The Russian Persuasion
“Who… or rather, what is a Man-Thing?” One of the suits asked.
“A botched attempt at a recreation of Captain America,” Maria tried to be as vague as possible as she took a sip of water and took a look at the congressmen.
“Details?” the same man pushed.
“SO-2 formula meets the Florida Everglades,” she leaned back in her uncomfortable chair for what felt like the 100th time in the last 7 hours, “someone, you no longer have to worry about unless you want to search every swamp in the continental United States.”
Now she had more eyes focused on her.
“He has found solace in the vegetation and hasn’t been heard from since the 70s,” she explained something that occurred long before she was a member of the organization.
“Can you confirm the location of Steve Rogers?”
“I cannot, I do not know his current location.”
“Can you explain why SHIELD spent $23 million on an advanced telecommunication platform that would have the possibility of reaching far beyond our known universe?”
“No, I did not work on finance.”
“Are you familiar with who currently holds the mantle of ‘Mockingbird’?”
“SHIELD no longer exists, I believe that would mean ‘Mockingbird’ no longer exists.”
“Do you know if there were ever plans of using Oscorp technology or formulas on SHIELD grounds?”
“I am not aware that any such joint venture was executed.”
There was a pause, one Maria hoped signaled the end of her time in front of Congress, that was until a shrill woman cleared her throat.
“One more question Ms. Hill,” the woman straightened up a document in front of her, “we have it under sound authority that you are in possession of an enhanced individual. One that has not been properly documented.”
Maria clenched her jaw and tried to remain calm, “There doesn’t seem to be a question in that statement. So if that is all,” she went to stand up.
The woman cleared her throat again, “let me be more direct.”
“Please,” the brunette squared her shoulders as members around her murmured.
“We in Congress take the knowledge of enhanced individuals very seriously, even if those in previous authority did not. Should we find out that you are harboring such an individual, without proper documentation, you could find yourself serving jail time,” the woman gave a small, cat-like smile, “and the enhanced being would be taken to keep secure in a government facility.”
She knew what they were doing, trying to get a rise out of Maria to obtain more information about Ellie. Information they did not currently have. The Commander calmed herself, relaxed her posture, and stood to her full height.
“You have once again failed to produce a question, I have provided my many required hours,” Maria slid her eyes to the government members in front of her, “I will leave you with this: don’t start this fight. I will protect those around me in such a way that you will lose. Every time.”
“Is that a threat?” the congresswoman bristled.
“It’s not a threat,” Maria turned around and walked out of the room, but not before throwing one last comment over her shoulder, "it's a promise.”
The room exploded in questions and outrage as she left, cameras snapped pictures of her as she exited the building and made her way down the dark streets of DC. She took side streets to lose any final photographers before finally pulling out her phone and calling Pepper.
“Hey Maria,” the blonde answered, chipper as ever.
“Legal is probably about to call you, they aren’t going to be thrilled with how I just left the final hearing,” she internally winced in lieu of a greeting, “also don’t be surprised if people try and snoop around mine and Ellie’s personal files.”
“Noted,” Pepper sighed, “other than that, how’d the final day go?”
“It went as expected, SHIELD implodes and everyone wants answers,” she walked back towards her rental car, “the CIA, NNS, NRO, them I can handle.”
“Of course you can,” Pepper laughed.
“But Congress? Congress is like kindergarten,” she continued down the street, “where is this FRIDGE, what was in there? Who or what is a Man-Thing? I swear I need a cocktail and a lobotomy.”
“Well hurry back and I can help you with one of those things,” the blonde spoke to someone else who was clearly in the same room as her, “Hey Maria have you seen file 5403?”
“I don’t think I have it, but I’ll check my office when I get back,” she reached into her pocket and retrieved the car key, “I’ll let you go but I’m holding you to the promise of drinks.”
“As if Tasha will let you out of her hands as soon as you’re back,” Pepper murmured.
“What was that?” Maria smirked as she started the car.
“Nothing, have a safeflightbye!”
