''Welcome to my humble abode. Make yourself at home. Let's have a drink.'' 

Melina pushed the door of her house open, her rifle on her back. The house was old, with thin walls and creaky wooden floors and doors, but it looked well-kept and cozy, even. Large windows let in a lot of light, and because of the comfortable temperature, they were open, the white curtains flowing freely. 

Katya felt the unease radiating off both Natasha and Yelena. They hadn't been in such a setting in a long time. A home. And in their mission suits, they couldn't feel more misplaced.

Yelena and Alexei quickly disappeared into the biggest room, which must be the living room. Katya heard a chair getting pulled backwards, the legs dragging over the wooden floor. But she stayed close to Natasha - as always - who was too distracted with studying the house. Katya knew that look, thinking she was subtle with looking for traps and ways out.

''Hey, no funny business,'' Natasha warned Melina when she opened a closet. From the outside, it looked like a normal cabinet, but behind a second door, a pristine armory shone. Katya saw the newest technology, the most advanced weapons. Melina was one hundred percent connected to a big organization. Or had been.

''I am putting away my weapon,'' she deadpanned, receiving nothing - not even a glare - in return. Natasha wasn't her usual sarcastic self here. No, she was tense as hell. And when she got like this, she got cold, letting her protective walls shoot up again. And, if Katya was entirely honest, she got mean. Self-protection. All of it.

''Are there any booby traps around here? Anything we need to know about?'' Natasha wandered to the kitchen, Katya following her closely. The kitchen was a complete mess, but she managed to find a clean glass and fill it with water from the tab. Honestly, that she dared to drink or touch anything in this dirty kitchen was a miracle.

''I didn't raise my girls to fall in traps,'' Melina answered, getting shot glasses from a cabinet, along with some vodka. Alcohol, Katya could use some of that. Or a lot, actually. Maybe it relaxed her a bit. 

''You didn't raise us at all,'' Natasha countered harshly without looking at her, her eyes strictly on the sink, her back turned to the rest of the room. See, mean. Exactly like she did with Yelena until she finally let her in.

Melina wasn't bothered by it. ''Oh, maybe so. But if you got soft, it wasn't on my watch.'' 

Katya swore she looked at her when she said that, and she crossed her arms uncomfortably. Melina's gaze was sharp, and Katya had gotten used to the soft looks from Natasha these past two years. 

Anyone who knew Natasha knew she had always been a softie, deeply behind that cold exterior. How she completely melted in the comfort of friends, and even more so when it was only her and Katya. Because of what she went through, she had one of the biggest hearts.

When Melina left the room, she left a struggling Natasha behind. Her eyes were distant, and she had never had her emotions sitting so high. One wrong sentence and she either snapped or teared up. It wasn't a surprise. It couldn't be easy to see Melina again.

She was so lost in her head that she jumped when Katya placed a hand on her cheek and turned her head slowly so she faced her. Her green eyes drifted up to find blue, focusing on them, letting the thoughts she was having drift to the back of her mind.

''I'm right here,'' Katya reassured, begging nobody heard that in this quiet house with the thin walls. ''The whole time.''

She wanted to remind Natasha that she could find comfort with her, or at least know that no matter what happened, she wasn't alone with all the memories popping up in this weird setting with the weird people.

Natasha gave her the tiniest of smiles, all she could manage at the moment. And Katya let her hand fall down, throwing her her own smile. 

A loud groan somewhere in the house popped their bubble, and their faces fell back into a serious expression. After taking a deep breath, they left the kitchen and found both Yelena and Melina at the dinner table in the living room. 

They sat next to each other, but Yelena clearly wasn't comfortable. Her back was straight and all her muscles tight as a coil. Her hands lay in her lap and she stared past the flowing curtains, out the window.

Katya cut that line of sight off when she pulled the chair opposite her out and sat down, Natasha taking place across from Melina. Katya placed her underarms on the table, clasping her hands tightly together.

She refused to show how uncomfortable she was and forced her fingers and feet to stay still, although she subtly pressed her knee against Natasha's. She wasn't the only one who could use something grounding.

More groans and huffs came from behind Yelena somewhere. Probably the bathroom or something. It was Alexei trying to get his suit on. But according to the sounds, wasn't making good progress.

