Natkoye || Marvel || WinterIron || Starbucks and Starkbucks || WinterIron || Marvel || Natkoye

Title: Starbucks and Starkbucks – What Comes After the Unsnapping?

Fandom: Marvel

Disclaimer: All rights reserved to Marvel Comics for the creation of some of the most awesome heroes ever. This fanfiction on the other hand is entirely mine. No money is made with this, though reviews are more than welcomed.

Warnings: f/f, fluff, hurt/comfort, m/m

Main Pairings: Okoye/Natasha & Bucky/Tony

Marvel Characters: Natasha Romanova, Okoye, James Buchanan 'Bucky' Barnes, Anthony 'Tony' Stark, Morgan Stark, Peter Parker, Harley Keener, James 'Rhodey' Rhodes

Summary: The world was saved, Thanos defeated. With new, and old, heroes to take over, Natasha retires to live in Wakanda with Okoye, after years of a long-distance relationship. But Natasha has to deal with her survivor guilt and doesn't know how to handle retirement. As a distraction, she decides to play matchmaker for Bucky, who had returned to goat-herding, and Tony, who was there for his own recovery after the snap.

Starbucks and Starkbucks

What Comes After the Unsnapping?

"Nat, my love, it is time to move on."

Natasha looked up with the smallest smile. Even the smallest smile took the most effort these days. Which was most likely why Okoye stood in the Avengers Compound right now. It had been a while since she had last seen her girlfriend in person – well, it had been a while before the battle that she had last seen Okoye in person. With the entire royal family turned to ash, the general as well as who had survived from the council of elders had taken over the rule of Wakanda.

Okoye had so much to do in Wakanda in the past five years, while Natasha had so much to do in New York. Still, working closely together during the past five years, they had... confided in each other. Leadership was a burden new to them, coping with the loss of half the universe was hard.

Natasha didn't know how she would have fared in the past five years without Okoye. During the battle in Wakanda, there had been a connection between Natasha and Okoye. After the snap, they had started working close together and the first time, both had been drunk – both on alcohol and grief – as they fell in bed together. It had been good, the warmth both of them craved. Very slowly, it became more. Okoye found that she could confide in Natasha, because the general was suffering under the pressure of leadership like this, while Natasha felt like she finally had someone to lean into, after Clint had decided to ditch them in favor of his murder-spree, which was most definitely not a healthy coping mechanism for losing his family.

Whenever Okoye came to New York for meet-ups in person, or Natasha found the time to go to Wakanda, they would spend as much time together as possible, Natasha had come to feel safe and warm in Okoye's arms, like just in those short, small moments, the world was alright.

Even in the devastating state of the world during those five years, Natasha had found a piece of heaven, happiness for herself. And when they finally had a lead to undoing the snap, Natasha had to admit that she had formed a plan. They probably all had, dreaming about what they would do if the world was restored to how it should be. If Steve had Bucky and Sam back, Natasha could retire – she didn't want to leave him all alone in New York and she still felt like she owed them a debt. Her and Steve had taken to training the young Avengers, young, new heroes who had been born out of the despair of the last five years. They were good kids. Squirrel Girl, Miss Marvel – a very enthusiastic fan of Captain Marvel who had been so over the moon after Carol had saved Tony and Nebula and brought them to Earth and she may have tracked every news about Carol since then – Miss America, Ghost Spider, Steve's biggest fanboy Patriot and Inferno.

The new kids were great. Natasha could see them work out just fine in the future. She had pictured it so well. The others would return, would take their places as the senior Avengers again, while the royal family would be alive again which meant Okoye didn't have to lead a nation again. Natasha could picture it very vividly, she would retire because she would have really done her part to save the world and then she would move to Wakanda to be with Okoye.

Things hadn't worked out the way they should have.

Clint died, giving his life to get them the Soul Stone, telling her that he had kept tabs on her in the past five years, seeing what a wonderful leader she had become, a mentor to the young Avengers, seeing the love she had finally found for herself, while him – he had become an entirely different man than the one Laura had last seen, he would never be that man again. He wanted to do the right thing, to save his family even if he could never be there for them again.

She had lost her best and oldest friend, she had been right there and unable to stop him.

