The room was pitch black. Yelena could barely see even a foot in front of her. She attempted to raise her hands but came to realize she was strapped down to a chair. "Hey! Let me go!" she yelled into the darkness, writhing in her seat to try and break free. "Pokazhites', trusy!"
A spotlight suddenly showed on her, making her squint and try to cover her face, but her wrist held firm to the chair.
"Ah. Russia's 'so-called' greatest child assassin. Welcome."
Her body tensed. She knew that voice all too well.
"It's a pleasure to have you in my company."
Yelena's gaze raised to meet the sneer of the man who once had control of her. The man she killed. Or, at least she thought she killed him.
Dreykov looked down at her, standing over her with self-imposed authority. "It was quite the stunt you and your "happy family" pulled. But I assure you, there wasn't a moment where you had the upper hand on me."
Yelena struggled against her restraints, wanting to beat Dreykov to a pulp. She knew it was impossible as a widow, but she didn't care. She would watch Dreykov take his last breath.
"It's a shame you had to bring Natasha into this. She was a traitor, but-" Dreykov nonchalantly pulled a gun from his suit jacket, using it to gesture. "She was the best of you. No one could match up to her."
Yelena spat at him, the only offensive move she had. "You'll never find her! Your men are nothing compared to Natasha!"
"Oh, really? Well, sorry to disappoint-"
Another light shone further away from the pair, this time revealing a broken and battered Natasha Romanoff, placed in a situation much like Yelena's.
"Natasha!" Yelena pulled even harder at her straps, wanting nothing more than the reach her sister. "Natasha, we're going to get out of this, I promise!"
"She can't hear you." Dreykov scratched his head with the barrel of his gun and shrugged, making Yelena's blood boil. "She put up a good fight but not good enough." He quickly moved his other hand as if he were to slap Yelena, who harshly flinched in response. "No time to break her nose."
"If you hurt her again, I will never stop hunting you. I will hunt you like the dog you are," Yelena spoke through her teeth, her eyes boring holes into Dreykov's forehead.
"So be it." Dreykov, staring at Yelena intently, swung his arm behind him and fired. Once. Twice. Three times.
"No!"
Natasha's lifeless body pitched forward, sinking the ground, which soon became a dark, sickening color.
"Natasha!"
xxx
Yelena shot up in her bed, her forehead coated in sweat. Her breath caught in her throat as she struggled to bring air into her lungs. 'No... No this can't be possible...' Yelena's fists clenched against her sheets, the fabric curling in her hands. 'Natasha...' A ragged breath. 'Please don't let this be real...' She couldn't move. The room blurred in wavy lines, like the ocean during a bad storm. She felt seasick. Her legs wouldn't move.
'I have to get to her.'
Yelena clenched her jaw and forced herself onto her head. Heartbeat pounding in her chest, she stumbled to her bedroom door and flung it open.
'I need to get to her.'
With a groan of effort, the young assassin reached her big sister's room and wasted no time entering. "Nat?" Yelena stopped dead in her tracks.
The room was empty. Cold. Like no one had been in there for a long time.
Yelena stumbled backward, her shoulder ramming into the doorframe. "... Nat?" she questioned into the barren space, her voice small. Was she going crazy? Where was Natasha?
She shook her head harshly and left the room, walking at a brisk pace toward the living area. Natasha had to be here somewhere. She had to be. "Natasha!" She reached the living room.
Nothing.
The kitchen.
Nothing.
Yelena was about ready to flip the couch over in search of the one person who could make this all okay, for the face that made it easier to get up in the morning. Natasha wouldn't leave her. She wouldn't.
The blonde grabbed at her hair, spinning around in a circle feverishly. Did she leave a note? A sign? Anything? "Wait!" Yelena ran to the counter and grabbed her phone, hitting the button to speed dial her sister. Surely she would pick up. She always did.
It rang once. Twice. Three times. Four. Nothing.
"Okay, maybe her phone isn't on vibrate. No biggie, I'll just try again." Yelena pressed her phone closer to her ear and redialed, awaiting to hear the slightly annoyed voice of her favorite person. She would answer this time; she just knew it.
But she didn't.
Yelena lowered the phone from her face and dropped it to her side in a loose hold. This can't be happening. No, no, it wasn't. There must be a note somewhere, a reason for Natasha to be gone. There had to be a reasonable explanation.
So she looked in every logical place for a note. Then every illogical place. She didn't even find a single scrap of paper. Yelena was two seconds away from bashing her head into the wall in a fit of mania. What happened? Was that a dream or, was she reliving a memory? Was her head really that messed up?
Her legs gave out, and her knees hit the floor with a sharp thud. There had to be... There had to be... No. She was gone. It wasn't just a dream. It was her reality.
