"we knew this boy, somehow."
Natasha blocked Steve's punch and swept his legs out from under him, sending the super soldier crashing to the mats. She smirked down at him.
"Getting slow there, old man."
Steve huffed, accepting her hand up. "Or you're as sharp as ever."
They were sparring at the Avengers compound, the team back together after months apart following the Snap. It still amazed Natasha sometimes that they had actually won, brought everyone back. The pain of those years apart had eased, but not completely faded.
As Steve toweled off his face, Natasha frowned at a sudden wave of...something she couldn't quite place. A sense of missing, of forgotten threads left unraveling. Glancing around at her teammates, she asked abruptly, "Do you ever feel like something's...off? Like we're missing someone important?"
Steve followed her gaze, brow furrowing. "I'm not sure what you mean. Who's missing?"
"I don't know," Natasha admitted slowly. "Just a feeling I can't shake."
Tony looked up from where he was sparring with Rhodey. "Nope, the whole gang's here. Unless Point Break forgot to fly in from space?"
Thor shook his head. "I am here as requested."
"Jolly Green?" Tony asked. Bruce glanced over and just shrugged.
Natasha suppressed a frustrated huff. Why couldn't they sense this...gap she felt so acutely? "I can't explain it. But it feels like someone should be here with us. Someone young. Someone..." Her voice dropped, a whisper of memory flickering. "Someone I was supposed to protect."
The others exchanged confused looks. Clint came over and put a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, it's been a long few years for everyone. Maybe you just need a little downtime, you know?"
Natasha shook her head sharply. "No. This is more than just stress. I know it." She looked around beseechingly. "Come on, think. Doesn't it feel like part of the team is missing?"
But she was met only with blank stares or shrugs. Natasha suppressed a growl of frustration. Why was she the only one who felt this absence like a constant itch? She had to get to the bottom of it.
"I'm going to check the archives, see if anything triggers my memory," she declared. Without waiting for a reply, she headed off to the compound's data hub.
Hours later, eyes gritty from scanning countless files, Natasha still had nothing. No clues, no hints about who or what exactly she had forgotten. She knew the answers were in her head somewhere, but the memories stayed frustratingly out of reach, like trying to hold onto wisps of smoke.
Over the next few days, she grilled the others relentlessly about missions, team ups, anyone they might have worked with over the years. But none of them could recall what she was missing. Natasha even put aside her discomfort to directly access memories in Wanda's mind, but still - nothing.
After another fruitless day of searching, Natasha retreated to her room, body weary but mind still spinning. She settled onto the couch with a heavy sigh, rubbing her temples.
"Would you like me to access the archives again, Agent Romanoff?" FRIDAY's voice inquired politely.
"No, FRI," Natasha sighed. "There's nothing useful there."
FRIDAY was quiet a moment, then said, "I apologize, but I am unable to find any references in my database to a missing team member as you described. My records appear complete."
Natasha scowled. Of course even Stark's precious AI came up blank. Why was this so hard?
Closing her eyes, she focused on opening her mind, letting memories rise...
A skinny teen with a mop of brown hair and a grin stretching ear to ear...
His voice cracking excitedly as he rambled about science or Star Wars...
Styling his unruly hair and straightening his tie before a school dance...
Ruffling those curls teasingly as he ducked away, complaining about messing up his look...
A fierce embrace, his voice muffled against her shoulder... "Love you, Mama."
Natasha's eyes flew open with a gasp. Peter! How could she have forgotten Peter?
Her heart pounded as more flashes came to her in a rush. Movie nights and school projects. Cheering proudly at his terrible school plays. Soothing nightmares and giving advice about crushes. Feeling her soul lighten around his rambunctious brightness...
Leaping up, Natasha burst from her room, nearly crashing right into Steve in the hallway.
"Whoa!" He caught her shoulders, brow furrowing at her wild-eyed look. "Nat, what's going on?"
"Peter!" she exclaimed breathlessly. "How could we forget Peter?"
Steve frowned. "Peter who?"
Natasha made a sound of frustration, gripping his hands urgently. "Peter Parker! Spider-Man! How could we forget him?"
At Steve's continued confused look, she whirled away, sprinting for the common room. The others looked up in surprise as she rushed in.