Tony had nearly died, had barely survived, when he had snapped Thanos and his army out of existence, it was only thanks to his genius – because of course he had built a gauntlet that could absorb the shock. Still, he had immediately been brought to Wakanda for recovery, Shuri claiming that she would be the only one to save him and potentially his arm.

Steve had gone back in time to return the Infinity Stones and came back an old man. Now, Nat didn't know how to go on. Steve was supposed to lead the Avengers, but he had left. Clint was supposed to live, but now he was dead. Bruce and Tony were both recovering from the snap.

Rhodey had retired for good. It had been all too much, he had meant to retire earlier but the past five years were too hard. He had followed Tony to Wakanda to oversee Tony's recovery personally.

Thor had packed up and left with the Guardians of the Galaxy, leaving Asgard to Valkyrie.

Captain Marvel was mostly off-world, trying to help the galaxy cope with the re-population and explain the situation to those who had no idea how this had even occurred.

Vision was dead, still. He had died not because of the snap, after all. And Wanda had vanished, too torn up by the grief, it still being fresh for her since she had been snapped.

"I can't move on. Who is supposed to... What's going to happen with the Avengers...?"

"Nat", whispered Okoye with urgency as grasped Natasha's face. "Sam Wilson is a capable man. Captain America thought so and handed him the shield. Hope van Dyne and Scott Lang have offered their help. Let them take over the Avengers, my love. You have done your service."

"Koyeshka", whispered Natasha back, voice soft. "I don't... know how."

"Because you are suffering from survivor's guilt", replied Okoye, pressing a gentle kiss against Natasha's forehead. "You did everything you could, but you couldn't save your best friend. And that is not your fault. It was his choice, he died to give you a second chance. Do not waste that second chance, my love. Come with me to Wakanda, like we always talked about. Sam is now Captain America, he will have to be able to handle the responsibility."

"There is still so much to take care of, so much to—the children", argued Natasha troubled.

"No", interrupted Okoye pointedly. "My love, the children will be fine. They have experience now. You spent years training them. They're ready. Kamala is ready to lead this team. You did everything for them, for this city. Please. You did everything, now do something for you."

She leaned in and pressed the gentlest kiss against Natasha's lips. The redhead felt herself wavering. She had dreamed of this retirement for the past five years now. It was the thing that had kept her going. Hoping that the kids would be fine, with only Steve to guide them, she had considered retiring even before they had come up with the time-travel. But after that? She thought she knew she could have it. Could live with Okoye, wake up in her arms every morning and fall asleep after kissing her one last time at night, share meals with her and not just see her through holograms.

"I miss you so much, Koyeshka", whispered Natasha, longing in her voice.

"Then come and live with me, my love", pleaded Okoye. "We both deserve it."

Natasha licked her lips slowly, getting lost in Okoye's eyes. Okoye... had also spent the past years waiting for this. It wasn't fair to keep it from her by just being here, sulking all alone. She bit her lips. It wasn't good to live in the past, was it? She looked around. Maybe she should... move on.

"Let us move in together", whispered Natasha against Okoye's lips.

/break\

Okoye smiled to herself as she took the two coffees to the table where her girlfriend was already waiting for her. It was silly, very silly indeed and she knew this, but this exact thing was something Okoye had been dreaming about for many months now. They had a Starbucks near the palace, had had it for over three years now. And all Okoye wanted was to have Natasha in Wakanda with her, so that during her one hour lunch break, Okoye could go and meet Natasha for coffee. It was silly, it really was, but it was something she had seen a lot in those past years. Not just because she finally had Natasha on the same continent as her – the distance had killed her – but also because the responsibility of leading Wakanda had been a burden and a part of Okoye had also longed for her job as the general again. That had been the level of responsibility that Okoye was comfortable with. It had been her favorite scenario to picture when the stress got to her. A world where she was the general again, jibing with T'Challa and watching the royal siblings tease each other as she was on her way to Starbucks, where Natasha would already be waiting for her with a smile and two coffees.

"You're looking very happy, Koyeshka", noted Natasha teasingly.

"I am", replied Okoye before she sat down opposite Natasha.

