Upstate New York, USA
Late Fall 2015
Well, that was a peculiar look. And Nadine wasn't entirely sure she wanted to know what it meant. It certainly didn't stop her stomach from flipping nervously.
Nina had obviously been taking lessons from Natasha...
But almost as soon as it had appeared on her daughter's face, it was gone and Nina was looking back to her new textbook; she and Nat had taken a trip to Cambridge the week before and Nina had returned lugging a stack of textbooks for her courses. Her final scores weren't in yet, but Tony had been heavily hinting to Nat that not only had he'd taken a peek but that it looked good so far.
But that look... Nadine eyed her daughter warily as she crossed the sitting area of their suite to deposit her workout gear in her room, not entirely sure what to make of it. For all that Nina's focus was almost wholly on her upcoming semester, she had still been sitting in on the odd bit of training now that her testing was over and done with. Not to mention she had been spending a great deal of quality time with her aunt.
Natasha had definitely taken to being an aunt to a teenage girl like a match to paper. More than once over the last little while, even before Nina had taken her tests, there had been times when Nadine would be looking for one of them and they'd be nowhere to be found. Only to find out later they'd popped off together for coffees or some shopping. "Have to make sure my niece is properly outfitted for school," Nat had explained with a sly look after one such occasion, "after all, what are aunts for except to talk boys, go shopping and swap gossip."
Yes...gossip. Nadine could only imagine what sorts of things her sister had filled her daughter's head with. And vice versa, if she were being honest. Nina was no slouch at noticing things around her that other people often missed; a by-product of the mental and memory 'games' Nadine had raised her with.
For the most part, Nadine really could care less. She was just far too happy that her sister and Nina had bonded the way they had. It was more than she could've ever dreamed, to be honest. Never would she have imagined even a few months before that she would be wondering what sorts of things Natasha and Nina had been talking about. The very idea that they even knew about each other would've seemed ridiculous and unattainable alone, much less that they could develop a relationship; a nice dream, but not something she should let herself hope could one day happen.
Yet now? Here she was, wondering what sort of innocuous gossip her sister and her daughter had been trading.
And what sort of less-than-innocuous gossip, if her daughter's odd look had been any indication.
Nadine had an unsettling feeling like a great deal of Nat and Nina's gossip recently had been centered on Nadine...and a certain Captain she was trying very hard not to think of in decidedly unprofessional ways.
The more time she and Steve were spending together was not making it any easier, that was for sure. To the point where the sparring session she had just wrapped up with him had left her feeling warm in ways that had very little to do with the physical exertions of physical training.
Rather, it had a great deal more to do with the person she was training with, be it the friendly smiles he gave her, the genuine interest he had or the wonderfully solid feel of those arms. More likely, it was a devastating mix of that and more.
After all, not many men she'd ever known would even think to find out her favourite song, much less sneak it into his workout playlist just to make her laugh. Yet, just that had happened barely even an hour before. One minute she was on the verge of slipping behind Steve's guard to take him down—again, she recalled, still pleased about that—and the next she's blinking in bewilderment at the sound of Woody Herman's Woodchopper's Ball. And Steve promptly hooked an ankle around hers and laid her out flat on the floor, looking down at her with a wicked twinkle in his eye.
"What a sneaky, underhanded move," she had accused without real bite, unable to entirely hide the way her lip had been twitching on the verge of a smile, "not at all what I'd have expected from the noble Captain America." He'd chuckled.
"Then I suppose you're rubbing off on me," he'd teased back. And then they were both laughing. Her stomach had been doing veritable somersaults as he'd straightened, holding out a hand to help her up and inadvertently pulling her close enough as he did that their chests nearly touched.
Truthfully, she hadn't been able to breathe, her breath had hitched so completely. Especially when, as she found her feet and he was no longer partially supporting her weight, he unintentionally leaned closer.
She had nearly kissed him right then and there, the urge nearly overwhelming.
Instead, she had pulled off a neat little move that twisted her under his arm and behind, letting her kick off their sparring again.
