"Hey, what do you want to do today?" Natasha called loudly from her bedroom, changing into some comfortable clothes since she had just gone on a run and gotten her previous outfit somewhat sweaty.
Yelena was currently fishing through the kitchen cabinets, trying to find something good to stuff her face with.
"I don't know! We could go train at the cool kids' clubhouse! You've been saying that you'd teach me some of your special moves," Yelena suggested loudly, laughing a bit as she eagerly awaited Natasha's response to her jab. She could feel Natasha's eyeroll even though they were not even in the same room, and she
"It's the Avengers tower!" Natasha loudly called in reply. Yelena smirked, starting to reply with something sarcastic. However, she was interrupted by a knock at the door.
Yelena quieted, wondering who was there at the door and silently worrying a bit that it might be someone unsavory. It was always a possibility that one had to consider when having the history they had. Yelena quietly approached the door, readying herself for a potential fight as she reached for the doorknob.
She swiftly opened the door, fully prepared to attack if the person on the other side was hostile.
But to her surprise, when she opened the door, the last person in the world that she would expect was standing there looking at her. It was none other than Antonia Dreykov, her body stiff as she stood there like a statue.
"Antonia. What are you doing here?" Yelena questioned, extremely confused as she looked at the young woman. Antonia lifted her chin just a bit with practiced confidence, and Yelena could easily see the worry and slight fear in her eyes.
She could hear Natasha coming into the room, no doubt wondering why Yelena had not responded. Yelena glanced back at her, noticing that she had already changed into a different set of clothes. Natasha's eyes widened a bit as she realized precisely who Yelena was talking to.
"Antonia?" Natasha suddenly spoke up, and she moved in next to Yelena staring at the woman with shock. Yelena quickly spotted how Antonia immediately looked at Natasha, focusing her attentions and her eyes solely on the older woman.
"Is something wrong?" Natasha finally asked, and Yelena shifted her gaze between the two of them.
"No, nothing is wrong," Antonia answered simply after a moment of hesitation, her words calm but her gaze communicating anything but. "I'm not here on any business."
Natasha's features softened despite the fact that concern was still quite prevalent within her features. Yelena was quite curious as to what exactly had prompted Antonia's visit if it was not business of some sort.
"Here, come in," Natasha invited, stepping aside and Yelena followed suit, standing nearby the redhead as she stared at Antonia with confusion and slight interest.
Antonia stiffly crossed the threshold, not wanting to meet their eyes at first. She paused in front of the pair, and she finally looked up at Natasha.
"Shostakov and Vostokoff said I was free to leave, and I… I had hoped to speak with you," Antonia bravely spoke up, keeping her light-colored eyes focused on Natasha. Yelena felt her heart ache a bit for the other girl, knowing that she had it much worse than any of the rest of them simply because of her especially close relationship with Dreykov.
Natasha apparently felt the same way, and she gently reached out to the girl. Antonia stiffened instinctively, looking as if she might attack just from the pure fear that someone was going to hurt her. Antonia's gaze slight shifted to Yelena, seemingly trying to gauge a proper response based on how Yelena seemed to react to the entire thing. Yelena just looked at her reassuringly, knowing Natasha would not ever do anything to injure the girl and wanting to make Antonia understand this fact about the redhead.
Natasha carefully made contact with Antonia's shoulder, her hand soft with care and concern. Antonia froze stock still, and Natasha ran her hand up to gently rest her hand on the side of Antonia's neck, just stroking the skin there with her thumb.
As soon as she did that, Antonia almost looked as if she might cry from the sheer tenderness of the whole thing.
"We'll talk about anything you want to," Natasha assured her, and Antonia swiftly scrambled to try to pull the walls back up that she always was forced to keep throughout the entirety of her life. However, she still looked positively wrecked, and when Natasha removed her hand, Antonia's body slightly chased the touch.
Yelena felt a small tug of something odd inside of her, but she immediately wrote it off as pity for her fellow widow.