Maria rolled her eyes and ended the call as she made her way back to the airport. The flight was short but felt like it had taken much longer as she sat and thought about who was at the destination. It was the longest she had ever been away from Ellie and while the phone calls were nice, the little girl was one of few words, and getting her to talk wasn’t something Maria ever wanted to do.
By the time they landed and Maria had made her way back to Stark Tower, she was practically jogging to the elevator and then the front door. She placed her finger on the keypad and let the sight, sound, and smell of home wash over her.
“Hey,” Natasha’s eyes crinkled as she welcomed her into the space, “I thought you weren’t going to be back for a few more hours?”
“They had an open seat on an earlier flight,” she hesitated for just a moment before threatening her finger into the Russian’s belt loop and pulling her in close.
“Missed you,” she breathed out before pressing their lips together.
Maria smiled and took a step back before calling into the apartment, “Bear.”
Ellie whipped around the corner, fast enough to slide to a stop before taking off once again and barreling into Maria’s waist. Her face pressed firmly into her mother's stomach as she unholstered her weapon and handed it to Natasha for safekeeping.
“Missed you,” the little girl reiterated the same words she had only moments earlier.
“I missed you too, did you have so much fun while I was gone?” She knelt down to the girl's level.
Yes, Ellie signed, “I got library card and we are going to go to Russia.”
“Oh, are we?” Maria tilted her head to the side and looked up at the redhead behind the girl who squinted.
“I told you not to say anything yet!” Yelena was adamant from where she suddenly appeared.
“How about you go grab your new library card to show me?” Maria kissed the top of the girl’s head before turning to the two sisters, “Explain.”
Natasha handed her a glass of amber liquid as Maria took in the sight of the apartment for the first time. The whole place was cleaner than Natasha ever left places, there was dinner cooking on the stove, and the redhead had on a deeper-cut V-neck than normal. They were trying to convince her of something.
“Don’t make me drink alone,” Natasha held up her glass of wine.
“I know what you’re doing,” Maria squinted.
“And yet?” the woman raised a perfectly manicured eyebrow.
“And yet,” she sighed and tapped her own glass against the woman's before taking a sip.
“Tony knows about the Room,” Natasha started off.
It wasn’t shocking, the man was incredibly smart (as much as it pained Maria to recognize) and probably poked around since the sisters were staying in the tower. He either watched (unlikely) or was forcibly shown (much more likely) the ability that Yelena held, one that was strikingly similar to Natasha and Ellie.
“He does not know everything, but,” Yelena spoke up again, “he now knows a lot.”
“We need a new way of administering the antidote, one that Widows can do without having to get as close,” the redhead stirred what looked like mashed potatoes on the stove, “there have been too many injuries with the current format.”
“People still under subjugation?” Maria took another sip of her bourbon.
“No, those who are administering it. They sometimes get too close and the controlled widow’s training kicks in,” the blonde explained, “they do not know that they are being freed and attack those closest to them.”
“And what, that’s why the two of you are going to Russia?”
“Three,” Yelena clarified.
“Four with Mommy,” Ellie walked back into the room, proudly showing off her library card.
Maria opened her mouth once more to ask why they would be going before locking eyes with Natasha who signed one word. Later.
“Wait so why is Tony in the loop?” it was starting to feel more and more like she was out of it.
“Well Melina isn’t making the devices, she’s not an engineer and while I’m sure she could create them eventually, she doesn’t have,” the redhead waved her arms around to showcase the tech that was attached to every surface.
Rather than ask more questions, the Commander stayed silent and waited for answers.
“I need to move more of the chemical into the Americas and flying with that much powder causes suspicions in the commercial aviation world,” Yelena pulled a face, clearly having learned that the hard way.
“And,” Natasha, who now looked annoyed, encouraged.
“And… Melina wants Natalia to visit,” the last part came out rushed.
“She’s holding the product hostage unless you visit?” Maria felt anger creep into her voice.
“Hostage,” Ellie nodded from her spot next to her mother’s leg.
“что ты вообще об этом знаешь, крыса?” the blonde rattled off, looking at the little girl who simply pointed to her ears.
