"Mr. Parker, there's somebody waiting for you at the main entrance." FRIDAY announced.
You and Peter were chilling in the common room while waiting for Ned and MJ to arrive after Peter called them a while ago.
"I'll go and get them. You might want to hide." He grinned at the idea that both of you wanted to surprise them.
You hid in the bathroom near the common room while Peter went down to the lobby.
A few minutes later, you could hear Ned's excited voice as they entered the common room.
Both of them were excited but only Ned was showing it the most while MJ just glanced around looking unbothered but you knew she was excited as well.
The couch was back facing the bathroom so you slowly walked out and headed towards them while they were distracted by the Lego that Ned brought.
You cleared your throat and casually sat on the couch beside MJ.
She was the one to notice you first and her eyes widened at the sight of you.
"Oh my God! Y/n!" She lunged towards you into a hug which made you startle as you weren't ready.
Besides, MJ wasn't really a hugger.
"Y/n! B-but when?" Ned stuttered and you chuckled.
MJ pulled away and examined you up and down which made you a bit uncomfortable.
"Hey, stop it." You chuckled, "I'm fine, guys. See?"
MJ looked at you with a serious face, "You were gone for almost 4 months, y/n. Don't lie to my face saying you're fine."
You sighed, "I know. But can't we not talk about it right now? I don't want to remember it."
"I'm sorry, y/n. I'm just glad that you are here now." MJ pulled you in for another hug.
"Okay, group hug!" Peter yelled and both him and Ned wrapped their arms around you and MJ.
Yes, you are safe now. No one is going to hurt you anymore. Mama is here, uncle Steve is here, uncle Tony is here, Auntie Wanda and auntie Yelena are also here. Your best friends are here too.
"Okay, that's enough hugging." You teased and they all pulled away with a smile.
"We're just happy that you're okay. We missed you so much." Ned said.
You smiled, "Thanks guys. So, I heard you bring a new set of Lego."
"Yes! It's a new collection from Star Wars. Do you want to build it with us, y/n?" He asked.
"Yeah, sure I guess."
He made his way to the box that he put on the coffee table and your eyes widened at the sight.
Gosh, it was a huge one. And it had 7000 pieces!
You sighed. This is going to take days and you knew Peter was excited to build it.
You were not really good at building Legos. Both Peter and Ned started to open the box and put out all the bags onto the table.
Ned gave you a bag and you sighed seeing the small pieces in the bag.
"Can I do this bag with MJ instead? I'm not really good at it." You asked.
"Sure. Me and Peter will be over there." Ned pointed to an open space beside the couch where he and Peter would sit while you and MJ took the coffee table.
After about 2 hours, you gave up as you couldn't find the passion to build it. You only managed to build the base while MJ was only distracting herself with the minifigures and not helping you.
"I give up. You can continue this for me, Pete." You said as you took a glance at the two boys who were already in their fourth bag.
"Did you look at the instruction y/n? It's all in the book." Peter asked.
"I did. But it has so many pieces and I'm done." You sighed, "Uhm, I'm hungry. You guys want pizza?"
"Sure." Peter replied.
You pulled out your phone and ordered the party pax which they said would be sent out in about half an hour.
"Hello y/n. Did you order pizza?" One of the securities of the compound stood at the common room door.
"Greg! It's so nice to see you!" You got up from the couch and went to him.
He knew you very well as he had worked at the compound since before you were even born!
He came in with another security which you didn't recognize but you gave him a smile which he returned.
They put your orders on the table near the door and you didn't waste your time as you hugged the middle-aged man.
"How are you, kiddo?" He chuckled as he rubbed the top of your head.
Of course he knew you were taken as Tony instructed his team to be stricter about the security than before.
"I'm good. I missed you though."
"I missed you too, y/n. The lobby seemed quiet without your morning yells." He said and you chuckled.
"Yells?" The new security asked in confusion.
"Oh, hey y/n, this is Mike, our new addition to the security team. He was hired last month." Greg introduced.
"Hi Mike. I'm y/n." You smiled, "And ignore the yells Greg said. It was just me asking my mom or my uncles about my things before I was off to school."
Mike laughed.
"Well then, we're gonna leave you with your friends now. Enjoy the meal, kid." Greg said.
"Wait." You said before you grabbed a box of pizza, "Here. I ordered extra boxes."
"Awh, thanks y/n." Greg said as Mike took it from your hand.
They left the room and you immediately opened up one of the pizza boxes and put it where your friends were.
"How could we finish the few boxes left? Are you gonna do a party or something?" MJ raised her eyebrow as she was shocked at how much you ordered.
"There are more than ten Avenger lives in this compound, of course I buy a party pax." You laughed as MJ had the realization look.
"So, where are they? I think we have been here for hours but I don't see any of them, not even your mom." She said.
"Some of them are in the lab and the rest are doing their own things." You said as you bit on your slice.
