She smiled fondly at the sleeping child in the back seat. It had been a long trip to make with a five year old, but, thankfully, her niece had been sleeping most of the time, only waking up when she had made a stop to rest for a little bit.
It could have been way shorter if they would have traveled by plane, but she was terrified at the idea of someone finding out about her job, her past, and having the little girl get taken away from her.
She looked over the house her parents were renting for the time they would stay in Ohio, feeling nervous about how her niece was going to react.
She had managed to introduce them a few days ago during a video call, hoping it would help before finally meeting them in person. It did not go as she thought it would be. Little Yelena had hidden her face shyly in Barton's shoulder, only answering when she would talk to her, but avoiding Melina's or Alexei's questions. Honestly, she was pretty sure her sister had not talked about them to the little girl.
She got out of the car as the front door of the house was opened, Melina standing there with a smile, but she focused on the dog that was sprinting towards her.
"Hi, I missed you" she scratched behind Fanny's ears, her dog wiggling her tail happily. "Sit. Wait" she commanded, trying to open the car's back door to get her niece.
The little girl stirred the moment she took the seat belt off, her bright blue eyes opening to look at her with pure confusion.
"It's okay, malyshka" She caressed the kid's cheek. "Let's put your shoes on, huh?" she reached out for the child's sneakers, which were tucked under the front seat. "Alright. Come on, look who's here" she picked her up, her little namesake still waking up, keeping the pink pony close to her tiny face.
However, it did not take the little girl long to spot the dog that was sitting by her side, wide eyes staring at her before looking back at the puppy.
"Fanny!" the five year old exclaimed, getting Fanny to bark back in response.
Her niece had been asking about meeting Fanny for a long time, always asking for pictures or videos of the dog, so it did not take her by surprise how excited the child was.
She smiled widely at the little girl petting Fanny's fur, who licked the kid's face before barking again.
"I think Fanny likes you, isn't that right?" she said at her dog while gently stroking her fur.
"I know. I like her too" the kid answered in between giggles.
She laughed at that, her gaze meeting Melina, who was just observing the whole scene without participating, but with a smile on her face.
"Can we take Fanny for a walk?" her niece asked. "Kate lets me take Lucky for a walk when she comes to visit" the child commented as she frowned slightly.
"Oh, then we have to take Fanny to a lot of walks while you're here" she told her. "And maybe I can show you some cool tricks you can teach Lucky next time" she added.
"Yes! Can we do it now?" the kid asked.
"Later, okay?" she answered, taking the child's hand to walk to the house. "Come on, Fanny" she called her dog.
She noticed how the little girl looked down the moment they were in front of Melina, her tiny hand gripping tightly to hers, so she crouched to her height in an attempt to bring her some comfort.
"It's okay" she whispered, gently brushing her niece's blonde hair away from her tiny face. "Do you remember I told you we were going to meet my Mama and Papa?" she asked her, her hand resting on the little one's left cheek, trying to make sure that the child was looking at her. "And you met them the other day on the phone, right?" she waited until the kid nodded slightly to continue. "Okay. She's my Mama Melina" she pointed to her, the five year old finally staring at the woman in front of them.
However, just as her niece seemed to finally get used to Melina's presence, Alexei appeared at the front door, greeting them with a loud tone of voice, which only got the child to cling to her.
She embraced the five year old tightly, thinking about going to the car to calm down the scared child before going back to the house. She picked up the little girl, looking at her parents with worry. It was going to be hard.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare her" she heard Alexei talk, to which she barely mumbled a 'It's okay'.
But it was not. It was not okay. She hated to see that child so scared and Fanny seemed to hate it too, since her dog whined loudly before sniffing the kid's feet.
She understood why her niece was so distrustful. For her first years of life it had only been her, her mom and some of the Avengers. Even Clint had a really hard time getting the little to warm up to him. But she did not share that experience, that child had trusted her since the beginning, so she was not sure about how to help her.
As they walked inside the house, the kid pulled up her head from her shoulder to look around, her little hand pointing to the place where some welcome balloons were, a few presents for the little one as well.
"Cookies" her niece whispered while pointing to the table.