She leaned in to kiss Natasha gently and placed one cup in front of the redhead. For a little while, the two of them just sat together and looked at each other with gentle smiles. With Natasha, Okoye felt such an intimacy and felt so understood, even without words. Okoye smiled and took a sip from her coffee. Natasha had been living with her for the past week, settling in. Okoye knew it was hard for Natasha, not so much because of the different culture, but because Natasha was a doer.

"You're bored, aren't you?", asked Okoye teasingly.

Natasha put her cup down tentatively. "I love you. And I enjoy living with you."

"Oh no, not bored with me. But you, you are not a housewife, my love", laughed Okoye. "I never expected you to just... sit at home, you know."

"Oh", nodded Natasha and sighed a little in relief. "I thought... with the retirement."

"Retire from the Avengers, not from work in general. You could... find a job, or a hobby, or both. I just want you to be happy here, not just happy with me."

Natasha frowned thoughtfully and tilted her head. "I think, for now, I will torment Tony."

"That sounds like a wonderful hobby", agreed Okoye with a smirk.

Tony was the bane of the doctors at the palace. He was the worst patient ever. At least Rhodey has been sitting at his bedside most the time; the man was great at keeping Tony mostly in line. The bigger problem were the kids though. For the most part, Rhodey was babysitting. And Morgan Stark was the lesser problem, the little girl was a darling. It were the boys who had absolutely insisted on coming along to make sure Tony would be recovering well.

"I missed him", admitted Natasha softly. "We drifted apart after the... accords. This mission, it... reminded me of how things used to be."

"It's good that you have reconnected with him", smiled Okoye pleased.

Natasha returned her smile and reached out to rest one hand on Okoye's wrist, gently caressing her. "Thank you. For making me come here. It really is what I wanted and needed. I just..."

"You were feeling guilty", filled Okoye in with an understanding smile. "I understand that, my love. It's how I felt after the... dusting took my king. I felt misplaced guilt for surviving when he didn't."

Natasha averted her eyes at that and sighed. The dusting, while hard on the world, hadn't necessarily affected her personally. Sam and Clint's family had been the only ones she was close to who had been dusted. But this? Having lost Clint like this, when it should have been her...?

"I'm going to visit the doctor you suggested", sighed Natasha after a moment.

The smile Okoye offered her at that was blinding. She knew how much the therapist had helped Okoye fight her survivor's guilt in the past five years. Natasha could deny it as much as she wanted, but it wasn't going to fix anything. Her life had been halted for the past five years. No more. She was not going to stop living. Clint was dead and he had died for Natasha and even if she thought that it should have been her, there was nothing she could do to change it. The only way to honor his sacrifice was to continue living, to get the life he had told her to get.

/break\

"So, who's taking over the Iron Man mantle? Me or Peter?"

"What? Neither of you", huffed Tony. "I already have an heir for that."

"What?!", exclaimed Peter with a crestfallen look. "Who? When? Why? What?"

"You two... have been gone for five years", pointed Tony out gently. "Three years ago, when I was visiting MIT for a rousing speech to motivate those... still going on... when this girl broke into my hotel room and stole my suit, stopped a crime and then screamed at me, telling me how I don't deserve the suit if I don't wear it anymore, because the world needed Tony Stark, but it also needed Iron Man. I... left her a snarky AI and my number to call if she needs anything."

"Who is she?", asked Harley softly.

"Her name's Riri Williams, but the world knows her as Ironheart by now", replied Tony.

"Why wasn't she there when we, you know, fought?", asked Peter confused.

"How could she? It was supposed to be a time-travel thing. There was not supposed to be a fight. And when Strange brought backup, it's not like he knew about a girl I met while he was dust."

Natasha smiled to herself as she watched them. She had met Riri Williams. While not entirely willing to join the New Avengers, she was a strong ally. It had figured that Tony's dusted little protegees would be incredibly jealous about her and the place she had taken by now.

"A bad time?", asked Natasha and knocked on the door-frame.

"Yes!", exclaimed Harley. "Utter betrayal. Look at him. We get turned to dust for five years and he replaces us with two new, shinier female models. It's unfair."

