26 A change gonna come (2/2)

Clint, sitting in the passenger seat of the Kushina, looked on in wonder as they blitzed through the air at lightning speed. In order to ignore any air traffic, they'd flown up into the mesosphere and had cruised around for a bit before they flew off to Clint's homestead in Maine.

Naruto smirked, ”Yeah, she's something else.”

Looking over the distant planet below, Clint asked, ”And you got her from a space pirate?”

”Pretty much.” The blonde admitted.

”Awesome.” Clint looked at him, ”Can I fly her?”

Naruto's laugh had no humor in it, ”No chance in hell.”

”Oh, come on! I let you fly the Quinjet the first time I took you out on it, return the favor!” Barton pleaded.

”Let me my ass! You forced me to fly it as some stupid kind of test!” Naruto shot back.

”Stop being such a brat!”

”I will, when you stop being such an asshole!”

Clint relented in annoyance, ”Just take us to the farm damnit. I'm hungry.”

The shinobi grumbled but relented, smirking knowing he'd won the argument.

Finally reaching their destination, Naruto rested the ship down in the open field in front of the homestead. As they descended, Naruto quickly noticed a Quinjet that was parked several yards away.

”Who else is here?” Naruto wondered, looking to Clint.

Said archer scratched at his chin, ”Well, uh…”

”Clint, who's here?”

Clint's answer had to wait, as the two saw his children burst out of the house and run towards the ship. Opening the back for him, Naruto allowed Clint to run out and greet his kids with a bearhug. As Naruto followed after him, he smiled as the happy kids gripped their father like a life line.

Eventually, they noticed Naruto behind their dad, walking from inside the ship. Letting go of their father, they run up to the blonde shinobi.

The oldest at 11 years old, Cooper, ran up and reached out for a high five. Lila, who was at the cute age of 6, wrapped her arms around his left leg in a tight hug.

”Uncle Naruto!” Lila cried out happily as she looked up at him with stars in her eyes, ”You're back!”

”How long have you been back?” Cooper asked.

”Where did you go?” Demanded Lila.

”I heard you went into space. Did you go to Mars or something?”

”Did you make friends with any Martians? I bet you did, but Cooper says they aren't real.”

”That's because they aren't.” Cooper argued.

Lila glared at her brother in protest, ”Are too.”

”Are not-”

Naruto decided to cut this off before it got any further, ”I've been back for a couple months actually. And no, I did not go to Mars or talk to any Martians. I did however go to space and met some really cool aliens.”

Lila had stars in her eyes, ”Woah, really?”

”No way.” Cooper denied.

”Yes way.” The shinobi reassured, ”This one guy was made of ice, another looked like a walking tree, and one was pretty much a talking racoon.”

While Lila ooed and awed, Cooper looked at the older blonde skeptically, ”You're making that up, right?”

”Would I make something like that up?” Naruto asked.

”You made up the story about you fighting a knight over a rock…so yeah.” Cooper said.

Naruto lowered his head in defeat, ”No respect.”

”Why don't you guys give Naruto a little bit of breathing room, I'm sure there's plenty of time for him to try and convince you that he actually met a talking racoon.” Called out a voice from the direction of the house.

Looking over, Naruto saw Laura Barton exit from the homestead, walking down the porch carefully as she cradled her bulging stomach. Clint was quickly by her side, giving his wife a hug as he helped her down the last step.

”There actually was a talking racoon.” Naruto argued as the kids left his side.

Laura laughed as she looked at him challengingly, ”And how exactly did it move its mouth in a way that made it capable of forming proper sentences?”

This left Naruto hanging, unable to explain how Rocket could actually talk. As he tried to form an argument, another set of footsteps came from the door, getting his attention.

And, much to his shock, Natasha peered out from the door frame looking at Laura, ”The mashed potatoes are ready.”

”Oh, thanks Nat.” Laura answered. Doing her best to be subtle, she shifted her gaze back and forth between Naruto and Natasha.

Naruto, who had frozen for a split second, awkwardly said, ”Hey, Natasha.”

It was then that Natasha seemed to notice Naruto's presence at the bottom of the porch stairs. Blinking several times, astounded, she then gave an accusatory look at Laura then Clint. Surprisingly, it was Clint who backed down as he averted his gaze. Laura simply gave an encouraging smile.

Finally, Natasha said, ”Hey, Naruto. Are…are you here for dinner too?”

