On the return flight to Madripoor, the atmosphere was somewhat silent.
The Widows chatted quietly among themselves, while Yelena conversed with her parents.
Natasha had Antonia lying with her head resting on her lap as she gazed at her. She was honestly a bit indecisive about what to do with her.
"Are you worried about her?" Yelena asked, sitting down beside her.
"Hm," Natasha nodded.
"Let her stay with us, wherever we decide to stay," Yelena suggested with a smile.
"Although make no mistake, she'll only sleep in our house; you'll have to take care of everything regarding her."
"Thank you," Natasha said, smiling faintly.
"Now, tell me what's going on with you and him," Yelena said in a low voice.
"No matter how low you whisper, he'll still hear you," Natasha whispered near Yelena's ear, making her blush.
"That's something you'd say in a horror movie," Yelena laughed.
"Be careful, or your brother-in-law will get mad," Natasha joked, laughing.
"Better tell me everything. What happened for you to end up here?" Yelena asked.
"I'm sure they're curious too. Let's get home, and I'll tell you where it all began," Natasha said, smiling slightly, referring to her parents.
The ship began to decrease speed as its altitude lowered; Madripoor was already visible through the window. The view of the futuristic city, seemingly taken from a sci-fi movie, amazed everyone.
Damian guided the ship to the grand palace in the middle of the city before landing in the garden. Their arrival caught the attention of his daughters, who immediately approached the ship with curiosity.
Damian opened the ship's door before descending, followed by the others. Seeing him come out, his daughters immediately smiled and ran towards him, jumping into his arms. Damian smiled, carrying his daughters in his arms before giving each of them a kiss.
The girls looked in their father's arms at everyone else coming down – a peculiar mix for them. Several women dressed in black with a bearded man, plus Natasha carrying a girl.
The girls quickly got down from their father's embrace and approached Natasha.
"Mommy, who is she?" Alice asked, looking at Natasha.
"She's a girl I'll take care of from now on; her name is Antonia," Natasha said, smiling at them.
"Hm, what cute girls," Yelena said, smiling, crouching down to their height.
"Hello," Ivy greeted with a smile.
"What's your name, sweetie?" Yelena asked, smiling.
"I'm Ivy; this is my sister Emma, and she's Alice," she said, smiling adorably.
"I'm Yelena, your aunt," Yelena said, smiling.
"Are you mommy's sister?" Alice asked with doubt.
"That's right," Yelena nodded before looking at Natasha.
The three girls also looked at Natasha, waiting for her response. When they saw her nod, they got excited and started asking Yelena all kinds of questions.
"I'll leave her in your room for now; she'll sleep for quite some time," Damian said, approaching Natasha and teleporting Antonia to Natasha's room.
Damian could see that Natasha's expression was unnatural when looking at Antonia, assuming it would take her some time to get used to it.
At that moment, Carol arrived, drawn by the noise of so many people. She was bewildered to see so many new faces.
"Hello, what's going on?" Carol greeted me upon arrival.
"They were members of the Red Room; now that we've destroyed it, they'll settle here," Natasha said, avoiding using the word Widows; they wouldn't be identified as such anymore.
"Could you prepare a building for them to stay in?" Natasha asked Carol.
"Sure," Carol nodded casually, looking at everyone.
"She's like my sister, Carol. I'm sure you know her," Natasha said, introducing her.
"Of course, I'm in charge. I'm the first wife," Carol joked.
Natasha just gave her an annoyed smile.
"Well, ladies, follow me, and I'll take you to your new home," Carol said to the group before starting to walk out of the palace.
The Widows looked at each other with uncertainty before following her.
Melina, Alexei, and Yelena stayed behind because there were still several things they wanted to talk to Natasha about.
"Let's go inside and talk," Natasha said, gently shaking Ivy's hair.
"Sure," Damian nodded before starting to walk inside, followed by the others.
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
Everyone arrived in the living room where Monica and Jane were already lounging on the couch, leaning against each other on their phones. They occasionally showed each other memes and chuckled.
Seeing three unknown people enter, they looked at Damian with curiosity.
"Come on, don't be shy, take a seat," Natasha said, smiling slightly and leading Yelena to the couch.
Melina and Alexei sat a bit stiffly while unconsciously looking at Damian.
"Why don't you introduce us?" Monica asked, looking at Natasha.
"She's Melina, my mother, Alexei, my father, and she's Yelena, my little sister," Natasha introduced them to everyone present.
"The three adorable princesses are my daughters, Alice, Emma, and Ivy. The young lady with blue hair over there is technically also my daughter, but she's embarrassed to call me that," Natasha teased Monica.
"Screw you," Monica said, giving her the middle finger.
"The girl next to her is Jane, Damian's cousin, although secretly, she would like to be his daughter," Natasha said.
"Hey!" Jane said, looking at Natasha wordlessly.
The atmosphere became much more relaxed with Natasha's playful and informal introduction.
Alexei, Melina and Yelena looked at Natasha doubtfully when she introduced the girls as her daughters, but they didn't think much of it. When Natasha was with Damian, she was a kind of stepmother to all of Damian's daughters.
Still, it was a little strange, the closeness they had, it was not common at all.
"Well, now, I want to know how all this started," Yelena said, looking at Natasha, who had Emma in her lap, embracing her.
"It was over 10 years ago, I believe," Natasha said, putting her hand on her chin.
"Dreykov sent me to infiltrate Madripoor," Natasha said.
"I remember; at that time, I thought you wouldn't come back," Melina nodded, she remembers that at that time she was very sad because all those who had been sent to Madripoor had not returned.
