The few hours-long walk through the Russian moors was rather uneventful. Alexei managed to annoy everyone at least a dozen times by somehow finding a way to make everything about himself. Katya had known him for a few hours but the man seemed to have unique talent to wake up the more violent side of her.
After marveling at Natasha and Yelena's ledgers that were oozing red, he tried to pull her into the forced hug too, while also calling the girl his vnuchka, much to Romanoff's displeasure. She wanted the girl to have nothing to do with the man, him being the only reason she regretted taking Katya along for now. After getting herself free from his grasp, Natasha intended to help her get away too, yet as independent as Katya recently was, she didn't need her help. One squeeze at the recently crushed hand was enough to make Alexei let her go of her willingly and as it turned out, to keep him at arm's length for the rest of the journey.
But since he gave up on befriending the younger Romanoff, Shostakov had to find something else to occupy himself with. This time he settled on Captain America.
Once again, much to Yelena's relief, Katya came to their aid with some quick math and asked how could it be possible for Alexei to fight Captain America if he was already locked up by the time Rogers got out of the ice. Pointing out that inconsistency, together with Shostakov's uncertainty about the girl worked well enough to earn her, Natasha, and Yelena well deserved moment of silence, while the man seemed to contemplate his whole existence.
By the time they could see a silhouette of some buildings between the overgrown heather bushes and trees, Katya came to a few conclusions.
First, she didn't dislike Alexei. She loathed him.
Second, she would sell her soul for some of the banana peanut butter cookies Laura often made.
Third, Shostakov was scared of her, good riddance.
Fourth, Yelena's vast knowledge of dad jokes was disturbing but at least made the time go faster.
Fifth, Katya had enough of heather for the rest of her life, and purple wasn't her favorite color anymore.
Sixth, Natasha stopping to observe a pair of deer grazing in the distance was probably the last thing she expected that day.
Soon they reached a chainlink fence with coils of barbed wire on top. A woman stood behind it, her dark eyes scanning them hesitantly, a rifle with a suppressor attached still clutched in her hands and held across her body. Alexei was the closest so he was the first one she looked at. Then her eyes shifted to the back, at Yelena, who looked away quickly. Katya stepped closer to Natasha, and it was her movement that made Melina look in their direction. She focused on the redhead first, tilting her head so gently it was barely noticeable. And finally, she glanced at Katya.
The uncertainty on her face deepened for a moment and then began to be pushed away by something on the verge between relief and disbelief. The girl still had no idea why, but she seemed so familiar. She held Melina's gaze for a moment, hoping for a sudden flash of realization, but nothing like that happened. The woman looked away first, and once again peered at the whole group.
It was like passing someone on the street and feeling like you know them. You look at them, they look at you, but no one says hi, unsure if that's really the person you're thinking about. The only difference was that Katya had no idea who could she even be thinking about.
"Honey, we're home."
And just like that, Melina's expression shifted to a completely bland one, maybe with a pinch of irritation. Younger Romanoff could swear she noticed her roll her eyes ever so subtly.
"And..." Alexei came closer to the fence at pointed at Katya with his extended arm. "We're grandparents."
"Oh, for god's sake," Yelena muttered and pinched the bridge of her nose.
Melina walked through the gate without any reaction to Shostakov's words, aside from glancing at the girl over her shoulder one more time and then at Natasha for a split second. Katya noticed a slight frown but wasn't sure whether it was a result of some thoughts or if it was simply her usual expression.
Treating Melina's silence as an invitation, Alexei started following her down the uneven path to the main house. Natasha hooked her arm around Katya's back and pulled her closer in a half-hug as they walked a few steps behind the man. She stroked her daughter's arm, offering a bit of comfort in that rather awkward situation.
The girl shifted her gaze from the building up front to Romanoff's face when she felt her gaze on herself. Natasha was looking down at her, one corner of her lips turned slightly upwards in a tired, yet reassuring smile, that didn't quite reach her eyes. She stroked her daughter's arm and brought a weak smile to Katya's face as well.
