Summary: When Natasha, Yelena, Steve, and Tony are on a mission and Yelena goes to help her sister fight off some of the enemy agents, Yelena realizes that Natasha is in a sniper's sights. Yelena, of course, is not about to let her sister die, and she makes a rash decision that causes potentially tragic consequences.
"Are we clear?" Yelena questioned into the comm-link, hurrying along as she tried to see any of her teammates that needed help.
"A little swamped right now," Steve replied, and Tony grunted his agreement. Yelena let out a small breath, waiting on her sister's reply.
"I wouldn't know if it was clear with all the punches getting thrown at me," Natasha playfully shot back at her, the sarcastic comment coming through in the midst of grunts and sharp breaths as she fought. Yelena immediately smirked a little, relief filling her as she heard her sister's voice and got
"A simple no would have sufficed," Yelena snarked, and Natasha chuckled breathlessly as she fought.
"I'm on my way, Natashka," Yelena told her quickly, making her way to Natasha's coordinates.
Soon enough, she spotted her sister, and she realized that Natasha had defeated the last of the men. Yelena grinned a little, starting to reach up to the comm link and say something snarky.
However, she froze as she realized that Natasha had a red dot on her back that Yelena could easily recognize as a sniper's sight. Yelena looked all around, desperately attempting to spot the person aiming at her sister.
She soon saw him perched at the top of a building, and Yelena felt her heart stopping, her voice caught in her throat and unable to say anything.
But her actions were not stopped, and so Yelena made a mad dash for her sister. Yelena knew she had a very limited amount of time to save Natasha from what would surely be a fatal shot, and she was not aiming on letting the moment pass her by. Not when Natasha had rescued her so many times.
"NATASHA!!!" Yelena finally managed to wrench out of her throat as she jumped for the older woman, crashing into her heavily. The shot rang out, and Yelena felt a sharp, stabbing pain in her gut that was only accentuated when she crashed into the ground directly on the wound, rolling off of Natasha painedly.
"NO!!!!" Natasha screamed, the sound pained, infuriated, and positively wrecked. Yelena took several shuddering breaths, reaching down to her stomach where the pain was coming from and trying to hold herself together as she felt coughs bubbling deep within her.
Several shots came from just above her, and Yelena knew that it was Natasha downing the sniper.
Yelena could not help but whine underneath her breath. Her breaths were becoming a little harder to take in, and it felt like a wetness was collecting deep down in her lungs and throat.
Natasha turned her over, and Yelena let out a small cry, the pain overwhelming in her stomach. Natasha looked like she was close to full-on panicking, and just from the fact that she was actually showing this much emotion about it, Yelena knew that the wound was bad and possibly life-threatening.
"Rogers, Stark, anyone!!! Come in, I have a potentially fatal gunshot wound! Sending my coordinates now!" Natasha yelled into her comms, tapping something on the link as she clutched at Yelena, her hands prying Yelena's away from her wound. Yelena fought her for just a moment, but Natasha soon replaced Yelena's hands with her own, and Yelena let out a low whimper at the pain.
"How is it always us that gets into these situations?" Yelena painedly forced out, mustering a small laugh. However, coughs quickly bubbled to the surface as she brought her hand up to her face to cover her mouth. Once she let her hand move away after the coughs, she saw the blood coating her hand. Yelena could feel the blood rising from deep within her, and she struggled a bit for breath. She could see Natasha's momentarily panic before she forced it down.
"I don't know, but it's going to be okay. You're going to be fine, lyubov. They're coming," Natasha assured her, her voice coming through strong and her face forced into a mask of pure calmness. However, in her eyes, there was a tormented storm of fear and pain.
"This is just like Budapest. Just a lot more blood," Yelena told her, taking a moment to relish the fact that she herself pronounced Budapest in the same manner as Natasha. It was something she had never really thought about before.
It truly was amazing the things that one could think just on the cusp of death.
"That's my joke," Natasha halfheartedly fought her on it with a chuckle, sounding more like she was going to sob than laugh. Yelena just smiled barely, pain overriding almost any other thought.
"I loved the part where I almost bled to death," Yelena laughed a little, coughing more, and Natasha's eyes flashed with terror for a moment before she was able to control herself.
