Hey! I'm baaaaaaaaack! So, this is my holiday sequel to Taken, like many of you know. I really just wanted to point out real quick that it takes place before the epilogue of Taken, but after chapter 15. This is a sort of in between story I guess. For those of you who read my first story thank you for taking an interest in its sequel! So glad you decided that it was worth reading! For those of you who haven't read my first story, I'd highly recommend reading it before you read this one (If you're interested, here's the URL: s/8616784/1/Taken ). You don't have to I guess, but it would make a lot more sense if you did. Anyways, this story shouldn't be too long. It will probably be close to 5-8 chapters maybe… but we'll see how far it goes. So, just a quick recap: Clint and Natasha are NOT married, Natasha is NOT pregnant, and they are living in Stark Tower together with Mara. Oh, and Merry Christmas! Hope you all had a good one! I know I did, cuz my parents got me a Hawkeye figure! Best Christmas EVER! Well, here's the first chapter of my new story! Enjoy!

P.S. Don't laugh at my cover art! I know Clint looks stupid but that was the best I could do! I suck at drawing people…

Chapter 1-You've Never What!?

**Clint**

Clint weaved through the busy Manhattan traffic on his way back to Stark Tower. It was 7:00am and the streets were filled with Black Friday shoppers. Since he'd been out of a job for the past few months, Clint had decided to go Christmas shopping today to get better deals on gifts. He had left the tower around 5:00am and had already found great presents for everyone… except Natasha.

This was going to be their first Christmas together as a family, and Clint really wanted to get her something special, he just wasn't sure what. Everyone else had been easy to shop for, but Natasha was another story. In the past, if he was going to buy her something, he would have just bought her a gun or some other weapon that she would find useful. But now, since they didn't work as assassins anymore, he was drawing a blank on gift ideas. Maybe he could get Pepper to ask her what she wanted. She and Natasha had been spending lots of time together as Pepper's due date began to draw near so it would be easy for her to casually slip it in to one of their conversations.

Clint pulled into the parking garage under Stark Tower and parked his car in the first empty space. He grabbed his bags from the backseat and climbed out before heading towards the elevator. He pushed the button for his and Natasha's floor and began the long ride up. About half way up the elevator came to a halt and the doors opened allowing a busy looking Tony Stark to step inside.

"Oh, hey Clint." The billionaire said as he pressed the button for the top floor.

"Hey." He answered. Tony's eyes glazed over the bags he had sitting on the floor next to him.

"Black Friday shopping?" He implied.

"Yea, trying to save a few bucks, being out of a job and all." Clint said, slightly embarrassed. Tony rolled his eyes and sighed.

"Dude, I'm a billionaire. If you need money…"

"I'm not taking your money, Tony." The archer said, cutting him off.

"Clint, you have a daughter, who also happens to be my goddaughter, and a girlfriend who is recovering from a near-death experience, plus it's almost Christmas. Let me help you out." He pleaded. Clint sighed and ran his hand through his hair. He did need the extra money, especially if he wanted to get Natasha something special. "Please, please, please, please, please, please…" Tony continued to beg while repeatedly poking him in the shoulder.

"Okay, fine!" Clint finally exclaimed. "Under two conditions: You let me pay you back as soon as I get a job, and you do not let Natasha know."

"Done deal." Tony said, holding out his hand. Clint hesitantly took it and shook it firmly. They continued their ride in silence until Tony's curiosity overcame him. "Soooo… what did you buy for Mara?" Clint shot him an irritated look. "I just want to know so I don't accidentally get her the same thing." The billionaire said innocently.

"Natasha said there was this baby doll she's really wanted ever since she saw a commercial for it on TV, so I got her that." He told him.

"Oh, yea. I know the one." Tony said with a nod. "What about Natasha?"

"That is none of your business." The archer said stubbornly.

"Yea, you've got nothing." He smirked.

"Okay, you don't know how hard she is to shop for!" Clint shot back.

"Oh, I don't know about that. Pepper and I found her something without too much trouble." Tony said slyly.

"Are you kidding me!? What is it?" He exclaimed.

"I'm not saying! It's sorta for the two of you." The billionaire told him. Clint groaned and put his head in his hands.

"Man, what am I gonna do?" He asked. "I really want to get her something special since it's our first Christmas as a family, but I have no idea what!" Tony placed his hand on his back sympathetically.

"I think I may be able to help you out with that." He said encouragingly. Just then, the elevator dinged and the doors opened on Clint's floor.

"See ya." He said, grabbing his bags and heading towards his and Natasha's room.

"I got your back, bro!" Tony called after him. Clint rolled his eyes and walked into the bedroom. He took the bags to his closet and closed the door before wandering out into the living area in search of his family.

"Natasha?" He called his girlfriend's name but received no answer. After checking the kitchen, as well as Mara's room, Clint concluded that she and their daughter must be with Pepper. He wanted to let her know that he was back, so he headed towards the elevator to check the top floor. They usually hung out up there when they wanted to talk about things like pregnancy tips and such. That was mainly the reason Pepper and Tony had insisted they stay there, so that Natasha could help Pepper through the final months of her pregnancy. Especially since business at Stark Industries was booming, so Tony was always busy and sometimes unable to be there for his wife. But, the billionaire swore up and down that he would be taking the next couple of weeks off so he'd be free when the baby came.