”Yeah.” Was the only thing Naruto could think to say.

The awkward air was cut off as Lila grabbed Naruto by the hand, ”Uncle Naruto, I want you to sit with me.” She demanded innocently.

Thankful for the excuse to turn his attention to anything else, Naruto smiled down at the little girl as she pulled him up into the house, ”Okay, okay I'm coming.”

As he was pulled in, something flying close by caught his attention. Looking over, he raised an eyebrow as he saw a raven land on the porch railing. It was larger than what you would call average, with a single glowing green eye staring into his very soul. He wasn't able to think on it too much longer as he was pulled fully into the house.

-x-

The sounds of clinking silverware echoed through the kitchen as the six ate their dinner. On one side sat Naruto and Natasha, with Lila in between them, and Clint, Laura, and Cooper sitting respectively across from them.

In between bites, Laura looked to Naruto, ”So, how is it?”

Naruto's smile was wide as he swallowed, ”I love it.”

Laura smiled back, clearly pleased that her guest was enjoying her cooking. Unbeknownst to his wife, Clint gave Naruto a subtle but appreciative nod and thumbs up.

”Well,” Laura began, ”I can't take all the credit.”

Lila looked up from her plate at the shinobi, ”Yeah, Auntie Nattie helped Mommy make it.”

”Really?” Naruto asked with a raised brow.

The attention now on Natasha, the woman looked up mid-bite. Realizing she was expected to answer she swallowed before saying, ”I didn't help out that much-”

”Since when do you cook?” Clint asked skeptically, only to get an elbow jab from his wife.

”I don't-”

”She helped cut up the potatoes, she mashed 'em too.” Lila informed.

Natasha continued to try and downplay her involvement, ”You cut more than I did-”

”She was very helpful.” Laura persisted, though why only she seemed to know.

Naruto could only smile in amusement as Natasha was bombarded with how helpful she was, ”I didn't realize you'd become such a good cook.” Naruto said.

”You know I can't cook worth a damn.” Natasha reminded, ”Remember the homemade ramen I tried to make for you?”

The blonde laughed, ”Yeah, yeah I remember. You totally butchered it. I don't think I'd ever heard you apologize for something so much for so long.”

”It didn't help that you kept laughing at me.” The Avenger's assassin challenged, ”And then the cake I tried to make for you on your birthday, remember that?”

He quickly remembered that birthday, ”Yeah, how did you burn the icing again?”

”I thought you put it on and then cook.” Natasha answered.

”Careful, Naruto.” Kurama's voice warned calmly.

His partner's booming voice brought Naruto back to reality, noticing that Laura was smiling at their conversation as she pretended to focus on her food.

Laughing with restraint, Naruto said, ”Yeah, those were good times.”

The mood around the room suddenly got a little tense, everyone entering an almost awkward silence as they began to dig into their meals once again.

It was Cooper who finally spoke, ”So Naruto, are you gonna be an Avenger now that your back?”

”Uh, no. No, I'm not.” Naruto answered lamely.

”Why?” Lila asked.

”Well…” Naruto said, trying to think of an edited reason for why he refused to join the Avengers, ”Well, when I was a kid, I had this one friend who called himself an avenger. He was about your age,” He said looking to Lila, ”When someone took his family away from him. He was your age, ”He said this looking to Cooper, ”When he abandoned our home to avenge the thing he lost. He did a lot of bad things to do that, all because he was an avenger. So, I guess the idea of calling myself the thing that nearly destroyed my friend makes me feel…bad.”

”Oh.” Lila said quietly, ”What happened to your friend?”

Naruto could feel Natasha freeze up at that question.

”He…passed away.” Naruto said gently.

”Did he ever become your friend again?” Cooper asked.

Smiling gently, Naruto's eyes hazed in sadness, ”Yeah, I'd like to think so.”

Seeing that her children had finished their plates, Laura cut through the tension, ”Why don't you guys take your dishes to the sink and wash up?”

Though they didn't look very pleased, they quickly complied with their mother and got up to do as she asked.

”They've both gotten so big.” Naruto said as they left the room.

”Well, it's been nearly three years since you last saw them.” Laura said, ”They really missed you while you were gone, Lila especially. You're her favorite superhero you know? Action figures and everything.”

”I'm sorry I didn't come by sooner.” Naruto apologized, ”I should've visited at least once. I just…”

”You were busy, I know.” Laura reassured, ”What's important is that you're here now.”

