Who: Natasha, Yelena, and Dieter What: Yelena invites Dieter over for dinner When: Sunday evening Where: Black Widowsâ House Rating: low/completed GDoc
Yelena was wondering if she was going to regret this. Yelena had never had a serious relationship before for a variety of reasons and it wasnât like she had actually asked Dieter to officially date either. They were still mostly using Fanny as an excuse to see each other which she knew was childish, but she also knew at this point Dieter was doing it for her as well. Her upbringing really had messed her up for this kind of thing.
Natasha told her that she wouldnât necessarily ruin Dieterâs sunny disposition and while Yelena wasnât 100% sure, she wanted to give this a chance. Maybe she should have asked Dieter about being exclusive or serious before asking him to come over for dinner with her sister, but here they were.
Since neither Natasha nor Yelena were particularly good cooks, they had ordered all the food for dinner. Greek food with all the fixings. Hopefully Dieter liked Greek.
Yelena was pacing a little bit in the living room though sheâd argue she was just stretching. This would be fine. This wasnât going to be a complete disaster.
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Natasha was glad that her sister was finding some way to settle into life in Madison Valley because unlike herself, Yelena had never really had the chance at something approaching a normal life. Sheâd been caught in the Red Roomâs web for far too long, and deserved to have something more.
As her sister paced the living room, Natasha was setting out plates and utensils, as well as a couple bottles of wine. âIf you wear a hole in the floor, youâre paying to have it fixed,â she called out idly before picking up a corkscrew and working on opening one of the bottles so it could breathe.
âRelax. Heâll be here soon.â
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Dinner. Dinner with Yelena and Natasha.
It was a beautiful house, a place that he could definitely see Yelena living at. Stepping up to the front door, Dieter adjusted his jacket, looking around at the small tastefully decorated front porch. He hadnât really known what to bring, so he had opted for a box of Pepperidge Farm cookies. Maybe he shouldâve brought wine?
For a split second, Dieter entertained the thought of bolting, heading off to the liquor store for a bottle of wine⊠But what would he pick? There were so many kinds, and he had absolutely no idea what kind Yelena and Natasha liked to drink or even if they drank wine. No, cookies were the safest bet.
Raising a fist, he rapped his knuckles on the door a few times, only then noticing that there was a doorbell. Index finger poised over the doorbell button, he was just about to press it when the door started to open, only just managing to yank his hand down back to his side in time.
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Yelena wasnât sure if she could do something resembling ânormalâ which was half of her worry, but she also hadnât been able to get Dieter out of her mind in a long while so she figured it was probably time to admit that she at least liked him. Natashaâs judgment on the man would go a long way even if Yelena would pretend outwardly that she didnât care what her sister thought.
She was about to retort when the knock came and she headed for the door. Maybe she was meant to be coy and make him wait or something, but that seemed stupid so she just opened the door. The smile that went on her face initially when she saw him was real and uncomplicated, brightening her face. She seemed to catch herself and it was tempered a little as if there was a more ârespectableâ way of greeting him.
Her eyes dropped to the box in his hand. âYou brought cookies?â Her eyes moved back up to his. âWe like cookies.â
Stepping to the side to let him in, she waited until he was through the door before closing the front door. Standing in the foyer Yelena felt butterflies in her chest - a new and troubling feeling for her - and she wondered if this is what children felt when they had people they liked and what that said about them. Should she compliment him? Take the cookies? A louder voice said to push him against the wall and kiss him, but that seemed a little overkill and sheâd never hear the end of it from her sister. So instead she went with a sudden, âNice jacketâ before heading further into the house.
âThis is Natasha. My sister.â She gestured between them. ââŠ. This is Dieter - Ludwig - ⊠Ludwig Dieter.â Fuck.
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Natasha set down the bottle of wine, then made her way out to the other two after giving them just a minute to greet one another. Her face betrayed none of the amusement she was currently feeling as she reached out a hand to shake his and the other hand took the cookies from him deftly.
âNatasha Romanoff. Itâs a pleasure to meet a friend of Yelenaâs, and theseâll make a perfect dessert. Yelena, shut the door before Fanny tries to escape,â she said smoothly, letting go of Dieterâs hand at the same time. Her eyes were taking in every detail, of course, but she was withholding judgment until she knew more about him. âDinnerâs just about ready if you two want to hang out here, or come on back.â
By ââreadyâ she meant that all she really needed to do was finish transferring the food from take-out containers to bowls.
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Yelena looked beautiful, but did he say that? No. Returning the uncomplicated smile, Dieter stepped inside of the house when directed and was about to hand her the cookies when Yelenaâs sister scooped them up and shook his hand. âI.. ah, itâs a pleasure, Natasha. Dieter will do.â
Sebastian Schlencht-Wöhnert was a mouthful and even though it was his hidden super secret biological name, he wasnât raring to come clean with it. Ludwig Dieter had sufficed well enough for almost six years. Plus, Ludwig Dieter was a super safecrackerâs name. It had that certain oomph.
