Previously:
Tony wasn't doing well after the team broke up because of the Accords. More importantly, he was heartbroken that Natasha had left to, since the two of them had a secret relationship that had spanned a number of years. Still, he kept looking for her, and finally found her just in time for her to be taking down her old enemy Dreykov, the man who stole her childhood and made her into the weapon she currently is. After Tony tracks her down to a prison in Russia, he confronts her about why she left and hasn't talked to him at all, and finds out she was pissed at him for calling her a double agent.
Things are iffy for a moment between them, but eventually they kind of make up, the best they can when Natasha is in the middle of taking down her old spy agency. Tony hounds her to death until she lets him tag along, and now they have just arrived at Melina's house, where he will get to 'meet the parents' so to speak. Nothing could prepare him for sitting down to dinner with a table full of spies.
Chapter 3
Natasha looks at herself in the full-length mirror, a smile on her face.
She spins a couple of times, admiring the new green highlights in her hair, strikinga pose, pretending she's like one of the supermodels from the magazines.
They're fierce, and always in control, just like the Red Room taught her to be, even though she never wants to go back the models - they mean business, and they never let anyone push them around like she gets pushed around. With people always telling her where to go and what to do. She wants to be like the models from now on. Not needing anyone. Always free. Maybe as long as they stay in Ohio, there is a chance.
"I want green hair!" Yelena yells over the radio, jumping on their mom and dad's bed.
They aren't really their mom and dad, but Yelena doesn't know that.
Natasha does, but she lets herself pretend because for once she's feels safe and cared for.
It may all just be a dream, but it's a dream she never wants to wake up from.
"Alright girls, let's get some lunch, shall we?" Their mom asks, coming out of the bathroom where she was cleaning up the hair dye. "Yelena, you can get green hair next time after the pink washes out."
It's the summer of 1994, the air is light and crisp, with fat robins tweeting overhead, basking in the warm August sunshine. Squirrels race across the electric lines towering their small neighborhood.A breeze flutters the freshly washed shirts on the clothesline pinned between two oaks in the backyard.
Natasha bursts out the back door carrying a plate of sandwiches, beating Yelena to the picnic table with a giggle.
The two girls quickly set down the food in their hands and dart off towards the swing set, leaving their mom behind carrying the rest of the supplies - a jug of iced tea, silverware, and napkins.
Yelena bounces over into one of the swings holding her teddy bear and yells for Natasha to push her.
"Push me, Tasha!" She squeals, grinning, clutching the arm of her pink bear between her hand and the metal chain, holding on as Natasha steps behind her and pushes until her feet leave the ground.
Natasha pushes her so high that Yelena is able to see over the fence into the neighbor's backyard, and their dog.
She wishes they could have a dog, but their mom and dad said no.
"Girls, lunch. Come on. You can play after!" Their mom calls again, hand on her hip.
Yelena's bare feet scrape the worn dirt beneath the swing as she slows to a stop.
Natasha grins at her.
"Race you," she says.
"Okay." Yelena smiles, skipping over to the end of the swing set.
They both lay one hand on the slanted pole, preparing themselves for a race.
"Ready?" Natasha smirks.
"Yep," Yelena nods.
"GO!"
Two sets of skinny legs pedal across the grass, burning trails into the lush looks over her shoulder, seeing thatYelena is far behind. She slows a bit to let the younger girl catch up, doing her best not to make it noticeable. In response, Yelena's eyes bulge as she passes her at the last second, reaching and slapping her hand on the picnic table first in victory.
"I WIN!" She laughs, happily.
"Great job, honey. As fast as a cheetah!" Her mom eyes Natasha knowingly.
The three of them sit down and begin to girls dip their celery sticks into peanut butter, then use them to have sword fights while their mom rattles off random multiplication and science facts, quizzing them. The three make faces at each other, and for that moment nothing else exists. Certainly not the Red Room.
Later that night, after they've brushed their teeth, they climb into bed and their dad appears in the doorway like clockwork, leaning his talk figure against the frame of their shared room.
"Girls, did you brush your teeth?" He asks.
"Yes," they answer at the same time.
"Good." He smiles and comes over to sit on the edge of Yelena's bed.
"This one, daddy!" Yelena holds up her favorite Berenstain Bears book.
Alexei chuckles at her enthusiasm.
Natasha rolls her eyes, because its the same story every night, and she's too old for bedtime stories.
"It was just two days after Thanksgiving, and the sights and sounds of Christmas could be seen and heard all over Bear Country…"
As she lays there, Natasha wonders about her real parents.
Where are they? Alive? If they are, why isn't she with them? If she were, would her nights still be like this?
She likes to think it would, but for now she can settle for this.
"I don't want to leave," she mumbles to Alexei, half asleep when he comes over to tuck her in, even though she's told him she's too old for that to.