"Do you want a cookie, malyshka?" she asked her, gently poking the kid's sides to get her to laugh and she got it.
The slightest giggle, but it was enough. The little girl seemed to be more comfortable around them, still clinging to her.
"Thank you" the five year old whispered when Melina gave her the cookie, quickly taking it from her hand.
"You're so much welcome, sweet girl" her mom smiled at the kid.
It took a little more than an hour for the child to finally let go of her, still being close to her, her parents being really patient, just waiting for the little girl to make the first move.
She got her to talk, only answering her at first, but slowly acknowledging the rest of the people there, talking and smiling at them.
"What do you say?" she asked her after the kid opened her presents.
"Спасибо1" the little girl smiled as she could not avoid being surprised, since she did not know the kid could speak Russian.
It should not take her by surprise that her sister had taught that child how to speak Russian and she was aware that her niece understood the language from those times she had just spoken to her in her mother tongue and the little girl had answered her. But she had always done it in English.
She smiled when she saw how the kid was sitting in between Alexei and Melina, showing them the coloring book they had gifted her.
Her niece looked at her from time to time, still making sure that she was there, but when she nodded slightly at her, the child finally seemed to relax.
-/-
She woke up to a crying voice. Little Yelena was trashing in the bed they were sharing, sobbing, angrily pushing her away the moment she tried to embrace her.
"No! I want mama!" the little girl screamed when she finally was able to wrap her arms around her tiny body, pulling her close.
"Shh, it's okay, sweet girl" she whispered, being unsure about what to do.
Her niece just pushed her again, hitting her, so she let go from the embrace, observing how the kid seemed to calm down. But it took her a few more minutes before daring to touch the sleeping child since she was truly scared of her reaction.
Slowly, she embraced the little girl again, humming the song while gently caressing her niece's face. She took her time to observe her as she adored the way a small smile was being drawn on the child's lips.
"Mama?" her niece's voice startled her, but she remained in silence as tears clouded her eyes. "Auntie Lena?" a pair of blue eyes were staring at her. "I had a bad dream" the child murmured, snuggling closer to her, so she welcomed her by tightening the cuddle.
She felt a nose nuzzling against her side, so she turned her head to find Fanny's big puppy eyes staring at her. Her dog had been whining loudly at the child's cries, desperately pacing from side to side of the bed until the kid had calmed down.
"You got worried too, huh?" she scratched the dog's fur, receiving a lick on her hand as a reply. "She's okay, see" she showed Fanny the child in her arms, little Yelena smiling a little when she was face to face with the puppy.
The little girl sat up in the bed to pet the dog, which got her to smile, as for a moment, she forgot about what had happened minutes before. She observed how the child left a gentle kiss on Fanny's head. Those two were inseparable already. She patted the spot next to them, her dog jumping on the bed while wagging her tail before resting her head on the kid's lap.
"I see you don't need me here" she said, trying to sound offended after seeing how her niece hugged the puppy, acting as if she was about to leave.
"No!" little Lena's hands gripped her t-shirt, so she looked at the child, finding fear in her blue eyes.
"Okay, I'm not leaving, malyshka" she assured her.
"Never" the kid stared back at her.
"Never, sweet girl" she kissed her niece's hair before hugging her tightly, treasuring those little moments.
-/-
She did not sleep much for the rest of the night. Every time she had closed her eyes, she had imagined what happened in Vormir from what Clint told her, watching her sister jump over and over again from the cliff as she tried her best to stop her, to convince her to come back to her little girl.
She smiled at the sight of her niece sleeping peacefully while being cuddled against Fanny, remembering the giggles from the night before when she had tickled the kid. Maybe she could get used to all that. Only if she could find some stability for herself, maybe she would think about taking in that little girl, raising her as her sister wanted.
As she got up from the bed, Fanny moved her head to look at her, trying to get up as well to follow her.
"Shh, keep her safe for me, okay?" she told her. "Good girl" she petted her after seeing how Fanny laid down again. "I'll be right back"
It was still early, but she was not surprised when she found Melina in the kitchen getting breakfast ready, not being able to stop the memories from when she was a kid.
"Good morning" Melina smiled at her.
