Baby Widow Romanova

Chapter 5

Natasha could feel her daughter's hands gripping tightly to her t-shirt, so she put her arm around her, kind of trying to bring her some comfort.

No one was surprised by the kid's reaction when Alexei entered the house. It was what they had expected for the young girl to act around an unknown man, one that the child did not know if he would hurt her or not.

"You're finally awake!" Alexei was excited to finally meet the little girl, but the sound of his voice only got the child to hide behind her mother.

"Alexei" she warned when he walked closer, her child almost jumping into Yelena's arms, since she was farther away. "It's okay. He's harmless, sweet girl" she assured her, gently combing her fingers through the kid's red hair.

"You don't have to be scared. I'm your dedushka" the man introduced himself, but it wasn't enough for the child whose knuckles were turning white from her tight fists. "Look, I brought something I think you might like" he said, pulling out a tub of strawberry ice cream from the grocery bag. "It's- was your mama's favorite" Alexei showed the kid as she could not avoid smiling, he still remembered from Ohio.

"It still is" she told him. "Do you want to try it?" she asked the child, who was still feeling a little unsure about trusting the big man that was smiling at her. "We don't have to do it now" she assured her daughter.

Vera shook her head timidly, an apologetic look on her face, barely meeting anyone's eyes as if she was scared of what would happen after she would answer.

"It's okay, sweetie" she gently caressed the little one's cheek.

It was not until a few hours later that they were both alone in one of the spare rooms of the farm, finally a quiet time for both of them.

Natasha's smile fell after she felt how her daughter tensed when she finished the first braid. The little girl's hands formed fists, her nails digging into the skin of her palms, so she stopped braiding the kid's hair.

She felt a little sad at the fact that the little girl did not seem to be enjoying their time together. Ever since Yelena had called her, she had been daydreaming about braiding her daughter's hair. She thought it would be a good way of bonding.

"Vera, can you open your hands, please?" she asked, being concerned about how the kid was clenching her fists.

The young girl turned her face, an unreadable mask on it, but she had been a spy for too long not to notice the slight panic that flashed through the kid's green eyes.

Slowly she reached to grab the child's wrists, rubbing circles on them. It was a few seconds later that the child opened her hands for her to see the red marks from the nails.

"If something makes you uncomfortable, just tell me, please" she asked, looking directly into the kid's eyes. "Hurting yourself is not okay, baby" she told the child, tears already forming on the little one's eyes.

"I'm sorry. I'll be better, I promise" the nine year old burst into tears.

"Shh, it's alright, sweet girl" Natasha pulled her baby girl close to herself, the child trembling in her arms. "I don't want you to get hurt, that's all. I'm not scolding you" she assured, rubbing soothing circles on the little girl's back. "What's making you uncomfortable?" she asked once she felt that her daughter was relaxed, but the kid flinched at the question. "You can tell me, it won't make me upset. You have choices now, baby. You can choose what you like or don't like" she cupped the child's face in her hands.

Vera stared at her for a few seconds before nodding, her hands touching the Dutch braid.

"Red Room" the words were barely a whisper, but it made her heart clenched at the pain that was reflected on the child's face.