Yelena pulled her knees up to her chest, shivering horridly as she pressed her back against the wall. Tears clouded her vision. This was real; this definitely wasn't a dream. She was fully conscious. And Natasha was gone.
She placed her head between her legs and cried. There was a void in her heart that grew every second until it consumed her. It wasn't long before she couldn't feel anything at all. Yelena was a black hole, sucking the life out of everything around her. And she didn't care. Nothing mattered anymore anyways. Yelena wasn't Yelena without Natasha.
There was a shuffle outside the front door. Maybe the sound of a jacket rustling against the wooden frame.
Yelena's head shot up, her eyes darkening. Who would dare mess with her now? Without a second thought, Yelena leaped to her feet and grabbed her knife off of the counter. Whoever this was, they were not getting away alive. No chance. Making no effort to conceal her weapon, she stood her ground, watching the door for movement. Someone was trying to break again, and she was going to stop them.
The door swung open, and Yelena sprung into action.
"Hi, sorry, I forgot- Hey!"
Yelena charged into the intruder and quickly shoved them against the wall, her breath hot on their face.
Wait. This intruder is shorter than she expected.
Yelena glanced down and realized that her blade had been stopped a mere inch away from the trespasser's stomach, by a firm hand on her wrist.
"Yelena?"
The assassin's eyes raised.
The hand on her wrist maneuvered the knife out of her hand, the object clanging to the floor, forgotten.
"What's gotten into you?" Natasha asked, her voice soft and full of worry.
Yelena couldn't speak. She was staring into the eyes of the person she loved more than anyone, and she didn't believe it was real.
"Hey." Natasha cupped the side of her sibling's face, gently running her thumb along Yelena's cheekbone. "What happened?"
Warning signals flared up in Yelena's brain. "You... You're dead," the blonde whispered under her breath, leaning away from Natasha's touch.
Natasha stared at her intently, her back still pressed into the wall. Whatever happened, it had really spooked her. "Yelena. Look at me."
Yelena obeyed her command, but there was no life in her pupils. No spark.
"I'm here," the Avenger promised, squeezing the wrist she still had in her grasp. "I had an errand to run, and I forgot my phone. But I thought I would be back before you woke up, so I didn't come and grab it. I see now that I should have... Mne zhal', sestra."
"No... I watched you..." Yelena clenched her jaw and bowed her head, shaking it absently. "I saw the blood. There's no way you survived..."
Natasha's heart skipped a beat. A nightmare. A bad one. She woke up to find Natasha gone and thought what she saw was real. A twinge of guilt fluttered in her stomach. "Yelena." With absolute precision, and without taking her eyes off of her sister, she rose Yelena's hand up to her face, pressing it to her cheek. "This is real. Feel it. Feel me. I'm really here."
Yelena focused hard, her fingers gently grazing the skin of her sister's face. Some dreams were realistic, so she had to be absolutely sure.
"There you go," Natasha gently encouraged, pressing her cheek against Yelena's hand and carefully kissing her palm. "You got it."
After a few moments, her sister slipped her hand down the side of her neck, her touch feather-light as if she was afraid Natasha would break in her hand.
Natasha watched her, remaining still until Yelena's mind could catch up. She didn't think it would be long now.
Yelena eventually came to press her palm to the center of Natasha's chest. She knew this heartbeat. No dream could recreate it in its entirety.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Natasha covered Yelena's hand with her own, holding it tight. "I've got you. I'm not going anywhere."
Thump. Thump. Thump.
The Russian whimpered softly. She was actually here. Natasha was alive.
Yelena placed both hands on the sides of Natasha's neck and pressed their foreheads together. "I'm sorry... I almost hurt you..."
"Don't worry about that; I wasn't going to let it happen." Natasha tapped her nose against her sister's. "Come here." The Avenger pushed off the wall and tugged Yelena into a firm hug. "I'm here for as long as you need me. I'll hold you all day if that's what you wanted."
Yelena shoved her nose into the side of Natasha's neck, breathing in deeply. As deep as she could as tears streamed down her face, that is.
Natasha turned slightly to press her lips to Yelena's forehead, holding her there until the sobs lessened. After a short while, she came to rest her head against the blonde's, humming a tune she remembered from Ohio. Whatever she could do to help.
Yelena ran her hands across Natasha's back, feeling the fabric of her coat; Feeling her. Her person. Natasha was okay.
"Do you need to talk about it?" Natasha asked in her ear.
Her voice was her favorite song.
Yelena shook her head and hugged her impossibly closer. "No. I just need you."
"Okay." Natasha kissed her head and closed her eyes. She was happy she could be a safe place for her sister. "I'll be here."
xxx
Pokazhites', trusy! - Show yourself, cowards!
Mne zhal', sestra - I'm sorry, sister