Melina Vostokoff - Tumblr Posts

2 months ago

How we were

Summary:"I don't blame you for not loving me," Natasha whispered, her voice hoarse as she peered up at the woman who she once called her mother.

"I blame you for pretending you ever did.”

____☆____

A/N: This work was inspired by a prompt from Charlie_Balle who is literally my favourite Ao3 author <3

Tags: Angst, Abandonment issues, Arguing, Natasha needs a hug, Melina needs a hug, Emotional hurt/comfort.

W/C: 850

Link to fic on Ao3

Natasha steps out into the cold air of the night. It's supposed to be clearer out here, but she can't appreciate it with the weight on her chest. It stifled the constant thump thump that reminded her she was still here after so long.

Her mind won't let her rest, and being trapped in that farmhouse with Alexei and Melina isn't helping whatsoever. They seem determined to act as if no time has passed, as if their old lives were real.

When she called them out on their bullshit she'd upset Yelena. It wasn't her intent, but in hindsight she should've known there wouldn't have been a good reaction.

She hasn't been standing alone for ten minutes before she hears the back door open and shut. Their footsteps are too light to be Alexei's, and not quite deft enough to be Yelena's, leaving only Melina.

“You should really wear a jacket out here.”

Natasha simply scoffs and doesn't bother turning around, focusing on the dark outlines of the landscape and fog her breath creates.

At first Natasha tries to ignore her, but when she hears high pitched squealing from close by her curiosity overtakes her better judgement, and she follows the noise until she finds herself in front of Melina sat down bottle feeding a piglet.

It was... weird to see her in such a nurturing situation after everything. The last memory she had of Melina being so soft was in the backyard of their old home, comforting her little sister after a scraped knee when Natasha couldn't.

“It's mother rejected it.” Melina explains quickly, keeping her eyes on the small creature suckling aggressively. “I didn't crate her soon enough.” she mutters, mostly to herself.

The crickets and occasional frog fill in the silence between them. As well as the piglet’s oinks. She notices an empty crate nearby and decides to sit on it, the fatigue of the prison escape and half marathon to the farm creeping in on her.

Natasha remembers a lot of silences like these from years ago. With Yelena Melina had to constantly answer her endless array of questions, her curiosity of the word abundant. But with Natasha they could simply exist together and be content.

“So, this is what you do now, rescue orphaned piglets?” She asks, her eyes trained on the small thing with black patches of fuzz.

Melina doesn't answer for a moment, placing the bottle to the side once the gluttonous creature drains it. “My work is more important than that.”

The red-haired woman's anger is flared at the remark, but there's never any point arguing with her. When Natasha was younger any arguments were immediately shut down with an air of almost unquestionable authority and followed by an apology. Except when it came to Alexei, of course.

Finally, Melina looks up and at her daughter's face. So riddled with betrayal and hurt. A face she never thought she would see again.

“I did my best, Natasha. You know that I had no choice.”

“You could’ve done something.” She snaps back, but deep down she knows she's being unfair. Even if Melina had taken the girls and ran, they would have been hunted relentlessly like animals.

“I prepared you in every way I could.” That was, in the ways she was authorised to do so. If she had been allowed to teach them combat and stealth in their time together, she wouldn't have hesitated.

The Iron Maiden raises to her feet slowly, keeping the black and pink blob close to her chest, and places it down gently in a small bed of hay.

She glances down at Natasha to see her crouched over her lap picking at the small, white flowers on the ground and can't stop herself, “You're slouching again.”

The younger woman frowns and looks back up at Melina. “Stop pretending you give a shit.”

“I care about you. I raised you.”

“No, you didn't.”

Melina can't help slightly raise her voice at the swirl of emotions, “You blame me for this, but it was out of my control and yours.”

“I dont blame you for the past decades- I can't blame you for it. I don't blame you for being one of Dreykov's puppets...”

The Widow stops and inhales, driving her fingernails into the leather strap on her suit.

