August 2011-

Fury had approved their time off, however, the only time that they could both get approved simultaneously for a full 7 days off was a few months after the Stark ordeal, so they both had to continue the grind for a while. Natasha desperately wanted some time away with Eleanor, and Eleanor wanted to be able to visit home.

There had been more times than normal when Natasha had to work abroad for a few days without the other, and vice versa, and they missed each other dearly when these missions cropped up. Luckily, they always had Clint to rely on, who was very sympathetic due to him being away from family for long periods of time. So, he always made sure to check up on them during the periods of time when they were separated.

When the duo were reunited they made sure to not waste any of the time that they got together, embarking on plenty of coffee dates, late-night drives with the destination of anywhere, and of course just hanging around in their shared room, doing work together, watching movies, talking about anything that came into their minds.

There were plenty of times that the two Agents rocked up to work in the morning with raccoon eyes from lots of accidental all-nighters where they got hopped up on sugar and shared an extortionate of conspiracy theories and shower thoughts, such as "I've woken up over 10,000 times and I'm still not used to it" from Eleanor, and "When you look up at the sky you're just looking into an abyss of space with gravity holding you down" from Natasha. This caused a horrified look from the younger Agent, with Nat staring back at her blankly before they burst into fits of sleep-deprived laughter.

It was truly blissful. When together it felt like they could breathe for the first time in their lives, it was serene.

Natasha was a very protective person of those she loved, and she protected Eleanor with every fibre of her being, not that the younger woman wasn't capable of doing this herself, she was a competent Agent who was good at her job, but with her golden retriever energy and slight naïvety, Natasha felt the need to make sure that she stayed safe.

As much as Natasha protected Eleanor, it went both ways. When Nat would wake up in the middle of the night, after her mind had been plagued with nightmares, Eleanor was always immediately by her side to ground her and bring her back to the present, to reassure her and make her feel safe. Something that no one had ever been able to do for Natasha in her life. The two were eternally grateful to each other.

With all of the moments that they had managed to steal with each other, the week off had swiftly come into view. Time flies when you're having fun.

---

Eleanor and Nat were currently packing, as they were leaving in two days. "So you said the weather was supposed to be warm, yeah?", Nat questioned whilst eyeing up Eleanor's half-packed suitcase.

"Yeah?".

"Then why have you packed waterproofs as well as your shorts and tees?".

Eleanor let out a laugh, "You can never trust English weather Nat, one moment it will be paradise, the next you might as well have packed a boat it's raining that hard". She smiled at the memory of when she and her mates went to London for a weekend when she was 17, having only packed shorts and tees due to it being a heatwave, then it pouring with rain the next day. The group didn't want to be stuck inside so went out in torrential downpours in the clothes that they had packed. Safe to say they all got ill from it but it was a treasured memory.

"Fair enough", Nat responded shrugging and quickly going to get her own waterproofs.

When returning from the closet, she saw Eleanor typing out a very long message on her phone, "Who you talking to?".

"Aunt Sarah, she's just asking how we are and also sent over some potential activities for us to do, so I'm responding with a few of my own".

When Eleanor didn't hear a response, she looked over and saw Nat chewing on her nails, "Hey, what's going on?", she placed her phone down on top of her case so that Nat could see that she had her undivided attention.

"Are we gonna be going to Southampton?", Nat had been nervous to ask, the last time she was there... yeah, she didn't want to think about it. Eleanor smiled softly and shook her head.

"No hun, when I was 15 Sarah sold her business and got enough from it to retire, we moved up North to Cumbria, verrry far from there, it's why most of my late-teen photos have cows and mountains in the background", she chuckled.

Nat let out a sigh of relief, "Okay". Eleanor walked over to her and gently rubbed her arms.

"You'll love it up there, she lives in the Lake District and there are so many lovely sights to see, so much hiking, good food, and the cottage is lovely, it's a good place to unwind".

Nat grabbed ahold of Eleanor's hands and did their forehead touch, "I can't wait".

---

Before they knew it, they were on the plane to England, and it was a long flight. They took advantage of the in-flight entertainment and watched a few crappy movies to pass the time. Deliberately choosing the ones with the worst ratings to laugh at the cheesy acting.

Eleanor ordered a pizza for in-flight food but the cheese ended up being absolutely disgusting in her opinion, so she ended up sharing Nat's burrito bowl, not that Nat minded, she wanted to make sure that they both ate something.

