I haven't seen any fanfiction exploring the writers' dropped story line where Natasha was in charge of orphans during the five years post Snap. Personally, I'm glad she was leading the Avengers, because the first woman in charge of the team needed to be the first woman of the MCU. It didn't stop this AU from popping into my head though, and since it is an AU, expect a different Endgame and a heaping helping of Romangers.

I don't own Marvel or any of these amazing characters. I just like to play in their toy box from time to time.

6 Months post Snap

Natasha sighed as she hung up the phone. Sometimes she wondered if Thanos had snapped away everyone with any common sense at all. She was completely certain the new president had no common sense or he wouldn't have put her in the role of liaison to the children's homes housing children left behind. This idiot in charge of the home in Brooklyn obviously had no common sense, or he would know how to handle a little girl struggling with the loss of her parents and unable to fit in and "play nice" with the other children.

"If I had any sense, I would have said no and gone back on the run," she muttered.

"What's that?" Steve asked, looking up from the latest psychology book he'd picked up at the library.

"Sorry, I was just talking to myself. Why did I take this job again?"

"Oh, we're having that conversation again. Let's see. Because you know how it feels to be a child without parents looking out for you," he said, "and because you know there are a lot of bad people in the world who would take advantage of these kids. Nat, you're the right person for the job. You're doing great."

"If I were doing so great, I wouldn't be moving Sophie Tanner to her fifth home tomorrow."

"Sophie?" Steve repeated, obviously trying to place the little girl.

"The little girl I moved to Brooklyn three weeks ago from the home in New Jersey. The month before, she was in Statin Island," Natasha said. Steve's expression was still blank. Sometimes she wondered if there was any of the old cap in him anymore. He was so absorbed in all they'd lost it was hard to have a conversation with him. She usually didn't even try, but he had asked. "She's the four year old we took for ice cream when I was moving her last time."

"Oh, the quiet little redheaded girl," Steve said when it finally dawned on him who they were talking about. "Sorry, why didn't it work out this time? She seemed like a sweet kid."

"A sweet kid who doesn't play well with others and apparently knows how to strike a match. She started a fire at the group home. It was a small one in a trashcan. Nobody was hurt, but they won't keep her. Apparently, I need to go over the importance of actually keeping an eye on the children with the staff when I pick her up tomorrow."

"I thought the actual placement and removal of the kids was supposed to be done by one of the social workers. Why you?"

"I'm the only one who can handle her. It would seem she's a Black Widow fan. When they picked her up, she had a Black Widow action figure. I didn't even know I had any fans."

Steve smiled a half smile, the only kind she'd seen on his face since catching up to him after Berlin a few years before, and looked her in the eye. "I'm not surprised. You're a hero, Nat. Where are you taking her?"

"Not sure. Every home is overcrowded. No one is in a good enough place mentally to even consider fostering, so we have to work with the resources we have. I'll be glad when people get their heads out of their a-" she paused and looked sheepishly at her partner, "it will be easier when people get their heads on straight and are hopefully more willing to help the children left behind. So many of these kids were left with no one. Sophie's parents were all she had, and they didn't even disappear, Steve. They were driving, and the driver of an eighteen wheeler turned to dust, leaving the truck unmanned. They died on impact. Sophie was with a sitter. The sitter turned to dust, and she was on her own for days. I need to make some calls. I'll probably have to do a little shuffling around, but she's no longer welcome where she's at."

"Or," Steve said, "you could bring her here."

"Here? We aren't equipped for that. This is the Avengers Compound. Who would take care of her?"

"You just said people need to get their heads on straight and start fostering these kids. She needs parents, Nat, not a group home. Why not us? We could set the example. Maybe others would follow and you wouldn't need all these group homes."

"We're not an 'us', Steve."

"We may not be romantically involved, but we're definitely an 'us'. You're my partner and, quite frankly, one of the few friends I have left."

"And if the world needs saving? It's not like we could just leave a preschooler home alone. Parenting is a huge responsibility."

