Russian translations on the bottom, as always. Enjoy!

xxx

"We've got to stop ending up in situations like this."

Natasha laughed bitterly before she cringed from the seething pain located on her back. "We? You seem to be sitting pretty right now."

Yelena smiled a crooked grin. "Nah, I just clearly have a better pain tolerance than you."

"Whatever." The assassin attempted to get off the ground but Yelena quickly kneeled and held her down.

"Oh, no, you don't, poser. For once in your life, stay down." Yelena pointed an accusing finger at her and wagged it around. "Be smart about this, and let me help you. Or I'll get Stark to come help."

"Fine." Natasha held her hand out and Yelena took it.

"Up we go," Yelena softly commentated as she pulled Natasha into a sitting position.

Natasha harshly gritted her teeth and shut her eyes. "Well, this sucks."

Her little sister searched her face, worry clouding her eyes. "You're not okay."

"I'm fine, Rooskaya," the widow reassured, attempted to keep as straight of a face a possible, but the shooting pain up her back was not exactly helping her argument.

"Yeah, right. I'm getting Stark."

"Wait, don't-!"

"Too late." Yelena leaped to her feet, searched the field for the man of iron.

"Yelena, come on. I don't need-"

"Oh, there he is! Stark!" Yelena yelled, waving her hand in the air.

Natasha facepalmed and ran her hand down her face. "You're so embarrassing..."

From a distance, Tony noticed the young Russian's excessive waving and came over to the pair. "What seems to be the problem, kid?"

Yelena crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. "I'm not a kid, Anthony. And isn't it obvious?" She gestured vaguely to her sister. "She's hurt. And I'm not a big strong man, so I need your help. Is that so hard?"

Natasha shifted uncomfortably. Yelena must really be worried if she just admitted to not being strong enough.

Tony looked down at Natasha and gave her a careful once over. "How are you holding up, Romanoff?"

"Been better," the assassin replied curtly. "Can we just get this over with?"

"Sure thing." Tony looked over at Yelena and nodded confidently. "Don't worry, kid, I'll take care of her. I'll be careful with your precious package; you have my word."

Yelena scoffed and waved him off. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. But if you hurt her, I'll kill you."

Tony laughed and nodded again. "I like this one, Romanoff. She's got chutzpah." He drew an 'X' over his arc reactor with his finger. "I won't hurt her. We need this one; she's one of the best."

"I know." The blonde shifted on her feet. Trust still came hard to her, but even though she always gave Tony a hard time, he was the Avenger she trusted the most. Besides Natasha, of course.

Tony smiled a tight-lipped smile and turned his attention back to Natasha. "Sorry about this."

Natasha shook her head. "It's fine. I've gone through more demeaning things than this."

Yelena watched as iron man crouched so he could lift Natasha from the hard ground. Her eyebrows raised when Natasha's face lit up with pain, but her sister held her hand up.

"It's okay, little one. No matter what, this is going to hurt. But you're right: this is probably the best way..."

Yelena's lips pursed. She wished she could do more.

Tony's expression softened when he looked at the Russian. A sort of dad instinct took over him, and he was compelled to say something to make it easier. "I will personally make sure Romanoff has the best doctor at the compound to look after her."

"But I'm the best for her." Yelena looked him straight in the eye. "Provide me with what I need. I will take care of her."

"Rooskaya..."

"Done."

"Wait, what?"

Tony nodded, his helmet flipping down over his face. "I trust you know what you're doing, kid. I'll get it to you." And with that, he took off, carrying Natasha back to the compound.

Yelena scoffed and mumbled, "I'm not a child..." before she met up with the others for a ride back.

xxx

By the time Yelena returned to base, Natasha had been placed in her bedroom with everything Yelena needed, as Tony Stark had promised. There was even a note:

'For mini Romanoff'

Yelena shook her head, but it was fond this time. "He knows I'm taller than you, right?" she asked her sibling, gently setting the note back down.

Natasha laughed and looked her up and down. "Maybe. He just liked to tease. Besides, you aren't that much taller."

"Ha." Yelena sat down on the edge of the bed. "Somebody's insecure."

"Says you," Natasha shot back, throwing the nearest pillow at her face. "The first thing you did was bring up your height. Only insecure people care!"

"Whatever." Yelena switched back to her original task and stood so she could inspect Natasha better. "Does it feel any worse?"

The redhead shook her head. "No. But not any better either."