"Even though everyone thought I managed to infiltrate, extract information, and return, it wasn't really like that. I was discovered and captured," Natasha said with a shy smile.
Yelena looked expectantly at Natasha, awaiting something interesting.
"While I was in prison, I thought everything was over. That's when he appeared," Natasha said, looking at Damian.
"He freed me and helped me return. Ophelia even offered me to stay and work for Madripoor," Natasha said, smiling slightly.
"Yes, but you declined because you had family in the Red Room that could be affected by your defection," Damian said, looking at Yelena, who tried to maintain a serious expression, but the slight curve at the corners of her lips betrayed her mood.
"I returned to the Red Room, and the rest of the story, you already know. I used explosives to kill Dreykov. Honestly, I have no idea how he didn't die, or at least should have lost a limb or two," Natasha said, shaking her head.
"I joined SHIELD and started working as an agent. That's when—" Natasha continued, but Yelena interrupted.
"Hey, why didn't you ask for help from Madripoor, or why did you join SHIELD instead of coming here after dealing with Dreykov?" Yelena asked, confused.
"Ophelia told me to join, but at that time, several years had passed. Besides, she said it casually before I left. If I rejected SHIELD, I might be hunted. If I wasn't sure of being accepted in Madripoor, I wouldn't risk it," Natasha said, looking at Yelena.
"After joining SHIELD, I met Damian again. Actually, he invited me to live in his house immediately after seeing each other," Natasha laughed.
"I reluctantly accepted, of course," Natasha said, smiling at Damian.
"Yeah, sure, I'm sure you accepted right away with a smitten look on your face," Yelena teased.
"Over time, we got to know each other and became a couple. There isn't much more to the story," Natasha shrugged.
"It was a bit less exciting than I thought," Yelena said, looking at Natasha.
"What were you expecting?" Natasha shook her head.
"I don't know, a bit more drama, like you not being with him because of your past and trying to escape, but he looks for you, and in the rain, he promises to create a better future with you," Yelena said animatedly.
"Yelena, where did you see that kind of stuff?" Melina asked, confused, trying to hold back a laugh.
"Nowhere. I mean, that's how things could have been, right?" Yelena looked at her bewildered.
"Never mind," Melina laughed quietly.
"Who would have thought you could be so adorable after all," Alexei chuckled.
Natasha laughed too, looking happily at her family.
"All right, we can continue talking later. I'll take you to your new home; I'm sure Dad needs a shower," Natasha said, kissing Emma's head before getting up.
"Thank you very much," Melina said to Damian.
"Don't worry, you're Natasha's family; you're welcome to come anytime," Damian nodded to them.
"Girls, how about we go and see how deep that hole you made is?" Damian took the girls to the backyard.
"Let's go too," Natasha said, starting to leave the palace.
"Nice to meet you," Melina said to Monica and Jane before following Natasha.
"Goodbye," Alexei said, bidding farewell to the two.
"If you're bored, you can come. We can find something entertaining to do," Monica said to Yelena, smiling, before she could speak.
"Sounds good. I'll probably come. See you later," Yelena waved before quickly walking to catch up with the others.
"It looks nice," Jane said.
"Yeah," Monica nodded.
"Shall we play?" Monica looked at Jane.
"Why not?" Jane nodded before putting her phone aside.
Natasha exited the palace before getting into one of the parked cars.
The three new citizens of Madripoor got into the car, watching the surroundings with curiosity.
"You can look at everything later," Natasha laughed before starting to drive.
Natasha drove through the city in a particular direction.
Her little family continued to look with curiosity at the pedestrians, trains, and buildings in the city.
"It really is like another world," Yelena commented, looking out the window.
"Well, this kind of thing happens when there's no corruption, and a country's development is guided by a single person who genuinely has the right interests," Natasha said, driving.
Natasha drove for a while until she reached the outskirts of the city, stopping in front of a metal gate that served as the entrance to a set of villas.
There were villas of different sizes, and Natasha entered the complex before driving to the largest villa.
She could sense Carol inside with the Widows. This villa was large but not enough for everyone to live in.
Counting her family, there would be 23 people. She could only use this villa and the one next to it to accommodate everyone.
Natasha didn't want them to live separately; all of them were in a somewhat sensitive period after regaining their freedom, so it was better to stay together.
"Is everything okay?" Natasha asked, arriving next to Carol.
"Yes, they are choosing their rooms. They are really different from you when you arrived; they are more childish," Carol said, smiling slightly.
"Natasha was always a mature girl," Alexei chuckled before looking around.
"What if you go with her and ask what they think? Maybe they would like to share a room to feel accompanied. You're closer to them," Natasha suggested, looking at Yelena.
"Of course, Your Majesty, I'll take care of it," Yelena joked before going to talk to the other Widows.
Natasha chuckled seeing her joke and have a more lively attitude.
"But I must say it's still hard for me to believe that you're a queen," Melina said, shaking her head.
"Technically, almost no one knows. Carol is the queen here," Natasha laughed while hugging Carol's arm.
Carol just laughed at her words; it would have been impossible to think she would be a queen when she was young too.
"All right, let them settle in. By the way, there are neighbors, so remember to visit them," Carol laughed before leaving.
Yelena returned at that moment.
"They all said they would prefer to share a room," Yelena said.
"Hmm, great. So how about we go shopping for clothes and necessary things?" Natasha smiled as she took out her credit card.
"Let's go," Yelena nodded before going to get the others.
"I'll pass; I'll go take a shower," Alexei declined, shaking his head.
"I might accompany him," Melina said, crossing her arms with a slight smile, and sharing glances with Alexei.
"Eww," Natasha looked at Yelena as both laughed quietly.