Tangled Up
Hello all!
So, sorry this took forever but treatment is kicking me pretty hard. But the story must go on! Whoo! Hope ya'll enjoy! Also in response to a couple of people who mentioned the spelling, this is not beta read so oops. Things happen. Sorry!
Both girls napped together for about an hour, Yelena waking up shortly after but opting to stay with Kate. Kate slept on for another half hour before she woke up, stretching happily before opening her eyes. She beamed when she saw Yelena, lunging forward to hug her friend.
“Lena! Missed you!” Kate grinned, hugging her tight.
“Missed you too! You ok?” Yelena asked, looking Kate over.
“Yeah, I gots you a uprise!” Kate chirped, moving to peer over the rails to try and get down.
“I’ll help you, hang on!” Yelena said, climbing over the side then helping Kate down to the floor.
“Come on, come on!” Kate urged, pulling Yelena over to the kitchen.
“Tasha! Where the uprise?” Kate called, looking around in confusion.
“Hang on a second, I’ll get it. Be patient,” Natasha laughed, noticing Alexei and Wanda sneaking into the girl’s room.
Kate practically skipped in place as she waited, urging Yelena to close her eyes as Natasha handed her the pack of juice boxes. Making sure she had a good grip, she told Yelena to open her eyes as she lifted them into the air.
“Tada!” she cheered, a large grin on her face.
“Whoa, those look good! Where’d you get them?” Yelena asked, grinning back.
“Store. You like box, we gots box!” Kate said, holding out the pack to Yelena.
“Aww, thank you!” Yelena said shyly, taking the juice and hugging Kate.
“Elcome!” Kate mumbled, happy to please her friend.
“Alright my girls, is there anything in particular you want to do today? We still have most of the afternoon,” Natasha asked, hoping it was something simple.
“Kitties!” Kate chirped, pointing to the TV where a documentary on lions was playing.
“Umm… well, we can go to the zoo but it’s a little late for that if you want to see everything. Maybe we can do that tomorrow. How about the park?” Natasha offered, knowing by the time they got to the zoo it would be too late for a decent visit.
“Park!” Yelena cheered, racing off to get her shoes.
“I like the park,” Kate told Natasha, her tiny face so serious she couldn’t help but chuckle.
“I’m glad. And maybe there’ll be your own surprises when we get back,” Natasha hinted as Wanda and Alexei came back into the room.
“Wanda, we’re going to the park! You need shoes,” Yelena said eagerly, pulling at Wanda to get to the shoe rack by the door.
“Oh, well alright! Hang on, Yelena. I can get my shoes,” Wanda laughed, trying to hurry as Yelena bounced next to her.
“Well, seems someone cannot wait to go,” Alexei boomed, making them jump.
“Daddy, we’re going to the park!” Yelena told him excitedly.
“Yes, we are! But first, shoes. Then we should probably get Kate,” he said with a smile, laughing when she gasped and dashed off to find her friend.
Kate was sitting by the couch, humming to herself as she played with Buddy and Rexie, little socked feet kicking slightly.
“Kate, do you need help with your shoes?” Yelena asked, grinning when Kate looked up at her.
“No shoes, I playin’,” Kate said, holding her toys up.
“But we’re going to the park!” Yelena said aghast.
“No shoes, can’t find,” Kate shrugged before going back to her game, not noticing the groan Yelena let out as she stomped over to her older sister.
“Tasha, where are Kate’s shoes? She can’t find them and we can’t go until she does,” Yelena complained.
“Probably by the door, she had them when we came in and I think I took them off there if you want to check,” Natasha said, ruffling Yelena’s hair as she got some small snacks for them.
Wanda walked over to her as Yelena dashed off, wrapping her arms around Natasha’s waist and nuzzling her neck. Natasha leaned back with a small sigh, letting herself be swayed for a moment before continuing to get the bag ready.