Clint entered the elevator and sighed. He wished more than anything that he could have been there for Natasha when she was pregnant with Mara. He pressed the button for the top floor and swore to himself that if they ever had another baby, she wouldn't have to do it alone. Not again.

**Natasha**

"Are contractions really that bad?" Pepper asked as she took a sip of her tea. Natasha shrugged.

"The doctors say it's different for everyone." She told her.

"Well, how were they for you?"

"I remember that when my contractions started I noticed that they didn't seem nearly as bad as they make them look on TV." Natasha said with a smile. Pepper smiled back and sighed as she placed her tea on the end table next to her.

"Alright then. Tony should be here any moment, so I think that's enough pregnancy talk for today." She laughed. "So, how are you doing? Bruce told me yesterday that you were supposed to go see him for a final check-up this morning."

"Yep. He gave me a clean bill of health. Well, minus the scars…" Natasha sighed, placing a hand over her stomach where Varkov had stabbed her. "And I was so looking forward to bikini season." She joked. Pepper laughed.

"Don't worry, you won't be the only one stuck in a one piece!" The pregnant woman exclaimed. "I'm sure I'll have plenty of stretch marks to hide after this baby is born." They both broke out in laughter as the elevator doors opened and Tony stepped out.

"What's so funny?" He asked, scooping Mara up off the floor where she'd been playing and sitting down with her on the couch. The two-year-old laughed hysterically as he gave her a raspberry on her stomach. Natasha smiled, admiring how great he was with her. Who would have thought Tony Stark could be so paternal?

"Natasha was just explaining contractions to me." Pepper said matter-of-factly.

"Never mind, I don't wanna know!" Tony replied quickly. They both giggled as the billionaire handed Mara to Natasha and stood up to go get a drink. Suddenly, the elevator dinged again and Clint entered the room.

"Hey." He said as he came over and gave Natasha a peck on the lips.

"Hi." She replied. "Where've you been?"

"Out." Clint told her before placing a kiss on Mara's head. Natasha rolled her eyes.

"Well, duh. Where specifically?" She pressed.

"Someone's nosy." He chuckled as she swiftly backhanded him on the shoulder. "If you must know, I was just doing a little early Christmas shopping."

"Oh." She said uninterested. "Christmas." Clint gave her an odd look.

"What's wrong with Christmas?" He asked.

"Nothing, it's just… I've never really celebrated it before." She said, gently caressing Mara's cheek. As soon as she said it the entire room went quiet. Natasha glanced around the room and was met by three pairs of disbelieving eyes.

"You've never what!?" Clint exclaimed beside her.

"I've never celebrated Christmas." She repeated.

"Oh my God." Pepper whispered.

"Why!?" Tony asked from the bar.

"Because, I just haven't." Natasha said sternly, wishing the conversation would just end.

"Not even when you were a kid?" Clint asked. She turned to glare at him.

"Well, I didn't exactly have a normal childhood, Clint. You of all people should know that." She said angrily. His expression immediately changed from shocked to apologetic.

"Oh, God Tasha I'm sorry." He said quietly. She sighed and grabbed his hand, giving it a gentle squeeze.

"Don't worry about it." She told him.

"Wait," Tony chimed in, "does this mean Mara has never celebrated Christmas either?"

"Yep." Said Natasha.

"Okay, then it's settled." The billionaire said excitedly. "Romanoff, get ready to celebrate your first Christmas ever!"

"That sounds great, except that I have absolutely no idea how to celebrate Christmas." She countered.

"Well, luckily the rest of us do!" Clint said, mimicking Tony's excitement. "We'll be there to tell you what to do."

"Alright, fine." Natasha finally agreed. "I'll celebrate Christmas this year."

"Sweet!" Tony exclaimed as he ran off towards his office gesturing for Clint to follow. "Looks like we've got some planning to do!" The archer kissed her on the cheek and swiftly followed him.

"This is gonna be fun…" Pepper said with a hint of worry in her voice. Natasha groaned and buried her face in Mara's hair.

"What have I done?" She mumbled, wondering whether or not agreeing to celebrate Christmas was the most poorly thought through decision she had ever made.

Weeeee! I heart writing fanfiction! So, how does this sound so far? Is anyone interested in how Natasha will react to her first Christmas? Lots of stuff is gonna be going on in the upcoming chapters, like the gift Clint ends up getting Natasha for Christmas (which I've already decided on! Heeheehee!), plus the gifts for all the other Avengers who will be joining them for the holidays, which are gonna be awesome! Lots of romance, quite a bit of drama as well, and a big Christmas surprise that will warm your heart! Hope you decide to keep reading this little sequel to my first story! A lot of the stuff that happens in the next story will be based off of events in this story. Bleh, well I'm rambling! Sorry. Here's a little preview for the next chapter:

Chapter 2-Christmas Trees: Clint and Tony struggle to find a gift for Natasha while she and Pepper discuss possible gift ideas for the rest of the Avengers. And, as the title implies, the Avengers get Christmas trees!

These chapters are gonna be a bit shorter than the ones in Taken were, so they should be up a lot sooner than usual! Thanks for reading and I hope you come back for the next installment!