Once on the ground again, they rushed towards baggage claim, where Eleanor's aunt would be waiting for them. Eleanor was practically dragging Nat along by the wrist, both giggling as they weaved in and out of people. When they were on the escalator and had to stand still, Eleanor was hopping up and down on the balls of her feet whilst scanning the area for her Aunt.

"She's there Nat, look!", she practically squealed and started waving frantically to her. It wasn't hard for Nat to spot her as when she looked down she saw a woman in her late 40s waving back as frantically as her niece was, making Nat smile. She loved Eleanor's bubbly energy and it was fun to see it in the person who raised her as well.

Sarah was a relatively tall woman, she would tower a good 4 inches above Nat and Eleanor, with medium length, curly brown hair. She had a very warm look about her, which was reassuring.

At the bottom of the escalator, Eleanor ran forward and into her Aunt's open arms, who squeezed her tight in return, rocking the young woman back and forth a few times. Nat stood back and let the two have their moment, it was a sweet sight and they hadn't seen each other in years, she didn't want to impose.

Sarah looked up and saw Nat, so rubbed Eleanor's back lightly before letting go and walking forward a few steps. Nat held out her hand for a polite handshake, "It's good to finally meet you!". Sarah looked down at Nat's hand and chuckled.

"Come on, bring it in", she said as she brought Nat in for a tight hug. She was a good hugger, and so Nat leaned into it, liking the calming feeling. Eleanor was beaming at this interaction, Nat didn't always feel secure around other people, but she could see that she did around Sarah already.

"Right, shall we grab your bags then, it's a couple of hours home and I wanna get back in time for tea", Sarah said as she let go of Nat and started guiding both of them to baggage claim.

"Sounds good, what's for tea though?", Eleanor responded, causing Nat to scrunch her face up in confusion.

"I'm sorry what do you mean by tea I'm confused, it's a drink, no?".

Eleanor chuckled, "Right, right, sorry in this context tea means dinner".

Nat's face just scrunched up even more, "That makes no sense".

Sarah laughed, "You just have to roll with it dear, we are an odd bunch".

---

The first part of the car journey from Newcastle Airport was spent with lots of chatting, and uncoordinated karaoke. Nat didn't join in with the latter but found it amusing regardless. She was very entertained by how Eleanor and Sarah had very similar mannerisms, both using their eyebrows to convey their expressions in an exaggerated way, bopping their head slightly when they were in an extra happy mood briefly, and their tone of voice. It was uncanny, really.

When the last 45 minutes of the journey came around though, Nat's main focus was staring out of the window in awe of the sights, it truly was beautiful. The images that Eleanor showed her beforehand did not do it justice.

Eleanor noticed Nat staring intently out of the window suddenly, so she poked her in the leg to get her attention, "I told you".

"Yeah, yeah you did", she replied quickly and quietly, before glueing her eyes back to the view outside.

Some roads were lined with old cobbled stone, making it feel like she was back at a different point in time with the rustic feel. The lakes that made an appearance frequently shone beautifully with the reflection of the sunset, it was hypnotising. The various mountains closed the area off like a blanket, and the sun peeking through only made it more magical.

They eventually arrived in Ambleside, where Sarah resided and Eleanor spent her last few years in England living in. They pulled up in the driveway of a quaint detached cottage, with a view that overlooked the mountains as the street was at the top of a hill.

Once out of the car, Nat and Eleanor stood looking at the view, and Sarah said that she would take their luggage inside and put dinner in the oven.

Eleanor was loving seeing how Nat was blown away by the scenery, it made her happy that she looked happy. Nat looked happy a lot with Eleanor but sometimes due to work she could see the invisible baggage that Nat was carrying, and it was nice to see her have a break from carrying it.

"You lived here?", Nat breathed out.

"Yeah, it was amazing, I mean, it was sad leaving my friends behind when I moved, but when I started school here I quickly made more, and it was worth it to live here for a few years, and when old friends came to visit it felt like a holiday for them".

Eleanor turned her head and saw Nat looking directly at her, "What?", she laughed, thinking that she had said something stupid that Nat was judging her for.

"Nothing, it just suits you".

"Oh yeah?".

"Mhm, I can imagine young you and your friends rolling down a mountain or something stupid like that", Nat grinned.

