Lazy mornings were rare in the Barton household, but oh so appreciated.
Occasionally Nate would sleep later into the morning and on the weekends, Lila and Cooper got to sleep in past their usual time, since they had no school.
Natasha loved waking up to the sunlight streaming in through the curtains. She loved rolling over, limbs entangled with the loves of her life. She loved waking slowly, looking up at the ceiling as she righted herself from sleep. She loved giving kisses to sleepy faces. She loved watching their eyelids flutter open, sleepiness giving way to happy smiles. She loved whispered words- 'good morning, love' and 'gods you're beautiful'. She loved squishing herself into the middle and letting herself be loved.
It was one of those perfect mornings.
Natasha rolled over, pressing a kiss to Laura's cheek, the easiest of the two to wake up. Laura hummed softly, blinking her eyes open.
"Morning, beautiful." Natasha murmured, fingers brushing through silky brown hair.
"Morning, love." Laura's voice was husky and warm and always always made Natasha's stomach flutter.
"Breakfast is soon." The redhead murmured, rolling to the other side to pepper kisses to Clint's cheek. When that failed, she gently jabbed her finger into his side, causing Clint to groan and look up at Natasha. "You're a menace." He mumbled.
"You love me," Natasha grinned, "breakfast soon so get your ass up." She kissed him sweetly before hopping over him and out the bed. She watched as Clint grumbled, shuffling over to Laura, throwing his arm over her waist. Natasha smiled at the sight, heart full as she headed down the bedrooms to check on the kids.
The two older kids were still fast asleep, thank god, so she crept to Nate's room, sticking her head round the door.
The toddler looked towards her as she came in, grinning and hoisting him up and out the crib, settling the boy at her hip. "And good morning to you, little man." She hummed, pulling a silly face at him as he cooed and babbled, little hands patting her face.
Natasha picked up a stuffie from the crib; a little white bunny rabbit that he'd gotten from Lila for his birthday a week previous. He was a whole year old now.
She settled the bunny in his grasp and headed out the door. "Lets make breakfast for mommy and daddy and your siblings, huh? You're gonna be such a big help."
She settled Nate in his high chair, tickling his little chin. His breakfast was easy enough; vanilla yoghurt with strawberries (only the softest ones), they were his favourite and if he was still hungry, some of the scrambled eggs.
She pulled the high chair so he was in sight as she started on the rest of the families breakfast; toast, scrambled eggs, bacon for Clint, Laura and Cooper and grilled up mushrooms for her and Lila (Natasha was vegetarian and lately Lila had been choosing the veggie options over the meat options). She would cut up some fresh fruit and put that in a bowl on the table, serving the breakfast with juice and tea or coffee.
Pretty simple, but Natasha did good simple.
She hummed softly as she scrambled the eggs in one pan, frying the mushrooms in another, with the bacon under the grill. Nate watched her with a wide stare, clapping his hands whenever Natasha danced over to him, popping a slice of strawberry on his little tray to keep him entertained.
As she cooked, the rest of the family started to trickle down to the kitchen. By the time Clint had finally come downstairs, breakfast was just being plated up.
Everyone took their seats, Natasha by the baby. She would give Nate his breakfast and then Laura would give him the bottle of formula. She was a pro at eating with one hand and feeding with the other by now.
They chatted easily, about their plans for the weekend. They were going to take a road trip to the coast, their first adventure since Nate had been born. They had rented an adorable little cabin and would go swimming and roast marshmallows and Clint had even managed to convince the owner to let them rent them his boat.
"I bet you're excited, aren't you little bean?" Natasha cooed softly, tickling Nate's tummy. She missed the soft crinkle of Clint's eyes and the way Laura's face lit up with the softest smile.
Natasha ducked down and pressed a kiss to a pudgy cheek, grin wide. "We're going to have a great time, just you wait."
Nate giggled, clapping his hands, fingers curling around a strand of Natasha's hair. He babbled softly and just as Natasha turned back to her breakfast, she heard a word that sounded suspiciously like mama.
Natasha dropped her fork, wide eyes turning back to Nate, who laughed and reached for her. "Mama!"
She was frozen in place, shaking as she looked over at Clint and Laura, who both looked shocked. Laura had a hand over her mouth and Clint was breaking out into a massive grin.
The redhead still couldn't speak, green eyes filling with tears as Laura pushed the chair back and came to crouch in between Natasha and Nate. "That's right, baby." The brunette said softly. "Good boy, Nate, that is mama." Her hand lifted to brush red hair from Natasha's face. "See, love?"
Exhaling shakily, tears on her cheeks, Natasha lifted Nate from his high chair, holding him to her chest. "Such a clever boy." She whispered, sniffling delicately.
She'd always worried how the kids would react. She'd come into the relationship only a year before Nate had been born. The three of them had hidden their feelings for a long time; Laura and Clint not wanting to rush Natasha, who feared she would ruin the family she loved so much. It had finally come to head and after months of tentative dating, she had moved in. It had been like something had been missing for so long, and everything was finally right in the world. To Lila and Cooper, she was still Auntie Nat, though they'd started to toss around the idea with Clint and Laura about changing that. Nate, she hadn't been sure how he would react. The kids weren't biologically hers and never would be, she feared Nate would somehow know that and gravitate completely towards his real parents.
Hearing him call her mama had washed all those fears away. She may not be biologically his mama, or Lila and Cooper's mama, but she loved them like she were and she always would.
She hadn't dared to hope anything like this would ever happen.
But as Clint joined her other side and the two eldest kids rushed over to join in too, beaming and laughing and happy, Natasha felt like the luckiest girl in the world.
She'd been alone for what felt like a lifetime but she was finally home.
They were family, and always would be.