Maria looked to Natasha for a translation.
“She wants to know how Ellie knows that, also this is getting sidetracked. Fall break is coming up,” the Russian pointed to the new school calendar on the fridge, “and if you can get off work, we should all go.”
Maria opened her mouth to give an excuse but was met with the best puppy dog eyes from all three Eastern Europeans in her kitchen, “this isn’t fair, you were all trained to be able to convince people of things!”
“That is a yes?” Yelena wiggled an eyebrow.
“I need to talk to Pepper, but…” she drained the rest of her drink.
“It is a yes! Rat you get to meet the pigs!” the blonde boomed.
Ellie's eyes got impossibly bigger as she took in the information.
“Hey come help me unpack,” Maria nudged the little girl and walked them both to her bedroom where little signs of Natasha were everywhere. But that was a topic to explore at a different time.
Right now, all she wanted to do was listen to the little curly-haired girl tell her about what happened since she had left. Which was exactly what Ellie did as she dumped clothes in the hamper, hung others up, and replaced all her toiletries.
The child told her about the trip to the library, to a little Russian restaurant, and to the park. Most of the time she spoke softly or signed and waited to answer Maria’s questions. But when she started talking about the recent science unit that had been about space, Maria had to remind the girl to breathe.
“And we are learning this unit until end of December,” curls bounced as she nodded enthusiastically.
“All the way until the end huh?” the brunette changed into more relaxed clothes and walked the two of them back into the kitchen where Natasha was plating dinner.
Yes.
“Well that’s pretty cool, I’m excited that you’re excited,” she ran her hands down the girl's hair.
Dinner was a much more lively affair than normal Maria noticed. Yelena and Natasha would bicker about anything and everything, Ellie added in her two cents every once in a while by doing something Maria had never seen her do before.
From her spot in the middle of the table she would sign to get their attention, but rather than do the sign in front of her body, she would stick both arms straight up in the air and wave them slightly. The two older women would pause, take her thoughts into consideration, and then continue with the added information from the youngest. Maria sat back and watched it all with fascination, wondering if they had gotten that close in the time that she had been gone, or if it was a combination of the proximity and the shared upbringing. They seemed to all understand each other better than anyone else.
The rest of the night moved by quickly, Ellie had showered and dressed in her pajamas but was more sluggish than normal when it came to brushing her teeth.
“Yelena said I do not have to worry about this teeth because they fall out,” the little girl pointed to her mouth.
“These teeth,” Maria corrected, “and Yelena can worry about her own teeth and you worry about yours.”
“I do not worry about my teeth,” the little girl shook her head.
“Fine then I’ll worry about the both of ours, now bush,” Maria once again held out the toothbrush that Ellie finally took.
She thought about the young blonde and wanted to joke to her that she would be paying for Ellie’s dental care, but after dinner, Yelena had a somewhat vacant look about her. She had bushed off Natasha and claimed she was tired, leaving for one of the guest rooms for the rest of the night.
Maria waited for Ellie to finish up (properly) brushing her teeth before helping her into her bed. She then read a chapter of the newest book her daughter was reading and pretended not to notice the redhead leaning in the doorframe. After one more kiss to the girl's forehead, and carefully slipping out of the top bunk, she handed Ellie her flashlight and closed the door.
“Sorry,” she ran a hand through her hair that now tickled her collar.
“Don’t be,” Natasha gave a soft smile and kissed her cheek, “you’re a good mom.”
Maria balked at the sentence, it was the first time the Russian had ever used the term to describe her. It was more comforting than she would have guessed.
“Thanks,” she felt her cheeks warm, “I have to go see if I have one of Peppers's files in my office but after-”
“I can come,” Natasha cut her off.
It was an odd request considering they just had to go to the other side of the apartment, still, she nodded and they walked over. The light under the last guest room door was on, it seemed Yelena had claimed that room for herself. She opened the door to the office and flicked on the desk lamp, double-checking that the file hadn’t made its way home with her.
