Chapter 8 ━━ Lovesick Fool

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A few minutes later, upon landing somewhat roughly due to the helicopter having run out of fuel, Natasha, Yelena and Hedeon step out of the aircraft, Alexie following behind.

"You should've brought the Avengers' superjet." Alexie states.

"I swear, if I hear one more word from him, I will kick him in the face." Yelena says, softly but in fury, ragging in her.

"I'll help you." Hedeon adds.

"He's the worst." Natasha agrees as the three of them walk ahead.

"Natasha. Natasha. Natasha. Come here, I want to ask you something." Alexie calls out, getting her attention. "Come, it's important."

Natasha sighs, but halts to look at him while Hedeon and Yelena walk ahead. "What?"

"I really am in a mood to shoot him to his grave." Hedeon grumbles.

Yelena hooks her arm with his. "Better now?"

He hums with a slow smile that makes its way onto his face, turning into a full-on grin. "Much better."

Yelena opens her mouth to say something, only to be cut off by Natasha's angry voice, grabbing their attention.

"Wait. You haven't seen either one of us in 20 years and you're gonna ask me about you?"

"What is with this tension?" Alexie asks, cluelessly. "Did I do something wrong?"

Yelena scoffs, rubbing her forehead. "Is that a serious question?"

"I only ever loved you girls." Alexie admits, looking between Yelena and Natasha. "I did my best to make sure you would succeed to achieve your fullest potential, and everything worked out."

"Everything worked out?" Natasha mocks him with a bitter laugh.

"Yes." Alexie glances at Natasha. "For you, yes."

"We accomplished our mission in Ohio." Alexi rants, walking towards the blonde. "Yelena, you went on to become the greatest child assassin the world has ever known. No one can match your efficiency, your ruthlessness."

He then turns back to the redhead. "And Natasha, not just a spy, not just toppling regimes, destroying empires from within, but an Avenger.

"You both have killed so many people." Alexie grabs both Yelena's and Natasha's wrist, shaking them. "Your ledgers must be dripping, just gushing red."

"I wish I could record this Golden moment." Hedeon mumbles sarcastically, shaking his head, slightly.

"I couldn't be more proud of you." Alexie pulls them both into a hug which Natasha scoffs and pushes him before walking away.

Alexie then pats on Yelena's shoulder, kissing her head.

"Okay. You can... No. Let go of me now. You smell really bad." Yelena says, before walking away as well.

Alexie looks lost, still trying to process where he went wrong and looks at Hedeon, opening his arms for a hug. "Hedeon-"

"Knock it off, dude. I don't like when people touch me." Hedeon rolls his eyes, dramatically, jogging after the two sisters, leaving him behind. They walk all the way down the path when Yelena looks at Alexei.

"So, are we there yet?"

"You'll know when we're there." He replies, snorting and making noise of pigs.

As they finally reach a fence surrounding a house, where they see a woman, Melina standing with a sniper.

"Honey, we're home." Alexie smiles as Melina glances at them, emotionally before walking towards her house without a word.

"Family unions make me cringe." Hedeon mutters, running his hand through his messy dark hair, walking beside Yelena.

Yelena shrugs. "It's because you don't have one."

"Half of my family is dead. My father has a stick stuck up his ass. You can't blame me." Hedeon states.

"Welcome to my humble abode." Melina says, opening the door and letting them in. "Make yourself at home."

"Your home is nice, Melina." Hedeon comments, looking around at the house.

"Well, thank you, Hedeon." Melina replies. "You're our guest."

"Please. I'm not just your guest. I'm family. I'm going to be your son in law soon." Hedeon smirks, giving Yelena a wink.

Alexie hears this and looks at Yelena with a stern look. "Is it true?"

The blonde huffs in response. "No, it is not."

"Don't worry about it, Hedeon. You're always a son to me." Melina states. "Son in law or not."

"Aye, aye, captain."

"Let's have a drink." Melina sighs, walking further into the house, where Natasha suspiciously follows her.

Yelena out of nowhere, embraces Hedeon which he reacts with a surprise look but wraps his arms around her, hugging back.

"If you're not comfortable, we can go for a walk." Hedeon whispers to her.

"I'm good." Yelena says, burying her face into his chest. "Just needed a hug from you."

Hedeon smiles and places a kiss on her forehead before they part the hug. "Я всегда здесь ради тебя." (I'm here for you always)

"Thank you." She smiles before they walk into the dining room, taking a seat on the table which Natasha and Melina join soon.

"Let's drink." Melina pours alcohol into glasses and Hedeon gladly takes the first shot.

An uncomfortable silence grows in the air when Alexie, wearing his red guardian suit, clears his throat, leaning into the wall, gaining others' attention.

"Still fits." He grins and Melina wolf whistles at the sight.

"Oh, my God." Yelena murmurs, looking away.

Melina laughs, clapping her hands. "I never washed it once. Come and drink."

