The art (fic) trade for @ladysouthpaw1213
it's finally here! after rewriting after a corrupted file and working, I can finally give her her trade return. Took a while after a file corruption and having to rewrite it, but it's finally here 😭
miss lady read the tags before you read the fic
It’s been a long car journey across the week they had spent in San Diego, going to and fro their yearly summer rented vacation house to places across the city.
From restaurants and theatres to monuments and sights, Russell had made the plans to show his family the city gems once again.
Even though this is their fourth summer returning to San Diego, the year 1987 on a clear-skied Thursday evening.
It’s come to the point that it's considered tradition now in the Adler family; a week every year that Russell and Natalia managed to squeeze out from the usual complicated lives they had, to take a break with their children, Lana and Andrei, and try enjoy that time as a normal family even if they were anything but.
Natalia glanced over from her spot in the passenger seat of Russell's (beloved) Ford Mustang 1967 as he drove them through the familiar streets of San Diego, having spent the past hour looking out her window at the speeding environment or her attention split between the two 5-year-olds strapped in the back seats.
She watches Russell fiddling with the radio with a grumble, about 'Abba this' and 'Abba that', a complaint under his breath that "there are other artists who released music in the 80s", commenting something about their ‘overrated music’ getting on his nerves.
His eyes flicker back and forth occasionally from the radio to the road ahead, protected from the sun by those usual orange shades he wore.
It’s a surprise they're not broken yet, Natalia had occasionally thought.
Natalia had been present on a few occasions, be it in their home or simply out at their local park, when she had seen Lana sitting on her father’s lap rambling on about something whilst waving his shades around animatedly.
Russell had been holding her gently by her hips with a lone thumb stroking it, nodding along to what she was saying with the occasional quip or two, which fueled Lana’s mood.
Natalia had seen the soft smile on his weary yet toughened face, a look of affection in his blue eyes-Different from how he’d usually look away from his family.
Well, maybe excuse Frank and Mason. The kids loved them, despite the former being a pain in his ass. Luckily, Mason was quite the opposite.
“Damn drivers,” Russell huffed once he abandoned the radio now that the traffic was moving once again, “Damn traffic.” His fingers rapped on the steering wheel.
“I can take over if it’s stressing you out." Natalia had offered him, noticing his tension.
“We’re almost there.” He declines, most likely due to his stubborn pride. She knew he doesn't want to come off as incapable just because he got stressed driving a car.
“You never did say where you are taking us." She then pointed out, a change in subject as she leant back to look out her window once more, swaying to the side as Russell turned a corner down a bumpy road.
“That's the point of a surprise, Bluebell.” Russell calmly states, pulling into a car park.
After he spots a free space tucked between two cars, he smoothly pulls in, the song cutting off abruptly as he turns off the engine.
"Unbuckle yourselves. Time to move.” His voice speaks up to address the two kids in the back.
The three did as he had said, unbuckling seat belts and opening car doors, albeit the twins having some help with their own, a jostle of the car with every slam of the door shut.
Natalia had already, naturally, looked around to get a layout of their surroundings.
A family were walking back to their car, the child walking beside them with a pep in their step, carrying a helium balloon and a stuffed bear in their hands. To her left, there's a group of teenagers perched by a wall with a large bag of popcorn shared amongst them.
Distant music played far in the background, which seemed almost carnival-reminiscent.
“A fair with attractions,” Natalia figures out, looking at Russell, who was handing Andrei his backpack. His fox plushie was stuffed inside it, its orange scarf poking out, almost caught in the zipper.
“A fun fair,” Russell then corrects her with that occasional smirk on the corner of his lips. “A show of patriotism at its finest.”
The man took Lana’s hand as Andrei gravitated towards his mother, sticking to her side.
“Patriotism?” Natalia questioned under her breath.
“A fun fair?” Lana had butted in with a growing smile upon her curious face, looking up and around at their surroundings.
“Yes,” Russell confirmed, a slight ruffle on the top of her head with his large hand. “You'll enjoy it. All of you will.”
Russell and Natalia shared a glance, but she couldn't hide that faint scoff of a laugh at his rare playful confidence, resulting in Russell returning one.
The walk wasn't too far, the sounds of mixed conversation and music a tell of how close they were to arriving. It featured a short walk down a busy sidepath, attached to a row of brick buildings and cars tightly parked up along the curbs.
