Who: Natasha and Cassie When: Recently-ish Where: Their house What: Bonding time Rating/Warnings: None really Status: Closed | Complete | Gdoc
Natasha had taken the day off work in order to spend it with Cassie, with everything that had happened lately she figured a little mother/daughter time would be good. She didn’t like the things she’d heard about herself in the other version of Madison and to know Cassie had seen some of that was worrying. She never wanted her daughter to be afraid of her, Natasha would never hurt Cassie and would hunt down anybody who did.
She knew better than to attempt making breakfast so instead she’d gone out early to the bakery and gotten a selection of pastries and put the coffee on so it would be ready when Cassie got up. Sitting at the kitchen table she opened the paper Bruce had been reading before he left while she waited.
***
Cassie was glad the whole coma and alternate reality nonsense was over. Sure, she'd been a bad ass Watcher/Slayer on the other side, but she wasn't happy, not like she was in this Madison. She had parents here who loved her and cared about her without caring one way or the other about her Watcher abilities. That was why seeing Natasha and Bucky together and Bruce and Maria together in that other world sucked.
She slept pretty well that night - it had been steadily getting better since that battle happened, luckily enough. Her stomach rumbled though, which meant she needed to get up, and the scent of freshly brewed coffee was the kick she needed to get out of bed. Cassie shuffled downstairs and paused at the doorway to the kitchen when she caught sight of her mom. Not for anything bad, more for reassurance that she was here and she wasn't going anywhere.
"Morning, mom," she greeted, more subdued than usual as she made her way over to the coffee pot. "Get any chocolate croissants?"
***
“Morning” Natasha smiled, that familiar warmth spreading through her when Cassie called her mom, she’d never get tired of hearing that. She’d never really known how much becoming a mother would affect her but now she wouldn’t give up the feeling for the world.
“I may have gotten one or two” she said, standing to get a couple of plates for them, running her hand over Cassie’s hair as she did. A simple gesture that spoke volumes. “You want them warmed up?” she asked, after plating a couple for her daughter. She’d gotten a few knowing they were Cassie’s favourite.
***
"I hope you didn't want any then," Cassie teased. She could usually eat two of those without issue but sometimes she went back for a third or at least half of one. This was what she loved most about Madison Valley and she was glad that her mom was taking the time to reassure her that everything was going to be alright.
"Yes please," she added, about having them warmed up. It was always 50/50 if that was what she wanted but this morning, Cassie wanted comfort. "When do you have to be at the gym today?" she asked, figuring maybe they only had another hour or so.
*** Natasha chuckled at Cassie’s reply, knowing how much she could manage if she was really hungry. She popped them into the microwave and set the timer for ten seconds which was what they had worked out was the best time. Not wet and limp but still warm and crispy with the chocolate beginning to melt.
“I don’t actually” she said, removing the plate from the microwave, “I have the day off so I thought it might be nice to have a day together. Not ruining any plans am I?” she checked as she set the plates down at the table.
***
Cassie was surprised and she let it show. Her mom didn't miss work unless it was something important and while she knew she was important, it was a nice reminder. She grinned and moved to take her seat at the kitchen table.
"Definitely not," Cassie promised. "I was going to go to the art store and get some more colored pencils. It hasn't been fun really, since Neal left." Mostly because she had fun flirting with him in her very blunt way and he never treated her like a kid. "So it shouldn't take too long and then maybe we could just walk around or something?" She took a bite of her croissant and another idea struck her. "We could pick out new colors for my hair! I need to do it again soon."
***
At Cassie’s reaction Natasha decided she needed to take more days off to just be with her daughter, she didn’t imagine it would mean so much to her. But now she was determined to do better and be the best mom she could be.
“That sounds like fun” Natasha said, she wasn’t artistically inclined herself but Steve was and she’d picked up some tips from him. And of course Cassie was continually developing her skills. “New hair color is a great plan, do you have any ideas on color already? Or are we winging it?” she asked with a smile, taking a bite of her own breakfast. She had to admit she liked Cassie’s hair, it was part of her personality and she wouldn’t dream of stopping her express herself that way.
***
"I found a couple of pieces from that other Madison that aren't totally shitty so I was thinking of redoing them and coloring them in to give to a couple of people. Just to...help, I guess." There were a lot of things she'd Seen that she would prefer to never think about again, but some of it wasn't so bad. "Dad could do with being reminded that the Hulk isn't so bad. And Faith was really good at that whole leading thing." Now that she actually said it out loud, Cassie was worried it was a dumb idea or that it might hurt more than help.
