Percy's P.O.V
Christmas was fun. It was their first, or at least first with me and I made sure to spoil them. The gifts couldn't possibly make up for lost time but it did help smooth it over. It was weird, we didn't have a tree and we didn't bother wrapping the gifts.
My little Emilii got exactly what she wanted, art supplies. She had taken a liking to painting when she brought home a wonderful canvas full of purple swipes and white polka dots. We got her a painters starter pack so she could paint all she wanted. The whole day she'd take five minutes to paint a picture, then hand us our very own paintings. My favorite was the clown with green hair and giant red circles for shoes.
Athakis had wanted toys. I got him a chest's worth of action figures and cars and planes to put them in. It was adorable watching him zoom around Avenger's headquarters showing his toys to the team.
I got Nat a beautiful jewelry set and I received four highly expensive watches and some clothes. She also purchased one of the dolls from the neck up with hair that you could style so that I could learn how to take care of Emilii's mane. She enjoyed that a lot, I didn't mind learning though. It took more work off of her.
We were hosting a New Year's Eve party for the adults. We sent the twins to my mother's house and sent two agents to shadow the residence to make sure everyone was safe. Tony was gracious enough to have it at Avengers tower. Nat and I were hand in hand walking around the huge lounge, hearing bits and pieces of conversations. We were silent through the chatter, content with being around each other. It was a casual party so it was mostly people we knew. Wanda and Vision were by the pool table chatting with Peter who was perched on top of the table with his suit on. T'Challa and Storm were talking with Tony and Steve off by the bar. The rest of our teammates were scattered around.
"Training starts next week, excited?" Nat asked me. I honestly didn't know how to respond. I had made a deal that I would get back in the field but I couldn't help but worry that it wasn't the right decision. I'm a father now and I don't want my son and daughter to become orphans, doesn't look like Nat was too worried about that.
"I guess." Was my reply. She sighed and rested her head on my shoulder.
"It'll all work out. I was a bit skeptical at first but it's all about being aware. I wont volunteer for any difficult missions and whenever I can I'll back out of heavy battles."
"I forgot to ask you, did you ever want kids? We were kind of going at it like rabbits so I didn't stop to think." Her jaw clenched and her eyes darkened.
"I never told you. Never spoke about my time back in Russia. In the Red Room where I was raised, where I was trained. I was at the top of my class. Top marksman scores. Highest combat rating. I was skilled. I was good." She said. She took deep breaths and avoided looking me in the eyes.
"We had a graduation ceremony. A procedure necessary for the job. It was a sterilization surgery." She let out. At first I didn't understand what she had said, but then it clicked.
"I thought I would never be able to have this. To have kids and love. I was taught love was for children. I was told that my body was one of the many weapons in my arsenal and that prostituting myself, that using my body to gain intel or for the benefit of the mission was ok. That it was necessary. I didn't worry about protection because I wouldn't need it. I can't get sick either. Do you know how old I am?"
I shook my head. She looked young.
"Im about as old as Steve."
I was going to ask how but she beat me to it. "Russia was developing it's own version of the Super Soldier Serum. Everyone was trying to get their hands on it and replicate it. The formula was lost with Cap but they managed to make a serum that slightly enhanced bone density, strength, speed and stamina. It made me immune to all illnesses of the time and also slowed my aging. It was estimated that I'd eventually die of old age but their results were better then expected. I stopped aging on my 25th birthday."