It had taken far more willpower to do than she liked to admit.
Especially given the curious, almost inadvertent smile that had been tugging at his lips as the moment had stretched between them.
There were times when it honestly felt like the man was made to drive her to distraction. He made her smile, laugh and feel, well, like...herself instead of a highly trained assassin or a mom. Like she was more than just either of those.
And Nadine was well aware that her sister had gleefully picked up on it, undoubtedly setting her daughter on the scent for good measure.
Which once again left Nadine wondering what on earth the odd look had been about. Much as she hoped otherwise, she rather suspected it had to do with the Captain over anything else. She sighed with exasperation, tossing her workout gear into the laundry with a touch more force than was strictly necessary. Why couldn't her sister just keep her nose out of it? It wasn't like anything could happen, she reminded herself yet again. Natasha should know that. So it was a futile exercise.
Hmm...perhaps she should consider confronting Natasha about whatever it was that Nadine kept noticing between her and Sam...it might just get the point across...
Well, whatever it was that had left her daughter looking slyly at her from behind her book, she was bound to find out about it sooner or later. Nina wouldn't be able to keep it to herself forever. So all Nadine had to do was wait.
Sure enough, no sooner had she stepped back out into their little sitting area after a quick shower, than she was confronted with the source thought of the odd look.
It wasn't exactly what she'd been expecting.
"You're staying, right?"
"What?"
"You. Staying, here," Nina repeated with a bright, easy grin. Not that the seriousness of her question was lost. She closed her textbook around her finger, careful to keep her place even as she turned her full focus to Nadine. "It'll make breaks much easier, for one, if I can just come back here. Then I can see you, Aunt Nat, Pietro, Wanda, everyone all at once." She grinned guilelessly up at her mother. Nadine was honestly slightly stunned, her mind having gone peculiarly blank. She was rather stuck in that moment between taking Nina's words at face value or digging to see what she was really after. Nina turned back to her textbook, not quite hiding her pleased grin.
Then it sunk in what she was asking.
And judging by not just what she'd said but also what Nadine could read on her daughter's face? Her body language?
Nina thought she should stay.
Honestly? Nadine hadn't given it a great deal of thought, yet. And didn't that just set another jolt of surprise through the blonde assassin. She always had plans to move on, be they vague ideas for a distant someday or concrete and a few steps short of implementation in case of emergency. Hell, in Vienna she'd already given notice to their landlord before Nina had been taken that they would be moving at the end of the summer.
Sure, she supposed she had a couple vague plans to flesh out at some point stored away in the back of her mind just in case and a couple emergency ones technically still on standby. But as Nina's question had suddenly brought the thought to the front of her mind, she was confronted with the hard fact that she truthfully hadn't started planning to move on. Not like she had been in Vienna or a couple months previous before Nina had made her interest in Avenger training known and Nadine had been convinced to stay on as a training consultant.
And she honestly didn't know how she felt about that. Part of her certainly felt uneasy about it, suddenly fearing that she was growing complacent.
But the other part? A soft, secret little corner of her mind just hummed happily at the idea that she had found somewhere she wanted to stay.
And that she had no immediate plans to leave said place.
But her stomach also twisted at the idea. Sure she probably could stay. She knew her sister wouldn't mind, and she was pretty sure Steve wouldn't object either, nor would many of the others around the Compound. But that didn't satisfy the question of whether or not she should. Nina wouldn't be here. And Nadine had work to do. Work that didn't require her to be tied down to one place as Nina's presence did. And with Nina off at school?
Then there was the consideration that she honestly didn't know how much longer it would be safe for her to stay. Secure as the facility might be and as thoroughly vetted and loyal to the Avengers as the personnel flitting around the Compound undoubtedly were, it was only a matter of time before her identity was blown and agencies from all over the world came for her. She'd done what she could to counter the damage Ultron had done, but even with the resources at her disposal and her sister's invaluable help, there was only so many stop-get measures she could implement.
