Those of you who've read my other story, Moments, will be familiar with this story structure - though this one focuses on the time before the Snap, rather than after. These are actually the first bits of writing I did in this fandom, and they've been sitting in my drafts folder for quite some time. I stumbled on them recently and figured I may as well post 'em.

I (quite obviously) own nothing of the MCU or Marvel...just dipping my toes into it to flex my creativity.

Enjoy.

"Nat?" Laura called out softly as her eyes scanned the porch and front yard for any signs of the red-head who had brought her husband home just a few hours earlier. Laura had been in the dark as to what was going on for days, until all of a sudden everything was happening. Aliens, and portals to space, and heroes battling in New York…

"He's…compromised."

"Compromised?"

"Yeah. But I'm getting him back."

Laura blinked as she tried to process what she'd just been told. She was keenly aware of what every heartbeat felt like as it pounded within her chest.

"I swear on my life that I'll bring him home to you, Laura."

She heard the click of the call disconnecting before she could utter a syllable.

Clint had come home in one piece – just as Natasha had promised – but Laura hadn't failed to notice the distinct wariness and flashes of fear in his eyes that hadn't been there when he'd left. She still didn't know what 'compromised' meant in this case, or the lengths to which the woman she thought of as her sister had been forced to go to in order to keep her promise.

"Nat?" Laura repeated, this time peeking around the corner of the house to check the side where the hammock that Natasha frequently curled up in during her stays at the farm was set up.

"Up here," she heard a soft voice say, and her gaze slid up to the roof where Natasha was perched half-way up the slope.

Laura couldn't help the rise of her eyebrows in surprise, but she did manage to hold off the frown that was threatening to appear. "You know, I expect this from Hawkeye," she said, gesturing to the spy's perched figure, trying for a hint of humour in her tone, "but not from you."

Natasha shrugged and offered a half-smile as she rolled her eyes. "I guess his habits are finally rubbing off on me."

This time Laura let the gentle frown form on her face as she met Nat's gaze. She couldn't put her finger on it, but there was something about Nat's demeanour that was just that little bit…off. "You want some company?"

"Sure."

Laura grabbed the nearby ladder she was very confident Natasha had not used to get onto the roof, and climbed up. She grabbed the hand that Nat offered from her seated position and maneuvered her way onto the other side of the red-head.

They sat in silence for a few moments, Nat's gaze having turned back to the sky dotted with stars while Laura's stayed on the woman who, even after all these years, was still in many ways a complete mystery to her.

Sometimes Laura wondered if maybe Natasha always would be a mystery to her. She knew the spy better than most people, save for Clint and maybe Nick, but for all the layers Laura had chipped away at during her visits, Natasha was still difficult to read most of the time. She supposed that was probably the way Nat liked it…after all, it's how she was raised.

"He'll be okay," Natasha said eventually, her eyes drifting down from the moon and stars, meeting Laura's gaze again. "He's…nervous, but he'll be okay."

"Why is he nervous?"

Natasha shook her head. "It's not my place to tell. He'll talk to you when he's ready."

"Do I need to be worried?" Laura asked, trying to get a handle on what exactly had happened. She'd seen some footage of the battle in New York, but the news coverage had focused on the flashier fighting styles of the other members of the team, leaving her to scan for glimpses of arrows and flashes of red hair, which were unfortunately few and far between. Not to mention the days leading up to it were still a complete mystery to her.

"Are you ever not worried?" Natasha countered with a brief smile.

"I guess not," Laura replied with a small smile and a guilty shake of her head. She recognized the deflection for what it was, but also recognized the underlying humour in the retort.

"Just give him some time, Laura. He'll bounce back."

Laura felt relief spread. Natasha may not be the most open person in the world, but it had never been her style to sugar coat things. Oddly, it had always been something that had brought a sense of comfort to Laura, since she knew that Nat wouldn't hold back anything without a damn good reason to do so.

"Okay," she said quietly with a nod. "Thank you," she added after a beat, a grateful smile on her face.

Natasha shook her head and waved off the gratitude. "He's family," she explained like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

And it was. She had never anticipated Clint's choice to spare Natasha's life would've led to her gaining a sister…but it had, and Laura felt intensely grateful that he had someone looking out for him while they were off doing whatever the hell it was they did.

Laura let the silence linger for a little longer before she leaned over and bumped her shoulder to Natasha's. "What are you doing up here, Nat?"

The spy offered another half-smile as she glanced back at Laura briefly. "Enjoying the view," she said, nodding her head toward the clear night sky, dotted with stars.

Laura's brow furrowed ever so slightly as she considered the scene in front of her. It had been a long time since Natasha had sought out solitude during her visits. And while her expression might be unreadable, Laura had spent enough time with her to know that her current posture and choice of setting meant that Natasha was feeling unsettled.

Then again, she supposed battling aliens could do that to a person…so maybe it wasn't so crazy to let Nat work through it on her own. But Natasha had always had a nasty habit of letting the weight of her guilt pin her into her own mind. And she didn't deserve that.

"Hey," Laura said softly, the rest of the sentence unsaid, but clear. It's me. You don't need to hide it. You can tell me. I'm here.