"Okay, first thing's first, you do not roll down a mountain, you straight up crash down them", Nat laughed before Eleanor continued, mumbling, "Speaking from experience".

"Excuse me?! I was joking please don't tell me you actually did?".

Eleanor pursed her lips and tried to stifle a laugh, "Maybe".

"I don't get how you are a functioning person". Nat loved hearing about the stupid things that Eleanor has done, but sometimes she wondered how much could happen to one person, someone would be able to write a whole book on Eleanor she often thought.

"Hey, it wasn't my fault, my mate, Clare, told me to try and climb part of this almost vertical slope, and so I did".

"Naturally", Nat smirked.

"Yup, I got quite far, there was a good stopping point, like a small platform I could stand on, so I stood, looked down and started shouting some things down at her, probably saying she was a wimp for not following me, but then it gave way and I tumbled down to the bottom".

Nat's eyes went wide, "You're joking?".

"I wish, I broke my jaw and my knee, well let's just say it wasn't in its socket anymore, Clare had to carry me down for the rest of the hike as we were already halfway around, was at the start of the holidays too, so I went the entire summer unable to move properly".

"Aww, poor baby", Nat said in a very unsympathetic way, then kissed her on the temple.

"Oh, piss off", Eleanor laughed.

---

Sarah had informed the two that dinner was ready, and so they all sat at the small dining room table, making small talk. It was a cute little table. Oak, circular, with a little flower pot in the middle on top of a little cloth with frogs on it.

They spoke about work as much as they could, some stuff was confidential and so they could only say small amounts. When Sarah heard about Nat being shot that one time, she immediately piled more food onto Nat's plate causing the two Agents to laugh.

"Aunt Sarah, it was more than two years ago, I think she's okay now". This earned sniggers from everyone at the table.

"Oh Natasha, I wanted to ask this over Skype a few times, but always forgot, your surname, it's European right?".

"Yeah, I'm Russian", Nat said giving a small smile.

"Oh, that's funny, Eleanor's mother was Russian", she said in an upbeat tone.

This caused both of their heads to snap towards one another before looking back at Sarah, this was news to them. "What?".

"You didn't know?", Sarah responded in a bit more of an anxious tone. Eleanor slowly shook her head, Nat looked between the both suddenly feeling very uncomfortable.

"Well, she never did really talk much about that part of her life, she came here when she was young, bless her".

"How young?", Eleanor was eager to find more out about her mother, as she was six when she passed so she had very minimal memories of her mum, but they were all warm ones.

"She told us 16, moved without her family, she was always reluctant to say much , she had a rough childhood, was dealt a bad hand, don't think she had a proper connection with anyone until she met your father".

Eleanor frowned at the table, not knowing what to do with this information, but looked up and smiled a bit when Nat placed her hand on her thigh. "She only opened up briefly about it when she got pregnant with you, saying that she desperately wanted to give you the childhood she never got to have, said her only wish in life was to see you happy".

"She did a good job", Eleanor smiled.

Sarah stood and went over to the fireplace, grabbed a photo frame, and walked back, "We can see that".

The photo showed Eleanor's mother holding her upside-down by the ankles when she was 3, with a huge smile on her face as she looked down at her giggling daughter. Eleanor was a spitting image of her mother, with the same hair colour and texture, the same childish glint in their eyes, a big playful grin, and a well defined facial structure, once again it was uncanny; Nat was slightly freaked out by seeing Eleanor as a child, but being held by someone who looked just like her now. Her father stood next to his wife, with his arm wrapped around her, also smiling down at their child.

Seeing this, Nat's breath hitched at the familiar face, but when Eleanor grabbed her hand and squeezed it 3 times she felt more at ease, and so instead focused on the mother-daughter duo, and smiled at how happy they both looked.

Eleanor wiped away a few tears as she stared at the photo, she missed her family, blocking out her emotions about it most of the time, but she felt a bit more connected to her mother now after this new information and so a few tears were shed.

She looked up at Sarah when she was a bit more composed. "I'm sorry pumpkin, I would have told you more about her when you were younger, I didn't know that your dad didn't say anything".

"That's okay, I'm glad I know now".

She turned to Nat and smiled, "Well, turns out we're both Russian".

They both chuckled, and Nat responded with a grin feeling more connected to her girlfriend than before if that was even possible, "Yeah, how about that?".