Project Baby Spider * Peter Romanoff

-15

9 February 2002
[part one]

****

     When Natasha opened her eyes, she was met with the morning sun pouring in from the giant windows in her new room. She closed her eyes again and put her face into the soft pillow, grunting.

Must have sleep through the night, she thought to herself. All the adrenaline from yesterday wore me off.

She turned onto her back and sat up, leaning her back against the tall wooden headboard. She turned her head to look at the spot where she laid Peter last night, but found it empty. Without any hesitation, she jumped out of her bed and was out of her door in no time.

She took a left hand turn, faintly remembering the path Tony took her through yesterday. The hallway was longer than she remembered, but it may have just felt that way due to the situation at hand — the quicker you want to get somewhere the longer it seems to take.

Once Natasha was inching in on the end of the hallway, she started to slow down her pace. Her hands were fiddling with each other in front of her, trying to keep herself slightly at ease.

She entered the large open-planned living, dinning, and kitchen area. The Red Room had taught her how to be light and quiet on her feet at all times, so no one heard her enter and were too occupied to see her.

A little over half of the team was seen spread out around the room — the rest were still sleeping. Steve was at the stove, cooking a variety of foods for breakfast that sent appetizing flavors dancing through the air. Tony was sitting at the island, doing something on a StarkPad. Clint and Bucky were sitting on the largest couch, watching the TV. However, Bucky had moved his attention from the screen to a bundle in his arms.

     Natasha's blood began to boil. She didn't want him near her son — at least not yet.

     She walked over to the couch and stood in front of the man holding her son. Bucky looked up at her and gave her a small smile, dismissing her anger. "He's beautiful," he told her, nothing but pride in his eyes. "Yes, he is," Natasha said sternly, though her composure had fallen the slightest at Bucky's attitude.

     Natasha wanted to hate him. She wanted to hurt him for what he did to her . . . but she couldn't.

     She didn't know how he'd react to being a father when she first laid eyes on him the day prior. However, she didn't expect him to be this happy about it.

Doesn't he feel guilty? Doesn't he remember how Peter was conceived? she asked herself.

Bucky looked back down at his son and admired him. Peter had gotten his hair color, though it was a few shades lighter. Peter gave a small, toothless smile at his father and Bucky could've swore his heart exploded.

He looked back up at the woman who hadn't moved from in front of him. She had her arms crossed over her chest and was watching his every move. Her previous anger had dwindled and her stern stance was gone. "Can we talk now?" Bucky asked her. His pleading eyes locked with her's and she sighed. "Fine, but not in here." He nodded his head and stood up once she moved out of his way.

     Considering that she didn't know her way around the tower, Natasha followed Bucky into a small room off the side of the living area.

     Clint, who had heard their whole conversation, turned to the rest of the people in the large room. "There's something serious between those two." "They definitely have history. Steve, did Bucky ever mention a girl?" Tony asked, putting down his Starkpad. Steve shook his head, "No . . . he never did."

****

     "Do you know what you put me through?" Natasha said, starting the conversation. Bucky — who still had Peter — shook his head. "No. They never told me what happened to you after that day. I didn't even know if it had worked — they told me nothing." Natasha nodded her head, thinking of what to ask next. "I was locked in a small room for nine months, only ever leaving to get poked with needles that altered my son's DNA." "Our son's," Bucky corrected her. She didn't acknowledge it.

     "Why'd you agree to it?" she asked next. "Why?" Bucky sighed, not wanting to relive the memories. "I didn't agree to it. They turned on the Winter Soldier and I no longer had control of my actions." He looked down at Peter, who was grabbing at the string of his hoodie. "I was still conscious during it all. I tried- I tried so hard to stop, but I couldn't get through." A tear fell down his cheek and he looked back up at Natasha. "I'm so sorry," he told her. She looked down at the floor, taking in everything he said.

     "Do you love Peter?" she asked next. "Will you help me raise him?"

     Bucky nodded his head. "Yes, I've only known him for a few hours and I can see so much of me in him." He paused, looking at Peter. "I thought — if I had succeeded — that I'd never get to meet the baby I helped create. It pained me everyday knowing I couldn't at least meet him.

     "I've always wanted to be a dad. Though, this isn't the circumstances I saw it happening in." Natasha looked back at him. "His full name is Pyotr Veniamin Romanov, but we'll call him Peter Benjamin Romanoff in America. I don't want them to come after him in the future." Bucky smiled and nodded, "That's the perfect name for him." Natasha nodded her head.

She sighed, "When do we tell everyone out there?" "Wait until later today. We'll call a meeting and, I guess, tell them our history," Bucky told her. Natasha nodded her head, "Yeah, that works."

"I'm sure Steve is done with breakfast by now," Bucky said, trying to lighten the mood. Natasha nodded her head, "Probably."

*****

UNEDITED
hi . . . i'm back :)

-Nat