December 2008-

It had been two months since the trio's first pizza and UNO night, and it certainly wasn't the last. The group frequently hung out together and had become a small family. Whenever one went on a mission, they would be a blob of anxiety waiting for them to come home.

The other Agents in SHIELD had warmed up to Natasha over the months after she proved her capabilities and good motives time and time again, working her way up through the ranks in record time. Eleanor couldn't be prouder seeing Nat flourish in this environment, and she genuinely looked happy. What Eleanor didn't know, however, was Nat's happy mood grew tenfold when she was with her.

The two had grown considerably close, they were inseparable aside from when sleeping and on missions. This was of course noticed by Clint, and so he would tease them about it on a daily basis. Eleanor didn't want to make a big deal about it and so just let Clint do his thing.

The two would deny that anything was going on, but it had reached a point where it was painful to deny it now, as they didn't really want to be denying it.

It wasn't a sudden moment where the two started developing more than platonic feelings towards one another, it had been very gradual which was confusing for the pair, as they couldn't properly figure out if it was their friendship growing or if it was something else.

Eleanor couldn't deny that Natasha was stunning. Eyes turned when she walked into a room. She admired her intelligence and strength, and how her aura exuded confidence, it was intimidating in the best way possible. She felt comfortable around her, there was never any judgement, never a dull moment. She loved how Nat would get protective of her in new situations, even if she was nervous as well, and how their sense of humour clicked together.

Natasha couldn't get enough of Eleanor, she was her safe space, she needed her just as much as she needed the oxygen she breathes. Effortlessly pretty, goofy, hardworking. The way she was socially anxious but if Nat needed help in a social situation she wouldn't hesitate to jump in and handle it for her. The way she can light up a room with her laugh, the way she is convinced she can cook, but can really only throw chicken nuggets in the oven. She had never come across someone like her before, she was intrigued.

On paper, it should have been obvious, but the two were confused and oblivious to the fact that the other had feelings for them. As much as Clint loved teasing them about it, he was also extremely frustrated that they hadn't realised. He kept putting them in situations together hoping it would work, there have even been multiple times he made group plans and then dropped out last minute so that the two were alone together outside of HQ. So far, it had not been working.

This had led to some great days out for the pair however, they had gone bowling, gone to the cinema then snuck into another screen after their movie had finished, breathtaking hikes. Eleanor loved taking photos and selfies to remember all of these occasions, Nat acted as though she hated it but at the end of the day, she would always get Eleanor to send her the photos. She liked to look at them when she was feeling down, to remind her she wasn't alone.

Christmas was just around the corner, and it would be Nat's first time getting to properly experience and celebrate the holiday season. The group were going to spend the holiday on Clint's farm with Laura and their two young children. Clint and Eleanor were very excited to celebrate the holidays, and she was excited to finally see Clint's family again. She had met them once about six months ago and sometimes intruded on Clint's video calls to them if they asked for her.

Natasha however, was extremely anxious about it. She was worried that she might ruin the festivities by potentially not enjoying it, or looking weird for not knowing what to do. Meeting Clint's family was also nerve-wracking, especially with young kids there. Kids can be brutal and she had never really interacted with them before as an adult.

---

The three sat in a pick-up truck that SHIELD had let them borrow to take to the farm. They decided to drive the distance, Clint and Nat weren't exactly enthusiastic, but Eleanor was ecstatic, she loved road trips. She made sure to pack a hefty amount of CDs that they could blast in the car. She enjoyed the fact that as a passenger she could just enjoy the time taking in the scenery and listening to music, it felt like a mini holiday, most people she had come across hadn't shared this view, however.

Clint was driving, Nat was in the passenger seat with her feet up on the dashboard, and Eleanor was lying down across the length of the backseat, throwing a baseball up and catching it over and over. Her brain had completely zoned out on reality, she may as well have been in a different place in time and space.

Clint looked in the front mirror and saw that she was sprawled across the backseat, "You know if I brake really hard right about now, you'll go flying Hughes". He kind of really wanted to break really hard.

"Wait, why?", Nat responded to Clint, she had been staring out of the window and so didn't notice the position that Eleanor was in.

She put her legs down and turned around to see her sprawled across the backseat, seatbelt off.

The sight immediately worried her, if it was anyone else she probably wouldn't have cared, but it was Eleanor, and they were driving on some pretty busy roads. She had a thing about seatbelts.

"ARE YOU CRAZY?".

The sudden shouting made the young woman jump out of her skin and the ball she was throwing landed on her face. It also took Clint by surprise and he ended up swerving the truck before quickly getting back on the right side of the road. She looked up and saw Nat staring down at her with a frustrated look, her jaw was tight and her eyebrows slightly furrowed.

"What the hell was that?" "Do you mind we could have crashed!", were shouted at the same time. Nat didn't care however, she just kept staring down at Eleanor.

"Sit up and put your seatbelt on".

Eleanor scoffed, "You're such a mum, that's what this is about?". She didn't understand the issue, she was just getting comfy, and what was with the yelling?

