I'm back! This isn't proof-read so there are probably mistakes, but I really wanted to get it out today. Enjoy!
August 15, 2024
Heat can feel different depending on where you are. It's something Katya had forgotten until she got to experience a heatwave in Italy versus the one back home. New York was sweaty, humid, and made her want to bury herself in her freezer. But work was waiting for her, so there was no time for a burial today.
Summer vacation had flown by way too fast. They'd come back from Italy a week ago. Tan – Katya at least – relaxed, and full of energy to start the new school year. Luckily, that was still a bit away, since Maya still had her mind back in Italy, but everyone felt the end of summer get near. Katya couldn't wait for fall.
"What if she thinks it's weird?" She heard her daughter say as she treaded down the stairs. It sounded like it came from the kitchen, more so the center of this house.
"She gave you her address, so I bet she wants you to write to her."
"But it's only been a week. I don't want to be clingy."
Silently, she stepped into the kitchen, her suspicions confirmed when she saw Maya sitting at the kitchen island, Jordyn beside her. She had a pen in her hand and a notebook in front of her, open on an empty page. But she didn't look ready to write, resting her cheek in her palm with her brows tightly furrowed as she voiced her doubts to her sister, who did her best to take them away.
''Imagine the roles reversed. You'd love getting a letter from her, wouldn't you?'' Jordyn questioned, spotting Katya first and sending her a brief good morning nod. Somehow, they'd missed each other during their morning routines, only meeting up now, at ten o'clock.
''Yeah, but–''
"Little Red, you're overthinking it. I agree with– who are you again?"
Only now, as she went around the kitchen to prepare a smoothie, did Katya see the phone propped up against the pot of peanut butter, her one and only sister-in-law's face filling the screen. It didn't appear Yelena had spotted her, though, as she was too busy narrowing her eyes at the – for her – strange blonde sitting next to her favorite niece. If looks could kill, Jordyn would be squirming on the ground.
"Don't be rude," Maya told her aunt off, strictly, and that glare on her face definitely came from her Mama. It would make many people shake in the future like Natasha had done so many times. For a small, innocent looking girl, it was a powerful weapon.
"What? I'm not being rude. I don't trust strangers," Yelena defended herself strongly, frowning at the accusations.
"Jo's not a stranger," Maya insisted.
It stayed quiet on the other side, like a standoff was happening. And anytime Yelena didn't have an immediate comeback, it usually meant she admitted defeat, even though she would totally go into an argument with an eleven-year-old. "Do you need me to translate or not? It's been fifteen minutes and I still have not said a word of Italian."
"Can you even speak it?"
Katya almost choked on her water at Maya's rapid response, the sly gleam in her eyes showing that she knew exactly what she'd said. But what did she expect from a girl who lived with two sassy mothers that liked to bicker with each other in hopes of outsmarting the other? Yelena's face must be priceless.
"Now look who's being rude."
Maya smiled smugly, leaning back on her stool. Catching her aunt off guard. Check. She didn't even protest when Katya snatched the - Natasha's - phone and held it in front of her own face, cocking an eyebrow. "Be nice to Maya or I'm hanging up.''
"Katya!'' Yelena exclaimed enthusiastically, noting the small smile on the brunette's lips. ''How was your holiday? Natasha is gatekeeping you." Because of course she was.
"It was very lovely, thank you.'' Katya moved through the kitchen with the phone in her hand, retrieving everything needed for her smoothie. She smiled at the screen, happy to talk to her sister. But something about Yelena's surroundings looked awfully familiar. ''Wait, are you not home?" She squinted, trying to figure out on what continent she was instead.
Yelena moved her phone to show the room. "I'm in Russia."
That's where Katya recognized the lamp on the ceiling from; Melina's small farm in the Russian countryside. Her brain was slow these days. She still blamed her meds.
"With Melina?"
"Yep."
The mention of the woman made Katya miss her again. Just a bit, not enough to go there and endure Alexei again, but still. Both times they met, Melina had shown her a motherly warmth, a kindness, which was surprising for what she'd been through. She had every right to be suspicious of, or cold towards, anyone she didn't know that well, but she had welcomed Katya and Maya into their odd family with open arms, having nothing but kind words for both.
Besides, Katya remained forever grateful for what Melina had told Natasha about her mother, finally ending years of believing she found her worthless. It had healed her in places Katya was never able to stitch up, no matter how hard she tried. A mother's scars ran deeper than most and were only hers to fix.