"Welcome to my humble abode," Melina announced when one by one they stepped inside. "Make yourself at home, let's have a drink."
While Yelena stayed behind and Alexei immediately went to the living room, acting like he was searching for something, Natasha remained close to their temporary host, with Katya glued to her side. In comparison to how freely she acted in Budapest, this seemed unlike her.
"Hey, no funny business," Romanoff warned when she noticed that the pantry was a cover for an armory.
"I'm putting away my weapon." Melina clarified. "Besides, if I had something planned, I would've asked you to leave her outside." she nodded at Katya.
Natasha's and the girl's hands brushed when the child stepped even closer. She glanced at her, but aside from suddenly becoming her shadow, she didn't notice anything out of the ordinary about her daughter. Katya was looking around the kitchen with her usual curiosity, watching the sun rays play on her outstretched fingers. She closed her hand into a fist when Melina approached them.
"What's your name, detka?" her expression softened a bit.
"Katya," the girl replied, meeting the woman's eyes. Natasha nudged her side. "Romanoff," she added quickly, making Melina's gaze shift to Natasha.
"So Alexei wasn't joking about that grandparent's thing?"
The redhead scoffed. "You'd have to be a mother first to be a grandmother."
"But I raised you, doesn't that make me someone?" Melina arched an eyebrow.
"You didn't raise us, at all."
"Well, maybe so. But if you got soft, it wasn't on my watch." the woman admitted and looked back to the girl, extending a hand to her. "It's nice to meet you, Katya. I'm Melina."
The younger Romanoff smiled and shook her hand, keeping her thoughts about the woman being so familiar to herself, even though the urge to say she already knew her name and see if that would get her any hints, was strong.
The first time Katya stopped clinging to Natasha, was when Melina suggested a dinner, the idea most likely born out of the loud rumbling from the girl's stomach that filled the awkward silence. Soon she was put to work consisting of carrying bowls and containers full of food to the living room table, where a rather confused Yelena was waiting. Natasha tried to get out of helping, not a big fan of the idea of reconnecting but Melina putting a stack of plates on her hand, with a handful of cutlery on top, threatening to fall any second, ruined her plans. The host herself followed behind them, with glasses and a bottle of vodka. Before joining the rest at the table, she went back to the kitchen once again and returned with a jar of strawberry kompot.
"Let's drink." Melina decided when another wave of Alexei's grunts and disturbing moans came from the bathroom. "Do you like it?" she glanced at Katya while filling Yelena's glass and noticing how the girl eyed the jar doubtfully.
"I don't know." the girl shrugged. "I've never seen something like that."
The bottle was set back on the table with a thud, as Melina turned to Natasha with a purposely overexaggerated offense on her face. "Are you telling me your twelve-year-old daughter never had or even seen kompot before? What example are you giving her? Are we Russian or not?"
Natasha reached for the abandoned vodka with a roll of her eyes, while Melina opened the jar with a click. She took Katya's glass and filled it halfway, few drops of the sweet liquid fell on the table. The girl sniffed it first and then took a sip.
She wanted to say she liked it but at the same time, Alexei stepped out of the bathroom, taking Katya off guard and making her start coughing. She swayed her hand at Natasha when she patted her on the back to let her mom know she was okay and pointed at Shostakov.
The man, completely unbothered, stood in the hallway with one of his hands resting on the doorway, red material stretching dangerously. "Still fits."
Melina whistled and clapped. Yelena seemed close to banging her head on the table. Natasha muttered something under her breath and Katya took another sip of the murderous drink, just to occupy herself with something.
"Family." Alexei sat at the head of the table. "Back together again."
"Seeing as our family construct was just a calculated ruse that only lasted three years, I don't think that we can use this term anymore, can we?" Melina observed.
"Agreed so here's what's gonna happen..."
Shostakov cut Natasha off. "Okay, a reunion, then."
"Here, detka, eat." the oldest woman pushed a container with some kind of salad toward Katya.
