2,5 weeks later
''Wakey wakey.'' Katya gently shook Maya awake. How she wasn't awake the second the door opened was weird. Didn't she hear her come in? She didn't have the instincts the brunette had, but Katya always had time to sit down on the edge of her bed and shaking her awake before she groggily opened her eyes.
Today was a Sunday, but that didn't mean it was an easy day in the household. In fact, it would get really busy and tiring. Because today, they were cleaning the house from top to bottom. All for the very annoying and sarcastic blonde Russian arriving tomorrow.
Katya knew Maya would love her. And that Yelena would grow fond of Maya quickly, too.
It had been only six months since Yelena came back to this world after she got Snapped, but as usual, she had shown resilience and lived her life like nothing had ever happened. Even though five and a half years had passed for Katya and Natasha since they destroyed the Red Room and set Yelena free, it had been only six months for her. Only six months of her life lived in freedom.
''It's too early,'' Maya groaned, eying the alarm clock on her nightstand with one eye. Her arms wrapped around her pillow and she pushed her face into it, all her hair covering her beautiful features.
Katya chuckled and brushed the strands out of her face, which did nothing to encourage Maya to get up. ''Hey, you wanted to clean the whole house from top to bottom. Don't expect us to do all the work while you stand idly by.'' Patting Maya's back, she stood and opened the blinds, annoying the girl on purpose with the bright light. ''Come on. Time to get to work. It's a beautiful day.''
They gathered around the kitchen island in their oldest clothes, ones that could get dirty and it wouldn't matter. It was already warm outside and it was predicted to be a hot day. Really hot for New York standards. That didn't make any of their hard work easy, but beautiful days like these had to be cherished. So all the doors and windows were already open, the breeze flowing through the house.
They had made a plan based on the list Maya composed over the weeks. The 'things we need to do before Aunt Yelena arrives'-list. It basically consisted of cleaning every single room in the house, starting with the guest bedroom.
Natasha and Maya would start upstairs, the girl cleaning her own room and Natasha her and Katya's, including bathrooms. Katya would get started on the kitchen and the living room, working their way to each other somewhere eventually.
Sounded exhausting. And it was. After two hours, Katya had already had enough. Who knew vacuuming was so tiring? And of course, when she poured bleach into the toilet, it got on her shirt. Her black shirt. Which now had some lighter colored dots.
Despite the ponytail she put in her hair previously, strands kept falling in her face, and she'd have to brush them behind her ears with the back of her hands. In conclusion, she looked like an absolute mess. A sweaty mess. And she wasn't the only one who noticed that when she walked upstairs to check on the others.
''You look like a dog attacked you,'' Natasha deadpanned, forcing her smirk off her face as she cleaned the glass doors of the shower. She didn't look too great herself, but even with hair stuck to her face and clothes all crooked, she looked like a million bucks. Not fair really.
''You're always so nice, babe,'' Katya sighed, placing her hands on her hips. Maya walked up behind her, giggling because she heard the whole thing. ''Lunch, anyone? Please say yes, because I'm in desperate need of a break.''
To her relief, they nodded. So half an hour later, they sat on the porch, in the shade, eating their sandwiches and drinking entire glasses of water because they were thirsty as hell from all that cleaning. And they still had so much left to do.
Katya rudely kicked her feet on the table, squinting her eyes against the bright sunlight. ''So, have you picked which movie we're going to have Yelena watch tomorrow?'' she asked Maya, who perked up in her seat.
All the snacks were bought yesterday, so that was prepped and ready to go. They had food for a family of ten in the house, but Yelena loved her food, so it would probably be gone at the end of the week.
''We're going to watch the whole series.''
''Are you serious? Those Hunger Games movies again? We've seen those three times already,'' Natasha laughed.
''She needs to see them,'' Maya exclaimed, frowning at their resistance. ''You said I could pick.''
