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Natasha was thoroughly fucked. She risked a glance in the rear view mirror of the car she had commandeered from a local, swerving to avoid rear ending a bus. The unmarked van was still following her, barrelling through the streets of St. Petersburg. Yanking on the steering wheel, the car drifted into a tight turn and Natasha bounced in her seat as she clattered down the alleyway.
“Romanoff. Status.”
Ah shit. There was someone on a motorcycle too. Natasha fumbled one hand around the floor of the car, attempting to grab the gun she had dropped earlier.
“Romanoff. Status.”
Bang ! The motorcycle flipped out of control as it’s front tire was punctured. That particular nuisance taken care of, Natasha placed the gun in the cup holder between the front seats. She emerged from the alley straight into midday traffic, sending a car waiting at the stoplight into a tailspin.
“Romanoff,”
“Really not a good time Hill,” Natasha grabbed the duffel bag in the back seat, put the cooling gun into a thigh holster, and launched herself out of the car, taking off at a sprint.
“Have you secured the package?” Maria was all business, ignoring the sound of blood rushing through her ears.
“Just meet me at the rendezvous point, goddammit,” a widow bite incapacitated the burly man at Natasha’s twelve o’clock,
“I can be there in five,” Maria had already packed their things up in the dingy hotel room, swinging open the window and flinging a bag onto the fire escape,
“Better make it three,” Natasha barely felt the impact of the door against her arm as she crashed through the corridor. That was going to be a nasty bruise later,
“Fine.”
There was no reason to reply, Natasha knew Maria had turned off her comms. This was supposed to be a simple mission, in and out, but nothing could be simple for the two of them. Shouts echoed down the hall, and Natasha pumped her legs faster, quads burning as she ran from the Solntsevskaya Bratva brutes.
Bursting onto the quiet side street, Natasha wildly glanced around for her extraction plan, a.k.a. Maria Hill.
Bang !
Pained blossomed in Natasha’s right shoulder and she ground her teeth together. She didn’t even have to look before she shot her assailant, a satisfying splash sounding as he collapsed in a puddle of mystery city liquid. Well this wasn’t good. Four more Bratva members were running towards her at top speed, she had maybe five bullets left, and while she could definitely take them all out with her non-dominant arm, who was to say more weren’t on their way.
This was the moment Maria chose to show up in a Soviet-era Zaporozhet. Natasha didn’t bother looking behind her as she launched herself into the passenger seat.
“This was the best you could come up with?” Blood dribbled down Natasha’s shirt, splattering on the seat,
“You’re welcome to find something better,” Maria floored the gas, navigating the streets, “know anywhere nearby we could go?”
Natasha sat silent, a little woozy from blood loss. There was someplace, but she really didn’t want to go there,
“Nat? I’m gonna need some directions,”
Oh well. Masha had to meet them at some point, right? A wave of nausea that had nothing to do with the blood soaking her shirt coursed through Natasha’s body.
“I know a place.”
Natasha tried to wave off Maria’s attempts to help her out of the car, but she was too dizzy to do anything to put up any real resistance.
“I have to slow the bleeding, Nat,” Maria peeled Nat’s shirt off of her body.
“Mm, if you wanted me undressed, all you had to do was ask, Masha,” Natasha attempted a wink, but her eyelids were too heavy.
Maria rolled her eyes and walked to the trunk of the car. Sifting through their supplies, she emerged with a bottle of vodka, an extra shirt, and some tape.
“Not the good stuff,” Natasha hissed as Maria doused her wound with the alcohol.
Maria glared at her, but Natasha could tell she was holding back a smile. The shirt was balled up and placed against the wound before Maria wrapped Nat’s arm with tape, attempting to keep the makeshift bandage in place.
“We’re pretty close,” Nat answered before Maria could even open her mouth to ask, “you’ll know when you smell the pigs,”
“You okay to walk?” Maria wasn’t about to unpack that statement right now,
“Yeah.”
