handle pushed down from the other side and screeched open revealing a beautifully decorated house and a blue eyed child.

Clint crouched down into the puddle under his feet to come face to face with the young girl, taking in all of her features, her dirty blonde hair, her ice like coloured eyes, the little freckles that bridged over the very pale skin on her nose.

"Barton?" The voice bounced off the walls of the hallway behind the young child "what are you doing here?"

"Are you just going to leave me standing out here?"

The two shared a smile at each other.

"It's time to come home now Nat."

"you know I can't do that... and besides, this is home now." Natasha stared lovingly at the 3 year old building up a mega-blocks tower and pushing it over before exploding into hysterical laughter.

"Steve has a right to meet her and to get to know her."

Steve's name pushed the conversation between the pair into an uncomfortable silence. Natasha pushed the thought of Steve out of her mind on a regular basis, the guilt ate at her and the longer she was away for, the worse it became. The red head sighed, she always thought it difficult to phone out of the blue or turn up with a daughter he'd never met, and besides, how is it fair that Steve meets the toddler the same time as everybody else? How was it fair that Clint met her before the biological father? She simply couldn't face the idea of going back.

But she knew she had to.

"I want him to meet her here first." It was a simple demand really. She knew her daughter very well to know that her meeting Steve along with the rest of the avengers would push her into a meltdown, the toddler had never dealt well with meeting new people which made shopping and socialising a regular struggle.

"He's away on a mission and he wont be back for a little while Nat."

The red head huffed, she couldn't face her demons but she new she had to. It was time to go back.