Yelena woke up bright and early at six a.m. the following Sunday, accidentally bumping into Kate as she moved. Kate sat up in the bed next to her, rubbing the sleep from her blue eyes. She looked over at the alarm clock that the blonde had just turned off and plopped back down on the bed, pulling a pillow over her face. Yelena untangled herself from the covers and gently shook Kate to see if the other girl was awake. The brunette pulled the pillow down from her face and groaned.
"Lena what are you doing?" she asked, sleep laced in her voice.
"Natasha's birthday is tomorrow." the blonde replied, grinning at her.
Kate sat up a little, leaning on her arms for support, "I know that....I bought her the arrow bracelet that goes with the necklace my dad got her for Christmas last year." she replied, yawning again.
The blonde nodded, "She'll like that.." she replied.
The brunette grinned slightly, "What does Nat's birthday have to do with why I'm awake at six a.m on a Sunday morning?" she asked.
The blonde rolled her eyes, "Because we have school tomorrow, meaning we won't get to celebrate, really. So we're celebrating today." she replied, lightly flicking the teenager's head.
"But why are we up this early?" the brunette asked again, covering a yawn with her hand.
"Because we're making plushki, it's Tasha's favorite Russian breakfast. Tasha sleeps till eight on Sunday, it's the only day she sleeps in." she replied shrugging.
"Yeah...so?"
"Well, usually Wanda and I make breakfast with Peter after he wakes up on Sunday's; today we're going to make it for Tasha to make her happy. We'll give her presents later, but today we make her a special breakfast that way its not like we forgot her birthday since everyone is going to be so busy tomorrow."
The younger girl nodded her head at her girlfriend's words, "Can I help?" she asked.
Yelena grinned and kissed her cheek, "Of course. But you have to get out of bed first. Wanda and Peter are already awake." she announced.
"How is Wanda up before you?"
"She was excited to help make breakfast and Peter always seems to know when we're planning a surprise." she replied, shrugging.
Kate laughed, "He always does." she agreed, throwing the covers off of herself. "Why is it so cold?" she asked, shivering.
"Because it's December in New York and all you're wearing is one of my t-shirts," the blonde replied. "Go change or you'll get yourself sick and I'm not taking care of you."
Kate nodded, "Fine, but then I won't take care of you next time either." she replied, playfully sticking out her tongue.
The blonde raised an eyebrow at her, "Oh really?" she asked, her voice picking up at the end.
Kate shook her head, grinning at her, "No, I couldn't do that to you Lena, I love you too much." she replied, grinning as she kissed her girlfriend's cheek.
Yelena blushed slightly, "Kate Bishop, go put on some warm clothes and meet me downstairs." she replied, pulling the brunette towards the door so the girl couldn't see how much she was blushing.
Kate laughed at the flustered blonde, "Whatever you say Lena."
Yelena sighed at the girl, "I'll have coffee ready for you when you come down." she replied.
"Thanks, remember don't give Pete any." she reminded.
"I will not make that mistake twice," the blonde replied, remembering the last time she'd given Peter coffee.
"Just making sure." the brunette replied, shrugging softly as she turned around to face the green-eyed girl, "We don't need an over hyper Peter running around on the ceiling again. Little P wouldn't believe anything we'd tell her if she saw him up there. Then she'd find out about his powers and he'd freak out, she'd freak out, everyone would freak out. Director Fury would freak out, everything woul-"
Yelena quickly cut the brunette off from her spiraling and grabbed her hands.
Kate paused from her downward spiral about what would happen if Penny found out about Peter's being Spider-man and looked at the blonde's green eyes that were staring at her.
"Exactly why I won't give him any." Yelena replied, kissing her cheek to distract the other teen, "Hot chocolate for our spider monkey only," Yelena announced.
Kate nodded and grinned again, "Right."
"Now go get changed Kate Bishop, time is wasting," the blonde announced, pulling herself away from their small staring contest as she pushed the girl out of her room.
"Okay, okay. I'm going." the blue-eyed teenager replied, laughing.
Yelena shut the door behind the brunette and pulled off her pajama shirt and pants. The winter was one of the few times she didn't wear a t-shirt and shorts to bed, she found it too cold to sleep; so she usually resolved herself to wearing thin summer pajama sets. She found flannel wear and long-sleeves to be much too warm to sleep in and they always stuck to her. She pulled out a chunky black and gray striped sweater and pulled it over her head after pulling on a thinner short-sleeved black t-shirt in case she got too hot while they were cooking. She grabbed a pair of thicker gray tights and pulled them on while she searched for a pair of black shorts she'd managed to snag from her sister when the redhead packed all her summer clothes away till March. After searching in her dresser for a few moments, she managed to find them; she tugged them on over her tights and tucked in the hem of her sweater in the front before adjusting the chain detail that laid over the right pocket of the pants. She slipped into the pair of slippers that resembled the Akita dog breed, her personal favorite type of breed, that Peter had gotten her for Christmas the year before. All the avengers had a pair. Wanda had black cats, Kate's were golden retrievers, Pietro's were cheetahs because they were the fastest animal in the world, Natasha's were giant spiders, Clint's were hawks, and the list went on. Peter got everyone a similar gift every year that was special to each person and their abilities, it was his thing. Last year was slippers, the year before was mugs he'd designed for everyone, and before that was blankets he'd made that had each person's superhero persona. Yelena reached over and grabbed a hair claw off of her dresser and pulled her hair back with it as she shut the door behind her with her foot. She was adjusting the clip when she walked into the kitchen where she saw Wanda already sipping a cup of coffee while she pulled out pans, large bowls, and measuring cups and spoons. Peter was already downstairs himself, Yelena looked up at the younger brunet who had planted himself upside down on the ceiling.
