not how it's supposed to go

are we out of the woods yet?

"Can I come in?"

Lila jumped up from her bed, opening the door and smiling when she saw Natasha on the other side. She still couldn't get over how different Natasha looked with the blonde hair. She's still her Natasha, though, because she's wearing PJ pants with Mickey Mouse on them and a t-shirt with the SHIELD logo on it.

"Want me to braid your hair?" Natasha asked quietly, sitting on Lila's bed and leaning back against the wall.

"Please," Lila said eagerly, sitting in front of Natasha and smiling when Natasha started to gently run her fingers through her hair. She gently untangled knots, paying close attention not to hurt Lila in any way.

"Are you gonna be around more often now?" Lila asked impatiently, reaching over and closing her laptop.

"What were you watching?" Natasha deflected, "and what do you want? Just the one braid?"

Lila nodded, "Yes. And I wasn't watching anything, I was reading."

"Oh?" Natasha gently pulled at her hair as she braided it, making sure it was nice and tight so it wouldn't fall apart, "What were you reading?"

"Some article about Tony. Apparently he started working with Spider-Man," Lila replied, "when are you gonna tell me who Spider-Man is?"

"Never," Natasha said with a quiet laugh, "Aren't you old enough to know how a secret works by now?"

"I know how secrets work," Lila retorted, fiddling with her fingers as Natasha continues braiding.

"He's not that much older than you," Natasha mentioned softly, tying off Lila's hair and smoothing it out, "That's all I'm gonna give you."

"You're the worst," Lila turned around and laid back on her pillows.

Natasha smiled softly, "I'll take a picture of the braid later, if you want."

Lila nodded, "Thank you. You need to stay longer and do my hair every morning before school, you know."

"If I could, I would," Natasha replied, some kind of sad look on her face, "anyway, tell me about what's going on in your life. Your dad keeps things very brief, but your mom mentioned that you've had a crush for a little bit now?"

Lila felt her face go red, and she hesitated before changing the topic, "He said that you have a girlfriend."

Natasha smiled, "I do."

"Who is it?" Lila asked, excited now.

"You keep track of the Avengers, right?" Natasha asked, and Lila nodded. Natasha's smile grew ever-so-slightly, "What're your thoughts on Wanda?"

Lila's eyes grew wide and she jumped up, "No way!"

Natasha nodded, moving one of her legs to her chest and resting her chin on it, "Are you okay with that?"

"Of course I am!" Lila grinned, leaping forward and hugging Natasha, "I'm so happy for you, Nat."

"Thank you," Natasha held her tightly, "You know you can't brag to your brothers that you found out first, right? They'll feel bad."

"I promise," Lila responded softly, "Where is Wanda?"

Natasha sighed, "She's mad at me right now, so she's with Vision. And something was telling me that I had to come see you guys... so here I am."

"For what it's worth, I'm happy you're here," Lila replied, readjusting and sitting next to Natasha, resting her head on her aunt's shoulder.

"Me too."