"If it is not too much trouble," Antonia very tentatively began, her voice firm but at the same time, so utterly and terribly vulnerable. Natasha nodded easily and encouragingly, her head lowered a bit so she could peer into Antonia's face from where the younger girl had bowed her head somewhat from her timidity and uncertainty.
"I would like to speak with you alone," Antonia quietly admitted, and she froze a bit, her gaze growing slightly steely as she no doubt tried to prepare herself for potential rejection.
"Sure. Whatever you need," Natasha agreed quickly, nothing but kindness in her features, and Antonia loosened up a bit, her posture significantly less rigid.
Yelena could not deny the slight shock and offense that came over her at the fact that Antonia did not want her there, especially since Yelena had been through the exact same things as she and Natasha. But Yelena made sure it did not show up on her face or in her body language. She glanced between the two slightly before nodding, her gaze lingering on Natasha.
"I'll leave you two to it," Yelena spoke, and Natasha glanced gratefully in her direction for just a short moment before redirecting her focus on the girl before her and starting to head somewhere more comfortable to speak with her.
Yelena watched them for a moment before heading off in the opposite direction, for some reason finding herself feeling something that she had never exactly experienced before.
However, she pushed the emotion away, looking forward to when she and Natasha would have some time together and she could perhaps subtly pry some information from Natasha about her conversation with Antonia.
…
But that emotion came quickly flooding back in when she discovered that Antonia would be staying with the two of them for a week or so. Natasha had seemed excited for her stay, and Yelena could easily read the guilt that the redhead was carrying.
Yelena tried to tell herself that it was only that sense of obligation that was fueling Natasha's desire to spend time with Antonia, but this tactic was not doing much to reassure her when Natasha kept focusing so much on the brunette.
It started growing frustratingly obvious that she was never going to spend any time alone with Natasha except for at bedtime, and they could not talk for nearly as long as Yelena would like because they had to go to bed at a normal time because Natasha insisted on making Antonia comfortable since Antonia got up early. It was no doubt a habit from her time in the Red Room, and despite the fact that Natasha was not an extremely early riser, she wanted to do anything she could to accommodate the guest.
Natasha and Antonia went everywhere together, Antonia following Natasha like a desperate little puppy that was hoping for its next scrap of attention and mostly ignoring anyone and everyone else that was around. It made Yelena very thankful that she definitely never looked like that when she was with her sister.
Now, the three of them were out for a run. Natasha always ran in the mornings, and Yelena had decided to come along since she had been waking up early with Natasha every morning because of Antonia. She was really hoping that she was going to finally get some time with just her sister, but of course, Antonia asked what they were doing, and Natasha extended the invitation to join them.
And of course, Antonia took her up on it. Much to Yelena's chagrin.
Yelena had actually tried to talk to Antonia several times during the course of their time together this week, and Antonia would always reply awkwardly and follow it up with something to include Natasha in the conversation as well. It was painfully and frustratingly clear that Antonia was downright obsessed with Natasha and obviously saw her as some sort of invincible hero since she saved her from Dreykov.
It annoyed Yelena to no end, and it contributed to her current sour mood.
However, her mood did not last long, because once they had almost reached home, Yelena spotted her favorite convenience store with her favorite icy slushies.
"Hey, wait!" Yelena slowed as they approached the front of the store, and Natasha and Antonia paused in front of her, turning to face the blonde. Antonia looked prepped to take on some sort of threat and Natasha had a weariness in her eyes that indicated that she knew precisely what Yelena was about to say.
"Let's get a slushie," Yelena suggested, jabbing a thumb in the direction of the store, and Natasha groaned as Antonia loosened up, the confused look still persisting on her face.
"Seriously, Yelena? They're so gross," Natasha unhappily expressed, and Yelena just smirked widely, glad to have Natasha's attention on her alone.
"They're good! Besides, it's not for you. It's for me," Yelena informed her as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, and Natasha just looked at her for a long moment, debating it heavily. She finally sighed and gave in, offering Yelena a slight smile before instead looking at Antonia.
