Nothing Lasts Forever

Nightmares

Yelena stirred in the bed as Natasha moved herself out of the covers. She stood still for a moment, watching whilst Yelena settled back down. She definitely needed her rest. Nat moved to the desk and put the kettle on. It was 6:30 in the morning and she was wide awake, ready to take their next steps.

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"No! Please not my sister! Take me! I'm begging you. Pozhaluysta! Pozhaluysta!" She screamed in horror as she watched them sear a knife into Natasha's heart. Natasha gasped for air, the knife cutting deeper and ultimately taking her life.

Yelena screamed and screamed as she watched her sister be brutally murdered in front of her. Six people in lab suits gripped her down to the table where she would endure hours of pain experiments once again.

"No!" She lifted her head against the restraints.

"Natasha! Please!" But her sister collapsed to the floor in a pool of blood. She fought on for her last few seconds of life, but it wasn't enough. Yelena cried and cried as her sister didn't respond. She'd lost all she had in that moment.

Her body felt numb, feeling lifeless. She was pricked and prodded and screamed and screamed in agony. Her sister was gone. Gone. She hoped they killed her too. She couldn't imagine her life without her.

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Natasha was writing in a notebook when she heard her name being muttered across the room. The mutters turned into screams as her sister cried and cried in her sleep. Her arms flapped, nails clawing into the sheets, but her eyes were squeezed closed still.

Nat rushed over and gripped her sister's shoulders trying to wake her. "Natasha! Please no! Pozhaluysta! I need you! No!" She screamed, shaking in her sleep.

"Hey, Yelena. Wake up. It isn't real, I'm here. I've got you." She held her tighter, holding her close until she felt her sister grip back as she woke from her nightmare. Tears wet her shoulder and it ached Natasha's heart.

Yelena pulled away and felt Nat's face. "You were dead. You were dead." She continued to cry from the terrors in her dream.

Nat held her closer, stroking her hair as she started to calm down. "It's ok. I'm right here. I'm fine." Slowly, her crys turned to sniffles and small sobs. They held eachother for as long as was needed. "Ya lyublyu tebya, sestra. I love you sister."

Eventually, without saying anything. Yelena pulled away, quickly wiping her damp cheeks and headed to the restroom.

Nat let her go. She sympathised with her sister, having had many similar dreams before. It was even worse when you woke up alone though. So she took a little comfort from the fact that she was there for Yelena on this occasion.

The morning passed with minimal chat. Yelena was clearly still feeling the impacts of the dream and Natasha didn't want to probe her about it. Her injuries were starting to heal, but she still ached all over and probably could've slept for another 2 days.

They packed up anything they had, which wasn't much and checked out downstairs. By 9am they were back in the Skoda and driving at speed on the highway.

"I get them too you know." Yelena turned to Natasha who was driving the car. She didn't know what to say but she knew her sister had gone through the same as her. "The dreams I mean."

Yelena nodded. She knew.

"I just want you to know that it's OK. You don't always have to feel like you can't show your emotions in front of me and I know I haven't always been there, but I promise to be now." She kept her eyes on the road but meant every word.

Yelena smiled slightly. She felt strong with Natasha by her side. Together, they were unbreakable. "I just..." She couldn't get the words out, still feeling the emotions from earlier. "I just feel so angry all the time. I have the same dreams. I'm either watching you die, or Mum and occasionally Dad. No matter how hard I try, they keep coming back."

Natasha empathised with her so much. "I know what it's like. You feel like you can't breathe and they're so real. You feel physical pain. To be honest it's why I don't sleep much. I just keep as busy as possible. It's exhausting but it's the only way I've found that helps."

Yelena turned the radio up. She was ready to move past her bad thoughts. She knew the dreams would be back, but there was no use dwelling on it for too long. Sia pumped out of the speakers, making her tap her foot along with the beat.

"Oh sorry not this song." Natasha shook her head and changed the station.

Yelena changed it straight back. "Ah cyka! I love that song!"

"Yeah well the last time I played that song I was taken out by Taskmaster. It's just a bad vibe for me."

"Wow I  didn't know you were superstitious. Fair enough." She switched it to a Coldplay song on the other station. Nat thanked her and they drove on, enjoying the music.

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3 hours later, Nat had to wake Yelena who was slumped against the car window asleep as they'd arrived at their destination. She drifted off about an hour ago and had been fast asleep ever since. No nightmares seemed to have interfered this time.

Yelena woke and realised they were parked in the middle of a field. "Where the hell are we?"

"We're getting out of here. We're going to do something I should've done a long time ago." Nat got out the car and walked towards a white aircraft jet standing in amongst the long grass. Her old friend Rick Mason was leaning against it casually and he smiled at the appearance of Natasha. It wasn't in the pristine condition of Steve's QuinJet but it was good enough nevertheless.

"Well here we are again." He pulled her into a hug and she smiled. "It's not much, similar to the one you plummeted in St. Petersburg but has a bit more fuel to hopefully get you to where you need to go."

"It will do. I can't thank you enough for all your help. Really, I appreciate it." She smiled gratefully.

Yelena had emerged from the car, stretched her back from the journey and was making her way over. "Wow. So where are we off to?" She licked her thumb and tried smudging some dirt off the aircraft.

"My other home."

Yelena raised an eyebrow wondering if she was thinking what Nat was thinking. "Oh well this will be fun then." She jumped on board and Natasha followed after saying goodbye to Rick. She was ready to patch things up with the gang.