Clint finally decided to speak now that he'd finished his meal, ”Is it really true that you met a talking raccoon?”

-x-

Standing on the porch, Naruto leaned up against the railing as he watched Clint play catch with Cooper and Lila, throwing the baseball with supreme accuracy each and every time. In return, both kids returned the ball with surprising accuracy of their own, with Clint almost never having to move his glove to retrieve the ball.

”Did he teach them how to do that, or are they just as freaky as their dad?” Naruto asked.

”A bit of both.” Natasha answered, sitting on the porch steps as she watched the sun set over the tree line, ”Though I'd say Lila is the more natural of the two. If they don't watch out they're gonna have a Lady Hawkeye on their hands.”

Naruto looked over at Natasha, observing her for several moments. Eventually, he slowly got off the railing and trekked over to her, calmly taking a seat next to her.

He only allowed them to sit in silence for a few seconds before saying, ”You can pretend to sit here and stare at that sunset for as long as you want, but you and I both know that's not what you're really lookin' at.”

Natasha didn't look away from the tree line, ”What are you talking about?”

Motioning his head towards the kids, the blonde said, ”I see how you look at them.”

”Naruto-”

”I think anyone that knows you, knows that that's what you want.” He interrupted.

The spy finally turned to head to look at him, ”And if you know me, you know I can't have it…even if I did.”

”Then let me heal you.”

”Naruto-”

”I never offered it to you before because I knew you needed to ask me. If I had asked, you'd have said no, no matter how much you actually wanted me to. So, I backed off and gave you space.” Naruto reasoned quietly.

Natasha fought for the right words to say, ”Naruto, I can't…why would you do that for me? If it's pity or somethi-”

Naruto shook his head as he said, ”I'm not doing it out of pity, or anything stupid like that. I'm doing it because of that look I was talking about. You try and hide it, but after everything we've been through I can read you like a book. And it's because of everything that I know you'll never ask me, because you don't think you deserve it. That you don't deserve to have that happiness.”

Wiping her eye, she said, ”I really don't deserve it. Not after everything that happened. Not just with you, but…everything. I'm a monster.”

”I've seen monsters, Natasha. I've seen the worst of the worst. And despite myself I can't think of you on the same level as them. You're like...three tiers below that. At least.” Naruto, giving her a joking smile at the last part.

Natasha couldn't help but laugh. The two sat there for a moment, enjoying each other's company, something they both missed.

”I thought you said you were done with me?” Natasha finally asked.

”Yeah…I did. I guess you could call it a time out if you want.” Naruto said with a shrug.

”And how many of these 'time outs' do I get?” She asked, her voice taking on a strange tone of hope.

He shrugged again, ”I'll burn that bridge when I get there.”

They entered another silence, before Natasha gave a sigh, ”Just…let me think about it.”

At that, the door behind them opened, ”Hey Naruto are you sure…oh, sorry. Am I interrupting something?” Laura asked, looking down at the two as they sat together on the steps.

Naruto got up, dusting off his pant legs as he said, ”Whatcha need?”

Laura looked back and forth between the two before asking, ”Are you sure you don't want to stay the night? We have an extra guest room, so it really isn't a bother.”

”No, thank you I'm good. I'm actually gonna be heading out.” Naruto said, rubbing the back of his head.

”Oh, okay.” Laura said, disappointed. Walking up to him, she held her arms out for a hug goodbye, ”Well be sure to come again, you're welcome anytime.”

Bending down into the hug, Naruto said, ”How can I not come back after that awesome dinner?” Leaning in, he whispered, ”Maybe next time we'll watch The Parent Trap and you can pick up some tips?”

As Naruto leaned back, Laura gave him a parting kiss on the cheek. Patting the spot she'd peck, she said with a knowing smile, ”We'll be sure to do that then.”

Walking down the porch steps, Naruto called out, ”Hey kids, I'm heading out!”

”Awww.” Lila moaned, running up to the blonde and clutching his leg in a death grip, ”You can't leave now! You only just got here.”

Naruto rubbed her head as he said softly, ”I'll be back, I promise.”

”…you promise?” Lila asked, her voice muffled in Naruto's pant leg.

”Promise of a lifetime.” Naruto answered, slowly pealing her off of him. Leaning down he gave her one last hug. Getting up he gave Cooper a fist bump, ”I'll be seeing you later, kid.”

