Summary: When Yelena has her second ever big mission and is going to be gone with Steve and Clint for four to six days, Natasha is convinced that she is going to be miserable and lonely just like she always is without her baby sister there to keep her company. However, she finds odd comfort in one Kate Bishop, and the both of them use this time to grow closer and form a strange yet close bond with one another.
But this does not set well with Yelena when she finds out about this large amount of time that Kate is spending with her Natasha and how close they are growing.
There was silence for just a moment but it was quickly broken by Yelena looking down at the floor and limping over to the sink. Fanny hurried over to see her, wagging her tail as she nosed Yelena's palm. Yelena scratched the dog's head, and Natasha got up, walking over to her as she hesitantly approached her.
Natasha honestly wanted nothing more than to wrap Yelena in her arms and hug her tightly. She wanted to care for her and help her through whatever injuries she was suffering. She wanted to hold her and tell her how much she loved her and give her all of those cuddles that they missed out on.
However, she knew that Yelena was likely infuriated with her and hurt deeply, and she did not want to invoke her wrath any further. So she simply settled upon asking about her condition.
"Sweet girl... are you okay?" Natasha asked carefully, knowing that the question could bring a myriad of emotions and potential reactions. Yelena just ignored her for a moment, moving her hands up to the sink to wash them carefully. Natasha took a few small steps closer to her.
Once Yelena finally finished washing her hands and had splashed some warm water on her face, she dried them on a nearby hand towel and she slowly turned around to face Natasha. The redhead could easily see the now undisguised pain in her eyes that spanned both the physical and the emotional, and Natasha felt her heart hurting deeply as she looked into those gorgeous honey-greens that she had missed so much.
However, as Natasha focused less on her eyes, she realized that the younger woman had several cuts across her face and there was an angry bruise on the side of Yelena's neck. Yelena looked as if she had gone through a warzone, and it brought up so many questions in Natasha's mind about what had happened on the mission.
She could not help but wonder a little if Yelena's lack of response to the calls and texts the previous day was at least partly due to these injuries and whatever had caused them.
Yelena smiled just barely but it was a cruel, bitter upturn of her lips as she looked at Natasha, her eyes darkened with hurt.
"I guess you've been having fun, haven't you?" Yelena pointed out. Natasha felt as if she had been slapped.
Natasha had fun with Kate, but the entire thing was always shadowed by a deep sense of pain, longing, and desperation that was created in the wake of Yelena's absence.
"Not nearly as much fun as I would've had with you here," Natasha replied to her firmly, her eyes boring holes into Yelena's as she tried to assure the younger girl of the truth in her words. Yelena just huffed humorlessly, the smile falling away as she stepped around Natasha and limped toward her room. Natasha followed her closely, ready to catch her if she were to fall regardless of the blonde's feelings toward her at this point. As soon as Yelena opened the door, she stiffened, pausing as she looked at the room. Natasha stopped just behind her, and Yelena's jaw clenched as she took a breath.
"It stinks like Bishop in here," Yelena pointed out gruffly before heading to her dresser and withdrawing fresh clothes for herself. Natasha looked at her worriedly for a long moment before wordlessly heading into the bathroom and withdrawing the first aid kit. She knew Yelena likely did not want her helping her at this moment, but she was determined to do something. She could not just let her baby sister patch herself up on her own, and she was hoping that by offering some help, she might could get Yelena to open up and start talking to her.
Natasha was in the bathroom looking through the kit when Yelena limped in. Yelena moved next to her, roughly shoving her shoulder into Natasha's as she tried to take what she needed from the kit. Natasha, however, remained steadfast and did not let Yelena push her out of the way.
"Move, Natasha. I'll take care of it," Yelena firmly told her, her voice communicating precisely the amount of danger that there was in continuing to push her like this. However, Natasha was not afraid of her sister. Even if Yelena was going to yell and scream, Natasha would rather that than dead silence.
She knew she had already screwed things up between them again, but something in Natasha was not going to let Yelena go this time. She was going to fight for Yelena. She would fight for both of them together.
"No, I always take care of you after missions," Natasha stubbornly replied, and Yelena looked at her, a definitive warning in her gaze as she silently dared Natasha to take one more step and cross over that edge of the cliff of burning rage that Natasha was obviously teetering on.
Natasha just stared back at her, the both of them locking eyes for a long moment. Yelena reached out quickly, aiming to snatch what she needed quickly. However, Natasha grabbed her wrist immediately.
Almost as soon as Natasha squeezed, Yelena let out a strangled sound of pain. Natasha quickly released her, her eyes widening as panic coursed through her. Her eyes raked over the area, but she could not really figure out what was going on with Yelena's wrist because it was covered by her gloves and her sleeves.