It got awkward real fast, with the horrible silence in the living room, two Russians who refused to look at their 'mom', and said 'mom' watching Katya too closely to be comfortable.

To avoid having to deal with more marriage questions, Katya covered her ring with her other hand. Not because she was ashamed of it, absolutely not. But because it wasn't relevant here. Not what she wanted the focus to be on.

''Let's drink,'' Melina eventually said, fed up with waiting. She unscrewed the cap and poured the shot glasses full of vodka, placing them down for everyone. Nobody touched them though. Not yet.

A door finally swung open and out stepped Alexei with a huge grin on his face. 

''Still fits,'' he announced enthusiastically, his hands on his hips. His words were practically true. Every zipper and button on his suit was closed, but the material was pulled so tightly over his stomach that it might break any moment. When the suit was made for him, he was undoubtedly less heavy.

But Melina didn't care. She whistled at him, turned around in her seat to take his figure in. Everyone else at the table cringed visibly, disgusted by their flirty behavior. 

Yelena quickly turned back around. ''Oh, my god,'' she mumbled, her eyes on the table. This was the last thing they wanted to be sucked into right now.

Katya felt Natasha grow impatient. All they needed was a location of the Red Room and they'd be off, leaving these two people far behind.

''I never washed it once,'' Melina said enthusiastically, clapping in her hands. She had already smiled more at him than at the women around her. ''Come and drink.''

With a huge smile, Alexei sat down at the head of the table, on the other side of Natasha, who immediately tensed up more at his presence. Katya wondered if she even breathed, that's how still she sat. Her hands clenched into tight fists on the table when the man started to sing some old battle song, oblivious to everyone's tense faces.

''Family... back together again,'' he beamed. Yep, Katya still felt like an intruder, at least until he turned his eyes on her. ''And it got bigger. Welcome to the family. Our Natasha, all grown up. Married. To a woman.''

Katya was confused. Did he like her or not? She couldn't figure out his tone. Melina eyed her sharply, eyed her hands. She was hard to figure out as well, and decided to completely ignore his words.

''Seeing as our family construct was just a calculated ruse that only lasted three years, I don't think that we can use this term anymore, can we?'' she said casually, scooping some salad from a container on her plate, completely unbothered.

''Agreed,'' Natasha quickly said, ready to rush to the point. She leaned forward in her seat, directing her words to Melina. ''So, here's what's gonna happen-''

''Okay! A reunion then, huh?'' Alexei loudly interrupted her, reaching for food on the table that cut her view on Melina off. She shot him an annoyed look, but once again she was invisible to him. ''And, uh... I want to say something right off the bat,'' he continued gentler, looking at Melina. ''You haven't aged a day, huh? You're just as beautiful and as supple as the day they staged our marriage.''

Katya did her best to keep her face blank, she really did, but her nose scrunched on its own. Yelena made a disgusted sound, so she met her eyes, both silently agreeing how horrible this was. In sync, they reached for their vodka shot, Natasha not far behind in trying to make this whole thing more bearable.

''You got fat... but still good,'' Melina flirted right back.

''I just got out of prison. I, uh...'' Alexei eyed the others, as if he was afraid they would hear. ''I have a lot of energy.''

''Oh!'' Melina exclaimed, letting out a laugh.

''Oh god,'' Katya breathed so silently she doubted anyone heard it. She was nauseous now, definitely nauseous. She needed more vodka if this continued any longer.

''Please don't do that,'' Natasha begged, for all their sakes. Luckily, it worked, because they turned back to their food. It gave her the time and courage to try again. ''So, here's what's gonna happen-''

''Natasha, don't slouch,'' Melina reprimanded her, without taking her eyes off her plate. Katya let out an annoyed breath, soft enough so she didn't get any nasty looks. Her knee bounced up and down now, impatient.

''I'm not slouching,'' Natasha frowned, moving around in her chair to sit up straighter. Nothing was left of the broken woman from before. She was annoyed now, angry almost, at how irrational everyone was and how long it took to get to the point. Everyone kept interrupting her.

''Yes, yes, you are.''

''I don't slouch,'' she said sternly. Sure, she should know how she sat in chairs back at the Compound.

