• •
  Natasha didn’t say she was a motherly type. Please. She didn’t need to. She just was.

Not in the warm-fuzzy-hugs-and-hair-pats kind of way — more in the “do you have a jacket on you? no? here, take mine” kind of way. In the “I noticed you didn’t drink water today, so now there’s a glass in front of you and I’m not leaving until it’s gone” kind of way.

It wasn’t loud. It wasn’t showy. It was just there — constant. Like the click of her boots down the hallway. Like the silent watch of her eyes when someone looked a little too tired. Like a jacket being draped over shoulders without a word.

Everyone at the compound had a theory about it. That she used to watch over younger agents at SHIELD. That she had a soft spot for kids. That maybe, just maybe, underneath the sarcasm and the Red Room scars, there was a heart so protective it could crush steel.

Whatever it was — it showed up the day a new kid arrived.

Natasha didn’t push. She just watched. Waited. And then? One morning? A quiet voice said, “Can I sit with you?”

From that day forward, the kid was hers. Claimed. Silently adopted. No paperwork necessary. No announcements made. But everyone knew. If you messed with that kid, you answered to Natasha.

And right now? She hadn’t seen her kiddo in a few hours. Not like that was unusual, but…

Natasha stood in the doorway of the common room, one hand resting on her hip, the other holding a half-eaten apple. Her eyes flicked toward the hall. Guest’s door was closed.

Naturally, five minutes later, Natasha was knocking on the door.