Age: 10 to 13 to 15 to 19
Word count: 1640
Summary: Every time Alena isn't feeling well, Natasha hands her some grapes and tells her it's gonna make her feel better. Little does the young redhead know there would be a twist to it in her late teens
Inspired by: A reel I saw by @hayleygracepoetry, who gave me the idea of the concept, even tho I'm adding my own sad little twist to it :)

,,Огонек, пора вставать и собираться в школу (Little light, it's time to get up and get ready for school)"

Natasha woke her 10 year old daughter up, greeting her with a kiss to her forehead. Lately, her little light got a little more unmotivated to get out of bed, but today it was worse than the other days.

,,Я не хочу идти, мне нехорошо, мама. (I dont wanna go, I dont feel good, Mama)

Alena complained, wanting to stay in bed a little longer. 7 am was definitely too early for her.

Sighing, her mother left the room, only to return with two grapes a few moments later. She handed her one wordlessly, earning a quite confused look from the 10 year old redhead.

,,Grapes?"

The young girl asked, an eyebrow raised as she observed her mother sitting down next to her on the bed. Said mom nodded.

,,It's gonna make you feel better, детка свет (baby light)"

Natasha explained, "toasting" her grape with her daughter's. Alena couldn't help but crack a smile. Her mom always knew how to make her feel better, even if it was as simple as giving her a grape.

The young redhead inhaled deeply before popping the piece of fruit in her mouth. And, only a few moments later, just like magic, she felt better. Her mom had been right, the grape improved her mood.

———————————————————

,,Дорогая девочка, ты- (Darling girl, are you-)

Nat inquired, turning the corner to the kitchen, just before she saw Alena sniffling to herself at the kitchen isle,

,,ты в порядке? (You okay?)"

All the 13 year old could do was shake her head. Things hadn't been going great at school and she got yet another F in her recent maths exam, making her feel like the most stupid person on the planet.

,,Another F, Mama. I'm a failure"

She sobbed, tears falling onto the piece of paper responsible for her emotional distress. Natasha observed her child with an expression of compassion and understandment. The redhead knew that school wasn't the easiest time, especially for Alena in maths class.

,,Baby light, look at me"

The woman asked of the young redhead, cupping her face as she wiped her tears. Alena met her mother's eyes, glossy eyed and her nose red from crying.

,,You are not a failure, моя идеальная любовь (my perfect love)"

Tasha reassured, planting a kiss to the 13 year olds forehead before pulling her into her embrace. Alena buried her head in her Mom's shoulder, arms wrapped around her tightly.

A few moments later, they broke apart and the older of the two made her way to the fridge, scanning the content for a little, before closing it, a box of grapes in hand.

,,Have one, it's gonna make you feel better, дорогой (my darling)"

She encouraged as she tucked a piece of hair behind the 13 year olds ear. Alena chuckled as she did as she was told, her mood already lifting. This little tradition, as weird as it may be, always helped her feel better.

Natasha smiled at the redhead, toasting her grape with her Kid's, before popping it into her mouth. She watched as the girl's eyes regained a little bit of its bright spark, filling her heart with love and joy for her little light.

———————————————————

,,So, what kinda movie do you wanna watch, Honey?"

Natasha asked her husband, who had his arm around her while a blanket covered them both. Their daughter had told them she was gonna meet with Julia Belle, her girlfriend at the time and told them not to wait up, so they decided to have a movie night, just the two of them.

,,Haven't seen Harry Potter yet, so how about that?"

Steve suggested with a shrug. Before Nat could answer, the couple heard the key turn in the door, before the sound of Alena's bag falling to the floor followed. Her steps sounded heavy and before they knew it, their 15 year old stood in the doorway, her hand clutching on for support.

Natasha's expression filled with instant worry, fearing something terrible had happened. And, come to think of it, she wasn't entirely off.

,,Baby light, what happened?"

Steve asked, the same worry his wife felt swinging in his voice. Seeing his little girl so down wasn't exactly like her.