"Peter Parker!" she said desperately. "Spider-Man! Short kid, super strong, shoots webs. He was part of the team!"
The others exchanged uneasy glances. Tony stood up cautiously. "Hey, Romanoff, take it easy. There's no Peter Parker here. We've never heard that name before."
Natasha fisted her hands in her hair, feeling wild. Why didn't they remember?
She began pacing rapidly, memories spilling out of her. "No, he was here! Don't you remember movie nights? And teasing him about his crush on that girl MJ? We took turns training him. He was too skinny, I was always telling him to eat more. And that school trip to Europe?" She whirled, pointing accusingly. "You recruited him to fight, Tony. He was so damn young, just a kid. I had to protect him..."
Her heart was in her throat, pleading with her eyes for someone, anyone to understand. The rest of the team shifted uneasily.
Finally, Wanda stepped forward, brow furrowed. "I...think I do have some impressions of what you're describing. Only fragments, but..." She tilted her head. "A sweet, young presence. Eager to help. And you fierce in your care for him." She met Natasha's desperate gaze. "I believe you. We knew this boy, somehow."
Natasha nearly sobbed in relief. If Wanda felt it too, then she wasn't crazy. Peter was real. Glancing around, she saw the others looking more thoughtful, like cobwebs being brushed from old memories.
Tony rubbed his forehead. "I swear I don't know any Peter Parker...but thinking about it, I kinda remember feeling responsible for some scrappy little punk. Never could get him to just stay put where it was safe." Despite his light tone, his eyes were conflicted.
"A noble warrior, wise beyond his years," murmured Thor, almost to himself.
"Are you guys seriously telling me we just up and forgot someone on the team?" Clint asked skeptically. But then uncertainty flickered across his face. "Though I do kinda remember being pissed at Tony for roping a kid into that fight at the airport..."
"Enough talk," Steve interrupted, straightening with determination. "If there's any chance someone's missing, we find them. Agreed?"
There was a round of determined nods. Natasha exhaled shakily. "Thank you. All of you."
It took FRIDAY considerable effort, but she was eventually able to pick up faint traces of activity linked to the name Peter Parker. That trail led them to Queens, to an apartment belonging to one Peter Parker and a roommate. Natasha could have cried in relief.
The team made their way there, still struggling to wrap their minds around the improbable gap this boy apparently left in all their memories. Natasha just knew she had to find him, had to see his face and hear his voice again.
Said roommate turned out to be just as confused as them, but granted them access to Peter's room to look for clues. Natasha reverently ran her fingers over textbooks, Lego models, pinned up photos of Peter smiling with classmates. This was real. He was real.
"Academic decathlon medals, robotics trophies...kid's a genius," Tony noted approvingly as they searched.
Steve held up an old picture frame, wiping dust away from the image of two smiling parents with a toddler Peter. "Lost his folks young. Guess we tried to step in, give him some stability." His jaw tightened. "Which we then failed at by forgetting him entirely."
Natasha's throat tightened with emotion. She had considered Peter a son, she remembered that now. Her child to love and nurture as she hadn't allowed herself to do with a child of her own. A chance to guide a new hero down a better path than the one she had walked.
Leaving the others to continue the search, she stepped out of the apartment for air, overcome. How could she have let someone so precious to her simply slip away?
Lost in thought, she almost missed the lanky figure exiting the building across the street. He had his hood pulled up and head down, shoulders hunched. But Natasha would know that slight frame anywhere. Hardly daring to breathe, she slipped into the shadows and followed.
The boy took a circuitous route, ducking down alleys and side streets clearly meant to shake any pursuit. But of course he could not elude the Black Widow on her home turf. Natasha tracked him to a small, deserted playground several blocks away.
Taking a risk, she stepped out from the trees as he neared. "Peter."
The boy went rigid before turning slowly. His eyes were wide behind the oversized glasses he wore. "Um, sorry, you've got the wrong guy." His voice cracked on the denial.
Natasha stepped closer, heart in her throat. "Peter. It's me."
Peter edged back warily. "Look, ma'am, I don't know you, okay?"
