The Farm
“You’re doing that thing again,” there was a half chuckle in his voice as he tossed a coaster in her direction.
“What thing?” she was pretty sure she knew what “thing” her husband was talking about but needed more time to come up with a good excuse.
“That thing where you obsess over the stuff that no one else notices.”
“Yeah well…” she looked around the chaos that was her house, “I just want her to be as comfortable as possible.”
“It’s Ria babe, she's been here more times than I can count including the first 48 hours after you had Lila. I’m sure she’s not even going to notice the burn hole in the curtains,” Clint shrugged.
“The what?” she spun around and looked at the drapery before throwing a pillow at the archer's head, “Don't mess with me like that!”
Clint smiled and caught the soft item with ease, Laura rolled her eyes and wondered just how much of that was a joke. She snatched the pillow back out of his hands and put it back on the couch then fluffed it once more, and placed it down again.
“It’s not really Ria that I’m worried about anyway-”
“Clearly.”
“Thin ice Mr. Barton, you’re on thin ice,” she smiled and crouched in front of the entertainment center, taking stock of what movies they had and which ones were space related, “give me the run down again?”
Clint leaned on the wall and began to recite what he recalled from the carrier and the little pieces he had picked up from his partner, “she’s five, she doesn’t really talk, she likes juice and… I don’t know she has curly hair like Tasha.”
Laura smiled and kissed her husband’s cheek. She loved that he had thought that the most important parts of the girl were her love of juice and hair type, not the fact that the girl was from the Red Room or that she could teleport. She loved her husband.
“Right so we have about,” she shook her arm until the watch face on her wrist was upright, “an hour and a half until they’re here. That leaves enough time for you to mow the grass and for me to make cookies.”
“I thought you wanted me to clean up the playroom?” as if on cue, there was a crash and a burst of laughter from the playroom upstairs.
“I wrangle them and make them help out unless you want me to mow?” she smiled at the look of horror on the blond's face.
“Never again, not after the massacre that you left during the Cross mission.”
“You’re being dramatic, it wasn't that bad-”
“You cut it down to the dirt.”
“You were gone for a long time, I needed one less thing to worry about-”
“While you were pregnant.”
“Lila now loves the smell of cut grass-”
“During the hottest part of the day.”
She raised a single eyebrow towards her husband who laughed and kissed her, “I’ll get right on it.”
Laura pulled out all of the supplies she needed to make cookies and noticed that she was an egg short. She walked back through the living room and up the stairs towards the laughing that was still coming from the playroom.
“Hello, little gremlins!” She took in the sight in front of her, the room that had been mostly clean that morning was now littered with blocks that her son was knocking down in his best Godzilla impression, causing his little sister to laugh hysterically.
“We’re gonna clean up before Lellie gets here, don't worry!” Cooper reassured his mother.
“I’m sure Ellie,” she corrected the name, “would appreciate that.”
“How about this, you race down to the chicken coop and see if there are any eggs, and your sister and I can clean this up,” Laura reached down and brushed her son’s hair out of his face, “then when you come back we can make some cookies.”
“Okay mommy,” the little boy got up and ran down the stairs with the promise of cookies.
“Can you help bring those blocks over to the bin, baby girl?” She crouched down and picked up blocks herself and watched as Lila took two blocks in her hand and walked over to the bin that held the rest.
Time moved faster as the Barton Family waited for their visitors, the hour and a half that they originally had was now down to a matter of minutes as Laura pulled the last batch of cookies out of the oven. Her house was still a disaster in her eyes, she looked around for any last-minute things to clean up.
“You’re overthinking it,” Clint pulled a shirt over his head as he walked down the staircase.
“I just want her to be as comfortable as possible,” Laura pushed the still-damp hair out of his face, “you need a haircut, Mr. Barton.”
“Well my stylist has been booked for weeks,” the archer teased. Laura was the only person he would let near his head, or more specifically, his ears.
“I’ll have to see if there are any openings, I heard she has a soft spot for blonds,” she cradled his face and brought him in for a deep kiss.
“Even if they can’t pay?” Clint kissed the spot just below her ear.
“Oh I’m sure we could figure out a way for you to pay,” the brunette tilted her head to the side to allow for more access.
“Mommy! They- ew,” Cooper threw the front door open.