Natasha reached out toward her, and Yelena's jaw clenched as she glared at her.
"I'm sorry, let me see."
"No," Yelena argued.
"Let me see," Natasha insisted more strongly, starting to reach for her, and Yelena's eyes flashed with that rage that Natasha must have finally managed to bring to the surface. Natasha somehow both regretted pushing her and was glad that she was getting her to say something finally.
Yelena knocked Natasha's hand away with her good arm.
"No. You spent your whole week replacing me with Bishop, so why don't you go make sure she's not going to melt like the West Witch out in the rain?" Yelena snarled and while there was definitive anger in her gaze, there was also so much hurt and injury that it almost felt as if Natasha had been literally stabbed.
"I wasn't replacing you. Please, just understand that—"
"No, you understand that I felt like I was losing you all over again and I couldn't even do anything about it because I was stuck on some stupid mission with your stupid friends!" Yelena yelled furiously, her voice raising as she moved closer into Natasha's face. Natasha held fast as she looked at her baby sister.
There was a long pause for a moment as Yelena just stood there glaring at her with her chest heaving from the stress of the fury coursing through her. Natasha simply searched her gaze for a moment, silently pleading for some semblance of peace from the girl so that they could speak civilly.
"Yelena, you know that you're the number one person in my life," Natasha finally tried to reassure, her voice strong as she looked at her and tried to resist the tears that were threatening to spring to her eyes.
"I'm obviously only your number one while I'm here," Yelena snapped, her voice sounding a little less angry and a little more hurt than it had been the last time that she said something. Yelena still looked as if she could be teetering on that edge of lashing out again, and Natasha just hoped that the girl would listen to her next words.
"Sweet girl, you are the only person in the entire world that can understand me and read me like an open book. And you are the only person in the entire world that I would unquestioningly trust no matter what," Natasha told her, and Yelena did not seem as if she entirely believed her despite the fact that the anger was fading into more injury than frustration.
Natasha took a breath, trying to control her emotions so that she could communicate with Yelena effectively.
"And you are my world, my universe, and you carry half of my heart with you everywhere you go. When you leave, it's like the sun's gone out and part of my soul has died," Natasha admitted, and Yelena swallowed as she stared at Natasha, hurt still coming off of her in waves. Natasha did not dare reach out and touch her just yet. Not when she was not entirely sure of what exactly could set her off again.
"Little one, I had fun with Kate, but she's not and never will be you. She could never compare because she's nowhere near the same. When she leaves, I don't feel like a piece of me has been ripped out of my chest," Natasha explained to her carefully, and Yelena looked down at the floor, avoiding Natasha's gaze as they grew quiet for a few moments.
Natasha allowed them to remain quiet and stay standing before each other for a time, but she kept her eye on Yelena's posture. When the pain finally started showing through more strongly than before, Natasha took in a breath to speak.
"Will you let me help you?" Natasha gently offered. Yelena remained still for a long moment, her jaw clenching and unclenching as she kept her eyes on the tile of the bathroom floor. After just a moment, she simply wordlessly limped over to the toilet seat, sitting down carefully yet painedly without a word.
Natasha wordlessly started to unzip Yelena's vest, and to her surprise, Yelena did not fight her or attempt to do it herself. She simply remained sitting there almost in a statue-esque manner as she stayed silent.
Natasha eased the vest off of Yelena's shoulders and the blonde wordlessly helped her by shrugging it off. Natasha then unzipped the suit itself. Yelena helped her kick it off as well, her face scrunching a little with pain. Once Natasha had peeled the suit off, she helped Yelena out of her leggings so that she was just sitting there on the toilet in her underwear and bra.
The redhead then stepped closer, reaching out slowly for Yelena's. At the lack of a response from the blonde, she took Yelena's hand in her own, gently unclasping the glove and tugging it off of her hand. Once Natasha reached the hand that was injured, she was extra careful, tenderly cradling the appendage in her grasp as she slid the glove off the best that she could.
She now could easily see that Yelena's wrist was swollen and now that Yelena's clothes were removed, she could see the poorly applied bandage wrapped around the middle part of Yelena's thigh. She could see blood starting to seep through it, and she wordlessly began to feel at Yelena's wrist to ensure that it was not broken and that she did not have to set it back.
"It's sprained," Yelena muttered under her breath, and Natasha nodded a little, grabbing a wrap and firmly bundling Yelena's wrist in a secure hold to keep her from hurting or jostling it. Yelena allowed her to do what she wanted, and Natasha allowed her touch to linger a little for a moment before moving down to the bandage wrapped around Yelena's leg. She then proceeded to carefully cut away the old bandage.