"Morning" she smiled back. "Can I help you with anything?" she asked.
"Actually, yes" her mom turned to look at her. "I'm not sure what Yelena would like... Pancakes? Cereal?" the woman asked.
"Any of those would be fine" she answered since she knew the child would be okay with any of those.
They both remained in silence as she helped her, neither of them daring to talk about the three years they acted as a family. The truth was that she always loved to get up early in the mornings to help her mom make breakfast, enjoying their bonding time. She had missed it.
"What happened last night? I heard her crying" there was concern in the woman's voice while asking.
"She had a nightmare" she answered. "She wanted Natasha" she sighed while looking away.
"She doesn't understand what happened?" her mom asked.
"No, she does" she shook her head. "It's just... She holds to Natasha's last words to her. She told her that she would be back, but she never did" her voice cracked at the end, fighting hard against her tears.
She quieted down when she heard tiny feet sprinting through the house, her niece standing in front of them with tears streaming down her cheeks before running to hug her legs.
"Hey, what's wrong?" she asked while lifting the child up from the floor.
"I thought you had left me" the little girl sobbed, her head buried in her shoulder.
"No, sweet girl" she whispered, feeling guilty for having scared the child. "I'm sorry" she apologized, running her fingers through the kid's blonde hair. "We're making breakfast, are you hungry?" she asked her once her niece had calmed down.
The little girl nodded as she rested her head over hers, leaving kisses on the child's cheek, her niece staring curiously at Melina.
"Do you want to help her with the pancakes?" she asked and after seeing the kid nodded, they approached her.
She observed how the five year old listened to Melina before insisting on flipping a pancake by herself, a proud smile on her face when she got it, even if Melina had been holding the spatula the whole time.
"No, no" the little one pushed the woman's hands away before trying again.
"Okay, you're turn" Melina told her, removing her hands from the spatula, only to observe how the kid got it at the first try. "Good job, sweetie!"
"We have a little chef in the house" she commented with a smile, her niece grinning at her as she laughed.
During breakfast the little girl sat next to her quietly, which was starting to worry her since she could not figure out what was wrong with the kid.
The child poked her arm a few times, so she turned her head to look at her, a slight frown on her niece's sweet face.
"You said that we would visit Mama. Are we doing it today? Are we going to see her?" the five year old asked as she closed her eyes at the last question.
Her parents had stopped talking and were staring at them. She observed how Melina was about to answer to the little girl, but she shook her head. She should be the one answering even if it broke her heart.
"Sweet girl, we're not really going to see her. She won't be there" she answered, seeing the pout on the kid's face, she continued, "But we can go and you can talk to her for as long as you want"
"I wanted to see her" little Yelena complained as she sighed. "I don't want to go"
"I'm sorry, sweetheart" she whispered, gently caressing the kid's face, doing her best to keep that sweet child calm. "You know what?" she asked her, her niece looking at her. "Your Mama will always be with you, in your heart" she put her hand on the kid's chest. "She will keep you safe because she loved you so much" she told her, trying hard to avoid her tears. "And you can talk to her whenever you want, I'm sure she's always listening to you and probably yelling at me for letting you eat so much cereal in just one meal" she chuckled, getting her niece to giggle.
"I miss you Mama" little Yelena whispered and they all looked at her, the little girl had closed her eyes. "Auntie Lena is so funny! Just as you told me" the kid said, getting her to smile. "And she's going to let me have ice cream tonight for dessert"
"You want her to yell at me again, malyshka?" she could not avoid laughing. "Well played, little one" she hugged her niece.
"Is that a yes?" the little girl pulled away a little.
"Yes" she answered, being pretty aware that her niece was her weakness and that as a spy she should keep her as secret so no one would be able to hurt that sweet little girl.
-/-
It had been months since the last time she had been at the Graveyard. But it still hurt as the first time. A lump in her throat as she stared at the name written on the grave in front of her. She crouched next to it while whistling, caressing with her fingertips her sister's name.