Parker once said that was something gay, being unable to sit in chairs normally, and now Katya couldn't see anything else anymore. 

Natasha with her feet on the desk. Natasha with her feet on the dashboard of a car. Natasha with one knee pulled to her chest, or two. Sitting sideways and swinging her legs over the armrest, that was also a big one.

''You're going to get a back hunch.'' Melina eyed Katya. ''You too.''

Katya frowned, looking down at herself to see nothing wrong with her posture. She shared a weird look with Natasha, who didn't know what to do with this situation.

Alexei reached out to push Natasha's shoulder back. ''Listen to your mother.''

''Oh my god, this-''

''Up, up.'' For some reason, she didn't swat his hand away, which is what Katya would have done. 

''All right, enough. All of you,'' she snapped, her patience running out. 

''I didn't say anything. That's not fair,'' Yelena muttered, a pout on her face. And despite the tension, the corners of Katya's mouth twitched. Yelena was adorable, whether she would ever admit it or not.

''Here's what's gonna happen-''

''I don't want any food,'' the blonde complained when Melina scooped some salad on her plate as well. Like a mother feeding her child. 

''Eat a little something, Yelena, for god's sake.''

''You're gonna tell us the location of the Red Room,'' Natasha finally blurted out. She had wanted to do this more subtly, but they left her no choice.

Her words drifted around in the room, settling on everyone's shoulders as all previous conversations fell silent.

Melina laughed weirdly, chuckling to herself as she shook her head. Apparently, this was funny to her. ''You know, it's like when you told them that they could stay up late to catch Santa Claus.''

Alexei remembered that clearly. ''That was fun. You know, ''He come down the chimney, girls. Look out. Where is he?'''' Natasha didn't know what to do with him at this point, so she just smiled in exasperation. ''You wait for him, and then when the cookies are gone, then you see he's there. I want them to follow their dreams. Reach for the stars, girls.''

Natasha clenched her teeth together. ''Finding Dreykov is not a fantasy. It's unfinished business.''

Melina shook her head. ''You can't defeat a man who commands the very will of others. You never saw the culmination of what we started in America.'' Her chair made a lot of noise when she stood and walked off, probably to grab something. Her words couldn't mean much good, but they did connect to what the spies were here for. To break the Widows' mind control.

Katya frowned at the tablet Melina brought back to the table. She tapped on it a couple times, then called over her shoulder, ''Come in!'' It sounded like an order. And not even a second later, the front door opened and a pig wandered in.

''What the hell,'' Katya muttered when the animal walked up to Melina like it was a dog, staring at her expectantly. She shared a look with Yelena, who didn't understand what the hell was going on either. She looked as uncomfortable as she felt.

''Did that pig just open the door?'' Natasha frowned, just as stunned as Katya. Who could get a pig to do that?

''Yes. It did.'' Melina gave him some bread, praising him like one would a child. ''Good boy, Alexei. Good boy.'' Oh god, she named him after her fake husband as well.

''This keeps getting weirder,'' Katya whispered, reaching for the vodka and pouring herself a new shot. She thought the Avengers had some weird habits, weird things in the Compound, but a pig acting like a dog was a new one.

''You named a pig after me?'' Alexei was touched by the gesture.

''You don't see the resemblance?'' Melina genuinely replied. Honestly, Katya did, because Alexei the human ate the chicken leg on his plate as disgustingly as a pig would. ''See, he sits just like dog. Amazing. Now, watch.'' She tapped the screen again and ordered, ''Stop breathing.'' 

Katya's eyes widened when the pig made a choking sound and stopped moving all together. The woman next to her tensed up as well, desperately trying to look over the table and see the animal.

Poor thing. It was clear that whatever brain voodoo they had done to Yelena, it was also applied to this pig. Maybe not the same thing, but it followed orders without being able to refuse.

''We infiltrated the North Institute in Ohio. It was a front for S.H.I.E.L.D. scientists. Actually, it was HYDRA scientists at that time.''

Katya's breath hitched. All her childhood trauma came together in this mission, didn't it?

''In conjunction with the Winter Soldier project, they had dissected and deconstructed the human brain to create the first and only cellular blueprint of the basal ganglia. Was the hub for cognition. Voluntary motor movement, procedural learning. We didn't steal weaponry or technology. We stole the key to unlocking free will.''