“Hey, since Melina and Alexei are here, what say you and I have a date night?” Wanda suggested, pressing a small kiss to her pulse point.
“Oh? And what does this date night entail?” Natasha asked, intrigued by the offer.
“You, me, dinner, possibly a movie if you are up for it. But just a night for the two of us,” Wanda purred, placing a trail of kisses along the side of her neck.
Natasha held back a groan as she tilted her head to the side, giving her Sokovian better access. Even though they had only been taking care of the girls a few days, going from at least some alone time to zero had been a hard hit.
“I think that sounds amazing. Let’s do it,” Natasha agreed, turning to give Wanda a hard kiss.
“Tasha, no bite Anda!” a tiny voice cried, followed by a few firm taps to their legs.
The two broke apart, looking down to see Kate staring back at them with a stern expression. It took everything they had to keep from laughing, she was so adorable.
“Definitely looking forward to tonight,” Natasha confirmed, swooping down to pick up Kate who let out a little squeak.
Kate let out a stream of laughter as Natasha held her close, moving her shirt up to blow a few raspberries on her belly.
“Tasha, no! Tickles!” she giggled, pressing against Natasha’s face half-heartedly.
“Oh, I’m so sorry, you just looked good enough to eat,” Natasha teased, making mock biting sounds against her.
“No eat people! That bad,” Kate laughed, leaning her head back when she heard Yelena stomping over.
“Kate, I found your shoes! Let’s get them on,” Yelena urged, giving her sister an unimpressed look as she put Kate down.
“Your supposed to be helping, not distracting,” she complained, plopping down to help Kate with her shoes.
“Well, good to know some things haven’t changed,” a calm voice rang out, making everyone turn to the door.
“Laura, good to see you! Glad you made it,” Wanda said, moving forward to hug her as Clint kissed his wife.
“Good to be here. I heard you two have a couple of new additions,” she said, glancing over to the girls.
Kate stared back at her, a little nervous but overall she seemed calm. Clint was surprised that she wasn’t trying to hide. Yelena, on the other hand, was watching her with a glare as she fastened the velcro on Kate’s shoes. After checking that they weren’t too tight, she stood up and purposefully moved in front of Kate.
“Tasha, who’s that?” she asked, pointing over at Laura.
“Don’t point, Yelena, it’s not nice. And THAT is Laura, a good friend of ours and Clint’s wife. They have their kids with them too, somewhere,” Natasha said, glancing around for the Barton brood.
“They are with Tony at the moment in the lab, I wanted to meet the girls first before bringing in those three,” Laura explained, moving forward so she could meet the girls.
Laura kept her voice low and calm as she kneeled before them, holding out her hand as she introduced herself. Yelena eyed her suspiciously before shaking it, keeping herself between them as Kate gave her a wave.
“Hello, it’s nice to meet you both! Are you having a good day?” Laura asked, moving to sit cross legged on the floor.
“It WILL be when we get to the park,” Yelena grumped, crossing her arms with a pout.
“Yelena,” Melina warned, fixing her youngest with a look.
“Sorry, Mama,” Yelena said, letting out a sigh.
“It’s alright, darling, but you have to be patient,” Melina told her.
“Fiiiiiiiiiine,” Yelena said with a small whine.
“Morning scary but after was fun,” Kate piped up, looking over at Laura curiously.
“I’m sorry you had a scary morning, but I’m glad you after having a good day now. Are you guys going to the park?” Laura asked, smiling at the tiny girl.
“Yeah, maybe?” Kate questioned, looking over at the adults.
“We are, Laura you want to come with us?” Wanda asked.
“Sure, Clint can go get the kids. Are we driving or walking?” Laura asked.
“Walking. There’s a park just down the road a little ways, may as well enjoy the weather before it gets too cold,” Natasha said, handing off the diaper bag to Alexei.
“Yes, let’s go!” Yelena yelled, jumping up and down a few times before grabbing Natasha and Melina’s hands to pull them to the door.
