Standing in the alley, Y/N felt like a trapped animal, Wanda blocked the way forward and now Nat blocked the way back. She'd hoped they would have been to preoccupied with the fight to have noticed her attempt to get away from them.
"I'm not going anywhere with you. Did I not make it clear enough last time, I am better off without any of you" Y/N snapped, small flickers of her power fluttering around her fingers.
"That's not true and you know it. Look what being on your own has got you, nearly dying again. Don't try and tell me that's better for you" Nat shook her head, amazed that even now in this state Y/N could be so stubborn.
The rain was falling harder now as the three women stood in the alleyway. There was tension in the air as they all looked at one another, waiting to see what would happen next. Nat and Wanda were ready to fight if they had to but they both hoped it wouldn't come to that.
"This is ridiculous" Lexa stepped out from behind Nat and walked right up to Y/N. "You need to stop this, you can hate us that's fine but right now you need our help. I lost two years of my life, was turned into a traitor and a murderer. Then I find out when I wake up from that nightmare that the life I'd had before is gone. My point is we all have terrible things happen to us but that's no excuse to throw your life away by shutting it all off."
Wanda watched Lexa, annoyed by her careless approach to the situation. A small part of Wanda hoped that Y/N sent Lexa flying onto her arse. She couldn't help but be jealous of how close Lexa was to Y/N right now but Wanda had to accept that if it got Y/N to stop resisting then it was worth it.
Y/N slumped against the wall, her body starting to fail at holding off the effects of the poison. The chance of her being able to get away was getting slimmer, she might have been able to get past one of them, but not all three. Maybe it was time to give in and accept the help.
"Just let us give us a chance to sort this out Y/N. If you still hate us after then we'll accept that and you can do what you want" Lexa said gently as she reached out just in time to catch Y/N before she fell to the ground.
"Fine..." Y/N managed to say before her body shut down and she lost consciousness.
Wanda and Nat both came over as Y/N fell, standing beside Lexa who scooped Y/N up into her arms and stood up, holding her close. Lexa could feel Wanda's eyes burning into her as she held Y/N but she didn't care what the red head thought of her. She loved Y/N just as much as Wanda, if not more and if there was a chance that Y/N would choose her then Lexa was going to do everything she could to make that happen.
"Get her back to the jet. I'll see what the situation is with the others" Nat instructed Lexa and Wanda.
Nat briefly touched Y/N's hand and was relieved that she was back with them. It might not be a perfect situation but Nat would take it. It was better than not knowing where her best friend was, scared every day that she would never see her again.
"Come on mi amor" Lexa spoke softly as she carried Y/N out of the alley, paying no attention to Wanda who followed behind her.
**
"I've managed to get in contact with Dr Steven Strange and he is going to be here tomorrow to assess Y/N and her powers. We'll see if he can figure out what's going on" Tony spoke with Nat as the pair of them walked into the lab at the compound.
Y/N was on the mend thanks to Dr Cho again, a blood transfusion had allowed them to flush the poison out and then Y/N's healing powers had been able to kick back in. Though the wound on her shoulder from the bullet had left an angry twisted scar, due to it having taken the worst exposure to the poison.
"Is she still refusing to see anyone?" Tony asked as he sat down in front of interactive screens, pulling up the visual on Y/N's DNA strand.
"Yeah, she's completely shielded her room, you get a very nasty shock if you try and knock on the door" Nat replied, having experienced it three times.
Tony moved the DNA strand around, pulling parts of it out and asking FRIDAY to run analysis on it again. He's already run it ten times today with no success but Tony was determined to figure out what they had unlocked in Y/N when they had introduced the alien material.
"At least she hasn't run off again, that's something" Tony said as he looked over at Nat.
"No but we may have to be prepared for a showdown between Lexa and Wanda at some point. I've managed to divert them from being outside Y/N's door at the same time but it's going to be impossible to do forever" Nat lent against the table next to Tony.
"As long as they don't destroy the compound or break anything expensive I think we're going to have to let them sort it out Nat" Tony sighed, as he waited for the results to come back.
"You might want to move your cars then just in case" Nat laughed, "I'm heading out with Clint to follow up on what we got from those Hyrda agents the other day. We need to figure out whose pulling the strings."
"Okay, fill me in later" Tony nodded, turning round to carry on with his work.
**
Lexa stood outside the door, she'd lost count of how many times she had come here now. Hoping each time for a different outcome, that Y/N would at least acknowledge that she was there. Lexa had held her for the entire flight back to the compound.
She had refused to let her go when Nat had suggested it. She had wanted to make the most of being that close to Y/N again and didn't care that Wanda had looked ready to explode with rage by the time they'd got back.
"Y/N I know you can hear me and as fun as talking to a door is, please can you just let me in" Lexa said loudly, being sure not to stand to close to the door, she didn't fancy being shocked into next week again.