“Shh your sister is still napping,” Laura met her oldest at the door and listened to the distinct sound of tires on gravel, “thank you for letting me know.”
“Remember Coop, she is a little different than other kids,” Clint joined the family and watched as Maria continued down the long driveway.
“Right, she’s only 5 and I’m going to be 8 so I have to look out for her like Lila,” the child continued to watch the car that was approaching.
“That’s right,” Laura knew the reality that Ellie was the one who actually had the training to fight if need be, but she liked that her son took pride in taking care of others, “give her some space and let her come to you okay? No play fighting, and remember if she closes her eyes really tight you go and find an adult as soon as you can.”
Maria pulled into one of the spots in the open garage and turned around to face the backseat for what Laura could only assume was a similar conversation to the one they were having with Cooper. The Commander got out of the car and opened up the backseat where a child who looked much smaller than 5 got out. Laura’s heart broke as she took in the sight of what could only be described as a truly terrified child soldier.
Ellie’s eyes darted around until they locked with Cooper first, then Clint, then Laura where they lingered as she pressed her back into the side of the car. Maria held out a backpack that the child put on quickly and immediately grabbed the straps and pulled them tightly. She continued to scan her surroundings until Maria put another item into her hands, after that the girl seemed to calm slightly.
“Oh, Clint,” Laura’s memory was flooded with an older widow who had done the same thing the first time she was at the farm. Only this one was significantly younger and didn’t have the skill of passing the looks off as anything other than finding safety.
“I know,” he pulled her against him and planted a kiss on the side of her head.
“She has curly hair like Auntie Nat!” Apparently, all Barton men cared about hair texture.
The boy’s voice was loud enough to carry over to the garage where Ellie snapped her head in the direction of the house and looked at the child. Clint fidgeted next to her at the intense stare from the child. He was normally the designated pack mule when it came to carrying bags in, this time they didn’t approach and let the two come to them.
“Hey guys,” Maria looked tired as she dropped her old Army duffle bag on the porch, “Ellie this is Laura and Cooper and Clint. Do you remember him from when you first left that home?”
Laura picked up on how the woman had called the Red Room “that home” and smiled as softly as she could amidst her heart aching. The girl continued to stare at the ground but nodded slightly while she played with, what Laura could now tell was a flashlight.
Cooper looked up towards his parents and then back to the girl, “I like your flashlight.”
Ellie stopped fiddling with it for just long enough to look at the boy in front of her before clicking it on and off once.
“That’s Alyona, huh Ellie?” Maria prompted and Laura smiled at the name.
“Did you get to name it yourself?” She asked the little girl who glanced up again before nodding, “you’re a clever little one.”
Ellie blushed and smiled ever so slightly, Maria knitted her brows together.
“Aлена is a Russian name that means light,” Laura clarified as she pulled the information from deep in her memory. Knowing she was right as the child’s smile grew.
“Want me to help you carry your bag upstairs?” Clint asked and all three adults pretended not to notice the girl flinch at his voice.
“We got it, thanks. Lila napping?” Maria picked up the bag and followed the family into the house.
“Yeah, but she should be up in the next half hour so don't worry about being loud,” she clarified but had a feeling that noise wasn’t going to be an issue with the two of them.
“Got it, we’ll be back down in a little bit,” Maria faked a smile that didn’t quite reach the tired eyes that lacked their normal blue clarity.
“Take your time,” she returned the smile and watched as the Commander guided Ellie up the stairs.
As soon as the door clicked shut Laura guided her own family into the kitchen where she let out a deep breath, “Coop how about you go have some tablet time while your dad and I talk.”
“Okay mommy,” the boy rarely got screen time and didn’t need any further prompting to run into the living room and find the device.
“She’s really little, babe,” she spoke quietly to her husband who nodded.
“She is, but that’s why she’s here. You put weight on ex-widows better than anyone else I know,” he joked and leaned on the counter next to her.
“Clint she’s- she’s so little-” Laura wasn’t sure why, but it was all she could say, over and over. Her voice caught in her throat, she imagined her own children going through what Ellie had gone through. She was only slightly bigger than her 3-year-old who was fast asleep upstairs, never having worried about any of the horrors the ex-widow had faced.
“I know,” the blond brought her into his arms again, “but she’s out now.”