Natasha refrained herself from sighing. She could quote those movies by now. ''Yeah. Yeah, we did. Alright, okay.''
Maya smiled victoriously, but that slowly faded away the longer the silence was that followed. It wasn't uncomfortable at all, but they knew she thought about something. ''Is there anything I should know about her?''
''Ehm...'' Katya trailed off, unsure how to explain this, looking at Natasha for help. How should she explain that Yelena was still very new to this life, didn't understand a lot of things, and probably had the worst nightmares out of all of them?
''Yelena grew up where we did,'' Natasha started slowly and clearly. ''Only she didn't get out years ago but only six months ago. Actually five-and-a-half, but she snapped. So she hasn't been free long. I haven't seen her, so I don't know how well she adjusted to this new life yet. If she seems weird or doesn't understand things, it's because she's been cut off from society her whole life. So try and be patient with her like you are on Kat's bad days, okay?''
Maya nodded and turned to look back to the lake, pondering over this. Katya was afraid it scared her off and would put a strain on this sleepover she had been looking forward to for weeks. So she watched her carefully, waiting for some sort of reaction. However, Maya always surprised her with her ability to process difficult subjects and adapt.
''You know, the car is very dirty as well,'' she suddenly said, surprising the two Russians. That Yelena was different didn't bother her. She'd already accepted it and moved on.
A smile grew on Natasha's lips. ''I'll clean it.''
~~~~~
Katya sucked in a breath, slowly trailing over to her wife, who stood - in her tiny shorts and a tank top - next to their shiny car, washing it from top to bottom. She had wet spots on the front of her top from leaning on the car to reach far parts, causing it to stick to her abs. Her hair was messy and strands stuck to her forehead because of the heat.
''Damn, this might be the sexiest thing ever,'' Katya teased, staying on the grass of the front lawn because she wasn't wearing any shoes.
Natasha had long seen her coming and threw the sponge in the bucket of water by one of the wheels. She threw Katya a playful glare. ''Stop staring and hand me that.'' She pointed to the hose by Katya's feet, planning on hosing the car down.
But Katya picked the thing up, pointing the end at her wife, whose eyes widened. ''This?'' she asked innocently.
''Katya, I swear to god. If you turn that on...'' Natasha started to threaten, realizing her mistake of asking a childish Katya to hand her that thing, and with it, so much power.
Katya smirked, wrapping her hand around it tightly and holding it up like she held a gun. ''I don't think you have the power to threaten me here. I am obviously the one with leverage.''
''Give me the goddamn thing,'' Natasha ordered, holding her hand out but standing still in the same place with a pissed frown on her face. She looked adorable.
Katya cocked her head. ''Do I hear a please?'' That question never worked. Not in bed and not outside of it. But at least in bed, Katya could get her to say it eventually.
Stubbornly, Natasha let her hand fall and crossed her arms over her chest. ''Never.''
''Hmm, too bad.'' Katya tightened her grip some more, like she was going to spray her now, her sly smile widening.
Natasha raised her hands in surrender. ''You're making a big mistake.''
''Already made too much. This one can easily go on top of those,'' Katya shrugged, on edge when Natasha started moving onto the grass as well, taking calculated and slow steps to her right, still with her hands raised. Like she circled an enemy.
''If you turn that on, you'll have to sleep on the couch for a week,'' she threatened slowly, using Katya's love for nighttime cuddles against her. But it didn't work this time.
''Only a week?'' Katya repeated, shrugging again. ''I can do that.''
''No, you can't. You love cuddles too much. A whole week, Kat. No kisses either.'' She smirked when Katya's face fell and her confidence wavered. She thought she had her there, was about to deliver the final blow, until water suddenly sprayed on her, causing her to shield her face with her hands.
''Oh my god. Katya!'' she yelled, sprinting off the grass in a panic. But it wasn't the hose that drenched her, but the garden sprinklers that had turned on.