âIs it?â Dieter turned to regard Yelena with wide eyes. âHopefully you two didnât go through much troubles for me. I would be very much happy with anything, even take away.â
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Her eyes met her sister's for a moment when he mentioned take away. Normally she wouldn't lie, but suddenly she had an urge to. 'Oh no, Dieter, we are both great cooks taught by our very normal mother as we grew up'. She almost said something like this too. She knew if she lied her sister would probably go with the lie as well, but when she opened her mouth, Yelena surprised herself. "Well good, because it is take away."
Fanny came into the room as if sensing the need to distract and she went right up to Dieter with her tail wagging. It helped that Yelena had been using walking Fanny as an excuse to see him so now she was used to him a lot. Fanny bumped his leg with her head, silently demanding pets.
"Dieter's world has zombies." She had no idea why she brought that up, but she wanted to say something to get the conversation going and that came out. At least it was simpler than mentioning they had a kid together by the dome.
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Considering the fact that Yelena had already made his name clear, more or less, his words led Natasha to think there might be more to that story for him, but of course she didnât comment on that aloud. Amused at the comment about the food, she met her sisterâs eyes, telling her silently that sheâd go with whatever the blonde wanted to say.
âZombies? There was a portal back in 2020 to a world like that,â Natasha commented as she assessed him with a little more interest, as though judging for herself if he was a fighter or not. After a moment, she turned and led the way back to the kitchen so she could finish dishing out the rest of the food. Once that was done, Natasha started to bring it out to the dining room to set on the table.
âDo you like Greek food, Dieter?â
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If Yelena had said that, Dieter wouldâve accepted it as fact. He was a gullible man through and through, even after everything he had been a part of in his crazy lifetime. â2020?â Dieterâs heart leapt into his throat.. It was uncomfortably close to the zombie outbreak in his world, which had begun in 2019.. But âto a world like thatâ helped his heart go back to beating properly. The zombie outbreak luckily wasnât a world-wide phenomenon, but contained in Las Vegas.
Small miracles.
Petting Fannyâs head as he looked between the sisters, Dieter followed Natasha and Yelena into the kitchen, nodding. âI do! I admit though, I donât know what to do with the little leaf thingies?â He mimed âleaf thingiesâ by folding an invisible grape leaf floating in the air in front of him. âBut Iâm sure Yelena will help me with that.â And then he added quickly. âBoth you and Yelena, the more help the better, yes?â
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God he was insufferably adorable. Yelena briefly wondered what her sister would think. As much as Yelena would roll her eyes and say things like it didnât matter what Natasha thought, it actually did. Natasha was her older sister and she mattered in more ways that Yelena often admitted.
âUsually theyâre wrapped around food, no?â Dolmas? She wondered if that was what he was talking about. âYouâre in luck that both of us arenât Greek so we wonât be offended. We wouldnât get offended if you ate Russian food wrong either⊠except for maybe vodka.â That was a joke even if he might not be able to pick up on it.
It was entirely impulsive, but Yelena reached out to take his hand. Maybe a bit childish too of her desire to touch him again. Like always though the touch came with some sort of âreasonâ for it as she tugged him toward the table and to his seat. Clearly she was just holding his hand to reassure him that he wouldnât be embarrassed by eating food and helping him find his seat in the very confusing maze of⊠the dining room. There was the slightest of hesitations before she let go of his hand. Then she busied herself pouring the wine that Natasha had set to breathe prior so she had something to do rather than think about how warm his hand felt against hers.
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âYes, though Iâm not certain what year it was in that world,â she said absently, though Natasha had of course caught how heâd reacted at the fact that it had happened at all.
âDolmas,â Natasha supplied out loud, nodding at Yelenaâs words and passing her a platter that had the stuffed leaves in question. âThey are stuffed with a mix of meat and rice.â Picking up a second platter, Natasha followed the two into the dining room, biting back any words she may have thought at catching sight of the hand-holding. It was sweet, and Yelena deserved to be happy.
âAnd this is moussaka. Spiced lamb cooked in tomatoes sauce, and layered with fried eggplant and bechamel sauce. Dessert is baklava,â she added as she set the moussaka down, then took a seat of her own.
âSo how did you two meet?â
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When Yelena took his hand, Dieter felt a zing of electricity.. Something he was certain wasnât caused by overzealous static. Dieter found his thumb rubbing unconsciously against the tops of Yelenaâs knuckles as she led him into the dining room and to his seat.
Sitting down, blue eyes wide, he regarded both sisters, nodding with a modicum of stupidity. âDolmas, yes! Yes that sounds very right.â Looking out over the sea of food, Dieter gave the sisters an appreciative though painfully shy smile. âIt looks very delicious, again, itâs too much trouble.â Alas he had yet to connect the dots on the take-out side of things.
