Natasha sat in the Avengers' quarters within the Jedi Temple with an unreadable expression, her gaze fixed lovingly on the growing baby in her lap.
"You know, if you keep staring at her like that, I'm afraid you'll give her a complex," Sam said as he ate a light meal at his seat.
After a moment, the baby gurgled with joy and reached out her hands to the former spy, who smiled as she lifted her into the air. Little Mara Jade beamed, making Natasha's smile even brighter.
"I'm genuinely worried that she might become a carbon copy of you," Sam said pointedly.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Natasha asked with mock offense.
Sam snorted and gave a knowing smile. "Well, let's see. Your demeanor, your attitude, that dangerous aura about you—"
"One more word and you'll start to feel like something's a little off."
Mara giggled at the exchange, causing Natasha to smile down at the toddler.
Watching Sam leave, Natasha turned her attention back to the child sitting on her lap. The little one clapped her hands excitedly and laughed as Natasha gently poked her tiny belly while pulling her closer. Mara Jade was giggling now, and Natasha, with a slightly mischievous look on her face, began to tickle her mercilessly, causing the toddler to laugh uncontrollably.
"You seem to be enjoying yourself."
Natasha paused in her tickle attack and looked back to see Cap watching her fondly from the doorway of the room. She simply shrugged.
"I got practice with Clint's kids," Natasha said.
Cap hummed thoughtfully as he walked over to her and sat down beside her. Mara's attention shifted to Cap and she looked up at him curiously.
"Hey there, I don't think we've had a chance to properly meet," Cap said, offering a hand to Mara, which she immediately grabbed. "I'm Steve Rogers, a friend of Natasha's. And you are?"
Mara Jade simply scrunched up her face, her tiny hands exploring the much larger one.
"She likes you," Natasha said, bouncing her knees slightly, causing Mara to let out a small laugh. "So, where is everyone else?"
Cap considered for a moment. "Well, just saw Sam. I think Rhodes is over at the barracks with the clone troopers. Hope and Scott... I think they took the little green guy to the Jedi Masters in the temple, trying to figure out what he eats."
"Did they go see Yoda?" Natasha asked, and Steve shook his head.
"He seems busy at the moment."
"What about the others?"
"Pietro's over at the Senate building," Cap said with a knowing look that Natasha recognized immediately.
"That blue senator who caught his eye, huh?"
"Senator Chuchi. He's been quite persistent in that regard."
"Right," Natasha said, shaking her head with amusement. "What about our two favorite bookworms? Haven't seen the kid or Matt."
"Matt?" Steve repeated with a hint of surprise. "Didn't know you two were on a first-name basis."
Natasha didn't respond immediately. "We've worked together before."
Steve looked a little confused now. "Really?"
Cap was curious now, but the look in his friend's eyes made him hesitate to ask for more details about the matter.
"Well, if you're wondering, last I checked those two are in the archives."
In the Jedi Archives, the two native New Yorkers were indeed there.
Peter Parker and Matt Murdock sat in the vast library, the latter wearing his distinctive red glasses, listening to an audio narration of the many laws and regulations of the Republic.
Peter occasionally glanced away from his datapad to see Matt sitting patiently. From his posture, the teen sometimes wondered if the lawyer had actually fallen asleep.
"Are you sure you don't get tired of listening to all this?" Peter asked after a moment of silence.
"Not at all, Parker. This almost reminds me of audiobooks from back home."
Peter scratched his cheek. "Yeah, but those are supposed to be entertaining, not... um..."
"I understand what you mean, but what else can I do in my situation? There's no proper Braille system in this galaxy that I know of. So all I can do is listen to whatever audio materials are available."
Nodding, Peter felt mentally exhausted after reading for so long today. He stood up and returned the datapad to its proper place. Gathering his things, he started walking toward the exit.
"Where are you going?"
"Out."
"Where to?"
"See if Ahsoka or Barriss want to hang out."
"What if they don't?"
"Then I'll go exploring on my own. I've been going stir-crazy cooped up in here."
Matt wanted to object, but found himself closing his mouth before he could respond. To be honest, even with all the new material he'd been absorbing over the past few weeks, he was feeling a bit restless himself. It had been some time since Geonosis, and he and most of the Avengers had spent the majority of their time within the Temple.
Sure, they ventured into the city occasionally, but never strayed too far from the temple complex.
Hearing Peter's footsteps recede, he considered whether he should follow the teenager's lead and do something more active. Not exactly by himself, as he was still quite unfamiliar with the areas of Coruscant outside the Temple. The only place he could realistically visit was the Senate Building, where he might feel somewhat in his element... sort of.
Matt was fairly certain that as a lawyer, he was slightly out of his depth, so to speak.
It was one thing to help those in need from his law practice in Hell's Kitchen, but planetary and cosmic legal disputes were an entirely different matter.
These thoughts were interrupted as his enhanced senses detected someone approaching him.