Real parents
"Maybe he is a vampire."
"Has Natasha ever looked like a vampire?" Melina asks, putting her hand on her waist. Looking at her stupid husband.
He scrutinizes his eldest daughter. "She looks a little pale." Natasha hears him and rolls her eyes.
Melina crosses her arms over her chest. Natasha had just been sick and thrown up all over her lunch. Yelena was sitting next to her, braiding the redhead's hair. Bruce left to get water for his girlfriend, and they stayed to take care of their stubborn daughter.
Bruce returns a short time later with a glass of water and accompanied by the butler of the mansion where they were. He kneels beside her and hands her the water to drink.
The group was invited to the mansion by a not very well-known millionaire. Ivan Petrovich, who recently revealed himself as Ivan Romanoff.
The guy was already dying and decided to reveal his real name to find his 'lost' daughter. Somehow, probably using his connections and a lot of his money, he managed to connect with Natasha and leaked everything to the media.
Natasha didn't even know what was going on. She had better things to worry about than a millionaire and his dramas. Until he revealed his real name, and suddenly the whole world was talking about 'Black Widow's real father'.
The redhead had already noticed the strange and bigger movement of the paparasis and people in general in the last few days, but she only learned about it when the news reached Tony and consequently all the Avengers.
She ignored it completely. It wasn't relevant to her. Natasha already had her family. The only person she would accept to see again was her mother, who knew she loved her and looked for her until the last days of her life.
This guy was a complete stranger who shared her last name. The money didn't matter. After all, she lived with Tony Stark. But regardless, it wouldn't make a difference in her life.
A few days later, the millionaire tried to get in touch with her. Natasha wanted nothing to do with him, but the media was crazy and not doing what he asked would only make more content for them. Which meant being tormented by them more than she already was since becoming an Avenger.
The man was already on his last legs. She just needed to go to his mansion in Europe, see him, and what he wanted. Then she could go back home as if nothing had happened.
His message said she could take someone with her if she wanted. Since Alexei and Yelena kept tormenting her, she decided to take the whole family. Her, her foster parents, her sister, and her boyfriend.
Yelena was naively happy that she had someone from her biological family alive and looking for her. Besides, he was rich, almost dying, which meant Natasha would inherit the money.
Alexei was more annoying than usual. Not in the usual stupid way. He was jealous of his eldest daughter's biological father. The youngest was loving everything, and the media was calling the millionaire 'real dad. Besides, Natasha usually called him by his name, not dad like Yelena did.
Melina had already learned to live with her husband's ways. Natasha and Yelena will never know what it was like in the beginning. The two had known each other for a long time before the Ohio mission. He was always annoying and self-centered. She had to make sure he didn't do anything stupid. It only got worse when they had to pretend to be husband and wife.
They have no idea how many times she almost killed him.
After a while, the fake feeling of the mission became real, and she learned to live with it. She even found his manner endearing.
But at that moment, even she was a little impatient with him. It was an unnecessary jealousy, and he didn't want to admit that was the problem. This led to several stupid comments about the man who had just passed away.
They arrived at the mansion, admiring everything around them. It was a beautiful house and it was huge. Alexei got more annoyed and started acting like it was no big deal.
Natasha was strangely quiet the whole trip. Normally, she would have pushed Yelena and her antics away by now and tried to punch Alexei, especially considering the way he is now.
Bruce also noticed that she was acting strange. He stayed by her side the whole time, holding her hand.
Knowing his daughter, it was likely that Bruce only knew part of the problem. She is too stubborn to open up to anyone, but even more so to her chaotic family.
The house was full of servants. They were less agitated than those outside, who tried to contain the crowd of reporters and curious people who wanted to see the millionaire and his daughter.
They became even more agitated when the crowd saw Natasha arriving hand in hand with Bruce and accompanied by three strangers.
Melina seemed the only one who bothered to turn her face away from the cameras.
The group was welcomed, and after introducing the house, they took Natasha and Bruce to meet Ivan.