"You want to try one?" Natasha offered, and Antonia just blinked, looking terribly unsure of herself as she stared at Natasha with something akin to worry in her eyes.
"What is it?" Antonia uncertainly questioned.
"An ice-filled flavor experience," Yelena quickly answered, her eyes solely on Natasha, and Natasha flashed her a playfully exasperated look before returning her attentions to Antonia.
"They come in several different flavors. They're just ice with liquid that tastes like different things. There's cherry, grape, blueberry, and—"
"Pineapple," Yelena happily finished, her eyes sparkling as she grinned widely at her older sister.
"I guess I would like to try it if that's alright," Antonia somewhat meekly spoke, her gaze conveying her slight nervousness. Natasha just smiled at her reassuringly, slowly reaching out a hand to place on her back and guide her in the door with her after Yelena.
Once Yelena looked back at them and spotted the scene, she felt a bit of irrational irritation starting to rise in her. It confused her, but she wasted no time in simply choosing to ignore the feeling.
…
However, it was when the three of them had went to the Avengers tower and Yelena passed by the gym that the blonde fully realized precisely which emotion that she was experiencing.
Once she caught the smallest glimpse of Natasha's red hair in the room, Yelena wasted no time starting to head in. She even had a gleefully wicked smirk on her face, aiming to say something snarky and hopefully earn her sister's attentions at least a little.
However, when she first crossed the threshold, she stopped, staring at the scene unfolding.
Antonia and Natasha were in there together sparring, but that was not the especially unusual and heart-destroying part.
Natasha was showing Antonia some of her rarely used and almost secret yet most advanced fighting moves that she had promised to teach Yelena at some point soon.
Yelena's honey-green eyes were locked on the pair as a rage started to flare up deep inside of her. She could feel her skin prickling and her entire person starting to grow hot. Her current leather jacket that she had stolen from Natasha's closet felt entirely too stifling.
It was finally more than she could take, and she stepped forward, fury and pain fueling her every movement.
"What are you doing?" she asked simply, making her presence known, and both of the girls in the ring paused in their sparring.
"Just teaching Antonia some moves," Natasha responded carefreely, and Yelena did not miss how Natasha's eyes softened as she looked at Antonia. Yelena somehow found herself even more incensed simply from the expression. That expression was for Yelena. It always was. And it did not belong to Antonia.
"Ah," Yelena replied shortly, nodding curtly. She looked down at the ground, crossing her arms. She could feel their eyes on her, and after a moment, she shifted her gaze back up to meet Natasha's light greens.
"I couldn't help but notice… Don't those moves just happen to be the ones that you agreed to teach me?" Yelena asked as her anger finally started to take precedence in her voice, her head tilted just a little as she waited for an answer.
Antonia looked terribly uncomfortable as she stiffened, her eyes moving awkwardly between the two sisters. Natasha straightened a little, looking somewhat surprised.
"Yeah… I was teaching Antonia so she could help me teach you," Natasha spoke, and unfortunately, Yelena knew that the older woman was being as genuine as could be with her words. She read no deceit in her tone or in the way that she looked at Yelena. However, it still enraged Yelena because this was supposed to be something that she was going to do with Natasha and Natasha alone. It was supposed to be something they spent time together doing.
"Oh, okay… I see," Yelena nodded a mocking grin on her face, full of fake understanding as she barely kept the anger under the surface. Antonia had moved to the opposite side of the ring, and she was looking down at her fingers, trying desperately to avoid looking at Yelena and Natasha.
"I guess Antonia is easier to teach than me since she has that photographic memory. And it'd be such a pain to have to teach me alone, right?" Yelena snapped, feeling the tears prickling at her eyes. She knew she was going to have to get out of there quick if she did not want to break down and embarrass herself.
Natasha's entire person seemed to deflate considerably as she just stared at Yelena with that same haunted, guilty look that she had done so well getting rid of as she and Yelena spent more time together.
