"I couldn't give you up."
"...I know."
As the daughter of Black Widow, Nyla-Rose is used to the craziness that has become her life. When sudden truths are revealed and she's finally ready to take a break from everything, an intergalactic sociopath s...
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The Quinjet was quiet, the only sound being the low hum of the engines as the group of weary and beaten heroes made their way back home.
Natasha was still in a state of shock. She had watched, helpless, as some of her family and friends turned into dust right before her eyes in the fight to prevent what they were not able to.
There was no time to cry as Steve gathered up what was left of their team to figure out what to do next, but now that they were facing a few hours of silence, all she could think about was Nyla-Rose. When the tears finally began to fall, a gentle hand clutched her shoulder in a gesture of comfort and she caved to the painful sorrows she'd suffered of her own faults, turning to embrace Steve while hiding her wet eyes from the others. Steve, usually so good at lifting people's spirits, had no idea what to say. He had tried to get her to see Nyla-Rose on more than one occasion after the incident, but she refused. That was the first time he'd ever seen Natasha look so afraid.
Until, now. When she was oblivious to the fate of her daughter. He didn't know if she could handle Nyla-Rose being gone. Not after being separated from her for two years and then coming back to find—
No. Steve wouldn't even think about it.
The ramp of the Quinjet had barely touched the ground of the Compound's yard when Natasha was sprinting across the grass and rushing through the mandatory securities, still intact for a purpose that seemed useless now. Her heart was beating furiously as she stumbled over her feet in a desperate attempt to search the empty Compound when she paused. A lean figure emerged from the shadows of the living room and her racing heart came to a full stop.
"Nyla."
"Mom?"
Steve, Rhodes, Thor, Bruce, Pietro and Rocket tentatively entered the room to see Natasha and Nyla-Rose on the floor, sobbing and clutching each other with no intention of letting go. In just a few seconds, the long time apart that had formed a wall between mother and daughter crumbled, anger and guilt soon forgotten in the swept up moment of great and immense relief that the other had survived. The scene before men, god and raccoon was enough to reduce even the most heartless person to the sniffles and Steve, not bothering to hold back his own moved tears, looked over to see Rhodes and Rocket trying their best to keep their heads as the other men silently let loose.
"Why is this making me sad? And who's that, anyways?" Rocket snapped under his breath, rubbing at his eyes.
"That is Nyla-Rose, daughter of Natasha," Thor whispered to him.
"Daughter? She doesn't look like her..."
"I'd shut up now, Rabbit, if I were you..."
After being so brutally defeated and losing what seemed like their very own flesh and blood, this...this was a piece of happiness that was salvaged out of the ruins. Steve was grateful for it.