"Nat, I already told you I'm done. After what happened, I can't go back out there. Helping people cope is my job now. I failed and they're hurting. I was going to get a place in Brooklyn and leave the compound behind."

"You're leaving?"

"I was, but maybe I won't now. Maybe I could stay here and help with Sophie. We could give her a family. Maybe it'll help us figure out how to move on."

The idea of Steve leaving was hard for Natasha to bear. Bruce had locked himself away in some secret lab off the grid. Thor was a drunken mess. Tony hadn't spoken to them since he left the compound, and Clint was MIA. If she didn't have Steve, she really would be alone, but this was a crazy idea. They were completely out of their element.

A picture of Sophie formed in her mind. The child really wasn't making it in the system. Could she honestly expect things to go any better at the next home or the next? Steve did have a point about them setting an example. If more people were willing to take in orphans of the Snap, the kids would have a better shot. "You're sure about this, Steve? Because, if we do this, there's no going back. I don't want Sophie to lose another family. You'd be stuck playing Daddy-stuck with me. We're talking about the equivalency of becoming divorced parents with shared custody. Think about the future Mrs. Rogers. She might not appreciate what your suggesting."

"I wouldn't bail on Sophie or you. We've been partners a long time. We get along better than most married couples. We've posed as a married couple more than once," he said, smirking, and Natasha felt her face flush at the memory. "Anyone who couldn't accept you and Sophie as part of my life wouldn't even get a second date. What about you? Bruce might have a problem with-"

"Bruce knows my feelings have changed. I'm married to my job, Steve. It doesn't matter what job it is, the mission will always come first. If we take this on, Sophie becomes my primary mission."

"Our primary mission," Steve said. "We're doing this, right?"

"I've followed you into some of the craziest places, but I never thought I'd follow you into parenthood. What the hell! For Sophie, we can do this."

Steve smiled a real smile, and Natasha couldn't help but return it. Maybe this little girl was what Steve needed to start living again. She had tried for months to get him back on his feet, but nothing worked. He'd never been receptive to her attempts at matchmaking, even though she'd tried pretty hard because she wanted him to have a family-a family she couldn't give him even though she would have liked to fix him up with herself once upon a time. While her romantic feelings for him had faded, buried under years of friendship and shared battles, she could still make sure he had the chance to be a father. Eventually, he would heal enough to be Captain America again. This could work.

Steve walked into Sam's old room. It was closest to his own. Wanda's was closer to Natasha's, but he couldn't suggest turning it into a space for Sophie. The girl had been like a sister to Natasha. Sam, on the other hand, had only crashed in the room part time. Most of his personal belongings were still in his place in D.C.

The room was pretty basic considering Tony designed it. The dresser was fine, and it had a nice view through the window. He figured it would probably be smart to get a smaller bed. Sophie would need the floor space to play. He'd have to talk Natasha into helping him make the space just right for a child. They could get a doll house and a little book shelf. Sophie would need a toy box, too.

He wondered if the little girl would like to dance. He knew Natasha still slipped on her ballet shoes when she was home alone. He'd caught her dancing once a few weeks ealier. It was the most beautiful sight he had ever seen. She looked so relaxed when she danced, almost happy even. Natasha needed a normal life, and the moment he learned Sophie loved the Black Widow, he knew he had to put that little girl in Natasha's arms. She'd make an incredible mother.

This little girl might just be the key to helping Natasha move on. She was hurting. The whole world was hurting, but watching Natasha suffer was killing him. He'd been a fool to think leaving her alone in this big compound was the right move, but he couldn't stand to see the pain in her eyes every night when he came home.

She was his rock, his best friend, and when he failed to stop Thanos it cost her everything that mattered. Clint was out there somewhere doing God know what, but Laura and the kids, her family, were gone. He caused that when he refused to sign those damn Accords. He doomed half of all life, and there was no way to fix it.

If he could make Natasha happy again and give her a family of her own, maybe he could forgive himself just a little. Maybe she would even start looking at him the way she used to when he was a hero. He wasn't foolish enough to hope she'd see him as anything more than a friend, but he could give her this. They could really be partners again, and maybe it would be enough.