Upstate New York, USA
Summer 2015
When Nadine had seen Nina push her way into the common area, she'd known something was up. It had been a feeling deep in her gut more than anything else, really. But it had been written all over Nina too.
It was written in the nearly cautious way she'd approached. In the anxious, thoughtful way her eyes had flicked from Nadine to Natasha and back. The way she'd absently picked at her nails. It was written in the tense set of her daughter's mouth and how she shifted her weight as she'd asked Nadine if they could talk and in the nearly undetectable waver to the words.
It was visible in the unconscious plea not to go in her expression when Nat had offered to give them some privacy. Though Nina had nodded mutely, Natasha had obviously taken note of the unspoken reaction too; she lingered on the far side of the common area, more than far enough away not to overhear, but close enough that her presence was comforting.
To both Nina and Nadine.
After all, the instant Nina had entered the common area visibly nervous as she had, it had woken an anxious anticipation of her own to flutter uncomfortably in Nadine's stomach. But Nadine ignored the feeling, giving her daughter an encouraging smile and an assurance that of course they could talk.
Now, the two of them sitting side by side on the red couches Nina had led them to, Nadine was just waiting for Nina to start. Her hesitation wasn't exactly helping Nadine's curiosity or her concern, but she ignored that too.
As Nadine knew from experience, patience was the key. Especially with Nina. And, before long, Nina was drawing a bracing breath, resolve lighting in her eyes as she looked up to Nadine.
"Mom, I—" she hesitated, reluctance and uncertainty suddenly written plainly on her face, and Nadine suddenly knew what was coming. The apprehension? The nervous reluctance? Could Nina finally be ready to open up? Part of her quailed at the idea, of learning what was really bothering her daughter, about what Nina had been working so hard to keep from Nadine. About what Nadine was beginning to suspect Natasha knew more about than she was letting on. The distance that had grown between them, imperceptible as it seemed at times, from whatever Nina was keeping from Nadine and the secrets being kept from her had been weighing heavily on the blonde assassin just as she knew they had been wearing on her daughter. But at the same time, she was almost...afraid to know what it was Nina had been so reluctant to share.
So as much as she wanted to prompt her when Nina faltered, Nadine held her silence, forcing herself to be patient despite her own growing nerves. Could they finally be on the verge of truly getting back to the place they had been before Prague?
Nina looked up to Nadine from her tightly clasped fingers before taking a deep bracing breath. Nadine froze, fighting to keep her anticipation from her own features.
"Mom, I—The real reason I wanted, or...well...I thought I needed to learn about being an Avenger...why, umm...it's that Strucker..." she faltered again, growing flustered as, thanks to her her nerves, her mouth couldn't quite seem to keep up with her thoughts. Her gaze dropped to her hands, drawing Nadine's attention to her bitten nails; her heart clenched at the visible sign of just how anxious Nina was about this. It wasn't surprising she couldn't quite manage to get it out.
But Nadine had gotten the gist regardless. Her stomach dropped even as understanding sparked with vibrant clarity in her brain.
"You thought you needed to because you're Enhanced," Nadine finally finished softly at the miserable, frustrated look that had appeared on her daughter's face. Nina's wide-eyed gaze snapped to Nadine, shock and apprehension overwhelming her frustration instantly.
"You know?" Nadine could only nod, her throat closing at the way Nina's voice trembled. How could she not?
It was her fault, after all.
"How long?" The question was little more than a whisper, her nervous uncertainty reasserting itself in Nina's blue-grey eyes; more blue than grey today, Nadine noticed absently. Nadine reached forward to untangle her daughter's white-knuckled fingers, clasping them in her own.
"Longer than I've wanted to admit," she said honestly. Nina let out a soft, huffing breath of disbelief before her whole frame was once again tensing. She glanced tentatively up her Nadine, her apprehension even more noticeable than before.
"And you...you're not...upset?" Nadine couldn't breathe at how hard Nina was trying to restrain the hope that made its way into her voice, the blonde assassin needing a great deal of self-control to keep the sob that tried to rise in her chest from escaping. Without hesitation, Nadine gathered her daughter into her arms.
"Oh, solnyshko," Nadine breathed, her own voice wavering with emotion. She weighed her next words carefully. "I'm...I'm upset that you had to go through what you did. But about you being Enhanced?" She pulled back then, turning Nina's face to look at her. "I don't care about that." And she meant it. She might not be happy about her own Enhancement, or the fact that she passed some of it onto Nina, but there was no way in hell that that would change how she felt about her daughter. Why should it? Nina was still Nina and Nina was still her little girl, her little sun, her everything. Enhanced or not. Besides, why should she mind? Nina had been born Enhanced whether Nadine liked it or not, no matter that she had tried to deny it for as long as she had. It meant nothing had changed. Not really.
The only difference was that Nina knew now.
Relief, almost painfully intense, began to overtake Nina's features as Nadine's assurance sank in. Relief profound enough that Nadine felt her own eyes begin to grow damp as Nina sagged back against her, letting out a ragged breath as she burrowed deeper into Nadine's arms. Nadine just held her tighter, humming softly as Nina began to tremble at the sudden absence of the anxiety that had obviously been building for weeks.
