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"Hurry up" Yelena complains from one corner of the couch. She sends a faux glare over at Clint, who is wrangling a Christmas jumper onto his dog. "I put it on Fanny much faster than this," she gloats, not one to miss an opportunity to boast about how much better her dog is.
Fanny must of sensed that she was about to be rewarded because she nuzzled her snout into Yelena's lap - who gave her a loving pat.
Natasha rolls her eyes at her little sister's childish behaviour, but can't help but agree. Fanny was a lot better trained than Lucky, and Clint was taking a long time to put on the green and red jumper.
They had been standing there for hours - Melina, Alexie, Clint, Natasha, and Yelena - trying to get one photo, and it still hadn't happened.
Natasha was the one who organised this whole 'event', she had wanted a photo of her family, all together, to put on the mantle of their new house. Surely that wasn't too much to ask for.
But apparently, it was.
Because even after all her organising and planning, they still hadn't taken a photo.
Yelena had arrived late, in pure Yelena fashion. But at least she wasn't having any dog problems, and for the most part, she just sat there annoying Clint.
Clint, on the other hand, was having dog problems. Lucky did not want to put on the jumper. He was more interested in the leftover pizza he could smell in the fridge. Every time Clint put one sleeve on, Lucky would take off to find the food.
Melina was desperately trying to tame Alexie's chaotic hair. No matter how many times she had told him to comb it this morning, he still hadn't done it, and so now it looked like a birds nest. Every time she flattened one side, the other side fluffed up.
Natasha was ready. She had been hours ago. Because she knew this would happen. She knew, once everyone was together, it would take a while for everyone to calmly sit down and smile.
So she just stood there and fiddled with the camera. Making sure it lined up with the couch. Checking that the timer was working. Etc, Etc, Etc.
After standing there for a good twenty minutes, just watching the chaos unfold, she gave up. There was no point trying to look perfect - because they weren't perfect. The photo was meant to be a representation of them and their family.
"Is everyone ready?" She called out from behind the camera. All four faces (plus the two dogs) turned to face her. Yelena and Alexei confirmed straight away, Melina joining them soon after.
Clint shook his head 'No' and indicated down to Lucky, who was happily munching on his stolen pizza slice. "Not yet. We need to make sure the dog has his Christmas jumper on for the family photo!" He said as lucky undid all of Clint's hard work by slipping his head out of the jumper.
Melina, after giving up with Alexie's abhorrent hair, walked over to Clint's side of the couch and begins helping him pull the jumper over the canine. Clint sent a playful glare to Yelena's side of the couch as she loudly comments on what a good girl Fanny is.
To the archer's surprise, Melina's attempts to put the jumper on Lucky succeeded first try! Which both annoyed Clint and gratified him.
Finally, he gave Natasha confirmation that he was ready, and she clicked the timer.
"All right, when the light flashes you have three seconds to make yourself look presentable. We are only doing one of these, so if you look bad, don't," she asserts as she runs back to her seat.
The light flashes
The camera clicks
It's all over.
All that fussier something that was over in less than a second. All of that for nothing.
Well…it wasn't nothing, Natasha thinks to herself as she sits back on the large couch. With Clint on one side and Yelena on the other, her parents standing behind her, she can't help but feel whole.
In truth, this was a lot more than nothing.
This was everything.
Never would she have expected to have all of her favourite people under one roof, nevertheless taking a Christmas photo together!
And yet it was happening. Or rather, it had happened, and it was everything Natasha had ever hoped for. She couldn't help but smile at the photo. Yelena was trying to escape Fanny's kiss attack, Clint was trying to keep Lucky still, Melina was smiling at the camera but Alexei's hand was on her head in the shape of two bunny ears. The only person who was smiling, undistracted, was Natasha. She was looking at the camera, with a true smile, while everyone else around her was all sidetracked. And Natasha loved it. This photo was definitely going on the mantle, and every time she walked past it, she would be reminded of her family.
Disjointed and dysfunctional, but still good. Very very good.
Disjointed and dysfunctional, but still good. Very very good.
Natasha had never believed in Christmas miracles, but somehow, this very moment resembled one.