“And Ria- shit Clint I can’t remember the last time I saw her that tired. LLQ maybe?” She tilted her head up and looked at her husband.
“God I hated that mission,” he chuckled, “being a new parent is hard, doing it alone, with a kid from The Room? I can’t say I would even be standing at this point.”
Laura hummed in agreement and hoped that her friend could get some well-deserved rest while she was at the farm. She had called Fury the week before and cashed in a favor (she now had 4 left) to get the Deputy Director two weeks off, he had negotiated down to a week off and a week of work from home. He never specified which home, the brunette took it as a win.
“You know where Tasha is?” she tried to ask as innocently as possible.
“Stop meddling.” Clint rolled his eyes.
“I’m not meddling, I’m just curious because Ria just went straight to their room and I was thinking that if Tasha comes back soon we’ll have to move Ellie into the extra room. Just wondering if I should go and make up that bed-”
“First of all, you already made that bed with fresh sheets. I saw you carry the extra set up there this morning.”
Busted.
“Second of all, Tasha won't be back for a while.”
“So,” she raised her eyebrow, “you do know where she is.”
“I know that she’s busy and not- well I think she's not, in this country anymore,” her husband scratched the back of his neck, “I do however know that you’re meddling.”
“It’s not meddling if they are in love-” she started.
“I don’t think that’s an actual rule-” Clint started.
“Rules? I love rules. Which one?” Maria emerged from the living room, the child in tow.
“Rules about how you could possibly keep someone this sweet away from your closest friends for almost a month! There has to be a rule about not doing that,” she tried to cover, if Maria didn’t believe her, she was too tired to say anything and just smiled in agreement.
“Sounds like I’m a rule breaker then,” the woman chuckled, “we were wondering if maybe Cooper wanted to join us for a snack?”
Laura thought back to how when Clint first told her about the child, he had mentioned her feeding tube and while that seemed to no longer be present, she was sure the feeding regime was still intense.
“Of course, let me go pull him off the tablet. Babe, can you cut up some apples?” she asked on her way out of the kitchen.
“Let me guess, you like peanut butter too?” Clint asked the child who still shied behind Mria, his voice fading out as Laura approached her son.
“Hi, are you at a good pausing point?” she watched as Cooper slowly pulled his vision away from the screen in front of him, “Ellie is going to have a snack and I bet your sister would want one too when she’s up.”
“One more minute and then this part is over,” the child’s eyes were back on the screen.
“Okay,” she kissed the top of his head and went back into the kitchen where Ellie and Maria were already sitting at the kitchen table, “Do you want juice with your snack?”
The girl’s eyes (which were already adorably large in Laura’s opinion) grew wide at the question spoken in Russian. Ellie nodded and looked to Maria who smiled and whispered loudly, “told ya.”
She filled up two cups with apple juice and placed one in front of the girl who knelt on the bench closest to the wall. The odd way of sitting didn’t just catch her attention, but that of her husband as well who had a fond smile on his face as he brought the sliced fruit and peanut butter over to the table.
“It could be a coincidence but my gut reaction says that it’s a trained thing,” Maria had caught the two Barton’s staring.
Natasha sat in the exact same position any time she was on a flat surface, on her knees, ankles crossed at the back. Laura remembered thinking how uncomfortable it must have been when she first saw her do it, but after insisting that it wasn’t, the older woman stopped questioning it.
Before they could talk about it anymore, the Barton’s oldest child made an appearance, “hi, I’m Cooper from when we met at the front door.”
Ellie glanced up quickly, and then focused once more on the juice in front of her, “hi.”
Laura relaxed a little more as she heard the very sweet voice come out of the very sweet child for the first time. She watched as Cooper sat in his normal spot on the bench across from the newest addition and reached for the apples on the shared plate.
“Do you like Ben10?” The boy was obsessed with the shape-shifting cartoon.
Elie shrugged and took a piece of fruit after watching Cooper dip his in the peanut butter.
“Ellie doesn’t know too many cartoons but maybe you can show her later?” Maria offered.
“Yeah I can show you later if Mommy says I can watch, I get to watch one before bed a lot of the time so maybe you and me could do that,” the boy took another bite and watched as the girl in front of him nodded, “or we can watch what you like to watch. What do you watch?”