The remaining trio stayed in one of the rooms, good food, which Alexei attacked as soon as he saw it, television, books, and a lot of comfort.
Yelena and Alexei kept arguing about everything. He was almost convincing her that this story wasn't as cool as he thought.
Melina stared at the bookshelf. Natasha was the most stubborn of them, but the truth was that everyone there was stubborn. Alexei wouldn't stop eating to deal with his stress even if she scolded him. Yelena wanted to believe that her sister had someone from her biological family alive, perhaps a hope that not all widows were abandoned.
Melina wasn't sure what to think. She knew Alexei was being childish, Natasha wouldn't trade them in for a guy she never saw in her life. Yelena would just be disappointed. Unfortunately, the truth was they had no family besides each other, but that's enough for her.
What worried her was her eldest daughter's reaction. That was what really mattered in the end. It was Natasha's life that was going to be affected the most.
When they were together, they always acted like normal people, even stranger. Often, Natasha and Yelena seemed to be teenagers ashamed of their father. But Natasha was neutral, even somber, much closer to the Black Widow than to the blue-haired girl.
An hour later, Yelena and Alexei were already bored, fighting to change the channel without really knowing what they wanted. Melina had found a physics book and was trying to read it even with the two's attempts to be dramatic and draw attention.
She had already felt like killing three employees who commented on her family's lack of manners, but they spoke relatively well of her, so she let it go. Melina noticed the gossip of the servants increasing. Some there were already sobbing, others wanting to pop champagne bottles.
Melina put the book down and waited a few seconds until her daughter appeared with Bruce holding her.
It was obvious the man had died, Alexei asked anyway. He didn't have the training Melina and her daughters had. But Natasha didn't seem to mind.
"Can we leave this place now?" Alexei asked, callous as ever.
"Not yet. They're going to take his body, and the lawyer will bring the documents for Natasha to sign." Bruce explains, still holding Natasha. Alexei throws himself on the couch, annoyed at having to stay longer.
"So all this is really yours?" Yelena asks, less offensive than her father, but still not the right thing to say.
"Yeah. All of it. A few more around the world, a factory, lots of money, and that's all we've been told." Natasha finally says something.
"Are you okay, sweetheart?" Melina walks over to Natasha and holds her hands.
"Yes. Just a little queasy."
"Ah! There's nothing interesting to do in this place!"
"Read a book, Alexei!" Melina exclaims still beside her daughter.
"Nah, I'll leave it to you, nerds." Alexei says, referring to his wife and Bruce.
"I read books too." Natasha says.
"And I'm very proud of you, Natalia."
Yelena laughs as they roll their eyes at him.
"Natasha?" Bruce asks as she starts to walk away towards the bathroom.
He follows her, and the others look worriedly. Alexei and Yelena get up, he stops next to Melina, and Yelena goes to her sister.
After a few minutes, the three leave. Yelena helps her sister sit down even though she says she doesn't need to. Bruce kisses the redhead's forehead and goes after water.
Alexei offends the employees who were worried about the body and the crowd outside. He wonders what they are for if they don't help. Melina taps his arm lightly, not because she disagrees, but because it's not the time.
Natasha tries to push everyone away, being stubborn and saying she doesn't need help. The parents stand around watching their daughter in case she gets sick again and Yelena starts braiding her sister's hair.
Natasha drinks the water. Bruce brought her, ignoring the comments about her biological father and her.
She knew he was jealous. It was obvious, and she didn't have to be a black widow to realize it. But she didn't understand why. The man who died only had her last name. Alexei may not have been the best father in the world, but he was a father for three years. All she knows of Ivan is the name and the money she will inherit.
Natasha would talk to Yelena later, that was if her mother hadn't already. But Alexei was already questioning whether Ivan was really dead, that he had some trap for her. He considered the idea of vampirism.
Her father was out of control. For her, it had already gone from annoying to funny.
"He's dead, I'm sure." Natasha said to her father.
"What, you killed him?" Alexei asks suspiciously.