He merely smiles and stares down at her with soft eyes, pressing a kiss her forehead.
"Go to sleep, little Natasha."
Present Day
Natasha sighs entering Melina's house with Tony trailing behind her.
"Welcome to my humble abode. Make yourself at home," she says, toting her sniper down the hall with her. "Let's have a drink."
But Natasha is no dummy. Fake mother her not, she follows her, wanting to make sure she isn't going to get a more appropriate weapon set to take them all out.
She has Tony to worry about now, regardless if he is Iron Man. He hasn't gone up against a widow in battle before, and he is doesn't know how her world works. That's why It's a risk even having him along, but he doesn't think about that. All he cares about is redeeming himself in her eyes.
"Hey, no funny business," she says, watching Melina open what should be a kitchen pantry door, but is actually a secret room full of weapons.
The woman sets her sniper inside and turns back.
"I'm puttingawaymy weapon."
Natasha moves to the window and peers outside, her body going into antennae mode, surveying the house, noting the details of her surroundings.
"Any booby traps around here. Anything we need to know about?" She asks.
"I didn't raise my girls to fall in traps," Melina says.
"You didn't raise us at all," Natasha corrects.
She shouldn't care this much.
Why does she care this much?
It was three years, and they weren't even real.
"Oh, maybe so. But if you got soft, it wasn't on my watch."
Back in the living room, Tony is busy watching Yelena, hoping he doesn't look as uncomfortable as he feels.
As soon as they got in the house he did a scan of the place, not knowing what to expect.
There's a small room full of weapons down the hall, but that's better than what his imagination was conjuring up. That said, it's hard to relax when you feel like chum in a shark's tank, and while he might be an Avenger, this is definitely not his world.
All the lies. All the secrets.
This is Natasha's domain, but he's not about to let a little bit of uncomfortableness stop him. As far as he's concerned, if he can make it through a confrontation with her he can make it through anything else that's thrown at him.
"You could sit down, lover boy," Yelena says, while pouring herself a shot of vodka. "You seem nervous."
"I'm fine," Tony replies.
"Well, you look a little green around the gills, as you Americans would say."
"Leave him alone, Yelena," Natasha says, coming back into the room, walking over and sitting down at the table.
"It's not my fault your boyfriend is so tense," Yelena chuckles.
Melina motions to one of the chairs.
"Please Mr. Stark, have a seat. We are just having drinks and a little food."
Tony stares at her, and then at Natasha, wanting some kind of confirmation she thinks this is a good idea.
She shrugs at him, then pushes out a chair beside her with her foot. He figures that's about as good of a signal as he's going to get, and so he cautiously steps out of his armor and goes over to sit down beside her.
Yelena's eyes drop to his chest where he has on a mecha godzilla t-shirt.
"Godzilla huh? Mothra is my favorite."
"She gets obliterated every time."
Natasha grabs his hand underneath the table and pulls it into her lap, which surprises him, but also allows him to relax a little more.
"Okay fine, but she is immortal," Yelena says.
"So is Godzilla."
"Why the hell are you two talking about Godzilla?" Natasha asks.
"My shirt." Tony replies.
"Mmm."
Yelena downs another shot.
"So, Iron Man, how long have you been banging my sister?"
Melina smacks Yelena's hand.
"Yelena, do not speak like that at the table," she chastises her.
"What?!" Yelena pouts, rubbing her skin. "Is legitimate question. She is a fugitive. Technically, you are betraying your country right now by being here with her are you not? I would call that somewhat of serious relationship."
"I told you on the plane, it's none of your business." Natasha glares at her.
"Fine." Yelena rolls her eyes and purses her lips, pouring another shot. "But you were kind of making it everyone's business back in the plane." She mutters under her breath.
Tony really is not sure what to make of this odd setting.
Hell, these people might as well be the Avengers when they first teamed up for how they treat eachother.
"You okay?" He asks Natasha, because she's drinking a lot, but then they all are.
"Why wouldn't I be?"
He shrugs.
Suddenly, everyone's heads whip up as groans erupt from the back room.
"What the hell is that?" Tony peers in the direction of the noise, now getting a very Texas Chainsaw Massacre vibe.
Yelena and Natasha sigh, obviously knowing something he doesn't, but he soon finds out.
Alexei steps out of the bathroom, squeezed into what must be his old Red Guardian costume.
"Ahem," he says, to get their attention, as if he hasn't already.
"Still fits" He grins, cockily, motioning to the spandex screaming against his overflowing figure.
He winks at Melina, who lets out a loud wolf whistle and claps.
Yelena looks at Natasha and both look on in horror and embarassment.
"Ha! HAAAAAA!" Alexei howls in delight, moving to the table.
"I never washed it once." Melina smiles at him.
Tony snickers quietly, until he notices Natasha giving him the evil eye.