“I don't blame you for not loving me.” Natasha whispered, her voice hoarse as she peered up at the woman who she once called her mother.

"I blame you for pretending you ever did.”

Melina stops then cautions a step closer to Natasha and takes a knee to be level with her.

“It was never pretend, Natasha. I loved you dearly for every second I knew I should not have, and I do not regret it.”

The younger Widow scrubs at her face furiously and doesn't reply to Melina’s affirmations, ready to get up and leave before a tear betrays her, until she feels a hand on her cheek which she instinctively leans in to.

“I'm sorry, my dear.” She murmurs just loud enough for her to hear.

“…I know.”

____☆____

“Villain and violent

Infant and innocent

Baby, both arms cradle you now”

-Forwards beckon rebound, Adrianne Lenker

Gotta love that Melina and Nat angst, thank you for reading and please send in any requests!


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1 month ago

Happy birthday, by the way 🎂

Happy Birthday, By The Way
Happy Birthday, By The Way

Natasha Romanoff x fem!reader

Requests open

Summary: After a few months of dating, you realise you don't know when Nat's birthday is. She isn't interested in celebrating, and when you ask, she refuses to tell you. But you are very determined.

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A/N: This is just a little fluff, also my first x reader fic. Love reading em so I thought I'd give it a go :3. Also I find it hard to read Y/N as my name so I'm using [...] instead!

Tags: Just fluff <3

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"Oh, come on, why won't you just admit it?"

"Because I can't deal with you inviting half of the United States to the tower for a party."

"Exaggeration."

Natasha raises a brow at you. "Oh really? And what about he time you put flyers around about Wanda's party?"

"She was turning 21!"

She gives you a 'really?' look and you know you aren't getting anything out of her. It just didn't make any sense, birthdays were the one day a year where it was all about you. Well that's everyday if you're Tony Stark, but for well functioning members of society it should count as the best day of the year.

"I will not be disclosing that information until I can trust you not to make a huge deal."

"What if I pinky promise?"

"You always overdo it, detka, it's just how you are." She plants a small kiss on your forehead and leaves you on the couch to begin plotting.

___♡___

"And then she said 'you always overdo it', give me a break!"

Wanda looks up from the pot she's stirring and chuckles, "I didn't know half the people the showed up at the tower on my 21st, [.....]"

"I knew I should've gone to Tony, he would get this."

"I don't think asking the most flamboyant Avenger would be very helpful in this situation."

"Right."

"I think you should just leave it, she'll probably tell you eventually." She gently taps a bit of salt into the pot.

"Or..."

"No."

"You didn't even hear me out!"

"I can read minds. It's a terrible idea."

"Firstly, reading Nat's mind to figure out her birthday is literally a flawless plan, and secondly, you're good reading my mind and not hers?"

"Natasha already set her boundaries with me, and plus I don't feel like getting my ass kicked for aiding and abetting."

"Thanks a lot Wands."

"Any time."

If Wanda wasn't going to cooperate then you were simply going to have to enlist the help of a certain blonde assassin.

___♡___

You hear Lucky and Fanny barking hysterically after you ring the doorbell, followed by fast paced footsteps and a small "One minute" from the other side of the door.

Usually a simple question would only warrant a text or phone call, but for some reason Yelena NEVER answers her phone. Unless it's from Kate of course, you're half convinced that she has a special ringtone and notification for her.

It's none other than the archer that answers the door, "Hey, [.....]! I didn't know you were coming over."

"I've actually dropped in unannounced, but I won't stay too long." You reassure her. Kate has a habit of forgetting things, including scheduled hang outs and honestly everything else that isn't attached to her body.

"Come on in!" She steps out of the way and shuts the door behind both of you.

You're immediately greeted by the two large dogs, fighting over your attention in a confusion of wagging tails and paws. Kate tries to get them under control and ultimately fails until they're distracted by Yelena calling them.