A turn around the corner of a cheap convenience store introduced them to the sight of a fairground ahead.
At first, it was a lot to take in-The lights of the different attractions and stalls designed to draw people in, the large gatherings of passing crowds busy with the different parts of the fun fair, including the array of sounds and smells, american labelling plastered across the area.
It's a stark contrast to the world around them. The warm evening hue of the sky above with its clouds curling over, cool breezes and soft colours illuminating their faces a warm orange and yellow.
“Patriotism, I see…” Natalia commented. The suspicions she originally had were drawn away by the sight in front, a small smile dragging over her face.
“Glad you like it,” Russell teased in a low tone with a squeeze of her hand as he walked past to the ticket booth.
These San Diego trips always brought a different side of Russell out, even if for only a week.
It's a familiar sight for Natalia, in a way. She's been to a fair, back as a child in Russia, but it wasn't nearly as extravagant as this overdone, exaggerated American version.
Her memories of a funfair consisted of a few (rather miserable) slow rides on a horse in a market square, some dolls as a prize for lousy games and bland food she wouldn't revisit. It wasn't much of a treasuring memory to keep.
Not that she had full control of her memories, anyway.
The kids impatiently tug on their parents' hands as they complain about the wait, the temptation of the fairground just steps away, yet the process of a simple ticket transaction from Russell causes a rift in their path.
“Let's go!” Lana says with a groan, pulling on Russell's jacket, almost bouncing with the urge to go explore.
It wasn't a surprise to see the kids were already excited at the prospect of exploring a funfair, being a new experience for them in their young lives.
“Don't go running off, cubs,” Russell firmly tells the kids as he pockets their tickets in his jacket's pocket and retakes Lana's hand, despite them both groaning at the order.
They walked closely together as they strolled through the fairground, navigating through the diverse crowds.
“There are more attractions than what I'm familiar with,” Natalia comments as she momentarily gazes upon a row of screaming figures strapped to worn leather chairs on a colourful ride, dropping them from a 15-foot height. “These seem more tortuous than I remember.”
“People have always been like that, Bluebell,” Russell says, seemingly deciding what they should do first as they walk upon the trodden grass from footsteps and wheels. “I didn't have a problem with them as a child.”
“And now?” Natalia then asked, a hint of a teasing challenge underlined in her tone.
“I have an image to maintain.”
“Look,” Andrei pointed over to just one of the many fairground game stalls lined up, a collection of games to be beaten for a prize.
The stall he pointed to had a range of plushies tied to the tent frames, automatically gaining his-and his sisters-attention.
“Please, Dad?” He added, looking up to his parents.
“You don't have enough?” Russell asked, looking down at his son. “I can barely see the floor when you little hellmakers have those toys of yours out.”
“Russ,” Natalia says quietly, a hint of disapproval in her tone, giving him a look.
“Please, daddy?” Lana then joined in on their plea, their frowns and begs pulling at their parents' heart strings, no matter how hard they were to deny.
“Alright, you win,” Russell sighed, a small shake of his head, though there was a hint of playfulness in his tone.
Being back in a familiar place, a place that wasn't work-related or held a bad memory, brought Russell into a better mood. For once.
“I'll see what I can do…” He says, looking over to assess the goal ahead, as if it were intel on a mission that needed to be cracked.
A simple challenge of a milk bottle throw: knock over the stacked bottles with a limited number of balls. Simple enough.
“Save yourself the energy,” Natalia then says as she steps forward. Russell was good, perhaps even one of the best, but Natalia was capable too.
“You sure, Bluebell?” Russell had asked with an eyebrow raised slightly over his shades, being ignored due to her focus being on the prize.
She stepped up, eyes sharp as she studied the bottles just a few feet ahead of her, the stained table a barricade between them.
She had a feel of the baseball in her hand as the vendor beside her explained the rules with a smug smile upon his face, clearly taking amusement in attracting another person to his stall.
A swift yet calculated throw of a ball-The sound of empty milk bottles clinking together as half fell onto the grass below.
Another ball, then another ball, three in total had been thrown, each hitting the bottles with expert precision, creating a pile on the floor beneath the empty stand.
Russell had a smirk on his face as he watched silently, pride in the fact that she was his, the kids looking at each other in shock with the shared thought on how cool their mother was.
Even the vendor looked begrudgingly impressed, albeit a little annoyed, that someone had managed to get past his game without fault.
