"Is Aunt Nat really a ghost? Are you actually her sister? What's your dog's name?" Cooper asked, lowering his book slightly to attack Yelena with questions.
"Aww, she's cute! Can I pet her?" Nathanial added eagerly.
"Can you fight? Beat people up? Are you the next Black Widow?" Lila gasped eagerly, "Can I be the next Black Widow? Am I the next Black Widow and I don't even know it?"
"If you're the next Black Widow, then I'm the next Hawkeye," Nathanial declared.
"What no! I take it back! I wanna be the next Hawkeye," Lila brought her hand to her face thoughtfully, "Unless I can be Black Widow with a bow....."
"How long are you staying with us?" Nathanial asked. "Can it be forever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and-" --the other two kids joined in-- "ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and-"
They all breathed in to start doing it again before Yelena stopped them, "Hold up!"
"What?" Lila asked
"Well I can't answer your questions if you're doing that, can I?"
"YOU'RE GONNA ANSWER OUR QUESTIONS?!"
"No. But it made you shut up," Yelena smirked.
"Where's Auntie Tasha now?" Nathanial asked.
Yelena looked around, searching for any sign of the ghost. "....I'm not actually sure."
"Is she really a ghost?" Cooper asked disbelievingly.
"Yep."
"If you're Auntie Tasha's sister? Then are you our Auntie?" Nathanial asked, staring at Yelena curiously.
Yelena didn't know how to feel about that, "I guess so."
On one hand, she had more of the family she's always wanted. But on the other hand, SHE HAS MORE OF THE FAMILY SHE'S ALWAYS WANTED! What if she messes up and they hate her for it? What if they abandon her like her first family did?
And what if there isn't an amazing movie to explain that they all got torn apart and there was no huge problem that could end the world they had to stop together to bring them back together as a family?
Who was Yelena kidding.... There would always be a huge problem that could end the world.
"We have another Auntie! We have another Auntie! We have another Auntie!" Lila, Nathanial, and Cooper were chanting.
"And she has an adorable fluffy puppy!" Nathanial added, reaching down to play with Fanny's ears. "So soft!" he cooed.
"Nathanial!" Lila snapped, "You broke the chant!"
"Sorry." Nathanial replied, then joined in again. The three of them marched in a circle around Yelena and the dog sitting beside her. "We have another Auntie! We have another Auntie!"
"Kids," Laura scolded, coming out of the kitchen, "Give Yelena some space and go get some food."
"Yes mom!" Lila saluted. Cooper and Nathanial copied her. Lila ran to the kitchen and Cooper followed.
Nathanial was going to go too, then stopped and turned to Laura, "Is Auntie Lena gonna eat with us?"
"I don't know sweetie, we'll see how it goes. Now go ask your sister to help you get food," Laura replied.
"Okay!" Nathanial said and ran off.
"Thanks for being so patient with them," Laura said to Yelena, "I know they can be a bit of a handful."
"No problem, but I think they just dubbed me one of their Aunts."
"Are you good with that?" Laura asked, "If you're not I can ask them to stop."
"No.... it's.... " Yelena searched for a word to explain what she was feeling, "....nice." she finished lamely.
"So are you going to eat with us?" Laura asked.
"....sure."
The two made their way into the kitchen. The three kids were sitting at the table, which had six seats at it. (Laura bought an extra seat just for Natasha years ago). The kids all had a plate of pizza in front of them.
"Pizza?" Yelena asked.
"When I went to see what was going on, the food burned," Laura replied, "So I ordered pizza. You can go ahead and grab a plate."
Once the two of them also got their food, they sat down at the table with the kids.
"Yay! Auntie Lena's gonna eat with us!" Nathanial exclaimed.
"Hey, Auntie Lena?" Lila asked.
"Yeah?" Yelena replied.
"Why are you just looking at your food? You're supposed to eat it."
Yelena smiled sheepishly, "I've... uh... never had... pizza before..."
"YOU'VE NEVER HAD PIZZA?!" the three kids shouted, even Laura was looking at Yelena with surprise.
Yelena shook her head, "Never."
"That's awful!" Lila groaned.
"Did your parents never buy you pizza?" Laura asked.
"Uhm.... where I grew up I didn't really have parents....."
Lila gasped loudly, "NO PARENTS?!"
"Lila, honey, why don't you go take some pizza up to your dad. Okay?" Laura asked.
Lila nodded, grabbing a plate of pizza and carefully walking out of the room with it. She darted up the stairs and quietly opened the door to Clint's room. "Dad?" she called before stepping into the room.
Her eyes were focused on her dad, so she didn't notice the lonely ghost sitting in the corner of the room, watching Clint.
Clint looked up from his computer and quickly closed it. "Food? Thanks," he said.
Lila set the plate next to his computer. "What were you doing?"
"Just looking up some stuff."
"Secret spy stuff?!" Lila asked with a wide grin.