She waved slightly at him, finding it too early to fuss at him for being up there in the first place, "Hello Peter," she greeted.
"Hiya Lena," he replied, already bright-eyed as he walked across the ceiling on his hands.
"There's coffee in the pot and I pulled out yours and Kate's mugs already." Wanda replied, pulling Yelena from her amazement, Peter's ability to stick to any surface never ceased to amaze her..
"Thank you," Yelena replied, walking over to the pot and pouring two cups of coffee for herself and her girlfriend. She mixed two spoons of sugar into her coffee before adding four spoons and a fourth cup of milk into Kate's. She was stirring the brunette's cup when the brunette walked down the stairs, stifling another yawn. She walked over to her girlfriend and kissed her cheek once again, sliding the mug into her hand, "Your coffee." she replied before taking a sip of her own.
"Thanks Lena." the girl replied, giving her a sleep smile.
Yelena nodded, "Peter get off of the ceiling," she reprimanded, looking back at the teenager who was now sitting upside down on the ceiling.
He stood up in his position, "But it's easier for me to be up here so I can get the stuff for you guys," he replied.
Yelena rolled her eyes, "You could just stick to the refrigerator or climb onto the counter," she offered.
He shrugged, "I like it up here, I feel taller," he replied, "It's fun." he laughed.
She shook her head, "Whatever..." she muttered, taking another sip of her liquid sanity, "We're making plushki," she announced.
Peter looked excited at the announcement, "We haven't had plushki in sooo long." he replied, grinning at her.
"I know, so we need flour, yeast, milk, sugar, butter, vegetable oil, salt and water," she announced, listing out the different ingredients they'd need to make the breakfast.
"Doesn't Plushki use cinnamon?" Wanda asked, "Plushki are basically cinnamon rolls."
"Yes it does." Yelena confirmed.
"We have a slight problem with that Lena." the redhead reminded.
"Don't worry," the blonde replied, waving the redhead's worries off, "I remembered Peter Parker's allergy. We can use allspice." she announced.
Peter nodded, "Allspice is typically used as a substitute for cinnamon; you just need to use less of it because it is stronger. It tastes really similar to cinnamon too, so no one will be able to tell the difference." he announced, rattling off the information like he was a computer, it was a habit he had that Yelena found funny.
"Thank you Peter," the blonde replied as the younger boy placed the bags of flour and sugar on the counter.
He grinned and gave her a thumbs up, but at the moment, it looked more like a thumbs down. He noticed the reaction and frowned before flipping his hand to where he was giving the blonde the proper signal.
She laughed lightly, "See, Peter knows what to do. That way Natasha still gets plushki and Peter Parker doesn't die," she announced.
Wanda nodded, "Good, because Spidey won't remind anyone until he's turning red and his throat swells shut." the redhead replied, raising her hand to ruffle Peter's hair from the ground. She looked up at the brunet, "Now Peter get down from up there."
"But Wands..." he groaned.
"I mean it Pete, you've gotten everything down, so now it's your turn to get down." she replied, crossing her arms.
He sighed and jumped down, landing on the floor right in front of her, "I like it up there," he mumbled.
She ruffled his messy hair again, "I know, go wash your hands," she reminded him, pushing him towards the sink.
He groaned and trudged over to the sink, muttering about how she was such a mom.
The three girls laughed at his pouting before splitting up into their different positions.
Wanda had pulled out the five largest bowls she could find when Kate and Yelena were still upstairs. They would each be able to fit double the recipe that they used, meaning that they'd manage to make sixty plushki, which would be enough to feed everyone along with an assortment of fruits and hot chocolate they were going to serve. Kate made room in the fridge for the bowls of food while Peter organized the different ingredients and placed a measuring cup and spoons by every station in an effort to be helpful.
"Alright," Yelena announced, "everyone get to your stations."
After everyone was in front of a set of bowls around the kitchen, she and Wanda started giving out instructions. She'd paired up with Kate, finding it easier to work with the brunette than working with the younger boy who was too awake for her at the moment. Wanda was also more patient with him. Peter hated to wait; he dreaded any type of mission where he had to be completely still and stake someone out; he was awful at it; meaning for the most part he was always moving and talking or humming to himself. Yelena usually needed three cups of coffee before she could handle his hyperness.
Yelena grabbed the small bowl of yeast, "Put two tablespoons of yeast in the smaller bowl with six teaspoons of sugar Katie," she announced, "After that, mix it with 6 tablespoons of warm water."
Kate nodded and followed her instructions for her bowl and the third bowl in between them.
"Now we set them in front of the stove to warm and bubble." She replied, moving the bowls to a spot next to the stovetop.
"What's next Lena?" the brunette asked, her blue eyes twinkling with the aspect of baking something new.
"In the medium bowl, we crack the eggs," she replied, grabbing two eggs off of a napkin, cracking them on the side of the glass bowl in front of her. She watched Kate repeat the action and then they both cracked an egg on the third bowl. "Good." the blonde replied, grinning at Kate. "Now we add a cup of milk, and beat them together. Carefully," she quickly added, "we want it fluffy, not like scrambled eggs," she reminded when she saw Kate quickly mixing the two together.
Kate hummed in response and slowed down slightly, "Next?" she asked.
"Add two pinches of salts and six tablespoons of sugar, and three-fourths cup of vegetable oil to the mixture and mix it together carefully. Once it's all mixed, we put in the yeast and stir it in too." She replied, adding ingredients into her bowl.