''That wasn't me! How can I turn those on from here?!'' The brunette yelled back, running off the grass and onto the gravel driveway, cursing at how the stones hurt under her bare feet. She was absolutely soaked from head to toe, and when she wiped the water out of her eyes, she looked up to see Natasha in the same state.
However, the redhead didn't look at her wife, instead focused on something or someone by the front door. ''You,'' she said lowly, dangerously.
Katya whipped around to find Maya absolutely dying with laughter on the porch, clutching her stomach. With big steps, Natasha stalked over to her, too quickly for Maya to run off. She threw her over her shoulder easily and carried her to the lawn, the sprinklers still on.
''No, no, mom, I'm sorry! I'm sorry!'' Maya yelled between her giggles, squirming because she knew exactly what was going to happen now.
''You should have thought of that earlier,'' was all Natasha said as she stepped onto the grass, placing Maya on her feet, in the middle of it.
The girl shrieked and tried to run away, but Natasha trapped her in place until she was drenched as well. Then she let her go, and Maya sprinted back to the porch, staring down at her soaked clothes as the water dripped onto the wooden planks. Katya's stomach hurt from how much she was laughing.
''You both are the worst,'' Natasha grumbled with glistering eyes, stopping next to Katya and peeling her tank top off, leaving her in only her bra. Now, Katya's laughter abruptly stopped and she stared openly at her wife. The water made the whole thing so hot.
Yeah, she needed to leave right now or she wouldn't be able to control herself.
Abruptly, she turned on her heels to get towels before they caught the flu or something. Because even though it was hot as hell outside, the water was freezing.
''Where are you going?'' Natasha called after her in a teasing tone, knowing damn well what she caused with her actions.
''I hate you.'' Katya glared over her shoulder, telling Maya to stay on the porch, chuckling at the girl's proud face for messing with them like that.
After switching the sprinklers off, Katya got upstairs, trying to drip as little as possible on the floor. She gathered a set of fresh clothes for everyone and enough towels to dry off.
When she came downstairs, Natasha casually sat on the porch couch half-naked, having thrown the cushions to the side and sitting on only the wood instead. If anyone drove over the gravel road in front of their house, they would be able to see her easily.
Playfully roughly, Katya threw a towel at her chest. Luckily, they were the second-to-last house in the row and the neighbors on the left always used another road to reach their house. Basically no one ever used the road in front of their house. So both the front and back garden were as private as they came.
Katya helped Maya dry her hair as best they could and then sent her into the kitchen to change into some dry clothes. Luckily, their activities were already done for the day. The guest bedroom was cleaned from top to bottom - including bathroom - as well as the living room and kitchen. Katya hadn't checked the other bedrooms, but Natasha wasn't someone who half-assed things. So they were probably perfect as well.
While Natasha changed inside, Katya finally hosed the car down and put away the supplies, throwing the soap water into the drain on the street in front - oops - and got into some dry clothes herself afterwards, laying her wet stuff out to dry. Natasha came back on the porch with three glasses of lemonade, and they all sat down, enjoying a well-deserved break.
''I'll get you back for that,'' Natasha muttered to Maya, who was still laughing. Knowing Natasha, she'd think of something fitting to do in return. Her brain already worked on some sort of revenge plan. Nobody would get away with a prank like that.
Katya smirked behind her glass, addressing her words to Maya. ''You pissed off the Black Widow. The last person who did that didn't live to tell the story.''
Immediately, Natasha's eyes snapped to her face and narrowed. ''The last person to piss me off was you, yesterday.''
Katya chuckled, only pissing her off more. ''I told you I was sorry for forgetting to buy your cereal at the store. Mine is just as good, isn't it, Maya?'' She and Maya ate the same stuff, but Natasha insisted on another brand that was better. It was expensive.
''I suggest you don't answer that,'' Natasha warned the girl, who pressed her lips together to smother her giggles.
