Chapter 149

Sassy arrived behind Natasha, placing her paws on her shoulders and gently licking her cheeks.

Natasha's legs gave way a little due to the sudden weight before straightening up again and turning around to hug Sassy.

"Come on, girl, no need for licking," Natasha said, laughing as she petted Sassy under her chin.

Steve, who was about to come to Natasha's aid, froze in shock at the sudden change in the situation.

"I told you not to be too surprised," Clint said, arriving alongside Steve and patting his shoulder.

"This is Sassy," Natasha said, scratching her head.

"Sassy, meet Steve," Natasha pointed.

Sassy sniffed a couple of times before grunting in agreement.

"This isn't normal, right?" Steve asked, suddenly thinking of one of the scandals he had seen about the King of Madripoor regarding animal experimentation. He had seen a similar tiger there, which was why the house seemed familiar.

Since they were only theories and there was no evidence, he hadn't looked into the news too much, so he couldn't remember. The immense size of the tiger and its apparent attack on Natasha prompted his reaction.

"Don't tell me your husband is Damian," Steve said in surprise, wondering why the wife of such a powerful king worked for SHIELD.

"Well, I was hoping to see your surprised face when you saw him," Natasha joked, feigning disappointment.

Sassy rubbed her head a little against Natasha's before taking a nap in the shade.

Natasha quickly approached the door, followed by Steve and Clint.

Steve constantly looked around at the clearly luxurious ambiance of the house; the floors seemed to gleam, and everything looked as if it had been built the day before.

"Hello, dear," Sophia said, coming out to greet them.

"Hello," Natasha said, greeting Sophia with a kiss.

"Hello, Clint," Sophia said, smiling at Clint, who nodded back with a smile. Sophia finally looked at Steve with curiosity before turning her gaze to Natasha.

"He's my new coworker, Steve Rogers," Natasha introduced.

"Hello, nice to meet you," Sophia said, shaking Steve's hand.

"Ma'am," Steve said, nodding and shaking her hand courteously.

Natasha chuckled softly upon hearing how Steve addressed Sophia.

"She's Damian's mother, Sophia," Natasha finally introduced.

Steve fell a little silent, feeling that this evening was going to be full of surprises.

"You arrived a bit early; dinner isn't ready yet," Sophia said, chuckling lightly.

"Where is everyone?" Natasha asked, sensing the unusual silence in the house at this hour, as it was already getting dark.

"They're playing hide and seek outside," Sophia said, chuckling to herself. She really loved how her family could indulge in such childish games without a problem.

"I'm glad they didn't invite me; this family is full of cheaters," Natasha complained, as the only one without powers, she was always taken advantage of in most games.

Sophia chuckled lightly before looking at Clint.

"Tell me, Clint, how's your wife and your family?" Sophia asked kindly.

"Everyone is very healthy," Clint said, smiling at Sophia. He had always thought of her as a very maternal and kind woman.

"I'm glad, remember you can come visit us with them," Sophia said.

"Let's go outside," Natasha said, smiling before leading Steve and Clint to the backyard.

Steve had a certain prejudice about Damian, and not in a negative way. He just had a concept of the famous king in his head based on the actions he had demonstrated and many rumors about him.

In his mind, Damian must be a dignified person with a great temperament, taken from a fantasy book. He definitely didn't expect to find him hiding behind some bushes with a cheerful expression while watching a little girl look for him.

Clint patted Steve on the back when he saw him almost open his mouth in surprise.

Damian, feeling they had arrived, turned and gave them a smile of approval before continuing to hide.

They played hide and seek quite often since he found it to be a very fun game, and it could help his little girls learn to detect other people with their magic. They either learn or lose the game.

Finally, after several minutes without his daughter being able to find him, Damian released a small pulse of magic that caught Alice's attention.

After all, the goal of the game was to have fun. If they could never find him, the game would lose its excitement.

Alice even stuck her little head out from behind the bush and gave a sweet smile upon finding Damian, before running to tell everyone she had caught him.

Damian laughed before picking up Alice in his arms and kissing her cheeks.

He had found everyone else, and only he was left. Seeing that the game was over, they all started walking towards the house, finally meeting Natasha, Clint, and Steve.

"Hello," Natasha said, smiling before hugging Damian and giving him a quick kiss on the lips.

"Sweetheart, this is Steve, I'm sure you know him," Natasha introduced.

"And this is my husband, Damian," Natasha said, smiling happily as she said it.

Just as Steve was about to give a slight bow and address him as 'Your Highness',

Damian smiled and extended his hand towards him.

Steve, feeling a bit uncomfortable and nudged by Clint, finally extended his hand and shook it.

"An honor to meet you; your country is really good," Steve said with respect. Figures of authority were still very important in his mind, and he wasn't as relaxed as in the future.

"Come on, don't make things awkward, relax," Natasha said, laughing as she saw how Steve was acting.

Natasha introduced the rest of her family, and Steve was once again surprised to learn that Damian had several wives.

Someone as traditional as him couldn't help but look uncomfortable while thinking that it wasn't right. However, it wasn't his business, so he didn't say anything about it.

Still, upon seeing the three little girls, he couldn't help but release a smile. They were really cute, and just from their hair color, he could already see who their mother was.

"Let's go inside and eat; dinner is already served," Sophia said, seeing them still chatting outside.

They all sat at the dining table while having casual conversations.

Steve secretly observed everyone and noticed that there really seemed to be a family atmosphere; everyone had a slight happy smile as they talked. It almost seemed too good to be true.

Looking at the table, he thought that this was the life he would have liked to have had with Peggy.

