Natasha eagerly awaited the arrival of her younger sister and her friends on the official Avenger's landing pad. This was supposed to be her mission, but Yelena had stepped in to take her place so Nat could catch up on some crucial paperwork. Given that it was a simple in and out stealth mission, not much convincing was needed on Yelena's part. After all, stealth was her specialty.
But when only Cap stepped out of the jet, Natasha's faith in the supposed "in and out" mission plummeted.
"Nat." Steve gave the Widow a sheepish nod before she crossed his arms and lifted his head higher to feign confidence. But his eyes spoke otherwise. "We need your help. It's Yelena. She has been blinded by a high-tech grenade."
xxx
Natasha walked briskly next to her friend as Cap led her into the aircraft, explaining what he knew about the situation.
"These hydra agents are much more advanced than we previously thought. Yelena was caught in the proximity of a light grenade and was blinded. We had to fall back. Tony thinks the effects aren't permanent, but we don't know for sure." Steve ran his hand down his face and sighed heavily. "And before you get upset about what you're about to see... Yelena got triggered. She thought she was being taken back to the Red Room and attacked Tony. We had to-"
Rogers trailed off when they reached the cockpit where they found Tony leaning over and speaking to Yelena. Following Natasha's gaze, the man's eyes landed on the metal cuffs keeping Yelena's hands attached to the seat. He hadn't wanted to do it, but they had no other choice.
Tony glanced up from his kneeling position when the pair entered the room. He looked back to Yelena, whose head was bowed, fists clenched tight under the restraints. "I'll fix you up, kid. I'm a mechanic, remember? We'll get to the bottom of this." The billionaire stood, and that's when Natasha noticed the slice across his cheek.
She pointed at it wordlessly, and Tony waved her off.
"I've had a moon thrown at me, Romanoff; I can handle a little knife." The genius jerked his head to the side, gesturing to the blonde in the seat. "She won't respond to either of us anymore. I think she wants you."
Natasha swallowed hard before she nodded. She understood why they had to do what they did, but seeing her little sister tied down to a chair was not what she was expecting to see today. Or ever again.
Tony and Steve took their leave, Tony grabbing the device responsible for Yelena's state with him to tinker with it. He wanted to understand everything about it, no matter how long it took. Nobody messed with mini Romanoff, not on his watch.
"Yelena?" the redhead called out softly, trying her best to not startle the Russian. "Ty mozhesh' pogovorit' so mnoy?"
Yelena's head raised ever so slightly in what seemed like recognition, but there was no verbal response.
Natasha clenched her fist before she made her way around the seat and kneeled in front of her sibling, having to force herself to not touch her in fear of setting her off. "You're safe here. Nikto ne prichinit vam vreda."
Yelena continued to stare down at her lap, her eyes empty and unsure of themselves. Her entire demeanor was off, and it jarred Natasha to her very core. How could she even begin to make this easier? Why did this have to happen when she wasn't around?
"Did I hurt anyone?"
The Avenger snapped to attention at her sister's gruff voice, noting how Yelena's breath hitched in the middle of her sentence. "You... You did, but-"
The sound of metal being gripped tightly caused Natasha to trail off. She didn't want to give Yelena yet another thing to worry about.
"How do I know it's really you?"
Natasha pressed her lips into a thin line. She had to do something. Yelena needed more than just a voice to prove that she was actually here. Natasha reached under the seat to press the secret button to release Yelena from her binds.
Yelena jumped at the sound, her gaze finally shifting up, and Natasha's jaw almost dropped when Yelena looked in her direction but as if she was looking straight through her. To Yelena, there was only darkness and a voice that sounded vaguely like her sister she lost long ago. She was a Widow, made of marble. Ready to comply.
"I'm sorry." Natasha breathed out slowly and cleared her throat. She had to keep her tears at bay. Focus on Yelena first. Help her feel safe. "Is it alright if I touch you?"
Yelena shook her head almost violently, her eyes needlessly shutting in an attempt to run from her thoughts. "Don't. Don't. Just tell me something only Natasha would know. No funny business. Please..."
"Alright, I won't. It's going to be okay, detka."
The assassin perked up somewhat at the fond nickname.
Natasha sat back on her feet and thought for a moment about what direction she should take this in. After a few moments, and after Yelena shifted uncomfortably, she smiled a little. "You think of Peter Parker as the little brother you never had. Kate Bishop annoys you, but that's because you're impressed with her skills at such a young age, and you feel the need to knock her down a peg."
Yelena gulped and bowed her head again.
"You look up to Tony Stark as a person who was able to run from his past and make greatness from it. Cap is more of an overprotective grandpa, but you care for him anyway."
Yelena almost laughed at that. Maybe this truly was Natasha and not just some cruel joke from General Dreykov. He wouldn't know things like this, right?
"You're jealous that Clint got to spend more time with me than you did."
