October 17, 2014

Irena who was now freshly 14 as of today finally exited her room at 10:30 am. She had been living with Natasha, Tony, and sometimes Steve and Sam at the Avenger's compound in New York since May. It wasn't easy to adjust to, but she managed to fit in just fine over time. The girl had grown two inches taller, now at 5'3, Her hair was longer, barely past her upper back, and her face had lost some of its childish chub that stuck to her cheeks.

She didn't go to school after a three-day battle with Natasha debating the matter. In the end, she won and got to stay in the compound doing her studies for 4 hours a day in a room dedicated just to learning that Tony had put in a week after the school verdict was finalized. It's not that Irena didn't want to make friends, she just couldn't.

The girl was so different she doubted she would ever be able to act "normally" around kids her age. No 14-year-old girl had over 90 different people's blood on her hands, most didn't have a single drop. High School was a rough place in general and for a kid who hadn't ever gone to normal school before, it probably wasn't the best place to start and Tony agreed.

Irena didn't mind barely leaving the compound, it was cool and had many things for her to do. Besides, she wasn't completely alone, she had Natasha. She and Natasha only left when it was essential besides their monthly excursions. Their covers were blown after Nat had uploaded all of S.H.I.E.L.D / HYDRA's information to the internet.

The plan was originally to run off and hide somewhere for a bit until things died down in the States but Natasha didn't want Irena to be running anymore, she wanted her to have a sense of normalcy in her life and that didn't involve living in the middle of nowhere in some European Country. 

Steve and Sam, whom Irena had grown extremely close with over time, visited in between their different manhunts in their attempt to find Bucky. Irena also had a phone, but Tony had programmed it to only have the music app, phone, facetime, messages, and single-player games. The numbers she had were his, Natasha's, Steve's, and Sam's. Of course, she had multiple of each as all of them had various burner phones.

Natasha was in the kitchen with Tony, Steve, and Sam, quickly attempting to finish her poor endeavor of a birthday cake when she heard F.R.I.D.A.Y lightly inform the group of adults the birthday girl had left her room. She rushed to stick the white fondant stars she had cut out earlier onto the dark blue frosted strawberry-flavored cake.

"Shit!" Natasha whispered as quietly as she could, scrambling to put the cake away for later as she plated the pancakes she whipped up only 10 minutes ago with again, pieces of cut-up strawberries.

They all dashed around the kitchen adding finishing touches to the room before Irena came down. Tony finished tying the balloons he reluctantly agreed to blow up, Steve scattered confetti all over the floor, table, and island, just like he had done to the entrance outside her room along with tie streamers above her door, and Sam put the rest of her gifts on the island in a neat formation.

Natasha had been up all hours of the night to ensure Irena's first birthday celebration of her went according to plan. It had to be memorable as Irena had only figured out through Nat in September what a birthday was and when she took place.

"Here, let me." Steve insisted as she took the plate out of Natasha's hand, topping the pancakes with whipped cream and chocolate chips before adding a single candle in the middle.

"Thanks," Nat replied as she hustled to grab the cheesy birthday hats, also decorated with stars, paper party horns, and confetti poppers she bought from Dollar Tree.

Natasha handed the rest out to the men before she gestured for Tony to follow.

"I am not putting this on," Tony argued while holding the hat in his hands and looking at it with a disgusted face.

"Shut up and put on the hat Stark." She demanded before she turned to Sam and Steve who both adjusted their hats and placed the horns in their mouths with their hands ready to pull the poppers. "Steve, Sam hurry up and hide," Nat instructed them.

"Got it," Steve replied, giving her a thumbs up as Sam started to look around.

"Man, where the hell are we supposed to hide?" Sam questioned Steve who only shrugged while Tony and Nat started to walk towards the end of the stairs to await Irena.

Irena had stepped out of her dimly lit and chaotically decorated room to quickly be met with dark blue streamers that hung from the top of her door frame. She didn't know exactly what they were but after further inspection, she deemed them harmless.

The next thing that greeted her was the tiny thin rectangular pieces of colored paper that were dispersed around the floor surrounding her room entrance. Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion as the material slid under her slipper-covered feet.

She wondered what had been going on and why it was eerily quiet. Almost too quiet. The thought made her stomach uneasy. The girl worried someone had broken in, she wasn't dressed for a fight but she could make the checkered pajama pants and baggy band shirt she was in work.

Irena padded her way to the stairwell where at the bottom she saw Natasha and Tony in cone hats. Natasha held a plate of pancakes complete with a single lit candle while Tony held 3 balloons.

Her face scrunched in confusion at the sight. In her mind, today wasn't anything particularly special, just a regular Friday morning. It wasn't until she heard them break out in song that she knew. But even then she was still surprised. Why were birthdays so widely celebrated in the States she didn't know, but what she did know is that she was confused.

"Why are you singing?" Irena questioned when she reached the bottom of the stairs.

"Because it's your birthday Doll, make a wish and blow out your candle," Nat replied with a tone that implied her question had an obvious answer.