So, yeah, they may be keeping their distance from her and Alexei, but that didn't mean Melina wasn't a good egg.
"I'd watch Alexei. I fear he'll eat your dog," Katya warned jokingly, clumsily ripping open a box of blueberries one-handed and throwing them in the blender. Yelena's eyes grew wide, and she frantically looked around for her companion, only to spot it on the couch behind her, something Katya had long seen. The brunette chuckled at the unamused glare she sent her way after she'd calmed down. "How is Melina?"
"Maybe you should ask her yourself. You're all she talks about." Yelena said dryly.
Katya's eyebrows rose. "What, really?" She scoffed an amused laugh, screwing the lid from the milk carton and pouring some on top of the blueberries. Melina had told Natasha back in February that she was the favorite – jokingly – but she figured that would wear off after months of no contact. Apparently not.
Yelena rolled her eyes. "It's 'Katya this, Katya that'. "Do you know how Katya is doing?"."
The brunette let out a laugh at her petty behavior. "Don't sound too bitter, you'll always be Maya's favorite."
''That is true!'' The girl yelled in the background. She'd been silently following the conversation, same as Jordyn, both with amused smiles on their faces. The letter to Sofia had been completely forgotten, the page still blank.
Yelena's face lit up, her eyes sparkling enthusiastically and her teeth exposed in a wide smile. ''Remind me to buy her her first knife for her next birthday,'' she said to Katya, thinking it would be the perfect thank-you. And even though Maya perked up, Katya's face fell, a brief shake of her head crushing Yelena's plans.
''Absolutely not.''
''But it's a milestone in every girl's life,'' Yelena complained.
''A milestone in your life will be the ban on ever seeing Maya again,'' Katya countered, raising her eyebrows in challenge. There would be no knife-giving in the foreseeable future until Maya needed them for her own kitchen, but that was something she refused to think about yet.
Yelena scoffed. ''You are such boring parents.''
''All I hear are tiny violins.'' Katya laughed when a death glare burned on the screen, but she also spotted the time in the top corner of it. Work was calling her name, but she found that she didn't want to end this conversation yet. "Anyway, I've got places to be, but I'd love to catch up later. Give me a call, but not when I'm sleeping," she warned playfully, feeling like she needed to. Yelena would not give a shit about it being nighttime in the US, and her response only proved that further.
"What's the time difference again?"
Katya narrowed her eyes dangerously. "I will not hesitate to make you disappear," she said, throwing the phone back on the counter and back to Maya, not giving Yelena a chance to answer. Natasha had a military strength phone case anyway.
Quickly, Katya blended her smoothie and also threw the snack Natasha had prepared for her, in her bag. The redhead insisted on making it, which Katya possibly found a bit too attractive. But her wife doing mundane things was simply a turn on.
''Are you ready to go?'' She asked Jordyn, who stood from her stool in a much less revealing sports outfit, picking her gym bag off the floor.
''Yes.''
Maya looked up in a slight panic, maneuvering the phone against the peanut butter pot again. ''Wait, you're leaving already? I need your help writing this.''
''I thought that's what your aunt was for?'' Jordyn frowned, hoisting her bag up her shoulder. But she got a look from the small redhead that made her believe she was crazy.
One of Maya's hands slid over the marble countertop towards the phone, subtly tapping the mute button on Yelena's Facetime. ''She's terrible with people and feelings," she said. "I only need her for the translation.''
''Hey! I can lip-read, and I'm not terrible with people!'' Maya threw a skeptical look her way. ''I saw that!''
A loud laugh left Katya's chest. Proudly, she rounded the kitchen island and pressed a kiss to her daughter's head. ''Good luck with her, and with your letter. I'm sure Nat would love to help you if you're stuck.'' She pushed some curls behind her ears, lovingly brushing the back of her hand over her pink cheeks. "Your mother can be quite good with words."
''I'll be fine." Maya sighed, pouting with her face resting in her palm. "Good luck at work.''
''Thank you, sweetheart. I'll see you after.'' Katya smiled, telling Jordyn to hold on while she walked to the bottom of the stairs and yelled up, "Darling? We're leaving!"
Within moments, Natasha's footsteps rushed down the hall and stairs, her long legs coming into vision first. Although it was actually her who nodded approvingly at the tight gym shorts and sports bra combination which adorned Katya's body.
Stopping on the second to last step, she bent forwards and tilted Katya's head up by her chin, kissing her once for good luck. "Have fun." She smiled softly, their faces close together. "You don't need luck cause I know you'll be amazing."
