Chapter Text
2017
The sun peaked out through the dense fog that clouded the forest, as though to say good morning! I am here!The trees were tall, wide, bigger than Melina had ever seen before outside of the Amazon rainforest. She liked them. The sense of security they gave her on the wet, cold nights. The isolation that being surrounded by a natural wall brought – unlike the chain link fence of the compound; not to keep others out, but to keep her in. Here, she was safe from the rest of the world.
Melina had always been proud of keeping a perfect schedule. Waking up at the same time every day without an alarm, eating at the same time, chores at the same time. It had all fit perfectly around check-ins with Dreykov and the other handlers. Days where she needed to go in for surgeries or testing or simply needed a larger, more advanced lab.
A new schedule had been worked out, but not strictly kept. Every morning she slept in a little later, waking up at six thirty rather than before the sun was up at five. She would wake up surrounded by warmth and comfort rather than cold and dread, cocooned in with Alexei – her own, personal super-soldier space heater. She would generally get up at this point, unless she let the warmth of sleep drag her back under or Alexei also woke and had other ideas at hand. When she finally dragged herself out from the blankets, she would make coffee and tea, kasha, leave it on the stove to be warm for the man in her bed.
Sometimes she would sit on the deck and watch the sunrise over the mountains and trees. Under blankets made of wool from one of Natasha’s friends (“They’re my teammates, we’re not children.” Natasha would complain when Melina called them her friends, disgruntled look on her face), hot beverage in hand until Alexei pulled himself away from sleep. He would complain about her leaving the bed, slide onto the bench beside her and drink some of her tea (“there is coffee for you on the stove”). She would lean up against his side, legs going over his, under the blanket, soaking up the warmth he provided. His hand would massage out the inevitable ache in her leg left over from their family reunion.
They would sit together for a while, Melina simply breathing and watching the sky; Alexei watching her or reading something on his phone. Soon they would get up, eat the breakfast she had prepared, then part ways. He would go to his workshop or do something around the house and property, and she would continue with yesterday’s work.
Check the security lines along the edges of the property. Make sure no cameras were damaged, make sure nobody has hunted on their land. Then go visit the pigs, refill troughs, give them food, make sure everything is clean and up to her standard. With no need to experiment anymore, the pigs simply got to live their lives on their own terms rather than on hers.
The schedule veered after that. “Melina!” she heard Alexei call her through the trees. She closed the gate to the pen, giving Alexei Jr. (because there had to be some way to distinguish between him and the human) a pat, before heading up the path. “Babe?”
“Do not call me that, Alyosha.” She yells back, breaking through the trees. He stands on the desk, hands by his sides, eyes lighting up when he sees her. A feeling she is slowly getting used to – elation? Happiness? – spreads through her body. He beckoned her forward, moving towards her when she is too slow for him, and taking her hands. “I am dirty – Alexei, what is going on?” she asked as he pulled her back towards the house. He ignored the fact that she is covered in mud and slop from the pig pens and pulled her through the door.
She quickly kicked off her boots once inside, wincing as the mud tracked in further than the entry rug. Her socked feet slip on the hardwood as she tried to keep up with her husband, letting out a groan of pain when she moved wrong, and an old injury protested. Part of her wanted to admonish him. They are not as young as they were once but seeing the glee on his face is enough to let him continue.
Alexei had sat in a prison for decades while she lived on a farm. Maybe she was tethered, but not in a cage.
He stopped once they were outside the washroom. His hands rested on her hips, thumb rubbing in circles as a quiet apology. She looked up at him, eyebrow raised, a silent question. He simply smiled in return, leaning down for a soft kiss. “Trust me?”
“Implicitly.” A whisper, their lips brushing.
“Have a shower, put on something nice – though, not too nice. Like… Ohio nice.”
Her mind reels, wondering that Ohio nice meant. There were times in Ohio where she dressed in American approved gowns, other times where she simply dressed nice enough to be better than the other mothers. There was no time for her to ask for clarification, as he turned to enter their bedroom.