Free will, it was always free will. Maybe the Red Room and HYDRA weren't so different, and were closer linked together than Katya originally thought. 

Free will was the enemy, what created chaos. That's what she had been told for years. That's why they toyed with her brain as well. To control her, to strip her of her free will. But they had never succeeded in that as well as Melina demonstrated with the pig right now.

Katya's gaze shot to Yelena, whose eyes radiated pain. Melina, who she considered to be family, contributed to the stripping of her personality, of turning her into a mindless assassin. And she was proud of it, of her work. It was obvious in the way she told the story. As if it didn't ruin women's lives.

On the other side of the table, the pig fell down on its side with a thud. The lack of oxygen caused him to faint. 

''What are you doing?'' Natasha exclaimed upset. 

''Oh, I am explaining that the science is now so exact, the subject can be instructed to stop breathing and has no choice but to obey,'' Melina casually explained. She obviously didn't care that her pet was about to die on this floor if it didn't get any air soon.

''Okay, you made your point. That's enough.'' Natasha was upset.

''Yes, all right. Well, don't worry, Alexei could've survived eleven more seconds without oxygen.'' Melina pressed a button, and to everyone's relief, he jumped up on his little legs, shaking its head. ''Good boy. Now, you go back, back home where it's safe.'' He wobbly trailed back to the door. ''You go. You go back home, back home where it's safe. Good boy, Alexei.''

The silence returned, and in the midst of it, Katya cleared her throat, every single pair of eyes on her immediately. ''Did they ever perfect this?'' She was scared out of her mind that maybe something like this was in her head as well. That she would be able to get controlled with a tablet.

''HYDRA?'' Melina questioned. Katya nodded once. ''I don't think they did. Not after we stole their research. Their ways of control were flawed, easy to break out of. Probably why they were destroyed so easily.''

So Natasha was already saving Katya's life before they met. If she hadn't gone on mission in Ohio, Melina would not have been able to steal that HYDRA research, which meant that Katya, years in the future, would have probably undergone the same brain alterations as Yelena. Their lives had been intertwined before their eyes met for the first time.

She felt eyes on the side of her face, green eyes, which she met briefly. They held some relief for her, but also a lot of worry concerning what Melina showed them.

Fighting an army of Widows already sucked. But an army of brainwashed Widows even more. Dreykov would have them fight to the death to protect himself, and they wouldn't be able to refuse. 

''The world functions on a higher level when it is controlled. Dreykov has chemically subjugated agents planted around the globe.''

Katya's eyes flickered to Yelena again, who was the topic of this conversation without Melina or Alexei knowing. And it hurt, it hurt her so much to be nothing more than a tool. A tool without free will, ready to be used whenever and however.

For the first time tonight, she spoke up. ''And do you know who they test it on?'' Her voice was calm, but behind all of it, a storm of emotions raged on. She needed a hug, someone telling her they were sorry she had been used her whole life.

''Hmm... No. That's not my department,'' Melina shrugged, pouring more vodka into Alexei's glass. She was completely oblivious to Yelena's pain, and what she meant to say with her question. 

''Ah, come on, come on. Don't lie to them. Hmm?'' Alexei nudged her.

''I'm not lying.''

''You're Dreykov's architect, huh?''

''What were you? If I was his architect, you were his partner. You were his business partner!'' Her voice raised, a proper argument starting. And Katya couldn't decide if this was worse or if the flirting was. 

''No, no, no. I was patsy!'' Alexei's hand came down on the table hard, causing Katya to flinch slightly. Her heart certainly made a jump. She wanted away from here. Away from this house, away from Melina and Alexei, and fast. 

''Don't give me that-''

''He sell me ideology.''

''Stop with the politics.''

''All the while, bigger-''

''Shut up!'' Natasha said loudly, slamming her hand down on the table, causing the plates and glasses to rattle. She barely ever got aggressive, barely yelled at people, but it had all gotten too much. 

''You are an idiot,'' she said straight to Alexei's face, which pulled into pure confusion. Her voice was calm, but tears gathered in her eyes as they shifted from the man to Melina. ''And you're a coward. You're a coward.'' She refused to break down in front of them, but this failed reunion hurt her more than she would like to admit. ''And our family was never real, so there's nothing to hold on to. We're moving on.''