Eventually, someone would track her down. Eventually someone would make the connection between the Nadine Ryker—she hadn't been able to stop that name spreading thanks to some...Tony...referring to her as 'Ryker' around the Compound despite her attempt to implement a different alias—who consulted with the Avengers and the Nadine Ryker who had been revealed to every major international intelligence agency as the alias of the infamous assassin The Ghost.
And that wasn't even considering the less savoury factions out there who would likely love to get their hands on her. Some of them even likely the same people they were hoping to keep Barnes away from for one reason or another.
Those out for revenge, or to get their hands on the ultimate asset.
If her presence here came out, the world would drop on her. Her stomach twisted.
And the Avengers would be caught in the middle for harbouring her. Her gut clenched, hard and painful at the idea that her presence could hurt her sister, the Twins...Steve. She had no idea the strings Stark had pulled to get Visas for the Twins, but she had the feeling they were precarious, at best. The very thought that her presence was a threat to them and their desire to do good? To their very freedom? And her sister? She got the impression that after her stunt with uploading S.H.I.E.L.D.'s entire database to the internet and her stance on the Hill afterward, there were no few people who would love to see her brought low. And Vision? Rhodes? Rhodes would lose his position in the Military, which she knew would crush the man, proud as he was of his service.
Nadine didn't care how much influence Stark or any of them had. There would be no shielding any of them or her if her presence here got out. No protecting her. No expunging her crimes or forcing the world to reconsider just because she had thrown in with Earth's mightiest heroes.
And no protecting them from the inevitable fallout of harboring a criminal.
She was dangerous to them all.
Certainty settled in her gut.
She needed to start making plans.
"Mom?" she looked up to Nina, who was suddenly looking at her with a rather distinct, knowing wariness written all over her face. "Mom, you're not actually thinking of leaving, are you?" Nadine arranged her features into a reassuring smile, brushing a hand over her daughter's hair as she circled around the couch where she sat to their little kitchenette.
"It's something I have to consider, solnyshko," she admitted firmly as she gathered together the makings for a protein shake; not the most appetizing of edibles to her mind, but a definite boon when one had the lifestyle and the metabolism people like her did.
Especially when she had been denied a pleasant lunch with her friend thanks to Steve being pulled away by Hill for some manner of Avengers' business, she was reminded with a pang of disappointment.
Nadine could practically feel Nina's bewildered frown. She spared her daughter a solemn look. "I can't stay here forever, Nina," she pointed out as she began check over the small collection of fruit she'd brought up from the mess earlier that morning, "I am The Ghost, after all. It's not safe nor is it fair if I risk everyone's safety by staying." Nina dropped her book on the coffee table with a heavy thud, twisting to watch Nadine with a definite look of disapproval over the back of the couch.
"The safety of the Avengers?" she asked skeptically. "Mom, they are all in danger every day purely by existing. I don't think any one of them would consider you staying here to be too much of a 'risk.'" Nadine gave Nina a reprimanding glance at the air quotes she threw around 'risk.' But she did have a point. One the quiet little part of her eager to stick around was almost too eager to latch onto. Satisfaction flickered across Nina's face and Nadine fought back a frown. Since when had Nina been able to read her so easily? She shook the thought away.
"Yes, Nina," she countered, ensuring she was keeping her voice calm and reasonable. "Because there's more than one kind of risk. Yes, the Avengers have targets on their back purely by being what they are and having done the things they have and my presence adds one more target of that kind on this place. But what I've done and the kind of attention my presence could bring is another kind of trouble altogether. I'm wanted by over a dozen international—sanctioned and legal—agencies, Nina," she pointed out firmly, cutting off Nina's objection before she could do more than open her mouth. "That's not a risk I can ask any one of them to take on. I haven't been pardoned by anyone and unlike Natasha my actions weren't done while under the protection of an official agency. I am, in bluntest term, a black market assassin, solnyshko. A criminal. Being caught harbouring me would bring down a kind of scrutiny the Avengers shouldn't have to face. That they can't afford to face." Nina looked caught between shocked and defiant, her eyes wide and mouth set in a thin line. Still, Nadine was satisfied she had made her point, and turned back to her shake. After a few moments of silence—broken only by obnoxious sound the blender she was using—Nadine turned to lean back against the counter of their kitchenette. Only to find Nina still hanging over the back of the couch, studying her with a deeply thoughtful expression.