Clint came up from behind her and massaged Laura’s shoulders, she suddenly realized how tense she had been and relaxed. She had a good kid, and everything was going to be okay.
“Um,” Ellie tapped her fingers together in a rhythmic motion, “watch space shows.”
“I don’t know that much about space,” Cooper said quietly, “but you don’t know about Ben10 so we can teach each other.”
She had a really good kid.
“Mommy!” Lila yelled from the top of the staircase. The rule was, she wasn't allowed to walk down the staircase by herself and so the child promptly called to her mother from across the house.
“You have a good nap, sweetheart?” Her hands wrapped around her youngest as she propped her up on her hip and descended the staircase.
Laura deposited her daughter into her husband's lap with practiced ease as he continued to joke with Maria who was perched carefully next to Ellie.
“I’m tellin’ you, Ria, they were literally using juggling as a weapon,” he took a slice of apple from his son and crunched it loudly before taking another and giving it to Lila to chew on.
“Like throwing bowling pins at you?” the brunette laughed.
“Yeah but some of them were explosive- and well… some were just regular but those hurt to get hit with ya know?” her husband rubbed the back of his neck.
“I’m not saying it didn’t hurt, I’m just saying that in the grand scheme of things, it doesn’t sound like the worst mission you’ve been on. He had a lot on his plate in the beginning with the both of you,” the Commander’s face fell from joking to somber.
“He insisted! I’m telling you, Phil is the first person to bring-” the blond caught himself, and soon his face matched that of the woman next to him, “Phil was the first person to bring up the fact that he wanted both of us on his team…”
Laura watched as Ellie put the slice of fruit that had been in her hand down on the table, seemingly having lost her appetite at the mention of the man. She wondered if the girl had been close with Phil or if she was just taking in the shift in energy she had no doubt been trained to detect. Maria gave the girl a soft smile and reached her hand out to hold the girls.
“Daddy, can I show Ellie Ben10?” Cooper, oblivious to the conversation, finished the last of his juice.
“If Mommy and Ria are okay with it,” the archer flashed a smile at his wife, of course, she had to be the bad guy.
“One episode is okay with me,” she handed her daughter another apple slice and watched as Maria turned her head to the child.
“Wanna hang out here or go watch a cartoon with Cooper?” the woman asked and after a moment where no verbal words were spoken, she added, “I’ll still be right here.”
Apparently, that was all the girl needed to hear as she got up and stood next to Cooper, waiting for him to lead them into the living room. Laura watched as the two children made their way into the adjacent room and then onto the couch where the girl knelt on a cushion and listened to the boy who chattered away next to her.
As the afternoon moved along, she found herself watching the two older children less and less, and paying more attention to the brunette across from her who had a hawk-like quality as she watched over the kids.
“He had it coming with a name like that, I mean who really thinks ‘Hangman’ is a good villain name?” Maria asked while keeping her focus on Ellie.
“I give him points for the pun, but I agree. Terrible name,” Clint laughed.
“Hey, Ria?” Laura watched as the woman slowly shifted her gaze to the woman across from her, “she’s going to be okay if you take your eyes off her.”
“Yeah I know, I just-” the brunette blinked and took a sip of the beer in front of her.
“The blocks aren't going to hurt her,” she smiled and watched as Lilia knocked her brother's tower over, getting a round of laughter from both Barton children.
“It’s not her that I worry about,” Maria spoke quietly, “I haven’t seen her around anyone younger than her and she can get a little… particular.”
The sentence was enough to draw the attention of every adult to the little curly-haired child. Ellie had stacked a few blocks on top of each other and was watching as the siblings laughed again as Lila toppled another stack Cooper had built. Clint and Maria were both nervous about what was about to happen as they watched Lila get closer to Ellie’s blocks, both sighing in relief as the three-year-old walked back toward her brother.
Laura, however, frowned as she watched the Russian child hunch her shoulders forward. She had clearly wanted to be part of the fun but didn’t know how to ask. And so Laura continued to watch Maria, who continued to watch Ellie, who continued to watch Lila until Clint got everyone's attention as he stood up and spoke.
“Burger time, rugrats,” he smiled, “time to go grill and for you to get fresh air.”
The evenings were getting longer and warmer with the summer quickly approaching, something that Laura was immensely grateful for after a long winter of trying to keep the peace in their house. She stood up and joined her husband who had already grabbed the preformed patties from the fridge and was holding the door open to the backyard.