"I love this family." Hedeon chuckles, sulking in his seat and taking a sip of his drink.

"Rise, you workers of salvation..." Alexie sings, taking a seat when Melina pours him a drink. "Family back together again."

"Seeing as our family construct was just a calculated ruse that only lasted three years, I don't think that we can use this term anymore, can we?" Melina asks.

"Agreed. So, here's what's gonna happen..."

"Okay. A reunion then, huh?" Alexie cuts the redhead off, looking at Melina. "And, uh... I want to say something right off the bat. You haven't aged a day, huh? You're just as beautiful and as supple as the day they staged our marriage."

"You got fat. But still good." Melina says with a flirty tone.

"I just got out of prison." Alexie chuckles nervously, like a teenager asking his crush to be his prom date. "I, uh... I have a lot of energy."

"Oh!"

"Aww... You guys are cute." Hedeon says, making a funny face, enjoying every part of this, earning a nudge from the blonde. "What? I'm stating the obvious."

"Please don't do that." Natasha shakes her head at Melina and Alexie. "So, here's what's gonna happen."

"Natasha, don't slouch." Melina says out of nowhere.

"I'm not slouching."

"Yes, yes, you are."

"I don't slouch."

"You're going to get a back hunch."

"Listen to your mother." Alexie says to the redhead.

"Remind me to buy a video camera." Hedeon says to Yelena, pouring more alcohol into his glass.

"All right, enough. All of you." Natasha yells, trying to quiet the chatter.

"I didn't say anything. That's not fair." Yelena states.

"Here's what's gonna happen..." Natasha starts only to get interrupted once again.

"I don't want any food." Yelena grumbles when Melina adds more food onto her plate.

"Eat a little something, Yelena, for God's sake." Melina scolds and looks at Hedeon's plate, which is still full as well. "Hedeon, eat your food. You look thin."

"I take it back. Everything I compliment about this stupid family." Hedeon childishly scoffs.

"I don't care. Eat the food." Melina says.

"You're gonna tell us the location of the Red Room." Natasha snaps, banging her hands on the table, silencing everyone.

Melina inhales sharply. "You know, it's like when you told them that they could stay up late to catch Santa Claus."

"What? That was fun. You know, 'He come down the chimney, girls. Look out. Where is he?' You wait for him, and then when the cookies are gone, then you see he's there." Alexie rants, shaking his head. "No, no. What? I want them to follow their dreams."

"No good." Melina states.

"Reach for the stars, girls." Alexie says and continues to eat his food.

"Finding Dreykov is not a fantasy. It's unfinished business." Natasha states.

"You can't defeat a man who commands the very will of others. You never saw the culmination of what we started in America." Melina remarks and turns to Alexie. "Nor did you."

"Natasha, always focus, focus. Get what you want." Alexie tells the redhead.

"Come in." Melina taps on her tablet and a pig opens the door and comes in.

Hedeon raises an eyebrow in confusion. "Did that pig just open the door?"

"Yes. It did." Melina confirms. "Good boy, Alexei. Good boy."

Alexie stares at her in disbelief. "You named a pig after me?"

"You don't see the resemblance?" Melina shrugs and Hedeon can't help but burst into a series of laughter. "See, he sits just like a dog. Amazing. Now, watch."

"It's a little weird, to me." Alexie mumbles.

"Stop breathing." Melina commands the pig and it grunts, obeying. "We infiltrated the North Institute in Ohio. It was a front for S.H.I.E.L.D. scientists. Actually, it was Hydra scientists at that time. In conjunction with the Winter Soldier project, they had dissected and deconstructed the human brain to create the first and only cellular blueprint of the basal ganglia. Was the hub for cognition. Voluntary motor movement, procedural learning."

"We didn't steal weaponry or technology. We stole the key to unlocking free will." She adds, gulping down her drink.

The pig groans and falls into the ground and every trance of smile on Hedeon's face fades. This is it. Mind control. His eyes glue to the pig and he gulps in horror. It reminds him of himself. The way how he obeyed Dreykov's commands without having the will to say no.

"What are you doing?" Natasha asks.

"Oh, I am explaining that the science is now so exact, the subject can be instructed to stop breathing and has no choice but to obey."

"Okay, you made your point. That's enough."

"Yes, all right. Well, don't worry, Alexei could've survived 11 more seconds without oxygen." Melina says and commands the pig once again. "Good boy. Now, you go back, back home where it's safe. You go. You go back home, back home where it's safe. Good boy, Alexei."

"The world functions on a higher level when it is controlled. Dreykov has chemically subjugated agents planted around the globe." Melina continues.

"And do you know who they test it on?" Yelena asks, squeezing Hedeon's hand for comfort, to which he replies squeezing her hand back slightly.

"Hmm... No. That's not my department." Melina answers.

"Ah, come on, come on." Alexie states. "Don't lie to them. Hmm?"

"I'm not lying." Melina lies, defending.