"That's totally not fair, they only listen to you." Kate complains and Yelena laughs.

"Because they love me more."

"Lies and deception!" Kate is soon distracted by the golden retriever pulling at her sleeve and gives Yelena a smug look before pouring all of her attention to him.

"Hey, Yelena."

"Hello, [......]. To what do we owe the pleasure?"

"Uh, I actually had a quick question. When's Natasha’s birthday?"

"Ah. I do not know."

"What?? But you're sisters!"

She shrugs, "She does not want me to know. Birthdays are not really Natasha’s thing, surely you must know that."

"Yeah, I know, it just doesn't make any sense."

"That's Natasha for you."

You sigh in defeat and sit down on one of the armchairs, your lap immediately occupied by Fanny who still wholeheartedly believes she's the size of a puppy.

"Well, there is someone else you could ask."

Your ears perk up, "Who?"

"Melina."

Ah. Melina. It wouldn't be fair to say that she hated you, but it also would be lying to say that she was fond of you. Perhaps you could ask Alexei instead.

___♡___

"Hello? Can you hear me?" You ask over the phone to your future father in law.

"HELLO? ARE YOU THERE, [......]?"

"Yeah, I'm-"

"I THINK MY WHATISUP IS BROKEN- MELINA!"

"No, no, Alexei there's really no need."

You hear the sound of footsteps and Melina scolding Alexei for always forgetting to turn up the volume before she picks up the phone.

"Hello?"

"Ah, hello Melina."

"[........]. Do you need something?"

"When's Natasha’s birthday?"

"December third. Is that all?"

"But- that's today."

"I'm aware."

"Well, thank yo-" The phone cuts off before you finish your sentence and you're left with about two hours to plan a surprise party for a spy.

___♡___

"I did it, Wanda!"

"Only took you half the day."

"Okay, hater, I need you to help me surprise her."

"Are you sure this is a good idea?"

"One hundered percent." You reply confidently. For most of the day you'd been discouraged, but now it was time for you to trust your gut.

Soon enough you've formed a team of Kate, Yelena and Wanda gathered in one of the common rooms of the tower.

"Alright, Wanda you can be in charge of snacks, Kate you can do decorations, and Yelena you can find us the cake."

"Can-"

"No it may not have profanities on it."

The blonde sighs but jumps into action with the other two. Now all you have to do is buy them some time.

___♡___

You greet Natasha at the tower's entrance with a huge smile plastered on your face.

"Hi, Nat!"

"Hey, [.......]. How was your day?"

"A little hectic. Wanna go for a walk?"

"I would love to but I need to sleep for at least ten hours straight."

You step in front of Natasha as she starts to head inside, "Wait- Uh, did you know walking actually improves energy levels?"

Natasha raises an eyebrow, "What's up with you?"

"Nothing."

"For some strange reason I do not believe that." She holds you in place by your shoulders and steps around you, but you take her arm and try to steer her to the kitchen, your plans are foiled by Lucky and Fanny who bound up to Natasha happily.

"What are Yelena and Kate's kids doing here? Seriously, what is going on?"

"Uhh."

"Insightful."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

She stares you down for a few seconds before suddenly moving towards your shared quarters and only speeds up once she realises you're trying to stop her.

The red head clears the stairs in a few seconds and opens the door, only to be met with pitch black. When she steps through and flicks on the light Wanda, Yelena and Kate jump out from behind the couch and yell "Surprise!".

The look on her face is priceless when she turns to you, "How- when did you-"

"I have my ways."

Natasha pulls you into a tight hug and you hug her back even tighter when you feel a small damp patch forming on your shoulder.

___♡___

"Okay, now make a wish!" Yelena says excitedly, the three of you are crowded around the table where the birthday girl sits in front of her cake.

"Alright, alright." She closes her eyes and blows out the candles, which prompts a cheer from everyone in the room.

The five of you all squish onto the couch to watch a movie and eat snacks and cake, with Natasha curled into your side.

