───✱*.｡:｡✱*.:｡✧*.｡✰ ───

Most of the team wasn't in the right state of mind when they all returned to the jet. Thor still felt chills down his spine, Steve stayed quiet with his own thoughts, and Bruce was covered in a layer of sweat after his stunt as the Hulk. Natasha sat silently in one of the chair while staring down at her hands. (Y/N) was lulled to sleep by the constant sound of the working engine of the jet, but still looked bothered in her sleep since her eyebrows were furrowed. Clint was the one to place his jacket over her figure to calm her down after what he saw back in the cargo ship, and looked back every now and then from the cockpit to see how she was.

"The news is loving you guys," Hill's voice came through the radio. "Nobody else is. There's been no official call for Banner's arrest but it's in the air."

"The Stark Relief Foundation?" Tony questioned from his spot after being silent for the entire ride, which was unlike him.

"Already on the scene," Maria responded. "How's the team?"

"Everyone's. . ." Tony trailed off. "We took a hit. We'll shake it off."

"Well, for now, I'd stay in stealth mode and stay away from here."

"So, run and hide?"

"Until we can find Ultron, I don't have a lot else to offer."

Tony sighed. His eyes fell on his weakened teammates, but they easily trailed off to (Y/N)'s asleep form. "Neither do we."

Maria stayed silent and Tony cut off communication with her, finally standing up from his seat. With a sigh, he moved forward to the cockpit where Clint was piloting, and see that it was already night time.

"Hey, you wanna switch out?" he asked him.

"No, I'm good," Clint told him. "If you wanna get some kip, now's a good time because we're still a few hours out."

"A few hours from where?"

"A safe house."

───✱*.｡:｡✱*.:｡✧*.｡✰ ───

By the time the sun reached the sky, the jet landed in a plain green field, also surrounded by hundreds of trees that covered the area they were on. There was no sign of anyone or anything else around besides the big, white cabin that stood a few feet away from where they landed.

Clint led the group through the fence that surrounded the house, holding onto Natasha for support. (Y/N), who was still groggy from her nap, had Thor grabbing onto her arm ever since they stepped outside the jet. The seven climbed up the steps in the porch that led to the front door, and Clint fixated on opening it up.

"What is this place?" Thor asked out loud, eyes still focused on (Y/N) as she now removed half her weight off him and stood by her own, as if she was recognizing her surroundings.

"Safe house," Tony was the one to reply.

(Y/N) wrapped her arms around herself, fingers brushing through the fabric of her suit to ease down her chills. She felt pairs of eyes following her from behind, but decided to brush them off.

"Let's hope," Clint opened the front door and crossed the threshold with Natasha by his side.

Everyone else followed suit, looking around their unfamiliar surroundings to see a regular civilian home. Frames on the walls, decorations on the shelves, even old pairs of shoes tossed around the floor.

"Honey?" Clint called out to the air. "I'm home."

Just as (Y/N) expected, Laura Barton appeared from a hidden corner of the house with a confused look in her eyes. She was holding onto colored markers and recycled paper, but the thing that caught everyone's attention was her round stomach hidden underneath her shirt.

(Y/N) could see how Tony frowned from the corner of her eye but decided to ignore it. Laura welcomed Clint with a peck on the lips and embraced him in a hug. He attempted to make an excuse for the barging in of his teammates. "Company. Sorry, didn't call ahead."

Tony seemed startled by their share of affection. "This is an agent of some kind."

"Gentlemen, this is Laura," Clint looked at the team.

Laura waved in greeting before speaking. "I know all of your names."

All Laura received were awkward grins or smiles, obviously feeling out of place with the extravagant and loud suits. Before anyone else could say something, footsteps from the stairs called Clint's attention, and he moved away from Laura to receive the boy and girl that had run down the stairs.

"Dad!"

"Hi, sweetheart!" Clint immediately pulled the little girl, Lila, to his arms. Then pulled his son, Cooper, with his free arm for a hug. "Hey, buddy."

"How are you guys doing?"

"Look at your face!"

A frown was set upon the men's faces at the sight of the children, but the only one to voice his thoughts out loud was Tony. He didn't try stop the words from escaping his mouth and pointed at the kids. "These are smaller agents."

Clint placed Lila down from his arms, and the young girl looked up to her dad with wide eyes.

"Did you bring Auntie Nat?"

Natasha instantly lit up at the sound of her voice and brushed her torments to make her presence known for Lila. "Why don't you hug her and find out?"

Lila rushed to Natasha's arms, who didn't hesitate in pulling her up for an embrace. Meanwhile, Cooper turned to his father in excitement, tugging on his suit.

"Is Aunt (Y/N) here too?" he was bouncing off his feet.

(Y/N) stepped into Cooper's line of sight, washing the distant look out of her face. "You betcha, little guy."

Cooper almost let out a squeal of excitement and wrapped his arms around her middle, and (Y/N) ruffled her hands though the boy's hair. She knew the thousands of questions he probably had prepared for her like he always did, and he almost opened his mouth when another voice spoke up.

"Sorry for barging in on you," Steve apologized.

"Yeah, we would've called ahead but we were busy having no idea that you existed," Tony sarcastically said, and received a warning glance from (Y/N) on his right.

"Yeah, well, Fury helped me set this up when I joined," Clint explained, arms still wrapped around Laura. "He kept it off S.H.I.E.L.D.'s files. I'd like to keep it that way. I figure it's a good place to lay low."

Lila was now down from Natasha's arms and left the living room, not before she waved as a welcome to (Y/N) and called for her brother. Both children scattered away in the house, and now (Y/N)'s attention focused on Laura.

"I missed you, Lieutenant," Laura greeted her with a hint of a playful tone.

"Oh, please, you can't call me like that anymore," (Y/N) brushed her off, knowing she just did it out of fun. She hovered her hands over Laura's stomach and raised an eyebrow in question. "How's my little godchild? Are you naming her or him after me?"

"Now, we agreed I got the naming rights," Natasha cut in, standing beside her friend, touching Laura's stomach carefully. "How's little Natasha, huh?"

"She's . . ." Laura trailed off. "Nathaniel."

The smile washed off Natasha's face and a laugh escaped (Y/N)'s as if this was the funniest thing she's ever witnessed. Natasha leaned down to be at eye level with the baby, glaring down at it.

"Traitor."

Although Natasha wasn't entirely happy with having the name of the baby changed, she and (Y/N) congratulated Laura for carrying a baby boy. They chatted amongst each other and Clint kept an ear on the conversation, wrapping an arm around his wife's shoulders again.

For a small second, Natasha removed her gaze from the people she was talking with and caught a glimpse of Tony still standing in the living room, specifically looking at something or someone in particular. She followed his gaze and noticed how it fell on (Y/N), and she discretely nudged Laura for her attention to see for herself.

(Y/N) noticed the cheeky glance they were exchanging. "What?"

"Someone's caught Stark's eye," Laura began, balancing her weight.

"Not you too," (Y/N) quietly complained, glaring at Natasha since she was probably the mastermind behind it. "Who's next, huh? Fury?"

"If that's what it takes for you two to talk it out, then yes," Natasha confessed, crossing her arms.

(Y/N) mirrored her position. "Fine, then. I'll try. If he avoids me, it's over. Satisfied?"

Natasha wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "You see, that wasn't so bad."

i'm back !! so, i'll split this part of the movie in two parts because i feel like it would be too much if i did the majority of it in one.

okay, i don't want to come out so pressuring, but please leave comments on the book, im not a big fan of ghost readers, i want to see the reactions you have on certain parts of the book. i'll appreciate it <3

-see you soon, bex :)