"I want to say something right off the bat." Alexei reached across the table. "You haven't aged a day, huh? You're just as beautiful and supple as the day they staged our marriage.
Yelena threw back a shot of vodka. Natasha followed suit, after smacking Katya's hand away from the glass.
"You got fat," Melina noted. "But still good."
"I just got out of prison. I've... I have a lot of energy,"
"There's a child at this table in case you've forgotten." Romanoff chimed in with a disgusted grimace.
"Natasha, don't slouch." Melina reprimanded.
"What? I'm not slouching."
"Yes, yes, you are." she gestured at Katya. "Again, what example are you giving her?"
"I don't slouch." Natasha glanced at the girl on her right. "Why are you laughing? Don't."
"You're gonna get the back hunch and she knows I'm right." Melina pointed at the younger Romanoff with her fork.
"Listen to your mother." Alexei patted Natasha on her shoulder. "Up, up."
"Alright, enough all of you." the read head ordered. Katya quickly looked away, once again occupying herself with her drink.
"I didn't even say anything." Yelena protested. "That's not fair. I don't want any food." she glanced at Melina.
"Eat little something, Yelena, for god's sake."
"You're going to tell us the location of the Red Room." Natasha protested.
"What? I want them to follow their dreams." Alexei insisted after the short anecdote about Santa Claus. "Reach for the stars, girls. You, too." he pointed at Katya who looked away with a frown.
"Finding Dreykov is not a fantasy. It's unfinished business."
"You can't defeat a man who commands the very will of others. You never saw the culmination of what we started in America." Melina stood up and came back a moment later with a tablet in her hands. "Come in."
The door swung open and the sound of hooves knocking against the wooden floorboards filled the room when a pig entered. "Did that pig just open the door?" Natasha made sure.
"Yes, it did." Melina nodded. "Good boy, Alexei."
Katya snorted and Natasha kicked her under the table.
"You named a pig after me?" Shostakov glanced up from the animal.
"You don't see the resemblance?"
"I do," Katya muttered, covering her mouth with her face to muffle the sound. Natasha kicked her once again, but this time there was a tug on the corner of her lips.
"We infiltrated the North Institute in Ohio," Melina explained. "It was a front for S.H.I.E.L.D scientists. Actually, it was Hydra scientists at the time. In conjunction with the Winter Soldier program, they had dissected and deconstructed a human brain..."
Katya's brows furrowed slightly and she looked at Natasha when hearing the familiar name. Romanoff shook her head ever so slightly, but the movement was enough to catch Yelena's attention and make her eyes shift to them.
"...to create the first and only cellular blueprint of the basal ganglia." Melina continued. "The hub for cognition, voluntary motor movement, procedural learning. We didn't steal weaponry or technology. We stole the key to unlocking free will."
"Is he alright?" Katya asked, leaning over the table, when Alexei the pig faltered and then fell on his side.
"Yes, yes, don't worry, detka. He can survive eleven more seconds without oxygen." Melina assured.
"You've proved your point, that's enough." Natasha decided, noticing the worry on the girl's face.
With a few taps on the tablet, the pig was soon back on its feet and leaving through the door, encouraged by Melina to go back outside. "The world functions on a higher level when it is controlled. Dreykov has chemically subjugated agents planted around the globe."
"And do you know who they test it on?" Yelena asked, her voice tense.
"No. That's not my department."
The heated exchange of opinions between Melina and Alexei that followed was cut short by Natasha. "Shut up! You are an idiot." First she addressed the man, "And you are a coward." she turned to the woman. "You're a coward. And our family was never real so there's nothing to hold onto. We're moving on."
In the meantime Katya looked at Yelena, sitting opposite her. Her lower lip was trembling, eyes glistening, avoiding any contact. The girl nudged her leg underneath the table. She smiled at her, trying to reassure her, make her feel at least a little bit better, just like Mama usually did for her. But Yelena looked away almost immediately with a subtle shake of her head.