Katya's nerves melted away in the comforting presence and words of her wife. She stole another kiss and then dopily smiled up. "Love you."
"Love you more." Natasha let her go and then watched her hurry off, her green eyes sparkling with amusement and adoration. She had refrained from telling Katya how anxious today made her too, since she trusted her wife that she could handle everything today.
''Bye, Jo!'' Maya called after them.
''Bye!''
Katya would never get over the sight of her gorgeous car. Every time the garage lights flickered on, she needed to take a moment to let her gaze travel over the shiny orange paint. It'd be with her until she died, and she'd crawl out of her grave if Maya would ever sell it.
''I will never get over this car," Jordyn said admirably once they'd buckled up, the seat hugging her tight. This was her second time in the car, but her eyes traveled around like they'd never seen something so stunning.
Katya chuckled at the similarity of their thoughts, flipping the sun visor down as she drove down the drive. A picture of her family sat right there, their smiling faces staring at her in a good kind of haunting. She had put it there after getting her memories back, as a reminder of what she had to lose if she didn't drive safely. It had caught Jordyn's eye immediately. Katya saw her look.
''You know the worst thing a spy can do? Get attached," she joked with a soft smile, turning onto the gravel road that was their street. That rule had always been troublesome to her, since for as far as she could remember, she'd cared just a tad too much for a certain Romanoff when she really shouldn't have. Not caring wasn't her thing.
A similar smile grew on Jordyn's face. ''Yet you did.''
''Some forces are stronger than us," Katya said matter-of-factly. Her fingers instinctively felt for the locket hanging from her neck, taking the golden oval between them and faintly dragging it left to right across the dainty chain. She wore it every day.
''Do you truly believe that?''
She hummed, taking a sharp right after checking both directions. ''I do. I've seen too much to think otherwise.'' Her shoulder rose in a shrug, her smile brightening. ''But in my case, it's also a rose-colored glasses kind of view on things. There's no way I would have stumbled into Nat again if it weren't for some outside force.''
Their love for each other – even after weeks spent with them – still dazzled Jordyn. The way they spoke of the other when they weren't around, was everything she hoped to find herself someday. ''So, no coincidences?'' She concluded.
''Nope. All part of a plan.''
Slowly, Jordyn nodded. More so in understanding than agreement. Everyone had a different view on it, and Katya's career clearly had formed hers. ''Do you miss it? The work?''
''No.'' She answered so quickly that Jordyn's eyebrows rose in surprise. It made her smile. ''Did nearly thirty years in the business, I had my fill. Dedicated my life to fighting for other people, countries, and the world, so I earned my decision to step away from it." The hand from her locket fell back to her steering wheel, the faint background music filling the temporary silence. "What I do miss sometimes is being a part of something bigger; SHIELD, the Avengers. Individuals working together for something more important than themselves. Now, I'm just an individual. It does feel purposeless sometimes.''
She came to a stop at an intersection, absentmindedly chewing on her bottom lip as other traffic flew past her car. The suburbs were quite busy for a random Wednesday morning of summer break, and it wasn't even that early. Or maybe it was the same as usual and a bit of driving anxiety had managed to creep up on her.
''Is that why you started the lessons?'' Jordyn questioned, and Katya couldn't help but notice the difference with the girl she picked up in the middle of the night weeks ago. The blonde was still very much anxious, but around her, she'd learned to relax, to ask more, to initiate conversation.
''Partly, yes." Katya nodded, tapping her fingers on the steering wheel along with the song on the radio. "I'm a goal-driven person. I need some purpose to work towards.'' First, that goal was killing a person, and now it was training people to prevent getting killed. Life is ironic. "But also, I needed to get out of the house more. Sitting around with my thoughts all day drove me nuts. Now, Natalia's the housewife." She smiled like there was some inside joke Jordyn missed. "Although I'm hoping to get her to admit that unlike me, she's not done with the intelligence business.''
Now that certainly piqued Jordyn's interest, because as far as she knew, they were both retired. "She isn't?"
Katya shook her head. "She's been helping Yelena with some things."
"Maybe she's just being helpful?"
Again, a shake of her head. ''Nat likes the game too much to give it up. The puzzles, the challenges... everything that leads to another murderer or criminal getting what they deserve. Her internal need to do good is too strong.'' She paused her story to press the gas pedal down, finally crossing this horrible intersection with the horsepower under her butt roaring a tad too loud. ''She exercises her brain to stay happy, and I use my body. Fitting, isn't it?''