She sniffed, quickly wiping the tears from her eyes, not knowing they were in Katya's too. The brunette's heart broke, seeing her like this, and she made sure to push her knee further against hers in the hopes of providing some comfort. 

Maybe she put too much hope into this reunion. Maybe she hoped that since the Avengers were out of reach, she would at least have this family back. But it seemed that all she was ever able to hold on to was Katya.

''Never family, huh?'' Alexei seemed offended by her accusations. ''In my heart, I am simple man. And I think that for a couple deep undercover Russian agents I think we did pretty great as parents, huh?''

''Yes, we had our orders, and we played our roles to perfection.'' Melina didn't realize those words only made it worse. To hear that being a mother figure was only a job, nothing more.

''Who cares? That wasn't real,'' Natasha snapped, so caught in her anger that she didn't realize her words hurt.

''Nat,'' Katya whispered softly, seeing how Yelena's face contorted into one of pain and sadness. It seemed that at least one person at this table valued those suburban years.

Startled, Yelena stared at her sister. ''What?'' 

''That wasn't real. Who cares?'' she repeated.

''Don't say that. Please don't say that.'' Her voice broke, and with that, Katya's heart some more. ''It was real. It was real to me. You are my mother. You were my real mother. The closest thing I ever had to one.''

She took a breath, forcing her voice to stay even. Her face was hard to see through the tears in Katya's eyes. This woman was so broken yet so strong, refusing to break down even now.

''The best part of my life was fake. And none of you told me.'' Everyone looked away shamefully. ''And those agents you chemically subjugated around the globe? That was me.'' Melina wasn't so proud of her work now, guilt flooding her eyes instead. She hadn't known.

Yelena turned to Natasha next, and according to the anger on her face, it couldn't be much good. ''And you, you got out. Dreykov made sure no one could escape.'' Natasha simply stared at her, the tears returning. ''Are you gonna say anything?'' Yelena challenged. But she didn't know what to say, instead dragging her eyes away from hers and onto the table. 

Melina reached for Yelena's hand, but it was quickly pulled away. ''Don't touch me.'' She stood, snatched the bottle of vodka from the table, and stalked off.

''Yelena,'' Natasha tried, but she had no intention of listening or turning back.

''No.'' She disappeared through some double doors across the room, closing them rather loudly as a sign that she didn't want to be bothered. The silence that followed was heavy. Filled with guilt, sadness, and pain. 

Katya blinked her tears away, glancing at Natasha to make sure she was okay. She wasn't, her whole face contorted into shame and guilt.

Katya's plan to show no PDA flew out the window, and she shifted her hand slightly to the right, covering Natasha's with her own. The others were too busy noticing this action of comfort anyway.

Thankful, Natasha gave her hand a squeeze. Yelena calling her out on getting out, leaving her behind, not telling her their youth was fake... She deserved that. Or at least she felt like she did. Katya would argue otherwise. 

''I had no idea,'' Melina muttered, breaking the awkward silence.

''I'll talk to her,'' Katya said softly. She didn't want to leave Natasha behind here, but someone needed to talk to her sister and it better not be the other two people here. But her butt wasn't out of the chair and she got ordered back into it.

''Katariina, sit down,'' Alexei snapped, only to take a breath and smile awkwardly. A bolt of realization shot through Melina. Her sharp eyes landed on Katya. ''I'll go talk to her.'' His heavy footsteps slowly made it to the room Yelena disappeared in. 

Katya shifted uncomfortably under the force of Melina's gaze, subtly letting Natasha's hand go. She waited until the doors behind her fell closed, to speak up. ''Katariina. I thought you looked familiar.''

~~~~~~~~

A/N: damn it is so hard to write an entire chapter consisting of only conversation. I hope I did it justice :) I'm going to finish this book first before going back to updating the other one. I can't balance two anymore so for the next couple weeks, only this book will get updated. 

I have also seen a lot of books getting deleted by Wattpad lately. If that ever happens to one of my books, just go to my profile page. It will be up again the same day probably, since I have backups of every single chapter on my computer. So my books will never be gone completely :)