𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐖𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐘-𝐅𝐈𝐕𝐄 || 𝘌𝘳𝘺𝘴

2 WEEKS...

It'd been 2 weeks since the Red Room had fallen. 2 weeks since she last kissed her wife. And 2 weeks had felt like months.

Although she was sure Nova would've given her something to know she was on her way or could hint at where she was, it'd been radio silence. She was practically a ghost when it came to Ross's radar and made the man more desperate to capture Steve or her. So, although Natasha was happy, she was also becoming desperate with the need to see her or hear something from her. And it was times like this that Natasha hated ever teaching her wife how to stay off the grid, especially from her.

And perhaps it had been because Natasha had only escaped a few days ago from Ross and had only now gotten news from Steve. Maybe Nova had just wanted to play it safe and wait for the right moment to make a move. But with each hour that passed there had been nothing. She could only hope that Nova was with him.

But as of that moment, Natasha pulled over to the side of a random backroad. Having spotted Rick a couple hundred meters away as she rode up. Hopping off the motorcycle, she walked over with a gentle smirk etched on her face as she heard the gentle snoring coming from the man.

When she arrived at the trailer, he had been sleeping. It surprised her that he hadn't been sleeping when they picked up the helicopter. But even now, the man slept wherever he felt. As long as he had some sort of support beneath his head, the Earth was his bed.

Kicking the man's leg, she grinned wider at him flinching away and placing a hand on his chest, sighing in relief. "You ever not sleep?" She asked.

He glared, which only made the woman stare in amusement. "I've been in six different time zones in three days because of you. Three more if you count my other client," he stated, standing to his feet and beginning to silently lead her.

"Oh, really?" Natasha inquired.

"Yeah."

"What, are you scrapping together some parts?" She teased. "What'd you get me this time, like, an upside-down lawnmower?"

The man glanced at her in annoyance. "Very funny," he muttered.

"Have you heard from Nova?"

"Oh, yeah. She's been tired as of late. Even angry, which I'm not accustomed to being on the receiving end of," he explained with a shrug. "But she's been fine. Every few days she reaches out asking for more equipment. Going to bleed me dry one of these days."

For some reason, Natasha couldn't help but feel a faint sliver of jealousy. She knew Nova held no sort of intimacy with anyone and it was likely her just preparing for something. But she wished she'd gotten a call or some hidden message. Something to hold her over for the days when she yearned for nothing more than to hear her voice or see her smile. Natasha didn't consider herself to be a clingy woman, but Nova pulled pieces of her out that she wasn't aware existed.

Looking past her, Rick pointed with a prideful smile. She turned and was shocked to find a Quinjet in all its glory. Finally having followed through on her request weeks ago.

"See what I can get you with a bit of time and money?" He retorted. "I mean, the money was from your father-in-law, but still."

Natasha, for once, was at a loss for words and Rick could see it. "Go on, say it. I wanna hear it," he urged. "It would really be good for me to hear it. Really."

She looked up at him, smiling. "I'm impressed." He nodded in agreement, soaking up the praise like it were the rays of a heavenly being. "You've always been a really good friend to me."

Rick smiled faintly. "That's what every man wants to hear."

A laugh tumbled from Natasha's lips as she shook her head. Rick stuffed his hands in his pockets with a sigh. "Where are you going to go?"

"It's funny. My whole life, I didn't think I had any family. Turns out I got two, so..." she shrugged, smiling. "One of them's a bit of a mess right now. I'm gonna go break a few of them out of prison and see if I can't help patch things up."

"You forgot one."

Natasha frowned up at the man, confusion riddling her eyes.

Rick rolled his eyes and stepped past her with his hand encompassing around his mouth as he yelled, "Hey, Nova! We got a visitor!"

The loading dock of the Quinjet slowly opened and Natasha watched with a shocked smile as she saw Nova's bright features. But Natasha felt her heart squeeze at something in her grasp and a sizable bump on Nova's stomach. She let out a laugh and frowned, marching toward her wife.