“Whoa, hang on firefly! We have to get everyone, THEN we can go. Patience, remember? We don’t want to leave anyone behind,” Melina scolded lightly.
“We wouldn’t leave anyone!” Yelena argued.
“Really? You sure? Because Kate is still sitting there,” Melina said dryly, chuckling when Yelena froze before whirling around to see that Kate hadn’t moved.
“Oops,” Yelena mumbled, flashing her mother a sheepish smile.
“Oops indeed. Now, let’s make sure we have EVERYONE and then we can go. Okay?” Melina bargained, holding out her pinky.
Yelena smiled as she linked their pinkies, giving it a firm shake.
“Kate, you ready to go?” she called, turning back to her toddler.
“We go now?” Kate asked, looking up from where she had gotten distracted by Buddy.
“Yeah, but you should leave Buddy and Rexie here. They may get lost,” Yelena said, holding her hand out to help Kate up.
“Otay,” Kate mumbled, handing her toys over to Laura. Something about this woman just made her feel comfortable, and she felt she could trust her since the other adults seemed to.
“Yay!” Yelena cheered, making sure Kate was balanced before carefully pulling her over to the door.
“I guess we are all set,” Laura said, placing the toys on the couch before noticing the two dogs hovering in the hallway.
“Should we take the dogs? They haven’t been out much,” she asked.
“Yeah, probably. I’ll get their leashes, who wants who?” Natasha asked, moving over to the basket.
“I take Lucky!” Kate offered, holding out her good hand for the leash.
“Ok, how about you help me walk Lucky? We can take him together,” Laura offered, not sure how the bouncy Golden would do with a three-year-old.
“Otay!” Kate chirped, letting Laura hold the leash and then grabbing some of the slack, Lucky waiting patiently with his human.
“I guess I’ve got Fanny,” Natasha shrugged, clipping her leash on and handing it to Clint when he motioned for it.
“You’ve got the food, I’ve got the dog and Kate has Lucky with mild assistance from Laura,” he winked, ruffling Kate’s hair when she smiled up at him.
“Park please!” Yelena called from the doorway, foot tapping as she waited.
“Ok, ok we’re going,” Natasha laughed as they all went out the door.
Laura stopped a moment to check in with her kids, but all of them were enraptured with what Tony was working on and didn’t want to join them.
“Probably for the best, too many new people may not be good for our hawkling,” Laura mused as they walked down the sidewalk towards the park.
“True, although Lucky is actually walking well for once,” Clint noticed, Lucky walking happily beside Kate as she skipped along.
“He loves her, he is a smart dog and knows something is up,” Laura smiled.
They easily made it to the park and unleashed the kids on the playground, making sure they knew the usual rules before sending them off. Kate turned midway to check they were still there before following Yelena over to the playset, the older girl helping her up the steps and across the bouncy bridge to the slides. Kate stopped halfway on the bridge, looking down curiously at the moving boards before giving a small jump. She squealed happily when it bounced beneath her, the only thing keeping her on her feet being Yelena’s firm grip on her and rail.
“You like bouncing?” Yelena asked, grinning at the happy toddler.
“Yeah, it’s fun!” Kate said, laughing as Yelena jumped with her for a moment before they went to the slides.
A couple of other children were waiting to go down, and Yelena held Kate’s hand as they waited for their turn. She looked between the two and pointed toward the twisting slide.
“Want to try that one? It’s a lot of fun and I’ll hold you the whole time!” Yelena assured her.
“Otay!” Kate agreed, complete trust in her friend as she sat down, waiting for Yelena to situate herself behind her.
“Ready?” Yelena asked, arms wrapping around her middle.
“Go!” Kate squeaked, laughing as Yelena pushed them down the slide.
She threw her hands in the air as they went down, making sure to be careful with her cast as they went down the turns and ended up at the bottom.