"Honey, guess what Clint told me today," Natasha suddenly said, looking at Damian as she laughed.

"Hey," Clint said, nudging Natasha, embarrassed, as he felt he was taking advantage of their friendship to get what he wanted.

Natasha gave Clint a mischievous smile before speaking.

"What if we arrange for Clint's family to live in Madripoor? That way, he can visit them openly, and they can also meet other people," Natasha said, smiling at Damian.

"Of course, Clint, you're free to bring your family. Just let me know, and I'll take care of everything," Damian said kindly. He imagined it must be a bit frustrating for Clint's family to live in isolation.

In Madripoor, his wife could make friends, and their children could go to school and make their own friends.

"I appreciate it. I'll discuss it with my wife," Clint said, nodding earnestly, touched. For Damian, it might be trivial, but for him and his family, it was a great favor.

Damian just smiled, not taking it too seriously. Clint was very close to the family, and helping him was second nature.

"Steve, tell me, what was the army like back in those days?" Carol asked, looking at Steve.

"I'm not sure how it is now, but at that time, we were all just hoping to win and go back home," Steve said seriously.

"It must have been tough times," Carol said, nodding seriously before looking at Sophia.

"By the way, you were born shortly after all that," Carol chuckled.

"I was born in '48," Sophia said, smiling faintly, unfazed.

Steve began to understand why Clint told him not to be too surprised. Any new person would be constantly hit with one surprise after another.

It was amazing to think that the person in front of him was over 60 years old.

The topics of conversation varied among all the people.

Suddenly the conversation turned to Tony, so Steve couldn't help but ask Damian something that had been bothering him.

''Mr. Damian, did Howard really die in a car accident?'' Steve asked looking at Damian.

''Just tell me Damian,'' said with a smile.

''And no, it wasn't as simple as a car accident, it's something a bit complicated and it's really not a good time to talk about it,'' Damian said looking at his daughters.

Steve nodded and understood what Damian meant so he didn't keep asking, he just wanted to be sure.

He also knew that going into these matters would open up old wounds for Tony Stark that he had not yet met, he would just make sure to keep it in the back of his mind to find out in the future.

They all quickly finished eating before continuing to talk about all sorts of things.

Steve, in particular, learned many things that happened after he fell into the ice, like human contact with the Kree and the Skrull.

In his opinion, it sounded like a plot from a movie. It was truly incredible that no one found out, and everything continued as normal even after so many years.

After chatting for a while, Steve and Clint got up to leave. It was getting late, and they didn't want to overstay their welcome.

"Thanks for coming," Damian said, smiling as he shook hands with each of them to say goodbye.

They all said their goodbyes before Steve and Clint got into their car and drove back to their own home.

"Where should I drop you off?" Steve asked, after all, the car was his.

"I'll guide you, but tell me, what do you think of Damian?" Clint asked, curious.

"Is he human?" Steve asked with a hint of hesitation.

"He gives off the impression that he's not, doesn't he?" Clint said, smiling slightly.

"To be honest, I don't know, and I don't pay much attention to it either," Clint said, shrugging slightly.

"I guess it's not my business whether he's human or not," Steve said, smiling slightly as he shook his head. Sometimes he let his nosy nature get the best of him.

"Here we are," Clint said, pointing to the building across the street.

Steve parked the car before bidding Clint farewell and watching him go up to his apartment.

Clint climbed the stairs and reached his apartment before taking off his coat and collapsing onto the couch with a sigh.

Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out his phone and began dialing his wife. She shouldn't be worried about the lateness of his call since he didn't have a mission.

"Hello, dear," Clint said, smiling faintly upon hearing his wife's voice.

"Were you busy? You're calling a bit late," Laura said, smiling on the other end of the line.

"I went to have dinner at Nat's place," Clint said, chuckling softly.

"I'm glad you're having fun and not on missions all the time," Laura said, smiling on the other end of the phone.

"Dear, how would you feel about you and the kids moving somewhere else?" Clint asked out of nowhere and with uncertainty.

His wife always told him that she and the kids were happy with how they were living, but Clint also had doubts about whether his wife was just consoling him.

Laura stayed silent for several seconds before speaking.

"To where?" She asked.

"Madripoor. It's a safe place that will allow me to visit you more often and without having to hide," Clint said, sighing. He only saw his family a couple of times a year, and it had to be done in secret, plus he couldn't stay for long.

As one of SHIELD's top agents, there was a lot of attention on his actions, and any slip-up could lead to regret for a lifetime.

"I trust you. If you think it's safer and you'll be able to come home more often, then let's do it," Laura said, smiling faintly. It also seemed nice to return to civilization.

"Then let's do it," Clint said, smiling faintly.

"I wonder if the school is very difficult. I hope the kids adapt well," Laura said with concern.

"And we'll need money for a house and maybe a car. I heard in the news that the cost of living is very high in Madripoor," Laura quickly said over the phone as she thought about the possible future.

Clint just chuckled to himself upon hearing his wife's words.

"Alright, after all, we have plenty of savings," Clint said, smiling. Both of them had been agents.

Clint continued to chat with his wife about all sorts of trivial things before hanging up. He hoped it was the right decision.

With the things he had seen, there really wasn't a safe place in the world, but if there was one safer place, it would be under Damian's supervision.

Although he didn't know everything, he had learned a lot from Natasha, including the fact that Madripoor already had bases in space.

It would definitely allow him to foresee dangers before SHIELD, and with Damian being able to get there in an instant, it was definitely the safest place on Earth in his opinion.

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