Marvel Women One Shots

Scars - Yelena Belova

I never liked looking at them. The scars were always a reminder of the darker times in my life that I always wished I could forget. I was over a year and a half clean, and while there were some days where relapsing seemed tempting, I never did it.

To make the whole situation that much more complicated, I had never told Yelena about them and my past struggles with self harm. She knew about my problems with depression but I had never gotten up the courage to tell her, let alone show her. I knew she would just want to help me and make sure I was okay, but there was this fear in the back of my head that she would find them disgusting and hate me. I was afraid she would leave me for it, I didn't think I would be able to handle that right now.

I was beginning to contemplate if I could figure out some excuse to get out of going. I wasn't in the mood to explain to both my girlfriend and her sister about my scars that would be exposed by my bathing suit. But I didn't want to hurt Yelena's feelings by backing down. I knew how excited she was about the outing, and I didn't want to ruin it by not going. Maybe I would just make an excuse to not get in the pool.

"You okay, y/n?" Yelena asked, snapping me out of thoughts. I must have zoned out.

"Yeah...yeah I'm all good." I stuttered, bringing my attention back to my breakfast. Yelena obviously didn't buy my answer, but she didn't push any further.

We finished our breakfast and I went to get ready for the day. Soon, I was standing alone in the bathroom in nothing but my bathing suit. Even though I had no intention of going in the pool, I decided to wear it just to be safe. It was a sky blue bikini, simple, yet very cute to wear. Just like I feared, it showed all my scars. I could just wear a t-shirt in the pool to cover my exposed sides, but my thighs would still be showing and would bring about suspicion.

Sighing, I threw on a baggy t-shirt and a pair of gym shorts and went back to the bedroom to pack a change of clothes and a towel, just in case. A few minutes later, Yelena appeared with a childish grin plastered on her face.

"You excited to see Nat?" I asked her, half matching her smile and pulling her into a hug.

"Yeah, I am." she responded, squeezing her tight grip on me before going to change and get ready herself.

*****

After about a half hour drive, we eventually pulled into the Avenger's Compound. Yelena practically jumped out of the car and sprinted through the front doors. I just chuckled at how excited she was and grabbed both out bags, then followed her through the compound entrance. I was immediately met with the sight of my girlfriend engulfing her sister in a giant bear hug, practically squeezing the life out of her.

"Yelena, I need to breathe." Natasha giggled breathlessly as the blonde let go of her with a happy smile. That's when the red-head noticed me. "Y/n! How are you?" Natasha asked as she pulled me into a gentler hug.

"I'm doing well!" I replied, trying to match the two assassins' current chaotic energy.

We settled into the compound and began talking away, spending the first hour catching up from the last time the three of us had been together. I was surprised when Natasha said that we had the compound to ourselves for the day. Some of the Avengers were out on missions while she had convinced the others to find plans outside the compound. I guess she just wanted to spend some uninterrupted time with us.

Then Natasha suggested the one thing I was dreading. The pool. I could feel my anxiety spike when the words left the red head's mouth. I didn't want to go in there. I didn't want them to see me.

"I'm uh...going to use the restroom real quick. I'll meet you two at the pool." I excused myself as the two sisters started to make their way to the pool. Natasha just nodded and began walking away, but Yelena hesitated.