Harley pointed over to Morgan, who was contently nestled against her dad's chest. Tony chuckled to himself, braiding her pigtails. Rhodey on the chair next to the bed sighed and shook his head.

"Not a bad time. Gotta get home. Someone still has to do their homework", noted Rhodey.

"Oh come on. We were dust for five years. They're literally still sorting out how things are supposed to work for us who we have been dusted", complained Peter. "Also wait. In that comparison, which one of us was Morgan and which one of us was Riri Williams?"

"Well, let me think on that", mused Harley thoughtfully. "Who is the successful inventor who could succeed Tony Stark and who is the doe-eyed, troublesome little brunette who is super clingy and adorable...? It's just so hard to tell who is who in this scenario."

"Am I offended or do I pick this apart for the compliment of you calling me adorable...?"

Rhodey heaved a sigh and rolled his eyes before exchanging a pointed look with Natasha on his way out. She smiled understandingly and made her way over to the chair next to the bed.

"For the record, I mean adorable in the sense like a little puppy is adorable. Helpless, stumbling around, innocent, all of that stuff", clarified Harley with a glare. "Mo, you coming too?"

Morgan nodded and kissed Tony's cheek. "Get better soon, daddy."

She jumped off the bed and dashed past the boys, prompting Rhodey to yell after her. "Stop it, young lady! No running in the halls! Wait up!"

Natasha chuckled to herself as the four of them disappeared down the hall. Closing the door behind them, Natasha walked over to sit next to Tony. She gently kissed his forehead.

"Hello, Antoshka", greeted Natasha. "How are you feeling today?"

"Always better when I have Morgan visit me", sighed Tony. "It's unfair that they keep taking her away from me. Stupid visiting hours..."

"I think those are about you, and the staff, getting rest", noted Natasha amused. "Your daughter is amazing, but she is also a handful. Just like her father. And so are the boys, really."

"Oh, yeah, no they absolutely are", agreed Tony with a smirk. "Totally driving Shuri insane."

"They really are", nodded Natasha thoughtfully. "Okoye keeps telling me some wild stories about the lab when she gets home. I can't tell if Shuri is exasperated with them, or enjoying that she has two new guinea pigs and gets to test Peter's spider-abilities."

"I honestly think it's both", replied Tony with a laugh. "You... and Okoye are really happy, huh?"

"...We are", whispered Natasha softly. "I've... never been this happy before."

"You know you deserve to be happy though, right?", asked Tony.

"Right", muttered Natasha with a small, untrue smile.

"Seriously. Believe me", grunted Tony and sat up some, wincing a little. "Damn it. Listen, I... I did everything for everyone. And then Thanos dusted my boys. I had to do something for me. So I had Morgan and retired to live the life I always denied myself. I didn't... give up. Don't you do it."

"What about you?", asked Natasha with a light teasing to her voice. "Did you give up? On love, I mean. Because... it feels that way, don't you think? Retreating to the forest all on your own with a kid. I'm sure there's some hearts you could win."

"Just how bored are you?", snorted Tony and rolled his eyes. "I do not need a dating life. For now, I need 'recovery time' and then I have this three year old to raise. And those two pesky teens who keep demanding my attention. When would I even go out and meet people-?"

The door opened and James Barnes poked his head in, hair softly falling into his face. "Oh. I'm sorry. I saw the kids running up, I assumed you were alone. I can come back later."

"I'll hold you to it. You still owe me a rematch", grinned Tony, waving at Barnes.

Natasha raised one intrigued eyebrow as she watched James leave. James, not Bucky. It was who he had come to be, in the two years he had lived in Wakanda, before the dusting. Herding goats, living a peaceful life. She hadn't been surprised when he had returned to Wakanda, especially after Steve chose a life in the past. What was James supposed to return to in New York...? There was nothing there, so after the battle with Thanos, James returned to Wakanda with T'Challa and Okoye.

"I didn't know you and James were close", noted Natasha curiously.

"Well. It kind of... started out as a 'sorry I murdered your parents when I was brainwashed, thanks for offering BARF to help with my recovery two-slash-seven years ago' and then we... talked?", shrugged Tony thoughtfully. "Started playing chess. I had a lot of time here, was bored out of my mind before Rhodey got the kids and himself here."

