Insane in my Russian Brain - P. Parker

Chapter Twenty

Death is inevitable. We all die eventually.

But isn't it worth trying?

⧗ ⧗ ⧗

Ten Months Earlier

"Where do we start?"

"Why did you lie to me? I thought we knew each other." Peter Parker was done being tricked and fooled by Ekaterina Romanoff. Though she had always proved to be kind and had never wanted to harm him, he didn't know if he trusted her. Who was she, and why was she always finding ways to get herself in trouble?

"Listen, Parker, I didn't have a choice. I couldn't let you in on anything, because if I did, someone would get hurt."

"Who is that somehow, Kat? Who is that someone you were trying to protect?" Steve sighed. Her safety was what came first to him right now. She was just a kid that he had dragged into war and hadn't known any better.

Kat looked down at the ground and swallowed a lump in her throat. "I'm a killer. I mean, I was born into an organization for killers. The Red Room. You recognize the name?"

She received nods from both the men. "My mother, she, uh, she had to give me up at birth. I was raised there until I escaped. I wanted to start a normal life and be someone else for a change. Not just a killer, but someone who could make a good impact on the world."

"But you did. You continued to kill people. The orphanage of kids? Does that mean nothing to you?"

"Peter, of course, it means something to me. I wouldn't if I hadn't had a choice."

Peter stood from his spot, glaring down at Kat. "Who was making you? Who, Kat? Who made you kill innocent little kids?"

Kat flinched at his words. She didn't know the answer to that. "I needed money, or I was gonna starve."

"And killing was the answer? I offered so many times for you to stay at my place because your parents were never home and I knew you needed the extra money. But you were too good for that, weren't you?"

Steve raised his hand, signaling for Peter to stop before he got too deep in his own words. "Why didn't you tell me this?"

Kat shook her head. It just wasn't that simple. "I always knew that the Red Room was never completely gone. That there was a small chance that there was still someone ruling over, taking control of little girls. I didn't realize how bad it was until a week ago with the mail you had gotten me."

Kat reached into her pocket, pulling out the crumpled letter. She passed it to Peter, who scanned it before giving it to Steve.

Steve looked up, meeting the girl he considered his daughter in the eyes. "What was at this address?"

"Natasha. And her sister. We went to find their family, and we took down the Red Room."

"Simple as that? I'm not buying it." It wasn't Peter's fault he wasn't trusting her. He didn't know who was on his side anymore.

"No. Not simple as that. I haven't slept in three days because I've been so fixed on taking down the one thing that separated me from my mother. I broke my leg, and my nose, and I haven't had time to bandage either. So don't tell me I'm not trying, because I'm doing everything in my power to stop this world from falling apart."

Peter's gaze softened. He hadn't meant to be so hard on her. "Your mother? Who was she?"

Kat glanced at Steve, smiling and nodding to herself. "My mother is Natasha. She was forced to give me up for one reason or another, and now that I've found her, I almost didn't want to come back to this house."

Steve was genuinely hurt by her words. He had tried to raise her the best he could in the short time they had been together, and though he had always assumed it didn't matter to her, hearing it was a completely different thing.

He stood up, licking his lips and nodding. His eyes darted away toward his room in the apartment. "I'll leave you two to talk."

"Steve, wait-" Kat was cut off by the slam of his door. She sighed, relaxing back down on the couch with her head in her hands. "I really screwed up, didn't I?"

Peter sighed. There was no easy way for her to hear it besides the truth. "Yeah, you did. And the only way to make it better is by apologizing and starting fresh."

Kat tilted her head. "Are you speaking from experience?"

"All I'm saying is that he is trying. To be a dad, since you don't have one. Right? Or did you find one on your mission?" He received a scoff and a shake of the head from Kat, easing him to continue. "Tell him that you feel like he is fitting that role and that you want to spend more quality time with him. Soon enough, you'll both open up to each other."

Kat smiled at Peter. "And what about us? How do we fix our relationship as friends?"

Peter bit his lip, smiling. "I want to take you on a date."

"A date? Are you... catching feelings Parker?"

Peter stuttered, trying to come up with a believable excuse. "Of course not! As like... I don't know, friends? Does that work?"

"Yeah, it'll work all right." Kat didn't know why she suddenly had a fluttering sensation in her stomach. Gross.

Peter stuck out his hand, giving it to Kat who hesitantly shook it. Oh, this was gonna be epic.