''If anything, it's your fault. You only wrote on the shopping list 'cereal', not 'cereal for Nat','' Katya pointed out, slowly drinking her lemonade. Her eyes twinkled with humor.
Natasha's poisonous glare landed on Katya again. ''It was my handwriting and I don't touch your cereal, so how could I have possibly meant yours?'' Her face was too funny, Katya laughed again, which only deepened Natasha's scowl. ''Stop laughing. It's not funny.''
But Katya just kept chuckling and stood from the couch, dragging a hand through her hair to untangle the wet mess. ''I'll get dinner started.''
Maya jumped up. ''I'll help.''
''Getting far away from Nat. Good thinking,'' Katya praised, placing a hand on her back to lead her into the house. Over her shoulder, she threw a smug smile at Natasha, who shook her head and rolled her eyes. Yeah, not so fun getting teamed up against, is it?
Katya stood at the stove, stirring the sauce and making sure the pasta didn't get stuck to the bottom of the pan. She learned from that mistake. Maya sat behind her, on a stool at the island, putting all the ingredients in the salad and stirring it really well. It took her a while because she couldn't quite figure out how to keep everything from falling over the edge of the bowl.
''Mom! It's not done yet,'' Katya heard behind her, spinning around to see Natasha steal a piece of a tomato from the chopping board, Maya playfully scowling at her. Of course they hadn't let the girl cut anything, no matter how often she said she could do it.
''You should guard it better,'' Natasha smirked, moving around the kitchen to set the table. Maya threw her a dirty look and quickly threw all ingredients in the bowl to stop her from stealing more.
''So, what's left on the list?'' Katya asked after dessert. The heat hadn't left the house yet, and the sun was still full on shining outside. They would have another couple hours of daylight to finish all their chores. Then they wouldn't touch the cleaning stuff for weeks.
Natasha pulled the list out of her pocket, unfolding it and looking for the bullet points that weren't crossed through. ''The windows on the outside, the kitchen,'' she listed. ''I think that's it. Yes.''
''You pick,'' Katya offered.
''I'll do the windows.''
So she did, disappearing outside with a small ladder and a bucket full of soap water. Katya was glad she didn't have to walk up and down that ladder the entire time. She'd rather do the kitchen, her eye on Maya, who played with her soccer ball outside on the grass. That same grass that got heavily watered this morning.
She twisted and turned, lost in her own head as she played. Katya couldn't help but smile, wondering how she had so much energy left. For some reason, Katya was done with the kitchen before Natasha was, so she went to go look for her and ask if she needed any help.
She found her on the side of the house, balancing on the second highest step of the ladder. For anyone else, that would have been dangerous, but Natasha had balanced on much more dangerous things than ladders. Roofs, the top of moving cars, railings.
Katya stood right behind her, hands on her hips, not saying anything but simply staring.
''Hope you're enjoying the view,'' Natasha said dryly, knowing her ass was stared at mostly. She wasn't wrong.
''Oh, yeah, the lake looks beautiful tonight,'' Katya played dumb, looking to her left and thus avoiding Natasha's raised eyebrow when she turned to her. ''You missed a spot.''
Natasha frowned, studying the window. ''I didn't.''
''Yeah, right there,'' Katya pointed, moving closer. Natasha's eyes flickered between her finger and the window, trying to figure out what she meant.
''Where?''
''Bit more to the right. No, other right. Up. Ah, no, sorry, that was just the sun.'' She chuckled when Natasha dropped her arm and rolled her eyes with a sigh. Throwing the sponge into the bucket, she stepped down the ladder. Her wet hands gripped Katya's shirt by her collar and gently pushed her backwards until her back hit the wall of the house with a thud.
''You know what this feels like?'' Katya asked before Natasha could kiss her, wrapping her own arms around her waist.
Natasha's eyes calmly flickered all over her face. The lowering sun threw an orange glow over Katya's face, which was mesmerizing to look at. ''What?''