“Yeah, I didn’t think so,” she stood to her full height and looked at the woman across from her who took a step to the side.
On the far wall of the office, two of Ellie’s pieces of art hung. A little out of place given Pepper’s modern design of the room, and yet, she now couldn’t imagine anything else there.
“She was… insistent,” Natasha chuckled.
“No, I love it. Thank you,” she smiled, wishing that she could have been there for that conversation.
The Commander stared for a moment more behind her desk before she reached over to turn off the lamp.
“It wasn’t the only reason I followed you in here,” the redhead was suddenly in front of her, her fingers skimming the top of the dark wood.
Maria glanced over to the door that had been closed and locked, “oh?”
“I quite miss our lunch dates,” Natasha softly pushed Maria into the leather chair behind her.
“Do you now?” the brunette recalled the many lunch breaks where no food was eaten.
“I do,” the need from Natasha’s voice was Maria’s personal siren song.
She suddenly found herself looking at a very tempting woman who sat on Maria’s desk, and internally wincing at the fact that Pepper was so incredibly right.
“Well we can’t have that,” Maria tilted her head up and bit back a moan that threatened to escape her lips as a bruising kiss was pressed into them.
The Russian's tongue swiped softly at her lip, an invitation, Maria opened her mouth wider, realizing that Natasha wasn’t the only one who missed those lunch dates.
“You signed ‘later’ when I got home,” Maria spat the last of her toothpaste in the sink and looked up at the mirror where she could catch the reflection of Natasha who was still catching her breath in bed, “what did you want to talk about?”
“God, Hill,” the woman shook her head and laughed, “do you ever slow down?”
“No,” she washed her face, talking in between scrubs “which is something you didn’t have a problem with 5 minutes ago, or 15 minutes before that, or-”
“Okay okay!” If it was possible to make the woman from the Red Room blush, Maria had done just that, “you made your point.”
“I know,” Maria smirked and dried her face.
“Did Ellie tell you about the restaurant we went to?” Natasha watched as the taller woman crawled into bed and, in a move of bravery, leaned her head against the Russian’s side.
“She did,” Maria shifted until her head rested softly on Natasha’s chest.
She felt the woman slow her breathing and lower the volume of her voice, “You should have seen her Ria, she perked up more than she had all week. She couldn't stop looking around the whole time.”
Her heart ached and she internally cursed herself for not doing a better job of taking Ellie to places that were part of her-
“Don’t” the other woman silenced her thoughts, “don’t overthink this, you're doing a great job as is.”
“I just don’t want to take her somewhere that reminds her of the Room, but… I could be doing better,” she huffed and had just started overthinking once more when fingers carefully threaded through her hair.
“You’re being too hard on yourself, it’s like the Russian language itself to you. You know bits and pieces, you take it all in, but the three of us were raised on it,” Natasha’s fingers continued to work.
Rather than argue, or ask questions, she simply laid there and listened.
“You’re afraid of triggering her and I get that, but if she goes with us, we would know what to steer clear of. The candies that were used to bribe, the items that were used to hurt, the locations that are forever burned into our minds…” Natasha’s fingers slowed.
It was a moment later before Maria finally spoke up, “Then why would you go back?”
“They’re young, they don’t see that on every corner,” the question brought her back to reality, “they still have good memories there.”
“But Tasha, you’re going to be surrounded by terrible memories the whole time,” she sat up slightly to look at the woman, “do you really want to go?”
“No,” she gave a low chuckle, “but I will…for” them.
The last word wasn’t spoken, but it didn’t need to be. Maria tilted her head to the side and kissed the soft skin of Natasha’s chest.
“Then we’ll go.”
Natasha kissed the top of her head and asked Jarvis to turn off the light before sliding down into the bed and curling up to the woman next to her. The conversation was over, the plan would come to fruition later. For now, it was time to rest.
Maria had never been a heavy sleeper, or at least she couldn’t ever remember being one. So when light came in under her door and the sound of the cabinet closing hit her ears, she glanced over to the other side of the bed.