Kate nodded and carefully measured the ingredients, then dumped them into her bowl. Her brow furrowed as she concentrated on what she was doing. She flipped her hand over to the bowl, expertly pouring the ingredients into the bowl and started mixing them together. She grabbed her smaller bowl that was filled with yeast and carefully poured it into the liquidy mixture. She smiled at Yelena, who was doing the same with the third bowl.
On the other side of the kitchen, Wanda and Peter were at the same step. Peter was carefully watching Wanda, following her instructions to a tee. He was very serious when it came to baking, especially if it was something special for another person; he'd always found baking to be a science. It reminded him of chemistry and of trying to bake with Aunt May; they never really managed to make anything edible. Aunt May burned everything they ever tried to cook or bake, and he wasn't any better; he always managed to get distracted by something. The burning feeling of her absence was creating a hole in his chest, he sniffled and wiped his face with the sleeve on his arm. His first Christmas without her...no gingerbread cookies that were too hard to chew, so they had to soak them in hot chocolate. No more Christmas movie marathons on Christmas Eve where they fell asleep on the couch, no more homemade gifts that they swapped for days before the actual holiday. No more Thai dinners on Christmas night, he felt fat wet tears slipping down his cheeks as he remembered all the things he'd miss without his aunt. Wanda looked over at the brunet next to her that was strangely quiet. He was watching her mix the watery mixture together while he did the same thing. She noticed the tears sliding down his cheeks that he kept exasperatedly rubbing away with the back of his arm.
She reached over and touched his arm, "Pete, what's wrong?" she asked, her voice laced with concern.
He shook his head, sniffling, "N-nothing. I'm fine," he replied, his voice breaking as he gave her a shaky smile.
She pursed her lips, pulling his hands away from the bowl he was working with, "Peter," she called softly, "Look at me okay?"
"Wh-what?" he asked, looking up at her.
"What's wrong?" she asked, "It's not nothing if you're crying." she replied.
He sighed, a heartbroken sob escaping as he threw his arms around her. She wrapped her arms around his torso and tucked his head into the crook of her neck, running his finger through the curls at the nape of his neck periodically.
"I just...I miss her Wands." he cried, "I haven't really missed a birthday or a holiday without her before and it's hard....I-its so hard." he sobbed, "A-and I'm trying....I-I'm trying to be strong f-for everyone. I-I didn't really cry at m-my party o-or i-in Georgia. B-but I feel s-so guilty f-for being happy without h-her."
Wanda hugged him a little tighter, "I know Pete..." she whispered, "i know....its okay to feel this way. May was always around this place when you were here. She was always there for you and it's okay to feel happy without her here." she assured, continuing the action of running her finger's through his soft curls, "I know it's hard Spidey, but it's okay; everything will be okay. You don't have to be strong, you can cry. You can scream. Don't bottle it all up inside of yourself, it will only hurt worse. The first year is the hardest Pete, it always is. And I know you know that, but you have people to help you."
He nodded his head against the crook of her neck, "It's not going to be the same...." he whispered softly, "I-I know I have you guys a-and I'm happy that you're here b-but...we won't be making gingerbread cookies this year. I know you always d-do but it's not May's. They'll be perfect a-and they won't be too hard to bite into, so I won't have to s-soak them in hot ch-chocolate. We won't curl u-up on th-the couch and watch Christmas m-movies all night on Christmas E-eve and....and there won't be her homemade gifts...We w-won't get dinner from...from the T-Thai place under th-the apartment...it won't b-be the same."
"We'll create new traditions, Pete and we'll do those too if you want. Or you can do them with peanut and with Tony and the rest of your new family or j-just with peanut. We can make a batch of cookies like how you and May did and a Christmas movie marathon on Christmas Eve sounds great..." she replied softly, she ran her fingers through his curls, "I know it won't be the same. We'll talk to the others...it's okay Pete," she replied, understanding how hard it was to be without someone who used to be around every day, knowing you'd never get to see them again.
He held onto her for a few moments, finding comfort in her embrace. She truly was his big sister, it didn't matter if she wasn't his blood, she'd always be his sister. Wanda was always there with her hugs and advice if he ever needed it. She lightly carded her fingers through his hair, letting him stay in her arms as long as he wanted. She knew it'd be hard on him; May was his second mom. Even though she always said she wasn't his mother and she never could be, it was obvious to everyone who saw them that the woman had seen her nephew as the child she could never have. After a few more moments, Peter pushed back and laughed emptily.
"Sorry Wanda, we're supposed to be making Nat's breakfast and now you have tear stains on your top," he mumbled, scrubbing his red eyes.
"Don't worry about it Spidey." she replied, reaching up to lightly pat his cheek.
He nodded, "We better get back to baking, Lena's looking at us." he replied, motioning over to the blonde who was watching them as she sifted flour into the mixture.
She nodded, "We probably should." she replied, picking up a sieve and handing it to him, "Now we gradually sift and whisk eight cups of flour into it and then knead it until it's soft and elasticy."
Wanda knew he didn't like all the attention to be drawn to him when he was still emotional; she was trying her best to continue as if nothing had happened, knowing it would make him feel better in the long run.
He nodded and started following her instructions.
Fifteen minutes later, there were five large bowls on the island counter. Each bowl had a damp cloth covering it so the dough could swell in size.
"What do we do now?" Peter asked, brushing aside the concerned looks he was getting from Kate and Yelena who'd seen his upset state earlier.
"We let it sit for forty-five minutes." the blonde replied.
Peter looked at her, a mixture of horror and disappointment etched across his face, "B-but that's so longggg," he groaned.
"Too bad spider monkey," Yelena replied, shrugging. "While we wait we can cut up some fruit."
