Elle jumped off her seat and ran towards door.
As soon as Natasha climbed inside she jumped straight into her arms. "Mom!"
Natasha picked her daughter up and wrapped her arms around her. "My brave, little girl!" She said heavily breathing.
"I was helping out Lena to steer the helicopter!" Elle smiled proudly and snuggled to her shoulder.
"I'm so proud of you, malyshka." She whispered to her ear and kissed girl's forehead.
"Alright, but I need some help up here!" Yelena shouted.
Natasha chuckled and sat on the other seat next to Yelena pulling Elle on her lap to keep her away from Alexei. Just for now.
"прощайте, мудаки!(Farawell, douchebags!)" Alexei yelled towards the prison before closing the door.
Elle raised her eyebrow at him. "What is he yelling?"
Yelena and Natasha looked at themselves.
Natasha smirked. "Nothing special, baby."
Alexei walked over to the pilots' seats. "Oh, that was exciting." He said barely breathing. "Oh, I'm so proud of you, girls."
Natasha rolled her eyes ignoring him and put Elle the headphones on.
Alexei noticed that. "Oh, you can't hear me, huh?" He laughed and grabbed the other headphones. "Hold on, is it-" He took a closer look and paused for a second. "Is it my little Gabrielle?" He reached out his hand to touch girl's head.
"Don't touch her." Natasha moved away dramatically. She didn't allow when someone was touching Elle without her permission.
Yelena punched him in the face.
"Ouch." Elle closed her eyes and snuggled closer to her mom.
Alexei was groaning from pain.
Natasha chuckled and rubbed girl's back with one hand to comfort her and the other hand held the controls.
He started again. "Oh, wow, why the aggression, huh?" Is it your time of the month?" He questioned.
"I don't get my period, dipshit - Don't repeat that word, El." Yelena said half to Alexei and half to Elle. "I don't have a uterus."
"Or ovaries." Natasha added.
Alexei gave them confused look like he did not understand a single word.
Yelena sighed and turned around. "Yeah, that's what happenes when the Red Room gives you an involuntary hysterectomy. They kind just go in and they rip our all of your reproductive organs." She gesticulated with her hands. "They just get right in there and they chop them all away. Everything out-"
Elle frowned at her aunt confused.
"Okay, okay. Okay! Okay!" Alexei tried to stop her. "You don't have to get so clinical and nasty! Can't you see our little Red Guardian doesn't like it as well?" He pointed on Elle's face expression.
Natasha laughed. "Little Red Guardian?" She raised her eyebrow. "Since when?" She mumbled.
"Oh, well, I was about to talk about fallopian tubes, but okay." Yelena shrugged.
Natasha smirked.
"It means so much for me that you came back for me." He said softly. "Finally I'm able to see my beloved daughters and granddaughter after all of these years." He looked at Elle.
Elle just stayed quiet listening to everything carefully. She was curious who is this man, he seemed funny, but clearly her mom didn't want to meet them.
Natasha turned around holding her daughter close. "No. No, you're not seeing anyone. You're gonna tell us how to get to the Red room."
"Hah!" He laughed at her. "Whoa, look at you, huh? All business."
"Trust me, this isn't pleasure."
"Little Natasha, all indoctrinated into the Western agenda." Alexei tried to tease her.
Yelena looked at him with disappointment.
"I chose to go west to raise my daughter and become an Avengers," Natasha explained. "cause they treated me like family." She looked away.
He chuckled. "Family? Family? Well, where are they now? Where is that family now?"
Natasha wasn't going to have this ridiculous
conversation and immediately changed the topic. "Tell me where the Red Room is."
He took a deep breath. "I have no idea, okay!?"
Yelena rolled her eyes, she knew from the beginning he wasn't going to talk.
Natasha was pissed off, thinking he was lying. She got up from her seat leaving there Elle amd walked over to the backseats taking off aggressively Alexei's headphones.
"Give me the blanket." She ordered pointing on the blanket.
"For what?" He raised his eyebrow.
She groaned. "Just give me the damn blanket!"
Elle turned around and looked confused at her mom, she had never seen her so pissed off around her.
"Why so pissed?" Alexei said handing her a blanket that she asked for. "El seems-"
"Don't." Natasha wrapped the blanket around Elle to make sure she isn't cold. She also put on the headphones on her ears so that she wouldn't have to listen to all of their conversation. "Sit here and look pretty." She smirked and tucked some of girl's hair behind her ear. "I'll just talk a bit on the backseats."
Alexei smiled at girl's adorableness.
