Steve's POV

Clint's kids had been with us for a few days now and it was starting to become a normality for pleasant squeals and giggles to fill the halls. That also meant though that it wasn't unusal to hear crying. As it turns out that was the noise that woke me from my slumber. Little Nathaniel was wailing his lungs off two rooms down the hall. I thought that maybe we had been lucky since he hadn't cried the first two nights but it seems that luck was about to end. I waited patiently for one of the girls to go quiet him but when it seemed that no one was willing to jeopardize their precious sleep I forced open my eyes. I was fine with coloring, great at making them lunch, and awesome when it came to playing air plane. As for crying infants I wasn't exactly sure that I could handle such a task.

Slipping out of my room not bothering to be quiet since everyone, but Thor, would be awake, I headed in the direction of the noise. It grew slightly louder as I neared until the cries slowed and it became muffled. Curious as to why Nathaniel had stopped crying I stopped in front of the cracked door and eased it open in case he had managed to fall asleep. It took a moment for my eyes to adjust to the darkness but soon I was able to take in the surroundings. The window was cracked open slightly allowing a breeze to ruffle the curtains. The moon decided to pay a visit and its light shone through the window in soft pale wrays. With the soft glow illuminating the room everything was highlighted in a silver shimmer.

Turning my head I was about to enter when I saw someone leaning over Nathaniel's crib. He was sitting up ,something he had learned recently according to Clint, and was smiling, showing his gums. With careful hands the person lifted him up and he clapped his hands in delight. The moon hugged them in its comforting aura. As the figure straightened it became clear who it was by the shimmering shock of red hair.

"Alright little guy. Now that you woke everyone up you want to be quiet? Classic, real classic." Nathaniel laughed his childish giggle at Natasha's teasing tone. I couldn't help the smile that formed my lips. " Well I know I'm not your Daddy or Mommy but I do know that you like stories. That's what I've been told. So, that's what we're going to do."

Pulling up a chair and resting it just under the winow she sat down cradling Nathaniel in her arms. Her back was facing me but it was clear to see she was perfectly at ease with him, especially for not having a lot of experience with children. Leaning against the door frame I listened carefully.

" Once upon a time there was a little cat. A baby cat, kind of like you. He was small, the runt of the litter, and different from his brothers and sisters. He was a black cat with tiny white paws, almost like he was wearing socks. One day though when it was raining and the wind was howling. The small little kitten hid under a bush trying to hide from the loud claps of thunder. He curled up into a small fuzzy ball and waited patiently for the storm to pass. It went on and on, forever it seemed, the rain coming down harder by the second." Her words were soft and gentle but it sounded like she was remembering something, her voice holding a wistful tone.

" Cold and wet the little cat shivered. He was used to being tough, after all he was the runt of the litter, but something about the situation seemed to drain his energy. As the minutes ticked by the little cat grew sleepy but was jolted awake when he heard the sound of clomping. Peeking out from under his hiding spot the little kitten saw a man. He had big black rain boots on and an umbrella in his hand. Curious the cat crawled out from its hiding spot and plopped down on the side walk in front of the man. Now the man didn't like kittens. He didn't like cats in general. pointing his umbrella at the cat he tried to scare it. When it didn't move he studied it and a long pause followed. Fed up with the poor thing's shivers and defeated eyes he scooped it up. Taking the cat home he offered it a home where it was warm and safe. After that the two were inseperable always together." She paused as Nathaniel yawned, closing his eyes, his face relaxing. She didn't move for a moment and once she was sureh he was asleep stood up carefully resting him back in his bed.

"You're lucky you know that? You've got a good family." With that she kissed him lightly on his forehead. Turning I left, quickly heading back to my room before silently shutting the door. She wouldn't take kindly to my eaves dropping. Upon making myself comfortable I thought back to what had just happened. She had sat down and held Nathaniel with such care and love. It wasn't a side I was used to seeing from her even though I knew it existed. In fact most of the time I think people forgot she had a heart. I had just witnessed a vulnerability of hers that hadn't been meant for my eyes. With a slight guilt creeping into my chest I rolled over closing my eyes and letting my mind wander. It kept coming back to one thing though. The story she had told wasn't some old tale she had made up. It seemed that there was more to it. A message hidden in its folds. Leave it up to a spy to make a tale not so simple.

Laughing quietly to myself I rmemebered that Clint would be returning tomorrow and tomorrow we had a meeting. Something of importance according to Fury. The only question was what?