Irena shrugged and did as she was told, she made a wish and then leaned forward, moving her hair out of the line of fire before blowing out the polka-dotted candle. The adults erupted into cheers as the flame on the candle disappeared, Tony's less enthusiastic than Nat's.

As she moved away from the candle she couldn't help but let her face drop slightly in sorrow. Irena's wish was for Bucky to be okay, safe, and healthy. Over the past few months, the guilt had been eating her alive. He was alone, poor, and most likely confused about how the world operated now and she had left him, alone and scared in a gym that resided in Missouri on a random Tuesday afternoon.

Natasha saw the girl's face falter but didn't pry. Instead, she smiled as if she saw nothing and encouraged to girl to indulge her pancakes in the kitchen. Irena agreed and took the plate out of Natasha's hands and walked to the kitchen, setting her food on the island.

"Where is the syrup?" She inquired, looking around for answers.

"In the cabinet," Tony answered with a grin as he started to take out his phone to secretly record the teen.

"Thanks." She said, walking around the island to reach the cabinet.

Everyone except Irena held their breath as they watched her walk. As the girl walked she sensed something was off and froze. She didn't know what but something felt different. She looked around at the adults and inspected their faces to attempt to see if they could feel the same uneasiness she felt.

After the pause that only lasted a split second, she turned the corner with her fists clenched at her side. Natasha could see the girl's uneasiness as she walked and moved closer and prepared herself for anything Irena would do in surprise or shock. 

As soon as Irena's foot was visible Steve and Sam jumped from behind the island with their arms flailing wildly in the air and their mouths full with blow horns. Irena jumped back in surprise and then half attempted to strike a hard punch to Sam before she felt Natasha's hand on her wrist.

She quickly looked back at Nat who nodded and let go then turned back to her friends. The smile that had erupted from her lips could have illuminated the whole room.

"Uncle Sam! Uncle Steve!" She yelled in excitement, jumping straight into Sam's arms in a strangling hug.

"Hey, little Widow!" He chuckled as her impactful hug made him stumble backward a bit. "How's it hangin?"

"It is hanging good, I fully know the difference between a microwave and an oven now!" She informed him proudly.

Around the beginning of Irena's arrival at the compound five months ago, Sam and Steve came back after another failed Bucky rescue mission. When they told Irena they had found no sign of him she was under the weather for days until Sam suggested they baked a cake. Of course, it was strawberry, it was also the first cake that the girl had ever made.

After they had finished the batter her task was to put it in the oven while Sam went to collect a package from the front of the house. The task was more than simple to Sam but to the girl who had never been outside the Red Room except for missions, she was more than confused. She ended up putting the pan in the microwave instead of the oven and only when it started sparking she called for Natasha who was coming down the stairs. They had gotten the pan out quick enough before it caused any damage to the machine but the adults had never let her hear the end of it since.

"Oh I'm glad to hear that, now I don't have to worry about leaving you alone in the kitchen for five minutes." He teasingly berated her.

Irena giggled in response before moving to hug Steve who was waiting behind Sam.

"Happy birthday kid." He told her quietly while pulling her close to his chest.

"Thanks, Uncle Steve, but I don't know why everyone is making a big huge deal, it's just another year of life." She asked out loud, looking around in question at everyone in the room.

"Because as of three months ago you didn't know what a birthday even was which means you've never celebrated one, thats what you do when it's your birthday you celebrate." Natasha elaborated for her.

"Oh." She nodded.

Irena had gotten better at talking and being less bashful at times when it came to speaking, but sometimes the girl would still answer simply with one-word answers. She had also gotten better at slang and contraction words, now using the words don't, haven't, and wouldn't more often.

She had also recently started calling Steve and Sam "uncle". In Russia, it was common to do so to your parent's close friends but these were her friends. Irena planned to give Tony such a title the more she got to know him as well. Not Natasha though, Natasha was always going to stay Tasha, Nat, or Natasha, or maybe she might develop another title. Irena still felt that she had to sort out her feelings first.

"Well, what are you waiting for open your presents!" Nat suggested with an excited squeal in her voice.

Irena felt her face drop and her eye grew wide in surprise as she looked at her, then to Natasha, then to the multiple gifts on the table.

"You guys got me gifts?!" She questioned.

She had never gotten any gifts in her life, never felt what it was like to rip open a present on Christmas morning or clearly, her birthday.

"Of course, now go open them!" Natasha had to reassure the girl who obviously looked dumbfounded.

"You guys didn't have to." She told them, walking towards the presents as if they pulled her towards them.

"Oh shut up and open your gifts kid stop being humble," Tony said from the corner of the room.

Irena flashed an embarrassed smile at him before she climbed onto a chair behind the pile of gifts. She looked at them like they intimidated her, she didn't even know where to begin. There were seven neatly wrapped gifts placed perfectly on the table covered in confetti that Sam had noticeably gotten carried away with. The sticker said it was from Tony to mini Romanoff, a nickname he enjoyed to call her.