"So, did I 'overdo' it?" You ask playfully.

You hear her chuckle, "It was perfect."

____☆____

Tysm for readinggg, If you liked it I have more stuff in my masterlist :)). Reqs are open!!

Also, if you saw the unfinished version of this when I posted it by accident, no you did not.

@l0nelyish 👁👁


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3 years ago

seriously considering making a fic where Yelena Nat Melina and Alexei are all one happy little family who live together and later on Nat gets a job at shield after learning from her parents


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3 years ago
It Was Real To Me,too.

“It was real to me,too.”

I do not own any of the featured photos


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3 months ago

Name ten female characters you like, you get zapped if it's jsut a male character you call a babygirl or other feminine nicknames because I can't see people calling Lestat coquette again


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3 years ago

i love how she says slightly change of plans then proceeds to blow up stuff

# This Is Fine
# This Is Fine
# This Is Fine
# This Is Fine
# This Is Fine
# This Is Fine
# This Is Fine
# This Is Fine
# This Is Fine

# this is fine

Black Widow (2021) dir. Cate Shortland


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3 years ago

just casually thinking about how Natasha probably wanted to jump off a fucking cliff and sacrifice herself over that stupid stone because the pain of not having her family alive was worse than d*ing.

Just Casually Thinking About How Natasha Probably Wanted To Jump Off A Fucking Cliff And Sacrifice Herself

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3 years ago

i’m gonna die on this hill idc

stuck between do i want melina vostokoff to be my mom or do i want her to top me


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3 years ago

Alexei: Girls, we’ll be back soon but meanwhile Yelena is in charge, okay?

Yelena: Yay!!!

Melina, whispering: Natasha, you’re secretly in charge.

Natasha: Obviously.


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3 years ago

Natasha, banging on the door: Alexei! Open up!


Alexei: Well, it all started when I first met my archenemy Captain America...


Yelena: That’s not what she meant-


Melina, looking fascinated: Let him finish


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3 years ago

My take on Alexei and Melina as parents

ok, this is probably gonna be a rant so i’m sorry but anyway

I’ve seen SO many people calling them the big baddies or saying ‘fuck them’ but man, that’s not it. SURE, they should never have allowed Dreykov to get the girls but THINK about it.

Melina said she had gone through the Red Room at least 4 times BEFORE Natasha was even born, imagine how fucked up her head must be? She never learned how to love, she thought her role was to obey, to serve, to please. She even says to Natasha that she was born inside a cage and that was the only way she knew how to live. However, once she saw that helping Dreykow hurt her daughters (not specifically Natasha since she knew she managed to escape), the only thing (besides, probably her not so fake husband) she ever loved in her life she was bold enough to FINALLY act on it and rebel against it. I’d also like to say that when Alexei told them they HAD to leave she expressed she didn’t wanted to, Melina just wasn’t brave enough back then but damn, did she loved her little girls.

Now, Alexei.

HEAR ME OUT before judging!

We don’t get much of his backstory, what we know is that he was an idealist and that Dreykov sold this ideology for him and then locked him up for no apparent reason, YES he shouldn’t have sold two little innocent girls to and I quote “complete a misson” but I also don’t think Melina EVER told him what the Red Room was like, she’s not the chattiest or the most vulnerable person in the world. He claimed so much he was pissed about being undercover but he was just as sorry as Melina about leaving, when she says “I don’t wanna go” he says “don’t say that” as in: don’t make me wanna stay too. I know he seemed self absorbed but that was his way to take the focus out of getting “soft” and falling for this family, because wanting this family would mean he wouldn’t complete his mission. He could have let them take both Nat & Yelena away without talking to them, but he told them they’d be fine even tho they wouldn’t, after 20 years he still remembered Yelena’s favorite song, he still knew what they were up to. He failed them bad and he knew it and regretted but admitting he was wrong and failed was bullshit since there’s no such a thing as failure to a russian super soldier.