It was apparently a gunshot wound and it looked awful. It was not infected, but it definitely looked irritated and it had not been properly taken care of.
"Why didn't you stitch it?" Natasha asked softly as she pulled out the numbing agent that Tony had created recently, rubbing it on Yelena's leg gingerly. For a long moment, she did not think that she was going to receive a response as she silently cued she was going to pour rubbing alcohol in the wound.
However, Yelena finally very quietly spoke up.
"Couldn't focus," Yelena simply replied, sounding hesitant to speak but putting brutal honesty in the words nevertheless. Natasha paused for just a moment in her beginning to stick the wound as she took in exactly what that meant.
She had caused Yelena to get hurt. It was her fault. Her baby sister's pain was all her fault.
Natasha quickly swallowed hard, trying her best to hold back the sobs that were threatening to wrack the entirety of her frame. She chewed at the inside of her cheek as she focused on stitching the wound, knowing that she had to worry about Yelena's condition first before concentrating on the guilt fully.
Natasha swiftly finished stitching and she then wiped antibiotic cream on the wound. She then proceeded to bandage Yelena's leg carefully. Yelena let out a deep breath once it was finished, and Natasha stood up, reaching out for the alcohol wipes as she reached out very tentatively for Yelena's face.
Yelena finally looked her in the eyes again, and Natasha paused briefly before quickly directing her attentions solely on the cuts and closing the distance between her hand and Yelena's face. She took Yelena's chin gently in her hand as she held her still for her to wipe at the little cuts and scratches.
Yelena did not say anything the entire time outside of letting out occasional small hisses from the sting. However, her eyes remained locked onto Natasha's the entire time as she watched her silently. Natasha purposefully avoided her gaze as she forced some semblance of sturdiness and stoicism within her, needing to power through the job without breaking down.
Her hands ran gently along Yelena's face, and while she let her hands linger a little longer than necessary, she did not stay stroking Yelena's face as she normally did while patching her baby sister up.
Natasha then silently padded into the other room, getting the clothes that Yelena withdrew for herself, and she brought them back in. Yelena watched her quietly, and Natasha withdrew the sweatpants that Yelena had chosen. She then offered her shoulder for Yelena to pull herself up and steady herself on. Yelena grasped at her shoulder with her good hand and she took hold of her, starting to carefully maneuver her pants onto her lower body.
She finally finished getting them on, and she sat back down on the toilet heavily. Natasha started to hold out the shirt to help Yelena maneuver into it. However, Yelena just rested her back against the tank on the toilet, closing her eyes as she breathed through her nose quietly yet shakily.
Natasha furrowed her brow, sitting the shirt down as she scanned what she could see of Yelena's body for injuries. She saw several bad bruises, but nothing that was really enough to cause Yelena to breathe in the manner that she was now.
Natasha moved nearer to her very hesitantly, not really feeling like she even had a right to ask Yelena about it at this point since she had been the one to cause Yelena to get hurt like this.
But she could not stand to see her baby sister in pain regardless and she felt that she had a duty to fix this after messing it up so badly.
"What's wrong? What hurts?" Natasha questioned concernedly, her voice rough and almost hoarse in the midst of her attempts to hold back tears.
To her pure shock, when Yelena finally reopened her eyes and met Natasha's gaze, there was the definitive presence of tears in her eyes as she looked at her. Natasha felt her throat constricting, and she stiffened just a little in surprise as Yelena reached out to grab at Natasha's wrist with her good hand. Once she had it firmly in her grasp, she pulled it near.
She pressed Natasha's hand to her heart, and Natasha immediately understood what the girl meant.
"Baby girl," Natasha whispered, and Yelena finally allowed the tears to fall. Natasha stepped closer so that she was between Yelena's legs, and she grabbed the back of Yelena's head gingerly, tugging it into Natasha's stomach as she held her close.
Yelena did not at first reciprocate the embrace, but soon enough, her arms rose and she wrapped her arms around Natasha's lower back just above her behind as she brought her nearer in an almost suffocating grip. Natasha closed her eyes tightly, feeling tears slipping down her own cheeks as she relished the feel of her baby sister in her arms.
"I spent every moment while I was away thinking about you and everything that you did with Bishop that was what you always do with me," Yelena heartbrokenly sobbed out, and Natasha swallowed hard, shaking her head.
"Very little of what we did was stuff that me and you do, and the things we did do were not nearly as fun without you," Natasha explained, her voice trembling horrendously as she tried her best to articulate her words in an understandable manner.