“Again!” she said, carefully getting off the slide before wobbling for a second.
“Dizzy?” Yelena asked, giggling when Kate nodded.
“More slide, peas?” Kate asked, giving her a toothy smile.
“Ok, we can go again! After that do you want to go to the boat?” Yelena asked, leading Kate back to the steps.
“Boat?”
“Yeah, there’s a play boat over there! We can be pirates!” Yelena said excitedly, being sure to be a little quicker over the bridge so Kate didn’t get distracted.
“Nice pirates?” Kate asked, starting to get intrigued by the new game.
“Yup! We can be nice pirates who go and sail the sea making friends with mermaids!” Yelena told her, making sure she had a good hold of Kate before propelling them down slide.
They landed in a small heap at the bottom, both giggling as they untangled themselves to head over to the play ship. Yelena saw that it was empty of other kids, the park not super busy at this time of day.
“Can we be pirates with just us?” Kate asked with a small frown.
“Yeah, we can!” Yelena assured her, helping her up the step to the steering wheel.
“But who gonna be the mermaids?” Kate asked again, smiling as she spun the wheel.
“That’s true… and we don’t have a monster to fight with… I’ll ask my parents! Wait here!” Yelena said, jumping over the step and running to where the adults were gathered.
“Daddy! Mama! We need you!” she called, barreling into her father’s legs.
“Whoa, little firefly, slow down! What do you need? Are you hurt?” Melina asked, kneeling down to look her over.
“No, we’re playing pirates and we need a mermaid to make friends with and a monster to fight!” Yelena explained quickly, throwing her best puppy dog eyes at them.
“Oh, I see! Well, every pirate needs those things so let’s get going!” Alexei declared, throwing a giggling Yelena over his shoulder and pulling Melina by the hand to the play area.
The others laughed as they watched him set the tiny blonde down, her hands moving to her hips as she was clearly instructing them on what they were doing. They all began to cackle when she moved Alexei over to the side, clearly seeing him try to argue with her as she made him play the mermaid. Melina was laughing herself as she moved off to be the sea monster after checking on Kate, the toddler contenting herself with spinning the wheel around and playing with the little sea figures that were around.
“They seem to be having fun. Was Yelena always a little boss when she was younger?” Laura asked, wiping a tear from her eye as her chuckles died down.
“You have no idea. She almost always took charge of our games, but she’s a good leader and made sure everyone had a fair part that they wanted to do. Or usually was, I wonder why Alexei is the mermaid,” Natasha mused as she watched Melina slink around the boat, reaching her hands into the gaps to tickle at the girl’s legs.
“We can ask her later on, who knows but I’d love to hear her reasoning,” Wanda said with a smile as she turned to Clint.
“So, Clint, since your kids are here are you going to be in our place tonight or your own?” she asked nonchalantly.
“Well, depends on how the girls get on with them but I think they’ll do ok. Coop and Lila know what’s going on and are old enough to stay back if they need to and Nate gets along with everybody,” Clint shrugged.
“That’s true, plus Laura and my parents will be there,” Natasha said with an innocent smile.
“Oh, and where might you two be?” Laura asked, a knowing grin forming.
“Well, we were wondering if you perhaps wanted to watch the girls with Melina and Alexei while we had a date night,” Wanda said, batting her eyelashes playfully at them.
“Sure, we remember needing those with the kids. Probably not easy being thrown into this like you were, we at least had time to plan. What are you two doing?” Clint asked curiously, throwing his arm around Laura’s shoulder.
“Probably dinner and a movie, something simple that won’t keep us out too late,” Natasha told him, leaning into Wanda as they watched the girls ‘defeat’ Melina and Alexei pop up the side to talk to them.
“That sounds fun. How do you think the girls will take it?” Laura asked, knowing based on what Clint had told her that Kate was very attached to them.
“I think Yelena will be fine, but Kate may need some extra attention. As long as we reassure her that we will be back I think she will be ok though,” Wanda said thoughtfully.
