Not long after Elle got tired and her eyelids began to feel heavy.
Alexei picked her up and the girl fell asleep immediately on his shoulder for rest of their way.
When they arrived, Elle was still sleeping peacefully in Alexei's arms.
They were located on some kind of farm. Behind the iron mesh that was to be used as a fence. A dark-haired woman stood behind it. She was holding a gun.
Small smile appeared on Alexei's face. "Honey, we're home." He spoke towards woman behind the mash.
Natasha looked at him. "Give Elle back to me." She ordered and held out her hands to take her daughter from his arms.
Elle groaned tiredly breaking the awkward silence.
Natasha placed her hand on back of girl's head. "Shh, it's all right, babygirl. You can go back to sleep. I'll wake up when I'll need you, okay?" She smiled and pulled Elle closer to her chest.
After a moment, the woman turned without a word and started walking towards the house.
Alexei followed her. "Come on, girls."
Everyone followed her carefully.
"Welcome to my humble abode." Woman had spoken while she entered the house. "Make yourself at home."
She sighed. "Let's have a drink."
Natasha followed her to the kitchen still holding Elle in her arms. She wanted to make sure they're safe here.
Melina opened the secret door that led to the gun room.
"Hey, no funny business." Natasha warned her.
"I'm putting away my weapon," She explained herself. "do you think I would be holding the gun around the baby?" She pointed on Elle.
"She's not a baby anymore." But everyone who has known Natasha pretty well - knew that she will always treat Gabrielle as her little baby girl.
Natasha looked away and headed towards the sink in the kitchen.
Melina gasped. "Oh, take a look who's up." She giggled Elle in her belly.
Girl giggled hiding her head in her mother's shoulder.
Natasha pushed lightly Elle away and stared in her shiny eyes. "Hello, my love."
Smile appeared on her face when she heard well known voice. "Hi mommy."
Melina was watching their mother-daughter relationship with admiration. She was proud of Natasha that she was doing such a great job as a mother and watched Elle how much she had grown.
Woman put girl on her own feet and lowered herself to her height. "Are we okay?"
She nodded smiling from ear to ear and jumped with excitement,
Natasha couldn't help it, but smile as well. Nothing made her so happy as the smile of her own daughter.
"Take a look," She pointed on Yelena sitting at the table in the living room. "why don't you see what's Lena doing, huh?" She suggested.
Elle gasped. "Lena!" Then little girl rushed towards woman in the living room.
***
"Are there any booby traps around here? Anything we need to know about?" Natasha questioned.
"I didn't raise my girls to fall in traps." Melina smirked.
"You didn't raise us at all." Natasha immediately added speaking the truth.
"Oh, maybe so." She paused. "But if you got soft, it wasn't on my watch."
***
When everyone was seated at the table, strange noises started coming out of the bathroom.
Women looked at each other with embarrassment.
Elle broke awkward silence giggling loudly. "What is grandpa doing in there?" She looked at her mom sitting on Yelena's lap.
Melina spoke. "Well, he's probably trying to put on his suit. He used to wear it ages ago and it probably doesn't fit." She bopped girl's nose.
"What a fool!" Elle kept giggling.
When the sounds started getting louder Melina grabbed the bottle of vodka. "Let's drink."
After a moment the door opened and Alexei cleared his throat to get attention.
Everyone turned around to see what's going on.
Natasha smirked in disbelief.
He leaned about the wall proud of himself. "Still fits."
Elle frowned. "You look silly."
Melina whistled.
Yelena rolled her eyes. "Oh my god."
Melina started clapping in her hands and laughing loudly with Alexei. "I never washed it once."
"Come and drink!"
Elle stared at her grandparents.
Alexei sat on the chair while Melina started filling his glass with vodka. "Rise, you workers of salvation..." He started singing.
"Family." He paused for a second. "Back together again."
Elle smiled lightly resting her head on Yelena's chest.
Melina sighed. "Seeing as our family construct was just calculated ruse that only fasted three years. I don't think we can use this term anymore, can we?"
Girl looked up on Yelena. "I didn't understand a word what grandma have just said." She whispered.
Yelena chuckled. "So did I, let's just pretend we know whet they're talking about."
Elle giggled and turned around towards the table.
Natasha shrugged. "Agreed. So, here's what's gonna happen..." She got cut by Alexei.
"Okay," He reached for something on the table. "a reunion then, huh? And, uh.." He paused.
"I want to say something right off the bat." He looked at Melina. "You haven't aged a day, huh? You're just as beautiful and as supple as the day staged our marriage." He started flirting with her.
Yelena groaned disgusted by their little talk and drank vodka of her glass, and so did Natasha.
Melina blushed. "You're fat, but still good."
"I just got out of prison, I, uh..." He thought for a second. "Have lot of energy."
Yelena stuffed Elle's ears.
"Lena, what are you doing!?" Girl giggled.
Yelena groaned. "Stop ruining the only normal person here, please. There's still hope for her."
Natasha sighed and looked at them. "Please, don't do that."
Yelena took her hands off Elle's ears.
Girl crossed her arms. "Why are you hiding something from me? I'm already big enough!" She got upset and mad at everyone.
"Oh, don't be mad at us, honey." Melina rubbed girl's back.
"Sometimes it's better to don't hear everything, don't you think?" Natasha kept trying to comfort her.
Elle didn't even move, she still was snuggled to Yelena's chest.
"Such a drama queen, aren't you Elle?" Yelena wanted to tease her a little.
She groaned. "I'm not a drama queen!"
"Gabrielle, we're not yelling at the table." Natasha warned her daughter.
Alexei looked confused. "What does 'drama queen' means?"
Melina hit the table. "We met after years and y'all already having a fight!?"
Everyone stopped talking.
She took a deep breath. "All right, let's have a normal conversation. Without yelling."
Natasha nodded. "El, c'mere, please." She ordered.
Girl shocked her head as a no.
Natasha decided to give her time to cool down and then try again.
"So," She paused for a second. "here's what gonna happen."
𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘧𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦, 𝘴𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘸! 𝘹𝘰𝘹𝘰