Chapter Text
You didn’t know what changed, but Natasha was so much more comfortable to be around. You weren’t sure if something changed about you, or something changed about her, but you knew something did.
She was more flexible. Less strict with following routines and more caring. You were having the time of your life, and when Natasha asked you to join her in going to town, you didn’t even hesitate to say yes.
You had no clue what date or month it was, but when you got to the town, there were Christmas decorations everywhere.
Lights were hung up in every tree, and the stores were filled with trees, ornaments and lights.
Natasha smiled as she pulled you over to the trees, telling you you could pick one. You smiled and held Natasha’s hand tightly as you weaved through the many Christmas trees, looking for the best one.
“You can pick one as large as you like, Malyshka,” Natasha told you as you stared at the bigger trees.
You gave her another large smile and nodded, dragging her to the larger trees.
“What about that one?” you asked as you pointed at a large, full tree. It was absolutely beautiful, and Natasha couldn’t help but smile from the excitement on your face.
“Of course we can get that one,” she told you, signalling to a worker that was there to pack the Christmas trees.
“We’d like this one,” Natasha said as she motioned to the tree.
The worker nodded, putting a number on it and asking for an address. You should’ve known it would be delivered. There’s no way any Christmas tree would fit in that expensive car that Natasha owned.
After giving the man an address, he nodded and wrote it down.
You weren’t particularly sure Natasha gave a real address though. She had done so well with hiding your location, picking out a house far into the woods. You were certain Natasha would never give away that location, but you didn’t really find it in yourself to care, or even to really think about it. You trusted Natasha, and you were sure she knew what she was doing.
“You picked a nice one,” the worker suddenly said, pulling you from your thoughts.
He had a strong Russian accent, yet his English was flawless and very understandable. You nodded, giving him a small smile as he gave Natasha a card, probably confirmation of buying the tree.
Natasha thanked him before dragging you towards the mall, claiming you two needed to get Christmas decorations, as Natasha didn’t have any of those in the house yet.
Of course, your shopping spree ended with ice-cream. No matter how cold or snowy the weather got, Natasha claimed ice-cream was always appropriate, and who were you to disagree?
After coming home, Natasha told you to help her put out all the Christmas decorations. The tree would be coming tomorrow, so now you could just help her put some decorations up around the house.
Natasha had bought an insane amount of nice lights, hanging them up everywhere, giving the room a pleasant and cosy feeling.
That day was over pretty fast, and because you still weren’t quite over the whole police ordeal, you still requested Natasha to stay in your room every night.
Of course, Natasha happily obliged each time, being more than happy that you finally admitted you needed her. You were absolutely drained from the day, so you slept in, and to your surprise, Natasha didn’t come to wake you. You slept peacefully until your clock had more than two numbers before the dots.
It was about 10.30 when Natasha came to wake you up, and you groaned and stretched as she pulled you out of bed, trying to get you excited with the idea that the tree was coming today.
You were out of bed in no time when you remembered that, happy to follow Natasha’s whole morning routine as you played with the bubbles in the bath.
You were happy, content. Why had you resisted so much when you first arrived?
You loved Natasha, and she loved you. She took care of you, taught you how to take proper care of yourself, too. She bathed you, made you food, helped you get ready for bed and helped you with everything you could ever need or want help with.
Natasha loved you, right?
Yes. Yes she did. Natasha loved you.
It was about three in the afternoon when the doorbell rang. Natasha went to open it while you happily ate your lunch.
When the door opened, you heard a familiar voice entering the house, and it didn’t take long before you jumped up, running to the front door and greeting the person.
It was auntie Yelena, and she had brought the Christmas tree.
Yelena was here! Was she gonna celebrate Christmas with you as well?
Yelena smiled as she opened her arms, allowing you to hug her tightly. Natasha smiled lovingly at the sight, happy you two got along so well. After a few seconds, Yelena let go, saying she needed some help unloading the Christmas tree.
You nodded, and turned to Natasha to silently ask for permission.
When Natasha gave you a nod, you smiled widely, grabbing Yelena’s hand as she led you to her much larger car. The tree could easily fit in it, and you figured Natasha must’ve had it delivered to Yelena’s place.
After helping Yelena get the tree inside, Natasha walked in with the big box you bought yesterday. It had all the decorations you’d need for a Christmas tree.
You were more than happy when you, Yelena, and Natasha decorated the tree. They mostly let you decide where what would go, wanting the tree to look perfect in your vision. They wanted Christmas to be perfect for you, knowing you never had a proper one.
And so, Natasha and Yelena followed your every command as you told them where and how to put the ornaments, smiling and laughing at your little bossy attitude.
Natasha playfully scolded you for it, and when she noticed you didn’t even flinch, but rather just laughed with her and joked about it, she looked at Yelena, eyes filled with hope.
You were happy. You were home.
Yelena stayed with you that entire week, and on Christmas Eve, the doorbell rang again. You and Yelena stayed at the table, playing a board game you found in the closet as Natasha went to open the door.
You heard two voices coming from the hallway, and you heard multiple greetings in Russian.
One voice was heavy and sounded like it belonged to a man, while the other was a little softer, yet still sounded a bit stern.