Natasha blinked back a sudden sting of tears. Did he truly not know her? She tried again, letting a hint of desperation enter her tone.
"Peter, please. It's me, Nat. You've got to remember me."
Peter's throat bobbed as he swallowed hard. But he shook his head, avoiding her gaze. "I really think you've confused me with someone else."
He started to turn away but Natasha couldn't let him go. Not again.
"Питер Бенджамин Паркер!" she shouted after him. "Не смей уходить от меня снова!" (Peter Benjamin Parker! Don't you dare walk away from me again!)
Peter froze mid-step. His shoulders started to shake. Natasha hurried over to see silent tears streaming down his cheeks.
"You know my full name," he whispered. "How could you possibly...?"
Natasha gently turned him to face her, brushing away his tears. "Oh, мой паучок. I could never truly forget you. Even when my mind didn't remember, my heart did."
Peter stared at her with huge, wet eyes. "Natasha?" he breathed, like barely daring to hope. Then he shook himself. "No, no I'm dreaming or something. You can't actually be here."
Natasha's heart clenched. She drew him into a fierce embrace, feeling his thin frame trembling against hers. "This is real, Peter. I promise you."
Peter hesitated a moment more before his arms came up to cling to her desperately. A sob burst from his throat. "I missed you so much. I missed you all so damn much!"
Natasha just held him tighter, letting her own tears fall freely into his hair. "We're here now, Peter. We found you."
At the sound of approaching footsteps, she glanced up to see the rest of the team jogging up, Tony in the lead. Peter pulled back sharply at the sight of them, scrubbing at his face.
"Mr. Stark? What...what's happening?" His voice cracked with emotion.
Tony came forward and clasped Peter's shoulders with a gentleness at odds with his usual snarky demeanor. "Hey, kid. Guess we've got some lost time to make up for."
Peter's eyes darted wildly between them. "But how... how do you all remember me? I don't understand!"
Natasha ran a soothing hand through his hair. "We're still piecing that together. But what matters now is that we found you again."
Peter looked at them all with naked longing and disbelief. "Is this real?" he whispered. "Or am I just going crazy?"
Tony rolled his eyes, but his tone was gentle as he pulled Peter into an embrace. "You're not crazy, kid. We're all here and glad to see you again."
Steve came up and squeezed Peter's shoulder with a smile. "We all missed you so much, Queens."
One by one, the others echoed the sentiment, clasping Peter's hand or pulling him into a quick hug. The teen looked utterly overwhelmed, tears flowing again.
Finally he turned back to Natasha, who wrapped him in her arms once more. "Let's go home," she murmured, stroking his hair. "We have a lot to talk about."
Peter just nodded against her shoulder, still clinging as if afraid they would disappear. The team surrounded him protectively as they headed back to the Tower. Natasha kept one arm firmly around his shoulders.
Later, gathered in the common room that had once been so full of Peter's warmth and laughter, the whole story came out. How a spell gone wrong had erased Peter from the world's memory to keep his identity secret again. How he had been completely alone these past months, mourning their loss.
Natasha's heart broke at the pain in his eyes as he recounted trying and failing to make them remember him. But she did not miss the flicker of guilt there too. Whatever exactly had happened, Peter blamed himself, that much was clear. She made a mental note to address that once he was more steady. For now, she simply held him close as the others reassured him again and again that he was home now.
The following days were a whirlwind of reconnecting with Peter, relearning habits and hobbies forgotten over the months apart. Movie nights and chicken nugget dinners. Science puns and enthusiastic rambling. Hair ruffling and exaggerated complaints about messing his curls. Each familiar ritual grounded them further into the reality that Peter was here, back where he belonged. Where Natasha could protect him again.
And if sometimes she couldn't sleep without checking on him down the hall, reassuring herself he was really there? If she hovered a little closer during training exercises? No one commented on it. They all felt that lingering fear of losing him again.
It was movie night again, weeks later, and Natasha smiled as Peter dozed against her shoulder. The team was sprawled comfortably around the room, finally settled back into their familiar rhythms.
Tony caught her eye with a knowing look and raised his bottle in a silent toast. Natasha smiled wryly back. However Peter had been taken from them before, she silently promised never to let it happen again. Their family was whole once more.