"You're Dreykov's architect, huh?"

"What were you?" Melina asks, trying to prove her unexisting theory. "If I was his architect, you were his partner. You were his business partner."

"No, no, no. I was patsy!" Alexie bangs his hands on the table.

"Don't give me that..."

"He sell me ideology."

"Stop with the politics."

"All the while, bigger..."

"Shut up! You are an idiot." Natasha points at Alexie and then turns to Melina. "And you're a coward. You're a coward. And our family was never real, so there's nothing to hold on to. We're moving on."

"Never family, huh?" Alexie asks. "In my heart, I am simple man. And I think that for a couple deep undercover Russian agents I think we did pretty great as parents, huh?"

Melina nods her head in agreement. "Yes, we had our orders, and we played our roles to perfection."

"Who cares? That wasn't real." Natasha yells.

"What?" Yelena asks.

"That wasn't real. Who cares?" Natasha repeats.

Noticing Yelena's discomfort, Hedeon glares at the redhead. "Natasha! Stop it!"

"Don't say that. Please don't say that. It was real. It was real to me. You are my mother." Yelena says to Melina. "You were my real mother. The closest thing I ever had to one. The best part of my life was fake."

Yelena exhales deeply and bangs her glass softly on the table. "And none of you told me."

"And those agents you chemically subjugated around the globe? That was me." Yelena points to herself and then at Hedeon. "It was him. Mmm."

She then turns to the redhead. "And you, you got out. Dreykov made sure no one could escape. Are you gonna say anything? No."

Melina tries to touch her, but Yelena pushes her away.

"Don't touch me."

"Yelena." Natasha calls her out.

"No." Yelena shakes her head, heading to the bedroom and closing the door behind her.

"I had no idea." Melina whispers.

"It's okay, it's okay. I'll go talk to her." Alexie assures her, standing up and walking towards the room Yelena is in.

Knowing it is a bad idea to follow Yelena at the moment, Hedeon sighs loudly, rubbing his forehead to avoid the forming headache.

"I'm sorry." Melina whispers to him.

"It's too late, Melina. You'll never know the bad things I caused and how all of it still haunt me down. It's a nightmare. I can't even fucking sleep peacefully for a second." Hedeon chuckles dryly, his clenched fists are turning white. "Do you know how many times Yelena and I planned to escape that hell hole? We tried and tried until we couldn't anymore. And there's the best of the worst. Do you know how it feels about being void? You feel nothing at all. There's nothing to feel because you're not in charge of yourself anymore. It was horrible."

"So keep your sorry ass with you. You were a mother to me once, Melina." Hedeon continues as his memories of his childhood floods into his mind. "You took care of me, a whole fucking year after my mother died giving birth to me. I could barely speak a word but in my eyes, I saw you as my mother. But that's nothing to me anymore. The respect I had for you is long gone."

"Hedeon-"

"Don't start. I'm done." Hedeon cuts her off, shakes his head. He's exhausted from all this mess.

Standing up from his seat, he grabs the champagne bottle. He leans to Melina's level with a threatening look. "And here's another thing. I'm fucking in love with her. Hurt her again, family or not, I will not hesitate to kill you."

"Guess, I'll celebrate alone. Cheers." He raises the bottle in the air, before walking away not forgetting to glance at Natasha in the process.

Hedeon stumbles into the bathroom and closes the door behind him before sliding down to the floor, leaning into the door. He gulps down the content in the bottle until it empties. Tears are falling down his face like a waterfall and he cannot figure out the reason for his breakdown. Why does it have to be this way?

"God, this is embarrassing." He chuckles, wiping his face and sniffing loudly. "She's right, I am such a baby."

Hedeon then remembers that he should talk to Yelena and comfort her. Or maybe just hold her. He needs to see her.

He pushes open the door to meet complete silence. What the hell?

He reaches the bedroom and opens the door to spot Alexie on the floor, unconscious. Red darts all over his chest and there's no sight of the familiar blonde. He takes out his gun, soundlessly moving his steps, his eyes scanning around for a threat until he spots Yelena lying on the floor, motionless. "Lena."

Hedeon rushes in a hurry. His gun unconsciously slips out of his grip and falls into the ground. All he cares about at the moment is the girl in front of him.

Crouching down next to her, he gently checks her pulse before sighing in relief. He touches her cheek, calling out for her in a low voice. "Lena, babe, wake up."

"It's not good to leave your weapons when you're in the play, Hedeon." A voice behind him, gains his attention. He turns to see Melina in her Widow suit, raising her arm, activating spiderbite.

"Goddammit. Not that." Hedeon grumbles, frowning at the upcoming pain he's going to face. "Why don't we come to an agreement and-"

Hedeon is cut off as the red, electrical pulses run across his body, pushing him into an oblivion of blackness without his will.

The woman shakes her head, looking at the project Destroyer, now laying on the floor next to Yelena. "Such a lovesick fool."