"Have you asked them?" Nadine frowned, her cup pausing as she lifted it to her mouth. She sighed.
"Nina—"
"You said it's a risk you couldn't ask them to take. Ask them anyway." Nina lifted her chin in challenge, her eyes glinting. "They like having you around, Mom. I know they do. You're good at what you do here," she said, her tone oddly reminiscent of Nadine's when she wasn't interested in an argument. Nadine was severely tempted to narrow her eyes at the realization. Nina sighed, settling back on her heels.
"But you won't," she said almost dismissively. "Because you know what the answer would be."
"Nina—"
"You know they would be okay with you staying," her daughter pressed on, sounding inordinately pleased with herself...and inordinately like Natasha... "In fact," Nina said, bouncing to her feet and circling the couch to wrap her arms around her mom, resting her chin on her shoulder even as she effectively pinned Nadine's arms to her sides. Instinctively, Nadine's hand rose to absently pat at Nina's arm where it encircled her own. Nina smirked knowingly up at Nadine, "I rather think a few of them would insist you stay." Nadine bit back a heavy sigh. Since when was her daughter so...grown up...and right.
Oh God...her baby girl really was all grown up, wasn't she...
Her expression softening, Nina squeezed Nadine tightly. Twisting in her daughter's embrace, Nadine freed her arms, depositing her cup back on the counter so she could hug her daughter back, laying a light kiss against her temple. Nina didn't hesitate to lean into her mom's embrace.
"I really think you should stay, Mom," she said quietly. "I think it would make you happy." Nadine nearly started at how certain Nina suddenly sounded, taken aback by the knowing glint that had appeared in her daughter's eyes as she leaned back.
"Besides," the glint turned mischievous in a blink, and Nadine was immediately eying Nina warily; she looked disconcertingly like Natasha when she wore that expression...and if it meant the same thing... "I really do think you would be missed if you left."
Her response was out before Nadine could even think to keep it behind her teeth. "By who?"
"Oh, I don't know. Natasha, the Twins...Captain Rogers." Well that wasn't subtle at all. Nadine swallowed back an aggravated groan with surprising difficulty.
"You've been spending far too much time with your Aunt," Nadine muttered to herself. Obviously not quietly enough, though. Nina's grin widened, her eyes practically shining with amusement.
"Oh come on, Mom," she teased, pulling away to circle back around to her spot the couch, "You can't say there isn't something there." Nadine crossed her arms, raising a skeptical brow at her cheekily grinning daughter as Nina flopped back onto the couch.
"I can say it quite easily," she countered dryly. Nina rolled her eyes, very obviously not convinced.
"Fine, you can say it," Nina dismissed with an overly sweet grin. "Doesn't mean it's not true." Now it was Nadine tempted to roll her eyes. Natasha was most definitely a bad influence. Grabbing up her phone, Nina twisted again to lean over the back of the couch to fix Nadine with a knowing look that was surprisingly unsettling.
"Mom," Nina said solemnly, once again nearly causing Nadine to roll her eyes in exasperation, "I've known you my whole life. I have never, not once, seen you actually interested in a man. Captain Rogers? You're interested. I can tell." Her blue-grey eyes were sparkling mischievously, giving away her attempt at seriousness. "Not that I can blame you. He does have quite the appeal. Though, I suppose the age difference might be a little weird...he is almost a hundred years old, after all..." Nadine sighed at Nina's teasing, forcing back an odd little flutter beneath her breastbone as she turned to grab up her shake again.
"Nice try, Nina," she dismissed firmly before taking a drink. Nina merely grinned innocently, though again, that impish spark gave her away.