Jordyn shrugged. ''Whatever works, right? I mean, there's no rulebook on what retired superheroes are supposed to do. Honestly, I'm still waiting until you receive a medal for literally bringing half the universe back,'' she joked, but Katya's smile faltered. That topic always bothered her. There were about a dozen reasons why she didn't want a medal.
''That's very sweet, but I don't need medals,'' she said calmly, throwing a soft look the blonde's way. ''If they want to honor me, they can fix this world's housing, poverty, and orphan problems.''
Understanding flashed across Jordyn's face, her gaze timidly averted to the road. ''How did everybody just forget about you, though?'' Her fingers fiddled with each other, very aware she continued on a topic Katya didn't really want to talk about. But the world seemingly had forgotten about the Avengers all together, deciding that heroes weren't as amazing as they used to be. There was rarely any talk about them anymore.
''People have more pressing issues to deal with than worshipping a bunch of random people. Besides, most of them are still bitter we lost in the first place. We fixed the problem, but we couldn't prevent that problem from existing in the first place.'' A horrible, guilty, nagging feeling made her stomach turn. The same feeling she lived with for five whole years. It went away with great difficulty. "But I've started to come to terms with what happened in those five years.'' She shrugged, carefully smiling. ''Besides, it wasn't all bad. Got a daughter out of it.''
If Thanos hadn't happened, then Maya wouldn't have been in an orphanage, and she would have never come into their lives. Shitty things sometimes produce beautiful consequences.
''Yeah,'' Jordyn relaxed, the corners of her mouth turning up. ''Maya is great.''
''She's more than we could have ever hoped for,'' Katya agreed, her eyes shining with adoration for her wonderful girl. If she would linger on the thought for too long, they would be shining with tears instead, a state she'd found Natasha in more than once. "And now I also consider you my bonus daughter. So life could have turned out way more shitty." She nudged Jordyn softly, sending her a warm wink.
The blonde's cheeks instantly flushed, and it was clear that she had no idea how to react to that. Thankful, undeserving, emotional... all kinds of feelings washed over her. She fiddled with her fingers, staring at them with a small smile, trying not to think about leaving this family next week. She didn't know if she could do it on her own, but the faith Katya had in her made her want to believe in herself.
"Can I ask for your thoughts on something?" She asked eventually.
"Sure, go ahead."
Jordyn shifted in her seat, thinking of the best way to word her question first. "If you were me... what would you do about... my mom?"
Katya blew a deep breath through her lips. Usually, she'd refrain from telling anyone what to do with their life, but since the whole thing hit close to home and Jordyn wasn't just anyone, she settled on helping instead. "That's a difficult question. I don't know exactly how you feel about her."
"I don't think I know either," Jordyn said honestly, chewing on the inside of her cheek. She loved her mom, but everything that happened in the past year made it difficult to trust her. However, she didn't want to give up on her too quickly.
"Do you think you can find it within yourself to hear her out?" Katya continued, checking her mirrors before taking a left turn. And this time, Jordyn nodded, although hesitantly.
"I think so, yes."
"Then maybe that's a good start?" A calm conversation could usually clarify quite a lot already, which made it easier to think of future steps. And if Katya wanted Jordyn to have one thing, it was a mom.
But although she brought a hopeful perspective, Jordyn didn't seem to perk up. Instead, she got sadder, staring down at her lap.
"I'll miss living with you."
Jordyn's moving-out day got closer every minute. With it currently being Wednesday, they only had ten days left until they would be driving up and down to the campus dorms to help her settle in. They could see that she felt conflicted about it, not sure whether to feel happy about this next step, scared, or sad. Probably a mix of everything. But it was time for her to move on.
Katya ignored the painful clenching of her heart and the melancholy in her chest, caused by Jordyn's small voice. ''We'll miss you too, but you'll never stop being a part of our family," she reassured softly. "Maya will be bombarding you with messages, Nat and I are always there if you need to talk, and we expect you every Saturday for Monopoly night,'' she teased lightly. ''Your bedroom is just in a different building.''
It stayed awfully quiet on her side, and when she glanced at Jordyn, her eyes were wet with tears, her lips pressed together to hold them back. Over the past few weeks, she'd gotten better at communicating and showing her emotions, which made Katya proud to see. But hearing someone say that they wanted her around and that she was a part of their family, touched Jordyn deeply. Her self-worth was about as low as Liho's energy in the morning.