Peter nodded and grabbed a cutting board and a large knife. Wanda plucked the knife out of his hand as he passed her and replaced it with a smaller one; he glared at her, "Why'd you take my knife Wands?" he asked.
"Because you and big knives don't mix well Pete" she replied, "Use a normal knife."
"But that one's so shiny," he replied, his eyes flicking back to the large bread knife she was holding in her hand; he loved all things shiny.
She shook her head and slipped it back into the knife block, "This is a bread knife...it's not made to cut fruit anyway," she replied.
Peter nodded and grabbed the bowl of apples off of the counter and walked over to a separate area of the kitchen. He set them down and walked back over to the fridge, pulling out different fruits and setting them on the counter. He waited to cut up the apples so they didn't get the chance to brown before they could eat them at breakfast and started cutting up some kiwis. His nose scrunching at the black seeds that were getting on his fingers; he hated how they felt. Kate slipped into place next to him, grabbing another knife and started the process cutting up some grapefruit and pineapples. Kate took all the citrus fruit out of his pile, knowing that he'd start cutting them up without thinking about the consequences of his actions. She peeled some oranges and started breaking them apart, placing them in smaller fruit bowls along with the slices of grapefruit and pineapples. Wanda and Yelena left the two to cut up the fruit and set the table for the others while they mixed several tablespoons of brown sugar and four and a half tablespoons of allspice into a small bowl, for the cinnamony flavor of the plushki. Wanda heated up eight tablespoons of butter and used it to grease their nonstick pans. By the time they'd finished, Peter and Kate had finished cutting up all the fruit but the apples and set them on the table; by the time they'd finished, it was time to start shaping the plushki rolls. Each teen grabbed a bowl of dough and cut them up into twelve smaller sections, the entire kitchen island was covered in flour in order to flatten out the dough balls. Peter and Kate watched the older two girls flatten out their dough balls, they followed action and started brushing more of the melted butter onto each flattened out section of dough and filled the center of the plushka with the allspice-sugar mixture. They made sure to keep the edges of their plushka free of the filling and started rolling each flattened section into a cylinder shape. Peter watched Wanda pinch the ends together, to form a thick circle shape and followed suit. He watched her expertly take a knife and cut the center of the pastry with a knife to the edges, making sure she left a small part of the end uncut. He liked her idea of shaping the pastry and followed her example of shaping them into a heart shape. After they finished, they had sixty individual plushki buns ready for the oven before they transferred them to the baking tins. Wanda and Yelena slipped the tins into the stove, setting the timers for eighteen minutes. Wanda looked over at Peter and Kate and sighed, noticing that they were covered in flour; Kate's dark hair was now powdered white at the ends.
"What are we going to do with those two?" she asked, motioning over at the younger two teens.
Yelena shook her head, "I don't know. Let's clean up and then send them to clean up." she replied.
"Kate, Peter!" Wanda called, the two dark-haired teens turned their attention to the redhead, "Let's clean up the kitchen and then you two go upstairs and clean up. How'd you get so covered in flour?" she asked.
Peter nodded his head and started rinsing off the different dishes they'd used and placing them in the dishwasher, not bothering to answer her question.
"Pete dropped the flour bowl," the brunette girl replied, narrowing her blue eyes playfully at the younger teenager..
"Of course he did." Yelena replied, laughing at her girlfriend's expression.
The blue-eyed girl got a mischievous twinkle in her eyes, "Lena?" she called, wiggling her eyebrows at the older girls.
"Yeah Katie?" she called, wiping off the counter in front of her.
"Do you want a hug?" she asked, her eyes twinkling as she approached the blonde with her arms thrown open.
Yelena scoffed, "Usually I'd take you up on that offer Kate Bishop, but you are covered in flour. I'm already dressed." she replied, motioning to her outfit, her sweater tied around her waist.
Kate came closer, "Are you sure?" she asked.
Yelena nodded her head and dodged the brunette's attempt to grab her, "One hundred percent." she replied, sticking her tongue out at her.
Kate pouted a little.
The blonde snickered at her girlfriend, who had her bottom lip pushed out, resembling a little kid who didn't get her way, "I'll tell you what," she replied, leaning against the counter, "you get changed and I'll give you all the hugs you want."
Kate grinned at her, her dark blue eyes lighting up, "Deal." she replied.
A few minutes later, Wanda pushed the younger two teens over to the stairs to clean themselves up. After they disappeared up the stairs, Pietro slid into the kitchen, his long hair tied up in a short ponytail.
"I smell something good," he replied, taking a deep breath of the hair.
Wanda laughed at her twin, he always seemed to find his way into the kitchen when there was food being prepared, "We made plushki," she announced.
His bright blue eyes lit up, "Where?" he asked, looking around the kitchen for the pastries.
"In the oven, you can't have any till breakfast." she replied.
He groaned, "Come on witchy, just one?" he asked, tilting his head to the side.
She laughed, "Nope, if you're hungry eat this," she replied, tossing a banana to him, "they're for breakfast. We made them for Nat's birthday."
"Her birthday's not till tomorrow, today's the second," he replied, trying to get her to change her mind.
"We know that, but we have school tomorrow and everyone else is working. What kind of nieces and nephews would we be if we didn't celebrate her birthday with her? She does everything for us, we can celebrate her birthday a day early. Now get out of the kitchen." she fussed, motioning for him to leave.
He hopped up on the counter and crossed his legs as he peeled the banana his sister had thrown at him, "I think I'll stay." he announced.
Yelena spoke up, "Pietro Maximoff, if you don't get out of my kitchen you'll be joining your parents." she threatened, narrowing grey colored eyes at him.
The ash-blonde gulped and slipped off the counter, "Jeez Lena, no need to threaten me with death." he mumbled as he finished his banana.