"Oh come on, Mama," Nina exclaimed with playfully affected aggravation, "He's perfect for you. He completes you!"
Nadine couldn't help but raise an incredulous eyebrow at the declaration. "Oh?"
"He makes you smile," Nina said, stifling a giggle. Nadine was nearly tempted to roll her eyes.
"Lots of things make me smile, solnyshko," Nadine countered dryly. Nina's eyes glinted impishly.
"Not like he does," she countered right back without missing a beat. Nadine's struggled not to clench her jaw in exasperation at her daughter's impudent remark.
Especially as she wasn't entirely wrong...
Nina just smiled smugly, finally looking down to her phone.
It was then that Nina straightened with an impatient little sound. Nadine cocked her head in curiosity as Nina was suddenly packing up her books and notes, all but stuffing them hastily into her book bag before ducking into her room to drop them on her bed. Leaving her half-empty cup on the counter, Nadine followed to lean against the door to Nina's room, frowning as Nina darted around, changing from her loungewear into something a little more appropriate for public...or a date maybe? She nearly chuckled at the sight.
"Running late?" she quipped dryly. Nina looked up, wrinkling her nose at her mom before holding up a soft grey tee and navy thick-knit cardigan for an opinion. Smiling fondly, Nadine nodded.
"No. Not yet. Besides," Nina grinned as she tugged the cardi on, "It's hard to be late when your boyfriend can run faster than a car can drive." Nadine raised a brow.
"Boyfriend?" At once Nina was flushing bright red, pointedly turning to her dresser to peruse through the collection of jewellery her Aunt was ultimately responsible for her acquiring.
"Yeah," she mumbled self-consciously, "boyfriend." Nadine bit back a laugh at how nervous she sounded. She supposed she shouldn't be so amused that Nina was nervous about Nadine's thoughts on her and Pietro dating, but Nadine couldn't help it. She was rather enjoying the 'protective mom' routine. Especially where Pietro was concerned. It wasn't that she didn't approve—she still had reservations, but she wouldn't quite go so far as to say she disapproved—it was more she didn't know how she felt about it yet. Either way, it was just too entertaining watching him attempt to maintain his bravado when faced with her impassive scrutiny.
"I take it that everything's okay between the two of you again?" Nina spared her mom a glance as she considered the merits of one necklace over another; the one in her left hand a dangly chainmail-like number and the other a more geometric and colourful piece. "Left," Nadine voted.
"Yeah," Nina answered as she discarded the colourful one in favour of the one Nadine liked, a trace of hurt nevertheless still evident despite the upbeat tone she used. Nadine couldn't say she was surprised by that, a resurgence of the irritation she'd fostered for the Sokovian boy reemerging. It did still bother her a bit the way he and Nina had been in a rocky place for a couple weeks there just because he didn't like the decision Nina had made about her own future. There had been quite a few times when she'd seriously considered taking him aside and knocking some sense into him...both with and without words. And he'd known it too; not only had he been all but avoiding Nina during that time, but he'd definitely been trying his utmost to steer clear of Nadine too. Nina spared Nadine what she supposed was intended to be a reassuring look. It was, for the most part.
"We talked it out and everything, but it's still a little, err...tense, I suppose is the best word. Things are getting better, and I think it'll help once I'm actually away at school and he sees that things aren't going to change as much as he thinks they will. But he's..." she trailed off, considering how best to explain as she leaned back against the dresser, avoiding Nadine's eye as she fiddled with the dangling chains of her necklace. "Well, he thinks things are going to change. I mean," she made a frustrated sound as she tugged the elastic from her hair, "I know they're going to change a bit—I'm going to be in another city and he'll still be here, after all—but I don't think it's actually going to change. You know?" She wrinkled her nose at how her explanation came out. Nadine kept her amused grin to herself. Oddly enough, she did get where Nina was coming from for all that Nina didn't quite seem able to say it the way she wanted. It was a problem every teen in a relationship faced when they or their other was about to move somewhere 'away'; she'd seen it a dozen times over with girls and boys that had gone through her studio.