"Nobody's bleeding to death," Natasha firmly spoke, and Yelena did not even risk a glance down at the giant puddle of blood that she knew was surrounding her right now. She did not really need to see it to know it was there. Natasha's frequent downward glances told her enough.
"You boys need to get here now!!!" Natasha's voice was a snarl as she addressed the rest of the team, and Yelena reached her hand up, taking Natasha's arm weakly as she felt herself growing significantly less strong and in control of her movements. Natasha seemed to immediately catch onto the weakness in the hold, and her gaze snapped to Yelena, that fear coming back up so strongly that Natasha could not push it away.
"Natashka... it's okay," Yelena told her, and Natasha's eyes widened just barely as she kept the wound compressed with one hand and grasped at Yelena's neck with her other hand, cupping the side of it as she gazed down at her.
"I should be telling you that."
"If I don't... If I don't make it, I want you to promise me," Yelena strained to speak, that hot liquid gathering in her and making it difficult to breathe, let alone actually talk.
"Don't say that. You're going to make it," Natasha insisted, her voice shaking a little as she painedly replied to Yelena. Yelena let out a wet, somewhat gargling breath as she looked at Natasha, squeezing Natasha's arm gently.
"Promise me you're not going to be a dumb poser and blame yourself," Yelena requested, and the guilt in Natasha's eyes surfaced tenfold before she tried her best to tamper it. Natasha shook her head, her hand tightening just barely against the side of Yelena's neck as her blood-moistened digits rubbed the skin there.
"You're not dying here," Natasha insistently told her, and Yelena labored for her breaths, the position she was currently in almost making her choke on her own blood. Natasha grew increasingly panicked, her breathing picking up speed as she grew dangerously close to losing all semblances of calm.
Sure enough, as soon as Yelena felt a sharp pain stabbing through her in small waves, and a whine escaped her, Natasha was almost panicking.
"Baby girl, it's okay, it's okay... Hold on, everything's going to be okay," Natasha repeated, and Yelena realized that directly after the pain was the strongest, the deep, searing feeling within her was starting to even out and slowly dissipate. Yelena coughed a little, feeling moisture covering her lips as she struggled to try to breathe around the liquid that was brought up into her mouth.
Natasha lifted her into her lap, and Yelena's head turned so that her face was pressing against her sister. She took a short breath through her nose to try to get a whiff of her big sister's unique smell, memories of Ohio flashing through her and the many nights she spent curled into her sister's arms. She coughed quickly, breathing through her nose becoming difficult. She let out a shuddering breath through her mouth and her head felt light.
Ohio was such a beautiful time in her life. So filled with love and happiness when her big sister played and had fun together all the time. Natasha protected her from all that was bad, and she never had to go through anything alone.
Her face was moved away from Natasha's suit as Natasha turned her head to face her. Natasha's beautiful eyes were filled with such pain and panic, their glassiness glimmering in the heat of midday.
All Yelena could think about was why in the world Natasha was so upset. Why were there tears in her eyes? She should not be sad. Yelena hated to see her sad.
Yelena absently brought up her hand to touch Natasha's face, her fingers barely brushing the tears that were slipping down her face relentlessly.
"I love you, Natty... Don't cry," Yelena told her softly, the words simultaneously physically hard to utter but somehow as easy as breathing in a way that confused her. Natasha just cried even more, lowering her head as she pressed her forehead to Yelena's. Yelena let her hand fall from Natasha's face, her strength in her arm swiftly disappearing from her.
"Don't go, sweet girl. Detka, you can't go. Just hang on. They're coming, and you're going to be okay," Natasha sobbed as she pulled back from her to look into her eyes better. Her voice was rawer than Yelena had ever heard it, and her face was utterly pained as if she had been physically injured.
Blood was smeared across Natasha's cheek in the shape of a handprint, and Yelena let out a small chuckle, the barest of smiles coming over her face as she remembered hand turkeys and how she and Natasha used to make them when they were children around Thanksgiving.
"This was fun, Natashka," Yelena whispered to her, her vision starting to blacken around the edges as her vision tunneled around Natasha's face. Natasha was shaking, her head dripping with sweat, tears, and blood, and Yelena smiled a little, unable to help herself as a feeling of peace began to grip her despite everything.