''Like we're teenagers in high school, sneaking around one of our houses in the middle of the night because our parents forbade us to date,'' Katya smiled, enjoying the hands that intertwined at the back of her neck and the fingers that played with her hair.
Natasha's eyes lit up, ready to play along. ''Who would have snuck up to who then?''
Katya hummed in thought, pulling her impossibly closer, feeling the eyes on her face as she pictured it in the sky. ''I can picture you climbing out your bedroom window, down the rain pipe. Get on your bike and cycle over in the dark of night. Picking up pebbles from the driveway and throw them at my window. I'd sneak out the back and we'd sit at the lake all night, making out.''
''Talking gossip,'' Natasha joined in, smiling. ''About how nobody at school knows about us.''
Katya nodded, meeting her gaze. ''You're the head cheerleader. Everyone wants you, but they don't know you're taken by the history nerd with a thing for redheads.''
''And they don't know the redheaded cheerleader has a thing for a beautiful brunette with a gorgeous smile,'' she smirked, flirting shamelessly as she twisted strands of brown hair around her fingers.
Katya smiled at the compliment and placed a quick kiss on her lips, pulling back to lean her head against the wall. ''We'd make out in the locker rooms.''
''Bathrooms.''
''Under the bleachers.''
Natasha chuckled, shifting her weight so she leaned against Katya's body fully. ''Would we go to college together?''
Katya hummed. ''You'd be a dancer. Ballerina. Going to this school of performance arts. Fancy shit. I'd sit in the audience when you'd have a show, staring at you and only you, like everyone else. Because none of your classmates are as elegant and flexible.''
''I'd find you afterwards, drag you outside and push you to a wall like we're doing right now,'' Natasha continued, her mind completely sucked into the picture they painted. ''But the next day, you'd be back in your dorm room with your nose in your books because you want to be a teacher.''
Slowly, tears started to gather in Katya's eyes, although she kept smiling. ''We'd move in together after we both graduated. I'd take you on dates when you're not training and I'm not working. Dinner, walks in the park, the arcade. My parents would love you and see you as their own daughter, bugging me about when I would ask you to marry me.''
''But I'd be the one to do it first this time, with the ring from my grandmother that has been in the family for years.'' Her eyes shone, simply thinking of it. ''Of course I asked your parents for permission first, but they didn't even have to think about an answer because they saw how much I love you. My sister would film the whole thing from a distance, probably ruining the moment by screaming excitingly.''
Katya let out a faint chuckle. ''Why am I crying?'' she complained, blinking heavily to try and get rid of the tears. She knew exactly why. Because this is what their lives should have been like. And despite making peace with it, it was amazing to wonder what could have been. ''In this imaginary life, are you as much of a flirt? Always knowing the perfect cheesy thing to say?''
''Oh yes, and you love that about me. Even though you'd roll your eyes, I could see you silently loved it,'' Natasha teased, both their chuckles mixing together in the small space between them. The only thing they were aware of was each other, and all the places their bodies touched. Katya's hands on Natasha's back, keeping her as close to her as possible. Natasha's hips leaning against Katya's.
They stared at each other in silence, only hearing Maya's kicks against the ball in the distance. It was so easy to forget what they had standing right in front of them. What they did have. Despite knowing they shouldn't take anything for granted, it was easy to fall into that mindset.
The soft smiles on their faces, the adoration in their eyes, Natasha couldn't handle it anymore. With a gentle tug on Katya's neck, she pulled her close and kissed her deeply but gentle. They didn't have to say how much they loved each other, all that emotion sat in this kiss right here.
~~~~~~~~
A/N: only this chapter today. I'll upload a new one of the other book on Friday. After that, I am hoping to get back to my normal uploading schedule on Monday. I am leaving for Amsterdam tomorrow morning and I am so homesick again. Honestly, I'm just having a horrible day again. Really not looking forward to it, even though I am only there for 3 days...