"Did the fall knock the wind out of you?" Yelena asked, crossing her arms and wearing a totally professional look on her face. Emotions didn't matter right now, only what will help her 'patient'.

"It didn't. Just felt like my back had been set on fire."

Yelena's lips pressed together. "Great... But you know it's not broken?"

Natasha sighed and looked up at the ceiling to avoid eye contact. "It's not... trust me."

"Alright then." Yelena pretended to push her non-existent glasses up on her nose for dramatic effect. "I need to take a look. Odds are it will need to be wrapped as well. Good thing Stark followed through on his word."

Natasha laughed fondly. "You're such a dork. Was there a reason to doing that?"

"I'm a doctor. I'm just playing a part and doing it well, mind you." Yelena dropped the act for a moment and smirked. "Plus, it makes you laugh, so." She then held her hand out, her expression softening out of compassion. "I know it sucks, but you're going to have to sit up."

"Yeah, yeah." The Avenger grabbed her hand and slowly sat up on the edge of her bed. A small amount of wheezing slipped out, but most of the noises she kept to herself. Surprisingly, after she had gotten into position, Yelena had leaned in to kiss her on the forehead. And before Natasha had time to react, Yelena had ambled behind her on the bed. "Yel-"

"Do you need help with your shirt?" The blonde asked, cutting her off.

"Um... Yes..." There was no use in resisting. It was just the two of them, and Natasha knew Yelena would take care of her. Even Tony trusted her.

"Okay. Can you lift your arms for me?"

Natasha slowly raised her arms over her head.

Yelena took the bottom of her shirt in her fingers. She hesitated for a moment, then shook it off and tugged the shirt off of her sister's body.

Natasha flinched as a sharp breath was inhaled right behind her left ear.

"Dang..." The young assassin almost touched her sister's back but quickly drew her hand away. "Can I... Is it okay if I touch it?"

"Go ahead."

Yelena steadily touched her palm to Natasha's lower back. As expected, deep purple bruises covered the once clear surface. They were warm to the touch. "These look like the ones I gave you when I kicked your butt in Budapest," she deadpanned, even though her throat felt a little tight.

"Ha ha," Natasha fake laughed, rolling her shoulders once to distract herself. "Pretty sure that fight ended in a truce."

"... I think you hit your head because I definitely whupped you."

"'Whupped,' huh?" Natasha turned her head so she could look at her and smirk. "How American of you."

"Smotret' eto," Yelena warned, poking Natasha's cheek so she'd turn back. "Don't poke the bear that feeds you, or however that saying goes."

The redhead fondly shook her head. "Not quite right, but close enough."

"Okay, I don't care; let's do this now." Yelena gently squeezed Natasha's shoulder, realizing that she should stop messing around and help her big sister. "I should probably wrap this, at least for now. May I?"

Natasha placed her hand over Yelena's, rubbing her thumb over the top of it. "You're worried about me, aren't you?"

"What? No..."

"You totally are."

"Pff, you wish." Yelena let go of her and leaned to her right to grab the compression bandage provided by Iron Man himself. Her hands were shaking, but she tried to keep it under control, for Natasha's sake.

But Natasha's observational skills were too strong, even with her back to her. "Take a deep breath, Rooskaya. Deep breath," Natasha instructed softly, looking over her shoulder once again. "Don't attempt it if you're not in the right mindset. Relax. It's going to be fine."

"No, no, I can do it, I can-"

"Yelena." She quickly maneuvered and grabbed her hand before she could pull away. "Stop."

"But I wanna do this for you! I..." Yelena breathed out and bowed her head. "I need to do this for you."

"I understand." Natasha slowly leaned back under her head pressed against the front of Yelena's shoulder. "But you need to take it slow. Zamedlyat'." Natalia could feel Yelena take a deep breath and let it out slowly. Her breath was as shaky as her hands. "Are you okay?"

"I will be. Odin moment..." The blonde nuzzled into Natasha's hair and took another deep breath. This time a very familiar scent overwhelmed her, taking the place of the fear she had felt. She treasured having Nat so close, but she hated how it took a bad injury to get here. Why did life have to go this way?

The Avenger began stroking Yelena's hand in a slow yet articulate pattern. She could ignore the pain if it meant Yelena would be okay. She meant that much to her.

The young assassin remained there for a while, longer than she had meant to, until she eventually felt well enough to pull away. "Okay. Okay, I can finish now."

Natasha smiled and sat up, pride swelling in her chest. "Good job," she commended, which made Yelena flush red.