Getting closer, Natasha could feel her legs cut through the air faster as her mind began to spin with the sight of Nova holding something; cradling something with red peeking out from the blanket wrapped around it.

But when she got close enough, her feet faltered at the sound of a soft babbling able to be heard. A tiny, chubby hand reached up and grabbed at the air, enabling Nova to look down with a beaming smile, cooing to it.

"Wanna see mama?"

Natasha frowned and exhaled sharply, meeting Nova's gaze as she apprehensively stepped forward. Almost scared of what her wife could be talking to. But when she caught sight of it, her breathing stopped.

A baby stared up at Nova. Its gummy smile was wide as it let out a squeal of happiness or excitement. Natasha couldn't tell, but she could see the red bristles of hair peeking from the baby's head with blue eyes brighter than any ocean in the world. And when that baby found Natasha's eyes, the entire world fell obsolete with this child being the only thing Natasha could care for.

Her entire world pulled together into one. 

Swallowing the lump in her throat, Natasha looked between the baby and her wife, frowning. "Wha-? What? When?"

"That favour I called in from my Dad, he had found a way to implant an embryo to a woman's womb based entirely on DNA from a participant," Nova explained, unable to restrain the tears from her eyes. "She's our baby, Nat."

That made Natasha snap her gaze up at her wife, lips parting with her eyebrows tensing. "A girl? A baby girl?"

"Yeah," Nova laughed, sniffling. "We used your DNA as the building block and then mixed mine." She licked her bottom lip and felt her eyes fogged up as she said, "I told him I wanted this child to look like her beautiful mother who deserved it more than me."

Nova's words made Natasha let out an involuntary sob. Her hand covered her mouth as she hugged Nova, kissing her forehead before leaning against her. Eyes unwavering to the child who looked up at them with so much curiosity and wonder.

Smiling, Natasha reached down and placed her hand on the baby's chest. "Hi, there," she greeted. "Our daughter."

Sniffling, Nova tucked her face in Natasha's hair. "I love the name Erys," she announced. "It can mean courage, wisdom, faith, hope, and admiration. Everything that you are, Nat."

Natasha let out a chuckle, admiring the baby that grabbed at her finger and smiled. "What do you think? You like that name, sweetheart?" She asked. A response and flail of the baby's arms made the two women chuckle, nodding in agreement. "I was thinking the same thing," Natasha whispered.

Truthfully, Natasha knew at some point whether it came naturally or by adoption, she wanted to have a kid with Nova. Somewhere in her heart, even if the kid wasn't biologically hers, she would've still been happy to raise a child with her wife. But this ripped the binds of Natasha's past and allowed her to fulfill something she'd always wanted. And for Nova to have done that despite so much of their situation being in disarray, it only blossomed the already immense amount of love she had for the woman.

She brought Erys into the world and didn't let anything get in the way of it. She did everything in her power to make the baby hold the same resemblance to them both. And for that, Natasha doesn't think she would ever be able to repay Nova for it.

As they stood together as a family, embracing their new life and responsibilities, a yell caught their attention. "Oye!" The pair turned to find Andrei standing in the cabin. Hand resting above him with his shotgun in the other hand. "Once you guys are done, I'd like to hold my niece for the remaining time of the fight. At least until we meet up with Steve."

"Not happening, Andrei. My wife hasn't even gotten to hold her yet," Nova called out to the man before turning to Natasha. "Want to?"

Natasha instantly nodded and carefully took Erys into her arms. Carefully following her wife up the dock and toward the cockpit. Sitting down in the co-pilot seat as Nova took the other. Reaching down the side of her chair, pulling out a mechanical prosthetic and slipping it over the missing limb. With a hiss, it locked into place and started to turn the Quinjet on.

But Natasha's gaze flickered down to the child in her grasp. Able to see the love ready to burst at the seams of Erys's eyes that were unwavering to Natasha's. A whole new life to watch grow and purpose to fulfill with every fibre of Natasha's being. And with Nova at her side, she knows they wouldn't ever fail.

Sniffling, a bright smile cut across Natasha's lips as she whispered,

"Welcome to Earth, Erys."