"So you aren't sick of me yet?" She joked weakly. Humor as a coping mechanism, also very familiar to the Russians.
"Are you kidding? We love having you around,'' Katya nudged her playfully, pulling a watery chuckle from Jordyn. ''We could never be sick of you."
The woman blushed and sniffed her tears away, running the back of her hand under her nose. She still had a hard time believing how lucky she got with them and the huge support system they brought along. Where she first had nobody to confide in, that number had risen to three within a day's time. People she fully trusted. ''I can never thank you enough, for what you did for me.''
Katya hated how much this already sounded like a goodbye. Or maybe she just hated how painful the thought of moving Jordyn out was. She thought she still had seven years until her daughter left her home. ''There's no need to thank me.'' She smiled warmly. ''You did most of the work yourself anyway, we only offered you a place to stay."
Jordyn stubbornly shook her head. "We both know you did way more than that."
Okay, maybe she was right, but Katya refused to let her brush off her own accomplishments.
"A – sometimes – very wise woman told me recently that I have to take a moment to be proud of myself every now and then, of how far I've come and how hard I'm trying. Maybe you should do the same," she advised. But the look on Jordyn's face was the exact one she had expected to find; full of skepticism and hesitation. ''Trust me, you deserve more credit than you're giving yourself.''
Jordyn never answered. She didn't know what to, and Katya forgave her for that. After all, she'd been in her exact shoes, knowing that pushing things wasn't the answer. It took time to grow and learn. So instead, the rest of the way, they spoke about Maya's letter and Mimosa, who stood in his water bowl this morning and left wet paw prints all over the ground floor. A typical, chaotic morning in their family home.
When they got to the gym, Brianna was already waiting for Katya in the reception area, welcoming her back with a bright smile. In the months they hadn't seen each other, she had swapped her black box braids for soft pink ones, and it looked amazing. She looked happy too, a pep in her step as she accompanied Katya to the office, where they chatted and caught up with everything that had been going on recently.
But not for too long, because Katya's eleven o'clock class was waiting for her. Her hands itched to get back to work, to do what she loved and enjoyed; helping people. But what she did not expect was to find ''her'' classroom decorated. Thankfully, they didn't go all out, except for a string with small, triangular, colored flags along the mirrored wall, a ''welcome back'' poster, and a huge bouquet of flowers clearly meant for her.
She never really minded all eyes on her, having briefed and led enough SHIELD teams and chaired enough meetings at HQ with people much smarter than her, but as that handful of women watched her now, she felt her cheeks heat up. Only Natasha had been able to catch her off guard like this lately, and others showing their appreciation always left her feeling awkward.
"You guys... I don't know what to say. Usually, I have a gut feeling about these things, but now..." She shook her head when words failed her, slowly turning to the young blonde by her side. "Did you know about this?" Jordyn simply shrugged with a sly smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. "Sneaky."
A smiling woman in her thirties approached her with the flowers. Lori, who had a four-year-old son, Katya was happy to remember. "We're really glad you're back. Healthy, and happy. I think I speak for us all when I say that we missed your lessons." Agreeing mumbles and nods came from the group as she handed over the flowers, a small note stuck in the middle. They were really pretty, and Katya's heart warmed at their generosity.
"Thank you so much. This is so sweet of you. I missed working with you, too."
The next few minutes proved why she never threw traditional birthday parties for herself. Everyone smiling at her, thanking and congratulating her, giving her gifts she felt guilty for, horrible small talk... she hated all of it. Genuinely, she felt so thankful, and loved all they did for her, but she was also quick to start the actual lesson and fall back into her comfort zone.
And it was like she never left.
Teaching simply came natural to her, and as she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror halfway through the class, she suddenly understood why Fury had asked her to train a group of rookies. The authority and confidence, she had, but the gentle, yet to-the-point way, of telling her students what and how to do was her true secret.
When the hour was over, she took a quick body-only shower in one of the privacy shower cabins she loved so much about this gym. Nobody had to shower naked in front of others if they didn't want to, and Katya wasn't so keen on showing so much of her and her ragged skin to people she barely knew.
Jordyn waited in the reception area for her, fiddling with her phone as a way of urging others not to talk to her. But she looked up with a smile when Katya approached her, offering to either hold the flowers or her bag for her, which she kindly declined.