“Agreed, plus as mean as it sounds, she has to learn that it’s ok if we leave,” Natasha said as she let her eyes fall shut. She was so tired it wasn’t even funny.
“I think she will be fine. We’ll be there too, and I’m sure our kids will keep them pretty busy,” Clint mused as he waved over at Kate when she looked their way.
She waved back, turning to tell Yelena something before moving to the edge. Melina lifted her off to place her on the ground, laughing as she took off as fast as her tiny legs could go towards the others. She tripped once, falling hard on her face about six feet away from them. They all rushed forward as she slowly sat up, lip pouting out as she sniffled and rubbed at her eye.
“Kate, are you ok?” Wanda asked, kneeling down to inspect her.
“I falled,” she said, looking up with a wobbly lip.
“You did, but you also got up right after. You are such a brave girl,” Laura praised, making Kate look at her with interest.
“I brave?” she asked, head tilting slightly.
“Yes, you are. Very much so. Now, are you hurt or are you ready to stand up?” Laura asked, her motherly instincts taking over. She could see a couple of minor scrapes on her arms, but overall she seemed fine.
“Umm, I’m good! I can stand!” Kate chirped, letting Clint lift her to her feet. Behind them Yelena was racing towards them, Melina and Alexei not far behind.
“Kate! Are you ok? I saw you fall!” Yelena fretted as she fussed over her friend.
“I’m ok, Laura said I’m brave!” Kate grinned.
“You are, I’m glad your ok! Did you ask them?” Yelena asked, making everyone look at her in confusion.
“Oh! I forgots. Tasha, can we have snacks?” Kate asked with a sweet smile.
“Well, of course! That’s why I brought them!” Natasha laughed, moving to the bag to get the food out.
“Yay! Snack time!” Kate cheered, scampering over and peeking into the bag.
“Hang on, hawkling, I have to take it out,” Natasha said, chuckling when Kate reached in and tried to help.
“I help, I’m hungry,” Kate said as she failed in grabbing the containers so tried to tip the bag over.
“If you give me a second I’ll get it, it’s hard with one hand, isn’t it?” Natasha asked, pulling the bag away and starting to pull out the food.
“Yeah,” Kate mumbled, grinning as she made grabby hands and was rewarded with a halved banana.
“Tasha, do we have any grapes?” Yelena asked, peeking over her sister’s shoulder to see what they had.
“I do, here you go,” she said, handing them to Yelena before pulling out the rest.
Once everyone had some food, they settled in the grass to enjoy their snacks. Kate happily munched on her banana, making little happy noises as Yelena giggled next to her. Yelena chatted away, telling them how Melina had been ‘defeated’ by the fearless pirates and they had then befriended the mermaid. Kate nodded along, finishing her last bite of banana and looking around for something else. Laura interjected before she could grab a handful of grapes from Yelena.
“Hang on, honey, we need to cut those before you eat them to make sure you don’t choke. Do we have a CLEAN knife?” she asked, looking mainly at Natasha and Clint.
“I cleaned mine this morning, this one should be good,” Clint said, pulling out a pocket knife from his pocket.
“Or we can use the knife I brought with us for this reason,” Natasha drawled, reaching into the bag and pulling out a covered knife.
“Can I help?” Yelena asked, reaching out to hand the container over to her sister.
“Not with this, it’s very sharp. But I have a cup here you can hold for me while I cut them up,” Natasha offered, handing her an empty cup and beginning to slice the grapes in halves.
“Thank you for helping, firefly. You are doing a good job,” Melina spoke up, running her hand through Yelena’s hair when she smiles at her.
Yelena held the cup until it was about halfway full before handing it over to Kate, who pressed a kiss to her cheek before munching away. Yelena gave her a kiss back before getting the other grapes back from Natasha. She ate a few before turning to look at Laura curiously.