"Yelena," Natasha softly spoke, and Yelena shook her head, spinning on her heel and heading toward the door. She needed out, and she could not hold her tears if Natasha was standing there and staring at her like that.
"No," Yelena simply replied, negating any of Natasha's words with the simple force of her chosen response.
She could hear Natasha calling after her, but she just ignored the older woman, heading out the door and trying to keep the tears contained within her as she stomped away.
…
Yelena had retreated into Natasha's room, and although she knew that she would cross paths with the redhead at some point, she did not exactly have her own room there at the tower despite the fact that it was offered to her. She had turned it down since that was not the place where her and Natasha usually lived anyway, and whenever they were at the tower, she could just sleep in Natasha's room. After all, she always ended up in Natasha's bed when they were at home.
However, at this point, she was beginning to regret making that choice. Every one of her senses was flooded with something that was innately Natasha and while it would ordinarily be comforting, it was exceedingly frustrating at this point.
All she could focus on was how infuriated and hurt she was about Natasha choosing to pass up their special time together in favor of including Antonia who had only been here for less than a week.
Yelena had felt jealousy before, but she had never felt it surrounding a person. She had always understood the feeling of jealousy of a person, but never a jealousy closely resembling a possessiveness over a person.
This was extremely new to her, and it almost surprised her with how much she just wanted to shove and fight Antonia when she truly did not hate Antonia at all. She also had an overwhelmingly huge urge to grab onto her sister and just sit on her or something to make her stay with her instead of spending so much time with another widow.
Perhaps that was what bothered Yelena most. Antonia was so similar to Yelena in terms of shared experience and backstory. It almost made Yelena afraid that Antonia could easily replace her in Natasha's eyes and heart.
She kept trying to tell herself that it was not true and that could never really happen, but it nevertheless was a thought that continued to plague her and was growing even more insistent after catching Natasha and Antonia practicing the moves together.
Yelena froze a little on the bed as she heard quiet footsteps approaching the door. She felt her anger and injury flaring up even more since she knew precisely who it was. She chewed the inside of her cheek, avoiding looking at the door altogether as she silently seethed.
"Yelena?" Natasha quietly questioned, and Yelena just kept her back to her.
"I don't want to see you right now," Yelena answered simply, and after a pregnant pause, she heard the door shut. However, she knew that Natasha had not left the room. She could practically feel her despite the fact that there were no sounds announcing her continued presence.
After a long moment, Natasha stepped further into the room, and Yelena felt the mattress move a little as Natasha rested on it.
"I'm sorry, Rooskaya. I didn't know that I was hurting you," Natasha apologized, and Yelena felt the prickles of anger coming back over her again.
"I thought I said I didn't want to see you? That counts not wanting to talk to you, too," Yelena pointed out, clenching her teeth and knowing that Natasha was not going to give up despite Yelena's best efforts.
"I know, but we need to talk. You haven't been yourself since Antonia got here," Natasha acknowledged, and Yelena growled under her breath.
"What gave you that idea?" Yelena questioned, the snark evident in her voice as she challenged Natasha and tried to get a rise from her. Natasha did not react to her words, instead sighing.
"I didn't mean to ignore you, Yelena," Natasha sincerely spoke, and Yelena scoffed with irritation.
"But you did. You only ever pay attention to Antonia, and I can't even spend two seconds with you without her butting into our conversation," Yelena explained, her words losing some of their venom and moving toward a more irritated tone.
"She's been talking to only you and keeps taking up all of your time," Yelena told Natasha, and she found that somehow, she was losing a bit of her gusto and anger in this entire endeavor. She gritted her teeth as her next point came to her.
"And worst of all, she follows you around like she's a puppy," Yelena spat the last word, angry as the mental image returned to her. Natasha was quiet for a long moment, and Yelena wondered why she was not responding. However, she soon felt the bed shaking just a little, and Yelena risked a glance over her shoulder to look at the redhead.