"Enjoying this?" She asks.
"I don't think I've seen you embarrassed before," he says, smiling. "It's pretty cute."
She narrows her eyes at him, but there's a hint of a smile on her lips.
Melina motions to the chair at the head of the table for Alexei to sit down.
"Come and drink," she says to him.
The man grins and sloths over to stand at the foot of the table, gazing over its occupants with a proud, shit-eating grin on his face.
"Family, back together again. Ah, and now we add one more." He raises his glass at Tony.
Tony smiles and glances hesitantly at Natasha.
"Tony. You may be American, but I can already tell you make my little girl happy. We are glad to have you," Alexei says.
"Uh, thanks?" Tony raises his glass back politely, then goes limp as Natasha nearly dislocates his thumb in her lap.
"I told you, I'm not your little girl," she growls at Alexei.
Melina sighs.
"Seeing as our family construct was just a calculated ruse that only lasted 3 years, I don't think we can use this term anymore either, can we?" She asks, spooning food onto her plate.
"Agreed. So, here's what's going to happen-"
"Okay, a reunion then, huh?" Alexei picks up a dish and piles some food onto his plate. "Let me just say something right off the bat." He gazes at Melina adoringly. "You haven't aged a day. You're just as beautiful and as supple as the day they staged our marriage."
"You got fat." Melina deadpans.
Tony starts laughing softly again, because it's like watching a bad comedy as Alexei keeps shamelessly throwing his charm at Melina, who honestly seems to be enjoying it.
"I just got out of prison," he says. "I uh... have a lot of energy." He waggles his eyebrows at her.
"Please, don't do that." Natasha pleads with them both, the look on Yelena's face seconding it. "...now here's what's going to happen..."
"Natasha, don't slouch," Melina suddenly replies.
"What?"
She pauses and frowns, sitting up self-consciously.
"I'm not slouching."
"Yes, yes, you are."
Tony chuckles to himself eating a carrot stick.
"I don't slouch." Natasha insists, but straightens up more anyway.
"You're going to get a back hunch," Melina warns her.
"Listen to your mother." Alexei touches her shoulder.
Natasha glares at them both.
"Alright, that's enough, all of you!"
The table goes silent.
"I didn't say anything," Yelena pouts at her. "That's not fair."
"Here's what's going to happen!"
"I don't want any food!" Yelena groans, because Melina keeps pushing it towards her.
"Eat a little something, Yelena, for God's sake."
"You're going to tell us the location of the Red Room!" Natasha says, in the tone she uses that Tony would not be inclined to argue with.
But Melina and Alexei just smirk each other thoughtfully.
"You know, it's like when you told them that they could stay up late to catch Santa Claus," Melina says, amused.
"What?" Alexei grins. "That was fun. You know, he come down the chimney girls. Lookout, where is he? You wait for him, and then when the cookies are gone, then you see he's there. I want them to follow their dreams."
"No good." Melina shakes her head.
"Finding Dreykov is not a fantasy. It's unfinished business," Natasha replies.
"You can't defeat a man who commands the very will of others." Melina shakes her head. "You never saw the culmination of what we started in America. Nor did you." She looks at Alexei.
Then she gets up and leaves the table. Alexei looks over at Natasha disapprovingly.
"Natasha, always focus, focus, get what you want."
Natasha sneers at him, looking as if she is about to throttle him, but thankfully Melina returns, only now she is carrying a tablet.
Without explanation, she yells something in Russian, and then a pig comes waltzing through the doggy door, leaving them all scratching their heads.
"Did that thing just open the door?" Natasha asks.
"Yes, it did. Good boy Alexei, good boy," Melina praises the ham.
"You named a pig after me?" Alexei pouts.
"You don't see the resemblance?" Melina smiles. "See? He sits just like dog. Amazing, now watch."
"It's a little weird to me."
"Stop breathing."
Tony blinks.
"Wait. What?"
He frowns down at the pig, along with Natasha.
"Is this going to turn into Silence of the Pigs?" He whispers to her.
She shoots him a look.
"We infiltrated the North Institute in Ohio. It was a front for Shield scientists. Actually, it was Hydra scientists at that time. In conjunction with the Winter Soldier project. They had dissected and deconstructed the human brain to create the first and only cellular blueprint of the basal ganglia. Was the hub for cognition. Voluntary motor movement, procedural learning. We didn't steal weaponry or technology. We stole the key to unlocking free will."
Whatever fun Tony was having with this situation dies right there.
Natasha seems to ignore it though, too worried about the pig as it falls over from lack of oxygen.
"What are you doing?" She asks.
"Oh, I am explaining that the science is now so exact, the subject can be instructed to stop breathing and has no choice but to obey," Melina says.
"Okay, well you made your point. That's enough."
