***Bathroom***

Alexei stared into the mirror and examined himself. He flexed his muscles and sucked in his gut, seeing how much he'd let himself go. It wasn't all too bad, he still retained his muscular form and the majority of his strength...he just had a gut to work on. No biggie.

***Kitchen***

Nat and Melina worked on the dinner, chopping produce and seasoning this and that while Yelena was up in her room, doing her homework.

"So, how've you been, Natalia?" Melina asked her daughter.

"Nobody's called me that in a long time."

"Well I'm not 'nobody', I'm your mother. And you'll always be my little Natalia."

"So, how is life in the big city?"

"Pretty good, I'm just glad I have this time off. I needed a break."

"Well, I'm glad too." Melina agreed happily, "You put a lot into your dancing and you do good. Good form and effort, but you need to rest. I'm sure you back and toes could use it. Especially in those tights slippers!"

Natasha laughed at her mother going on, though she knew she wasn't wrong. Ballet dancing was fun, as was teaching it. But it was still a task at times. So to have this time off to rest, she was more than happy. For that and more.

"Yeah, it is a but much sometimes."

The sounds of footsteps coming down the stairs alerted them and they soon saw Yelena walk in.

"You guys should hear, Daddy." She chortled, "He's singing in the bathroom! Haha!"

"Seriously?" Nat was already laughing.

"Yeah, some funny Russian song."

"Oh, he's just happy," Melina stated, "and so am I. My husband is home, as are my two babies."

The mother went and pulled both girls into a group hug and they returned it.

"I'm happy to be home too, mom," Nat said into her shoulder. As she said this, she could feel Yelena's hand reach her back and rub it a little. This gained a smile from both of them.

Finally, they broke the hug and Melina went back to work.

"Can you girls set the table please?" She asked her daughters.

The two girls agreed and began setting four places at the table. And the place settings were just like when they were kids. Alexei would sit at the head of the table, Melina would sit on his right with Yelena next to her, and on his left, Natasha would sit across from her mother.

Though it was something as simple as setting the table, it still hit Natasha in the heart. This homecoming, all of the memories coming at her...this was heavy.

And she welcomed it.

***Alexei & Melina's Bedroom***

Alexei walked out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist and another across his shoulders, for which he was using to dry his hair and face.

Getting some undies on, he began looking for something to wear. However, his search was cut short when he saw a big bag on the floor by the dresser. On it were the words:

'For my Alexei. Welcome home, my love!'

- Melina

The big Russian smiled at that, touched that his wife got him a homecoming gift. Taking the bag and opening it, he couldn't help but laugh at what was inside.

Downstairs, a good fifteen to twenty minutes had passed and the table had just been finished having the food placed on it. And the women had just sat down and were now waiting on the man of the family.

Yelena was on her phone, checking her Instagram, Nat was leaning back in her chair letting her mind wander, and Melina simply sat patiently - back straight and all - with her hands in her lap.

Until...

"Ahem!"

They all turned to the entrance to the dining room and saw Alexei standing there in a red sweatshirt and red sweatpants with white trim and black borders along them. And on the chest of the sweatshirt was a big white star.

This was Alexei's favorite casual outfit, one he'd had for over twenty years.

"Still fits," he said to them with a prideful smile.

Melina - feeling her heart race from seeing him in the attire - let out a wolf whistle at her husband, earning a big laugh from him. Whereas Nat and Yelena rolled their eyes as their father approached the table and sat down.

As he did, he couldn't help but be touched by this scene. Him, having dinner with his family...just like old times. Four words came to his mind as he sat there.

"Family...back together again." He said, smiling contently.

The women smiled in agreement and Melina placed a hand on Alexei's, earning a look from him.

Though they were having a moment, there was still something important to take care of.

"So, can we eat now or do we have to wait for you two to stop having fun with your eyes?" Yelena joked, earning a snort from Natasha who shook her head at her sister's word poke.

"Oh, yes. Of course! Eat! Eat!" Melina said, coming back to reality.

So they all began to eat their already made plates, enjoying the food.

But Alexei? You could swear he was having a "happy moment" as he was moaning in pleasure with each bite he took.

"Dad, the noises," Nat said, slightly weirded out but also laughing.

Her father swallowed and replied, "Sorry. Its just so good. Compared to the der'mo they had in prison, this is amazing!"

"Well, I'm glad that after all these years, you haven't lost your liking for my food." Melina said happily.

Alexei looked over too his wife and his eyes got a little...darker.

"I haven't lost my liking for a lot of things about you," he said in a husky voice.

At that moment, the eyes of the girls went wide and their food was in danger of not being finished.

"Oh my god, Dad," Yelena gagged, "please don't."

Natasha too felt her stomach flip when she heard her father talk like that. But Alexei paid them no mind. He only focused on Melina and his urges from all the years lost began to rise.

"You know, I just got out of prison," he whispered to her with a devilfish smile, "I...I have a lot of energy."

And he winked at her. And that wink seemed to hit Melina just right as she lifted a flirtatious eyebrow and grinned cheekily. She was definitely interested.

"Okay! I'm done!" Yelena jumped up from her seat and began to walk away from the table.

"No, wait! Lena, sweetie, I'm sorry!" Alexei called out, chuckling a little, "I won't do it again. I promise. Not at table."