"You always say you'll stay and not touch anything and then you eat everything." the blonde replied, her gaze cold as she stared at him. "You won't eat my sister's breakfast," she replied, threateningly waving a spatula at him.
He held his hands up, "I'm going, don't beat me over the head," he replied, sticking his tongue out at the shorter girl as he held his hands up in defeat.
The blonde glared at him before turning her attention to the redhead, "Wanda Maximoff, get your brother unless you want to become an only child." she warned.
"P go to the living room, breakfast will be served in ten minutes," she announced, rolling her green eyes at her brother.
The older boy nodded and slipped out of the room but not before making a sarcastic comment that caused Yelena to throw the spatula in her hand at the back of his head. Natasha found her way into the kitchen just as Wanda and Yelena started pulling the tins of fresh plushki out of the ovens. She walked over to the counter and placed her hands on the counter.
"What did you girls make?" she asked, "It smells good."
"Thanks Nat," Wanda replied, grinning at the older redhead.
"You're welcome Honey, now what did you two make?" she repeated.
Yelena turned around with the largest pastry in her hands, "Happy Birthday Natasha." she replied, holding it out to her, ignoring the burning feeling in her fingers.
The redhead smiled when she saw the pastry and took it from her sister, "You made plushka?" she asked.
The blonde nodded, "For your birthday." she announced, grinning at her redheaded sister.
The redhead walked around the counter and hugged her younger sister before hugging the redhead next to her, "Thank you girls."
"Kate and Peter helped." Wanda replied, "We wanted to do something special for you today since everyone will be busy tomorrow on your actual birthday."
The redhead squeezed the girls' arms, "You two are the greatest, thank you." she replied.
Peter ran downstairs, pulling a deep blue sweater down over his head, "Nat's..." he paused when he saw the redhead and sighed, "nevermind..."
"Nat's what Pete?" the redhead asked, smirking slightly at him.
"I was going to say you're coming downstairs, but you beat me to it. Did I miss it?" he asked.
"Sorry Spidey," the redheaded teen replied, "Lena already gave her one."
"Ah man." he muttered, hanging his head in disappointment.
The redhead hugged him and ruffled his fluffy curls, "Don't worry Pete, I still have a hug for you too. Thank you for helping the girls." she took another bite of the pastry, "Delicious." she replied. She paused for a second, then looked at Peter, gently gripping his chin and looking over his face. "Pete, these have cinnamon in them! How'd you help cook them without-"
"We replaced the cinnamon with allspice Tasha," her sister replied, "Peter Parker will not die today."
The younger brunette pulled away from Natasha's hands that were still in their position on his cheeks from where she started worriedly examining his face, "I won't die Lena," he replied.
"No your throat just burns then closes up and you get a red rash all over your body that turns into blisters," Wanda announced, "the only reason you don't die is because of your powers. No cinnamon for you." she replied, pointing her finger at him.
The brunet nodded, knowing that he couldn't deny the truth and it was nearly impossible to argue with either of the redheads, "Can we eat now? I'm starving." he asked, rubbing his growling stomach.
Natasha laughed, "Yes we can eat now, go tell the others; they're all in the living room."
Kate walked in from the dining room, "Happy Birthday Nat," she greeted, hugging her aunt, "actually everyone's in the dining room; Little P and I've been fighting them off from eating all the fruit."
"Thank you Ки́са," the redhead replied, wrapping her arms around the brunette, "We better get to the dining room before there is none left." (kitty in Russian)
The four teens nodded and grabbed the large bowls of plushki and walked into the dining room with Natasha trailing behind them. They set the pastries on the table and took their seats. Everyone sang happy birthday to the redhead, Tony led the group, singing extremely off key if Yelena had anything to say about it. Penny and Pietro volunteered to clean up and Morgan followed the two teens into the kitchen after breakfast to help them. Later that night, Yelena was laid across her sister's bed, playing with the hem of the duvet on her bed.
"I hope you had a good day Tasha." she remarked.
The twenty-seven year old smiled at her, "It was great Lena, thank you."
The blonde nodded, "I'm glad I found you again." she replied quietly, getting lost in her thoughts.
The redhead laid on the bed next to her, grabbing her sister's hands, "Me too Lena, I don't know what I'd do without you."
The blonde nodded, turning her head to meet her sister's lighter green eyes, "I love you Natasha." she whispered.
"I know you do Lena," the redhead replied, "I love you too. Thank you for making today a nice day."
The blonde pushed herself up from her sister's bed, "I'm going to go to my room; sorry you have to leave tomorrow."
The older woman shrugged, "It's my job, not many people do what we do. But I had a pretty good birthday today." she replied, "I'll be home before Christmas and I already told Fury that I'm going to be here for yours next month." she replied, pressing a gentle kiss against her sister's temple. It was rare Yelena accepted this much physical attention from her sibling.
"Okay.." she replied smiling, "Promise me you'll come back?" she asked.
"I always come back." the redhead replied.
Yelena threw herself at the green-eyed woman, tightly wrapping her into a hug, "I mean it." she whispered.
The redhead sighed, her sister always seemed to get like this when the redhead had to leave for more than a couple of days. This time it was two weeks, "I promise Lena, I'll be back before you know it. Now get to bed."
Yelena nodded and slowly pulled herself from her sister's embrace, "Okay...just come home okay?" she repeated.
Natasha nodded and shut the door behind the blonde, who disappeared down the hall to her room.
A month later, Kate was pulling Yelena behind her. The green-eyed teen was stumbling behind the shorter girl, who was guiding her around after she'd tied a blindfold over to her eyes. Kate held a tight grasp on her girlfriend's hand, pulling her towards the surprise she'd planned for her birthday. She let go of the blonde's hands and spun around to face her.
