"And that's why we need to initiate this protocol. We have to try to improve our—"
It was quickly becoming clear to Yelena that she never wanted to go to anything called a collaborative conference ever again. And if she ever forgot that lesson and wanted to go again, then she would specifically hire someone to slap her in the face and shake her out of her episode of insanity.
Steve Rogers was a really nice guy, albeit a goody-two shoes, but he definitely could not hold the attention of any audience whatsoever. He was one of the most boring speakers that Yelena had ever heard, but she had to at least pretend that she was paying a little bit of attention to him, despite the fact that she did not care about anything he was saying at all.
The only reason she was here was after begging Natasha to let her come so she could earn more favor from the group and hopefully more greatly secure her place with them and get them to officially initiate her on the team.
Natasha was sitting next to her at the moment, her eyes on Steve. To most people, she was attentively hanging on his every word. However, Yelena could easily see that her sister was somewhat unfocused since it seemed that she was more just looking through him than at him. It was clear to Yelena that Natasha was as bored as her.
So Yelena did what any self-respecting younger sister would do. She very surreptitiously pinched Natasha's leg under the table in an attempt to simultaneously aggravate Natasha and get her attention. The redhead immediately turned her head to face Yelena, confusion and slight irritation in her gaze as she was drawn back into the real world outside of her own mind.
Yelena just grinned a little, mouthing the word "boring" to her older sister with a bit of an eyeroll and a miming of a loud groan. Natasha immediately understood, sighing a bit and leaning nearer to the blonde while keeping her eyes on Steve carefully.
"We've only got about five more minutes," Natasha softly spoke, and Yelena's eyes widened a little with surprise, joy from the prospect of getting out of the stuffy little room suddenly flooding through her.
"Only five more minutes? That's a blessing," Yelena whispered, her words barely above a breath as she smiled with relief as her posture loosened significantly. Natasha smirked a tiny bit, and Yelena quickly lost her smile, knowing that her sister's mirth was definitely not a good sign.
"And then we have to give our input on the whole thing," Natasha explained to her with a smug look in her eyes, and Yelena almost groaned aloud as she just looked at Natasha with something that could only be described as pure suffering.
"You have got to be kidding me," Yelena quietly replied, and Natasha just flashed her an affectionate, slightly pitying smile.
"You practically begged me to let you come, remember?" Natasha whispered to her, her mouth not far from Yelena's ear. Yelena could easily hear her amusement despite the quietness of her voice. Yelena flashed her a halfhearted glare in response. Yelena could easily see that Natasha was enjoying this way too much and she was quickly starting to realize that her suffering in this meeting was becoming Natasha's entertainment for the afternoon.
"I didn't know it was going to be like watching paint dry," Yelena sarcastically informed her, her eyes half-lidded as she just locked her eyes with the redhead's light green eyes. Natasha just huffed in reply, shrugging noncommittally with a lopsided grin and returning her gaze to Steve as he concluded his speech and quieted, giving them all a chance to voice their thoughts.
It was all that Yelena could do not to groan when someone piped up and started presenting an opposite opinion to the super soldier, which launched them all into a debate. She took that opportunity to just lean forward and rest her elbow on the table while propping up her chin with a hand, the entire room abuzz with conversation that she really had no input in whatsoever.
She had almost totally zoned out when she suddenly heard Natasha start speaking. Everyone quieted, and Yelena was shaken back into reality just from the sheer quiet that fell across the room as they listened to Natasha's words.
It was then that Yelena truly understood the quiet power that Natasha held in the room. It was shocking to her just how well-respected that the redhead was. She had never really thought about it before, but she now was starting to realize that almost any time Natasha wanted something to happen, it would come together for her. Any time Yelena wanted to come along on a mission, Natasha saw to it that it happened, and Yelena knew that it could not have been something that was commonly allowed.
It made her somehow admire her big sister even more. Of course, she would sooner die than admit that fact, but she nevertheless felt it deep within her as she stared at Natasha.
Once Natasha had finished her piece, everyone started conversation about Natasha's input. Yelena stared at the side of her sister's face, and Natasha glanced in Yelena's direction, hesitating as she realized Yelena was looking at her. Yelena just raised an eyebrow at her, and Natasha smiled a little.
Soon enough, things grew boring again as the rest of the group were arguing and Yelena started to lose interest, her eyes glazing over a little as she just stared in a random direction, not really paying any attention to anyone.
However, she was swiftly grounded when she felt a gentle hand on her back. Yelena glanced in Natasha's direction quizzically, recognizing the touch immediately. Natasha was not even looking in her direction and actually seemed to be somewhat invested in the conversation occurring before them.
Yelena, on the other hand, could not think about much besides how nice the contact felt and how she just wanted to melt on the spot. She also was a bit stuck on just how embarrassed she was going to be if she gave in to those impulses.
To her pure surprise, Natasha slipped her hand underneath the blonde's shirt and started gently tracing along her back, her fingers tickling barely in the softest of touches. Yelena almost froze up, but the sensations were just so comforting.
Yelena could not even really bring herself to turn away Natasha's affections, and she felt her stomach twist uncomfortably as she realized that the Avengers were going to inevitably see her so weak and defenseless. She really did not want them to witness her in that state. However, she definitely did not want Natasha to stop gently raking her fingers along her back in that manner that always made her feel so immensely loved.
