Yelena begins to wear the vest. She pulls the straps tight and imagines her sister giving her a hug. She finds little objects in the pockets: torn bits of notepaper scrawled with words like 'Vormir' and 'Pym particle', a tiny silver arrow on a chain, a child's drawing of a butterfly. Yelena collects the objects carefully and tucks them into her getaway bag.
Even at home, a spy always has a getaway bag.
Clint teaches her archery. She's got strong back muscles and great aim, so she progresses quickly. It's also a great chance to hear stories from their time together as Strike Team Delta as well as their Avenger days.
She begins to feel immense respect for Phil Coulson. That man knew patience like no one else.
Clint throws in the comment about Banner as if it was nothing. "She had a thing going for Banner at one point but then he disappeared in an untraceable quinjet and ended up as some alien gladiator."
Yelena turns to stare at him so quickly that she almost takes his head off with her half-nocked arrow.
"Watch it!" he cries indignantly.
'Nat and Banner? Do tell!" She's somehow...gleeful. It's like she's seeing a whole other side of her sister, one so normal and mundane that it's almost shocking. If only Nat were around to tease.
Clint shrugs. "I don't really know. Ask Laura. She saw it before I did."
Yelena looks at him in mock disdain. "She's your partner and Laura noticed first? Great job, Hawkeye." She emphasises the last word. The sarcasm is awfully familiar.
"You women," Clint mutters. "I'll never live anything down."
"Got that right." Yelena grins as she fires off another arrow at one of Clint's swinging targets and narrowly misses the bullseye.
In the evening, Cooper challenges her to a game of chess. Yelena wins, of course, and Lila shakes her head at her brother. "She's Russian, you moron," she chides. "Did you think she wouldn't be as good as Auntie Nat?"
But Cooper's smiling wistfully. "I just missed playing with Auntie Nat. She never went easy on me either." It's such an honest confession that even Lila tears up a bit and Yelena quickly distracts herself by repositioning the pieces on the board.
She teaches Cooper tactics late into the night. Clint would never win another game against his son.
It's in the early hours of the morning when Cooper finally goes to bed, and Clint approaches Yelena with his phone. He shows her an image on his screen. Her heart somersaults in her chest.
It's an invitation from Pepper. A memorial. The one-year anniversary since the undoing of the Blip.
"What do you think?" His voice is gentler than ever and a little husky. "Ready to meet the other Avengers?"