"Please, sunshine, please," Natasha wailed, and Yelena just allowed the blackness to overtake her vision, knowing that Natasha was there to hold her no matter what happened next.
That gorgeous shade of Natasha's red was the last thing she saw.
.....................................................................................................................
Natasha sat next to her baby sister in the hospital room, her head in her hands as she valiantly attempted to hold herself together despite the fact that it felt like her entire world was falling apart right there before her.
Shortly after Yelena passed out from blood loss, Tony had flown in, grabbed her, and headed to the nearest hospital at an unbelievable speed. Steve had stopped on his motorcycle, letting Natasha hop onto the back of it with him as he drove them to the hospital as fast as he could.
They had begun surgery and as soon as they got there, and she was technically actually dead when she had arrived. They had somehow managed to jumpstart her heart back to life with the use of the defibrillators, and during surgery, they lost her several times, Yelena fighting for life as best she could and coming out on the losing end too many times for Natasha's liking.
Each time that it happened, Natasha beat on the glass, her screams bouncing off the walls and deafening Steve and Tony who were in there with her. Steve had grabbed her in his arms tightly, and there was a million ways that she could have broken out of his hold, but she allowed him to constrict her tightly. His arms surrounded her and encompassed her as she beat on his chest helplessly, her sobs ringing out in agony as she suffered.
When they had finally finished, Yelena had pulled through, but the blood loss and the anesthesia kept her resolutely knocked out. Natasha had been by her bedside since she had been placed in a room, and despite how much Steve and Tony tried to convince her otherwise, she had not left even once.
Clint had come in from his time at home to come and see Natasha and to support her, which Natasha had been greatly appreciative of. He had held her hand and stayed for hours with her, allowing her to cry on him.
The biggest regret and the one that she could not get out of her head was that she had not responded to her sister when Yelena said she loved her. Natasha had been so panicked and freaked out at the fact that her sister was dying in her arms and Natasha was about to lose her all over again that the redhead could not focus on anything else.
But even Clint had to go at some point, having to go back to the compound to try to help the others work out a solution to the failed mission. That was when Natasha returned to giving all of her attention to her baby sister.
Every time that Natasha was by herself with Yelena, she was singing to her and talking to her, her throat raw and her voice painfully weak as she tried anything and everything to get Yelena to wake up. She had told her so many times during this spell of unconsciousness that she loved her more than anything. She had expressed her love in as many words as she could manage, pressing so many kisses to Yelena's hands and face as she tried to communicate just how much her baby sister meant to her.
It reminded her of what had happened three months ago when Yelena had fallen from that building and Natasha had been by her side the entire time, singing with everything she had left in her as she tried to wake Yelena up. Yelena had woken up for her then.
However, Yelena had not woken up for her now.
"Natasha?" a voice tentatively called, and Natasha raised her head from her hands, looking behind her toward the door.
To her surprise, it was Kate, a small smile on her face and those gunmetal blues shining with that empathy that always managed to surprise Natasha in its purity.
"Hey, sweetie," Natasha gently replied to her, beckoning her in, and Kate looked significantly less uncertain of herself as she entered the room, shutting the door softly behind her. Natasha let out a deep breath, rubbing her eyes and hoping that she did not look like she had been crying. Of course, crying had been all she had done since this had happened.
Kate came over quietly, sitting down next to her in the chair that was left behind after Clint's visit with her. Natasha wiped at her eyes once more before looking over at the girl, trying to conjure as much confidence and calmness as she could despite the fact that she felt like bursting into tears all over again.
"How are you holding up?" Kate asked concernedly, and Natasha just shrugged a little, trying to maintain as much stoicism as possible.
"I'm okay," Natasha replied to her simply, and Natasha swallowed the fear and pain inside her as she tried to at least somewhat provide Kate with confidence about Yelena's condition and the entire situation itself.
Kate's eyes were soft and filled with worry, and she looked somewhat scared as she glanced between Yelena and Natasha. Natasha just watched her, knowing that the younger girl was going to ask what happened. Peter had asked for details when he swung by earlier that day, and she expected no less from Kate. Of course, his inquiries had been innocent, and Peter had not meant to upset her. Natasha was just really hoping Kate would not ask despite the fact that she knew the girl would want to know in that same innocent manner that Peter had.