Natasha was still sound asleep, which left two other members of the house to be up at half past one in the morning. The brunette slowly shifted her body, trying not to make too much noise or movement as she got out of bed. As a testament to how large the bed was (or how much Natasha trusted her), the Russian continued to sleep as she slipped out of the room.
Yelena hung her head over the sink in the dim kitchen light, her blonde hair falling limply around her face. Maria tapped on the counter as she normally did with Clint to get the woman's attention, trying her best not to spook her. The blonde snapped her head up immediately, red-rimmed eyes falling on Maria in panic.
“I’m sorry I-”
Maria held a finger up to her lips and pointed to the balcony. When Ellie had rough nights, she normally took her back to her own bed or laid in the child’s bed until she calmed down and fell back to sleep. Yelena however, was a different story and she didn’t want to risk triggering the Russian by asking if she wanted to lay down next to her. She quietly unlocked the glass door and slid it open just enough for them both to get through.
Yelena followed silently, curling herself into the corner of the outside couch Pepper had delivered the month prior. Brisk fall air hit them both, but neither seemed to mind. Maria and Ellie had spent a little bit of time on the balcony, enough for the woman to know that the glass wall behind them would dampen the sound of voices enough to keep the rest of the occupants of the house from hearing them.
They sat in silence for a moment before Yelena sniffled, or at least Maria thought she may have sniffled, the sound was barely audible.
“We don’t have to talk about anything, or,” she looked over at the young woman, “we can talk about everything.”
She had a feeling it was the same thing that had been on the woman’s mind after dinner but wanted to push nothing. Yelena rubbed her eye with a closed fist in a way that was very similar to Ellie's.
“I do not know how.”
“Well,” Maria leaned back on the couch, “I can tell you what Ellie and I normally do when she has bad nights. I’m not sure if it’s what you would want to do, but I think it would be a start.”
The blonde didn’t say anything but quickly glanced toward Maria.
“Normally she’ll tell me about whatever caused her to get upset, maybe a bad dream, maybe a memory, maybe both,” she placed one arm on the back of the couch, “then we talk about what parts have changed, what’s stayed the same, and what parts she doesn't need to worry about anymore.”
Yelena looked up, sniffling once more.
“After that we normally get a glass of water and watch a funny video or I tell her a funny story and she goes back to bed,” Maria shrugged, “I’m not saying you have to do that but… it seems to help.”
She waited, unsure if the Russian would actually take her up on the offer until she heard her clear her throat.
“Natalia said that we may go to Romania where those two widows are still located,” Yelena glanced over at her.
It was true, at dinner, Natasha’s phone had lit up with a text and a grainy picture from Steve about the women still under subjugation.
“They seem to be a slippery pair to track down,” she had known about the existence of the two for the better part of 2 weeks, and still no one had been able to free them.
“It is because they are handlers.” Yelena’s voice was shaking, “the taller one, she was my handler for a few years when I was slightly older than Ellie.”
Once again, Maria waited for the younger woman to give her more information and pushed nothing.
“I know she deserves freedom like all others but… she hurt me so many times,” she sniffled loudly, “I do not wish to be there to see her free. I do not want to be the person that helps free her.”
“We don’t need to go, this isn’t a task that’s all on your shoulders,” Maria knew that the young woman was a key component for freeing widows, but she was positive they could find a way to do it without her. Especially with the new device Tony was making.
“Does it make me a bad person?” her voice was so small.
“No, Yelena,” Maria placed her hand on the blonde’s shoulder, “it makes you a survivor.”
They sat quietly for a few more minutes before Yelena spoke up.
“I was told there would be funny videos.”
Maria snorted and pulled her phone out of her pocket, “Ellie is partial to a capybara video but if you want-”
“A capybara video would be nice,” the blonde scooted closer.
The video started playing from where Ellie had last left it, Maria took the moment to really look at how young the woman next to her was. Just as she had with Ellie those first few days, she hoped that she was doing the right thing. Yelena let out a bark of a laugh and Maria smiled, figuring if she could make her laugh, she was probably doing an okay job.