against time.

CHAPTER SEVEN || apologize

CHAPTER SEVEN, apologize

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IVANNA SETTLED ON the floor of the room, resting against a chair while tears slowly ran down her cheeks. She bit her lip to hold back a sob and brought her knees to her chest. Ivanna had never felt this horrible in her life, seeing the full effects of what her childhood had brought onto children other than her made the thoughts more painful. Ivanna's emotions were also deeply rooted to what Natasha had done and said. Ivanna had always brushed it off as Natasha being older than her, so Natasha had more time on Ivanna to grow up and realize the truth.

Ivanna couldn't tell how long she had been in the room before the door opened and Yelena entered, Vodka in hand.

"Hi," Yelena spoke.

"Hey," Ivanna croaked and smiled softly at Yelena.

Yelena walked over to where Ivanna was sitting and dropped down beside her. Yelena held the bottle out toward Ivanna and she took it, taking a long swig before letting Yelena have the bottle back.

"I'm sorry," Ivanna mumbled and looked to the ground.

"What?" Yelena glanced over with a frown on her face.

"I'm sorry," Ivanna spoke clearer and turned her head to look at Yelena, "I should've come back. I should've convinced Nat to come back. There was so much more we could've done. And I'm so sorry."

"That's not the problem," Yelena snapped and shook her head. She took a drink from the bottle and set it on the ground, "we're not a family, remember? Whatever you would've done, wouldn't matter now."

"But it could've," Ivanna looked at the ground. Yelena raised an eyebrow at Ivanna, "мне жаль сестра."

The door opened and Alexei burst in,

"I came in here because I didn't want to talk," Yelena glared at him.

I was busy talking to someone else I didn't want to talk to, Yelena thought.

Ivanna found herself grinning at Yelena's words, and grabbed the bottle sitting between them to cover her mouth while she took a drink. She eyed incredulously as she took her swig, watching him hold his hands up and slowly nod his head.

"Okay," Alexei nodded and sat down beside the two blondes.

Ivanna ignored his presence and the two blondes continued passing the bottle back and forth. She grew annoyed by Alexei's thoughts and spun around,

"Dammit, could you stop thinking about yourself!" She snapped. Alexei started and looked at her with wide eyes, "even hearing you think about yourself is a fucking headache."

"I'm sorry," he mumbled.

Ivanna turned around and settled against the bed behind her once more, feeling Yelena giving her a weird look. Ivanna didn't care, ignoring everyone else as best she could.

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"So, there I am ice fishing with my father," Alexei spoke and Ivanna squeezed her eyes shut, holding her tongue and fighting the urge to yell at him once more, "It's a very cold day in this little ice shed. Cold even for Russia, you know? 'Keep the vodka by the fire,' my father would say to me."

"Shut up," Ivanna finally spoke. She could care less about the childhood he had experienced. The good times with his father.

"Please wait. Please wait," Alexei held his hand up and continued speaking.

"Please, no," Yelena muttered, "Please, I don't want to talk."

"Please. Please," Alexei continued anyway, "There is a reason why I'm telling you this, okay? Trust me... I am reaching for fish. Oh! I lose balance. Ah! Splash!"

"My hands go in the river," Yelena scoffed at his words and shook her head, "In this weather, frostbite sets in quickly. My father, he goes to the toilet on my hands."

"Oh, my God," Yelena mumbled. Ivanna hid a gag and shook her head, reaching for the alcohol again to hopefully sooth her bubbling anger.

"Urine is 35 degrees Celsius, staves off the frostbite," Alexei continued.

"How is this relevant?" Yelena glared at Alexei and he shrugged.

"You know, fathers,"

"No, we know nothing of fathers," Ivanna shook her head, staring at the wall directly in front of her and Yelena. Yelena had finally had enough and spoke her mind about Alexei.

"You have done nothing but tell me how bored you were," Yelena faced Alexei, "I was the chore, the job you didn't want to do. To me? To me, you were everything."

Yelena watched Alexei as he remained silent and then shook her head, "Exactly. You don't care. You don't care. The only thing you care about is your stupid glory days as the Crimson Dynamo, and no one wants to hear about it."

The room fell silent until Alexei's whisper filled the room, "It's the Red Guardian."

"Get out," Yelena said calmly, "Get out!"

"You're unbelievable," Ivanna rose to her feet and glared at Alexei as he stood, "you, you. Steve Rogers would never have a damn good thing to say about working with someone as self-centered as you! Even if he ever did know you, he'd never find honor in the things you've done or would've done. You don't deserve to be acknowledged for lies, Alexei. Or to be some self-centered man who can only give a damn about what he's done. Everything you've praised us for? It's everything that I couldn't even like about myself until I became an Avenger. We may have been chores to you, but now? You're the fucking chore, Alexei."

"Ivanna-"

"No. Get out."

She dropped back on the floor with a sigh, then felt a hand on her shoulder. Ivanna turned to see whose it was, and seeing Alexei's she put her hand over the top of his own. Ivanna looked up at Alexei to see him smiling, and she returned it. Then sent a shock to him.

"Ouch!"

"Out, and don't touch me,"

Alexei dropped onto a sofa-like fixture in the room, and let out a giant sigh.

"I can't remember if I cried when I read about his widowed bride. Something touched me deep inside the day...the music. Died," Alexei was singing. Ivanna noticed a smile growing on Yelena's face at the words leaving Alexei's mouth, "And they were singing,"

Yelena let out a chuckle and shook her head, then turned back to Alexei,

"Bye, Bye, Miss American Pie,"

"American Pie," Yelena copied.

"Drove my Chevy to the levee, But the levee was dry,"

"Was dry," Ivanna grinned in Yelena's direction, and Yelena returned it.

"Them good old boys Drinking whiskey Singing,"

"This will be the day that I die" the two girls joined Alexei, "This'll be the day..."

A loud whirring came from outside and Alexei stood and looked out the window, "Get down."

Alexei was shot through the window and Ivanna jumped to her feet, "Alexei?"

He fell to the ground and she felt something connect with her shoulder. She looked down to see a dart in her arm and reached for it, but was too weak.

"Vanna!" Yelena shouted as Ivanna fell to the ground asleep.

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мне жаль сестра - I'm sorry sister