"I never..." Yelena tried to look at Natasha but happened to look just past her. "I never told you that..."
"No." Natasha smiled softly and placed a careful hand over her sister's, her heart practically leaping with relief when Yelena didn't pull away. "But you told him."
"That little-" Yelena let out a breathless laugh and shook her head aimlessly. "I believe you. I'm sorry I doubted you."
"Do not apologize, little one." Natasha sat up on her knees and took Yelena's other hand in her own, giving them both a gentle squeeze. "I'm right here. I've got you, okay?"
The Russian's head swayed back and forth as she listened to her sister's words, wishing more than anything she could see the love in the Widow's eyes to which she had gotten so acclimated. Will she ever get to see that again? Her head felt funny. So did her stomach. The silence around them was deafening, and she just wanted to go home. "Can... I want to feel you. I need to. Just to make sure. I need to know."
Natasha nodded before she realized the error in her actions. "Okay. Do you want me to help you up?"
It was Yelena's turn to nod. "Please. I- I'm sorry."
"Stop." Natasha stood and tugged on Yelena's wrists to steadily pull her to her feet. "It's not your fault. Accidents happen, and we'll work through this together. I promise."
Yelena wiggled her arms free of Natasha's grasp and tried to take Natasha's face in her hands.
Natasha whistled a short note to gently guide Yelena to the correct position, placing her head in her hands when Yelena changed her path. "Good. I'm here, sestra."
Yelena hummed and traced her fingers across Natasha's jaw, along her beauty mark, and even up to her ear to feel the many earrings she always had in. Anything to prove that this wasn't an imposter trying to fool her into thinking she was safe. It happened before, and it didn't end well for either party.
One of Natasha's eyes naturally closed as Yelena gently touched her face, but still made sure to keep the other one open to watch the expression on her sister's face. Yelena's eyes wandered like she was observing her surrounding, but the discomfort in Yelena's shoulders told her otherwise. She really couldn't see anything. Fear filled Natasha's chest, but she forced it away.
Yelena would be okay. She had to be.
"It feels like you." Yelena's lip began quivering, and she pressed her palm more firmly to Natasha's cheek. "I'm scared, Nat..."
"I know." The redhead turned into the Russian and pressed a soft kiss to her fingers. "Tony is trying to figure this out as we speak. You're going to be okay."
A pitiful whimper escaped the assassin's throat as she brought her other hand around the back of Natasha's neck, holding her in place to make sure she wouldn't disappear. "But what if..." Yelena trailed off, biting her lip hard to hold firm the dam stopping her tears from falling. She loved working here. But what if she was no longer a fruitful ally after this mission? "I'm supposed to be unbreakable... If we were in the Red Room-"
"But we're not," Natasha assured firmly, taking her sister by the shoulders and giving her a gentle shake to drill the information into her head. "We're not," she repeated softer, both her head and her voice lowering as to better comfort the blonde. "Worst case scenario, we'll have to figure out a different way to get through life, but we'll do it together. You're not alone, Yelena. I won't leave you." Yelena naturally leaned forward, so Natasha kissed the spot between her eye and nose before her hands lowered to the Russian's sides, waiting for explicit permission to hold her. In times like this, there was no telling what Yelena needed from her.
Yelena's grip on Natasha's neck shifted to her shoulder, her touch deliberate and calculated as she attempted to gauge where the Avenger was. Then, without any further hesitation, the blonde threw herself at Natasha, pressing her face into the crook of her neck as to hide from her problems. Like this, she didn't feel blind. She just felt at home.
Natasha swallowed painfully, her eyes stinging as she enveloped her favorite person in a warm embrace. "I'm here. I'm here," she whispered repeatedly, unsure of what else she could say. She couldn't promise they could fix this. And that hurt more than any bullet wound she had endured.
"I... I need you...," Yelena admitted against Natasha's skin before Nat could think about it anymore.
"You've got me," the redhead replied, running her hand up and down Yelena's back. "I'll protect you." She had to.
xxx
"The world is too loud," Yelena complained as Natasha turned the sink on to wash her hands after she had cleaned Yelena's cuts.
"Well, you lost your eyesight, so your other senses are making up for it by amplifying themselves."
"I know that, genius," the Russian grumbled under her breath, not knowing that Natasha was looking directly at her.
Natasha shook her head but decided it was best not to acknowledge it. She knew Yelena was frustrated and overwhelmed, so there was no use in riling her up. "Are you cold? Hungry? Thirsty?"
"I'm blind, not six!" Yelena yelled, her teeth practically childishly gnashing at her. Ironic. "I'm very capable of...!" Her shoulders quickly sagged in defeat as reality set in. "What am I even doing?" Yelena laughed humorlessly, placing her head in her hands with a dramatic huff. "I can't do this. I can't do anything. I feel so weak!"