"Keep the blindfold on for a few more seconds Lena." she announced.
The blonde nodded, her lips pursed slightly, "Kate Bishop, where have you taken me?" she asked, surprises made her nervous, she liked to know what was coming.
"It's a surprise. You'll love it." she replied, her blue eyes twinkling, even though the blonde couldn't see them.
She pulled a black robe over her solid black dress that she'd bought specifically for the night. She tucked her messy twin braids into the robe and pulled the mask down over her face; it was slightly hard to see, but she knew the blonde would love the costume.
"Okay, pull it off!" she replied excitedly.
Yelena pulled the blindfold off and let out a surprised laugh when she saw the brunette's braids poking out from under a Ghostface mask, she was holding a plastic knife in her hand. She didn't look the least bit threatening to the blonde who was smiling largely at her.
"Surprise!" the brunette yelled.
Yelena walked over to the brunette and pulled the mask up off of her head, "Kate Bishop what is this?" she asked, looking around the movie room that was now decorated for Halloween.
"Its horror night!" she replied excitedly, but quickly wiped the expression off of her face.
The movie screen had fake blood droplets made out of fabric dripping down it; no doubt Peter helped the brunette put them up there. There was red popcorn in a couple buckets, red gummy bears-actually, all the candy was red or black. The reclining couch was leaned back with blankets and pillows covering it, along with Kate's stuffed animal that she held onto when they watched horror movies. She noticed the black lipstick on the lips of her usually perky girlfriend who looked like she was struggling to stay in whatever character she was portraying at the moment. The brunette also had a set of long twin braids, draped over each of her shoulders; she pulled off her robe, revealing a black dress that the blonde recognized immediately.
"You're Wednesday Addams?" she asked.
Her girlfriend nodded her head, "Happy Birthday Lena."
The blonde looked around the decorated theater, "You did all this for me?" she asked.
"Yep," the brunette replied, pulling the blonde over to the reclined couch. "I got all your favorites. Scream one through four, all the Chucky movies, Nightmare on Elm Street...." she paused, taking a deep breath from her rambling, "I found Nat's old Ghostface costume to surprise you and the knife is fake...obviously..." she replied pressing the tip of it down, making the plastic blade slide back into the handle, "I wanted to surprise you. I worked all afternoon on it while Nat took you to the axe throwing place. Do you like it?" she asked, spinning around, her arms spread out around her.
"I love it," she replied grinning, "thank you."
The brunette nodded and pulled her in for a quick kiss on the lips, "Great, go put on your costume." she replied, pulling her robe back on.
The blonde laughed and grabbed a matching robe that was draped over the side of the couch and tugged it down over her olive green dress from Penny at Christmas. She pulled her hair out over the robe and let it hang a little past her shoulders before slipping her combat boots off and slipping into place next to her girlfriend. The brunette scooted closer to her, tucking herself under the blonde's arm. She wrapped her arm around the blonde's waist and pressed play on the first movie, it was the first Chucky movie, Natasha's favorite out of the franchise. She pulled Kate closer to her and lifted her head slightly and pressed a slow, gentle kiss against the brunette's lips. A deep blush settled against the girl's cheeks; Yelena smirked, proud of herself before snuggling closer to the brunette, who was wrapped around her.
"Nat said we can stay up all night since we're still on break," the brunette whispered, pressing her face against the blonde's chest.
Yelena nodded, her fingers finding the shorter strands that managed to fall out of the brunette's braids. She started twisting one of them around her index finger, "Perfect." she replied.
"Do you really like it?" the brunette asked, "I know it's not what I usually do, but I wanted to do something different this year as your girlfriend."
The blonde grinned, "I love this; we're watching all my favorite movies with my favorite food and I'm with you. Yeah it's not some giant celebration, celebrating my existence, but you put a lot of thought into it and it's perfect." she replied, looking at Peter's webs that were hanging from the ceiling, "It's very me." she whispered.
"You know, people are going to think you're a year older than me now," she whispered.
Yelena laughed, "You'll have to deal with that till next month." she replied.
Kate nodded, "I love you Yelena Belova." she replied, sitting up to look the blonde in the eyes.
Yelena sat up too, both of her hands finding their way to the brunette's cheeks, she pulled her in for another kiss. Their lips met once again and time felt like it slowed like it did the first time they kissed. Yelena could feel the electricity running through her body as Kate's hands found their way into her hair. The older of the two pulled back, smiling softly.
"I love you too, Kate Bishop." she replied, pulling the brunette back down to where she was laying next to her.
"I can't believe you're seventeen," the brunette whispered after a while.
Yelena laughed lightly at her girlfriend's revelation.
"We're getting old." she announced, laughing slightly.
The blonde snorted, "I'm not old," she replied, her brow furrowing.
"We are though..." the brunette whispered, "in August we'll be juniors in highschool. The only reason we're not juniors with P and Wanda is because our birthdays are after August twelfth but before March tenth. We could graduate next year if we wanted to..." she replied, nestling against the green-eyed teen's side.
"I suppose," the blonde replied as she nodded along to the brunette's words, the movie that was now playing was just background noise at the moment, "I can't wait for our future." she announced, tightening the hug she had on the blue-eyed teenager, "I know that I'll always love you, that's something that will never change. We're going to graduate together then move together to a dorm room at NYU like we've planned. We'll go on missions with the others, have big parties with Tony, we'll have Lucky and I'll get my dog."
The brunette sat up, "Oh! I got you something else," she announced, leaning over and pulling something out from a box next to her that was half-hidden under a blanket at Yelena's mentioning her own dog.
