CHAPTER 74

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Two weeks after sharing the news with Natasha, I went to the prison where I had Melena and Alexei locked up. During those two weeks, I made arrangements to officially keep a very close eye on them and other things, such as Natasha's adoption.

"I have arranged everything for your arrival," I said, staring at them.

Melena shifted slightly, looking at the floor uneasily. "When can we see them?" she asked, lifting her gaze.

"In a moment," I replied. "Yelena is ready."

"And Nat?" Alexei asked, stepping forward.

"She will stay with me," I said in a tone that left no room for debate.

"That's not what you promised us!" Alexei growled, approaching me in an aggressive manner.

Looking at the man in a detached manner, I said. "Think very carefully about what you are going to do, Alexei; it may be the last thing you ever do."

Melena, upon seeing this, moved in front of Alexei. "Stop it!"

"Natasha asked me to adopt her," I said, "And I agreed, by all means, she is my daughter, and if you touch a hair on her head without my consent or hers, it will be the last thing you two ever do."

"Is she happy?" Melena asked.

"Yes." I agreed.

"She hates us?" Alexei asked, his voice a little broken.

"No, but she wants more... she wants to be loved like a father should love his daughter." I replied, "And I'm willing to give her that."

"I understand." Melena smiled a smile of understanding but full of sorrow.

"I'm sorry for my outburst of anger." Alexei apologized.

Sighing, I opened a portal to my living room. "Come in," I said, waving my hand.

Looking at the portal out of the corner of their eyes, Melena and Alexei took a deep breath and began to walk towards the portal with a bit of trepidation.

"I don't have all day; move it," I said this time with a louder tone.

Seeing that I was getting annoyed, Alexei and Melena jumped through the portal, followed by me, who then closed the portal.

In my living room, Natasha and Bucky were waiting for them, sitting on my couch. 

"Nat." Melena smiled at the sight of Natasha.

"Melena." Natasha smiled back, though, in comparison, her smile was smaller and not as full of joy as Melena's.

"Hi," Alexei said, approaching Natasha to give her a hug, but before it could come, Bucky stopped him. 

"One more step, and I'll slit your throat." Bucky threatened.

"It's okay, Bucky." Natasha smiled, hugging Bucky with a faint smile. "Alexei, long time no see. "

"Is it true you want to stay with him?" Alexei said, pointing at me.

"Yes." Natasha smiled, looking at me. 

"I will always love you; I hope you know that," Alexei said.

"Yes, but your love is not enough for me," Natasha replied.

"I know." Alexei nodded.

"Can I hug you?" Melena said, entering the conversation.

"Yes." Natasha smiled, running over to Melena to give her a hug.

"He treats you well?" Melena whispered.

"Yes." Natasha smiled. "For the first time in my life, I feel wanted, desired, loved. He's a good man, a good father."

"I'm glad." Melena smiled.

"Can I hug you?" Alexei said in a weak tone.

"Yes." Natasha smiled as I walked towards Bucky.

"If you breathe out of place, I'll kill you," Bucky commented.

"If I don't kill them first," I replied with a chuckle.

"We can hear them..." Alexei commented.

"So?" Bucky said.

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After the small reunion with Alexei, Melena, and Nat, we went to Yelena's room, and well, this reunion was a bit different; unlike Natasha, who had some encountered feelings about them, Yelena was happy, happy beyond comprehension. 

Which made me wonder, how long would that happiness last? I mean, part of the deal with them was that they had to tell Yelena the truth, how they were planning to enslave her, and such.

I suppose soon enough, I would know. 

For now, I would keep an eye on them, which was an entire ordeal altogether.

For one, I implanted a tracker inside their spine with the help of Fury, a tracker that also worked as a taser courtesy of Stark Industries, which would help in case they misbehaved.

The tracker wasn't for me though, it was for Fury and Bucky to keep an eye on their every move, their rules? They were not allowed to leave the city, one step out of New York, and they would need speech therapy after the electric shock they would receive; two steps out of New York, they would need to learn how to use a wheelchair.

Three steps? They would need to learn how to communicate by blinks, and so.

As for Nat, she seemed happy to be legally my daughter; she was a lot more... expressive now, hugging me, smiling more; it was like she was waiting for a paper to say she was my daughter to open up.

As for Emily, well, after I told her about Nat's adoption, well, I had to go to the doctor to get an ear exam; her scream of joy was so loud I think she might have ruptured something inside.

Things were going well.

"Alex, long time no see." Hank greeted me as I entered his office. "I was starting to think you were dead." he chuckled.

"I was dealing with a lot of things," I admitted with a sigh, taking a seat.

"Well, you got here just in time." Hank smiled, giving me a folder. "We have our first investor." 

Surprised by how fast he had managed to find an investor, I opened the folder he had handed me to see the project he had been working on during my absence and who had invested in it. 

The US government, the project? Clean energy.

"Clean energy?" I asked.

"It was an idea I had from my own masterpiece, as you call it." He smiled.

"Okay..." I smiled, now that I knew it was related to his Pym particles. Well, it was best if I didn't answer.

"It's okay, kid." Hank rolled his eyes. "I know you're not interested in my Pym Particles, so ask away."

And so, I started to ask, I mean, I was quite interested how he came with the idea about clean energy thanks to his Pym Particles.