Chapter 603 - Sturdy Neck (1/2)
The dinner table was set and everyone began their meals. With Mary being super busy for the rest of the day, it was up to Natasha to pick up takeouts from different places to cater to the needs of her family. ”Hey,” Nik complained, ”This is Thai,” he glared towards Nat, ”I ordered Mexican.”
”You should have gotten it yourself.” Sitting across Nik, Nat crossed her legs and smirked while eating with chopsticks. ”Oh, sorry, I was busy saving the day!” Nik scoffed as Mary smiled, ”About that, I just reached when everything was almost over.” Her words made Ann take out her phone and hurriedly type in before showing the screen to Nik, revealing a picture of an unconscious man covered in slimy purple gunk. ”This was you when you took a break from the assignments?”
'Considering we even completed our assignments,' Nik kept his thoughts to himself. It still bothered him that he couldn't complete all his assignments in a single day. It was an extremely stupid thing to be bothered with but it still did. ”Yep,” nodding and eating the food slightly reluctantly, he pointed out, ”And much thanks I get. I mean it Nat, next time I pick food, I am getting you... Spicy Curry.”
”I love spicy food,” The redheaded aunt shrugged while Nik smiled, ”Oh, I meant what comes after that. Spicy Curry and milk. Let's see your stomach holding onto that.”
”I could always avoid drinking milk until later,” Natasha suggested.
”You would do that, wouldn't you,” Nik smiled and looked at Mary, ”That reminds me, did you know that I and Nat had a heart to heart where she even told me a lot that you didn't know about? She could be spying at us with those skills and we wouldn't even know about it—”
”Fine, I get it!” cutting Nik off, Natasha looked at Ann with an inquisitive look, ”And didn't you have your dance practice today?”
”Oh... yeah, I am not telling what we did for the evening,” shaking her head, she began eating her food silently while Natasha blanked out for a moment. ”Hey, I thought I was the cool aunt you could share stuff that you wouldn't feel doing with Mary,” Nat whined, trying to persuade the girl into letting her on the secret that she was keeping for herself while Mary dreaded the sentence she already knew Ann would speak.
”There's not many things I don't share with mum... underpants, the most obvious.”
Secretly knowing the underlying meaning of her words, Natasha almost choked while Nik smirked. Gwen's secret wasn't theirs to expose and while Ann didn't even try to pretend that everything was fine, her absolute refusal was, in fact, refreshing. After a brief period of silence, Mary inquired, ”How's Junior doing? I still can't thank you enough for hooking him up in Stark Industries.”
”Please,” Natasha shrugged, ”It was not a big deal and Junior still needs to study for a proper job.”
”I just had to blow a kiss towards the foreman and there you go, Brandon hired!”
”That's kind of trashy, if you ask me,” Nik jabbed while focusing on his food.
”Nik,” Mary softly nudged Nik's shoulders and glared at him. It did sound trashy but there was no need to grill Nat for that. ”Don't worry Nat,” Mary smiled comfortingly, ”You were trashy for a good cause.”
”Hey!” Natasha scoffed in anger, making Anna snicker mischievously. She loved the fact that despite her aunt's skills, the woman still acted in an immature manner. After hearing all the possible deeds Mary could even explain about Natasha, it was more than obvious that Ann had greater expectations. Maybe a few scars on the face, a bulkier body... but as it turns out, Natasha wasn't any of it. In fact, she was a 'perfect' role model for the promiscuous family.
”Don't be mad, we are just making fun of you since you have been so... frequent to our apartment,” Mary coughed as Natasha's expression turned even uglier, making her chew on her food loudly. ”Maybe you all need to get your own dinners from now on.”
”If you aren't always free, we would,” Nik continued, ”And before you say— ooh, I have a job! I am looking into someone— know that Anna defeated a boss five times within an hour and I completed seven assignments.”
”And they compare to espionage... how?” Natasha placed her takeout container on the table and crossed her arms.
”For one, you don't need to spy on others when you get a mind-controlling ability. It makes things super easy. Secondly, video games and writing assignments the way I did requires a lot of dexterity. I believe I don't need to say anything more in our defense.”
”Are you for real?” Natasha inquired with a blank look, ”You are not a professional until you—”
”There you go again, excuses,” Nik grinned with a warm expression, ”Seriously, now it feels like you are overcompensating. A spy should probably have control over their emotions, right?” Nik inquired as Natasha smiled, ”Come at me! I dare you. You are a superhuman, right? Say, Mary, can I take Nik to the rooftop and give him a deserving exercise?”
Now put on a spot since Mary really wished her urges itched right after the dinner. With Nik's ability to clean the entirety of the house in a few breaths, there was really nothing else to do after dinner. ”I suppose... it could be good for the both of you,” Mary conceded under Natasha's blazing gaze as Nik shrugged and stated openly, ”Don't blame me for the beat down of your life. Anna, you'll record us, right?”
”Yep!” Ann grinned as the family of two, Nik, and Natasha ate their dinner at an even greater speed and made their way to the rooftop after cleaning the table.
”Did you know? I have trained Ava and now, I am even training Cindy. I am a master martial artist and grappler so you better watch out!” Nat exclaimed as she stretched her arms, openly distracting Nik and Ann with her packed bosom. The black-shirt with the top 2 buttons unbuckled did make matters worse as Mary looked at her so-called 'comrade' and directed Nik, ”Yeah, don't go easy on her at all.”
”Huh?” Looking back at Mary and seeing her expression, Nik nodded thoughtfully and smiled, ”Got ya!”
”He wouldn't even be able to touch me!” Natasha grinned as Nik sighed. ”Trash talks are for the incapable, and the overly capable. It's a good thing that we both fit the bill, you being the former and me being the latter,” scratching the back of his head, Nik seemed to have realized the source of Natasha's confidence. ”Wait, you said that you are training Cindy, right?”
”Yea? What about it? Want some for yourself, too?” She inquired with a curious smile as Nik huffed, ”Oh, I definitely want some... but are you comparing Cindy's physical parameters to mine?”