Little Ray of Sunshine

"Yup, the pockets are the best" she chuckled, gently caressing the kid's face. 

Little Yelena moved in her arms, snuggling closer to her to continue sleeping, one of her little hands gripping tightly to her jumper.

She had never thought of herself caring for a kid that much, but she had the need to protect her, since she could not bear the idea of anyone hurting that little girl, not the same way they had done with her or Natasha.

"I need you to promise me that she'll be safe here" she looked directly into Barton's eyes. 

"I can't imagine how hard your childhood was, Yelena. But I can assure you that she's safe here" he said, but she interrupted him.

"Promise it" she demanded.

"I promise" Clint answered, to which she nodded slightly.

"Who would have thought a Russian assassin would be so good with a kid?" Kate commented while walking inside the room. "She's adorable" the girl smiled, before trying to caress the child's face.

"Touch my niece, lose the hand" she warned, hitting the girl's hand away.

Kate stood there as if she was not sure how to react to her comment, but ended up sitting on the couch without saying anything else. 

"Natasha used to say that she has your personality" Barton told her, getting Kate Bishop to laugh.

"I don't see the resemblance" Kate commented. "She's all bubbly and cute and well You... You are you" the girl pointed at her while looking at her jokingly, which got her to frown angrily.

"You're really funny, Kate Bishop" she rolled her eyes.

"Hey, the guest room is ready" Barton's wife told them from the doorway.

"I don't know if it's a good idea for these two to share a room" Clint commented.

"We can be friendly with each other!" she answered at the same time that Kate. "Um... Are you sure it's okay if I stay?" she asked, seeing him nod. "But I tried to..."

"It's okay, Yelena" Clint assured her. "You're Nat's sister. You're family" he smiled.

She nodded. She was still a little overwhelmed about how Barton's family had welcomed her, how everyone had been so warm and happy to have her around, and to listen to stories from when Natasha and her were kids.

It was upsetting to think that they had had a lot more time with her sister than she had, that they had way more stories to tell, those she would have used to tease Nat if she had had the chance.

But she was thankful for all of that. She had been able to see how much they loved her sister, a love they all shared and that it had helped her to bond with them. 

The moment she decided to tuck the little girl in bed, the four year old stirred, her eyes opening before sitting on the bed.

"Are you leaving?" the child asked her.

"No, I'm not" she shook her head. "You should go back to sleep" she told her, observing how the kid laid down, before she could cover her with the bedspread.

"Mama used to sing me to sleep" her niece said as she sat down on the bed. 

She could not avoid the tears when the little girl started to hum the song Natasha would sing to her whenever she had a nightmare during their time in Ohio. She had missed her sister's voice and the protection she had felt every single night in the Red Room. 

"You're sad" the four year old stopped humming to stare at her. 

"Well... Your mama used to sing that song to me when we were little" she answered, trying to smile a little. 

"Can you sing it for me?" there was so much innocence in the voice, that she could not say no.

It took her a while to remember the song, but when she did, she did not stop singing until she was sure that the kid was asleep. She caressed the child's face one last time while smiling a little.

"Good night, malyshka" she kissed the little girl's forehead.

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"But I don't want you to leave" her little namesake complained, not wanting to let go of her. 

"I know. I have to, but I'll be back to visit, okay?" she told her, trying to take control of the situation.

She did not know what else to do. They had been standing in the doorway for the last twenty minutes and the little girl would not let go of her, so she looked at Clint kind of asking for help.

"Kiddo, you have to let go of her" Clint crouched next to the kid.

"No!" the four year old screamed, tears forming in her beautiful blue eyes. "I don't want her to leave like mama" 

Those words broke her heart, understanding the reason why the child was so scared of her leaving, because her niece thought she would never be back.

"I'm coming back, I promise" she whispered softly, wanting to calm down the kid. 

She did not know what else to do to soothe the little girl, so she pulled the kid into a hug, getting her niece to rest her little head on her shoulder, still shaking because of the sobs.

"I'll call you whenever I can, okay?" she said while pulling her niece away, grabbing her little face in between her hands as she tried to smile. "Don't cry, please" she wiped the kid's tears with her thumbs. 

"Will you come for my birthday?" the little girl asked a little bit calmer.

"Of course I'll come for your birthday" she answered, seeing the little one smile widely. 

"Okay, we really have to leave so auntie Lena gets to her flight" Clint said after looking at his watch. 

"Wait!" her little namesake ran inside the house before coming back with a drawing in her hands. "It's for you" 

"Thank you" she smiled while taking it, barely having time to look at it, since the kid jumped into her arms.

She tightened the hug, closing her eyes for a few seconds, not ever wanting to let go from that sweet little girl. But she did not have a choice, she still had some unresolved business, so she kissed one last time her niece's hair before finally letting go. 

It was not until she was alone in the plane that she could see the whole drawing, not being able to avoid the smile as well as the tears when she saw how the little girl had tried to draw both of them surrounded by hearts. 

She would need time to process her sister's death, but at least she was happy to know she had gotten a new best friend. Her little ray of sunshine.

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Thanks so much for reading, let me know what you think,

Ayrin