Yelena chuckled at sight of her niece."My favourite helper is back!" She tickled softly girl's belly to cheer her up.
Elle giggled and gave her mom a gentle nod to let her know that she can go.
Natasha came back on the back of the helicopter and sat in front of Alexei. She wanted to get all the informations out of him. He just had to know something.
"Come on, you and Dreykov were like-" She got cut off.
"Dreykov!?" He shouted.
"Yeah!"
"General Dreykov, my friend huh?" He laughed pathetically. "Gives me glory. Soviet Union's first and only super soldier. I could've been more famous than Captain America."
Natasha rolled her eyes, she was sick of constantly likening him to Captain America.
"Then he buries me in Ohio on that stupid mission." He looked at Yelena. "Three years! So tedious, boring me to tears."
"No offense, huh?"
Yelena shooked her hair with disappointment. She just couldn't his person.
Alexei thought for a moment. "Then puts me in prison for the rest of my life. Why, huh? Why? Why would he put me in.. You know why?"
Natasha looked away.
"Cause maybe I want to talk about the withering of the state. Or maybe I don't like his hair or something. Maybe I said something casually about that." Alexei paused for a second. "I want the party to feel actually like a party instead of this sourpuss organization." He gesticulated with his hands dramatically.
Yelena sighed and decided to keep Elle busy as she started to yawning, which indicated that she was sleepy.
"But instead no." He kicked the box on the floor. "He puts me in the prison for the rest of my life. He just runs off and hides, huh?" He said extremely pissed off.
Natasha was listening carefully to his single word.
"I'm not even the on who, uh, you know.." He paused and looked at Natasha. "I'm not the one who killed his daughter."
"Have you realized we have child here?" Natasha whispered to him and looked away.
"Why should we hide it from her, huh? She deserves to know that." He laughed sarcastically at her.
"I don't know? Maybe cause' she's damn nine years old?" Natasha raised her eyebrow.
"So it means she's not allowed to know who I am?"
Natasha rolled her eyes thinking he's overreacting, but in the same time she felt some kind of guilt. Alexei wasn't the best father, she knew that, everyone did - but when Elle was a baby, he was spending his every free moment with her. Elle always dreamed about grandparents and Alexei always wanted to see his only granddaughter once again.
She groaned. "Fine! But if you'll hurt her or say something stupid - I swear to God!" She warned him and got up to pick up her daughter.
She pulled Elle on her lap and smiled at her. "Elle, this," She pointed on Alexei sitting in front of them.
He almost went crazy with excitement, he truly missed his one and only granddaughter. They used to be like best friends when Elle was younger.
Natasha continued. "is my and Lena's dad - Alexei."
Elle played nervously with her fingers. "I know, Lena told me earlier." She mumbled.
She nodded. "Alright then, so if he is my dad, he is yours.."
"Grandpa?" Elle raised her eyebrow.
Natasha smiled. "Exactly."
Alexei smiled from ear to ear and stuck out his hand towards Elle to hit high five.
Elle needed a second to think and finally hit the high five with Alexei.
He laughed and lifted her up from Natasha's lap. "I missed you so so much, my sweet girl!" He said with his russian accent. "We have to make up together a lot, huh? Don't you think?" He tickled her belly.
Elle laughed and escaped from his embrace then hiding in her mom's arms.
She pulled Elle on her lap and kissed her head.
Natasha was extremely proud of Elle, she usually was shy in the presence of strangers.
"Adorable." Yelena smiled sarcastically. "But can we throw him out the window now?" She added after a moment.
Elle giggled quietly.
Natasha nodded. "I think we should wait till we get the higher attitude."
"All right."
"почему бы не спросить у Мелины, где он?(Why not ask Melina where it is?)" He suggested.
"Wait, mom Melina?" Yelena asked confused.
"We thought she was dead." Natasha looked at him confused as well as her sister.
"Who's Melina?" Elle whispered curiously playing with her mom's hair.
"Just a moment, El." She pressed a finger to her lips to let Elle know she wanted her to be quiet until Alexei won't finish.
Alexei laughed. "You cannot kill a fox that swift."
"Ew." She said with disgust.
"What?" He turned around towards her. "She was the scientist, the strategist. I was the muscle." He explained. "She worked directly for Dreykov far more than I ever did."
Natasha cut him off. "Wait, are you telling me that Melina is working for the Red Room present?"
"She works remotely outside St. Petersburg."
Yelena chuckled. "Uh," She looked at the fuel gauge. "I don't think we have enough fuel for St. Petersburg."
"No, we're good. We'll make it." Alexei assured.
"Okay." She answered not sure about it at all.
***