The Stars We Dream Of | A. Romanoff-Barton

Chapter 12: Peter Stark

Alivana was curled against her papa, snuggled between the space of his arms and his chest. The twelve year old enjoyed sleeping a lot, especially after a bad nightmare plus, her papa made the perfect pillow. One thing the father and daughter had in common was that they enjoyed waking up late. Unlike them, Natasha was an early rise who would attempt to get her loves out of bed and then fail miserably after too many attempts. She’d then lie back down with her two loves, savoring the soft moments of family.  

Alivana’s head was tucked under the crook of Clint’s neck and small form tucked under his arms. Natasha had tried to get them up only to be responded with snores, one softly snoring, and the other a lot louder.  

She gave up, lying back down. She smiled fondly at her sleeping daughter intertwined with her husband who was also sleeping. She leaned deeper into the pillow, softly stroking her daughter’s hair. 

The past six, seven years haven’t been kind to her. She has her family back, she can, and will hold on to them, the feelings of love, happiness and tranquility as long as she possibly can. Especially with the job she has. 

She delicately traced over the scars that trail over Alivana’s soft skin. It’s sad honestly, Natasha had tried so hard, willed so hard for Alivana to have a normal, loving childhood, not one that could connect to hers. And the branding on her back by Madame B, how she knew, she had one too made bile form in her throat. 

She came to terms with her past. It’s okay for her to be hurt and dragged through hell but not Alivana. Never her. 

She and Clint had planned a little surprise for their birdie, as Clint had nicknamed her. Their child hadn’t really seen the outside world, or anything much really, and thought that they could slowly bring her back to the constants of life. She had called Tony earlier a few months ago to let him know that they got their daughter back, and they spoke just last week where Tony offered to invite them over. Natasha agreed, she could use a break after everything, and Alivana could make a friend out of Peter. And, the Widow-titled woman missed her little nephew after not seeing him since donning the alias of Natalie Rushman. 

She gently nudged Clint, giving him a look when he groaned loudly. She gestured to the sleeping child curled up next to him and gave him one of her death glares. Clint winced, immediately shutting up before lovingly looking at his daughter sleeping soundly. It had already been a month and a half since they initially found Alivana and both parents had cherished every moment that they spent with her. 

The older redhead sighed softly, a smile curling up her lips as she watched her daughter’s chest rise and fall systematically, taking note of the slightly pained expression on her face. She breathed out, “I can’t believe that we got her back.” 

Clint nodded, a hand snaking up against her cheek, “I know baby. But we finally did it. She’ll be okay. We all will.” 

Clint ran a hand through Natasha’s shoulder-length locks and leaned forward to press a kiss onto her forehead, “We’re seeing Stark today right?” 

Natasha nodded and then pointed a finger as a threat, “Try not to be a jackass would you?”

Clint chuckled quietly, “I make no promises.”

The two remained in tranquility for another fifteen minutes before deciding that they should get ready. Natasha slowly got off the bed, stretching her arms as she yawned, picking herself up to make some breakfast while Clint gently nudged the sleeping child awake. He spoke softly, gently rubbing a patch of skin on her forehead, “Alivana, sweetheart, it’s time to get up.” 

Alivana slowly opened her eyes asking, “Papa? Time to get up already?’ 

Clint nodded, “Yep. Up we go.” He stood up, locking his arms under the child’s frame, scooping her up against her hip, and gently set her down on the chair. It was Alivana’s turn to yawn as she greeted, “‘Morning Mama!”