After a long moment, Nina sniffed, blinking furiously as she pulled away. But then a faint frown appeared on her face, her large eyes questioning as she looked back to Nadine.
"But I thought you wanted me to be...normal," she said, her voice small as her uncertainty began to creep back onto her features. Nadine's chest cramped at how nearly miserable she sounded even after Nadine's assurance.
"I wanted you to be happy," Nadine insisted before sighing, her own gaze dropping as she gathered her thoughts. "I...Nina, my...my experience with being Enhanced? It was never a good thing," she finally admitted. Because that was what was truly at the heart of it. It wasn't even so much that she wanted to protect Nina from the world of Enhancements and Spies and Avengers. It was that she wanted to protect Nina from the kind of life she'd had. From the part of their world she'd known.
Nadine cleared her throat, looking back up to her daughter. Sympathy and a tentative flicker of understanding had bloomed on Nina's face at Nadine's confession. Nadine inhaled deeply, a trace of a grin beginning to tug at her lips. "But now that I've been here? Now that I've worked with the Avengers? Seen another side of this world? Having my sister back...having...having friends?" Of its own accord, a smile was spreading across Nadine's face as she met Nina's eye. She clasped her daughter's hands tightly in her own. "I'm starting to see that...that maybe it's not always so bad being Enhanced. It's even...special." Nina's face suddenly split into a grin, the relief from before renewing and giving way to her much more welcome sunny happiness as she threw her arms around Nadine again.
"I think it is too," she agreed softly. The sound that escaped Nadine at the comment was somewhere between a relieved sob and a laugh. And just then, Nadine couldn't really care less.
It was several long moments before either of them spoke again, but when Nina broke the comfortable silence that had grown between them, she didn't pull away as Nadine had anticipated.
"I—I think...Mom, I think I understand part of what you were trying to do when you didn't tell me about...about all of this." Nadine struggled to keep her breath from hitching in relief as Nina hesitated again, finally pulling out of her mom's embrace to gesture loosely around to the Compound in general. "About how you wanted me to have a chance to be...normal." It wasn't quite what Nadine had expected to come up when Nina had approached her.
Although, honestly? Nadine hadn't been sure what she even suspected anymore. So in a way, she also wasn't surprised. Especially not after the way Nina had opened with her own measure of Enhancement.
In those early days, when Nina had all but refused to talk to Nadine, she'd thought it likely lingering ill-feeling toward her for her secrets. Or perhaps persisting fears or something else to do with her experiences in Sokovia, be it her captivity at either Ultron or Strucker's hands or the arguably near-death experience she'd had with the Quinjet. Flashbacks or the like. For a time, she'd wondered if it was to do with Nina's feelings for the Twins, be it her near immediate friendship with them both or her growing relationship with Pietro.
Nadine had even considered that she'd been grieving for the life she'd had before all of this.
Really, it was probably a combination of everything she'd considered and more over any one aspect.
And in retrospect, she should have considered that the Enhancement she'd passed to Nina would've bothered her too. She'd barely spoken of it that day save in passing to explain why Strucker had wanted Nina, and even then, she hadn't exactly said explicitly that Nina was technically Enhanced herself. Obviously, she should've considered that Nina would've picked up on that and put two and two together, and she was well within her rights to be bothered by it.
But this? Had it really gotten to her so much that she wasn't as 'normal' as she'd always believed herself to be? A little part of Nadine's heart broke at the idea.
That was her fault too. For voicing that she had hoped Nina would be normal where Nadine wasn't, back all those weeks before when she'd told Nina the truth about her past.
This distance had truly started that day, and while Nadine knew very well the reasons for Nina's withdrawal were far more complicated and numerous than just her reaction to one absently spoken hope, it had obviously had a far more significant impact on her daughter than Nadine had anticipated.
And obviously Nina had inherited more of Nadine's Enhancement than the blonde assassin had been willing to admit if Nina now noticed the proof of it in herself. Could it be that whatever experiments Strucker had been up to on that base of his had magnified what Nina had been born with? It was possible. Nadine hadn't really looked into the intel they'd had on Strucker's operation before Ultron had wiped most of it, just as she had yet to get an actual confirmation that Strucker had even had opportunity to begin his experiments on Nina. He hadn't had her all that long before the Avengers had attacked. Could he have had enough time to start preliminary procedures, like a treatment to boost what Enhancement Nina had been born with? It was possible. But Nadine couldn't be sure, especially since Nina had admitted on an earlier occasion when deflecting Nadine's attempts to get her to open up that she'd been unconscious for a significant portion of her time with Strucker.
Nadine didn't think there was a noticeable change in Nina's abilities that would indicate Strucker had done anything substantial. Her rate of healing had seemed pretty standard for her, so far as Nadine could tell, and she hadn't seemed any stronger or faster than before. But with the type of Enhancement in question, that didn't necessarily mean much. Pietro's healing factor had been slowed due to his injuries; perhaps something similar had happened with Nina? But in training, nothing in her performance had really stood out to Nadine as inconsistent with Nina's prior capabilities. Still, it wasn't like they had a particularly visible Enhancement. So it was possible. But if Strucker had managed to do something, it would go some way to explaining Nina's state in Sokovia, how worn and exhausted she had been. If her body had been adjusting to actual physiological changes? It made some amount of sense.