"Hi, Tasha" she whispered, hoping her sister was listening to her. "I tried to kill Clint" she confessed out loud for the first time. "Luckily for him, he knew how to whistle" she chuckled softly. "I'm glad I didn't do it. He let me meet Lena" she told her, tears gathering in her eyes. "You would be really proud of her. She's a wonderful child" her voice cracked as she tried to hold a sob. "I know you wanted me to take care of her, but I can't, not for now. She's safe with your friend, I hope it's okay with you" she explained as she still felt like she was failing her sister by not following her wishes.
A presence on her back got her to rise, but she did not need to turn around to know who was standing there.
"You're hard to track down" Valentina commented as she turned to look at her.
"What do you want?" she asked, wanting to go straight to the point.
"You cost me a lot of money and you didn't even finish the job" the woman told her, but she just waited for her to continue talking. "And yet, you haven't told me your reasons. You've been ghosting me for months" Valentina said.
"I don't work for you anymore" she answered, staring directly at her.
It was shortly after Christmas when she had met that woman for the last time, asking for time, but only a week later she quitted that job. She felt tired of being an assassin and she needed to start to do things right for her niece.
"Oh, And what do you do now?" there was a hint of mockery in the woman's voice as she clenched her jaw. "You're a Black Widow. You'll always be one. There's going to be nothing else you'll be good at" Val stared back at her.
She needed a few seconds to calm down after hearing that statement. It was an obvious thing that she would always be a Black Widow, there were too many things that would always remind her where she came from. But she hoped she could be more than that.
She had a purpose after taking down the Red Room. She was needed to free the rest of the Widows and after that was completed she would meet with her sister. However, nine years later, four years for her, she felt like she was back at the time she was freed from mind control, still testing her freedom. Although, at that moment, all she wanted was to keep her young niece safe and she was aware that her job as an assassin would only complicate things.
"It's none of your business" she was trying her best to remain calm, attacking Valentina would be completely useless and stupid, it would only drag more attention to her.
"I have a job for you" the woman told her, but she shook her head. "It'll be easy and you'll get paid a lot of money" Valentina tried to convince her.
"I think you could get another person to do the job" she answered.
"It will be fast. You will leave today and return tomorrow, so you'll still have plenty of time to spend with your sweet little niece" at that point it was getting harder to control her anger, not knowing for how long that woman had been following her. "I think you should know that the place you come from is back and..."
"What do you mean?" she interrupted her. "It's gone. It's been gone for years" she said, feeling nauseous the moment she saw her shaking her head.
It could not be possible, could it? They had taken down The Red Room eleven years ago. She was there. She remembered everything that happened that day. Those days. And then she had spent two years freeing widows. It did not make sense for The Red Room to be back.
She was aware that there were more secret bases where they kept the young widows, the little girls. But she had heard that those kids had returned to their homes, families if they still had one, if not they had gone with adoptive families.
However, she did not know what to believe anymore. Her sister had thought the Red Room was gone for years, but it turned out it was still active, so maybe the same was happening at that time.
"Why are you telling me this? Does anybody else know?" she asked, wanting to know if any of the other widows already knew about it.
"They're targeting your niece" Valentina answered as she felt how all the air left her lungs. "She's the daughter of an Avenger, the Black Widow" the woman explained.
"She's not biological" she pointed out, the fear of that people getting to her niece growing stronger.
"You weren't her sister biologically and here you are" the woman looked at her. "Right now they are waiting for my signal. I have enough contacts to keep her safe, out of reach from them" Valentina explained.
"You wouldn't" her accent was thicker because of her anger.
"No if you accept the job" Val was still staring at her. "I'm giving you 48 hours to think about it" and with those words the woman was gone.
She let her tears run freely down her cheeks as she crouched to rest her forehead on her sister's grave. She could not bear the thought of that sweet little girl going through everything she went to as a child. There was no way she could let that happen to her niece, to her little sunshine.
"I promise no one is going to hurt her" she whispered, hoping her sister was listening to her. "I promise, Tasha" she closed her eyes still in tears.
She was not going to fail her sister anymore, because, with all the pain in her heart, she already knew what she had to do.
1Thank you
Hi!!
It took me a little longer than I expected. I wasn't sure if I wanted to continue this story after this chapter. But once I knew where I was going with the storyline, I couldn't leave it here.
Thanks so much for reading, let me know what you think,
Ayrin