Natasha quickly kneeled in front of her sister from where she had on the closed toilet seat lid. "Hey. You are not weak. Do you hear me? The Red Room put it in your head that you had to be perfect to be effective, but you don't. Eyesight, no eyesight, you are beautiful. Regardless of the outcome, I will still love you as I always have." She whistled her half of their song in warning before she carefully removed Yelena's hands from her face and held them in her own. "Repeat this back to me: I am not weak."
Yelena's jaw clenched, her hands shaking within Natasha's grasp.
"Come on." Natasha squeezed her fingers and pressed forward until their foreheads touched. "I am not weak."
"I am not weak...," Yelena replied through her teeth after a long moment, her voice barely audible. But that was enough for Natasha.
"Okay. Good." The Avenger lifted Yelena's hand and fondly kissed the back of it. "I love you, rooskaya."
A small laugh traveled from Yelena's lips. "You're so sappy, sestra..."
Natasha smiled and moved to get to her feet. "Only when looking after my emotional support assassin." She tapped Yelena's knee as a signal to take her hand. "Alright, let's go."
Yelena found her hand with only mild insuccess and was pulled up from her seat. "Go where?"
"Anywhere but the bathroom," Natasha answered simply, hoping her sister would find it at least a little funny. A tight grip on her wrist told her otherwise as Yelena spun them around when they reached the main bedroom. "Hey, what's wr-"
"You're crying."
"What?"
Yelena's fingers quickly found Natasha's cheek and thumbed away a tear Natasha didn't even know had fallen.
Natasha stared at her in awe, observing the care behind her sister's sightless yet intuitive gaze. "How did you...?"
"You're an idiot."
The Widow's eyes widened in surprise.
"You always act so tough and strong all the time. You want me to be all vulnerable and stuff, so why don't you do the same for me?"
"I-I don't know," Natasha stuttered, hating the gentle touch Yelena kept providing her. She wasn't the one blinded on the mission. She was the coward who stayed behind to write some stupid documents, allowing her baby sister to take her place and look at the cost.
"I know what you're thinking." Yelena eased up Natasha's face and tapped her temple. "I can hear your thoughts," she whispered in such a serious tone Natasha had to laugh. "You're scared too... Aren't you?"
Natasha released a shaky breath before she hummed her agreement, nodding against the hand replaced against her face. "Absolutely terrified."
"Well, look at you." Yelena offered a watery smile before she moved her hand from Natasha's cheek to her shoulder. "The infamous Black Widow isn't made of steel after all."
"I never said I was," the Avenger argued softly, holding onto Yelena's wrist, causing her sibling to look more directly at her. "You know that's just how the public thinks of me."
"You're forgetting someone."
Natasha raised her eyebrows before she gave the Russian a quick once over. "Come on, you know I'm not-"
"You can do anything." Yelena stepped forward and rested her head on Natasha's shoulder, her nose poking the side of her neck just barely. "I know I've been super annoying, but..." She took a deep breath and nuzzled closer, her arms dropping to around her waist in a tight hug as if she wasn't planning on letting go anytime soon. "I know as long as you're here, I'll be okay. Even if I never get my sight back..."
Natasha quickly returned the hug, her heart pounding at Yelena's admission. Vulnerability was neither of their strong suits, so Yelena telling her something so profound meant more than she would ever know. She fought the urge to hold back the rest of her tears and let herself cry, tucking her face against Yelena's shoulder as to hide her face. There was no use in pretending anymore. She was scared. "I'll always be here... Always."
The duo was thankful for this quiet moment. For a second, everything felt normal, and the sisters could just hold each other as they had always wanted. Their heartbeats found harmony with the other, perfectly syncing up as proof of the love and connection between them. It turns out the saying was true, just in a way nobody had thought: love is blind.
"You know..." Yelena found herself smiling genuinely for the first time since she returned home. "If this doesn't work out, seeing-eye dogs are a thing... Just saying."
Natasha let out a hearty laugh and kissed the side of Yelena's head. "I think you deserve a dog regardless of the outcome, rooskaya."
"Really?!"
Before Natasha could reaffirm her statement, F.R.I.D.A.Y. came forth and called for them both.
"Ms. Romanoff, Ms. Belova."
Yelena nearly jumped out of her skin, but Natasha pulled away from her, leaving a steady hand on her back, and assured, "Don't worry, it's just F.R.I.D.A.Y." Natasha turned to the screen and nodded. "F.R.I.D.A.Y. Any updates?"
"Mr. Stark requests your presence down in the lab. He says it's urgent."
xxx
There will be a part 2, don't fret. But I haven't written it all yet, so I can't promise when it will get released. Regardless, I hope you enjoyed this chapter.
xxx
Ty mozhesh' pogovorit' so mnoy? - Can you talk to me?
Nikto ne prichinit vam vreda - Nobody will harm you