Clint smiled and took a big bite of the pizza. "I was making sure that our house was still a secret, Yelena knew where we were and I don't know how."
"Maybe Auntie Tasha told her before she. . . You know."
Clint nodded thoughtfully and took another bite of the pizza. "Well, how about you go downstairs and finish eating."
"Okay," Lila started walking out, then paused and turned around. "Archery tomorrow?"
Clint paused. "Maybe."
Lila walked out of the room and back to the kitchen, where Laura was cleaning up the plates from dinner, "Dad ate, Mom."
"Thanks sweetie, now why don't you go into the living room? Yelena is in there talking to Cooper and Nate about her adventures," Laura replied.
"WITHOUT ME?!"
Laura laughed, "Hurry up and get out there then!"
Lila hurried to the living room to find Yelena sitting on the couch with Cooper and Nathanial sitting on the floor in front of her, Nathanial was petting Fanny softly. They seemed to be hanging onto her every word.
"Then I stuck my stick-thingy into the jet's engine and it blew up, blasting me off of the aircraft without a parachute," Yelena told them, imitating an explosion.
Cooper and Nathanial gasped loudly, leaning forward, waiting to hear what happened next.
"Auntie Tasha had to jump off the aircraft with a parachute and come get me, thankfully she's got pretty good aim while falling through the air with debris and fire surrounding her!"
"That's so cool!" Nathanial shouted, lifting his hands into the air to imitate what Yelena had just told them.
"You started the story without me!" Lila groaned, flopping onto one of the chairs.
Yelena smiled at the young girl, "Sorry, but I have lots more!"
"How about you make it up to me by teaching me how to be a black widow?!" Lila asked eagerly.
"No," Yelena stated, "Just no."
"Come on!..... Please?" Lila tried her puppy dog eyes.
"Your mom would kill me."
"Probably, but still! Teach me anyway!" Lila continued.
"I can't teach you if I'm dead."
Lila opened her mouth, then closed it, then opened it again, "Well yeah. But at least I'd learn something before you'd get killed by my mom!"
"Probably nothing useful," Yelena replied.
"Wait, if you're teaching Lila, then I wanna learn too!" Cooper said.
"Me too!" Nathanial added.
Yelena sighed, "Alright. I'll teach you one thing."
"Yesssssss!" the three children exclaimed.
"Don't. Die." Yelena grinned, "Lesson over!"
"Yelena! You better not be teaching my children anything that involves killing or hurting people!" Laura called from the kitchen, "My husband already does that enough!"
"I'm not!!" Yelena yelled back.
"And you better keep it that way!"
"I will!" Yelena sighed, "Jeez."
Lila stuck her tongue out at Yelena and Yelena did it right back. That's when Natasha floated through one of the walls and into the room, looking more depressed than before.
"I need your help again, Yelena. He still doesn't think I'm here," Natasha said, floating closer to Yelena and the kids.
"Auntie Tasha!" Nathanial yelled, running over and hugging Natasha's legs.
Natasha's eyes were wide open in shock, which didn't happen much. A grin spread across her face, "You can see me!"
"I knew you were telling the truth Auntie Lena!" Cooper said, his eyes twinkling in delight. He also ran over to Natasha and hugged her tight. Lila joined them, a grin spread across her face.
Yelena smiled, then frowned thoughtfully. Why was it that Natasha couldn't touch anything before? But now she can again? What is going on?!
"Auntie Lena, huh?" Natasha asked while the kids were still hugging her.
Yelena shrugged. "They dubbed me."
Natasha laughed and squeezed the kids one more time before letting go. But the kids didn't let go, they actually gripped her tighter.
"You're going to have to let go of me!" Natasha told them.
"NEVER!" Lila shouted, burying her face closer to Natasha's shoulder so no one could see her tears.
"We let you go once and you DIED!" Cooper whimpered.
Nathanial only nodded furiously, tears falling down his cheeks. Yelena watched with a sad smile as Natasha tried prying the kids off her.
Natasha had an amazing family, just one that didn't involve her.
"Yelena!" Laura yelled from the kitchen, "What are you telling my kids that's making them cry?!"
"I'm not doing anything!" Yelena shouted back.
Laura walked into the room, her eyes on the papers she was holding. The three kids suddenly passed through Natasha, and all piled up on the floor. Laura looked up when she heard the thump.
"What in Thor's name happened here!?" she asked, rushing to help the kids up and make sure they weren't hurt.
Yelena leaned back in her chair, "Nothing I did."
"Mommy! Mommy!" Nathanial pulled on his mom's sleeve.
"Yes sweetie?"
"Auntie Tasha is right there!" Nathanial pointed at where Natasha was floating, looking sad, but not surprised.
Laura sighed. "No kiddo, Auntie Tasha is gone, remember?"
"No!" Nathanial pouted, "She's right there!"
Laura sighed again. "Come on kiddos, it's time for bed."
Three more people could see Natasha now, that just left.... everyone else.