âWell,â Dieter began as he glanced at Yelena, face reddening slightly. âWe met at one of the quickly dating nights, then afterward with the children from other realities..â He drifted off, giving Yelena a small reassuring smile. âOur daughter, she was very kind.â Clearing his throat, Dieter leaned against the table, sending a fork near his elbow tumbling to the floor. Mumbling a quick Scheisse, he leaned over to retrieve it and bumped his head on the edge of the table. Jerking upright in his chair, embarrassed, he set the offending fork down next to his plate. âSo sorries.. It appears that I am to be all fingers?â âThumbsâ was the correct term, but he was close enough. â
Yelena watched and while sheâd normally find someone like that annoying and roll her eyes or say something mean, with Dieter, all he got was a smile. Well, a smile and her expression admitted it was entirely dorky what he just did. Still, the lack of call-out was very un-Yelena of her. Maybe if he did it while being less adorable she could be more annoyed.
âBeing all fingers isnât always a bad thing.â That was much more a Yelena reaction. She half expected the sexual innuendo to go over Dieterâs head. It was at least easier to make a comment like that than to think too deeply on the whole kid thing. Their daughter had been something amazing and it had freaked Yelena out in more than one way.
âNatasha got kids too, but they werenât as cute.â She deadpanned, but was making a joke to her sister.
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Natasha refrained from teasing his adorable awkwardness, and hid a smile as she started to serve them all some of the food. Once that was done, she sat and took a couple bites, before shaking her head at Yelena. âThey were all girls and they were beautiful,â she replied, then immediately shoved the memories away. Despite the fact that those girls had come, there wasnât going to suddenly be a miracle cure for her - or Yelena - so it was better to not think about it, at least in Natashaâs mind.
âDig in. I hope you like it,â she said to Dieter, gesturing towards the food. âWhat kind of work did you do in your world?â She asked as he was reaching for something - wanting to know more about the man that her sister was so obviously enthralled with.
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Alas, this time the innuendo didnât go over his head, Yelenaâs comment causing him to blush slightly.
âOh?â Dieter turned to Natasha as the three of them began to eat. âAll girls. That must have been very interesting.â Luckily, Dieter had only had one, Ise Anya. The time he had gotten to spend with her and with Yelena had been priceless.
Reaching for one of the grape leaf thingies (Dolmas!) Dieter forked it onto his plate. âI was a locksmith in California, with my own shop.â It wasnât much, but it had been his. His with the seed money Gwendoline had given him. âThen a very large man offered to pay me money to crack the fabled GötterdĂ€mmerung safe in a Las Vegas that was very much zombie infested.â
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She had to admit that getting Dieter to blush was actually fun and he was cute when he turned red.Yelena was still pretty much staring, though not in a creepy way, when he explained about his life. Her eyes moved over to Natasha to see what she would think about the revelation. Dieter might not strike you as a fighter, but he had to hold his own at least a little bit if he was agreeing to go into a zombie infested area, right?
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She arched an eyebrow, but that was her only outward reaction. Her eyes met her sisterâs for a beat before she served herself and dug into the food.
âAnd did you? Crack the safe,â she added, in case it wasnât entirely clear that she meant the Vegas safe. Heâd already mentioned the zombies, so Natasha wasnât too concerned about them just yet.
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Natasha intimidated him. Granted, Yelena did as well, but she was Yelena. Yelenaâs sister on the other hand? That was a powerful hand of cards to hold. Dieter wanted to make a good impression, or even decent.. Hell, he wouldâve gone for something not negative.
So why not try to impress the sister of the woman Dieter was admiring?
âI did!â Dieter replied with a note of pride. The Ring Cycle had been such a wonderful adventure, and even though it had taken six years to find the GötterdĂ€mmerung, Dieter had been shown the way and he was at least 99.99% sure he had paid for the privilege of cracking the fabled safe with his life. âI shot many zombies and was a valued member of the team.â Well, that was a bit of a stretch, but he had dispatched a few zombies in the vault. Casually, he dipped his fork down into his lap, the bit of grilled meat sliding off of it as he offered the meat to Fanny under the table super sneaky.
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Had Yelena been anyone else, sheâd have beamed a proud smile. Instead, her smile was small, but fond which was really Yelenaâs version of the big, beaming kind. Hey, she was Russian - she was working on it.
âIf we get overrun by zombies, then weâll have an expert to give us tips then.â She was semi-serious. She was pretty sure that she and Natasha could handle zombies on their own, but sheâd want Dieter close to keep him safe. âOr to open a safe⊠though itâs been awhile since either of us cat-burglared, I think.â Yes, she did say that casually as she took a bit of food.
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There was a slight nod of approval as Natasha paused in eating for a sip of her wine - and her sharp eyes caught him feeding the dog, but she didnât say anything. A little bit of people food wouldnât hurt Fanny. Instead, she gave Yelena a rueful look.
âItâll be good to have all our bases covered, at least.â And yes, it had been a while since she herself had tried any safe cracking or breaking-and-entering - but as she went forward with the Security firm with her sister, Natasha had a feeling that could easily change. âYouâll have to give us a crash course in it sometime.â
For now, theyâd enjoy a good meal and good company.