Chapter Thirty-Six:
Alya tossed and turned in her bed, trying her best to get to sleep. After a few minutes, she gave up the fight and huffed, looking over at her sister who was somehow fast asleep.
It was only four in the morning, too early to be this awake. But it was no use trying to get back to sleep now, the sun would be up soon and with it, everyone else.
Usually, Clint was the earliest riser. But he had left for the farm weeks ago. Sure, she missed him, but he was going home to his family. She was glad he was able to go home. Who knows how long they'd be on the run from the government? It could be years before this cleared up, if it cleared up at all.
They had already been on the run for nearly a year now.
Clint made the right choice.
Alya didn't like goodbyes. Goodbyes were sad and they were really hard. They were even harder when you were saying them to someone near and dear to your heart. She didn't know when she'd see him again. He promised her that they would see each other again, but neither of them were sure of when.
She couldn't believe that a single document had changed their lives and flipped them upside down in matter of a few days. Alya didn't know how to deal with the fact that her life was constantly changing now. She was only eleven, she liked how things used to be and she really thought that's how they would always be.
Now she had to get used to her new normal.
The good thing was, she had Steve, Wanda, and her mother. Life in Switzerland wasn't so bad. There was lots of open air and land with beautiful mountains to look at. But anywhere could be home as long as her mother was with her.
"Mama?" She whispered, tiptoeing into the woman's room. When Clint left, it meant there was an extra room available to sleep in for Steve to make his own. Now that he was out, it seemed to make it easier for Alya to sneak into her mother's room.
"Go to sleep, Alya. It's too early." Was all she got in response.
"Nuh uh, Mama. I can't sleep." She moved towards the head of the woman's bed and poked her cheek. "Wake up."
"Alya, got to bed." Natasha groaned, pushing the child's hands away.
"Mamaaaa."
"No." The blonde gave her a pat before pointing to the door, never opening her eyes. "Out."
But Alya stood her ground and shook her head. "That's not nice, Mama."
"What's not nice, is you bothering me while I'm trying to sleep."
"I'm not bothering you."
Natasha growled and snatched Alya up off the ground, dropping her right onto her bed. "Get under the covers. Now."
When did kids start sleeping in 'till noon? Natasha was really looking forward to that.
"Okay, but I'm not tired." Alya crawled underneath her mother's quilt and relaxed when she felt the woman's arm wrap around her. "See?"
"Hush." Natasha began to pat her back, making her rest her head on her chest to soothe her. "It's bedtime."
"Not bedtime, Mama. Wake up time." Alya's eyelids fluttered.
The whole point of her coming in here, was to wake her mother up so that they could play. Why didn't Natasha understand that?
"In a few hours, sweet girl. Close your eyes."
"I can't close my eyes, Mommy. I'm too awake."
"Oh yeah?" Natasha glanced down at her and saw that she was practically asleep. "I guess you won't be eating any cake or opening any presents later on today."
"But it's my birthday!" Alya gasped and sat up to look at her mother.
She waited all year for this! Her mama couldn't take it away from her now! Her birthday was a special day!
"I know it's your birthday." Natasha smirked, knowing that she had her attention now. "But if you don't sleep now, you'll be way too tired to enjoy it. I don't want you to be cranky."
"I won't be cranky! I promise!" Alya stood up on the bed and jumped up and down. "I'm happy, see?"
Natasha regretted ever saying anything of the sort. In fact, when Alya walked into the room, she should've just pretended like she was still asleep. Maybe she would've gotten some peace and quiet while Alya tortured Steve instead.
"I have an idea." The woman thought fast. "Let's play a game."
"What kind of game?" Alya stopped jumping and plopped back down on the bed.
"A quiet game."
"That's not a game." She pouted. She was a whole year older today. There was no way she was falling for that trick.
"Oh, but it is! And if you win, you'll get a prize later on."
"What kind of prize?" Alya poked her nose.
"You'll find out if you win it."
That didn't sound very appealing to Alya, but she could see that her mother was nearly at her wit's end, so she climbed back under the covers and cuddled into her once again.
"Mama?"