However, to her utmost surprise, all the girl said was—
"Natasha... It's okay to not be okay all the time," Kate expressed gently.
It was as if the dam had been broken all over again.
Natasha brought a hand up to her mouth, trying to stop the sobs before they shuddered through her. She knew Kate was not prepared to deal with it and could not handle such things from her. Besides, the kid probably was not even comfortable enough with her to even sit there with her through it.
Natasha swallowed hard, trying to get past the overwhelming lump in her throat as she tried to steel herself in preparation for Kate leaving out the door and leaving her in there to cry again.
However, to her pure shock, she felt gentle arms awkwardly wrapping around her. Natasha pulled her hand away from her mouth, frozen as she realized that Kate was indeed not leaving. She was right there, holding onto Natasha.
Natasha swallowed hard before bringing up her arms and holding Kate in them, closing her eyes tightly as she treasured the lanky, tall form of one of the most big-hearted people that she had ever met. Kate's arms tightened a little around her, and Natasha unconsciously pulled her closer, almost pretending it was Yelena for a moment.
However, Kate's scent was not even close to the same smell that Yelena so naturally carried with her always. Yelena's was strong and unique, and it always carried the slightest hint of sweat.
Kate's was more of a lavender that seemed to originate in the shampoo that the girl washed her hair with. Of course, Kate's also had a slight presence of something strangely sweet that was all her own.
Of course, Natasha cared deeply for Kate. She was just a big puppy, and Kate needed a positive female figure in her life that she could depend on now that her mother was imprisoned. Natasha always tried to be some sort of supportive figure for the girl, but she had never really thought that Kate was as fond of her as she was of Kate.
Kate moved closer to Natasha, a part of her almost moving into Natasha's chair as she shifted nearer. Natasha just held her closer, needing the grounding weight of someone else near her and holding onto her.
Kate easily moved with her tugs, scooting her chair so that it was nearer to the front of Natasha's as she effectively moved almost on top of Natasha. She somehow remained in her chair mostly, but she was leaning into Natasha heavily and giving the redhead the comfort that she needed so desperately right then. She just needed someone to hold. Someone that could almost trick her into thinking that she was holding her sister.
The brunette in her arms right now was the closest she had to her sister.
Natasha cried against her softly, doing her best to stifle the sobs, and Kate just remained there steadfastly as she leaned into Natasha's affection. Kate just buried her nose in Natasha's shoulder, and Natasha resisted he urge to hide her face in Kate's neck, figuring that the girl was not quite comfortable enough for that.
Once she finally could control her breathing enough to speak after an immeasurable amount of time, Natasha swallowed.
"Thank you," Natasha expressed softly, her voice hoarse and pathetic even to her own ears, and Kate pulled her face away from where it was pressed into Natasha as she rested her chin on top of Natasha's shoulder.
"For what?"
"For letting me cry all over you... I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable," Natasha apologized, and Kate shook her head against her quickly, continuing to hold onto her as she snuggled a bit closer.
"You didn't make me uncomfortable. I've already told you that you have like the best hugs in the world. And I always want to help you out. You matter so much to me," Kate admitted, almost shy with her last words.
"You mean a whole lot to me, too, sweetie," Natasha expressed and rubbed her back affectionately, her head pressing into Kate's shoulder tightly before she let her go finally.
Kate scooted her chair over just a little so that she could see Yelena's face, but she remained plenty close to Natasha. Kate's hand lingered on the arm of Natasha's chair, and Natasha wasted no time in taking the hand that was offered to her. Kate brightened as she realized Natasha had picked up on her unspoken signal, and Natasha squeezed her hand softly.
"When are you going to have to leave?" Natasha questioned gently, already dreading being alone again. Kate suddenly looked a little taken aback and somewhat nervous as she gazed at Natasha.
"Oh... Well... I mean, I don't have anything to do tonight, so I could just stay? But that's like only if you're comfortable with it and are okay with company because if you're not, I can totally go—"
"I'd love for you to stay if that's what you want," Natasha expressed with her voice sounding more like a croak than the softness that she wanted to reply to the girl with. Her heart was growing warm with the realization that Kate so selflessly wanted to be here with her. Kate smiled a little, happiness glowing in her eyes as she looked at her.