The brunette felt high, on something stronger than drugs; pride and success-induced dopamine. It had been a hell of a long way to get here, but she proved to herself that a depressed, traumatized, anxious former assassin could climb out of a deep hole more than once to do what made her happy. Nobody could take those accomplishments away from her.
"Who do I need to fight?" Natasha joked when Katya came out of the building with the flowers in her hands.
"Your jealousy," the brunette countered teasingly, giving her a kiss as a way of saying hello.
Natasha rolled her eyes, but wasn't able to keep the smile off her face. Her hand sneaked to Katya's lower back to pull her closer, kissing her again as the girls immediately got wrapped up in Maya's story about how her letter to Sofia was nearly done. "How was it, being back?"
"Like I never left. I loved it." Katya melted at the pride that radiated off her wife's eyes. She may hate hearing the actual words, but it still meant a lot that Natasha became so happy when she was happy.
"Not too tired now?" The redhead asked, but Katya gently shook her head.
"On the contrary. It only gave me more energy."
Natasha's smile grew, and for just a moment, they got lost in the happiness, smiling at each other, their eyes sparkling. The bubble of joy in Katya's chest threatened to burst, her heart beating concerningly fast. Real life would be hitting her soon, but right now, she felt as if she'd walked out of the cinema after seeing one of the best movies ever.
"Those are pretty," Maya broke into their bubble, standing on her toes to get a good look at the flowers. Her moms taught her to appreciate the gesture of gifting flowers, as well as the beauty of a well-compiled bouquet.
Katya chuckled, breaking eye contact with her wife to look down at her daughter instead, giving her a brief side hug and a kiss to her head. "Never forget that if you do good and are a kind person, people will recognize it." She looked up at Natasha after Maya had silently nodded. "Where did you park?"
"At the store. It's only a few blocks away."
"Okay, let's drop these in my car, get lunch, and then get to shopping," she said enthusiastically, drawing three beautiful wide smiles. Her joy was very contagious.
Last week, Jordyn was sent pictures of her dorm, and the only few things it contained were the basics; a bed, a desk – with chair – and a cabinet with drawers for clothes. Everything had a horrible wood color and Natasha said she slept in cells nicer than that.
So, they were hitting up department stores like Walmart and Target this afternoon to buy stuff that would help bring some life into the room. Maya helped put together a mood board, which mostly consisted of anything with fairy lights, and the color pink – a light pink, that is. And since Jordyn didn't have a preference, Maya would mostly be in charge today.
On their shopping list, among other things: bedding, posters and picture frames, cute lamps, a rug, a warm fluffy blanket, fairy lights of course, and Katya insisted on a new mattress. If needed, they'd eat dinner at IKEA and continue the shopping into the late night.
Jordyn wasn't too happy they wanted to spend that much money on her, but the Russians weren't taking no for an answer. If they were moving her out of their house, they wanted to be sure that the place she went to felt just as warm and homey.
Lunch consisted of the best sandwiches ever and Maya's very detailed explanation of her Italian letter and the way Yelena had teased her for her, as she quoted, "softness". It came to the point where she had abruptly ended the Facetime call in the middle of Yelena's mocking laughter, which left both her and her moms very smug. Maya planned on never asking her aunt for these things again.
"Can we go now?" She asked eagerly once everyone had tossed their napkins onto their plates and finished their drinks. All the small talk had started to bore her a while ago, and time ticked away on this already short afternoon.
"If everyone is finished," Natasha answered, getting three nods to the subtle question. As a result, Maya's whole face lit up and she perked up in her chair. "Let me pay and we can go." The woman chuckled.
They had no real plan or strategy on what to buy first, but Natasha had parked their Audi at the nearest Target so they started there, taking two carts into the store. They quickly filled with pillow covers, blankets, all kinds of decoration Jordyn didn't truly need but was really pretty anyway, and school stuff like pens, markers, notebooks et cetera.
They loaded it all into the back of their SUV and drove to the next store, going through every aisle all over again. Maya truly led the party, walking ahead and throwing stuff in the carts without consulting anyone first. She had a vision, she insisted, and they didn't want to spoil her fun.
As Katya suspected, they did end up eating dinner at IKEA and then continued for more practical items afterwards; a fluffy rug, a mattress, blanket and pillow, a desk chair, lamps. They just followed the arrows on the floor, both Russians pushing a cart, with Katya teasingly bumping hers against Natasha's ass every now and then, loving how she jumped up in surprise. Natasha did get revenge by pushing her into a basin of pillows, but at least that was soft.