"Yes, baby?" Natasha tried her best to keep the annoyance out of her voice. It wasn't Alya's fault she was so excited. She remembered a time where Alya treated her own birthday as if it were just any other day. It took a couple of years before the child really started to get giddy around that time without any help.
"I'm twelve now."
"I know, sweet girl. Happy birthday." She leaned over and pressed a gentle kiss against her daughter's nose. "Happy birthday."
"Look who it is!" Steve exclaimed as Alya slowly came down the stairs, rubbing her eyes as she went. "The birthday girl!"
Natasha was right. Because of the lack of sleep, Alya wasn't really in the mood for anything early that morning. In fact, when Natasha tried to get her out of bed, she just rolled away and whined.
The woman figured that since she was asleep, it would give them plenty of time to make sure that everything was ready for when she woke up.
Steve chuckled at the groggy pajama clad child and swung her up onto his hip. "How'd you sleep?"
"Hmph." Alya rested her head on his shoulder.
"Well, someone's cranky."
"Not for very long." Natasha winked, walking over with a plate full of pancakes with m&m's. "Alya, look at what Mama made for you."
Alya grumbled something about them not letting her sleep before she turned and looked. She immediately lit up at seeing the food and reached out for the plate.
"No, no." Wanda shook her head. "You have to come and sit at the table first."
"But it's my birthday." Alya gave her a sad look.
"I have a feeling we're gonna hear that one all day." Natasha laughed.
"Birthday or not, you'll eat at the table, kiddo." Steve bounced her and set her down the head of the table. "There you go."
Alya grinned at the new position and looked at everyone else in their seats. It was really weird sitting at the head of the table with no one else beside her. But it was nice just for a day.
One thing she noticed, was the nice tablecloth underneath all the food. It was a pretty blue color. The same color blue as the decorative balloons that were tied behind her chair.
She knew that since they were on the run, birthdays wouldn't be as lavish as before. It was okay, she didn't mind as long as someone acknowledged that the day was special. She didn't need a big, fancy party or tons of presents with a huge cake.
She just really liked the love and attention she got.
"Here are your pancakes, your highness." Wanda served her and grimaced when the little girl poured nearly half the syrup bottle in the pancakes.
"Alya." Natasha stopped her just before she really overdid it.
Oh, today was going to be a very long day.
"Oh boy!" Alya squealed. "My birthday cake!"
Steve laughed at her enthusiasm, placing the cake down in front of her with lit candles.
It was a double-tier red velvet cake with vanilla frosting, sloppy gooped all over it. Alya could tell it was homemade, but that was the best kind of cake. She just wondered how everyone managed to do all of this without her noticing!
"Hey!" Wanda quickly slapped her hand away from the dessert when she tried to reach her fingers in it. "We all have to eat this."
"But it's my birthday." Alya pouted at her sister.
"I know." The teen smirked. "And I'm sure you're going to get away with everything today. Don't put your hands in that cake."
"Uh, wrong." Natasha let it be known.
"Alya, make a wish and blow out the candles." Steve shook his head at the two.
"I want Mama to come and do it with me."
Natasha's birthday had been a few weeks prior on the third of December. Alya had tried to make a big deal out of it, enlisting the help of the adults, but Natasha just wasn't into it. She, of course, pretended to be for Alya's sake, but she just didn't like celebrating her birthday so extravagantly.
Now it was twenty-eighth, Alya's birthday, and she wanted to share it with her mother. She knew that her mother would do almost anything she asked, so she was pretty secure in this.
"It's not my day, honey."
"You have to!" Alya crossed her arms. "It's my birthday!"
"Oh for crying out..." Natasha rolled her eyes and made her way over to her, placing her on her lap. "You, Birthday Girl, are on thin ice."
Alya just giggled and stared at her cake.
"Make a wish so we can eat, please?"
The now twelve year old grinned and closed her eyes before blowing out one big breath.
She didn't tell anyone what she wished for, it wasn't much. She just wanted things to always be this wonderful.
A/N: This was a short one and a bit of a filler! But stay tuned, because we will be seeing our favorite teenaged arachnid sometime soon ;)