"I've been meaning to ask, what does it feel like to stay in this huge place? It must be a dream come true also to be living among heroes, you know." Ned asked as MJ was curious too.
You thought of his question for a moment, "Uhm, well, I'm not really sure. I've been living in this compound for my whole life so I got used to it. And the heroes, to me they are family, my family, so the word hero doesn't mean much to me. This is home."
Ned and MJ nodded as MJ glanced around the spacious room again.
"You should ask Peter though." You teased.
"Yeah well, of course it's amazing. But it's still awkward for me to be among them. They're like, grownups, while I'm still the kid. Thank God y/n was here when I first stepped into this compound."
All of you laughed and while the four of you were devouring the pizza, someone entered the room.
"Hey malishka, what're you up to?" Yelena asked.
"Auntie Yelena!" You grinned, "Do you want pizza?"
"Sure. I'm starving." She excitedly went to you as you took a slice for her.
"By the way, these are my friends, this is MJ, Ned and you already know Peter, right?"
She nodded, "Hi guys."
"This is my aunt, Yelena." You introduced.
"Hi." They greeted awkwardly and you chuckled.
"Don't mind me, just enjoy the pizza." She teased.
"Is that a Russian accent?" MJ whispered to you but Yelena could hear it clearly as she chuckled.
"Yes. I'm from Russia."
"Wait, really? Like y/n's mom?"
You hummed, "She's my mom's sister."
They nodded.
You raised an eyebrow, "Uhm, are they done? Where are the others?"
"Not yet. They're still in the lab. I heard your laughter and I smell pizza, which suddenly made me hungry, so here I am." She grinned.
After Yelena was done, she left you with your friends to head to the lab again. Peter and Ned continued with their Lego while you and MJ decided to watch a movie.
As the movie ended, it was already 6pm and Ned and MJ decided to go back home. It was an exhausting day for you but you were happy to be in your normal daily life again.
You headed to the lab after sending Ned and MJ off while Peter went to his room with the unfinished Lego that he and Ned might continue another day.
But before you reached the lab, you saw Natasha in the hallway.
"Hi baby." She greeted you with a smile, "Your friends left already?"
You hummed as you wrapped your arms around her. She rubbed your back and kissed your head.
"I missed you." You said as you buried your face in her chest.
She chuckled, "I missed you too baby. I'm about to find you just now."
You nodded, "Are they done?"
"Not yet. They need some time and I guess your science uncles might not be sleeping tonight."
You chuckled.
"Thanks for the pizza. Yelena said you ordered it for us too. But do you want dinner? Wanda is making pasta in the kitchen." She asked.
"Okay."
You both went to the kitchen and the smell of pasta filled your nose.
Most of the team were already in the kitchen as they greeted you. Wanda gave you a bowl of pasta and you ate it without hesitation while talking about your day with your family.
Natasha looked at Steve as he smiled at her like he knew what she meant.
You were slowly becoming like the old you, their happy little girl even though it was just you talking but it was actually a big progress for them as the trauma you carried was huge.
⧗
After having dinner and a shower, now you were standing still in front of your body-sized mirror with only a sports bra and underwear.
No matter how much you wanted to ignore it, you just couldn't. It was all over your body.
The scars.
You couldn't tell Natasha about it and you knew that she already saw it since you slept with your pajama top off last night.
You trailed the scars on your arms and the injection marks that you got at the secret HYDRA facility.
The bruises from your fights in the Red Room and the missions were almost gone and it didn't hurt anymore.
A knock on the door made you startle. You panicked and ran to get your towel on the bed but before you could cover yourself properly, the door was pushed open.
"Baby, do you-"
Natasha's words halted when she saw your panic state as she ran to you after she pushed the door close.
"Hey, it's mama. It's okay baby, it's okay." She reassured you.
You sobbed on her chest and it made her worry even more.
"Detka (baby), what happened, hmm?" She asked softly as she ran her fingers through your hair.
"I'm- I'm- my body- scars-" You sobbed harder as Natasha tried to hold her tears.
"It's okay honey."
"It's not okay! I'm ugly." You yelled.
"That's not true, y/n. You're beautiful the way you are. Yes, I know these scars will make you feel insecure of yourself. But remember the words I always hold on to?"
You sniffled and looked at her, "Pain only makes you stronger."
She smiled sadly, "That's right. And I believe that you'll become stronger than me. You're y/n Romanoff. Don't let people look down at you. And most importantly, don't let yourself do that. It's okay to be sad and to cry. But after that, we need to be stronger than before."
Natasha wiped the tears on your cheeks with her thumbs and kissed your forehead.
"I'm sorry." You muttered.
Natasha furrowed her eyebrows, "What are you sorry for?"
"For yelling at you."
"It's okay, detka. I know you're just frustrated and angry."
You smiled and that made her heart melt as she smiled too.
⧗
Posted on 28th December 2021
Edited on 22nd October 2023