"Interesting", mused Natasha thoughtfully.

"You sound like you're scheming. Stop scheming, Widow."

/break\

It was a few days later, Natasha and Okoye had just met for lunch at Starbucks once more – it became a regular thing and, admittedly, a regular thing that Natasha enjoyed quite a lot – that Natasha spotted James sitting alone at a table in the corner.

"I have to get back to work. See you tonight, my love."

Okoye leaned down to press a kiss against Natasha's temple before leaving. Natasha watched her through the window-front before taking her cup and walking over to James' table.

"Hello. I don't think we really talked yet since I arrived in Wakanda."

"I did not know we had much to talk about, Black Widow", grunted James.

He was hunched over a sketchbook. He wasn't as good as Steve, but apparently it soothed him to draw the things he remembered. Or so Tony had said. It had been endearing how much Tony had learned about James in the past few weeks. This smelled like the perfect project for Natasha.

"Okoye told me you are a frequent visitor in the infirmary lately", noted Natasha casually. "Visiting Tony a lot, mh. Is it just... guilt, from you? Or is it more?"

"I don't think that is any of your business", growled James softly, looking up at her in warning.

Natasha narrowed her eyes and leaned forward. "I think it is. He is my friend."

"A loose definition of the term, mh. Considering you switched sides when him and Stevie fought."

"I...", started Natasha, expertly covering her flinch. "Tony understands. He knows I had to choose Clint, even over my own morals. The accords were right and I was behind them from the get-go, but this was about more than them. I had to choose Clint, like he would have chosen Rhodey."

"Right", nodded James with a frown, returning his attention to his drawing. "They are... a good family. It's... nice to see them together. Having them here helps Tony's recovery."

"They are", agreed Natasha with a small smile.

"Their son, Harley, he reminds me a lot of Stevie when he was a kid. Always butting heads."

"Their son?", echoed Natasha with a frown. "When you say family... are you assuming that Tony and Rhodey are married and that Harley, Peter and Morgan are their children?"

"...Yes?", replied James confused. "What else...?"

Natasha laughed and shook her head a little. "Oh, no. Rhodey and Tony, they're like... you and Steve were. Rhodey is like an older brother, trying to keep Tony out of danger. And... out of those three kids, only one is Tony's. Peter and Harley are mentees."

"But Morgan is his?", asked James slowly.

"Yes. Pepper, another close friend of his, was his surrogate", replied Natasha amused. "You should make less assumptions, James. Tony, he... charms people. Draws them in. He gathers a family around him, even without them sharing blood. But he is very much a single."

"...Oh", whispered James with a stiff nod.

Natasha smiled before getting up. Too bad, she had thought this was going to be a bigger project. But knowing what she did about James Barnes, he could pick things up from there on alone. Mh. Natasha really did need a thing of her own. Centering her life around Okoye here was... not enough. She could not sit alone at home, she could not just look forward to lunches and wait for Okoye to come home to her. She needed more in her life. Something for herself, like Okoye had her job.

/break\

"I can't believe those two are dating", grunted Rhodey and shook his head.

He looked out the window, watching Tony and Bucky laugh softly with each other where they sat at an outside table. Rhodey, he was sitting with Natasha inside, at the perfect angle to not be seen by Tony and Bucky but with ideal view on the two during their first date. Natasha smirked.

"Why not? I think they could make a good match. You knew that James thought you and Tony were married? And that Morgan, Peter and Harley were all your kids?", asked Natasha.

"Horrifying", grunted Rhodey with wide eyes. "Taking care of Tony like this is already hard enough. Being married to him would probably kill me. And actually parenting both Peter and Harley? Now that would most definitely kill me."

"Speaking of, where are the kids?", asked Natasha curiously.

"The lab. Shuri is building Morgan her own suit. The boys have... input", grunted Rhodey with a horrified expression on his face. "Definitely nothing I would want to come home to."

"Then what do you want to come home to?", asked Natasha and tilted her head. "Tony is finally allowed to leave the infirmary, even if it's just for a few hours a day. He's going to be discharged in about two weeks or so. What... are your plans for after? You retired from the Avengers."