When Katya finally managed to scramble out of it, she was quick to catch up and bring her head close to Natasha's. "Hey, remember that deal we made last time we were here?" She asked with a sly gleam in her eyes, watching as it clicked in Natasha's brain instantly, her green eyes widening. The brunette winked suggestively and then stalked off, leaving her wife with a dry mouth.
"You can't just say that and then walk off!"
An adorable laugh filled the couch section of IKEA. "Watch me!" Natasha could only shake her head slowly, smiling to herself. Unfair how Katya played her like that, but also credit to her for using her weak spots.
When they finally smelled fresh air again – or as fresh as it got in the city – it was well past eight, and they had the fun realization that everything didn't fit into the Audi anymore, so Natasha had to drive Katya to her own car, and then go back to IKEA with both cars, where they somehow managed to push everything in and close the doors. Poor Maya sat on the backseat of that Audi with a rolled-up mattress pressing her into the door. Not very safe.
Back home, they first sat down for an evening snack and a drink before unpacking the cars, putting the bigger things into the garage for the time being – the mattress, the desk chair – and the other stuff in Jordyn's room. Those shopping bags were seriously heavy and hell to drag up the stairs, but Katya was committed and got it all there in the end.
Then, everyone collapsed onto the living room couch, too tired to even pick up the TV remote. Nobody truly knew how to feel, it was all bittersweet. Katya decided to push the emotions to next week, reminding herself they still had more than a week with Jordyn.
See? Way to dramatic. Sounded like she was slowly dying or something.
"Darling, don't fall asleep."
Katya shot up, staring right into the amused expression of her wife, and realized she dozed off for a moment there. "No, I'm here, I'm good." She cleared her throat and sat up straighter.
"You sure? You had your mouth open and all." Natasha smirked at the death glare that followed.
"I'm awake," Katya said slowly, pointedly, silently warning her that it would be much worse if she continued down this road.
"Okay. Do you want to give Maya her gift now?" She finished in Russian. And honestly, it was good that she remembered, because Katya had not.
"Yes."
The girl heard her voice between all the strange words and automatically became intrigued, briefly switching between looking from one mom to the other, but they gave nothing away as Natasha stood and disappeared upstairs to retrieve the gift they'd gotten her a couple days ago.
Was it still a gift if she knew she was getting something and what, but just not when? Katya guessed Maya was mostly surprised as she carefully unwrapped the small box and saw the silver logo pressed into the white cardboard.
"A phone?" She wondered, looking up at her parents to see if this was real.
She didn't react like most peers of hers would; screaming in happiness or a smile so wide it hurt to look at. No, she didn't care much about cell phones or the internet. For her, it was simply a way of communicating with her aunt who stayed halfway across the world, and anyone else important to her. They might as well have given her a classical telephone with a cord and dial.
Natasha nodded. "It's already installed and has everyone's number in it."
''We wanted to give it a bit earlier so you can stay in touch with Jo," Katya added.
It wasn't the newest model, but both Russians had the exact same and it worked perfectly fine. They guessed that getting one she was already familiar with, would make the most sense.
Maya smiled, carefully taking the lid of the box off and admiring the black screen. Her own phone, finally. "Thank you," she whispered, pressing the button at the side and laughing at the background picture of her lock screen; Liho with a weird face.
"And this is from me," Jordyn said softly. Maya hadn't realized her sister had disappeared until she stood before her with a small present in her hand that previously was nowhere to be seen. "Not a parting gift, because I'm not going anywhere.''
Curiously, Maya put the phone beside her and accepted the flat package. She was always so slow and gentle with opening gifts, to show that she was grateful and not greedy. So, she peeled the tape until a phone case for her brand-new phone revealed itself. And not just any, no, it had a print of her favorite anime.
Tears burned in her eyes when she whispered once more, ''Thank you," excessively studying the gift to try and hide her emotions, but the lump in her throat had been clearly audible in her words.
"No, don't cry," Jordyn complained with a watery chuckle, plopping into her previous spot next to Maya. "I'll cry if you cry."
But a sob already escaped the young redhead. "But I don't want you to go," she sobbed, and every single heart in the room broke.
Hellos always had goodbyes, but knowing that didn't make saying goodbye any easier.
For the first time ever, surprising everyone including herself, Jordyn hugged her first. A bit uneasily, but her arms wrapped around Maya's shoulders and pulled her towards her chest to comfort her. As a result, the girl only started to shake and sob more, letting her body collapse against Jordyn's in defeat.