Yelena cried harder, her nose buried in Natasha's shirt as she sobbed hard.
"I love you more than anyone in the entire world. You are my world. You're everything to me. Yelena, you're my true platonic soulmate," Natasha admitted, and Yelena hiccupped violently at the words, freezing as she took in the meaning behind it.
Yelena finally moved her head away just enough to look up at Natasha and meet her gaze with red-rimmed eyes. Yelena's honey-greens were filled with not only pain but also awe as she gazed at the redhead.
"Really?" Yelena asked as if it truly shocked her, and Natasha swallowed hard.
"My sunshine, of course. You have half of my heart and my life would not be full and complete without you in it," Natasha confessed to her. Yelena's bottom lip trembled and her signature frown that indicated she was trying not to cry came onto her face.
Natasha tentatively reached out to hold the sides of Yelena's head in her hands, and she cherished the feel of it. It was so unlike Kate's and it was a head that she had memorized all of the nuances of and treasured more than anything.
Almost immediately, Yelena surged upward, almost falling as her leg weakened underneath her weight. Natasha swiftly caught her in her arms and Yelena practically flung herself onto her, grabbing onto Natasha's shoulders and neck and back and anywhere that she could get a firm grip on as she tried to gain purchase.
"You're mine. My platonic soulmate. Mine," Yelena practically whimpered, barely managing to maintain her upright position in the midst of her exhaustion and the fact that she could not feel part of her leg from the numbing agent.
Natasha finally could not resist it any longer and she sobbed along with Yelena, making sure to hold herself up firmly so that she could bolster their combined weight. Yelena buried her face in Natasha's neck, taking deep breaths of Natasha, and Natasha lowered her head to press her face into Yelena's shoulder as she treasured the feel of Yelena's arms around her. Not Kate's. Just Yelena's. The arms that she had longed for the entire time Yelena was gone.
"I love you so much," Natasha told her, and Yelena pushed her nose into Natasha harder.
"I love you, Natashka," Yelena replied, and Natasha's sobs grew tenfold as Yelena actually used the fond variation of Natasha's name. She had missed that nickname so much the past few days, and she had not quite realized precisely how much it felt like home until Yelena just uttered the nickname.
"Please don't think I tried to replace you. I didn't, and she never could replace you. She helped me get through a hard few days, detka. I was actually able to sleep and eat properly, and you complained about me not taking care of myself properly the last time you went away for several days," Natasha tried to explain, and Yelena grew still for a moment, simply taking deep breaths as she shoved her nose into Natasha's neck.
Finally, after a painfully long silence, Yelena spoke up.
"I'm glad you took care of yourself... Just," Yelena trailed off, muttering something into Natasha's neck. Natasha furrowed her brow, moving her head slightly so that her cheek pressed against Yelena's head.
"What?" Natasha asked softly, her voice just recovering from all the tears that were still somewhat threatening to take over.
"Just don't let her have all my cuddles," Yelena mumbled just loud enough for Natasha to pick up. They were both quiet for a long moment until Natasha chuckled aloud in spite of herself. Yelena huffed a little against Natasha's neck, her lips upturning a bit.
"Never. Kate gets a few, but you get all of the special cuddles."
"Good. No one gets to lay on top of you and squish your guts out unless it's me," Yelena informed her, her voice still raw but nevertheless commanding attention. Natasha laughed, kissing Yelena's head. Yelena hummed with satisfaction, pleased with the affection as she melted under Natasha's ministrations.
"I'm so sorry for hurting you," Natasha whispered, and Yelena released a hum of understanding.
"I'm sorry for misunderstanding. I just—"
"I know. And I'll never stop until you know that you're always number one and I'll never replace you with anyone," Natasha promised, and Yelena let out a shaking breath as she settled against her once more.
Natasha would have been content to just hold her forever there in her arms, but she quickly realized that Yelena seemed to be leaning her weight more increasingly into her as she avoided putting weight on the injured leg. Natasha then realized the necessity in getting her to the couch or somewhere more comfortable.
"Sweet girl, let's get a shirt on you, and head to the couch, okay?" Natasha offered, and Yelena nodded against her somewhat tiredly, not wanting to let her go despite the fact that she had to release to put on her shirt. Natasha almost laughed despite the intense guilt still coursing through her.
"C'mon, baby, I promise I'll give you cuddles for the rest of the evening on the couch if you'll help me get you in a shirt," Natasha told her, and Yelena let out a breath, obviously considering the offer for a moment.
"Not good enough," Yelena protested, and Natasha huffed with amusement before kissing her cheekbone where she could reach it. Yelena smiled at the affection.