Natalia kept the pride to herself, busying herself with asking her kids which of the different plushies they'd like, taking the prizes from the vendor who had his eyes narrowed at her.
It’s no surprise that Lana and Andrei had chosen the biggest ones available. Those new bears of theirs will be their centre of attention for the next few days before they'd have their beloved foxes back by their sides.
“Impressive.” Russell tells her when she walks back to them, running a hand through his swept hair as his eyes remain on her.
She gave him a simple shrug of her shoulder.
“Daddy? What else is there to do here?” Andrei had asked with a smile, holding the cream coloured plushie close to his chest, face almost engulfed in the head of its soft fur.
“Quite a lot,” Russell says, eyes narrowing a little in thought. “If I remember…There are rides we could go on, or more prize stalls;"
“Or food, when you two get hungry. We'll see as we get around.” He then added, adjusting his hold on Andrei's hand as the former pondered aloud.
That remained their plan for the moment, walking across the paths throughout the fairground as the different smells, sounds and sights passed by them.
The twins had wanted to do everything they saw-Andrei had shyed away from things that were too much for his liking, unlike Lana, or both simply told that they weren't tall enough for most of the rides.
The sounds of a carousel are what cause Natalia and Lana to look, drawing their eyes over across the fairground to the source of the music.
It was extravagantly decorated as they spotted the carousel-its vibrant plastic horses rose up and down at a smooth pace as they went around in loops to the music. People stood by as they waited to have their turn or watched their others enjoying themselves on one of the horses.
The music mostly drew them in; Natalia saw how Lana had perked up at the sound, the lights sparkling in her eyes as her interest was caught.
The carousel's music was the same as the jingle in her wooden music box back home, a delightful lullaby played on its revolving cylinder.
She also saw how the young girl looked up at her mother, a nod of understanding given as Natalia felt Russell slip his arm around her waist after he approached them with Andrei.
“Go ahead,” Natalia had given the girl permission, knowing it'd mean more to Lana as she had a liking for horses, and she looked to Andrei to urge him to join.
It only took a few minutes waiting, the people climbing off the carousel, and the new round of people allowed up, taking their horse or chariot of their liking, strapped on for safety.
The music started up once more, and the smiles and laughter appeared amongst them.
Russell and Natalia stood side by side by the fence, their eyes on their children, even getting a few waves from the two whenever they passed into sight every few seconds.
A few beats later, Russell spoke up from the quiet between them.
“They're enjoying themselves.” He simply observed, fingers tapping the cigarette box in his pocket.
Natalia had disallowed him to smoke in moments like these, moments around the kids specifically. He always had an issue with quitting.
“They are,” She returned calmly, arms crossed against her chest, seeing the twins smiling on their rides.
She glanced at Russell a moment later.
“Did you do this for them?” She asked him, his eyes remained looking forward, despite Natalia looking at him. “You knew they would like it.”
“Partially,” He says. “San Diego has meaning to me. It's an excuse to take a moment from our line of work. And you know what we do,”
A pause as he took in the warm air and his thoughts, a subtle inhale, then an heavy exhale.
“You also know I like seeing you smile,” He added.
His smooth words brought that said smile to her face. Damn that deviously charming man.
“You flatter me,” Natalia bluntly says, a smile in her voice as she looks back at him.
She saw how his eyes-Just those eyes-glanced down to her, that usual cold expression he had painted onto his face for work and life replaced by a smirk on his scarred lips.
She didn't flinch anymore whenever she looked at his scarring along his face, not like the others do when they avoid looking at it.
Her thumb usually traced the outlines of his scar when they were alone, littering gentle kisses amongst them before she was pinned down, strong hands on her forearms-
A shared silence came over them, a content one, looking back ahead to the carousel, yet Russell kept his arm secure around her waist.
This moment between them was another shared moment of their life, and the connection they had with a complicated past as two hardened agents.
They spent another good hour in the funfair, going from whatever would catch their eye. Russell had to convince the twins that they weren't going to go to any more prize stalls, needing to push through the puppy dog eyes they were impishly giving him.
He loved them, but hell did they have too many plushies.
Natalia followed them around with her comments here and there. A few affectionate touches to Russell and fondness given to their kids.
(She took pleasure in seeing that they were showing off their innocence, hoping that they could keep that innocence as long as they could until they got corrupted by their parents' world.)