Natasha swayed a bit as she stood straight, but began walking in what seemed to Maria to be a random direction. Maria quickly grabbed their bags and followed Natasha through the wilderness,
“Want to tell me where we’re going?”
“I’d rather not, Masha.”
Where the hell was Natasha taking them? Maria watched Natasha bite her lip, a nervous habit. Was this place actually safe for the two of them?
“Nat, you know I trust you, but are you going to tell me why you’re so freaked out?”
Maria got her answer a moment later when the smell of farm animals filled the air and she came face to face with a woman pointing a bazooka at them.
“Natasha?” The woman placed down her weapon and Maria drew her sidearm, “we didn’t know you were coming to visit. And who’s this?” She gestured at Maria,
“That’s Maria,” Nat limped closer to the woman, motioning for Maria to lower her weapon,
“Mama, who—oh my god, Natasha. Did you get shot?”
Maria resisted the urge to step in front of Natasha protectively as a blonde woman ran up to them.
“I’m fine, Lena,” Natasha said as Maria made a noise of protest,
“Let’s get you two inside and cleaned up,” the woman (the blonde one’s mom?) placed a gentle arm on Natasha’s back and motioned for Maria to follow.
Maria was officially confused, but she had no choice but to do what she was told. Hopefully Natasha hadn’t just led them into a trap.
“You didn’t tell me you had a girlfriend.”
Natasha groggily opened her eyes and turned to see Yelena leaning against the doorframe. She winced at the sudden movement and glanced down at her arm. It was now neatly bandaged.
“What are you talking about?”
“Don’t play stupid with me, Natasha,” Yelena was genuinely upset, “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me. I thought we didn’t keep secrets from each other. I mean, not telling Alexei I can understand, but you never even told me.”
“Lena,” Natasha spoke softly and Yelena looked at her, eyes glossy, “I’m sorry. It’s not that I wanted to keep secrets from you. It’s just that I,” her voice trailed off,
“What, did you think I would judge you for being gay?”
“Well, I’m bi, but yes. I was afraid,” the sincerity in Natasha’s voice and the look in her eyes made Yelena do a double take. She had never seen her big sister in such a vulnerable position,
“You’re an idiot. You can fuck whoever you want as long as I don’t have to hear all the details. Besides, even I can appreciate that Maria’s hot,”
Humor appeared to be the right move. Natasha choked and coughed as Yelena gave her a shit-eating grin.
“Natasha, are you alright?” Melina and Maria rushed into the room,
“I’m okay, Mama. Yelena’s just being a jerk,”
“I’m not. I’m being a good sister,”
“Good sister, my ass. You were yelling at me like a minute ago,”
“Mama, she’s lying,”
“Girls,” Melina stepped between her daughters and rolled her eyes in Maria’s direction, “see what I have to deal with?”
“I’m sure they’re a handful,” Maria nodded wisely. She was still confused, but these people seemed to care about Nat, so she was willing to go along with it. For now, at least.
“I like your friend, Natasha. Very strong, good instincts, and she takes care of you,” Melina gently took Nat’s arm, inspecting it,
“She’s pretty great, isn’t she?”
“ She is right here,”
“Funny too,” Yelena smirked, ignoring the heat of Maria’s glare, “anyways, we should probably leave you alone for a bit. I’m sure you want to check on your friend , Maria.”
Natasha’s glare burned into Yelena’s back as her sister dragged their mother out of the room.
“I suppose I owe you an explanation,” she played with the quilt covering her as Maria sat on the bed,
“You don’t have to—”
“I want to,” Nat reached for Maria’s hand, wincing slightly. Right, bulletwound. She took a deep breath, “I did a mission for the Red Room in Ohio for three years as a kid. We were supposed to be your typical American family: two parents, two kids, a house in the suburbs, and all that bullshit. Of course it was fake, I knew it was fake,” voice cracking, Natasha took a deep breath, composing herself, “but I never forgot them. And I found out a few years ago that the Red Room was still active and we reunited.”
Maria didn’t know what to say, so she sat and processed this.
“So, you have a family?”
Natasha nodded.