Showers were always quick, a simple means to an end. To be clean; nothing more, nothing less. Melina did not understand all the products that littered the other bathroom that Yelena and Natasha shared when they stayed. Did not understand the bath bombs (why would someone want a bath? Sitting in your own filth?) or hair masks face masks. She simply wanted to wash her hair, body, face, then get out.
Alexei was not in the bedroom when she returned, causing her to feel a small amount of concern. She did as he asked though, putting on nice clean jeans and a burnt orange sweater, black boots she had pilfered from the girl’s room. She let her hair curl a bit naturally, eyes still drawn to the section that used to be dyed red for Dreykov’s pleasure. Either to remind her that she was his, or to remind her of the girl that she had lost.
With the necklace that Alexei had gotten her on (“you do not have to buy me things.” “I want to. Please, let me.”), she made her way back downstairs. He stood, waiting anxiously by the door. Her eyebrow raised, but neither of them spoke as he stopped to stare at her. Melina looked down at herself, feeling self-conscious.
“Your beard.” She pointed out, finally noticing what looked different. He had cleaned it up slightly, cut it to be even rather than have straggly hairs everywhere.
He nodded, a grin appearing on his face. “Wanted to look nice.”
“What is going on, Alyosha?”
“Ah, I thought we could continue the tradition.” He explained, opening the door, and motioning for her to exit. “Like Ohio. Family photos.”
Not exactly family, the girls are not here, she wanted to say but held her tongue. Melina moved like he wanted, watching as he armed the house and locked the door. They got into the car, him driving and her in the passenger’s seat. You’re the best navigator, she remembered his words from years past after he had tried to navigate their way home from the zoo and ended up two hours away, I will be the driver.
Once they passed the property line, Melina pulled out of her phone and activated the security measures. Making sure that everything is set so they would know as soon as someone even accidently stepped onto their property. There was no such thing as too safe, especially after the past year.
“Do I need to look up the way?” she asked finally, google maps out on her phone. She looked over at Alexei, watched as he did not squint into the sun like most would; rather, wearing sunglasses simply to fit in.
“No.” he shot her a smile, eyes making contact with hers for a split second before looking back to the road. “Enjoy the ride, Melichka.” She looked back out the window, small smile on her lips. Despite the instinct to tell him that she would not enjoy the ride without knowing where they were going, she was. She lifted the travel mug from the console, taking a sip of the tea that Alexei had prepared for her before they left.
The drive took longer than she expected, but it was nice. Quiet rides on forest lined mountain roads. Soft music playing in the background, different creatures popping their heads out of the trees before going back into their homes. Her hand was in Alexei’s, simply enjoying their time together in silence rather than filling the air with meaningless chatter.
The forest broke after an hour, the sunlight shining brighter than before. They were driving through farmland more than anything. Different crops littered by the black dots of workers in coats, picking food for the winter. Cows on the other side, mooing happily that the heatwave of the summer had finally broken. Then she saw it, row after row breaking away from apple trees: sunflowers.
“Sunflowers?” she turned to look at him, warmth filling her at the smile that was threatening to break out on his face.
“Just like Ohio.”
It was not just like Ohio. The digital age had grown. They were older. It cost money to go inside (“Stupid Capitalists,” Alexei had muttered), and all around them were teenagers trying to capture the moment for their Instagrams and Snapchats and Tumblrs. Neither minded, not really. Not once they were inside the fields of tall flowers, walking, feeling like the only two in the universe; like no villain or obnoxious superpower could hunt them down.
“Why are the sunflowers so tall?” Alexei asked her, arm in arm. Melina looked up at him, surrounded by the plants, a little frown between her eyes but a smile on her lips.
“I have told you.”
“I forgot. Tell me again.”
“Because” she started (“Don’t start your sentences with ‘because’.” She had admonished Natasha, many years ago while working on a school project). She stepped forward and out of his arms, motioning around her. “Sunflowers, they come from Asteraceae family, yes? Their scientific name is Helianthus Annuus.” She looked over at him, making sure he was paying attention this time.
