Chapter Text
Years later, when Phil would tell the story of their first child, she would say that, like Phil, they had just been waiting for Clint to come home. Deciding to be born exactly one month after he returned, they were a little early. But they were healthy, beautiful, and everything they could have wanted.
“Gotta say Phil,” Maria said during a visit to Phil’s apartment two weeks after the baby was born, “you guys made a cute kid.”
“Thank you,” Phil replied, watching her friend sway back and forth with a wrapped bundle in her arms. Clint had picked it out, a cream blanket with dancing elephants. “We like to think so.”
“Speaking of your ‘we',” Maria began. “I can’t help but notice the other new occupant in your apartment.” She gave Phil a knowing look as she gestured at the room around them. Hand held out at an awkward angle underneath the baby.
Phil shrugged. “It’s easier this way. At least until I'm used to things. Clint still has his room on base.”
“Uh huh,” Maria said, eyeing the littering of Clint’s belongings around Phil’s apartment that had accumulated. Coffee mugs, a locked bow case, a book on the nightstand. A coat on the hook by the door and a pair of boots under it.
She suspected they would soon be a part of the apartment permanently.
“Speaking of base and hq,” Maria said, changing the subject. “Donavan told people they could have their money back on the pool since you’re not telling who your baby daddy is, and medical’s not telling either, obviously. But he also says that if they back out, they can’t try and get their bets back in if you let it slip later on.”
Phil rolled her eyes, but smiled. “What’re they saying to that?”
Maria shrugged and smiled when the baby gurgled. “Most are leaving their money in and waiting on the long haul for the reveal. It’s now recorded as the largest betting pool in Shield history. They all expect you to slip at some point."
Phil snorted. “That's extremely unlikely. Do you have any idea the enemies Clint has?"
Maria opened her mouth to reply and Phil held a hand up. "Don't answer that."
Maria closed her mouth and put her attention back on the baby as they waved a hand at her. Phil watched Maria for a few moments before saying curiously, "I wonder what yours will be like someday?”
Maria laughed dismissively. “Uh…no. If there is one person who should never have a child, it’s me.”
“I dunno,” Phil said, smiling fondly at her friend and her new baby. “You look pretty good there.”
Maria made a face. “Don’t make me refuse to hold this baby ever again.”
“Uh huh,” Phil said. “Don’t lie. I know you love her.” She took a sip of the tea she'd been having before Maria came over. “Who knows? Maybe someday, you’ll meet the right guy. And if that happens, I'll remind you of this exact conversation.”
Maria rolled her eyes, and Phil laughed. But years later, after Maria had cried on her bathroom floor and Phil had drunk an entire bottle of wine, she did just that.
But that's another story.