"You sure? Because I can leave."

"No, you cant. We're having family dinner!" Melina said, matter-of-factly, "Our first in almost two decades. We're going to eat together."

Yelena knew her mother was right and it's not that she didn't want to eat with them. She just didn't want to hear her parents talk like that around her. Let alone while she was trying to eat.

Still, her mother called her over.

"Come, come, Lena. You need to eat, you can't leave your food like that."

"Ugh, fine. But I'm gonna at least let the dog in. Give you two some time to...cool off."

And the blonde teen ran off before they could contradict. As she did, though, Alexei became surprised.

"We have a dog?" He asked, confused.

"Oh, yes!" His wife replied.

"You know how Yelena's always wanted one, Dad." Natasha jumped in, "She used to beg you nonstop about getting one when she was younger."

Melina nodded and smiled at her daughter's words. "Yes, yes. And then one day, you brought home this cute plush dog for her and said if she could take care of that, then we get her one."

The big man nodded, remembering what his wife and elder daughter were referring to. He remembered little Yelena jumping on his leg, begging him day and night for a dog. Even using dog movies like Hachi, Balto and more on him to convince him. They didn't work but they were still cute attempts, though. Very cute.

Now, years later, apparently, they now had a dog. And proof of it came really fast into the house, barking along the way until the dog, an American Akita , came running up to the table and hopped up on Melina's legs.

Immediately, she smiled and petted him. "Yes, yes! Good boy, Fanny."

After her, the dog, Fanny, jumped down from Melina and went over to and began to sniff Alexei. After a few sniffs, Fanny let off a few barks at Alexei.

"Whoa, whoa! Polegche, sobaka!" He exclaimed, putting his hands up and leaning back a bit.

"Fanny, no! No!" Yelena called to her dog as she ran back in. She called Fanny off, making her pause on the barking. She then knelt down and scratched her side. "Fanny, this is Daddy. He's a good guy. Good guy. Friendly."

Having heard his master's words, Fanny looked back to Alexei, sniffed him again and began jumping on him and licking the big man's face.

Though it caught him by surprise, Alexei welcomed the dog's love and petted him. Soon, he was laughing and leaning into the kisses. This gained smiles and laughter from the whole family. It was such a nice moment that Nat took a video of it on her phone.

Without a doubt, it was good to be home.

Later that night, things were beginning to wind down. After dinner, the family had all cleaned up together, washed the dishes, watched some TV afterwards and now it was time to clock out.

"Good night, my darlings," Melina said to her daughters as she hugged them and kissed their foreheads. "I love you both."

"Love you too, Mom." "Love you, Mama." They replied, one after the other.

"And I love you both so, SO, so much." Alexei said, pulling them into another big bear hug. "My girls."

"Ya tozhe lyublyu tebya, Papa." "Love you, Daddy."

They soon broke apart and they all went to their separate bedrooms...except for Alexei and Melina, that is.

They went to the same bedroom and closed the door behind them. It was Alexei who closed it. And as soon as he turned around, he was met with his wife jumping at him like a lion, wrapping her legs around his waist and crashing her lips to his.

Alexei didn't waste any time returning the act, pulling his wife closer.

After all these years, so much time apart, now they were together. And they were about to get even more "together".

"Bozhe moy, dorogaya. I've missed you so much!" Alexei mumbled into her lips before moving along her jaw and to her neck.

"Me too, moya lyubov'! Me too!" Melina moaned, the last sentence louder than the one before.

The feeling of her heart racing now that this desire had finally been let loose and now being fulfilled became too much for her. She needed more.

"Alexei, please! I can't wait any longer."

Her husband paused his kissing and pulled away from her neck, a gesture Melina was slightly troubled by, but she was reassured when Alexei looked into her eyes and they shared the same look. Burning within them.

"Neither can I." He replied with a husky voice.

And they didn't wait, not one minute longer. Needless to say, it was about to get wild.

Five Minutes Later

***Natasha's Room***

Natasha sat on her bed reading a novel with some light music playing on her phone. It was peaceful, save for some mild noise from outside her room but thankfully, the music drowned it out.

Suddenly, the door to her room burst open and in ran Yelena, whole slammed it closed behind her. She let out a sigh of relief and walked over to her sister's bed.

Nat smiled, already knowing what her sister was here. Still, she had to poke a little.

"What's up?" She asked coyly.

"Shut up," Yelena spat, seeing right through her, "I'm sleeping in here with you tonight."

She plopped on the bed right next to Natasha and pulled out her AirPods.

"Why?" Nat asked with a raised eyebrow, still smiling.

"Because I can't sleep with those...animals banging on my wall!" Yelena barked.

Natasha laughed and hugged her little sister close while Yelena put in her ear phones and turned the volume up high.

God, it was great to be home.

That's chapter 2! I honestly was going to keep this a oneshot, but a certain someone wanted more and I thank that someone for that. It helped me want to continue this oneshot into a multi-chapter fic. And so I shall.

Hope you guys enjoyed it, please share what you thought. More will be coming soon hopefully, working on a lot at the moment as you know. Working on Viv Vision, the next chapter of For Peter(2 & 3), and much more. So please bare with me. 🙏 🙏 👍

See you guys soon! Stay warm!