Alexei nods, eyes shining as he watched her, exaggerating motions for her to continue to walk. “Well, sunflowers do not need to be tall. They can survive if smaller as well. But sunlight, it is part of photosynthesis, yes? Do you remember? The chemical reaction that multiplies cells and increases the growth rate to develop the plant?”
Melina stops in a small clearing, looking up at the sunflowers above her head, reaching up as she had done once before to feel the petal. She had always felt more at home with plants and animals than with humans. They did not speak back, question her, demand more from her than she had the capacity to give. Plants had been on Earth for millions of years before humans, and Melina expected that they would be there millions of years after.
“Really, if we think back to Darwin, remember him?” behind her, Alexei hums in acknowledgement. “Height is simply an import factor to growth. Being tall is not necessarily good or bad for them, there are even a subspecies called Dwarf Sunflowers, but seed production is how to measure the productivity. Their version of babies, the next generation. They need to be healthy to produce the best seeds, the most seeds. To be healthy, they need at least six hours of sunlight per day. Six! So, they grow tall, fight for the light so they can be the best. So they can produce healthy seeds, to produce more sunflowers. Make sense?”
She was looking away from him when she ended the mini lecture, looking up at the flowers. Eyes closed, sun in her face. Part of Melina wondered what would have happened if she had grown up in the sun, if she would have been taller, better. Yet, despite everything she had been through, she would not change anything.
Their breathing was accented by the rustling of the wind. “Alyosha?” she turned and froze. Alexei looked in her eyes, blue meeting brown. His eyes shone, but he was no longer tall like a sunflower. Instead, he was kneeling on one knee like all those cheesy movies they would watch after the girls fell asleep. Velvet box in his hand, diamonds shining in the autumn sunlight. Three diamonds, two twists on either side.
“Melichka,” he whispered, voice staying in their sunflower lines sanctuary, “I love you. I have loved you since we were sent to Ohio. I love you more than– than you love science or that fucking pig.” She laughs, a watery sound that she generally would not associate with herself. But life has been changing, and she along with it. “You are the sun, and I am a sunflower. I need you to live, to breath, to survive. Will you do me the honour–”
“Yes.” She cut in, wanting this all to be real. Wanting not to wake up and suddenly still be on the farm, still thinking one daughter is dead, him still in prison.
“You need to let me finish.” He admonished softly. She nodded but shook her head at the same time, hands shaking as she moved towards him. “Will you do me the honour of being my wife – for real?”
“Yes!” she cried out again as she reached him. He stood, folding her into a tight hug.
Click
Melina felt only warmth in his embrace, salty tears running down her cheeks. The feeling of his strong arms around her. Home. They split apart as he spoke, tears wetting his own eyes. “I need to put the ring on your finger. Make it official, huh?”
She nodded, “yes, yes.” Watching through watery eyes as he puts the ring onto her finger.
Click
His hands on her cheeks, lips on lips. Foreheads together, breathing the same air. She loved him more than she ever thought possible, maybe more than she ever knew, would ever know.
Click
They both freeze, sudden, as the sounds around them finally registered. Melina’s hand started to drift to her waist, where her knife was held. Alexei’s moved to his back, fingers gripping his gun.
“It’s us, dummies.” The voice familiar, loud but happy. Melina turned and was surprised to see her girls. Natasha with a camera, a different one than the yellow kodak camera of the past but not simply a cellphone. “It’s about time!”
“Did you invite them?” Melina whispers to Alexei, trying to extract herself from his arms. He squeezed her gently once, before letting her go while shaking his head. He moved forward, pulling the girls into a hug. Better than their reunion, though both daughters rolled their eyes.
“Family! Like old times, huh?” he almost shouted. Through the sunflower stems, Melina could see a little girl watching them. She waved, and the girl shyly smiled and waved back, before turning and running off. Arms wrapped around her, red roots in her face.
“Congratulations, mama.” Natasha whispered.
“Thank you, Natka.” Melina whispered back, not saying that the thank you was really for freeing them. For giving them a life that none of them ever thought they would have. She held her oldest girl tightly for moments, before letting her go. “We are all here. Photographs?”
The girls groan.