You had no idea who these two people could possibly be, yet when they walked into the house, seeing you sitting at the kitchen counter with Yelena, the woman walked over to you, engulfing you in a tight hug.
You were surprised, to say the least, but you didn’t hesitate or pull away.
When the woman finally pulled away, she cupped your cheeks in her hands, studying your face.
“I’m so happy to meet you, Malyshka,” the woman spoke with a heavy Russian accent. You figured these must be Natasha and Yelena’s parents.
The woman smiled as she gently rubbed her slightly rough thumbs across your cheek. “You are so beautiful,” she said as she placed a kiss on your forehead. You smiled slightly at her, still rather confused about the sudden presence of the two new people.
“Mama, dayte yey nemnogo mesta,” (Mama, give her some space) Yelena spoke, and the woman let her hands drop from your face.
“I apologise. I am Melina,” the woman introduced herself, and you smiled as you raised your hand for her to shake. “I’m y/n,” you told her as she chuckled, shaking your hand firmly.
“And I am Alexei,” a voice from behind Melina boomed.
Alexei stepped forward, giving you a pleasant smile. “I too, am very happy to meet you. You look even prettier than pictures,” he stated, and you frowned slightly before you let the train of thought go, not wanting to concern yourself with such things any longer.
You smiled at him, and invited both of them to sit down and play the game with you.
They smiled and agreed, and soon all five of you were playing the game. When it was about ten o'clock, Natasha stated you should go to bed, as you had an exciting day tomorrow.
You frowned at that, not sure what would be so exciting about tomorrow, yet you didn’t protest when Natasha grabbed your hand, making you say goodnight to everyone before leading you up to your room.
After you were all done and settled in bed, you looked at Natasha with the best puppy dog eyes you could possible muster.
“Will you still stay with me tonight, mama?” you asked her innocently, and she smiled as she sat down on the bed. She stroked your hair, letting her hand follow it all the way to your back before she started at the top of your head again.
You were sleepy, it was undeniable, and the way you clutched your stuffed animals was melting Natasha’s heart.
“How about this,” Natasha started, leaning a bit closer. “I will stay with you until you fall asleep, and then I’ll go downstairs to talk with the other for a while, and when we’ll all go to bed, I’ll come and sleep here, okay?” Natasha suggested, and you nodded as you closed your eyes.
“Nighty night, Malyshka. Sweet dreams,” she told you, giving you a kiss on your forehead, continuing to stroke your back until you were fully asleep.
Natasha kept her promise, and when she went to bed herself, she joined you in your bed, revelling in the fact you unconsciously reached out for her to cuddle.
On Christmas morning, Natasha gently woke you up, placing kisses all over your face until you groaned and opened your eyes. Natasha smiled sweetly at you as she saw you wake up, placing some more kisses on your face until you were giggling, pushing her head away to get away from the tickly sensation.
Natasha smiled and gave you a moment to fully wake up, before she helped you out of bed, and as always, bathed you and helped you brush your teeth.
Once you were clean and dressed, Natasha took you downstairs, where Yelena, Melina, and Alexei were already sitting at the kitchen counter. You smiled at them, returning their good mornings as you went to sit down.
Natasha smirked slightly and gave Yelena a small nudge, who understood the hint and spoke up.
“Don’t you wanna look at the Christmas tree, Malysh?” Yelena asked, and you looked at her a bit confused.
“Why? Did something change?” you asked her with confusion, while the others just smiled at you. “Just go and look,” Natasha then stated, making you stand up from your chair and walk into the living room.
It took only mere seconds before you noticed the countless presents under the Christmas tree.
“Presents!?” you exclaimed, and you swear you could hear Natasha chuckle at your surprise. “Why are there so many presents?!” you asked in excitement, and Natasha smiled as she walked up to you.
“It’s Christmas, Malyshla,” she started, placing a hand on your shoulder. “Everyone gets presents during Christmas,” she explained.
“I’ve never had presents on Christmas!” you exclaimed excitedly, turning to Natasha, seeing the amused look she carried on her face. “You do now,” she simply stated, wiping some stray hairs from your face.
“Do you want to open some?” she asked, and you nodded happily, walking over to the tree and sitting on the ground, close to the presents.
Apparently, Melina, Alexei, Yelena, and Natasha had all bought you presents, making the tree overflow. Of course, there were presents for them as well, probably bought by each other, but most of the presents were for you.
You happily opened present after present, appreciating and thanking everyone for each and every gift.
The others sat on the couch, leaving the present dealing all up to you. You could decide who would get what present and when.
You had the best time ever, and after all the presents were opened, you didn’t even hesitate to drag everyone to play a board game you got as one of your presents. Everyone was happy, and everyone enjoyed themselves immensely.
All your previous thoughts and concerns were gone. All you knew was Natasha. All you wanted to know was Natasha. You were happy, you were safe, and you would never have to worry about anything ever again.
You were happy.
It kept repeating in your head, but it wasn’t an uncertainty as it had been all those weeks ago.
You were safe.
Nothing was uncertain anymore. Everything was clear. Natasha saved you. Natasha loved you, and you loved her.
Forever.