Chasing Ghosts | Natasha Romanoff

Chapter 1: A Final Goodbye

Sleepily, Katya wandered down the stairs, following the soft voice of her wife who hadn't been next to her in bed when she woke up. That wasn't a surprise; Natasha was awake at first light. Didn't matter if they had stuff to do or not. Usually, she worked out before the rest of the world woke up, but that had been a real struggle nowadays because of the other voice in the kitchen.

''Let me guess; peanut butter.''

''Yes please,'' Maya's soft voice answered.

She was almost ten now, which was crazy. When Katya called Lisa with the question if Maya's family had come to pick her up, her answer was a sad no. The girl's parents were on an airplane when the Snap happened, which wouldn't be a problem, if only the pilot hadn't turned to dust. It plummeted in the ocean and wasn't the only plane affected.

Maya's grandparents died years ago and her parents weren't in touch with the rest of their family, so despite her having uncles and aunts somewhere, they didn't want to take care of her. After a debate that didn't last a minute, Natasha and Katya decided to take her in. Because they felt they were finally ready for their own family.

They hadn't forced Maya into anything. They simply went to the orphanage and asked her if she wanted to live with them. Her big eyes had wandered to Lisa, unsure if they were really asking her that. She couldn't believe she would live with two superheroes. But Lisa nodded and Maya nodded so enthusiastically that her red hair swept into her face.

Katya had a hard time believing all of it was real when Maya climbed on the backseat of their new Audi - since the old one got blown up by Thanos - and they drove away from the orphanage with only a small suitcase of Maya's stuff. 

Every morning, Katya somehow expected her to be gone, but every morning she sat at the counter, eating her sandwich before she or Natasha would drive her to school.

Today wasn't any different. 

Natasha heard Katya's footsteps before she came into the kitchen, smiling at her messy hair and sleepy eyes. ''Look who decided to wake up,'' she teased. Liho came to greet her with a meow and a stroke against her legs. Maya twisted on her barstool, chewing on her peanut butter sandwich.

''Good morning, Kat.''

Katya smiled widely at the scene in front of her. She couldn't believe this was her life now. The only thing missing was the picket white fence in front of their small home. ''Morning.'' She kissed the top of Maya's head before moving around the counter and pulling Natasha against her, kissing her lips. ''Hi baby.''

Natasha's eyes sparkled, but Maya groaned and pointed to her plate. ''I'm eating!''

''Too bad,'' Katya joked. She totally meant to get that reaction. Luckily, Maya had a good sense of humor and could laugh about it, the sound warming both Russians' hearts. 

Katya filled a cup with steaming hot coffee and leaned over the counter, Natasha preparing Maya's lunch. Her eyes trailed to the girl's fingernails, which were painted in a bright purple color. ''So that's what you did last night when you should have been asleep,'' Katya teased her, pretty sure the color wasn't there yesterday. ''I like it.''

Maya's cheeks warmed a bit when she realized she'd been exposed, but didn't try and deny it. ''I found it in the bathroom. The color is pretty.''

Natasha glanced over, stuffing Maya's lunch into the small backpack. ''Not sure how it got there. Haven't painted my nails in years.''

The girl perked up, almost spilling her milk everywhere. ''I can do yours? After school?''

She smiled, nodding at Maya's enthusiasm. ''Absolutely. Now if Kat gets dressed, she can take you.''