"Yes, all right. Well, don't worry, Alexei could've survived 11 more seconds without oxygen." Melina taps her tablet again.
The pig gasps as soon as she hits the button, then hops back to its feet like nothing happened.
"Good boy. Now, you go back, back home," she says. "Where it's safe."
"Yeah, where it's safe," Tony furrows his brow, deeply disturbed by this.
"The world functions on a higher level when it is controlled. Dreykov has chemically subjugated agents planted around the globe," Melina says.
"Oh? And do you know who they test it on?" Yelena speaks up, glaring.
Melina shakes her head, oblivious.
"Hmm...no that's not my department."
"Ah, come on, don't lie to them," Alexei tells her. "You're Dreykov's architect."
Melina looks at him angrily.
"And what were you?!" She asks, defensively. "If I was his architect, you were his partner. You were his business partner!"
"No, no, no. I was patsy! He sell me ideology." Alexi frowns.
"Oh, stop with the politics." Melina rolls her eyes.
Tony jumps as Natasha slams her hand on the table.
"Shut up!" She yells at all of them. "Just shut up."
"You are an idiot." She says, vehemently to Alexei. "And you, you are a coward!" She looks squarely at Melina. "And our family was never real, so there's nothing to hold onto. We're moving on."
"Never family huh?" Alexei protests. "In my heart, I am simple man. I think that for a couple deep undercover Russian agents. I think we did pretty great as parents."
"Yes, we had our orders, and we played our roles to perfection," Melina adds, in their defense.
"Who cares!" Natasha exclaims. "That wasn't real! So who cares!?"
"Don't say that." Yelena looks around the table emotionally. "Please don't say that. It was real. It was real to me."
"You are my mother," she says to Melina. "You were my real mother. The closest thing I ever had to one. The best part of my life was fake? And none of you told me. And those agents you chemically subjugated around the globe? That was me! And you." She glares at Natasha. "You got out. Dreykov made sure no one could escape…Aren't you going to say anything?"
Natasha looks down guiltily.
Yelena shakes her head and gets up.
"Yelena!" Natasha calls after her to late.
"No."
Melina sighs and shakes her head.
"I had no idea," she says to Alexei.
"It's okay, it's okay. I'll go talk to her," he replies, getting up and going after Yelena.
It leave only Natasha, Melina, and Tony at the table. He awkwardly looks between them both.
"Where are you going?" Melina asks, as Natasha suddenly gets up.
"To do this myself. Come on, Tony," she says, plenty through with their little reunion of theirs.
"Don't." Melina pleads with her, as Tony steps back into the armor. "You won't survive."
"We'll be fine," Tony replies, his faceplate snapping into place.
He follows Natasha into the hall.
"I wish I could believe that you cared," Natasha says to her. "But you're not even the first mother that abandoned me."
"No," Melina says, still on their heels. "You weren't abandoned. You were selected by a program that assessed the genetic potential in infants."
Tony accidently bumps into Natasha's as she stops cold, turning around to face Melina.
"What?" She asks softly, an unreadable expression on her face, although that's usually the case.
"...I was taken?"
Melina sighs.
"I believe a bargain was struck. Your family paid off...but your mother…she never stopped looking for you. She was like you in that way. She was relentless."
"Well what happened to her?"
Melina looks down and shakes her head.
"Dreykov...had her killed. Her existence threatened to uncover the Red Room. Normally the actions of one curious civilian wouldn't warrant an execution, but as I said, she was relentless..."
Tony glares at Melina, while Natasha remains quiet.
"I thought about her every day of my life," Natasha says. "Whether or not I admitted it to myself. I did."
"I always found its best not to look into the past."
Natasha holds back tears, gazing at the bookshelf next to them.
"Then why did you keep this?" She asks, grabbing an old photo album off the shelf, looking through the pages. "You told me to leave it that day. But you kept it."
Melina shifts uncomfortably.
"I remember this day," Natasha says as she touches a photo inside. "We shot christmas, thanksgiving, easter, and summer vacation all in one day. Different backdrops. I knew all the presents under the tree were just empty boxes, but I didn't care. I wanted to open every single one, so just for a second it would feel."
She and Melina lock eyes.
"Let's stop this," Melina says, taking the book from her, setting it aside.
"Why are you doing this?" Natasha asks.
"Why does a mouse born in a cage run on that little wheel? Do you know I was cycled through the Red Room four times before you were even born? Those walls are all I know. I was never given a choice."
"Yeah, but you're not a mouse, Melina. You were just born in a cage, but that's not your fault."
Melina gazes at Natasha, bewildered.
"Tell me, how did you keep your heart?" She asks.
"Pain only makes us stronger. Didn't you tell us that? What you taught me kept me alive."
Melina's shakes her head.
"Natasha…I'm sorry, but I already alerted the Red Room, they'll be here any minute."