“Want to join?” She looked over towards the brunette who was still watching Ellie.
“Yeah, yeah just give us a second,” Maria walked into the living room and helped the children put the blocks away.
Sensing that they needed a moment of privacy, the younger woman joined her husband and children on the back deck. Immediately both kids bolted for the tire swing that the blond had hung the week prior. She wrapped her arms around her husband and closed her eyes, listening as he started the grill.
“She’s like you were with Cooper before Lila was born and I was gone to Turkey,” he let out a deep breath.
She had been thinking the same thing. It was the first time Clint had left for a prolonged period of time (see: Clint Barton was undercover for 5 months in Istanbul) and she fell into being a single, paranoid, parent. It had taken days for her to finally let her guard down once the man was back, and then a few more weeks for her to actually trust anyone else with Cooper. It was stressful, it was demanding, and it was tiring. The same type of tiredness that she could see in the eyes of one of her closest friends.
Laura hummed in agreement and opened her eyes, “she doesn’t know how to let anyone else help her.”
“Sometimes you gotta force the help onto them,” he started placing patties on the now hot grill, “Hey Ellie!”
Laura looked back into the house at the child who whipped her head in the direction of her name. She was standing in front of Maria who had knelt down next to her and was talking to her, at the sound of the name the woman turned her head too.
“Clint,” she released her husband from the hug and slapped his arm.
“Sometimes you gotta force it, babe,” he reiterated, “Ellie, you like cheese?”
Maria, looking somewhat annoyed, grabbed the rest of her beer and joined the family outside, Ellie trailing behind her like a perfect shadow.
“What do you think, kid? You like cheese?” the archer asked as the girl walked onto the deck and shrugged.
“Did you like the grilled cheese I made you before we got on the plane?” Maria leaned against the railing and asked the girl who nodded, “want to go play on the swing?”
The two Barton children were both trying to sit in the swing, it would inevitably end with one of them falling out, and possibly tears, but she was going to let them figure that one out. She had missed the response from Ellie, probably because it wasn’t verbal, but watched as the child carefully walked down the steps off the desk and towards the other kids.
“So, you two are good in Tasha’s room or-” she started to ask, unable to keep the topic to herself anymore.
“Shit, I didn’t even think. I shouldn’t have taken that room-” Maria looked at Laura who held her hand up.
“Don’t, it’s your room just as much as it’s Tasha’s. I just didn’t know if you wanted Ellie in the guestroom or with you?”
It was the truth, the room had been Natasha’s ever since they bought the farm, but it quickly changed to both of theirs given how often they were in it together. In the beginning, Laura put fresh sheets on the beds in both guest rooms, but after a few visits, she noticed that while Maria would go to bed in the guest room, she would always catch her coming out of Natasha’s room in the morning. At some point, the two stopped going to bed in separate rooms, and at this point, there were equal amounts of both Natasha's and Maria’s spare clothes in the dresser.
“She’ll be the most comfortable in the room with me,” the brunette said, watching as Ellie slowly approached the other children. Lila had run off to the chicken coop close by and was terrorizing the flightless avian, which left Cooper and Ellie to figure out the swing.
“Alright Maria Hill, do your thing,” she leaned against the rail of the deck, “I know you have a million questions for me.”
“Not a million,” the blue-eyed woman's cheeks blushed ever so slightly, “but there are some that the parenting books don’t answer.”
“I can’t say that I’ll have an answer,” she watched as the taller woman nodded.
“How long is too long to leave her at daycare? I feel like I’m at work all day and that I’m not giving her enough time with me-” Maria started to spiral.
“You do the best you can. Does she like daycare?” she countered with her own question.
“She just made a friend there, she seems like she likes it. I just feel like she should see me more maybe, I’m her- guardian,” the brunette changed her title at the last second. You’ll get there, Laura thought.
“Hey Coop!” she yelled to her son, “do you like spending time at school?”
“Yes? Except reading!” he yelled back from the swing that Ellie was eyeing.
“See, and he’s there for 8 hours a day.” Laura smiled, “next question.”
“She hates brushing her teeth,” the Commander sighed.