"I think for a couple of deep undercover Russian agents, I think we did pretty great as parents." Alexei assessed.
"Yes, we had our orders, and we played our roles to perfection." Melina agreed.
Katya didn't know much about that whole 'mission'. She and Natasha only talked about it a few times and when they did, it was mostly about Yelena. But she knew that they were both younger than Katya was now. And she started to wonder if between all that perfection, roles, and orders, did anyone bother to think about another huge part of it all? These two, helpless, innocent girls. What about them? Katya had a feeling that all that perfection only made it worse and caused it to hurt more. Yelena was too young to understand it, to realize that something was wrong, with the play that seemed so perfect. So perfect, that even Natasha who wasn't as new to this, who knew what was going to happen sooner or later, found hope. So perfect, they managed to fool her, only to later rip it all away.
"Who cares? That wasn't real." Romanoff's voice brought Katya back to reality.
"What?" Yelena looked at her with disbelief.
"That wasn't real, who cares?"
"Don't say that." the shakiness in Belova's voice made Natasha stop. "Please don't say that. It was real. It was real to me. You were my mother. You were my real mother." her voice cracked, as she mentioned Melina, with tears pooling in the corners of her eyes. "The closest thing I ever had to one. The best part of my life was fake. And none of you told me."
With the growing tension in the room, Katya let her eyes fall, focusing on the almost empty plate in front of her but she didn't dare to move anymore. She wasn't a part of this, this wasn't her story. While feeling sorry for Yelena, she also felt like an intruder.
"And those agents you chemically subjugated around the globe? That was me." she pointed to herself before turning to Natasha. "And you? You got out. Dreykov made sure no one could escape since you also stole his toy from him. Are you gonna say anything?" Yelena swallowed and scoffed when Natasha kept quiet. "Yeah, you know, I've been wondering... From all the girls there, why her? Cause I'm assuming she couldn't have been easy to get out with all her arsenal."
Katya glanced to the side, only enough to see Natasha's face. She was also looking down, her jaw tense. The girl didn't want to look Yelena in the eyes. Even if part of her understand the grudge, it hurt anyway.
"Shut up," Romanoff said, her voice so low it was almost a growl. Melina let out a surprised noise. Alexei's suit creaked when he moved on his chair. Natasha didn't look up immediately. She jutted her jaw, exhaled, and then slowly raised her eyes. "Leave her out of this."
"But why, Natasha?" Yelena kept pushing. "What makes her so special?"
"It's none of your business." Romanoff seethed.
"Why can't you just answer?"
"She was just a little kid..."
"So was I!" Belova scoffed. "There are and were hundreds of little girls there. And I was one of them too!l" She moved on her chair, lifting herself up slightly so she could lean over the table and get closer to Romanoff. "Why her, Natasha?"
She shook her head and tried to move away but Yelena caught her by the arm. Alexei moved, ready to intervene but Melina raised her hand, gesturing to stay out of it.
"Why her, why not me?!"
"I had to, okay?!" Natasha snapped, pulling her hand away from the blonde's grasp. "I made a promise, I..." she pressed a closed fist to her mouth, biting down on one of the knuckles, trying to keep the rest of her composure.
Yelena huffed, shaking her head slowly as she plopped down on her chair. "A promise to who? Who was so important that you left me behind but went on and played a superhero house with her?"
Natasha never answered nor ever again did she meet the hazel eyes with grievance spilling out of them. A hush fell over the room, only to be quickly interrupted by the sound of a chair scraping the floor. Katya stood up and started to push behind Natasha's chair, trying to get out of the room, ignoring her mom's attempts to catch her hand and make her stop. Yelena used the shift in Romanoff's focus to get up too. She grabbed the almost empty vodka bottle and disappeared into the room on the other side, closing the door behind herself. Katya went outside and Natasha rushed after her, managing to catch the door before it even closed after the girl.
as promised, extra chapter for 10k! i can't thank you all enough ❤️