She'd be alright as soon as the dust settled and they were a couple weeks into the new school year, when she would realize that Jordyn wasn't as far away as she now feared, and that her departure wouldn't feel so drastic as it did now. Her abandonment issues just ruled her emotions at the moment.
"I'm sorry, M&M," Jordyn whispered, her voice thick with tears as she rested her cheek on top of the mop of red curls.
"You need to call me every day," Maya pleaded.
Every parent hated seeing their child in pain. Katya could hardly see anything through the tears clouding her vision, pulling her knees to her chest as a way of finding comfort, and Natasha wasn't any better. She had scooted to the edge of the lounge chair, reaching out to place a hand on Katya's knee and giving it a squeeze while their daughter continued to sob.
"I will."
"And visit as much as you can."
"I promise." Jordyn tried to sniff her tears away, but they were long running down her cheeks. "I'll miss you too, you know. Who will I watch anime with now? Or game with? And draw? And I'll miss the cats. You need to send me videos if they do dumb stuff like this morning," she joked weakly.
Maya nodded against her chest. "We can have a watch party over the phone. For anime."
"See? Lots of solutions!" Jordyn responded enthusiastically, trying to pull her out of her sadness. "I would love that. You now have a phone, so you can reach me within seconds. I'm just a text or call away."
Katya was so surprised at how good she was at this. Giving comfort came a lot easier than getting comforted.
Gently, Maya broke from the hug and sadly wiped at her cheeks, her gaze cast downwards. "But what if you don't have time for me? It's school, so you'll be very busy with homework, parties, and friends."
Jordyn quickly shook her head and scooted closer to the girl. "Listen." Feeling that something important was coming, Maya cautiously peered up at her through her eyelashes. "M&M, I will never be too busy for you."
Intently, Maya searched for the truth on her face. "Okay." She nodded sadly, partly relieved. "Can I sleep in your room tonight?"
A happy smile crept on Jordyn's face. "Course, you can."
Everyone collectively decided to go to bed after all the tears were wiped away. The exhaustion wasn't helping the emotions and Katya threatened to fall asleep on the couch again. But, as she crawled under the blankets of her own, comforting, warm bed and pressed her face into Natasha's neck, she realized the tears were far from shed tonight.
As always, Natasha held her as she cried, mostly staying silent but occasionally whispering reassurances in her ear. Seeing Maya so sad and her abandonment issues show themselves so clearly, broke her motherly heart, and she started to doubt the decision of moving Jordyn out.
"She'll be okay," Natasha muttered, running her fingers through Katya's short hair soothingly.
"I know," Katya hiccupped. Knowing Maya didn't lie alone in bed tonight made her feel a bit better at least. "But she sounded so devastated."
Natasha sighed sadly. "I know, baby. I know."
When Katya had finished crying and balanced on the edge of sleep, soothed into it by the movement in her hair, Natasha awkwardly reached behind her to snatch up her phone. She started rapidly tapping on it with one hand after turning the brightness all the way down.
"What are you doing?" Katya croaked out confused, picking her head up.
"Texting Clint." She finished typing and then showed her the screen. "Can you have Lila call Maya tomorrow? She's very sad about Jo leaving next week. Think a call from her favorite cousin would help a lot."
Katya's heart melted at her consideration. They could have told Maya to suck it up, and that it wasn't a big deal, but those weren't the kind of moms they wanted to be. Emotions were entirely valid and needed to be felt, or Maya would turn into the younger version of them; out of touch with her emotions and ashamed of them.
"That would cheer her up for sure." Katya smiled softly, cuddling further into her wife. "Thank you." A kiss was pressed to her forehead and Natasha's arm wrapped around her waist again.
Slowly, they dozed off. Only to get a complete heart attack when Katya's phone started to buzz loudly. And considering the time and conversation from this morning, that could only be one person.
Katya groaned, blindly reaching over, pressing the red button, and turning her phone off completely. "Please throw that into the lake for me."
"Who is it?"
"Yelena."
"I'll kill her tomorrow," Natasha mumbled.
~~~~~~~~
A/N: Decided to skip the rest of the holiday because I didn't really know what to do with the chapters and I had a hard time writing them. I think you can use your imagination and fill in the rest yourself :) Also, I have so many ideas for after the two-year time jump, so I wanted to move towards that. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this, and I'll see you in the next one!