She decided to grab the biggest-looking present and start from there. It came in a big box that probably would've been awkward for Irena herself to hold. She adjusted herself to her knees on top of the chair and looked to find where she should rip the wrapping on it.

"I just rip it yes?" Irena questioned after staring at the item for a good minute and a half not knowing exactly what to do.

"Yup, have at it, it doesn't have to be pretty," Natasha told her.

She sheepishly smiled as she began to rip the wrapping. Nat, Sam, and Tony were recording on their phone which made her want to melt into the table and never reform. Irena felt awkward with all the attention on her, she didn't understand why they needed to record her but she didn't mention it. If they put together all of this for her she would let them do whatever they wanted.

A purple box began to appear from under the wrapping which only encouraged Irena to keep ripping off the covers that encased it. In seconds the box was exposed and what it contained was visible. Irena gasped in surprise at what was depicted on the box. She looked up at Tony with the same wide eyes she wore when she saw her gifts initially.

"This is mine?" Was all she could say.

On the box was a picture of a telescope surrounded by millions of stars in the night sky. Irena's chest felt full of helium. She was so excited and the feeling of this much love felt so foreign it made her feel beyond overwhelmed.

"Well, that's what I wrote on the tag." He insisted with a smirk.

Irena's face practically glowed as she smiled. She jumped down from her chair and ran to strangle Tony in a hug.

"Thank you, Thank you, Tony, I love it!" She exclaimed happily as she felt his arm wrap around her frame in return.

"Glad you like it Blue." He laughed and put down his phone to stop recording.

He had also taken a liking to calling her "Blue" after he teased her relentlessly over her almost unnaturally blue eyes.

Irena released herself from the hug and walked back to the table excited to open more presents. She sat herself down in the same chair she had just jumped out of and picked up another gift. In seconds the gift was revealed, a small blue velvety box.

"A soft box cool!" Irena exclaimed with genuine excitement on her face.

Everyone around her burst into immediate laughter except for Natasha and Steve who fought hard to keep their laughter inside.

"Please tell me someone got that on video," Tony asked as he tried to catch his breath.

"It's all on here!" Sam replied while he waved his phone in the air.

Irena's eyebrows were furrowed in confusion before she guessed to open the strange box. To her the box was a gift enough, it was soft which she had never seen before, and a cool blue color, she didn't even think to open the box.

Ignoring Sam and Tony's remaining cackles, Irena slowly cracked open the box. Inside was a small heart locket. In the center, the words: 'I carry your heart with me.' were engraved.

The girl gasped upon seeing her new piece of jewelry she could only guess was from Natasha. A smile crept onto Irena's lips as she disentangled it from its packaging. The laughter around her had ceased and now only silence was heard as everyone's eyes watched the girl, curious about what she had gotten.

Once the necklace was free from the backing it came in she lifted it to show everyone.

"Thank you, Nat, it's beautiful."

"Once I saw it I couldn't resist." Natasha smiled.

Irena laughed in response. "Can you help me put it on?"

"Of course, turn around," Nat instructed with a smile.

As the two focused on getting the necklace on, a bright light flashed from the corner of the room which caused everyone to turn their heads.

"Oh, that's a keeper!" Tony said as he placed a random camera he seemingly pulled out of nowhere, on the counter.

"Where did you even get that?" Irena asked with a chuckle as she felt Natasha finish clasping the necklace.

"I have my ways kid, I'm Tony Stark." He replied.

The answer earned an eye roll from both Natasha and Irena who gave each other a look before laughing.

ⴵ

By the time the rest of the presents were opened, it was 11:30 am. Irena now had a new telescope, necklace, nail polish of various colors, books about space (some in Russian and some in English), a CD player and CDs, colored pencils partnered with a sketchbook, and a Jurassic Park figurine.

The time was now 5:45 pm and everyone was now back in the kitchen huddled around the table prepared to sing Happy Birthday to the teenage girl. They had gotten back from the shooting range that was on the 14th floor of the tower about 45 minutes ago. The main event of the day was the "party" part which was planned by Tony. The group each took turns shooting at targets and collecting points until the two people with the most points by the end of the night would get 15 seconds to shoot and hit the target. The last two standing were unsurprisingly Natasha and Sam who battled it out until Natasha eventually came out on top

Irena had the most fun she's had in a long time. She was nothing but smiles and laughs.  She and Steve tied for 3rd place after only missing the heart which counted as 50 points once. Irena didn't even care she didn't win she was just grateful to be with her friends celebrating her birthday for once in her life.

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3154 words ~ 2:11 am
December 13th 2023

Ellies words:

ok so as you can see from the date I wrote this MONTHS ago. (Today: march 19 2024) so my writing is lwk ass but ive been paying attention in classes n my writing is kinda getting a bit better, so the second half of chapter 21 is when it starts to improve so bear with me. At one point i'll re write all of first chapters, probs when the book is finished but yeah adios.