"Alexei!" Melina exclaims, and Yelena laughs.
"No. But she wanted to." Bruce says, smiling at Natasha.
"He wouldn't stop talking. I don't know who he is. None of that matters to me." Natasha explains.
"Natasha, we're still at his house." Melina scolds her daughter, but smiles as do the others, especially Alexei.
"Didn't you hear the champagne? I didn't say anything too close to the employees' celebration. He wasn't a nice person."
"There are people crying too." Yelena remarks, finishing her braid.
"They must have only noticed my lack of interest in the inheritance. I don't need so many houses. Without houses, I don't need people to take care of."
"You're no good."
The lawyer arrives shortly afterward, which Natasha is grateful for since her family had been tormenting her after she became ill. Bruce just smiles beside her, having dealt with her stubbornness about her health many times before.
They talk and clarify all the details of the process and the inheritance. Natasha, as Ivan's only child, would receive everything he had.
The group was a bit shocked at the amount the old man had. Now Natasha would be a millionaire. Although she never wanted or needed it, she accepted it without a problem. She just wanted to get this over with and get back home as soon as possible.
One of the servants-the one who had accompanied them when they arrived-guided them through the house to the guest rooms. He left Natasha and Bruce's room last since they would be staying in a bigger room. After all, she was his boss now.
The family would spend the night there, it was a long trip, and it was their house anyway.
...
Later, the crowd outside had already been contained and dissipated. Some still appeared from time to time thinking they would have better luck. The group had settled in the house, the spies had already mapped the whole place and marked the faces of the workers. It was a normal thing for them, practically automatic after so many years doing this to survive and complete their missions.
Everyone was uncomfortable sleeping in such a big place, surrounded by strangers. The scientists, Bruce and Melina, decided to distract themselves with the books that entertained them. The spy and Bruce had this in common, and they liked to talk about science.
Yelena took control of the kitchen. She infiltrated, joined the cooks, and when they least expected it, they were already on the sidelines, while the blonde dominated and did what she wanted.
No one knew what she was up to, but they were sure that, even if it wasn't macaroni and cheese - her favorite food - it would be something spicy.
At some point during the twenty years they had gone without seeing each other, Yelena had acquired a love for chili that even Alexei couldn't understand.
Anyway, it was better than Natasha's food. She could be a disaster in the kitchen. Melina had even kicked her out of the kitchen. She wouldn't go anywhere near it while her mother was cooking.
Alexei was bored, still angry for no reason. He had calmed down a bit by now, but the boredom was driving him out of his mind.
He could join his youngest daughter in the kitchen, but he wasn't in the mood to cook. His wife was too busy with her son-in-law, talking about things Alexei didn't understand. The super soldier only knew what Melina taught him for missions, only what was necessary, and he was forced to learn.
Alexei was next to her, leaning his head on her shoulder, which made him half bent and half plastered on the couch because of his height. It wasn't a very comfortable position, and Melina was ignoring him. Whether it was deliberate or not, he didn't know, but he got tired of standing still.
He kissed her head and got up to go torment his eldest daughter. Melina didn't even move with the act, just continued commenting on her own book to Bruce.
Natasha needed some time alone. After she had left Bruce distracted enough not to despair with worry, she made her way to the top floor of the house.
There, she sat down at one of the large windows overlooking the garden, just outside the entrance to the house.
After much searching, Alexei found his daughter and joined her at the window.
Natasha had noticed her father approaching, she could hear his heavy footsteps long before he appeared. He could walk softly and approach unnoticed if he wanted to, or at least he could twenty years ago. He didn't have to do that at the moment, but she could see him doing it a long time ago too. She couldn't tell if he could still be discreet.
Natasha moved her legs to hang in the air and give him room to sit. There was more than enough room, but she turned away anyway, to let him know she wasn't bothered by his presence.
Alexei sat awkwardly next to his daughter. She turned away and he turned in, his feet on the floor.
The two sat in silence for a while. Natasha knew he couldn't take much, and waited until he couldn't take it. Which didn't take long.