“And you didn’t tell anyone because?” there was a trace of hurt in Maria’s voice,
“I’m pretty sure they’re all wanted by at least one intelligence agency, and,” Natasha chewed her lip, “I guess I didn’t want anybody else asking questions. It’s not exactly a happy story.”
The next thing Nat felt was Maria’s arms wrapping her in a gentle hug. Maria’s hair smelled like Yelena’s conditioner, but there was still something uniquely Maria to it. Natasha hugged back with her good arm, and they stayed enveloped in each other’s embrace.
“Your sister was acting weird earlier,” Maria said when they finally pulled apart. She was giving Natasha an out.
“She found out that I like women. And that we’re together,” Nat’s blush reached her ears,
“Oh,” it was impossible to miss the surprise in Maria’s voice, “and she’s?”
“Upset that I didn’t tell her, but happy for us,”
“Then I’m assuming your parents—”
“Don’t know, but they’re trying to find me a husband,”
“But since we’re here—”
“I don’t know. Can we wait until you meet Alexei to decide?”
“Of course, Tasha,” Maria kissed Nat’s temple and yawned, “friends share beds, right?”
“You’re asking the wrong person, Masha,” Nat lifted up the blankets and Maria slipped into bed next to her, “but you’re welcome to share with me anytime.”
“I don’t like her,”
“You haven’t even met her, you big oaf,”
“She’s American government, Melina,”
“SHIELD, actually,”
“That is worse, Yelena,”
Natasha woke to the sound of her family arguing on the other side of the door. She rubbed her eyes and felt the bed shift as Maria began waking up.
“Hey,” Maria placed a sleepy kiss on Nat’s cheek,
“Hi, Masha. Did those idiots wake you up?”
“Mmm,” Maria carefully inspected the dressings on Natasha’s body, “I’m assuming the loud one is Alexei?”
“You assume correctly, American spy,” a loud voice startled them both, and Natasha winced as her shoulder jostled.
“Her name is Maria,” Yelena swatted Alexei’s arm as she entered the room. She looked at her sister and her girlfriend in the same bed and smirked, “sleep well?”
“Well, Maria,” Alexei didn’t give Natasha time to answer Yelena, “I’m watching you,”
“Both of you, out.”
Alexei and Yelena grumbled, but left as Melina brought in a medkit. She looked Natasha over with the critical eye only a mother could achieve. Seemingly satisfied, Melina reached for Natasha’s shoulder and changed the dressing.
“I’m sorry about Alexei, HE’S WORRIED OVER NOTHING,” Melina raised her voice and a faint, indignant “hey” was heard from the other side of the house, “would you girls like some breakfast?”
“That would be great, thank you,”
“I don’t know why Alexei doesn’t like you, you’re very polite,” Melina stood, but not before lightly kissing Natasha’s shoulder, “I’ll call you when it’s time to eat.”
After breakfast, Maria found herself outside observing Melina’s pigs. They seemed happy, but Maria wasn’t sure if she could get behind their brainwashing.
“If you break my sister’s heart, I will track you down. I’ll pull out all your fingernails and cut each finger off, one by one. You will wish you were dead,”
“Nice to see you too Yelena,” it didn’t surprise Maria that Yelena was pressed up behind her, breath hot in her ear, “and I’d never hurt Tasha on purpose,”
“Good. You’d better not.”
Yelena stepped back and sheathed the small knife that had been hidden up her sleeve. By the time Maria turned to face her, she’d already disappeared somewhere. Sighing, Maria went inside. Calling to check-in with someone crossed her mind, but she didn’t want to risk Stark’s technology tracking her to Nat’s secret family’s farm. Maria decided to check in on Natasha instead. Her girlfriend was still on bedrest, but, being Nat, she was restless.
“How are you feeling, Agent?” Maria observed Nat. God, she was beautiful, even lying in bed with her arm bandaged up.
