ALEXEI STOOD UP from his spot on the bench and stood in between the two front seats, looking between his daughters with a smile on his face.
"I'm so proud of you girls." Alexei told them, only to be met with silence. He turned around and looked at Carson, giving him a confused look.
Carson rolled his eyes. "They can't hear you. They've got their headsets on."
"What? OH, YOU CAN'T HERE ME HUH? Okay." He raised his voice as if that would help, dismissing the fact that Natasha and Yelena wasn't taking him on.
Carson handed the man a spare headset before grabbing some for himself and putting them on.
Alexei chuckled to himself as he fixed the headsets position. "Wow, I—"
He was cut off by Yelena throwing her arm backwards and colliding her first with his face, making Alexei stumble. The man groaned and gripped his nose in pain as he mumbled something under his breath. Carson and Natasha both watched the interaction with small smirks on their faces, none of them showing any disagreement with that Yelena did.
"Okay." Alexei huffed and wiped his nose. "Why the aggression, huh? Is it your time of the month?"
"Oh you've gotta be shitting me." Carson shook his head, shooting daggers at the man.
"I don't get my period, dipshit." Yelena retorted. "I don't have a uterus."
"Or ovaries." Natasha added.
Alexei looked between the two not quite sure on what to say, he looked back at Carson as if for backup but Carson just raised a brow at the man.
"I'm not quite sure why you're looking at me, mate." Carson shrugged. "I'm not gonna help you."
"Yeah, that's what happens when the Red Room gives you an involuntary hysterectomy." Yelena looked at Alexei. "They kind of just go in, and they rip out all of your reproductive organs. They just get right in there and they chop them all away. Everything out, so you—"
"Okay, okay!" Alexei raised up his hands in surrender for Yelena to stop talking but she carried on.
"So you can't have babies, or start a family, or—"
"OKAY!" He sat down on one of the benches in the back of the chopper. "You don't have to get so clinical and nasty!"
"Oh, well, I was about to talk about fallopian tubes, but okay." Yelena commented nonchalantly.
"No." Alexei inhaled sharply. "It... it means so much to me that you came back for me."
Natasha's face scrunched up at the mans words and she shook her head. "No. No. You're gonna tell us how to get to the Red Room."
"Huh. Whoa, look at you, huh? All business." Alexei remarked, almost sounding offended that Natasha didn't care to talk to him normally.
"Trust me, this isn't pleasure."
"Little Natasha, all indoctrinated into the Western agenda." Alexie replied in a patronising tone.
"I chose to go west to become an Avenger." She glared at Alexei through the reflection of the glass, her facial features softening when her gaze landed on Carson. "Because they treated me like family."
"Really? Family?" Alexei scoffed. "Well, where are they now? Where is that family now?"
"Right here, jackass." Carson spoke up. "Now tell us where the Red Room is."
Alexei narrowed his eyes at Carson, growing slightly frustrated that it seemed to have no effect on the younger man. "I have no idea. Okay?"
Yelena scoffed and shook her head. Natasha ripped off her headset and moved into the back of the helicopter to sit next to Carson, pulling Alexei's headset off on the way.
Carson took his headset off and moved up so Natasha could sit down and have enough room.
"Oh come on! You and Dreykov were like..." Natasha raised her voice but was cut off by Alexei.
"Dreykov?!"
"Yeah."
"General Dreykov, my friend, huh?" Alexei put his feet up on the bench. "Gives me glory... Soviet Union's first and only super soldier. I could have been more famous than Captain America. Then he buries me in Ohio on that STUPID, stupid mission. Three years! So tedious, boring me to tears!" He turned to Yelena. "No offense, huh?"
A frown formed on Yelena's face and she looked away, turning her attention back out the window in front of her. Carson leant back so he could get a clear view of her and took note of the way she started tapping her hand on her leg to distract her from Alexei's words, the man she saw as a father, well... used to. She's be lying if she said she wasn't upset.
Carson stood up and walked over to the pilot seat, sitting down next to Yelena. He leant forward towards the window and drew a small smiley face in the condensation, over to Yelena's side just enough for her to see. She looked down at the drawing and smiled.
"Is it better this time?" He asked. "One eye isn't bigger than the other is it?
Yelena chuckled lightly. "It's okay I guess."
"Wow, just okay?" Carson faux frowned. "You're hurting my feelings here Lena."
Yelena moved forwards and drew her own smiley face next to his, just like they did earlier. She leant back in her chair and cocked her head to the side as she looked at them both.
"Yup, mines still better." She shrugged.
"Oh come on!" Carson huffed. "You gotta give me at least some credit."
Natasha watched the interaction between the two and smiled to herself, happy that they finally seemed to be getting along and were comfortable around each other. Her smiled faded when Alexei started talking again.
"Then he puts me in prison for the rest of my life. Why, huh?" Alexei said in an annoyed tone. "Why? Why would he put me in... You know why? 'Cause maybe I want to talk about the withering of the state. Or maybe I don't like his hair or something and I say something casually about that. Maybe, you know, I want the party to actually feel like a party, instead of this sourpuss organization. But instead, no! He puts me in prison for the rest of my life. He just runs off and hides, huh? I'm not even the one who, uh, you know... I'm not the one who killed his daughter."
Carson clenched his jaw and looked at Alexei from the back of his seat. "Are you quite done? You're giving me earache with all your pathetic whining."
"ради бога (For gods sake.) Can we throw him out the window now?" Yelena said.
"I think we should we wait till we get to a higher altitude." Natasha replied.
"Alright."