“Lila loves it, Coop hates it. When I come up with a solution, you’ll be the first to know,” she laughed, “just wait until you have to take her to the dentist, that will be a whole ordeal.”
“I need to find a dentist for her-”
“She still has her baby teeth, you have time,” she smiled at her friend who was deep in thought, “do you have a pediatrician?”
“Yeah, Dr. Carter, she’s SHIELD we’re going in next month to get a refill of her prescription and check-up.”
“Oh Carter is great, she was Coop’s primary before I retired and we moved,” Laura looked at the house, thankful for how long they had been in it now, “She can get you a child psychologist referral too.”
“That’s the next step after we get into a routine,” Maria sighed, “we’ll see how that goes.”
“As bad as Tasha?” Clint asked from the grill.
“God, I hope not, that was like herding wet cats for the first dozen sessions,” the woman took a drink from her beer and looked back to Laura, “have either of them ever had bullies?”
“Cooper has, Lila… were more concerned about being the bully,” as if on cue, the girl screeched from her spot by the chicken, “why?”
“There are these girls at The Center who started picking on her, taking her books I guess, and I want to fire their parents.”
Leave it to the Deputy Director to get people fired over hurting her kid's feelings, she tried to stifle her laugh, “have you talked to the people who work there? See what they are doing about it?”
“Yeah um Grace, she’s keeping an eye on it,” the brunette took another sip of her beer.
Laura squinted, “what aren’t you telling me?”
“What? Nothing, no I just wanted to know if you knew anything about kids being bullied,” Maria tried to cover up.
Before she could push the question, her son had one that caught her attention.
“Do you want to swing, Lellie?” he was asking the green-eyed girl as he slowed his legs.
All three adults watched as Ellie stood next to the tire swing, nervously clenching her fists until Cooper got off the oversized tire and offered his spot. The curly-haired girl stood on her tiptoes until she reached the seat of the swing and sat down. Ellie wiggled her whole body as she tried to mimic the swinging motion she had seen from Cooper, however, she was much smaller and the tire only swung slightly. Clearly frustrated, the girl went to get up.
“Wait,” Cooper stood in front of her and raised his hands, “Let me help you.”
The adults continued to stare as the oldest Barton child walked behind Ellie and slowly pushed her. He had done it many times with his younger sister and knew not to push too hard, but it wasn’t until the girl smiled that everyone let out a sigh. She slowly got higher and higher as Cooper pushed her and coached her to pump her legs.
Then, like a symphony of bells, the girl started to laugh, light and airy as she tilted her head back. Every time gravity would pull the swing back toward the ground, the girl would giggle, her smile causing her eyes to squint in the late afternoon sun. Laura turned to comment on how cute the laugh was but paused as she saw the woman next to her quietly wipe away a tear.
“I’ve never heard her laugh before,” Maria said, barely above a whisper.
“Well, she’s got a good one,” Laura wrapped her arm around the Commander's shoulder and rested her head, “she’s got a good mom too.”
“Aw damn it,” Clint pulled them back to reality, “burned a burger… or three.”
“Mommy,” Lila stood at the bottom of the deck stairs and held up a collection of feathers.
“Wow, look at those!” She retrieved her daughter and hoped the feathers had just been on the ground, and not actively connected to any of the chickens.
“Hey you two, dinner’s almost ready!” Clint called out to the two older children.
It happened in slow motion, Cooper had helped Ellie get off the swing but before she could find steady legs, she started to fall forward. One second she was headed toward the ground, and in the next her eyes were closed tightly and she was tumbling next to Maria. Everyone was silent until Ellie gave a lopsided grin.
“You didn’t mean to do that, did you?” Maria was still wide-eyed as the girl shook her head.
“WOAH!” Cooper threw his hands into the air, “That was amazing! Can you do it again??”
Ellie shrugged, “did not have dinner.”
Laura looked at her husband whose mouth was still open.
“You okay?” Maria asked the girl who nodded and let out a deep breath, “tired?” the child nodded again and leaned against the woman’s leg, “let’s eat and see how you feel after.”
She let the two of them sit alone as she carried her own child into the house to set the dinner table, trying to wrap her head around what had just happened. She knew that the girl could teleport, she knew, but seeing it in person was a whole different thing. It was jarring for her, she could only imagine how scary it was for the child to whom it happened to.