"I'll trace patterns on your back," Natasha offered, and Yelena only contemplated the proposition for a moment more before suddenly releasing her and trying to hold herself up without Natasha's assistance. Natasha smiled a little at Yelena's enthusiasm, and she helped her baby sister into the shirt.
Yelena easily moved into it with Natasha's guidance, and soon enough, the both of them had made their way into the living room, and Natasha laid down on the couch. Yelena wasted no time in crawling up onto her and flopping down onto Natasha's body as she rested her ear over Natasha's chest.
Yelena closed her eyes contentedly, and Natasha wasted no time in lifting up the back of Yelena's shirt and tracing her fingertips along Yelena's back, writing words and swirling patterns across her skin. Yelena melted even more heavily against her and she tilted her head upward just a little as she nuzzled Natasha's collarbone.
Natasha let out a breath of relief, so utterly contented to have Yelena in her arms again.
However, they were suddenly interrupted by a knock at the door.
Natasha stiffened, raising up a little underneath Yelena as she craned her neck to look in the direction of the front door. Yelena whined in complaint, grabbing Natasha's shirt in her fists and honestly not caring about the person at the door in the least.
"Rooskaya, I've got to get up and go see who it is."
"No, tell them they can go jump off a cliff. You're mine right now and I'm not sharing," Yelena grumpily pointed out in a tone that was almost like that of a petulant child not getting her way.
Natasha let out a deep sigh, debating her options, and she finally decided to call out and see who answered her yell.
"Who's there?!" Natasha called.
"Just me!" a very familiar voice called out, and Natasha immediately recognized it as Kate.
Natasha glanced down at Yelena, hesitant to ask Kate to come in and making sure that Yelena was okay with it. Yelena's eyes had opened finally and noticing Natasha's unspoken question, Yelena just nodded a little, permitting her to ask her in. However, she did not release Natasha from her insistent grip.
"Come in, Kate!" Natasha yelled in reply, and Kate soon enough came stumbling through the door. To Natasha's surprise, the girl had a giant pizza box in her hand and was wearing a very guilty, nervous smile as she looked between the two on the couch and hesitantly approached a little closer to them.
"Umm... Well... I wanted to bring this peace offering... I promise I wasn't trying to steal your sister, and I promise that we didn't have much fun. I drug her to an antique shop and to get a pedicure of all things, so I promise you, she wasn't having—"
"Katie-Bear, shut up," Yelena told her, and Kate quickly quieted, looking horribly worried and almost hurt as she eyed Yelena uncertainly as if the blonde might attack at any moment.
"Thank you for taking care of her," Yelena thanked her very stiffly, the words even sounding foreign coming from her, and Natasha felt her heart swelling with so much pride in that moment.
"You're welcome," Kate replied uncertainly, and Natasha just smiled gently at the brunette. Kate grinned slightly back at her, not overly certain about how to respond but just taking cues at this point.
"Okay... So, umm... I can just leave this here for you, and I can go if you want. I totally understand that you two need your space," Kate assured them, nodding in an attempt to emphasize her words as she placed the pizza on the coffee table and shuffled backwards a bit, starting to leave.
Yelena let out a small breath, and Natasha looked down at her curiously. She leaned down toward her ear.
"Do you want her to go? I can get her out if you need us to be alone right now," Natasha whispered to her, and Yelena paused before groaning deeply.
"You can stay, Katie, but sit over there," Yelena told her, gesturing at the armchair not too far away but far enough that Kate could not intrude on cuddle time. Kate seemed to completely understand and seemed honestly excited that Yelena even asked her to stay when she knew Yelena was wanting time with her big sister.
Natasha reached forward, opening the pizza box and withdrawing two pieces. She sat up with her back propped in the corner of the couch between the arm and the back of it. Yelena pulled herself upward a little as she took the piece that Natasha offered to her.
Yelena took a bite of the side of the top, and she nodded in approval.
"Hmph. Kate Bishop, keep in mind that you're only forgiven because you brought stuffed crust," Yelena pointed out, and Natasha laughed a little at her baby sister. Kate just giggled a little, shrugging.
"I remembered you telling Peter that it was your favorite, so I took a chance," Kate pointed out somewhat awkwardly. Yelena nodded in approval as she ate her piece with satisfaction.
There was an extended silence, Natasha just treasuring her baby sister in her arms and Kate across from them, until Yelena suddenly chuckled far too wickedly and far too similarly to her typical self as she looked up at the brunette with a huge smirk.
"So... Tell me about this pedicure that Natasha got."
Natasha groaned loudly, dreading the conversation that was about to ensue as her sister squished her underneath her.
But she would not trade that evil grin and laugh for anything in the world.