To her surprise, Natasha was just laughing at her. Yelena furrowed her brow, irritated and confused at the same time, not understanding the source of her sister's mirth. However, she definitely knew that it had something to do with Yelena.
"What is so funny?" Yelena asked, her voice almost venomous as she dared her sister to admit that she was laughing at her. Natasha shook her head, pulling herself together as she just kept a small grin on her face.
"Nothing… It's just that… You do the exact same thing," Natasha told her, her eyes glowing as she gazed at Yelena. Yelena just glared at the redhead.
"I do not."
"Yeah, you do."
"I don't follow you everywhere and look at you like you're some kind of angel," Yelena replied, and Natasha shrugged a little.
"Clint wouldn't agree with you about the last part since he's said that you look at me like that, but even I can see that you follow me around a lot," Natasha admitted, her smile soft as she looked at Yelena. Yelena just huffed in aggravation, not as angry as she had been but still not pleased at all with her older sister. She hesitantly turned so that she was laying on her side and facing Natasha.
"Don't worry, sweet girl… I love every moment you choose to spend with me. It's a gift, and I know I don't deserve it," Natasha expressed, her every word in that tone of painful, guilt-ridden honesty and reverence. Yelena felt her heart tug toward her sister, her anger starting to shift into just hurt and the need to be held in Natasha's arms.
"I only was going to teach Antonia first because I knew that if someone else learned the moves, then it would help you learn. More than one person's perspective is sometimes helpful when teaching things," Natasha explained softly, her light green eyes apologetically gazing into Yelena's.
"I wanted to learn it with just me and you," Yelena told her, and she could not help but feel childish as she uttered the words. She looked away from Natasha, focusing her gaze on the bed where they were lying.
"And I'm going to teach you. Without Antonia there, okay?" Natasha assured, her voice gentle, and Yelena raised her gaze back up to meet Natasha's eyes again.
"I don't hate Antonia," Yelena admitted quietly, trying to ensure that Natasha understood the situation better. She did not want Natasha to think that she despised Antonia. Yelena actually liked Antonia. She just did not like how Antonia focused all of her attention on Natasha and took Natasha away from her.
"I never thought you did."
"I don't want… Ya ne khochu, chtoby ona menya zamenila,"1 Yelena explained, shifting to a language more comfortable to her to allow such a tender confession. Natasha hesitantly reached her arm out to the blonde, aiming to touch her face. However, at this point, Yelena was ready for her sister to give her affection. She was not angry anymore, and Yelena moved in closer, avoiding the hand coming for her face in favor of getting near enough to the redhead to press her forehead and nose against Natasha's.
"You will never be replaced. You will always be my sister," Natasha murmured to her with the softest of tones, and Yelena let out a breath of relief, feeling a wave of warmth and happiness wash over her at Natasha's claiming of her. It made her feel so much better about the whole thing.
"You know, my biggest problem with Antonia is that you are my sister. Not hers. Vse moye,"2 Yelena told her, possessiveness slipping into her voice a bit more than she had intended. However, Natasha seemed just as pleased with the words as Yelena had been with Natasha's admissions. Natasha just moved her face up a bit, kissing the tip of Yelena's nose gently before pressing their noses together.
"I'm always yours," Natasha assured her, her light greens boring holes in Yelena's honey-green pools.
Yelena smiled, closing her eyes as she just comfortably enjoyed Natasha's touch as she ran her hand along Yelena's side lovingly. They were quiet for a long moment, silently enjoying each other's company when Yelena suddenly felt some guilt creeping upon her from how she no doubt made Antonia feel.
"Was Antonia upset?" Yelena asked, her words simple but her tone conveying her concern and guilt.
"She felt bad at first, but I explained it to her. She's okay," Natasha assured Yelena, and she settled back against Natasha, fully allowing herself to relax.
Several moments passed before Yelena chuckled a little and grinned, a thought coming to her.
"Speaking of Antonia… Did you teach her how to pose?"
"I don't want her to replace me."
"All mine."