"Are you better?"
Natasha just nodded, smiling as she knew Alexei's manner. The lack of conversation bothering him.
"Did I ever tell you about the time my dad took me fishing?" He asks interrupting the silence again. He doesn't even wait for the answer to start telling the story with the same excitement he used to tell the Red Guardian's stories when she was little.
Natasha rolls her eyes and listens in silence as he tells the story, until she starts to get annoyed with the father and son story.
"Alexei, now is not the time." She interrupts him. He stops and snorts angrily. "He died a few hours ago." She talks about her biological father, causing Alexei to roll his eyes and cross his arms.
"Sorry." He says irritated, but changes to regretful for his behavior after a few seconds.
"It's okay." She replies without any emotion.
"No. I've been behaving like Yelena as a child since I saw the news on TV. I'm sorry."
"It's okay. I don't mind."
"He was your real father." He says the last part hesitantly and with chagrin, failing to disguise it. "You have a right to be mad at me."
"I'm not. Really." She pauses for a while and then turns her face to look at him. "I just don't want to hear stories about kids and their real parents." She mimics his grimace as she says the same word, making it obvious that she didn't like the term either.
Alexei couldn't contain his satisfied smile. Feeling like the winner in a dispute that only happened in his mind. He realizes that his daughter was not okay with it, but not for Ivan's death.
"I'm terrible when I talk. But I can listen."
Natasha considers for a second, looking up at the starry sky. "Melina told me about my mother. How she fought to find me and lost her life for it." She pauses for a second, choosing her words and how she would explain what was going through her mind. "She said there was a trade. My family... they sold me. This guy has been around my whole life, never bothered to look..."
She stops, feeling tears forming in her eyes. "Where was he in all this?"
"You think he turned you in?"
"That or he didn't care what happened to my mother and me."
The two sit in silence for a while, taking in everything that has been said.
"He's an idiot!" he says and Natasha looks at him with neutral features. "He lost you growing up and the amazing girl you were. Now you get all the money and he dies a bitter, lonely death." Alexei speaks trying to console her in his own way. The pride he felt for her showing more and more.
Despite everything, Natasha smiles, trying to hold back a laugh.
"And he has no influence on the amazing woman you have become. The most dangerous and frightening woman on Earth." He speaks with pride of the title they gave her on the first anniversary of the battle of New York and the creation of the Avengers. For Alexei, the assassin and spy skills she and her sister had were a source of pride. Natasha didn't understand how destroying and taking lives was a reason for it.
Despite everything, Natasha leans into him, her shoulders vibrating with silent laughter.
"Thanks Dad."
"Did I get the words right this time?"
"Definitely not." She laughs, leaving him confused. "It wasn't the words I needed, but the person I needed to hear."
"You confuse me like your mother when you talk about organic chemistry."
Natasha laughs at him and crosses her legs out the window to sit inside like him. "That guy may have the same blood last name, but you're the one who taught me to ride a bike and told me stories. Despite everything - and there are many things - you are my father. And I'm okay with that."
Alexei smiles and ignores the tears forming. He doesn't cry, just hugs her and she returns it, still laughing.
"Ugh...what's going on in the kitchen?" Natasha asks as she breaks away from the hug.
"Yelena. Why?"
"What's she cooking?"
"I have no idea." Alexei replies and they both get up to find out what the blonde was up to.
"I hope it's not fish." Natasha grumbles halfway, starting to smell what her sister was cooking.
"Why? Don't you like fish anymore?"
"It's not that I don't like it... I just..." Natasha pauses briefly to think about how she would explain. "I just don't feel very good with any food that comes from the sea... and peanuts. At least not lately." She finishes by feigning sadness at not being able to eat peanuts.
"But you love peanuts! Peanuts, peanut butter, peanut candy, anything with peanuts." She had loved peanuts since the first time she tasted the food during her first days in Ohio. Natasha liked it so much that Alexei was already starting to worry.
"I wanted to eat it, but it makes me sick just to get near it. The smell is strong."