Rhodey hummed and held his coffee to his lips, looking around the Starbucks thoughtfully. "Move to Louisiana. I'm going to be a grandpa soon, you know. Monica is pregnant. I missed so much of her life with my work, especially as an Avenger. Maria, she never blamed me for it and I know Carol helped her raise the kid. And there was... a lot... that both of them missed out on too, especially Carol when she left for space. But now? That battle, it put things in perspective. I'm gonna focus on my family. Not gonna miss a single thing about my grandkid."

Natasha smiled faintly at that. She knew of the complex history there. Rhodey used to date Maria Rambeau in the eighties, resulting in a pregnancy that was only noticed after they had broken up... and after Maria had started dating Carol Danvers. That had been a bit of a surprise reveal when Carol had first come to Earth to help them defeat Thanos, the fact that Carol was married to the mother of Rhodey's child. Sadly, no popcorn worthy drama had followed, because the three were actual adults who could behave civilized. Natasha chuckled softly to herself.

"You just want to compete with grandma Carol, now that she's going to stick around on Earth."

"...Maybe a bit", huffed Rhodey with a glare. "What about you? Any plans for kids yet?"

Natasha froze up at that before shaking her head. She knew she couldn't have children of her own. Though then again, dating a lesbian did make that a little harder anyway. She bit her lips.

"I don't see myself as the family type", whispered Natasha softly.

"Bullshit", snorted Rhodey. "You been mom-ing the Avengers for the past five years. Not just the kids you've been training, but Rocket, Nebula, Carol, Steve, me? You kept us in line, watched out for us. You gotta throw that whole ledger-narrative out the window, you know?"

"What?", asked Natasha surprised.

"I'm gonna tell you what I told Nebula before she left with the Guardians", grunted Rhodey and leaned forward with a serious look on his face. "You can't keep living in the past. You can't keep blaming yourself for the wrong you did back then, you gotta focus on the future. Look forward. Don't let the past continue hurting you. Use this second chance, don't let it pass you."

Natasha nodded slowly at that. She had known about Nebula's dead sister and how the time-travel had allowed her a second chance with Gamora. Nebula had considered staying on Earth, but now she had her answer as to why Nebula had decided to leave after all.

"So, you think... I should, what? Go looking for a sperm-donor and ask Okoye if she wants to step back at the job she had longed for for years?", asked Natasha doubtfully.

"Or, wild suggestion, adopt", grunted Rhodey with a deadpan. "Lots of kids were left orphans after the dusting. And not just because of dusted parents, you know that."

That... was true. When the pilot of the plane got dusted, many innocent people died on top of it, among many, many other disasters triggered by the dusting. Natasha licked her lips tentatively as she turned her head to watch Tony and Bucky shamelessly flirt outside. Maybe it was time to look at the future. Maybe she could have a future. The thought of Okoye as a mother made her smile.

"Maybe I could talk to Okoye about this", admitted Natasha, biting her lip.

"Wonderful. So my job here is done then, yes? Tony's new boyfriend can take care of the kids, you will stop sulking around. I can retire in peace", nodded Rhodey pleased.

Natasha laughed at that and shook her head a little. It really was time for them, for the old Avengers, to retire and move on. Let the kids take over. Shuri, Harley, Peter, the New Avengers, Riri Williams. It was time for the next generation, maybe in more ways than just one...

~*~ The End ~*~

Author's note: I love Nat and Okoye. Infinity War/Endgame REALLY made me ship them. And I figured I'd fix Endgame's worst offenses. Like fridging the only female Avenger and pretending that Clint having Blood Relatives is somehow making him more valuable than the woman who basically kept the Avengers running and had, clearly, stepped up as a leader, while Clint went on a freaking MURDER SPREE. Yeah no. Also, the whole Tony dying thing, let's just not. So when rewatching Endgame last month, I decided that I HAD to write a nice Natkoye fix-it to Endgame, where Okoye gets a Starbucks and a girlfriend! ;D

Also I am not Russian myself and nickname giving is such a very specific cultural thing that it's hard to grasp. I learned it in school, but... Anyway, Koyeshka was what I figured would be a good Russian-dimunitive take on Okoye! I hope that checks out. xD"