She tried to fight the urge to lean against Natasha, valiantly holding out against Natasha's gentle touches. She knew she could not hold out for long, but she was going to do the best she could for as long as possible.
She felt Natasha running her fingers along her back in a specific pattern, and Yelena swiftly felt a letter "I" on her back. Natasha swiped carefully, erasing, and then wrote "love." Yelena knew precisely where this was going, remembering the last time Natasha had pulled this trick when they were alone in their house and definitely not surrounded by the cool kids. It made Yelena's heart ache with love and adoration before, and it was having that same effect now. She knew that as soon as Natasha wrote the last word on her back, she would be unable to resist just melting into her sister.
Sure enough, Natasha wrote "you" on her back, and after a long moment of the most resistance that she could possibly manage, she finally leaned over sideways and rested her head against Natasha's shoulder heavily. As soon as she did, she felt a huge weight leave her and most of the irritation about the stupid conference disappearing in favor of basking in the love offered to her by the redhead. Embarrassment was coursing through her almost as strongly, but not persistently enough to make her move away from Natasha's touch.
She quickly noticed that Clint had immediately noticed them, and she supposed that was not the most embarrassing person to see it, but she still felt quite a bit of humiliation anyway. However, it did not seem to phase Natasha's gentle strokes and touches at all, and Yelena just looked down at the table, avoiding looking at Clint.
"Is she okay?" Steve suddenly questioned after several beats, and Yelena felt her stomach drop to her feet, embarrassment flooding over her as she realized more than just Clint had apparently noticed her. However, she still could not quite pull away from her sister's affections, instead moving her face to hide it a little in Natasha's shoulder.
"Yeah, of course," Natasha replied, a bit of humor in her voice, and Yelena felt as if she might die from pure embarrassment as she realized that Natasha found her humiliation to be quite humorous.
"Huh. Who would've thought that disaster Russian number two had such a soft side?" Tony commented, and Yelena felt herself bristle a bit. She could practically feel Natasha's gaze on her.
"She's a cutie," Natasha doted on her, her voice affectionate in an almost teasing sort of way, and Yelena pulled her head away from Natasha's shoulder, stubbornly looking away from the group and her sister as well. This was growing to be much too humiliating.
She could feel Natasha starting to move her hand away from her, but Yelena just moved her back and followed Natasha's hand. Despite her embarrassment, she was not giving up the attention now.
"Oh, and you can pet her like a housecat, too?" Tony asked, laughing a little, and it was then that Natasha's hand froze on Yelena's back. Yelena could almost feel the joking tone in the air totally drop in favor of something much graver and more serious as Natasha apparently did not entirely take that last comment as a joke and it crossed into risky territory.
"Man, I've got to get me one of those," Tony pointed out in his typical manner, and even though Yelena knew that he did not mean anything by it, it still made her bristle as it reminded Yelena of older days when the handlers, trainers, and higher-ups at the Red Room simply saw her as a fresh slab of meat to be distributed as they pleased. Natasha seemed to pick up on it, and Yelena could feel Natasha's hand against her back tighten.
"So, what have we decided on?" Natasha questioned, totally skipping over the quip, but anyone could read the extreme warning in Natasha's tone and the venom percolating just beneath the surface. She was daring every single person to challenge her and say something.
Yelena moved her head to the side, taking in Natasha's face. Her face was neutral enough, but Yelena could see the danger in her eyes that prohibited anyone from saying anything else about Yelena. Yelena was surprised, but she was very much grateful to Natasha for her to take such a deep offense to it and stop it immediately. That last comment had definitely stepped over the line.
Everyone cleared their throat, an awkward silence falling over them before Steve suddenly called for a vote. Yelena looked at Natasha with a great bit of admiration, her heart melting despite the embarrassment that Natasha had caused her earlier.
She moved back nearer to her sister, leaning into her side heavily and not caring who saw. No one would say anything about it anyway. Not after Natasha's display.
Soon enough, they all ended up settling on some version of the plan that resembled Natasha's suggestion but also had some of Steve and Tony's ideas thrown in as well. They quickly dismissed after that, and everyone dispersed.
When Yelena and Natasha were walking down the hall together in a comfortable silence, Natasha as calm as could be, Yelena spoke up.
"Thank you," Yelena told her quietly, and Natasha raised an eyebrow, smiling affectionately at the blonde as she slowed a bit to fall more into step with Yelena.
"Nobody gets to embarrass my sister but me," Natasha told her, an uncharacteristic lightheartedness and teasing in her voice despite the seriousness that was in her eyes. Yelena rolled her eyes, shrugging at Natasha's arm that was now thrown over her shoulders. Natasha started to move it away, her chuckle ringing near Yelena, but the blonde reached up and grabbed Natasha's hand, keeping her arm where it was.
"You're a real prizewinner in the jerk category," Yelena grumbled despite leaning into Natasha a little.
"I learned everything I knew from you."
"Ha," Yelena let out a short, fake bark of laughter. "You must be a fast learner if you figured it out that well in the relatively short amount of time that we've been reunited."
Natasha just chuckled in reply to her. Yelena just raised an eyebrow with a smirk. After a moment, she just looked over at Natasha and eyed her softly, her heart swelling with affection. Natasha returned the gaze, her eyes conveying all the warmth in the world.
"Ya tebya lyublyu."
"Ya lyublyu tebya yeshche bol'she."