Hey little sis,
If you're reading this, well, sorry. I guess I didn't make it. Going into this, I know it's a long shot. I really don't know if I'm going to make it out of this one. But it's our only chance to get everyone back - to get you back - so we have to try. We owe it to everyone we failed to save.
I really wish I had more time with you. I can't tell you how much I regret all those years that I never went to find you, the years I blocked out my past and pushed it away into some deep, dark corner of my memory. Perhaps we could have actually spent time together going shopping or hiking or whatever normal people do, rather than planning prison breaks and getting beaten up by highly-trained assassins.
I never had a chance to tell you how proud I am of you. They took your choices but they didn't take your heart. And I am so so grateful for that. Never lose that big, brave, kind heart of yours, Yelena.
Look after Melina and Alexei for me. And if you've managed to get your hands on this letter, then you've met Clint. If you get a chance, check in on him every now and then. He's bad with the whole self-forgiveness thing, and his kids could do with some hand-to-hand combat lessons. Lila's a dab hand at archery, but Clint keeps forgetting that sometimes self-defence is required in the absence of easy access to a quality bow and arrows.
Take care of yourself, Yelena. You may not have your face on the cover of a magazine, but you're truly a superhero in every sense of the word.
Love you, little sis.
Yours,
Natasha.
Yelena reads it twice, then folds it up carefully and tucks it back into her pocket. She shifts a little in her seat; the quinjet seats are comfortable but it's a seriously long flights and she really wants to stretch her legs.
"Are we nearly there yet?" she asks, and is mildly startled when Clint barks out a laugh.
He glances sideways and spots her perplexed expression. "Nat used to ask me that all the time," he explains.
She is still looking at him expectantly, and he realises he hasn't answered her question. "Yeah, we're nearly there."
There's a long silence, broken only by the little blips and pings form the control panels, until she asks. "You sure about this?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah, of course. Kids already know about you. Nat told them."
He'd invited her to his farm when she'd decided not to kill him. Some weird and foreign instinct prompted her to accept, and here she was. These quinjets are pretty cool, she admits, and suddenly she's irrationally annoyed at her sister for never taking her on one. She almost makes a mental note to berate Natasha about that, but then she realises that Natasha's dead and suddenly the grief pummels at her heart again.
She tries to shake off the feeling. Distraction usually works, so she asks, "Why are you being so nice to me?" Her tone is challenging, suspicious, but Clint doesn't even bat an eyelid. Apparently he's used to this.
"You're Nat's sister. That makes you family, Yelena."
And suddenly, Yelena wants to cry all over again, but she shakes the tears away and fixes her gaze at the mass of clouds up ahead.
Eventually they land, and he introduces her as Auntie Yelena. The kids take turns hugging her and little Nate even pecks her on the cheek. They drag her inside the house and show her to Natasha's old room. There are drawings and photos all over the walls. Yelena sees that most of the pictures are signed by either Cooper of Lila, but there's one particular scribble with Nathaniel's name on it.
And there, pinned onto the bedhead, is a pair of photos of a little girl with sparkling eyes and her blue-and-blonde-haired sister.
"That's you, isn't it? When you were a child?" Lila asks, and Yelena nods, her throat too closed-up to speak.
"I miss Auntie Nat," Lila continues. "But I'm really glad to meet you."
Yelena does cry, then, and pulls Lila into a hug. "I'm really glad to meet you too."