The food at the fair, however, wasn't to Natalia's liking. Her eyes kept glancing at her children as Andrei was devouring his hotdog, either out of hunger or enjoyment, with her eyebrow raising when Russell had stated something about hotdogs being another ‘cliché patriotic item to the American system’.
A hotdog with mustard, ketchup, and dressed with greasy toppings. She ended up letting Andrei finish hers.
Lana was the one who had pointed at the photo booth on their way to the exit of the fairground, heading over before her parents could input, soon being followed by them and Andrei.
Russell held the curtain open for them, leaning against the booth decorated with flashy colours and peeling advertisements for its company.
“Is this a good idea?” Natalia had questioned as she went inside first, taking a seat on the bench, the twins slipping inside with ease. Russell joined last, sat beside Natalia.
“It'll be kept to ourselves.” He told her, aware of her suspicions. Hell, they're CIA. They wouldn't exactly broadcast that to the world. “Let's do it for the kids, at least.”
“Like a secret?” Lana had asked as she came to a halt in pushing Andrei aside, moving to climb onto her father's lap.
“That's right, cub,” He returned, helping her up. “A secret. We’ll keep it in that book of yours, hm? Since you love collecting pictures,” He lightly tickled her side to make her giggle.
“Yeah, a secret,” She smiles, pushing his hand away with that cute giggle of hers, zipping her lips like Andrei had taught her.
Natalia, meanwhile, had been busy setting it up, focused on the settings and timer as they were talking, leaning back once the countdown started. Time to pose for the camera.
Four flashes with the sound of a shutter, a ten-second countdown between each flash to give them time to change position. It went by quickly, but telling by how the kids scrambled over each other in a hurry to pull the perfect pose, it'd come out messy.
But, for the good side, Natalia had managed to sneak in a quick peck to Russell’s cheek and catch the man of guard, much to her satisfaction.
It was over before they knew it, the line of photos sliding out of its slot, freshly printed with the pictures of the Adler family.
“It could've come out better.” Natalia commented as she looked down at the picture in her hand, feeling Russel squeeze her waist slightly as he tilted his head to look.
“Next time.” He then says, bringing her hand up to his mouth, a gentle kiss onto her knuckles.
“Next time,” She repeated, a small nod in agreement, even though there was the shared thought, shared knowledge, that it wasn't a true reassurance.
They both know there's no room for promises in their line of work, but instead false hopes to give them something to hold onto and fight for.
“Come on, cubs, it's getting late,” Natalia tells them, a pat on Andrei's arm, hearing the two kids groan a complaint due to her words.
“You heard your mother,” Russell says, nudging the kids to get them moving.
As they get out the navy blue curtain of the photo booth brushes over them, the once warm hues of the evening sky painted over by a deep purple and a fading pink.
Natalia pulled her jacket on a little more at the feel of a slight breeze, looking out at the main fairground where it was still active, still bright and bustling with life.
She took a breath of air, taking it in with closed eyes, opening once more to look over at Russell.
He was listening to Lana frowning, fiddling with her fingers, most likely trying to persuade him for five more minutes, though Natalia knew he wasn't that easily swayed when he had made a decision-even if his kids meant more than anything to him.
She looked to him as the glowing lights from the fairgrounds golden bulbs shone over his face, highlighting the creases along his hardened face, the shadows of the scars which travelled amongst his skin, that amused smirk on his slightly chapped lips.
“We'll come back another time,” Natalia eventually speaks up, drawing attention.
“It's getting late for you two, no arguing.”
The kids finally relented, giving in with a resigned sigh, “Yes, Mama,” the two say at a humorously timed moment, reluctantly walking ahead as their parents followed behind them.
They walked through the outskirts of the fairground, Russell's hand taking Natalia's in his as they walked side by side, Lana and Andrei babbling about their favourite parts of the day as they carried their stuffed bears and pinwheels with them.
“You enjoy yourself?” Russell looked down at Natalia on his left, speaking in a low voice, a quiet question.
“Seems I did,” She eventually replied, “They did too.”
A cross onto the cobbled path, Lana hopping down onto the car park's cement as Andrei went to his mother's side, bear dragging across the floor.
They scanned the rows of cars, some identical to others or some standing out more, coming to a stop at Russell's familiar car, which he parked by the pine tree and rusted fence.
“We'll go to the beach tomorrow.”
“Don't get them excited, Russ.”