Or maybe it was just that Nina now knew to look for the traces of her inherited Enhancement.
Not that it ultimately mattered. Nadine meant what she said.
She didn't care if Nina was Enhanced or not, so long as she was safe and happy.
And now that she'd gotten this off her chest? Already she looked lighter, a psychological weight lifting and leaving Nina's eyes just a tad brighter and her frame just a little more relaxed. A flood of relief surged through Nadine at the realization, nearly making her hands tremble the feeling was so potent. Already, she could swear she could feel the gulf that had grown between them healing just a little bit more.
Nina looked up to Nadine again, her features tentatively hopeful even as certainty and a resolve appeared in her eyes that had Nadine's heart swelling further with pride.
"I think...I think I want to, well, not be normal, but to be, well...you know?" Nina made a face, unsatisfied with how she was expressing herself before pressing on. "I—I want to go to school—to university, like we'd been planning before..." Nadine's breath caught in her throat, and almost before she had entirely processed what Nina had said, she was nodding.
"Of course, solnyshko," Nadine nearly burst out, her voice rough with relief and emotion, her hand rising to cup Nina's cheek. "If that is what you want, that is what we will do." A shuddering breath escaped Nina as a bright smile took over her features. But then she sobered, sending an anxious spasm through Nadine's own gut.
"But I..." she frowned, worry shadowing her features as she glanced to Nadine before sinking into thought, "what about applying? Registering? Accepting? I mean, I don't even know if I was accepted to any of the schools I applied to—and any letters would've arrived back in—and I don't even know if I could accept even if they...I mean, I can't use my, err..." she faltered then, looking up to Nadine with wide, dismayed eyes. "I can't be Nina Ryker anymore, can I. Not since..." At once Nadine understood, and once again, her relief was swelling in her chest despite Nina being so obviously disheartened by the reminder. Relief and admittedly amusement. Her tendency for preparation really was quite handy at times.
"I'm afraid not," Nadine agreed softly, her voice threaded with apology. Nina slumped. Only to straighten cautiously when she caught sight of the grin growing on her mother's face.
"That's why I made contingencies, solnyshko." Nadine's grin widened at the astonished look on Nina's face. "Having multiple identities to fall back on is always a good idea, in my line of work."
Nina beamed at Nadine. But then it faded as another thought struck her.
"But, what about grades? Prerequisites? Applications? Term starts in another week or two. How could I even hope to apply in time?" But already she was growing thoughtful, her mind almost visibly kicking into gear. Nadine had to restrain another grin of pride at how quickly her daughter started looking for solutions. "Maybe...maybe, by winter term, I can build up the new identity enough that—" But she was cut off as Natasha all but plunked down onto the couch on Nina's other side, her vibrant green eyes positively gleaming with excitement of her own as she grinned at a startled Nina. Nadine could only glance between them with amusement. Especially when she noted the pride and calculation in Nat's gaze as she glanced to Nadine. Why wasn't she surprised that Natasha hadn't been able to restrain herself from joining in when she caught onto the change in mood.
"You let us handle that part, sweetie," Natasha said, sounding entirely too pleased as she tugged Nina around to face her directly. Nadine nearly rolled her eyes; of course her little sister had been eavesdropping too... Natasha spared her a pleased little smirk before turning her attention back to Nina. "Now. Where were you thinking of going?"
By the time Nina had skipped off to find the Twins, her excitement dampened only by nerves over telling her friends she was planning on leaving, Nadine's mind was buzzing with plans and mental lists of things she needed to do; get her hands on Nina's prior academic record; falsifying a new record to go with the identity she'd been building for her daughter; looking into Nina's previous applications and their statuses; seeing if she could figure out a way to discreetly switch any of those applications to Nina's new identity without raising any flags...
And the look on Natasha's face and the gleam in her eyes said clearly that her mind was similarly occupied.
At least, until she turned those gleaming green eyes to Nadine, the expression in them turning nearly mischievous.
"See?" Natasha declared leadingly, sounding entirely too chipper as she leaned back in her seat. "I told you it would all work out." Nadine could only huff in response. Honestly, she didn't know quite what to think just yet. She was still processing. Not that she wasn't thrilled at the turn of events.
"Natalia, it's— it's not going to be easy to get everything in line in tim—" But almost as soon as Nadine had started objecting, Natasha was waving off the cautioning words, her phone appearing in her hand.
"You worry too much," she dismissed, not looking up to her older sister. Nadine couldn't even be bothered to try and hide her incredulous look. It was only as Nat finished tapping at the screen and held the phone up to her ear that she finally met Nadine's eye, a smirk playing about her lips as her call connected.
"Hey, Tony. Listen, just out of curiosity, how much pull do you have at your alma mater?"
A/N: Thanks for Reading!
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