"Or we could just tie that rope to his leg and let him just dangle outside for a while?" Carson suggested.
"Ooo yeah, let's do that." Yelena agreed.
"Почему бы не спросить Мелину, где это? (Why not ask Melina where it is?)" Alexei threw his hands up in frustration.
"Wait." Yelena looked at him. "Mom, Melina?"
"We thought she was dead." Natasha furrowed her brows.
Alexei smirked. "You cannot kill a fox that swift."
"Ew." Natasha's face scrunched.
"That was disgusting." Yelena added.
"What?" Alexei dismissed the girl's comments. "She was the scientist, the strategist. I was the muscle. She worked directly for Dreykov far more than I ever did."
"Are you telling me that Melina is working for the Red Room... present day?" Natasha questioned.
"She works remotely outside of St. Petersburg." Alexei informed them all.
Yelena hummed in thought. "Uh... I don't think we have enough fuel for St. Petersburg."
"No, we're good. We'll make it." Alexei refuted.
— A FEW HOURS LATER —
THE HELICOPTER crashed to the ground in the middle of nowhere and powered down. Luckily for the group, the crash wasn't too bad and nobody was hurt. Carson slid the door open and exited the chopper, followed by Natasha and Yelena who were shaking their heads in annoyance from Alexei's previous words.
What was it that he said again?
No, we're good. We'll make it.
Alright then. Sure. Yeah. Definitely.
Carson crouched down on the ground to rest for a moment, letting out a frustrated huff as he leant his head back. Alexei stumbled out of the helicopter last and stood next to Yelena who was looking around to take in her surroundings. Natasha walked over to Carson and pushed him with her foot, making him lose his balance and fall onto back.
"You're lucky I'm tired Romanoff." Carson accepted his fate and laid down on his back, putting his hands behind his head and looking up at the sky.
Natasha laughed. "You comfy?"
"Mhm." He hummed. "Surprisingly comfy, actually."
"You should've brought the Avengers' superjet." Alexei spoke up earning a scoff from Yelena.
The blonde joined Natasha's side, mumbling something under her breath out of annoyance. Carson propped himself up on his elbows and looked up at her, Natasha gave her a small smile.
"I swear, if I hear one more word form him." Yelena clenched her jaw. "I will kick him in the face."
Natasha nodded. "He's the worst."
Carson stood up and the trio began walking down the pathway, not bothering to wait for Alexei.
"Natasha." The man called out but the redhead ignored him and continued walking. "Natasha. Natasha! Come here, I want to ask you something."
Natasha groaned and stopped walking to talk to Alexei, leaving Carson and Yelena and letting them continue walking.
"What do you want?"
"Did he talk to you about me?" Alexei asked.
"What?" Natasha looked at him confused.
"Did he talk to you about me? You know, trading war stories?"
"Who? Who are you talking about?"
"Captain America!" Alexei whisper shouted. "My great adversary in this theatre of geopolitical conflict. Not so much a nemesis. More like a contemporary, you know? Coequal. I always thought there was a great deal of mutual respect—"
"Wait." Natasha interrupted him. "You haven't seen either one of us in twenty years and you're gonna ask me about you?"
Carson and Yelena both turned around stopping their own conversation as they overheard what Natasha said.
Alexei shrugged and walked away from Natasha. "What is with this tension? Did I do something wrong?"
Yelena scoffed and scratched her forehead. "Is that a serious question?"
"I only ever loved you girls." Alexei stated. "I did my best to make sure you would succeed to achieve your fullest potential, and everything worked out."
"Oh, everything worked out?" Natasha asked, sarcasm lacing her tone.
"Yes! For you, yes!" Alexei responded. "We accomplished our mission in Ohio. Yelena, you went on to become the greatest child assassin the world has even known. No one can match your efficiency, your ruthlessness. And Natasha," He turned towards the redhead and walked over to her. "Not just a spy, not just toppling regimes, destroying empires from within, but an Avenger."
Alexei turned to Carson and stood in front of him, patting his shoulders. Carson furrowed his brows, confused as to what was happening.
"And you..." Alexei smiled. "Don't think I haven't heard about you."
"What is going on right now?" Carson mumbled.
"A child of Hydra and turning to the Avengers?" Alexei said proudly. "Wow."
"Stop talking." Carson rolled his eyes.
"Alexei." Natasha warned.
"Working with Nikolai Petrov, The Winter Soldier, you were all I heard about for months. Your work was just... wow. Taking down all those SHIELD bases with no mercy, the multiple assassinations, my you were ruthless—"
Carson harshly pushed Alexei away, making him stumble backwards. Natasha glared at the man and started bickering with him to finally get him to shut up. Yelena glanced over at Carson after taking in the new information, he didn't bother to look at her, he just inhaled sharply and continued walking down the path. The blonde opened her mouth the say something to him but stopped when she noticed the red hue in his eyes, slightly taken back.
"You never know when to shut up do you?" Natasha snapped at Alexei who just looked confused, not realising that he'd done anything wrong.
The redhead moved past Alexei and walked down the path to catch up with Carson with Yelena joining her side. Once they had caught up, Natasha slung her arm around his and Yelena gave him a warm smile.
Yelena looked over her shoulder and narrowed her eyes at Alexei who was now walking behind them on his own. "He's a prick."
"I'm sorry he said those things to you." Carson spoke up.
"I'm sorry too." Natasha replied.
~~ ᗢ ~~
ello :) okay so our break is nearly over, so when I'm back in college I won't be posting as often because we have a tests... woo... so fun... BUT I'll try to get chapters out as often as I can
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