”Could you show me how to throw those knives?” Cooper asked hopefully.

Before he could answer, he saw Laura give him the look only a wrathful mother could. His eyes on Laura he said in a loud, awkward tone, ”No kid, knives are dangerous. Wait until you're older.”

When Laura looked away, satisfied that Naruto had handled the situation, the ninja gave the kid a subtle okay gesture with a heavy wink.

Eventually, Naruto was able to walk up to his ship alone, giving one last wave goodbye as everyone seemed to decide to go inside. Turning to his ship, he said, ”You can come out now.”

The sound of flapping wings echoed before the one-eyed raven landed at Naruto's feet. Kneeling into a catcher's stance, he asked, ”Well, what's your name?”

The raven tilted its head back and forth as it observed the blonde that towered over it. Finally, it opened its beak to respond, ”Muninn.”

”Well, Muninn. What do you want with me? You've been following me since Wakanda, right?” Naruto asked.

”I was asked to observe you by my master.” Muninn informed the blonde, ”He wished for me observe until the time he wanted to speak to you.”

”And it's safe to assume that that time is now.” Naruto guessed.

Muninn twitched its head in a nod, ”That's correct.”

Naruto stood up straight as he asked, ”Who's your master then?”

”My master goes by many names. Lord of the Aesir, Spear Shaker, Wise One, the Raven King. But most know him as the King of Asgard and Protector of the Nine Realms.” Muninn recited, ”My master, my king, is Odin Borson.”

”Well…shit.” Naruto said in surprise, ”What does the King of Asgard want with me?”

”Our king has a quest for you.”

Naruto nearly jumped as a presence suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Standing next to him, draped in a simple long sleeved green gown, was Amora.

The Enchantress.

She seemed to have toned down her appearance in recent years, as she seemed to be trying desperately to come off as average as possible. As far as Naruto was concerned she'd failed in the attempt, because even with then she was still an unnaturally natural beauty. Then again, she was a goddess.

”Enchantress.” Naruto greeted with clear caution.

”Don't let that bitch get to close, brat. I don't think I can deal with another visitor today My patience is running thin as it is.” Kurama warned with a growl.

”I haven't gone by that name for a long time.” Amora informed, ”Not after that day.”

Narrowing his eyes at the woman, he said, ”What do you want?”

”As I said, our king has a quest for you.” Amora repeated, ”It's of the utmost importance.”

”And why in Sage's name would I go anywhere with you?” The warrior demanded.

The Enchantress sighed, ”I know that our past is…tricky, but I wouldn't be here if what my king requests of you wasn't important. If I had it my way, I'd have never shown my face to you again. But, I owe my king everything. So, I come before you, knowing that the only thing keeping you from wiping me off the face of the planet is your patience alone. Isn't that enough of a sign that I'm being sincere?”

”Not really.” Kurama argued, not that she could hear him.

Naruto, thinking it over for several moments, eventually asked, ”What's the request?”

”My king wishes to tell you that himself.” Amora answered, ”But, what I can tell you is that you are the only who can do what my king needs done.”

”Why can't he do it?” Naruto demanded, ”Isn't he supposed to be this all-powerful god or something?”

Amora frowned, ”He has been…stripped of his power. He is weak and frail. He's…he's in no shape to do it.”

”And what about Thor?”

”I can't say. I'll leave my king to explain why.” Amora tried to reason.

Taking a thoughtful breath in, Naruto released it as he said, ”Fine, let's go.”

Amora slowly walked up to the blonde, Muninn flying up and landing on her shoulder. As she reached up to grab his arm, Naruto grabbed her forearm firmly, ”If this is a trick, I won't be happy. Understand?” He asked, his voice dangerously low.

Wincing at the vice like grip around her arm, she nodded, ”Yes, I understand.”

Letting her go, Naruto quickly sealed the Kushina into its seal before saying, ”Let's go.”

”Right.” Amora said weakly as she grabbed his arm.

A strange, otherworldly energy suddenly enveloped them, a flash of green lighting up the field. And then, in an instant, they were gone.

-x-

Waves crashed savagely against the towering cliff side, slowly but surely eroding it away with each and every mighty slap of water. Staring out into the horizon, an aged man sat on a cluster of boulders with a look of pure contemplation on his wrinkled face.

Smiling, he said, ”Welcome, Naruto Uzumaki.”

