The Tales of a Little Tiger

Chapter 12: A Babbling Tiger

Melina had woken up early and she had decided to check on you. Your mama's were still sleeping and she figured that they needed the extra sleep.

You were happily babbling to yourself and looking up at the shiny stars illuminated on the ceiling. You also had discovered that you could grab your own feet, and you were making happy gleeful sounds.

"Good morning, little one. Did you discover your feet?" Melina asked as she slightly tickled your toes. She couldn't help but make silly faces down at you.

You looked up at your Babushka and lifted your arms up towards her. You wanted to be picked up. You smiled big when she immediately held you.

"Are you hungry, y/n? Let's see if your mama has left you some bottles in the fridge." She smiled softly as she placed one of your bottles into the bottle warmer.

She held and rocked you in her arms as she told you stories of all the constellations in the sky. You nommed on your hands as you gradually became hungrier.

You started to cry causing your face to redden. Your screams of impatience became louder than the beeping of the bottle warmer.

"It's alright, malysh (baby). I have your moloko (milk) right here." Melina said soothingly as she dabbed a dollop of milk on the top of her hand to ensure it was at a safe temperature. She gently moved your hands away from your face so that she could place the nipple of the bottle to your lips.

You immediately latched on and your cries slowly turned into small sniffles and little hiccups.

Your Babushka rocked you in her arms as she hummed a russian lullaby to you. Once you had finished your bottle she had made sure to burp you so that your tummy wouldn't become upset.

Babbling had become your most recent milestone as you had learned how to make different sounds. You were even able to copy the silly sounds your family would make when they talked to you. Of course your favorite word was still mama as you often said it repeatedly.

"Can you say Babushka? I'm your Babushka which means grandma. Oh, I would love to know all the things that you are saying right now." Melina said as she sat on the floor with you and helped you sit up.

You reached for some of the toys that had been placed in front of you as you babbled, "Babu."

Melina's eyes lit up as she realized that you had called her grandma. "Yes! That's right! I'm your Babu." Her heart felt full of love and awe. She had never experienced raising an infant and had often wondered what it would have felt like if she had raised Natasha and Yelena as newborns.

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Natasha woke up and smiled when she saw Wanda sleeping peacefully next to her. When she noticed the time displayed by the clock on the wall, she immediately reached for the baby monitor to check on you. She smiled when she saw her mother laying on the carpet of the nursery and talking to you.

Seeing the interaction between Melina and you brought tears of happiness and sadness to her eyes. She had spent years in therapy trying to heal the childhood trauma that the red room had caused her. Yelena was right in that when they were a family it had felt real.

As a little girl she had tried to remind herself that Melina and Alexei weren't her real parents and that Yelena wasn't really her sister, and soon would face the horrors of the red room. It had taken time for her to realize that Melina had gone through the same nightmare as her and Yelena and that she simply had done what she was trained for.

She felt the bed move as Wanda must have woken up to the sound of her sniffles. No matter how much work she had put into healing, the wounds of her past sometimes felt too deep to ever truly heal.

"Moya lyubov'?" Wanda sat up in bed as she had woken up to Natasha crying softly. At first she had feared that something had happened to you, but understanding dawned on her when she heard Melina and you babbling through the baby monitor. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Natasha tried her best to hide her face. She suddenly felt silly for crying over the childhood that she had always dreamed of. Facing Wanda she did her best to smile, "I'm okay. I'm sorry I woke you up."

Wanda gently cupped her stubborn girlfriend's face in her hands, she used the pad of her thumb to wipe away the tears that were still falling down Natasha's face. "It's okay to not be okay. We don't have to talk about things right now, but I'm here when you are ready." She knew that the only way for her girlfriend to open up to her would be when she was ready.

Nat felt safe as Wanda had pulled her into a tight embrace. She placed her head on the redhead's shoulder as she relaxed in the arms of the woman who truly loved her.

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Alexei walked into the nursery and immediately picked you up and laughed joyfully when you had giggled adorably. "Have you been having fun with your Babushka?!" He asked as he placed a raspberry kiss to your still full belly, earning another fit of giggles.

"Babu!" You babbled as you reached for Melina who had the biggest smile on her face.

"Did she just?! Y/n, can you say Dedushka? That's me, your favorite grandpa." Alexei said as he winked playfully at you.

"Babu... mama... mama... dedu... babu." You repeated all the sounds that you could remember as you played with your grandpa's beard. The fuzz on his face felt weird unlike anything you had ever touched before.

Alexei's face lit up when he heard what sounded like the word Dedushka. "You did it! Melina, we have the smartest granddaughter in the whole world! Did you hear her call me grandpa?" He asked excitedly as he bounced you lightly in his arms.

"Of course she's so smart. She has the smartest Babushka!" Melina poked fun with her husband as they both made the cutest conversation with you.

You had started to feel nauseous as your Dedu was bouncing you in his arms, before you could even cry you felt yourself begin to spit up all over him.

The red guardian's face paled as he felt warm milky spit up soak the front of his shirt and drip onto his arms. He froze when you started to cry and wail in his arms. "What do I do?!" He asked as he tried to come up with a solution.

In the chaos of everything Wanda walked into the nursery and immediately went into caregiver mode. She took you in her arms and walked you to the changing table where she wiped your face with a burp cloth and worked fast to get you out of your dirty clothes.

Melina helped her husband get cleaned up as she patted him on the shoulder, "why don't you go start on breakfast and take a little break? I'll go check on Kate and Yelena." She said before turning to Wanda, "is there anything I can help you with?"

Wanda smiled warmly as she turned to face Melina, "I think I have it from here. Thank you for letting Nat and I sleep in. We really needed to catch up on sleep." She had meant what she said. The drive had taken a lot out of her and the extra hours of sleep had done her wonders.

You rubbed your eyes sleepily as your mama had gotten you cleaned up and dressed into a new sleeper onesie. You felt your mama cradle you in her arms before placing a pacifier to your lips.

"Come on, Babu, let's go check on Dedu." Wanda said to Melina as she watched the woman's eyes light up with understanding and validation.