Ghosts Of The Past | Natasha Romanoff

Chapter 12: A Very Dysfunctional Family

''Welcome to my humble abode. Make yourself at home. Let's have a drink.'' 

Melina pushed the door of her house open, her rifle on her back. The house was old, with thin walls and creaky wooden floors and doors, but it looked well-kept and cozy, even. Large windows let in a lot of light, and because of the comfortable temperature, they were open, the white curtains flowing freely. 

Katya felt the unease radiating off both Natasha and Yelena. They hadn't been in such a setting in a long time. A home. And in their mission suits, they couldn't feel more misplaced.

Yelena and Alexei quickly disappeared into the biggest room, which must be the living room. Katya heard a chair getting pulled backwards, the legs dragging over the wooden floor. But she stayed close to Natasha - as always - who was too distracted with studying the house. Katya knew that look, thinking she was subtle with looking for traps and ways out.

''Hey, no funny business,'' Natasha warned Melina when she opened a closet. From the outside, it looked like a normal cabinet, but behind a second door, a pristine armory shone. Katya saw the newest technology, the most advanced weapons. Melina was one hundred percent connected to a big organization. Or had been.

''I am putting away my weapon,'' she deadpanned, receiving nothing - not even a glare - in return. Natasha wasn't her usual sarcastic self here. No, she was tense as hell. And when she got like this, she got cold, letting her protective walls shoot up again. And, if Katya was entirely honest, she got mean. Self-protection. All of it.

''Are there any booby traps around here? Anything we need to know about?'' Natasha wandered to the kitchen, Katya following her closely. The kitchen was a complete mess, but she managed to find a clean glass and fill it with water from the tab. Honestly, that she dared to drink or touch anything in this dirty kitchen was a miracle.

''I didn't raise my girls to fall in traps,'' Melina answered, getting shot glasses from a cabinet, along with some vodka. Alcohol, Katya could use some of that. Or a lot, actually. Maybe it relaxed her a bit. 

''You didn't raise us at all,'' Natasha countered harshly without looking at her, her eyes strictly on the sink, her back turned to the rest of the room. See, mean. Exactly like she did with Yelena until she finally let her in.

Melina wasn't bothered by it. ''Oh, maybe so. But if you got soft, it wasn't on my watch.'' 

Katya swore she looked at her when she said that, and she crossed her arms uncomfortably. Melina's gaze was sharp, and Katya had gotten used to the soft looks from Natasha these past two years. 

Anyone who knew Natasha knew she had always been a softie, deeply behind that cold exterior. How she completely melted in the comfort of friends, and even more so when it was only her and Katya. Because of what she went through, she had one of the biggest hearts.

When Melina left the room, she left a struggling Natasha behind. Her eyes were distant, and she had never had her emotions sitting so high. One wrong sentence and she either snapped or teared up. It wasn't a surprise. It couldn't be easy to see Melina again.

She was so lost in her head that she jumped when Katya placed a hand on her cheek and turned her head slowly so she faced her. Her green eyes drifted up to find blue, focusing on them, letting the thoughts she was having drift to the back of her mind.

''I'm right here,'' Katya reassured, begging nobody heard that in this quiet house with the thin walls. ''The whole time.''

She wanted to remind Natasha that she could find comfort with her, or at least know that no matter what happened, she wasn't alone with all the memories popping up in this weird setting with the weird people.