"I'd like to," Kate replied softly, and Natasha squeezed her hand gently, hesitantly interlacing her fingers with the younger girl's. Kate's smile grew a little bigger, and the both of them just looked at Yelena. Natasha's heart sank a little with the sight of her and the harsh reminder that she had failed the girl all over again.
The two of them just quietly watched her for a little while until Natasha disrupted the silence.
"I never told her I loved her," Natasha whispered, needing to tell someone else despite the fact that she had already told Clint. Kate immediately looked at her.
"What?" Kate asked, and Natasha knew it was more of a cue to continue talking and explain than a request to repeat herself.
"She said she loved me before she went out, and I didn't tell her back," Natasha explained, and the two of them were quiet for a long moment.
"She knows you do," Kate replied gently, her hand squeezing Natasha's just barely in emphasis. Natasha looked over at her quietly, and Kate offered an encouraging smile before settling a little more into her seat.
"And when she wakes up, you can tell her yourself."
Natasha nodded just a little, letting out a small breath.
She wished Yelena would just open her eyes.
.....................................................................................................................
It was the middle of the night when she felt it.
Kate's head was on Natasha's shoulder as she slept against her, absolutely adorable snores passing between her lips as little bits of drool ran out of her mouth. Natasha did not have the heart to wake her up or move her from her shoulder, the normalcy and comfort of having someone sleep on her overriding everything else. While Kate slept, her hand was outstretched to Yelena's, holding it in her hand as she squeezed gently, tapping out morse code on Yelena's hand as she told her she loved her over and over again.
But then she felt it.
There was the slightest squeeze back, returning Natasha's hold on Yelena's hand.
Natasha's eyes widened and she gently maneuvered Kate off of her shoulder so that she was leaning forward onto the bed and partially laying on it. Natasha moved forward a bit, peering into her sister's face as she waited for any signs of life.
Yelena's hand tightened around Natasha's with a bit more strength, and Natasha watched Yelena's closed eyes carefully, eagerly waiting for them to flutter open.
Sure enough, they carefully opened slowly and blearily, her gaze unfocused but nevertheless alive as she aimlessly looked around the room with the coordination of a newborn baby.
Natasha leaned forward, bringing both of her hands up to take Yelena's in her hold, kissing her hand repetitively as she looked at her and waited for her to actually look at her. She did not want to bombard her just yet.
Yelena's eyes finally shifted down to look at Natasha, focusing on her carefully as they just remained settled on her. Natasha immediately felt tears slipping down her face for the millionth time since the incident, and Yelena formed a small smile on her face, her slightly bloodstained lips curving upward at the corners.
"Don't cry... I hate it when you cry," Yelena croakily expressed, and Natasha sobbed quietly, moving up onto the bed as she pressed her head to Yelena's. She kissed Yelena's face softly, pressing her lips all over her cheeks, nose, forehead, and chin. Yelena just laid there quietly, a peaceful smile on her face.
"I love you, I love you so much, and I'm so sorry I didn't tell you earlier when you told me," Natasha rasped, her voice almost gone from all of the emotion and from the amount she had used it during the time Yelena had been knocked out. Yelena hummed in appreciation, her hand weakly reaching up to grab at the back of Natasha's neck.
"I know you do. I know... You don't have to be sorry," Yelena tiredly expressed, the voice rougher than normal but nevertheless as tender as it had ever been when trying to reassure Natasha.
Natasha shuddered all over, trying her best to keep her weight off of Yelena as she held onto her. Natasha's hands were all over her face, just feeling her and loving the feeling of warm life thrumming beneath her fingertips despite the fact that there was a lingering scent of blood in Yelena's breath as she exhaled softly. She knew it was likely due to the blood that had been bubbling up shortly after the shot was dealt, but it still brought on a fresh wave of tears at the thought of how close she had been to never feeling Yelena in her arms like this again.