It took a moment before there was a reaction, but when Natasha turned to face her, Laura recognized the gesture for what it was – a look into the real answer to her question. It was brief, only a couple seconds in total, but it told Laura everything she needed to know. Natasha looked lost.

Laura grappled with how to respond to the rather intimate glimpse into her emotions that Nat had uncharacteristically offered up. 'What's wrong?' implied there was something wrong…which despite how true it might be, wouldn't get anything out of her. 'Are you okay?' fell into a similar trap – it was too direct and would definitely not coax a response out of her. Perhaps a more roundabout question...

But before Laura could voice any sort of question, she heard Natasha let out a soft sigh. It was another telling indicator of the headspace that Nat was in, since that was the type of thing she had a tight control on for 99.99% of the time. Laura felt a certain sense of honour that Nat had chosen to let her in and give her a glimpse into things.

Natasha shook her head gently as she began to speak, offering an explanation that Laura hadn't actually expected to get. "It's just a little surreal, you know? Aliens, and gods, and superheroes. And…" she trailed off, leaving the thought unfinished.

But Laura had a feeling she knew where this particular conversation was headed. "And…" she prompted.

"And then me," Natasha finished, allowing her eyes to meet with Laura's for just a moment before snapping back to the sky above.

"You shouldn't sell yourself short, Nat. You're just as valuable a member of that team as any of them. You're a hero too."

"I'm a spy, not a soldier," she said with a grimace. "And somehow I got pulled into a war."

"You've always been more than a spy, Nat. You may not think you're worthy of a place on that team, but I promise you that you are. Hell, from the little that Clint's told me, you're the one that kept those guys from giving into their testosterone and fighting each other."

Natasha let out a chuckle as she shook her head and smiled. But it was short-lived as her expression fell back to a more contemplative one. "I just-" she began, but cut herself off abruptly. "It's hard to believe this is my life."

Laura made a snap decision to offer some physical comfort in the form of a one-armed hug. While Nat had never really been one for physical affection, she had grown accustomed to hugs from the kids and Laura over the years to the point where for the most part, she no longer flinched when on the receiving end of them.

"You're not your past," Laura said softly, squeezing Nat's shoulder and hoping she had guessed the source of her contemplation correctly. She knew she was treading in uncomfortable territory for Natasha, and that it was very much still a sore spot for her, but she pressed on anyway. "You haven't been for a long time."

"A few good deeds don't erase the years of-"

"Don't do that to yourself, Nat," Laura interrupted firmly. "They may have raised you to be an assassin, but you chose to leave that life behind. You chose to do good."

Natasha laughed bitterly as she shook her head, but didn't say anything.

"You helped save the world, Nat. I think that qualifies as grounds to be able to leave your past behind you."

"I don't think it's that simple, but thank you."

Laura let out a frustrated sigh. She could feel the guilt rolling off of her, and it frustrated her to no end that Natasha couldn't see herself how she did. She changed tactics slightly this time. "What's going to be enough, Nat? How many people do you need to save? Because you just saved an entire city, and probably planet, from being taken over by aliens, not to mention the fact that you kept your promise and brought Clint home to me."

Laura had expected her to protest that she owed her life to Clint, but when Nat stayed quiet, she was hopeful that her words had hit their mark. They fell into a more comfortable silence after that. Laura didn't fail to notice that Natasha had not shrugged out of her hug.

"How much coverage did I get on the news?" she asked after a few minutes, startling Laura out of her silent reverie.

"Not a lot, to be honest."

"Good."

Laura's brows furrowed for just a second before she realized that the less coverage she got, the easier her job at SHIELD would be. She supposed that undercover missions probably became a whole lot harder when most of the world has seen you on TV.

"Yeah, the guys flying through the air and flinging a shield around got most of the attention, but I'm sure there'll be some girls dressing up as you for Halloween this year," she teased, letting out a short laugh.

The mood shifted instantly, and Laura realized her error as Natasha grimaced again. "God, I hope not."

Laura figured there wasn't much else she could say to persuade the spy that she wasn't marked with quite as much debt as she might think, so she chose to let the subject drop with little more than a soft, disapproving glare.

This was something Nat would have to work through on her own. Probably with a helpful shove from Clint once he was recovered.

"How long were you planning on staying?"

"Not too sure," Nat replied. "If Clint wants me to stay, I can hang around for awhile."

Laura recognized the meaning in her words. If Clint needed her to stay, she would.

"Well, in the interest of full disclosure," Laura began, deciding to play the card that never failed, "I think the kids have already planned out a full-scale attack on trying to get you to stay, so maybe you should just cut your losses and hang around."

Natasha let out a laugh that felt genuine this time. "They are persuasive little demons."

"They get that from their father," Laura said with a laugh of her own.

"No," Nat said with a shake of her head, her tone more serious than Laura had expected, "I think they get that from their mother."

Laura felt a smile spread across her face. Maybe more progress had been made than she'd thought.

So, did you like the peek back at the friendship between Nat and Laura in those early days? If it hasn't been made clear yet - I totally dig their friendship.

Thoughts? Comments? Feelings? Please let me know - I always love hearing (errrr, reading, I suppose) what y'all think.

Lots more to come...