𝘈𝘯𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘢'𝘴 𝘗𝘖𝘝

"Oh, I'm so proud of you girls" Alexei announces and we all completely ignore him "Oh, you can't hear me, huh?"

"Okay" He laughs, putting on the extra headset "Ah...Wow"

Before anyone can say anything, Yelena slams her fist back into his face and he swears loudly in Russian, stumbling back. Natasha and I share an impressed look and I shuffle over so that she can sit down, the both of us sharing a seat.

"Okay. Why the aggression, huh?" Alexei groans in pain "Is it your time of the month?"

"I don't get my period, dipshit. I don't have a uterus" Yelena retorts.

"Or ovaries" Natasha adds.

"Yeah. That's what happens when the Red Room gives you an involuntary hysterectomy" I declare bitterly.

"They kind of just go in and they rip out all of your reproductive organs" Yelena explains, using her hands to give the man a visual representation "They just get right in there and they chop them all away. Everything out, so you can't have babies"

"Okay, okay. Okay! Okay!" Alexei huffs, sitting down "You don't have to get so clinical and nasty"

"Oh, well, I was about to talk about fallopian tubes, but okay" Yelena shrugs and I snort.

"It means so much to me that you came back for me" Alexei says to us.

"No. No. You're gonna tell us how to get to the Red Room" Natasha snaps.

"Huh" He says curiously "Whoa, look at you, huh? All business"

"Trust me, this isn't pleasure" Natasha states.

"Little Natasha, all indoctrinated into the Western agenda" Alexei taunts.

"I chose to go west to become an Avenger" Natasha counters "'Cause they treated me like family"

"Really? Family?" Alexei scoffs "Well, where are they now? Where is that family now?"

"Shut up" I retort in anger.

"Has little Anastasia finally learned to stick up for herself?" The man asks me, his brows raised in surprise.

"I got sick and tired of people pushing me around" I reply, my eyes narrowed into a glare "I'm not a little girl anymore"

"Tell me where the Red Room is" Natasha demands.

"I have no idea" Alexei admits and Yelena scoffs loudly "Okay?"

Natasha jumps up and slaps the headset off his head, sitting down on the bench opposite the one he's sat on.

"Come on. You and Dreykov were like..." She drawls off.

"Dreykov?" Alexei spits.

"Yeah" She snaps.

"General Dreykov, my friend, huh?" He scoffs in disbelief "Gives me glory...Soviet Union's first and only super soldier. I could have been more famous than Captain America"

"Then he buries me in Ohio on that stupid mission. Three years! So tedious, boring me to tears" He explains as I frown deeply and my chest pangs in hurt, him turning to look at Yelena and I "No offense, huh?"

I scoff and look away from him, staring out the windshield in anger.

"Then puts me in prison for the rest of my life. Why, huh? Why? Why would he put me in... You know why?" He rants "'Cause maybe I want to talk about the withering of the state. Or maybe I don't like his hair or something and I say something casually about that"

"Maybe, you know, I want the Party to feel actually like a party instead of this sourpuss organisation" Alexei continues to ramble on and on "But instead, no. He puts me in prison for the rest of my life. He just runs off and hides, huh?"

"I'm not even the one who, uh, you know... I'm not the one who killed his daughter" He adds.

"Can we throw him out the window now?" Yelena speaks up.

"I think we should wait till we get to a higher altitude" Natasha replies.

"I agree with Nat" I hum.

"All right" Yelena chirps.

"Почему бы не спросить Мелину, где это?" Alexei asks.
(why not ask Melina where it is?)

"Wait, Mom Melina?" Yelena questions.

"We thought she was dead" Natasha states.

"She's alive?" I ask, turning to the man.

"You cannot kill a fox that swift" Alexei scoffs.

"Ew" Natasha says in disgust and I gag.

"What?" He says "She was the scientist, the strategist. I was the muscle. She worked directly for Dreykov far more than I ever did"

"Wait. Are you telling me that Melina is working for the Red Room present day?" Natasha queries.

"She works remotely outside St. Petersburg" Alexei answers.

"Uh...I don't think we have enough fuel for St. Petersburg" Yelena declares.

"No, we're good. We'll make it" Alexei argues.

"Okay" Yelena scoffs.

‎✪ ‎✪‎ ✪

The helicopter crashes down to the ground, completely out of gas and I glare at Alexei as I grab onto Yelena before she slams into the window. The blonde grabs her bag and we all climb out of the broken down aircraft, looking around the wildlife in pure annoyance.

"You should've brought the Avengers' superjet" Alexei speaks up.

Natasha grabs my arm, tugging me with her as she starts to walk away and Yelena follows by my other side.

"I swear, if I hear one more word from him, I will kick him in the face" Yelena threatens.

"He's the worst" Natasha grumbles.

"Anastasia" Alexei calls out, chasing after us "Anastasia. Ana! Come here, I want to ask you something"

I look back at him in confusion and he beckons me with his hand.

"Come, it's important" He pleads and I huff, stopping to let him catch up.

"What?" I snap.

"Did he talk to you about me?" Alexei asks.

"Excuse me?" I frown in confusion.

"Did he talk to you about me? You know, trading war stories?" Alexei presses.

"Did who talk to me?" I question.

"Captain America" Alexei grits out "My great adversary in this theater of geopolitical conflict. Not so much a nemesis. More like a contemporary, you know? Coequal. I always thought there was a great deal of mutual respect..."

"Wait" Natasha snaps, stopping in her tracks to look at the man "You haven't seen either one of us in 20 years and you're gonna ask her about you?"

"What is with this tension?" Alexei asks in a clueless manor "Did I do something wrong?"

"Is that a serious question?" Yelena replies in disbelief.

"I only ever loved you girls" Alexei defends himself "I did my best to make sure you would succeed to achieve your fullest potential, and everything worked out"

"Everything worked out?" Natasha scoffs.

"Yes. For you, yes" He retorts "We accomplished our mission in Ohio"

"Yelena, you went on to become the greatest child assassin the world has ever known" He tells the blonde, looking at her with adoration "No one can match your efficiency, your ruthlessness"

"Anastasia, you are the best assassin that HYDRA and the Red Room have ever produced together" He says to me, a proud smile on his face "You went from widow assassin to super soldier to Avenger. That has never been done before you"

"And Natasha, not just a spy, not just toppling regimes, destroying empires from within, but an Avenger" He grins at the redhead before glancing between the three of us.

"You all have killed so many people" He declares, grabbing mine and Yelena's arms "Your ledgers must be dripping, just gushing red. I couldn't be more proud of you"

He pulls the three of us into a hug and I just let him, still a little dizzy after the proud looks and the fatherly speech. Natasha scoffs loudly and pulls out of the hug, storming off. The man pats my back and I fight off tears.

"Okay. You can... No. Let go of me now" Yelena tells him, gently pulling away "You smell really bad"

The blonde walks away after Natasha and Alexei looks down at me with a warm smile.

"Ах, моя маленькая принцесса" He mumbles.
(Ah, my little princess)

"I'm not little" I correct, pulling away and catching up to my sisters.

"So, are we there yet?" Yelena asks as Alexei catches up to us.

"You'll know when we're there" Alexei says before snorting like a pig.

"Lovely" I hum.