"Winging it I think. The red and green are a little too Christmasy for my taste now that the adoption's official." Since she'd done those colors to claim Natasha and Bruce as her parents during that in between time, it had made sense. It still did, but now everything was official and she could use a change of color. "Maybe blue or purple this time," she added with a shrug. Inspiration would strike while she was looking at the hair dye.
***
Natasha lay a hand over Cassie’s and waited until she looked at her, “I think that is a lovely idea” she said truthfully, “And you are right about your dad, the Hulk can do a lot of good and he needs to remember that sometimes” Natasha’s own connection to Hulk was a rather unique one, she’d been the one who administered the lullaby to him and he’d protected her on a number of occasions.
She laughed, “I can see that, but you make it look very good. And your dad and I were touched that you chose to represent us like that” she added, because she wasn’t sure either of them had actually said it before. “Purple would look good, it’s one of my favourite colors” she added.
***
Cassie brightened a bit at her Mom's words, glad for the reassurance. "Just between us? The me over there was totally not impressed. I can't figure out if that's a good thing or a bad thing," she admitted, smiling a little conspiratorially.
She definitely liked having her mom around just to herself like this. It felt a lot like she was getting showered with compliments which was always good, but it never felt like it was forced or just a means to an end. It was a lot easier to believe from them, unlike when she'd heard it from Nick. Just another reminder that this whole arrangement had been for the best.
Cassie smirked when her mom said purple was one of her favorite colors. "I can't imagine why you'd think that. It's not like your best friend loves purple or anything," she teased. Clint being sent home probably sucked for her mom, she figured, but at least he was back with his family.
***
Natasha laughed, “I’m not sure either but let’s not tell your father” she winked.
Giving compliments for no reason wasn’t something Natasha did, not even to those she loved. She was always honest, brutally so sometimes though she did try to soften it more often than she had used to. But with Cassie compliments were easily given, her daughter was bright, funny and talented.
“Not at all, are you implying I am easily swayed?” she teased back, though admittedly it was a lot of Clint’s fault that purple was a popular color with her. She did miss him a lot but she knew he was happier back with Laura and the kids, he hadn’t fit in here like the rest of them, not while his family had been missing.
***
"Our secret then," Cassie replied with a grin. She liked that, having things that were just between the two of them. She had the same with her Dad, and it was just one more reason why she was glad to have them as her parents. They cared about her to a degree she never could have expected, given her previous history with parental figures.
She finished off her first croissant and dug into her second one. "By some people," Cassie replied before she took a bite. "But I guess it's ok. He did have a hand in getting you here after all." There was a beat before she scrambled to add, "I mean being my badass mom. Not being in Madison." Because after the things she'd Seen, she knew exactly how dangerous her mother could be when she wasn't on the right side of things.
***
“Our secret” Natasha agreed, as far as she was concerned it was healthy to have things just for them and she fully expected Cassie and Bruce to have the same. It was good for bonding and just generally. Neither she or Bruce had experience in parenting but they had good instincts and it seemed to be working well for them so far.
She nodded, “He did indeed. Things would have been very different if he hadn’t taken a chance on me, he’d definitely be lacking an awesome best friend for one” she grinned, keeping that topic light. “Being brought to Madison is the best thing that could have happened to me, I never thought I’d get to be a mom, I am grateful everyday for you” she added, just wanting to tell Cassie that.
***
Cassie never made any secret about the fact that she thought her parents were kick ass parents. They were one of the few good things about this crappy town, so it was always nice to hear that she was a good daughter. "Yea, been there, Saw that. Definitely glad things turned out the way it did." Vampire Natasha had been fucking terrifying and Cassie figured Assassin Natasha was just as terrifying.
"Love you, too, Mom," she replied, a little like she was put out for having to admit it even though that wasn't ever close to being true. Cassie let that settle for a moment between them before finishing off the last of her croissant. "Done with breakfast?"
***
In Natasha’s view Cassie was beyond a good daughter and they were working on making her into a kick ass young woman too in her own right. This whole little family would be kickass. “Me too” Natasha said, knowing what Cassie was referring to. She could definitely be terrifying, though only ever to her targets or enemies.
Natasha smiled, “All done” she nodded, ruffling Cassie’s hair teasingly before picking up their plates, “Go get ready while I take care of this” she said.
***
"I'll be quick, promise," she replied as she got up from the table. Cassie paused to give her mom a hug, lingering for a few moments because it was important for the both of them, she thought. Then she let go and gave her mom a smile before she darted upstairs.
True to her word, it only took a few minutes for her to run back downstairs, now dressed in shorts, a random band tee, and her signature chucks, her messenger bag slung across her body. She was pulling her hair back into a ponytail as she came to a stop in front of her mom.