He was only more confused, and his daughter wasn't helping, acting like it was no big deal.
"Are you sick? You've been sick today, and if I understand correctly, it's been going on for a while."
"No. Everything's fine." He gives her a look that shows he's not convinced and she rolls her eyes. "If I don't get sick of Yelena's food, I'll explain it to everyone at once."
"Explain what? What's wrong with you? Do you want me to take you to a hospital? Did Ivan bite you?"
"He's not a vampire, Dad!" She gets angry, he still hadn't forgotten his irrational suspicions against the deceased millionaire.
"No one has proof of that."
"Do you want me to put a wooden stake through the heart of the body so you can be sure?" She scoffs.
"If not then what's the problem?"
"I'm pregnant!"
Alexei chokes. He probably already had what he was going to say next on the tip of his tongue, but he choked on his surprise. His eyes widened and his mouth opened slightly. His mind trying to process the whole idea of his eldest daughter being pregnant, having a baby, being a mother. He would be a grandfather.
Natasha pushed his chin up, closing his mouth, and then crossed her arms, waiting for a real - and better - reaction from her father.
"That's..."
"Before you ask: no, I don't know how that's possible, considering what the red room does to all the widows."
"I was going to ask if Banner is the father."
"He's obviously the father!" Natasha rolls her eyes and mutters loud enough for him to hear. "Meaningful questions is too much to expect from you..."
"Are you going to tell your mom and sister?"
"Of course. Bruce and I wanted to tell you three at once, but you're annoying."
"Hey, I was worried."
"No need. Bruce already worries more than enough."
They pass the pair still chatting science on the couch. The two walked in silence, every second Alexei understood better what that news meant, and his shock became joy and anxiety.
His worry and jealousy of Natasha's dead biological father were completely forgotten. He would no longer have to worry about a family member taking his place, now he would have a new family member to brighten everyone's life and call him grandfather. Which is father twice over. Leave the care to Natasha and Bruce, he decided at that moment that he would spoil the child, and be the favorite grandfather.
If Melina allowed it, of course. He wouldn't dare go against his wife. She had more sense than he did.
As soon as they spotted the two scientists on the couch, and they noticed them back, Alexei changed his route from the kitchen to his wife, excited and talking loudly.
Melina just rolled her eyes at his manner, yet smiled as her eldest daughter protested angrily at his actions.
As soon as Alexei told her the news, Melina could barely contain her surprise, all doubts appearing in the look she gave her daughter. Still, she smiled when she saw Alexei's excitement, Bruce's laughter and despite the hand covering her face, she could see Natasha's lips, trying to contain the smile.
Ignoring her daughter's protests once again, Alexei went after the younger girl, telling her the news. Natasha sighed and sat down next to her boyfriend, still laughing.
Bruce slipped an arm around her waist as she leaned against him. She only uncrossed her arms to bump him with her elbow, trying to make him stop laughing.
Melina reached out to her and Natasha took her hand. Bruce kissed the redhead's head, stopped laughing, but kept smiling.
Yelena joined them very confused, drying her hands on her pants and Alexei following her.
Natasha made Bruce explain, since she already had to do it once, though she interrupted him to make comments. Yelena was as excited as their father. At that moment she decided she would be the favorite aunt, already anticipating a battle against Jennifer, Bruce's cousin. The two got along well as best friends, but they were also very competitive.
While Alexei and Yelena made plans, the others listened, sometimes rolling their eyes and sometimes commenting on the crazy dream.
The silver lining in all the chaos was that Bruce and Natasha would be able to take care of their family. They would buy a house somewhere, make modifications to fit a lab and a special gym for spies, plus a big enough yard with things for their baby to play with.
That family would never be in that mansion again. It would be sold to someone else to make better memories than Ivan Romanoff.
None of them would think about the man, they had even forgotten about him.
Alexei would only think about him again when his grandson asked him to tell a vampire story. Which he would invent influenced by his jealousy that he had already overcome. Where he would be the hero (as in all his stories).