Alena took a deep breath, her eyes burning with tears. Even though she'd been the one to make the decision, it still hurt.

,,I broke up with Julia. I ... I have a lot to figure out right now"

She revealed, her voice shaky. If she was honest, she was still trying to deny that what she did was the right thing and that she'd just made a huge mistake.

Natasha shot her husband a look and two seconds later, Steve got up, informing the two redheads that he was gonna get some tissues and snacks.

Alena waited until her dad had left the room and was out of earshot to let herself fall onto the couch.

,,How dyou feel?"

Her mom asked, her emerald eyes scanning every inch of her face. Nat knew how much it hurt to end relationships because of the realisation of not fitting together anymore.

,,Horrible. Just horrible"

The 15 year old responded, staring straight ahead while a hundred thoughts raced through her mind, overlapping and crossing each other, creating a storm of noise only she could hear.

Mere moments later, she could feel her mother's arms wrapped around her, whispering words of "you'll be okay".

For the first time, Alena truly felt like she wasn't gonna be okay. She felt like she was gonna die of a broken heart, even though she'd been the one to end things with Julia.

,,I'll get us some grapes"

Natasha mumbled, breaking the hug to get up, just to be held back by her daughter.

,,Grapes aren't gonna fix this, Mama"

The 15 year old sniffed, shaking her head as she met her Mom's gaze. The grapes may help with small, facile cuts, but they wouldn't with a wound so deep it hurt on the inside and in every fibre of her being.

Nat sighed, admitting defeat .... for now. She knew all her daughter needed was time and maybe in a few weeks, she was gonna be ready to have a grape. She was gonna be ready to fully heal and move on from yet another stone, life put in her way.

And, just like the older redhead predicted, Alena was gonna have the grape, 4 weeks after the break up. Sure, not all wounds had been healed by then, but by then, the piece of fruit was gonna help mend them.

———————————————————

2 months had passed since the big show down between the avengers and Thanos' massive army. 2 months since they brought everyone back, 2 months since the time heist, two months since vormir ...

Two months of drowning for Alena.

The fact that her mother had made a sacrifice so big it cost her life beat the redhead up daily. She couldn't eat, couldn't go outside, couldn't sleep. Because every time she closed her eyes it was the same scene playing in her mind, over and over and over again.

The same two sentences echoed in her mind ; let me go. It's okay.

Oh but nothing was okay. Nothing in the world was ever gonna make the fact that Natasha was gone and she wasn't okay.

Alena sat at the kitchen isle, lost, no, trapped in her own mind with her own thoughts, her own past.

With a deep breath, she decided it was time to have at least a little bit to eat, since she hadn't really done so all day. So, she opened the fridge door, scanning every item, before her eyes grazed a specific kind of fruit.

Grapes. Whenever she'd felt down, it had always been grapes that made her feel better. It had been the thing her mom and her shared, whenever they were ready to let go, whether it was sadness, disappointment or fear, they had always, always had a single grape together.

A smile crawled onto Alenas face. For some reason, this felt like a sign. She had to let go, she had to move on. It felt like this was her mother's way of telling her that it was okay to let her go.

,,Grapes?"

,,It's gonna make you feel better, детка свет (baby light)"

A tear rolled down her face.

,,Have one, it's gonna make you feel better, дорогой (my darling)"

Alena inhaled sharply, observing the grape in her hand, twisting it between her fingers.

,,I'll get us some grapes"

,,Grapes aren't gonna fix this, Mama"

All of a sudden she was 15 again, repeating that very sentence in her head. But then again, grapes had fixed it in the end.

,,Cheers Mama"

She whispered, raising her grape before swallowing the piece of fruit and with it, a tiny bit of the hurt she'd felt for the past two months.

A/N: I dunno if it's just me, but god dammit, this hit me way deeper than I thought it would. I really hope you got what I was trying to do and that I don't look like a fucking lunatic babbling about grapes for 1600 words, sooo yea.
Anyways, have a great day/night, stay amazing and I'll see you around <3