“Like I got shot yesterday,” Natasha deadpanned,
“I never would have guessed,”
“Smartass,”
“You know, I came here to offer you cuddles, but I guess you don’t want any,” it took all of Maria’s willpower not to immediately rush to Nat’s side despite her words,
“I never said that,” Natasha pouted and made grabby hands, “come here.”
Maria sat down on the bed and Natasha laid her head on Maria’s chest. The rhythmic noise of Maria’s heart soothed Natasha and her eyes began to droop. She struggled to stay awake as Maria began gently stroking her hair.
“Feeling sleepy?”
“Mhm,” Natasha mumbled, further comforted by the warmth radiating from Maria’s body, “nap time.”
Maria continued running her fingers through Natasha’s hair until her breathing evened out. She looked down at her girlfriend’s face and, sure enough, Natasha was sleeping. Smiling, Maria tried to get out of bed, but Natasha let out a whine and snuggled closer to her. Well, there were worse ways to spend the day.
“Is she sleeping?” Melina popped her head in and Maria jumped a little,
“Yeah.”
Natasha shifted slightly in her sleep, but didn’t seem too bothered by the noise.
“You know, there aren’t many people she will fall asleep around,” Melina sat in a chair and gave Maria a pointed look,
“Well, we’ve known each other for a very long time.”
That wasn’t the whole truth, but Maria didn’t want to tell Melina anything without Natasha’s permission.
“Why doesn’t Natasha want us to know that the two of you are together?”
Maria choked,
“I’m not sure I understand, Melina,”
“Natasha and yourself, you are dating, are you not?”
Maria was too shocked to do anything but nod.
“So?”
“Oh, um,” there wasn’t any good answer to that question, as far as Maria could tell, “she was scared that you wouldn’t love her anymore. And that you’d kick me out,”
“She really thought that?” Melina wiped a tear from the corner of her eye and Maria pretended not to notice, “if anything, I have more chances for grandbabies now,”
“We haven’t talked about—“
“You’ll be good to her, right?” Melina cut off Maria’s stuttering, “because my Natasha deserves only good things. And, I know about twenty different ways to kill you with just my thumb,”
Maria had a feeling that every member of Natasha’s family was going to threaten her at some point. Not that she minded: it was sweet to see how much they cared about Nat.
“I’d never dream of hurting her,” Maria looked into Melina’s eyes and tried to convey her sincerity, “I love her too much to ever do that.”
Melina nodded, seemingly appeased. They sat in silence as Natasha slept,
“Aleksandra,”
“What?”
“If you have a daughter, you should consider naming her Aleksandra. Maksim if it's a boy,” the look on Melina’s face was completely serious.
“I–” Maria wasn’t sure what to say, “we’ll certainly consider it,”
“Good. Well,” Melina stood, “I’ll come back when Natasha wakes up, yes?”
“Of course.”
Watching Melina walk away made elation and anxiety bubble up in Maria’s chest. On one hand, Melina seemed to like her and support them, on the other, Maria wasn’t sure how Natasha was going to react. Natasha had gone through such great lengths to hide Maria from her family and she clearly had a reason, even Maria wasn’t completely sure what that was. From what she could tell, Natasha’s family - while not necessarily functional - was everything she wished hers was: loving, supporting, and ridiculously protective. It had been obvious to Maria that her family wasn’t even close to that when her father kicked her out when she was sixteen.
“American spy,” the sound of Alexei’s voice pulled Maria out of her thoughts,
“Alexei.”
Alexei stared at Maria, who refused to flinch. This seemed to frustrate him, and he let out a small grunt,
“You seem okay, American spy. I can see you are good friend to Natasha.”
Maria’s shoulders relaxed a little. Alexei didn’t know about them, then. Given what little Maria knew about Natasha’s family, this made sense.
“But.”
Here it came: the inevitable threatening of her life or well-being, maybe even both.
“I am watching you. I beat Captain America once, you know? He is puny, sad man compared to me.”
“Yes sir, I understand,” Maria was going to have to ask Natasha about her adoptive father’s weird obsession with Steve
“Hmph,” Alexei gruffly patted Maria’s shoulder.