Nat rolled her eyes and turned back around to face the front, "Do it before I crawl back there and make you". The younger Agent didn't doubt that she would in fact crawl back there and make her.

"Ahh, a lovers quarrel".

"Shut it Barton", both women said simultaneously.

He just chuckled in response and put his hand up in surrender.

"I'm just lying down so that I can be comfortable, it's a long drive, what's the issue?".

"The issue", Nat began with gritted teeth, "Is that if Barton here fucks up, you're going to be slammed into the seats and it will hurt so could you just sit properly, please?", her voice softened towards the end. She just wanted her to stay safe. Clint gave Nat the side-eye for her saying that there is a possibility of him fucking up.

"Fine", she sat up in the backseat and aggressively put her seatbelt on, crossed her arms, dramatically huffed, and stared out of the window.

Clint gave a dry laugh at what he was witnessing through the mirror. Nat quirked her eyebrow, "You okay back there?".

"I am just fine thank you".

"Don't be like that I just didn't want you getting hurt".

Eleanor sighed softly and waited a few seconds before responding, "Okay".

There was a few seconds of silence before the group settled into conversation, their near-crash experience long forgotten.

---

A few hours later they had arrived at the farm, about half an hour before dinner. Eleanor quickly hopped out of the car along with Clint and started getting their luggage from the back of the truck. Natasha however, stayed seated just staring at the house, even though she wanted to, she couldn't move.

They both noticed that Nat hadn't moved by the time the luggage was removed so Eleanor gave a quick nod at Clint to give them some privacy whilst she checked in on her.

She quickly walked up to Nat's door and gave a light tap on the window. Nat looked to the side with a blank expression but opened the door slightly.

Eleanor manoeuvred herself so that she could fully open it. She had to look up at Nat a bit due to the height of the truck. She knew exactly what was wrong with Nat at that moment in time, but she had to let her get it out on her own and process it, not just go over and explain her own feelings to her.

"What's up?".

"Nothing, I'm fine".

"Naaat, c'mon I know there's something".

Nat finally met Eleanor's eyes and saw the concern on her face, something that she still wasn't quite used to.

To encourage Nat to talk Eleanor placed her hand on her thigh. Nat wanted to flinch at the action, not from fear, but from the nerves that she felt at her touch. "You can talk to me".

Nat chewed on the inside of her cheek before looking down and answering. "I've never really done family stuff before, what if I ruin the holidays?". This had been something that was on Nat's mind a lot in the leadup to the visit, she had adapted to things at SHIELD quite quickly, as much as it was different there was also a familiarity. Family vacations during the holidays were a whole different ballgame.

Eleanor smirked, "The only thing that will ruin the holidays is Clint's terrible dad jokes and the way he cheats at every board game, there is no way you could ruin anything Nat".

"But his kids-".

"Will love you", she cut her off, "They're sweethearts".

Nat looked up again. She hated how vulnerable she felt at this moment, but she needed the comfort, this was going to be a very new situation for her and there wasn't a way she could escape it, considering she was going to be staying in their home, it wasn't like she could just up and leave in the middle of the night. She had debated this but decided that it probably wasn't the best idea.

"You got me?", she asked in a small voice.

Eleanor nodded, "I got you".

She removed her hand which left Nat feeling a little bit of emptiness at the loss of contact.

"Let's go, dinner will be soon".

Nat gave a small nod and hopped out of the truck, grabbing her bag and following closely behind Eleanor as they walked towards Clint who was standing at the door.

He looked very excited to be home and was practically jumping to want to get inside, but he wanted to wait for the other two. They had now reached the door and Clint opened it whilst yelling "Honey I'm home!".

Eleanor followed, but Nat hesitated before walking in. Laura walked into the living space first, sporting an apron from being in the kitchen, the married couple embraced in a tight hug before she made her way over to Eleanor and squeezed the life out of her with a hug too. She gave great hugs but if it was an 'I missed you hug' then she tended to put every emotion she was feeling into it, and man was she strong.

"Laura, Laura, oxygen", Eleanor said whilst tapping her on the back.

"Right! Right! Sorry, it's just great to see you again sweet", she responded whilst pulling away. She looked past Eleanor and saw Nat standing there. She gave her a big smile and walked forward, "You must be Nat. I'm Laura, it's nice to finally meet you". Laura gave Nat a brief hug sensing she was nervous, Clint had briefed her to take it slow with Nat.

Eleanor was glad that Laura was trying to make Nat feel at home, she was nervous about the trip overwhelming Nat too and wanted it all to go perfect for her so that she could say she had a nice time celebrating the holidays.

Suddenly the three women heard small squeals and Clint being tackled to the floor by his 5 and 3-year-old. "Hello troubles", Clint said whilst laughing. After a few seconds, Lila looked up and saw Eleanor at the door, she gave a cheesy grin and started running over.

Eleanor walked over quickly with her arms out and they met halfway. She scooped her up and gave her a big hug whilst spinning in a circle, making the young girl laugh. The sight of this made Nat's heart melt a bit, it was an adorable sight.