Both Alexei and Melina knew their love for their ‘fake family’ was real, even the ultimate asshole of assholes can’t help but smile when a little kid calls you “mom” or “dad”, fake it until you make it is fucking real. They just didn’t wanted to word it out, because the more real the more it’d hurt, but to them Natasha and Yelena were their daughters, “their girls” and that was their family. Again, i’m NOT excusing them or what they did, i’m just saying that they’re not the ones we should be targeting.

Anyways, sorry if that’s too long or if there’s any misspellings i’m tiredddd


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3 years ago

In my head, Melina would make pb&j sandwiches to the girls all the time, not only because cooking wasn’t really her thing when they first moved to Ohio but also ‘cuz she wanted Nat and Yelena to get used to american food. So peanut butter & jelly sandwiches became Natasha’s comfort food.

In My Head, Melina Would Make Pb&j Sandwiches To The Girls All The Time, Not Only Because Cooking Wasnt

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2 years ago

The Avengers

They were seated in the corner of the cafeteria, as far away from where I sat as possible in the long room. There were five of them. They weren't talking, and they weren't eating , though they each had a tray of food infant of them. They weren't gawking at me unlike most of the other students, so it was safe to stare at them. But it was none of these things that caught my attention.

They didn't look anything alike.

There were three guys; one I could tell was strong, he looked like he might be the captain of the volleyball team, and I was pretty sure you wouldn't want to get in the way of one of her spikes. He had short black hair parting to the left.

Another had hair hanging to his shoulders; there was something intense about him that made him look edgy. It was kind of weird, but for some reason he made me think of this actor I'd seen in an action movie a few weeks ago, who took down an entire army with a machete. I remembered thinking then that I didn't buy it—there was no way the actor could have taken on that many bad guys and won. But I thought now that I might have bought it all if the character had been played by this guy.

The other guy looked taller than the others, he had short dirty blonde hair. There was something kind about this guy, kind of like the guy you'd expect to see volunteering at an animal shelter.

The two girls there looked like total opposites. A blonde and a red hair. The blonde one looked like the schools prom queen, her hair was on a ponytail and she had a slight fringe covering her forehead. The red hair was the smallest in the table, she looked younger than the other four, who could easily be in college.

Totally different, and yet, they were all exactly alike. Every one of them was chalky pale, the palest of all the students living in this sunless town. Paler than me, the albino. They all had very dark eyes—from here they looked black—despite the range in their hair colours. There were deep shadows under all their eyes—purple shadows, like bruises. Maybe the five of them had just pulled an all-nighter. Or maybe they were recovering from broken noses. Except that their noses, all their features, were straight, angular.

But that wasn't why I couldn't look away.

I stared at their faces, so different, so similar, were all insanely, inhumanly beautiful. The girls and the guys both—beautiful. They were faces you never saw in real life—just airbrushes in magazines and on billboards. Or in a museum painted by an old master as the face of an angel. It was hard to believe they were real.

I decided the most beautiful of all was the smaller girl with red hair, though I expected that half of the student body would vote for the blond prom queen girl. They would be wrong, though. I mean, all of them were gorgeous, but the girl was something more than just beautiful. She was absolutely perfect. It was upsetting, disturbing kind of perfection. It made my stomach uneasy.

They were all looking away; away from each other, away from the rest of the students, away from anything in particular as far as I could tell. It reminded me of models posed oh so artistically for an ad—aesthetic ennui. As I watched, the short dirty blond haired guy, with the kind face, rose with his tray—unopened soda, untouched apple—and walked away with a quick, graceful lope that belonged on a runway. As he glided though the back door he past another girl that shared the exact same features as the rest. She also had blonde hair and was significantly shorter than the guy who walked past her. I followed her as she made her way to the others, who hadn't changed.

"Who are they?" I asked the girl from my Spanish class, whose name I'd forgotten.