Lexa was met with total silence like always and she waited for a few moments longer before starting to turn to walk away. As she went to go, there was a click and the bedroom door opened slightly. Lexa looked at it shocked at the invitation to enter, but she didn't waste a moment scared Y/N would change her mind.
Stepping inside, Lexa looked around for Y/N before finally seeing her stood over by the window. She was dressed in grey sweatpants and an oversized forest green hoodie, hiding the still healing bruises and cuts that Lexa knew were there.
"I just wanted to see how you were. You're not going to throw me out the window or something are you?" Lexa joked, trying to ease the tense atmosphere in the room.
Y/N turned from looking out the window, her bright violet eyes falling on Lexa. It was still hard to look at her and know that it was the real Lexa, the one she had been so hopelessly in love with and not the Lexa that Hyrda had created.
"I won't throw you out the window" Y/N said as she moved to sit down on the couch on the other side of the room, gesturing at the chair opposite her for Lexa.
Lexa crossed the room, still slightly cautious of Y/N, she'd heard and seen what she could do now and didn't want to be on the receiving end of it. Taking the seat opposite, Lexa waited for Y/N to say something to her.
"I'm fine, Dr Cho said it was a poison agent designed to suppress powers, like the cuffs we have but a deadlier form. It's what stopped me healing. So you can stop worrying about me now" Y/N finally spoke, as she fiddled with the edge of her hoodie.
"You really need to be banned from saying the word fine, I'm not sure you actually understand the definition of the word. Are you still shutting out the emotions?" Lexa lent forward in the chair, forcing Y/N's eyes to meet hers again.
Y/N clenched her jaw, she had been pushed to her limits in the fight against Hydra and her powers were still weak, it had taken her full focus to try and keep the wave of emotions at bay over the last couple of days as well as putting the shield around her room to stop people from intruding.
"I can't let myself feel, I don't think I can survive that" Y/N admitted quietly, she would rather suffer the physical pain from fighting than suffer what would happen if she let herself feel again.
"Y/N please, you can not keep this up. I know you're scared but you are not alone anymore. You have so many people that care about you, nobody will let you fall apart" Lexa said, "I will not let anything happen to you, I promise. It might not be my place anymore to be by your side but that doesn't mean I will ever stop caring about you."
Y/N thought about Wanda, the things she had said and done to her, it was unforgivable and there was probably nothing that Y/N could ever do to make that right. She had felt Wanda outside her room a couple of times but Wanda had never said a word, not asked to be let in and today she hadn't visited at all, maybe she had finally give up on her.
A single tear rolled down Y/N's cheek, it was the first crack in the dam that had she had built in her mind and as she thought about what Lexa had said, how she still cared, the dam began to fall apart. Tears came faster and Y/N gasped as it all finally came apart and the wave of emotions swept her away, dragging her down.
Lexa got up and moved to the space next to Y/N on the couch, she wrapped her arms around Y/N and pulled her in close, holding her tightly as she cried. She stroked Y/N's hair gently, soothing her as Y/N's body trembled as she cried.
"It's going to be okay mi amor" Lexa kissed the top of Y/N's head as she carried on holding her, Y/N's tears soaking in to her shirt.
Y/N pulled back slightly, not fully leaving Lexa's embrace, but just enough so she could look at the other woman. There was still so much between them and Y/N had never thought she would ever have Lexa back in her life, several months ago it had been the last thing Y/N would have ever wanted. But now, now it was all different, everything had changed again.
Leaning in Y/N pressed her lips against Lexa's, kissing her softly. The kiss caught Lexa by surprise but her heart fluttered at the feeling of Y/N's lips on hers, something she had never thought she'd feel again. Lexa kissed Y/N back slowly, her hands brushing down Y/N's back, resting on her waist.
Wanda had finally worked up the courage to try and speak to Y/N today, she had been unable to when she'd first came to stand outside Y/N's door, not knowing what to say to her. Now as she stood there, Wanda felt like her heart was being ripped from her chest. She should have known Lexa would be the one that Y/N chose, but that didn't make it any easier. Turning away, Wanda walked back down the corridor, fighting back the tears that wanted to fall.
Neither Lexa or Y/N had been aware of Wanda's presence as they had kissed. Y/N pulled back from Lexa and realised what she had done, it hadn't been right.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that. Lexa I'm so sorry" Y/N stuttered, feeling awful for having done it.
"It's alright, I don't want to be your second choice Y/N. Your heart doesn't belong to me anymore and I hate that but it's okay. I was your first love but I'm not your last or your greatest. You need to go and see Wanda" It broke Lexa's to say it, but she knew from the look in Y/N's eyes that her heart wanted someone else and that wasn't going to change.
"Thank you for understanding" Y/N said as she wiped the tears from her cheeks with the sleeve of her hoodie before getting up from the couch.
"Go, go get your girl" Lexa said pointing to the door, giving Y/N a small smile.
Y/N smiled back before leaving the room to look for Wanda.