"I was so scared that I'd never get to tell you that ever again," Natasha sobbed painedly, unable to control herself as she held her sister's head in her hands. She was still making a conscious effort to try to be quiet despite the fact that her voice was so far gone now that she was sure there was no danger of Kate waking up.
"I'm here... I'm okay. You saved me," Yelena whispered to her, and Natasha abruptly stopped, pulling herself together for a short moment as she pulled back from Yelena. Yelena's hand slid from the back of Natasha's neck to the side as she held onto her gently.
"No. You saved me. I wouldn't be alive if it weren't for you," Natasha firmly expressed as best she could considering that her voice was nearly nonexistent at this point.
"And that's why I have to ask you to never do anything like that again," Natasha almost wailed, barely holding herself together, and Yelena shook her head, her eyes sad as she looked at the older woman.
"You know I can't promise that," Yelena softly replied, and Natasha let a few tears fall before finally nodding sorrowfully. She knew that Yelena would never promise it and she knew that she herself could never promise something like that to Yelena. She loved Yelena too much to let anything happen to her, and Yelena obviously felt the same way. Even though Natasha did not feel like she deserved it.
"Natashka?"
"Hmm?" Natasha asked, and Yelena grinned a little at her.
"You've got to admit. That would've been a pretty cool way to die," Yelena joked, and Natasha was somewhere between laughing and violently sobbing.
"Don't even joke about that," Natasha scolded, her words half-serious. Yelena seemed to pick up on the tone, and she immediately redirected her attentions to the foot of the bed as a slightly louder snore resounded.
Natasha moved away a little to let Yelena look at the other person waiting in the room.
"How long has she been here?" Yelena questioned, an odd softness in her gaze as she looked at the kid, and Natasha smiled a watery grin as she eyed the brunette with her head slumped over where she was very uncomfortably sleeping with her rear in the chair and her upper body on the hospital bed.
"She came to stay with me tonight," Natasha answered hoarsely. "She's been here for hours."
"Oh... That's... Sweet of her," Yelena stated, the words strange coming from her, and Natasha was honestly shocked at her admittance. Yelena smirked a little, her mischief returning to her as she grew more awake and aware.
Wincing a little, Yelena moved her foot over. Yelena's smirk was so full of life and so typical of herself that Natasha could not even bring herself to stop her baby sister from whatever mischief she was about to engage in.
Sure enough, Yelena managed to move her foot so that it was nearby Kate's head. Natasha almost laughed as Yelena's foot came into contact with Kate's face as she poked her toes against her nose and forehead insistently. Natasha knew that Yelena's feet had to stink from sweating from the mission earlier. Of course, Yelena's feet always stunk anyway.
"Clint... You need a shower... you stink," Kate mumbled under her breath, and both of the sisters were doing their best not to laugh at the younger girl.
However, they both soon collapsed into loud laughter as Kate's eyes blearily opened before focusing on the foot shoved into her face. Her eyes shot wide open as she realized precisely where she was and what was going on, and she almost fell out of her chair as she jumped backward away from it.
Yelena immediately burst into loud laughter, holding her stomach as she tried not to hurt herself. Natasha laughed a little in spite of herself, but mostly kept her attention on Yelena. Yelena's laugh was such a beautiful sound to finally hear after all this time. It was a little rougher and wheezier than usual, but it was still gorgeous.
"Oh... So you're awake," Kate commented slowly, hanging onto her chair tightly as she looked at the older woman. Yelena just smirked at her.
"I might've almost died, but I'm living on pure spite, Katie-Bear. I couldn't leave you alone. Who would drive you crazy if I wasn't around?" Yelena asked wickedly. However, there was a softness in her voice that was not ordinarily there. Kate seemed to pick up on it, but she still narrowed her eyes just a little.
"Don't call me that," Kate told her, and Yelena just smirked widely, looking up at her big sister with practical heart-eyes that never failed to make Natasha's chest constrict tightly.
"Besides... I couldn't let you have poser all to yourself. No telling how much she could dement you without me around to keep her in check," Yelena playfully pointed out, her voice tired yet somehow filled with that sparkling adoration. Natasha just smiled at her softly, and Yelena's expression turned gentler as she looked up at her.
Natasha pressed a soft kiss to her baby sister's head.
"I don't know what we'd do without you either, little one."