As he looked up to see who I meant—though he could probably guess from my tone—suddenly she looked at us, the perfect one. She looked at my neighbour for just a fraction of a second, and then her dark eyes flickered to mine. Long eyes, angled up at the corners, thick lashes.

She looked away quickly, faster than I could, though I dropped my stare as soon as she'd glanced our way. I could feel my blood rush to my face. In that brief flash of a glance, her face wasn't interested at all—it was like she had called her name, and she'd looked up involuntary response, already having decided not to answer.

My neighbour laughed once, uncomfortable, looking down at the table like I did.

She muttered her answer under her breath. "Those are the Avengers," She had a quick glance towards their table and continued, "There's Tony Stark, James Barnes, Pepper Pots, Natasha Romanoff, Yelena Belova and the one who just let is Steve Rogers. They all live with Dr. Vostokoff and her husband."

I glanced sideways at there perfect girl, who was looking at her tray now, picking a bagel to pieces with thin, pale fingers. Her mouth was moving very quickly, her full lips barely opening. The other four looked away, but I still thought she might be speaking quietly to them.

Then I finally remembered that my neighbours name was Maria.

"They're all very . . . good looking." What an understatement.

"Yeah!" Maria agreed with another laugh. "They're all together  though—Tony and Pepper, James and Steve. Like dating, you know? And they live together." She snickered and wagged her eyebrows suggestively.

I didn't know why, but her reaction made me want to defend them. Maybe just because she sounded so judgmental. But what could I say? I didn't know anything about them.

"Well if they're not related then it doesn't matter." I said, wanting to change the tone but not the subject.

"Oh, Yelena and Natasha are sister but the others aren't related. Dr. Vostokoff is really young. Early thirties. All of them are sort of adopted."

"Sort of?"

"I'm not sure if they are adopted or some kind of foster kids."

"They look old for foster kids."

"They are now. Pepper and James are both eighteen, but they've been with Mr. Shostakov since they were little."

"That's actually kind of amazing—for them to take care of all those kids, when they're so young and everything."

"I guess so," Maria said, though it sounded like he'd rather not say anything positive. As if she didn't like the doctor and her husband for some reason . . . and the way she was looking at their adopted kids, I could guess there might be some jealousy involved. "I think Dr. Vostokoff can't have kids, though," she added, as if that somehow made what they were doing less admirable.

Through all this conversation, I couldn't keep my eyes away from the strange family for more than a few seconds at a time. They continued to look at the walls and not eat.

"Have they always lived in Forks?" I asked. How could I never have noticed them during my summers here?

"No. They just moved down two years ago from somewhere in Alaska."

I felt a strange wave of pity, and relief. Pity because, as beautiful as they were, they were still outsiders, not accepted. Relief that I wasn't the only new comer here, and definitely not the most interesting by any standard.

As I examined them again, the perfect girl looked up and met my gaze, this time with obvious curiosity. As I immediately looked away, I thought that her look held some kind of unanswered expectation.

"Which one is the girl with reddish hair?" I asked. I tried to glance casually in that direction, like I was just checking out the cafeteria; she was still staring at me, but not gawking like the other kids had today—she had this frustrated expression I didn't understand. I looked down again.

"That's Natasha. She's hot, sure, but don't waste your time. She doesn't go out with anyone. Apparently nobody here are good enough for her," Maria said sourly, then grunted. I wondered how many times she'd turned her down.

I pressed my lips together to hide a smile. Then I glanced at her again. Natasha. Her face was turned away, but I thought from the shape of her cheek that she might be smiling, too.

After a few more minutes, the five of them left the table together. They all were seriously graceful. It was a strange thing to watch them in motion together. Natasha didn't look at me again.

I sat at the table with Maria and her friends longe than I would have if I'd been sitting alone. I didn't want to be late for class on my first day. One of my new acquaintances, who politely reminded me that his name was Clint, had Biology II with me the net hour. We walked to class together in silence. He was probably shy like me.


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