"Shut up... Let's just finish this so you can lay down again." Yelena reached for the bandage again, this time with the hands of a skilled widow. With a newfound focus, she was able to complete the task at hand. She smirked slightly. For some reason, she felt proud of herself. Like she had added little more white to her ledger. "Alright, we're done. Would you like a lollipop for the road?"

Natasha laughed and fondly shook her head. "Why? Did Tony provide you with those too?"

"Yes, I think so." Yelena carefully climbed off the bed and went over to the stash to examine it. "Lollipops... Yep. Several actually. And a heat pack, if you want it."

"Yeah, I think the heat pack is a little more useful."

"Just a bit." Yelena looked at her and smiled softly.

Warmth spread across Natasha's chest when her little sister looked at her. She couldn't help but smile back. "What? What it is?"

"Nothing, just... I'm glad you're okay."

The Avenger's smile widened. "I'm always okay. Now come on, Doc', go heat up the pack for me."

Yelena rolled her eyes and picked up the object. "You're lucky you're hurt because if this were any other day, you'd be getting tackled."

xxx

By the time Yelena returned, (her being late, of course, having nothing to do with her lack of microwave knowledge), Natasha was lying on her back in bed, sucking on the lollipop she had previously rejected.

"Seriously?"

Natasha pulled it out of her mouth in a way that intentionally created a popping sound. "What? I got bored."

Yelena had to restrain herself from tossing the heat pad directly onto Natasha's still exposed stomach. "And in all this time you had, you didn't put your shirt back on?"

The Avenger just shrugged and stuck the candy back into her mouth.

The assassin scoffed and picked her sister's shirt off of the bed. "You're ridiculous." She flung the fabric at Natasha's face and smirked when Natalia's head drew back in annoyance. "Put your shirt on! It's the least you could do."

"Well, now it's all sticky," Natasha sulked, faking a pout before she pulled her shirt over her head as Yelena had instructed.

"Well, deal with it, you big baby," Yelena chided, finally handing her sister the heat pack before she grabbed a bottle off the desk.

"What's that?" Natasha absently asked while she took the lollipop out of her mouth in favor of using the pack.

"Pain killers. The God of Thunder may not need an ibuprofen after a fight but you sure do," the assassin teased, remembering when they were reunited.

Natasha only shook her head fondly and held her hand up, awaiting a toss. Yelena threw it, which Natasha caught with ease.

"Do you want me to g-" But it was too late, and Yelena watched as her sister took the pills dry. "You're not supposed to do that, you know," she scolded lightly, catching the bottle when Natalia threw it back.

Natasha waved her off with a dramatic and playful flourish. "Whatever. Now-" She eased up on her elbows and carefully moved over on the bed. "C'mere," she coaxed, patting the open spot next to her.

"Sestra..."

"I'm hurt, so you have to do what I say."

Yelena audibly huffed before she conceded and climbed onto the bed, sitting next to her. "You're such a rebenok..."

"Hm." Natasha tilted her head up to look at her, unable to lie on her side. "You're not close enough."

"Fiiiine." Yelena flopped down and turned to face her, gesturing to her as if to say, 'is this good enough?'

"Did you notice you were bleeding?"

Yelena's forehead wrinkled in confusion. "Huh?"

"Well, you're not now, but-" Natasha reached over and touched Yelena right above her right eyebrow.

Yelena instinctually flinched and leaned back.

"Sorry." Natasha dropped her hand back to her side. "Did you not realize that was there? It's a pretty good cut, Yelena."

The blonde shook her head slowly. "No, I didn't. I didn't care; I just wanted you to be okay."

Natasha's expression softened. "You're so cute," she stated as if she wasn't looking at the best child assassin in all of existence. "Somebody's gotta keep an eye on you if you keep pulling crap like this."

"Well then." Yelena dragged herself forward and rested her head on Natasha's shoulder. She allowed her eyes to close as Natasha wrapped an arm around her waist, gently tracing her fingers across her lower back. "It's a good thing I have you."

"And you always will," Natasha softly promised before she leaned up to press a feather-light kiss to Yelena's injury. "Always."

xxx

So I'm not sure if the bruises on Natasha's back in Black Widow were actually from her fight with Yelena, but for the sake of this story, they are now lol. Thanks for reading!

xxx

Smotret' eto - Watch it

Zamedlyat' - Slow down

Odin moment - one moment

Rebonok - Child