Cooper slowly made his way over to Eleanor before hugging her legs. She ruffled his hair, "You okay bud?". He nodded against her legs earning a chuckle from the adults. Eleanor shifted Lila so that she was resting on her hip. Cooper let go and noticed Nat in the corner, he gave her a small wave which was returned.

Eleanor had missed the kids, it had been a while since she last got to speak to them.

"Who's that?", Lila asked after noticing Nat.

Laura answered her daughter, "This is Nat, she's Daddy's and Eleanor's friend".

Eleanor walked over to Nat, "Do you wanna say hi Lila?".

Lila was extremely shy at this age, she looked up at Nat and giggled, saying a small "Hi", before putting her face into the crook of Eleanor's neck.

"Aw I know bub", Eleanor cooed whilst rubbing her back, she loved this little kid with her whole heart.

"Hello", Nat said with a big smile on her face.

Cooper walked up to Nat and looked up at her, "Do you like dinosaurs?". Straight to the point, the kid's got style.

Nat looked over to Clint who was stifling a laugh, before looking back down to Cooper.

"Yeah, they're really cool".

He smiled at her before dragging her over to the sofa where some of his dinosaur toys had been left.

They left Cooper to ramble on at Nat about his different toys, and what each of them could do. Nat had a soppy grin on her face, Eleanor was right, they were absolute sweethearts.

Eleanor tried to put Lila down but she whined in defiance. "Okay big girl, we can stay like this", she kissed the top of her head. Laura put her hand between Eleanor's shoulder blades and guided her towards the kitchen, Clint stayed in the living room with Nat and his son.

"Mmm, it smells really good Laura". It really did, Laura was an excellent cook, Eleanor had been craving some of Laura's food since she had last visited 6 months prior.

"Thanks! On the menu tonight is sausage casserole and mashed potatoes".

"That sounds yummy doesn't it Lila?!", she wanted to get her all excited for dinner to make sure that it was all eaten.

Lila giggled a bit before she signalled that she wanted to be put down, her wish was quickly granted. Once on the floor, she skidded out of the kitchen to the living room. Laura looked at her daughter speeding out of the room before turning to Eleanor, "Do you mind following her whilst I finish up in here? Tell the others it'll be 10 minutes".

"Not a problem", they smiled at each other before Eleanor left to go and find the tiny Barton.

She found her standing at the entrance of the living room staring at Nat and Cooper on the sofa, Eleanor gently smiled at the scene. She crouched down to Lila's level and saw that she looked a bit disheartened, "Do you wanna play with Nat too?". Lila gently nodded her head.

Eleanor picked her up from under the armpits and placed her by Clint who was sitting on the floor by the sofa, "Trouble number 2 wants in".

Clint grabbed her and stood her on his lap, "Does she now?!".

"Yep!" she shouted. Indoor voices did not exist in the minds of children.

"Oh, Laura said 10 minutes until dinner too". The adults nodded.

Nat looked at Lila, "How are you doing little miss?".

Lila made grabby hands towards Nat which confused her a bit, so she tilted her head at the young girl in front of her. Clint lifted Lila up and held her towards her, who twigged onto what she wanted thanks to this gesture.

She sat her sideways on her lap, and Lila replied to the question, albeit a little late.

"I'm good thank you". This made Eleanor stifle a laugh, having to purse her lips to stop sound from escaping.

"Do you like dinosaurs too?", Nat asked whilst putting a toy in Lila's lap.

Her little face instantly lit up, "Mhm, they're so cool! They can stand on anything".

---

Clint had taken Cooper and Lila to get washed up before dinner, and Eleanor and Nat had taken seats at the table next to each other. It was finally dinner time, they hadn't stopped for lunch because according to Nat and Clint they had all had a 'big breakfast' and so could make the trip and just eat lots at dinner time. This, of course, left Eleanor very hungry, she was always hungry, so towards the end of the drive, she was cursing her friends in her head for driving past all of those nice looking burger joints along the way.

Clint walked into the kitchen with one kid in each arm, "Alrighty, where do you wanna sit, Coop?".

"Next to Auntie El please". Eleanor pulled out the chair beside her and Clint placed him in, she ruffled his hair and he gave her a cheesy grin, he melted her heart. Cooper didn't like talking to a lot of other adults but Eleanor was always very silly so the kids viewed her as one of their best friends, which they all found pretty adorable.

"What about you Li?".

"Next to Auntie Nat". This made Natasha freeze slightly, the sound of the chair scraping brought her back to reality, and she gently rubbed Lila's back once she was settled down. She really couldn't believe what she had heard a few seconds ago.

Eleanor nudged her slightly in the rib and smirked. Nat playfully rolled her eyes at the sneaky 'I told you so' attempt, she took a mental note to listen to Eleanor more about these things, because most of the time she ended up being right, everything really is okay.

That night was filled with lots of smiles and laughter, and Nat really enjoyed the first family dinner that she'd had in a long time.

A/N- I'm going to see Multiverse of Madness tomorrow and I'm so excited :DD