She turned around holding a small, fluffy, white and tan puppy in her hands.
"Surprise! It was my dad's idea." the brunette announced, her eyes twinkling.
Yelena's eyes lit up, "You got me a dog?!" she yelled as Kate handed the puppy to her.
Kate nodded her head, "Yeah...." she replied quietly with a small shrug of her shoulders, "you love Lucky and you're always talking about wanting an Akita and how it's the best dog breed there is. Nat and Tony said it was fine, you just need to take care of her." she replied.
"She's adorable," the blonde replied, pressing her face into the puppy's soft fur.
Kate's large, happy smile grew, "Glad you like her. What are you going to name her?" she asked, tilting her head to the side.
"Fanny." the blonde replied, "Its one of Tasha's aliases, that way when she's not here she is here."
The brunette nodded and picked up one of the puppy's paws, "Hi Fanny," she replied, waving the paw up and down at herself.
"I can't believe you got me a dog, Kate Bishop," the blonde replied, holding the puppy close to her chest while pulling her girlfriend under her arm.
Kate laughed, "I told you this morning I had a few surprises up my sleeves." the brunette replied, a large smile spread across her face, "You just never believed me.".
"You are the best woman in the world Katie," she replied, kissing the girl's forehead..
Kate laughed, "Thanks, Happy birthday Lena." she replied, hugging her girlfriend.
Yelena smiled a little bigger as they turned their attention to the movie screen in front of them; the strawberry-blonde on the screen was running away from the Ghostface who was chasing her. Fanny was curled up on Yelena's left arm, the young pup's head resting across it as it slept. Kate had scooted down into the covers, her head resting against the blonde's chest with one arm draped across her abdomen. Yelena was twisting a stray strand of dark hair that escaped the brunette's braid around her index finger once again. It wasn't till four the following morning when the two girls fell asleep.
A month later, Pietro threw the door open to his sister's room and sped over to her bed. He jumped down on the bed like a little boy making her wake up. She groaned and threw an energy blast at him, which he dodged before it collided with her bedroom wall. He let out a shocked sound, even though he knew his sister would have the reaction she did. He adjusted his t-shirt and started shaking her awake.
"Come on witchy, today's a special day," he announced, pulling her covers off.
"Pietro Django Maximoff, it's five in the morning." the younger girl replied, smacking his hand away.
"Come on witch," the boy announced, pulling her out of the bed; he looked at the timer on his phone screen, "In five....four...three...two...aaannnnddd one." he announced, the alarm went off on his phone and he picked his sister up in a hug, "We are now eighteen!!!" he announced loudly.
She patted his back lightly, "Good, now put me down please." she replied, yawning sleepily.
He shook his head, spinning around with her still in his arms, "No can do little witch, we're celebrating," he announced.
"Pietro, we have school and I'm still in my pajamas."
"School smool," the older teen replied.
"We still need to go," she replied, laughing tiredly; it was too early for this and she needed her coffee.
"You know I'm twelve minutes older than you," he replied, "you shou-"
"If you tell me to respect my elders Pietro, I'll let Lena throw you out the window, birthday boy or not." the redhead replied, cutting her twin off.
He laughed and quickly set his sister back on her feet, "So grouchy for being the birthday girl witchy," he teased.
She rolled her eyes, "You pulled me out of bed after jumping on me," she shot back, pulling a shirt out of her closet.
"It's tradition," he replied.
"A tradition that will cause you to end up in an early grave." she replied, glaring at him, the topaz flecks in her eyes almost glowing.
He shrugged, "You know you love me."
"Do I?" she asked.
He squawked in indigence, "Yes you do dear sister," he replied, kissing her cheek sloppily.
She sighed and wiped her cheek off, "You're lucky I love you." she replied
He grinned, "I know..."
"Not go so I can change, I'll see you downstairs." she replied, attempting to push him towards her bedroom door that was wide open.
He nodded and gave her a mock salute, "Yes ma'am," he replied.
Wanda rolled her eyes at her twin as he closed the door behind himself, she pulled her long-sleeved nightgown off over her head and started pulling on her clothes. A few moments later, she was looking at herself in the mirror as she tugged on a pair of black platform combat boots. She adjusted the silver butterfly clasp on the black tie she was wearing; she decided on leaving it out from the red and black plaid vest that went with it. She latched the delicate butterfly necklace from her mother around her neck, not caring that it was covered up by the collar of her blouse, she always wore the necklace on her birthday. She pushed her red-orange hair back with a deep red headband and slung her backpack over her shoulder as she went downstairs. When she reached the kitchen where Nat and Pepper were making them breakfast, as they always did; Peter ran over and hugged her Penny soon followed.
"Happy Birthday Wands," they greeted in unison.
"Thanks Pete, thank you peanut," she replied, wrapping her arms around the both of them, "you guys are up early." she announced.
Yelena glared at the ash blond who was walking down the stairs, "Your brother woke everyone else up early. Broke my morning peace." she grumbled, "but happy birthday Wanda."
"Thank's Lena," she replied, giving the green-eyed teenager an apologetic smile, "I'm sorry about Pietro, he's just excited." she replied.
Once the said teen reached the kitchen he held his arms up in the air, "The birthday king has arrived." he announced.
He had a small sparkly tiara on the top of his head, his hair that was now a decent bit longer than Peter's was falling in waves by his ears, almost reaching his jawline. His black jeans and blue and silver shirt matched the sparkly silver tiara on the top of his head. Wanda rolled her eyes at her brother's dramatics, he always went all out on his birthday, no doubt he'd be a complete diva for his eighteenth birthday.
Morgan ran over to him and jumped up into his arms, "You wore it!" she announced.