Looking around Naruto eyed the beautiful field with actual awe, he said, ”And, where am I?”

It was Amora who answered as she walked to sit beside her king, ”The Lofoten Islands. I took him here after I found him in New York a year ago.”

”Why was he in New York?” Naruto asked.

Amora looked at her king, sadness in her eyes, ”Loki exiled him, banishing him into a Manhattan retirement home through the use of spells I taught him. I managed to find him by chance and break the spells, but he's refused to leave his exile. So, I took him here. It's the closest thing to home I could find.”

Odin, who seemed to have been ignoring the conversation going on about him, said wistfully, ”My son…Loki, is a troubled boy. In his 1,500 years of life, he has lived in the shadow of others. But now, through my exile, I can give him the chance to be out of that shadow, no matter how short that may come to be. I consider it my last gift to him.”

Naruto looked Odin over for a moment. He seemed…frail. He was wearing a loose set of beige clothes that hid his body, but his face was all he needed to see to know that he wasn't well.

”You're dying, aren't you?”

The elderly king chuckled, ”Aren't we all?”

”How long do you have?” The Uzumaki asked slowly.

”Two years, seven months, two days.” Odin said without hesitation.

”Okay,” Naruto began, scratching his scalp, ”Is that like, a guess or…?”

Odin laughed softly, ”I suppose you could call it that. Though I can see many things, there are many things that are cloudy to me. You for instance. Or the future I see. Either way, I find that coming date very worrisome.”

Continuing to scratch the back of his head, Naruto said, ”Yeah I would too.”

”It isn't my death that I find worrisome. No, no something else will happen on that day. What I see is foggy, mysterious, but in a way obvious. Something my death is a catalyst to.” Odin claimed, ”My death is the movement of a single cog among many, all working down the clock to life itself. That is what I see. Death.”

”What does your death cause, exaclty?” Naruto asked, disturbed by the king's words.

”With my death, my power fades. My power is the only thing holding back the Executioner of Asgard. She will bring Asgard and its people to their knees with her power. She will slaughter anyone who gets in her way before she is stopped, if she can be stopped at all.” Odin declared, ”With my death, my eldest child will be released onto the world.”

”You want me to fight your daughter when you die?” Naruto asked in slight disbelief, ”Why don't you just ask Thor to do it? This seems like a family issue.”

”Thor is mighty.” Odin admitted, ”But Hela…she is godly. In my prime I could barely defeat her. It was my weakness that allowed her to live, and it was my hubris that allowed me to assume I could hold her off forever. In my youth I assumed I would live eternally, and it wasn't until I grew too old, too weak, that I realized I'd been a fool. And now this new generation must live with my foolishness.”

Naruto sighed, unable to resist finding the parallels between Odin and the Third Hokage. Both had allowed monsters to live and died regretting it, ”What did she do? Your daughter, Hela, she had to have done something pretty terrible to make you feel this way about your own flesh and blood.”

It was Amora who answered, ”She committed an unspeakable act against Asgard.”

”Unspeakable huh.” Naruto muttered, ”So what, you expect me to be on call until you finally pass on, so I can fight this super strong she-god, wherever it is she pops up?”

”No. We will send you into Hel as soon as you can, and you will find and destroy her within her prison.” Amora corrected.

”And what the hell do I get out of any of this?” Naruto demanded, eyes squinted shut in scrutiny, ”It seems to me like you assume I'll do it out the kindness of my heart or something.”

”Your reward for completing Odin's quest is the location of the Reality Stone.” Amora answered.

That caught Naruto off guard, ”You know where it's at?”

Odin stood up from his seat, slowly walking up to much younger man, ”Thor had managed to procure the Stone right before my exile. I didn't like the thought of having two Infinity Stones so close to each other, especially considering our previous security blunders. In secret, I ordered Thor and his posy to find someone who was capable of hiding the Reality Stone. While he managed to find someone, I believe I've found someone better.” He said as he motioned to Naruto, ”My sight has faded much in my old age. Your past and future are as blurry to me as the rest. But the bits I can make out, I know I'm making the right choice in choosing you to take on the quest.”

As Odin rested a hand on Naruto's shoulder, the blonde looked into the All-Father's eye. In it, he could see the weight of his burden, that weight almost crushing him in his old age. Seeing that, he sighed.

Why not relieve some of that weight off?

”Okay. I'll do it.”