“How come her grapes have to be cut and mine don’t?” she asked, popping another one into her mouth.
“Well, Kate is younger than you and you’ve seen how she gets excited when she eats sometimes? It’s a common thing for younger kids because they can choke. You are older and know to chew more thoroughly, so you can have whole grapes. But we can cut them for you if you would like that,” Laura explained, smiling as Yelena nodded along.
“Umm, maybe? Mama always said you gotta chew really good so you don’t get it stuck but I guess you gotta learn that,” she mused as she looked over at Kate, watching her carefully.
“You do but that’s what we are here for, so it’s ok,” Laura reassured her, recognizing the protective look she had in her eye.
“Lena, you done? Wanna go play?” Kate asked, dropping her empty cup to the floor.
“Yeah, let’s go! We can go on the climbing rope!” Yelena chirped, shooting up and pulling Kate up to drag her over.
Yelena let go of her hand, scrambling across the ropes and going into the obstacle course part of it to crawl around. Kate glanced up at it uncertainly before beginning to carefully make her way up the rope. She managed to climb up the rope wall before finding her way in the tunnels, some which she was supposed to crawl through and others she was meant to stand and weave around things. She got about halfway, Yelena not far in front of her when her foot got caught. Turning to untangle herself, she managed to somehow loop the rope around her leg and casted arm before losing her balance and falling over, now caught up until she was stuck. Wiggling around a bit, she whined when she couldn’t move out ropes.
“Lena! Help! I’m stuck!” she cried, looking over when she saw Yelena making her way back to her.
“Don’t worry, Kate, I’ll get you out,” Yelena said, starting to pull at the ropes but only managing to get herself trapped as well.
“We’re gonna be stucked forever!” Kate whimpered, lip pouting out slightly.
“No we won’t, the grown ups will help us. Hang on, I’ll get them!” Yelena comforted, patting Kate on the back before screaming for her parents and sister.
The adults heard her scream and came bolting over, not sure what was happening but soon saw the predicament the girls were in. Alexei was doubled over laughing as Melina and Natasha did their best to stifle their own laughter so they could free the girls. Once they were out, Kate glared at the ropes with a pout and smacked at it with her free hand.
“Mean ropes,” she declared, turning with a huff and holding her arms up to Melina.
“Yes, those mean ropes. You told them,” Melina chuckled, hoisting her on her hip as Alexei scooped up Yelena.
“I think it’s time to head home, we’ve been here a while and will need to get dinner started soon,” Natasha said, ruffling Kate and Yelena’s hair before moving back to the group.
“Do we have to?” Yelena whined, looking back at her sister.
“Yes, detka, as fun as it would be we can’t stay at the park forever. And Lucky and Fanny have been keeping us company but want to see you. Plus Clint took them on a quick run and he is ready for a nap,” Natasha told her.
“Fine, I guess we can go home,” Yelena said.
“Yay! Home!” Kate cheered, wriggling to be put down so she could toddle over to where the dogs were resting.
They gathered all of their things together, opting to carry the girls this time as they headed back to the tower. Kate chittered quietly to Laura, now up in her arms as Clint kept a hold of the dogs. Yelena was now back in Natasha’s arms, telling her all about how much she loved going to the park. Natasha nodded along as they got back to the tower, easily going up to their floor. They released the girls to go play in the living room before moving off into the kitchen. Wanda showed them where everything was for an easy chicken and rice dinner before looping her arm around Natasha, turning to look over at the others.
“Are you all sure you are okay with watching them? We will only be gone a few hours but I know your kids will be up here soon,” Wanda checked, starting to worry a bit about leaving.
“Of course, you two enjoy the evening. I will have Tony send the kids up and we can introduce them, then you can be on your way. They may be a little sad but we will get them through it,” Laura reassured.
“Besides, they love us! We keep them happy, no worries. It won’t be hard,” Alexei boasted.
Hopefully this would prove to be true.