NATASHA'S P.O.V
Natasha fidgeted with her burner phone. She needed guidance, advice, but at the same time she was too stubborn to admit her defeat at being a mother. She had called Laura right after learning the news, asking for advice about how to approach the little one without scaring her, which had been fairly easy. A part of her needed the reassurance that her guilt and fears were completely normal when it came to parenthood.
"Nat? Are you okay?" Clint could not hide his concern when he picked up the phone.
"Is Laura around?" She asked him.
"Um, no. She'll be back in a few hours" her best friend answered. "Why? Is everything okay?"
"I- This is stupid" she murmured, ready to hung up. The redhead was far too stubborn to admit her fears about parenthood.
"It can't be stupid when you have called" the archer said. "Come on, Nat, what's wrong? Is it about the kid?" He asked her, but she didn't answered, so Clint added, "It's about you doubting yourself as a mother, isn't it?"
"I don't know how to do it... How to be a mom to her," Natasha finally admitted. "She's ten. I- I didn't even know she existed... I should've known what he was capable of, I should've-" her voice was shaking. "I couldn't protect my kid from the horrors of that place as I couldn't protect Yelena... I failed them both" tears welled up in her green eyes.
"Nat, this is not on you. You didn't know" Clint talked quietly as if trying to calm her down. "We both thought it was over-"
"But it wasn't" the Black Widow snapped, her heart clenching painfully. Her little sister and her daughter had gone through worse than her in the Red Room.
"I know" Hawkeye sighed, guilt in his voice.
Natasha had last seen Clint when she helped Steve to break the Avengers out from the Raft. Her best friend had questioned her about how she had been doing after the fight at the airport, so she had explained everything that had happened after that.
Clint had apologized multiple times to her. However, they couldn't change the past. They would have to find a way to live with their mistake, especially Natasha. She had expressed her guilt and pain of knowing that her little sister had been stuck in that place way longer than her. But there was always some kind of happiness and pride bubbling inside her whenever she talked about the young woman Yelena had turned into. And Clint had sat beside her, listening to each one of the little things she had to say about her baby sister.
The redhead looked up when the bedroom's door opened, Vera running inside. The young girl's cheeks were flushed and she seemed out of breath, so Natasha quickly jumped into conclusions.
"Are you okay, baby?" She asked her daughter, who nodded slightly.
Before she could ask any other questions, the door was opened again. That time Yelena poked her head inside as Vera hid behind the door, keeping her whole body flattened against the wall.
The blonde walked into the room and closed the door, the kid moving slightly to press herself against the corner.
"Have you seen your kid?" Her sister asked her.
"No." She answered, but she knew that Yelena was aware of the little redhead that was standing right behind her.
There was a smirk on the blonde's face while reaching out to grab her niece's arm, getting the child to squeal.
"Got you, Little Widow!" Yelena tickled the kid's sides.
Natasha found herself melting at the sight. Those two were inseparable. They spent most of their time together. Vera was always somewhere close to Yelena if she wasn't with her Mama.
"Come on, now it's my turn to hide" Yelena said while tugging from the giggling girl to start walking.
"So when am I meeting my niece?" Clint asked through the other end of the call.
-/-
VERA'S P.O.V
The ten year old stood on the porch, just observing with sadness how Yelena embraced her older sister tightly as the two of them seemed to be having a farewell conversation. Yelena was leaving to rescue more widows.
Vera had said goodbye to her aunt last night since the woman was leaving early in the morning, but she wanted to see her one last time.
"Come here, my Little Widow" Testushka called her despite Natasha's glare because of the name.
Vera ran to her aunt, who hugged her tightly. She did not want Yelena to leave, not when she had gotten so used to the young woman's presence. She always felt safe with Yelena if her Mama was not around.
She blinked to try to control the tears that threatened to run down her cheeks. She should not be saddened by her aunt's departure. Good widows didn't cry. They were made of marble.
"We'll see each other soon, okay?" Yelena assured her, gently cupping her face and she could not hide for longer her pouts. "Oh, no, no. Don't look at me like that" the young woman shook her head, sadness flickering through her eyes before hugging her again. "Don't give your mama so much trouble until I come back" the blonde grinned, getting her to smile slightly while nodding.
Yelena kissed her forehead before pulling away, giving Natasha one last hug before getting into her car.
Her Mama wrapped an arm around her as both of them waved at Yelena as she left.
-/-
NATASHA'S P.O.V
Natasha sat on the bed while holding her daughter close. There had not been a verbal response from the child when she had told her that they were also leaving, but there had been a physical one.
The young girl had reacted with fear after understanding that she was leaving without her, clinging to her Mama with all the strength she had. So Nat had needed twenty long minutes to reassure the little one.
The farm was a safe place. Natasha was aware of that, but she had only stayed because Yelena was also there and with her sister gone, she felt like it was time to leave. The change would be good for both of them.
The Avengers or what was left of them needed to stick together. Besides, she had promised Clint she would visit at some point, he had been really annoying her about meeting his niece.
"Can you open your hands, please?" she asked her daughter while gently grabbing the kid's wrists.
Vera flinched, but the young girl opened her hands only to reveal the marks on her skin from where the nails had been digging in.
The Black Widow sighed while taking her daughter's hands and rubbing her thumbs over the marks. She had tried for the child to stop doing that, but the kid kept doing it whenever she felt anxious or scared.
Honestly, she hated the idea of her child causing pain to herself just to cope with emotions. As a widow she understood why the little girl kept doing that, it was just a way of coming back to reality, a little reminder that she was still in control of her own body and mind.
Natasha had not been mind controlled by Dreykov, so she didn't really understand how it felt. She did the things she did just to survive the Red Room Program, until she got the chance to escape from that horrible place.
The ten year old shifted in her arms. Vera wrapped her arms around her neck before pressing her small face on the crook of her neck, just as the child had been doing since they had met.
She couldn't stop herself from smiling after being smacked on the face with the grey koala Yelena had bought the child. That stuffed toy was always in the kid's arms.
-/-
VERA'S P.O.V
Vera looked around the quinjet quietly, her green eyes scanning everything and everyone around her. She gripped tightly to her Mama's hand as they stood there.
Natasha had been taking her to meet the Avengers each day, hoping that she would feel a little bit more comfortable around them, especially since it was a long flight. But she still felt uneasy around them.
Her Mama took her to the seats, strapping her in before crouching in front of her. There was panic all over her small face when she realized that Tasha wasn't going to sit next to her, instead Wanda sat next to her.
"Shh. I'm going to be right there" Natasha pointed to the copilot seat. "You have to sit here for the take off, okay?" Her Mama caressed her face. "It will be okay."
"I'll take an eye on her, Nat" Wanda said.
"Thank you" Tasha answered, smiling slightly at the young woman. "I love you, my baby" Mama kissed her forehead before walking to her seat.
The young girl found herself panicking as soon as they were ready to take off, her breathing quickening slightly as her nails dug in the palms of her hands painfully.
"Hey, sweetie" Wanda spoke softly, being really careful about not reaching out to touch her. "Do you mind if I hold your hand? Sometimes I get a little nervous and..."
She stared at the young woman curiously. There was something about Wanda that made her trust her easily. So she agreed. Wanda caressed her hand with her fingertips, finally relaxing her.
-/-
HI!
It's been a while. I got a little stuck with the Winterwidow bit, but I decided that no Bucky for now. Let me know if you have any ideas that you may like to see in the story.
Thanks so much for reading, let me know what you think,
Ayrin