When Maria was finally alone again she sighed. Looking down at Natasha, who had somehow slept through all of this, Maria felt a wave of fatigue wash over her. She was still tired from yesterday, and her confrontations with Natasha’s family hadn’t helped. Moving slowly, so as to not wake Nat, Maria positioned herself so she could lie down. Still clutching Natasha in her arms, Maria lay down and felt sleep overtake her.
When Maria woke up, it was dark outside. She had slept through the day, which was unlike her. More concerning was the cold, empty space next to her. Fighting her urge to panic, Maria stood and walked towards the kitchen.
“Hey sleepyhead,” Natasha’s arms wrapped around her when she reached the living room,
“Sorry I slept so long,” Maria mumbled, still not fully awake,
“You needed to rest,” Natasha ran her thumb across Maria’s cheek, “I was just about to wake you for dinner—I’d hate for you to miss Melina’s borscht,”
“She made borscht?”
“She asked me about your favorite Russian foods,” a trace of jealousy laced Natasha’s voice, “I don’t know what you did, but I think you’re her new favorite child,”
“You’ll always be my favorite, Tasha,” Maria tilted her head down and captured Natasha’s lips with her own, “and Melina loves you so much,”
“Yes, she does.”
Natasha squeaked in a manner very uncharacteristic of an assassin and jumped away from Maria. Standing in the entrance to the kitchen, Melina held a fresh loaf of bread.
“Mo—Melina!”
“Did you really think you could hide your affections for Masha?” Melina tutted, but put down the bread and walked to give Natasha a hug, “a mother always knows, Natasha.”
Natasha hugged back and hid her face in the crook of Melina’s neck. A quiet sob racked Natasha’s chest, and she clung to Melina. Surprised, Melina gave Maria a quick glance before rubbing circles on Natasha’s back.
“Come now, there is no reason to cry, solnyshko. Come, have some borscht.”
Embarrassed, Natasha wiped her eyes and sniffled.
“Good. I was already suggesting names for my future grandchildren to Masha; we can talk about it over dinner.”
Heat crept up Natasha’s neck and Maria’s ears went pink as Melina dragged them to the dinner table, where Yelena was already sitting. Natasha looked at Maria, who gazed back and smiled.
Years later, Natasha stood in Melina’s kitchen, proudly displaying the ring on her finger.
“It’s very beautiful. Masha chose well,”
“It’s so cool,” Yelena nodded, “I cannot believe you’re getting married,”
“Married? To who?” Alexei stomped in, “who is marrying my little girl?”
The others stared at Alexei, dumbstruck. Maria and Natasha had visited multiple times and never tried to hide their relationship.
“Are you joking? Please tell me he is joking,” shaking her head, Yelena brought her palm to her forehead,
“Why would I joke about something like this?”
“I’m marrying Maria,” Natasha stated defensively. How did Alexei not know?
“You girls are just friends, I thought,”
“Since when do friends kiss each other on the lips?” Yelena threw her hands up in frustration, “and sleep in the same bed when we have multiple guest rooms?”
“I don’t know, Yelena. I thought it was an American thing,”
“An American—I can’t even.”
Natasha secretly agreed with Yelena.
“I don’t know if I like this whole “marrying Maria” business,” Alexei huffed,
“You like Maria,” exasperated, Melina flicked Alexei’s forehead,
“But is she good enough to marry our Natasha?”
As her family erupted into a heated argument, Natasha sighed and slid her phone out.
Nat: I miss you
Masha: that bad? it’s only been a few hours
Nat: Alexei just realized we’re together
Mash: WHAT?!?
“Natasha, explain to your dad how long you and Masha have been together,” Melina yelled and Natasha put her phone down, reluctantly returning her attention to her family.
Masha: what do you mean he just found out??
Masha: Nat
Masha: Nat???
Masha: Natasha Alianovna Romanoff, what is going on?
Masha: …you will be the death of me
Later, when they told this story at their wedding, Maria and Natasha laughed, at Alexei’s expense, because there was nothing that could stop their love.