The rest of the night had been quiet, it was obvious how much teleporting depleted the girl who was barely keeping her eyes open after dinner. Laura had just put Lila down for the night and rejoined her husband and friend who had finished cleaning up the kitchen and sat around the table.
“I mean I think it would really fill out the backyard, plus it’s one less section for me to have to mow,” Clint had just brought another round of beers back to the table, “Right babe?”
“Talking about a pool?” She took a swig of her husband's drink.
Maria nodded and opened up her own drink, glancing over at the kids who were watching Ben10 in the living room, “I think it’s a great idea.”
“Does she swim?” Clint looked at Ellie who had all but fallen asleep.
“I highly doubt it,” the brunette answered, “we just recently learned that baths are warm.”
It was sentences like this that truly broke Laura’s heart, she knew the horrors of the Red Room but it was different seeing it firsthand with a child.
“Shit even Tasha knew-” her husband started.
“That’s because Tasha was an adult when she defected. She had been going on solo missions for years and got a taste of what life was like outside The Room,” Maria took a swig of her beer, “Not to say that didn’t come with its own set of traumas with HoneyPot missions and lacking resources but… she’s 5. It’s different.”
“How is she?” Laura knew it was a risky question.
“No clue, haven’t heard from her in days,” the Commander took another sip, wiping some of the condensation off the bottle.
“No videos?” Laura asked, knowing that the Russian would send at least one to the Deputy Director a day.
Maria shook her head, another sip.
“She still in Europe?” Clint asked this time.
Maria shrugged, another sip.
“Why don’t you go give her a call, just see how she’s doing,” it was the first question that got a real response.
“I-” the woman looked at her, and then glanced at the child who was now asleep on the couch.
“We’ll watch her and get you if she needs anything,” she tried to encourage with a warm smile.
“I don't even know where she is, she could be sleeping-”
Clint laughed.
Maria narrowed her eyes, “or getting information… Or-”
“Ria, it’s you,” the blond stated as if that answered everything.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” the Commander raised an eyebrow.
“It means she’ll answer, even if she’s sleeping, even if she’s on recon.”
The woman glanced towards the couch once more before grabbing her beer bottle by the neck and opening up the back door. Laura watched as she pulled her phone out of her pocket and ran a hand through her hand before calling Natasha. She waited with bated breath until the brunette herself seemed to let out her own held breath before she started talking.
“See,” Clint nodded, “she always answers Ria.”
Laura glanced once more at the woman seated on the stairs of her deck who had the smallest smile on her face, “I know, it’s the two of them who still need to figure that out.”
“I don’t understand, it’s like they’re purposefully trying to not be together,” the archer sighed and leaned back in his chair.
“They both think they’re saving the other by not being together,” she had talked to both women enough to know that.
“Well, they’d be saving me a whole lot of grey hairs by just sucking it up and dating.”
“Not everyone is as lucky as us, babe,” she curled into his side, finding comfort in the arm that draped over her shoulder, “they’ll figure it out.”
The married couple looked at the children who were now both asleep on the couch, the cartoon running in the background. It was easy to forget the horrors of the girl’s life as she rested her head on the armrest of the couch, her breathing slow, she looked just like the boy next to her. She hoped, above everything else, that Ellie would continue to grow and start a life that was just like the boy next to her.
“She must be really tired to be okay with sleeping that close to another kid,” Laura commented, she thought about how hesitant Natasha was to sleep in front of people.
“I think that’s why she's sleeping,” Clint’s voice vibrated through his chest, “Ria sent over this doc with questions for Tasha and we talked about some of them. The kid was sleeping in dorms with a ton of other girls, all she’s ever known was sleeping around someone else.”
It made sense as to why Maria had said they would be fine sharing the room upstairs. She didn’t know how to feel about it and shifted her gaze to the woman on her deck. Maria was nodding along to whatever was being said and ran another hand through her hair.
She worried about the conversation, she worried about the overall health of Maria, she worried about the unknown.
“If Ria doesn’t keep her, I want her,” Clint’s voice was low, bringing her out of her own head.
“Oh if Ria doesn’t keep her, we’re the first ones on the list,” she chuckled, “but she’ll keep her. You see the way she looks at her? Like that girl is made out of gold. There’s no way anyone is taking her away from Ria.”
That much she was sure about.