Nina huffed, picking up her brush. "I think he's mostly just antsy that I'm not going to be around the Compound anymore. That I'm going to...you know, move on, or something. Leave him behind." Nadine considered her daughter's theory as Nina finished getting ready, brushing out her hair from the messy bun she often threw it into. It was certainly a reasonable assumption to make. Common relationship vs. moving away problems aside, there was little question Pietro was bound to have separation issues. He was all but a textbook case of someone bound to struggle with fears of abandonment for all that he did a valiant job of hiding it. In retrospect, it made his behaviour when he had been avoiding Nina make a lot more sense. Nina sighed, fluffing her hair with her fingers as she set down her brush. Nadine smiled as Nina looked to her, waiting patiently for her to continue. It was nice, this. Talking like they used to.
Although, in this instance, it was more listening on Nadine's part. Not that she minded.
"It's just..." Nina bounced down on the end of her bed, her hands absently waving before her in a gesture of frustration before landing heavily on her knees. "He's still fighting the fear that I'm going to forget about him," she admitted after a moment, looking up to Nadine. "He says he doesn't actually feel that way anymore, that he's moved past it, but I can't help but think he can't help it." Nadine smiled knowingly, edging into the room to settle next to Nina. Nina huffed and leaned against her, fiddling absently with her necklace.
Nadine contemplated what to say carefully for a moment. "It's a deeply-ingrained fear, losing someone he cares about again," she finally ventured. "It's not a feeling that is overcome easily. Consciously he knows, and consciously he probably has convinced himself he's moved past it. But it's likely a fear he'll carry his whole life," Nadine said softly. Nina sighed, looking relieved that Nadine understood even though her answer wasn't exactly the most reassuring. Nadine wrapped an arm around her daughter's shoulders. "It's his experience, solnyshko. It's a by-product of losing his parents so young and being shunted around like baggage afterward, never having a real home or anyone to depend on, except for Wanda. He does know better, but he will always have to fight that gut-feeling." A wan grin tugged at the corner of Nina's mouth.
"That's what Wanda said," she murmured, turning to rest her cheek on Nadine's shoulder. Nadine smiled.
"Wanda's a smart girl. And she's perceptive even without her ability to see inside other people's heads. Not to mention she knows Pietro better than anyone else," Nadine added wryly, earning a giggle from her daughter, "even himself, at times."
"I won't argue with you there," Nina agreed, wrapping her arms around Nadine's waist for a quick hug before pulling away. Nadine tucked a strand of hair back behind Nina's ear.
"You're not too bad at it yourself, solnyshko," she added with a grin. Nina's cheeks pinked at the praise before her eyes glinted impishly.
"Does that mean I'm onto something with Captain Rogers?"
Nadine groaned, standing. "Your aunt and I really need to have a talk," she said dryly by way of an answer. Nina giggled again, her steel-blue eyes sparkling as she glanced down to her phone again.
As though on cue, a knock sounded out at the main door to their suite.
Sparing her mom a final mischievous glance, Nina all but skipped out to answer it. Sighing, Nadine followed, once more leaning against the doorframe, this time looking out of her daughter's room instead of looking in.
And schooling her features into a rather unimpressed expression at the sight of her daughter's rather affectionate greeting for her apparent boyfriend...and Pietro's equally eager response. Eventually they would notice she was still there.
She finally decided to hasten that realization along, though, when his hand began to move lower beneath the back of her cardigan.
"Watch it, Quicksilver," Nadine threw out, unimpressed even as she was secretly amused, "I am still in the room..." Much to Nadine's bemusement, the young couple jumped apart, her daughter's cheeks going beet red and Pietro swallowing nervously even as his chin rose. Not that she let on, of course. She merely raised a cool eyebrow instead. She was nearly tempted to snicker when Pietro visible paled at the subtle warning.
It was never going to get old...
A/N: Thanks for Reading!
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