THE DRIVE TO MAY PARKER'S APARTMENT BUILDING WAS QUIET, nothing but the usual hum of the car and the radio playing quietly in the background the whole way.

"Ready to play house?" Clint asked once Nat had pulled to a stop.

He glanced over at his fake wife for the first time since he got in the car. He tried to understand what was going in her head for a few moments before ultimately coming up empty handed. The whole situation was a jumble of emotions, but Clint knew that it was worse for Natasha since she had been the one to find him back at the warehouse- Peter was her stray. And even though Clint was well acquainted with that feeling of responsibility he wasn't going to fool himself into thinking that he fully understood Natasha's thought process.

Beside him, Natasha's expression remained unreadable under his scrutiny. The only give away to her nerves was the second look that she gave the apartment building.

Natasha plastered on her conference smile when she looked at Clint. "Let's meet the neighbours."

-

Together, the pair walked up to the rundown set of double doors in an awkward silence, neither of them were willing to break just yet. Clint turned to the call buttons and pressed the one that would call to the home of one May Parker.

"Hello?" Came a tentative voice after a few seconds.

"Hi there!" Natasha announced cheerfully into the intercom. "My name is Natalie! Me and my husband Clint have just moved in upstairs- down the hall? And left the only copies of our keys inside and under the mat. Do you mind buzzing us in?"

There was soft laughter. "Happens all the time, no problem."

A large buzz went off, signalling that the door was unlocked. Clint moved forwards whilst Natasha thanked the woman profusely before joining his side as they slipped inside a small foyer.

As Clint looked around the space, waiting for the elevator to arrive, he took stock of his first impression of the woman. Despite the admittedly brief interaction, the archer had already surmised that she was kind and trusting enough to allow essential strangers into the building, having immediately bought into the routine lie that Natasha had effortlessly spun. The contrast to Peter wasn't lost to Clint as he remembered their first meeting when the teenager had almost judo flipped him no questions asked and had been fully prepared to deliver a nasty right hook-

The thought was discarded when the elevator dinged. He stepped inside and ignored the way his chest tightened with dread as they slowly rose higher into the building. It didn't help that Natasha silently brooding beside him the entire time.

Once the doors opened again, Natasha hooked their hands together and marched to May's door. She knocked rhythmically before wearing a wide, bright smile.

"You must be the new neighbours." May noted, smiling at the young couple.

The door had opened to reveal a middle-aged woman who was still wearing a set of creased hospital scrubs as if she had just returned home from work. Her hair was pulled back into a low bun with loose strands that she had tucked behind her ears in a hurry; she smiled warmly as she greeted them. The expression highlighted laugh lines and the faintest hint of wrinkles by the sides of her eyes that were beginning to set in. Both agents decided that May Parker looked nothing like her nephew, though neither had been expecting much of a resemblance since they weren't related by blood, only by law.

"I just wanted to pop by and say thanks so much for letting us up." Nat announced.

"Oh, it was nothing." May waved the thanks away, "Why don't you come in for a cup of coffee? I can give you the lay of the land." She teased whilst opening her door as an invitation.

Natasha looked excitedly back at Clint who was already smiling and nodding. "Sounds like fun."

Before they knew it, the duo was crowded around a small coffee table being served hot drinks and a plate of biscuits. The inside of the apartment was immaculate, like a teenager or a child had never set foot inside the place- however, the photos displayed on the walls and mantle gave away that there had once been a child who had lived in the home.

Natasha's breath caught in her throat as her eyes settled on the closest photo and was met with the sight of a young Peter Parker. He was grinning at the camera like he was the happiest boy in the world as he sat on top of the broad shoulders of a man with the same, warm hazel eyes. Benjamin Parker.

Even after the years with Hydra and the time he spent as a trained murderer, Peter had never been able to lose the way that his eyes were always so emotive around the people he trusted.

"So," May announced, facing the couple as she re-entered, "why are you living in Queens?"

"Grew up here." Clint said the words proudly as he smiled and squeezed Nat's hand. "Wanted to raise our future kids back home." He sounded wistful and sent a look of adoration to the redhead.

"And I decided that anywhere Clint is, well, that's my home." She kissed the man's cheek.

May Parker mumbled teasingly, "Ah, young love." as she watched them with fond, almost sad eyes. Clint felt guilty for lying to the kind woman who sipped from her own mug across from them.

"Why do you live in Queens?" Natasha asked curiously, reaching for her own drink.

Instead of dwelling on the downsides of his job, Clint happily nibbled on another biscuit and let his eyes survey the place while Nat continued to subtly press for answers and information that she couldn't deduce from her surroundings. "Sorry for prying." She blushed scarlet, "I'm so used to asking so many questions- I work as a hairdresser a couple of blocks away. I, I apologise." Clint smiled fondly at his 'wife' as she sheepishly ducked her head into her drink again.

"No harm done." May said breezily, once again waving away the apology. "I live here because I used to, before my husband died a few years back now."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

He truly was. May Parker seemed like a good woman. The kind of woman who Peter should have had a chance to grow up with instead of Hydra goons. "Did you have any kids together?"

"Oh, no." May's smile was wistful. Pained.

Natasha had the urge to reach out but she settled for tightening her grip on Clint's hand; he barely blinked at the additional pressure. "We planned but... then our nephew came to live with us." There was a hesitancy in her stature before she sighed and her shoulders slumped forwards, as if she was giving in to something. "I might as well tell you. You're bound to find out since it's always the gossip of the building when new neighbours move in." She sighed and shook herself a little- Clint and Natasha shared a glance before they tuned into the woman, "My nephew, Peter, was taken as a little boy the same night that Ben, my husband, and the babysitter was killed. I was out of town visiting a friend and when I came back... no one was here. Just a crime scene and no answers."

The second time Natasha didn't stop herself from reaching out; she took May's hand and held it tight in a silent display of reassurance and comfort. But also, an apology. "I'm sorry for your loss."

"Thank you." May's voice was soft and the words almost didn't make it to Clint's hearing aids before she brightened again and Natasha pulled back. She leaned more into Clint's side and he threw his arm over the back of the couch on instinct more than anything to allow her more room against his side. "Look at me," May's laughter was slightly wet before she cleared her throat, "spilling my heart out to you two. It's all in the past now, I just hope that Peter's happy wherever he is."

The assassin fought with the urge to say that he was alive. That Peter Parker, her missing nephew, was probably doing homework in her apartment right now just a short drive away. That he wasn't dead or missing- that he was safe and cared for and loved.

"Now." May began, drawing the woman from her thoughts, "Tell me how you two met." 

A/N

I hope I did Natasha justice in this, showing a clear change in character because she's playing up the 'friendly neighbour' but idk. But finally! May Parker has entered the chat :)

Also I really like the lowkey tension in the beginning between Clint and Nat because it shows their stance on things really well- personal opinion though.

Anywho! Let me know of any spelling mistakes! xoxo.