Chasing Ghosts | Natasha Romanoff

Chapter 2: The Simple Life

Natasha shook her head, laughing. ''I said, Maya's birthday's coming up. What should we do? Do you want to have a party at home or should we do it somewhere else? Go somewhere maybe?'' She chewed her lip in thought. A lot of thought had already gone into the topic.

''Those are a lot of questions,'' Katya teased, which was slightly mean because she knew how much Natasha wanted to do everything right with Maya. She didn't realize yet that she could hardly do anything wrong in her eyes. Even if the birthday party would be a total mess, Maya would love her for organizing it in the first place. 

''Sorry.'' Natasha took her eyes off Katya and back to the road. She fiddled with the stitches on the leather steering wheel. ''It's her first birthday party and I want to do it right.''

Katya smiled reassuringly, hoping to take some of those worries away in the future. ''Why don't we ask her?'' she proposed, which seemed like the most obvious question that they hadn't thought off yet.

''Right. Good idea,'' she nodded, waving in and out of traffic impatiently. They had enough time left, but Natasha didn't like driving slow. Katya waited for whatever she would say next, knowing there would be more. ''I don't know if I should find it funny or sad that we were literally killing our classmates when we were ten,'' she chuckled.

Katya let out a laugh. ''Sad. Definitely sad.''

They arrived at the school fifteen minutes early, but that didn't stop Natasha from parking it right in front of the entrance, along the curb, and getting out. She leaned against the passenger's side of the car, arms crossed and eyes on the wooden double doors. Katya chuckled at her actions, rolling her window down.

''I'm pretty sure you're distracting all the parents that are coming to pick up their kids.''

That wasn't a lie. A lot of parents had gathered around the exit, waiting for their precious kids. And obviously, they knew who Natasha was. They tried to be subtle with their glances, but they could never be subtle enough when it came to a spy. Some dads but also moms stared a bit too long, which made Katya laugh. She had to admit, Natasha looked very hot in the black skintight dress.

''Don't worry darling, I only have eyes for you,'' Natasha teased right back, keeping her voice low.

Katya kicked her feet up on the dash, playing with her phone. If she had to wait fifteen minutes, she'd do something instead of stare at the doors like a hawk. ''Lucky me.''

''Yeah, lucky you,'' Natasha replied confidently. Nope, she didn't doubt her own beauty. 

Finally, the bell rang and not long after, groups upon groups of kids came out. Luckily, Maya's red hair stood out, so it didn't take long for Natasha to spot her. Katya knew a huge smile grew on her face. ''Hey honey,'' Natasha greeted her daughter, who said goodbye to a classmate.

Maya smiled brightly, spotting her from a distance. ''Hi mom.''

The word had the same impact on Natasha as it did on Katya. She froze completely, still with her back against the car. She didn't even move when Maya got the backdoor open enough to wiggle through, taking place behind Katya. 

The brunette turned around in her seat. ''I think you broke her,'' she joked, to which Maya giggled and nodded. She knew damn well what she had done. Katya stuck her head out the open window a bit, swallowing the laugh in her throat at Natasha's completely shocked face. ''Nat. Natalia.''

''I'm fine,'' she responded, but she didn't move anything else but her mouth.

Katya hummed teasingly. ''Sure you are. Are you coming in? Because this car isn't going to drive itself.'' That finally broke Natasha out of her trance, and she took place behind the wheel again. She must have the same look on her face as Katya had this morning. ''I told you,'' Katya whispered. But not as a way of teasing her, but because she knew what this felt like.