"Of course I did Miss Stark," he replied, balancing her on his hip as he touched her nose with his index finger.
Yelena snorted when she realized that the eighteen year old was wearing a kid's princess tiara, "The birthday king is wearing a princess tiara," she replied sarcastically.
He stuck his tongue out at her, "It was a gift, a king always wears his gifts." he announced, sitting at the counter with Morgan on his knee.
Natasha laughed, "Your breakfast birthday king," she replied, placing a plate of chocolate and blueberry muffins in front of him, "There's yogurt in the fridge if you kids want any."
"Wanda!" Morgan called, when she realized the redhead was next to them.
The redhead turned her attention to the eight year old, "What is it bubs?" she asked, twisting a brown pigtail around her fingers.
"I have something for you too," she announced.
Wanda smiled sweetly at the little girl, "What is it?" she asked.
The eight year old held out a tiara shaped pin that said birthday girl on it, "Its a pin." she announced
Wanda took it from the eight year old, pinning it onto the lapel of her black blazer, "Thank you bubs, what do you think?" she asked, moving the lapel of her jacket slightly so the younger girl could see it.
"Pretty." she replied, grinning at her.
Wanda smiled at her, "It's very pretty thank you."
The eight year old beamed at her, "You're welcome. Mommy said you wouldn't want a big one, so I got a little one."
"She did?" the redhead asked, looking up at the woman and mouthed a thank you to her; she wasn't one for drawing attention to herself.
The woman nodded and mouthed back you're welcome.
The girl nodded her head, "Uh huh, but she said Pitro was a diva and he'd like a big one." she replied giggling.
Wanda laughed at Morgan calling her twin a diva, "She's right." she agreed.
Pietro cut his twin a look, "This is blasphemy," he replied, with his mouth full of blueberry muffin, "Complete blasphemy little witch."
Steve walked down stairs holding a group of large balloons in each hand, "Where's the birthday twins?" he asked.
Pietro set Morgan down temporarily on his stool and went over to his dad, "The birthday king is right here old man," he announced.
Steve chuckled, "Birthday king?" he asked, raising an eyebrow as he handed his son a bundle of balloons.
"Yup." the teen replied, eyeing the large silver one and eight balloons along with three that said happy birthday on them.
"Hi dad," Wanda greeted, hugging her father, "good morning."
"Good morning, jellybean," he greeted, handing her own balloons that were gold and red.
"What are you doing down here?" she asked, knowing that usually at this time he was upstairs getting ready for his day at the SHIELD office.
"Wanted to see my kids before they head off to school on their birthday. Not everyday you turn eighteen," he replied.
Wanda hummed in agreement.
"Well thank you my royal subject," Pietro announced dramatically as he spread his arms out in the air.
Wanda rolled her eyes at him, "Ignore him dad, Morgan gave him a tiara for his birthday and now he thinks he's a king."
"Noted, happy birthday jellybean," he replied, kissing her cheek.
"Thank you." she replied, smiling at him.
"What about me?" Pietro asked, needing more attention.
The blond man laughed, "Happy birthday son," he replied.
Steve stayed downstairs with the group for a few more moments before going to SHIELD for work. Pepper and Natasha insisted on taking a few photos of the two of them. The two agreed and at one point Pietro grabbed his sister, balancing her on his back while she wrapped her arms around his neck. It was a last-minute decision for the older twin, he saw his sister was distracted and grabbed her before she could move away from him. His lightning quick reflexes came in handy during the times he wanted to catch his twin off guard. After a few moments, she'd given up on convincing him to put her down, so she wrapped her arms around his neck like she was hugging him. After the picture was taken, she made sure to squeeze him extra hard, making him set her down so she could flick his ear. He rubbed his now red ear and cut her a look that caused her to return a smug grin. Wanda used her powers to teleport their balloons back to their respective rooms, causing Pietro to grumble about how he wanted to take them to school with him. She rolled her eyes at her brother and ignored his protests, before handing him his birthday gift-a simple strand of brown and white beads. He grinned when he saw them, quickly putting them around his neck; they were similar to a set that he'd had in Sokovia.
"Where did you find these witchy?" he asked,
She laughed, "That's my secret." she replied, "Do you like them?" she asked.
He nodded, "I like anything you give me," he replied, "but I really like this one."
She grinned, "Good to hear."
He pulled out a small box from his jacket pocket, "Your turn little sister." he replied, holding it out to her as he dramatically bowed in front of her.
She rolled her eyes at her brother's antics as she plucked the box out of his hand, but nevertheless, she opened the box. She pulled out the different rings, "You found them?!" she asked, hugging him tightly, a grin on her face.
"Yes, they aren't the same ones but they are the same design."
She slipped on the greek rings, "They're perfect, I love them," she replied, the topaz flecks in her green eyes twinkling.
He grinned proudly, flashing her a large smile, "I found them online, last ones like them," he replied.
"Sometimes you are good for something." she teased.
He laughed, "I'm always good for something little witch," he replied, "you just never care to notice."
She pursed her lips, "Maybe." she replied, "Thank you, they're beautiful. I'd never thought I'd see them again."
"What is it you always say? Great minds think alike?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at her.
She nodded.
He tapped the side of his head, "Great minds," he repeated, grinning.
She laughed at him, "Fine, great minds think alike." she agreed.
He continued to grin at her, "You know it, now let's goooo," he announced, "my subjects are waiting."
"If you're the birthday king am I the queen?" she asked, teasing him.
"Yep, sorry my queen." he replied, bowing next to her dramatically.
She rolled her eyes at her brother, "You're ridiculous." she replied.
"I'm amazing," he corrected.