black widow movie | dear violette romanoff,

chapter seven | black widow

I navigate my way through the junk on the floor, letting the glass crunch under my feet. I climb onto the kitchen stool and watch Yelena attempt to look busy.

I want to ask her what the meaning of the fight was, but I'm not stupid. I can piece the puzzle together. Nat had gotten the wrong impression by coming to Budapest, and Yelena had acted on her previous knowledge of Nat's civility, resulting in a grade school fight.

Natasha walks into the kitchen. "You had to come to Budapest, didn't you?" Her rage is forever unmatched.

"You didn't have to come here," I try to explain to her. "You weren't even supposed to. This wasn't part of the plan."

"What was the plan?" Natasha scoffs.

"We came here because we thought you wouldn't," Yelena tells her. "But since you are, what bullet does that?" Yelena opens a bottle of vodka and points the cork at the three oddly-shaped bullet holes in our wall.

"Not bullets," Nat says. "Arrows."

"Ah, right."

Nat places photos of the three of us as children onto the countertop - the photos that we shipped inside the vials to let her know it was from Yelena or me - then, she places the vials beside them.

I exhale sharply. "Oh, my God. You didn't."

"You brought it back here?" Yelena shouts and walks off.

Nat follows us into the bedroom where three racks of completely different clothing are. "I'm not here trying to be your friend, but you need to tell me what that is."

"It's a synthetic gas," Yelena replies, staring between both of us. "The counteragent to chemical subjugation."

Nat doesn't respond, bemused.

"The gas immunizes the brain's neuropathways from external manipulation," I further try to explain.

Nat and Yelena start undressing, looking through the racks of clothes.

"Maybe in English next time?" Nat suggests.

"Это противоядие к контролю над разумом," ("It's an antidote to mind control.") Yelena jokes.

Nat nods. "Настоящая зрелая." ("Real mature.")

"Why don't you take it to one of your super-scientist friends?"

I take my top off and search through the clothing. "Like an Avenger?" I suggest.

"Tony Stark, maybe," Yelena says.

Nat shakes her head. "Oh, yeah. We're not really talking right now, so..."

"You're in trouble with the law," I speak up. "I saw it in the news. The Sokovia Accords, or something..."

"Yeah, that."

"Oh, great. Perfect timing," Yelena mutters. "Where's an Avenger when you need one?"

"I just can't believe you brought the vials back here," I scoff in disbelief.

Nat looks offended. "I don't want to be here. I'm on the run, and you could've gotten me killed," she says, staring at me intensely.

"It was all Yelena's idea." I deflect the attention off of me.

"Well, what was I supposed to do?" Yelena says, getting softer in tone. "Violette said we needed help, and you're the only superhero person that I know."

Nat slips her shirt off, revealing the agitated bruises and cuts over her back.

"That looks bad," I tell her. "You should disinfect it."