No Tears | NR

Chapter 11

Just outside of Budapest, Hungary

The three women had not stayed in the air vent much longer after Natasha's and Yelena's conversation. They had taken the next train to the city's outskirts and walked to a gas stop to get painkillers in tense silence, only exchanging a few words when necessary.

Yara's head was still pounding which was part of the reason why she said even less than usual and stayed to herself.

"The Red Room's still active. Where is it?", the redhead broke the silence a little while after they had entered the little store.

"I have no idea", Yelena declared shortly. "He moves location constantly. And every widow is sedated on entry and exit for maximum security."

"I'm just finding it hard to believe that he could stay off my radar", Natasha said, walking closer towards Yelena.

"Well, it's not smart to attack an Avenger if you want to stay hidden", Yelena reasoned, grabbing a box of pills out of the shelf. "I mean, the clue is in the name. Dreykov kills you, one of the big ones comes to avenge you."

"Wait, what are the big ones?", Natasha wanted to know, genuinely confused about what Yelena meant.

"Well, I doubt the god from space has to take an ibuprofen after a fight", the blonde replied.

Yara smirked at that. She had been observing the other two women quietly ever since the attack in the apartment. She had the impression that they kept on forgetting that she was there because Yara rarely made herself noticeable. Or they just didn't care. Either way, they definitely had some history together that Yara didn't know about.

"Where did you think I was all this time?", Yelena asked with much less confidence than she had shown before.

At this point, Yara decided that this was too personal and none of her business so she went to the bathroom after inquiring from the cashier where she could find it.

Natasha and Yelena were waiting for her in front of the shop. She was a little surprised that they hadn't forgotten about her considering that they had so far basically ignored her presence most of the time, even though that was not only their fault. She hadn't even been sure if the other two women had noticed that she had left them when she had gone to the restroom.

Apparently, they had noticed, because they hadn't left without her. She joined them wordlessly and they walked around a little until they found a small restaurant. Yelena and Yara sat down at a table outside while Natasha went inside to get something to drink.

The sun had already set and it was dark by now. The air had cooled down a little to the point where it was a little bit too warm for a jacket or a sweater, but a little too chilly for just a t-shirt.

Yara sat in silence and looked around. Her eyes landed on a pair of boys who were passing a ball to each other with their feet. A small smile made its way onto her face. The sound of someone wincing next to her caught her attention. She turned her head and noticed Yelena pouring some liquid on her arm to disinfect her wound which she hadn't had the time or opportunity to take care of up until now.

"Need a hand?"

Yelena looked up at Yara surprised but shook her head after a moment. "No, thank you."

Right at that moment, Natasha get back to their table, set two bottles of beer down in front of them, and sat down next to Yara. Yelena had returned to the task of cleaning her wound and was groaning from the burning pain that the disinfectant caused upon contact with her injury.

Yelena was the one to speak up this time, "The gas, the counteragent, it was synthesized in secret by an older widow from Melina's generation. I was on the mission to retrieve it, and she exposed me. And I killed the widow that freed me."